Congratulations to John Monnette, Winner of Event #10 $5,000 Seven Card Stud ($190,826)
The 2012 World Series of Poker Event #10 Seven Card Stud started with 145 players three days ago, and now only one remains. Day 3 began with 16 players, including some of the game’s best, but after ten and a half hours of play it was mixed-games specialist John Monnette who emerged victorious to capture the $190,826 first-place prize and his second WSOP gold bracelet.
The day began with an early elimination when Mark Dickstein dispatched a short-stacked Nick Schulman in 16th place, for which he earned $12,035. Not long after, a hand developed that saw Bryn Kenney bring it in with the 
, Huu Vinh complete and Perry Friedman call. Mike Sexton then sprung to life with a raise, Kenney folded and both Vinh and Friedman called. The turn saw Sexton led out with a bet, both his opponents called, and then he committed his last 10,000 on fifth street. Again Vinh and Friedman called before the former fired out a bet on sixth and drove out the latter.
Sexton: 
/ 
/ 
Vinh: 
/ 
Friedman: (x-x) / 
/ (x)
Sexton got it in with kings but fell behind when Vinh made two pair on sixth. Sexton was drawing live on seventh, but the blanked and he was eliminated in 15th place for $12,035. Sexton also finished in 15th place in Event #4 $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Low 8-or-Better earlier in the series.
Over the next two hours, six more players hit the rail to bring about the official final table.
Pre-Money Eliminations
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 9th | Eugene Katchalov | $18,693 |
| 10th | Lee Goldman | $18,693 |
| 11th | Cyndy Violette | $22,332 |
| 12th | Max Pescatori | $15,906 |
| 13th | Roger Smith | $13,834 |
| 14th | Yuval Bronshtein | $13,834 |
| 15th | Mike Sexton | $12,035 |
| 16th | Nick Schulman | $12,035 |
It didn’t take long for the first elimination of the final table to occur as a series of raises saw short-stacked Raymond Dehkharghani all in on third against Tim Finne.
Dehkharghani: 
/ 
/ 
Finne: / 
/ 
Dehkharghani's sevens were in the lead when the money went in, but he feel behind when Finne paired his queen on the turn. Neither fifth nor sixth streets were overly exciting, but seventh, which gave Finne two pair, left Dehkharghani in need of the case seven on the river to survive. He squeezed it out and it was four-across and a club, but it turned out to be the useless . With that, Dehkharghani exited in eighth place for $22,332.
It took awhile for the next elimination but it happened in Level 23 when Kenney, who finished as the chip leader on Day 1 of this event, completed with the and Vinh called along showing the 
.
Kenney: (x-x) / 
Vinh: (x-x) / 
Kenney bet his lead on fourth street, then check-raised all in on fifth. Vinh quickly called the remainder, and Kenney was at risk. The down cards were upped, and the boards ran out like this:
Kenney: / / 
Vinh: 
/ 
/
Vinh's jacks up were plenty good, and he's sent Kenney off in seventh place, good for a $27,062 consolation prize. Minutes later Dickstein would hit the rail in sixth place after Monnette made a flush on seventh.
Minutes later, after action was brought in, a short-stacked Jeff Lisandro completed and received a call from Friedman. The 2009 WSOP Player of the Year then led out on the turn only to call off when Friedman raised.
Lisandro: 
/ 
/
Friedman: 
/ 
/
Lisandro was ahead with nines when the money went in, but he needed to dodge Friedman's gut-shot straight draw, which became a double-gutted straight draw on fifth street. Sixth gave Friedman more outs, but it was the on seventh that would give him the straight and send the five-time bracelet winner to the rail. Lisandro misses out on his sixth bracelet, which would have been his fifth in Stud variations, but he left with a $41,789 consolation prize for his fifth-place finish.
From there, Friedman grew short stacked and completed a hand only to have Monnette put in a raise. Friedman committed himself with a three-bet and Monnette made the call.
Monnette: 
/ 
/ 
Friedman: / /
Neither player held a pair when the money went in, and it'd take until sixth street before one was made. Unfortunately for Friedman, it was Monnette who made sevens to take the lead. Seventh street provided no surprises and Friedman took his leave in fourth place to a nice round of applause.
Three-handed play was an extended affair, but eventually the limits caught up with the players. While both Vinh and Finne both dwindled, Monnette increased his stack in steady fashion. Eventually Monnette brought it in with the , Finne completed and Vinh raised. Monnette got out of the way while Finne made the call, leaving himself just 28,000 behind. The turn saw Finne commit his stack, and after a moment's hesitation, Vinh made the call.
Finne: / 
/
Vinh: / /
Finne needed some help, and while fifth and sixth streets gave him outs to a flush and straight, seventh missed him completely. Finne shook hands with his opponents before heading to the payout desk to collect $73,847.
From there, Monnette took a 6-1 chip lead into heads-up play and never looked back. It took about 20 more minutes, but eventually Vinh succumbed. Interestingly, a pair of jacks, which Monnette made on the last hand to clinch victory, was the hand that he had when he won his first bracelet a year earlier.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Monnette | $190,826 |
| 2 | Huu Vinh | $117,913 |
| 3 | Tim Finne | $73,847 |
| 4 | Perry Friedman | $53,470 |
| 5 | Jeff Lisandro | $41,789 |
| 6 | Mark Dickstein | $33,325 |
| 7 | Bryn Kenney | $27,062 |
| 8 | Raymond Dehkharghani | $22,332 |
Congratulations to John Monnette for becoming the 2012 WSOP Event #10 $5,000 Seven Card Stud Champion and capturing his second gold bracelet!
Past Seven Card Stud Championship Results
| Year | Winner | Entrants | Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | John Monnette | 145 | $190,826 |
| 2011 | Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier | 126 | $331,639 |
| 2010 | Men “The Master” Nguyen | 150 | $394,807 |
| 2009 | Freddie Ellis | 142 | $373,751 |
| 2008 | Eric Brooks | 158 | $415,856 |
| 2007 | Chris Reslock | 180 | $258,453 |
| 2006* | Benjamin Lin | 182 | $256,620 |
| 2005* | Jan Sorensen | 192 | $293,275 |
*Buy-in was $5,000
That does it for our coverage from Event #10, but there is still plenty of action to be had. Be sure to visit our Live Reporting Page to see what events are taking place right now.