ON THE BUTTON: 2008 WSOP Dream Final Table

by Nick Lanteri | Jul 4 2008

How bad was last year's World Series of Poker Main Event final table? It was the first time I ever threw the remote control at my television set while watching poker on ESPN. I mean, come on! A few of them nearly killed the future of televised poker, if they haven't done so already.

Remember the beggar, Jerry Yang? "Oh please Lord, let me win this hand. Oh please, god, just this one time!" It was unbearable to watch. The guy was praying for cards as if his life depended on it. And his prayers got answered every time. What an ambassador for poker, huh? I'll take Jamie Gold and his stupid dish of blueberries over Yang any day.

Let's see. Who else? Oh yeah, Hevad Khan. Another one of the "good guys" at last year's Main Event final table. Remember all of those wonderful spastic gorilla-like gyrations and moronic yelps of "Bull-dozerrrrr" during his run at the Main Event? Why didn't one of the players at the table or the tournament director... or someone... anyone... grab him by his ear and yell, "Sit the fuck down!"?

The poker gods have some sense of humor, don't they? Well, the 2008 WSOP Main Event is upon us, and let's hope the poker gods don’t give us a repeat of last year.

"DREAM TEAM" FINAL TABLE

This year, the Main Event final table of nine players will have to wait four months to play it. ESPN will air the final table on a tape delay within hours of the finish on Nov. 11. Here's a list of nine players we're rooting for who would make a delayed WSOP final table worth the wait:

1. David Williams

This Bodog Poker pro already owns a bracelet and puts a lot of pressure on his opponents by playing a lot of hands. Runner up to Greg Raymer in the 2004 Main Event final table, Williams is the action guy you need to spruce up any final table. While everyone else is playing tight to move up the pay scale, Williams will take advantage and steal pots. He has four cashes at the 2008 WSOP, including a final table in Event No. 4.

2. Phil Hellmuth

No dream final table would be complete without the player who has more bracelets than anyone. Hellmuth's tantrums make for great television, and that is precisely why we're hoping he can navigate through a sea of thousands. He beat Johnny Chan in the 1989 WSOP Main Event for the first of his 11 bracelets. The "Poker Brat" loves to set a trap for his opponents and then insta-call them by shoving all his chips into the middle. He has four cashes after a slow start, including two final tables at the 2008 WSOP.

3. Gus Hansen

"The Great Dane" went deep in last year's Main Event, finishing 61st. Another action guy, he's made a name for himself by playing any two cards.

Hansen has yet to win a bracelet, and what better way to get off the schneid than by winning the Main Event. He's a regular in the Big Game at Bobby's Room at the Bellagio in Vegas, where a player can win or lose $1 million or more on one night. He has one cash thus far at the 2008 WSOP.

4. Dmitri Nobles

Every televised final table needs a donk, or else it wouldn’t be much fun to watch. Keep your fingers crossed for this guy. Like Williams, Nobles plays a lot of hands, just not as well. Nobles has ATC disorder (Any Two Cards), which is usually good for a laugh or two. But give Nobles credit because he can verbalize during a hand and get inside an opponent’s head. Love him or hate him type of player. No cashes at the 2008 WSOP.

5. Evelyn Ng

Without a doubt, we need to have a hot poker chick make it to one of these Main Event final tables (and one that can push the boys around) sooner or later because it will be replayed on ESPN2 and ESPN Classic until the end of time. Come on, ladies, someone step up this year. If not Ng, then how about Clonie Gowen, Lacey Jones, Isabelle Mercier, Vanessa Rousso or Erica Schoenberg, a former model with stunning good looks. Hey, even Jen Tilly's breasts would be an, ahem, uplifting experience for everyone.

6. Scotty Nguyen

If Scotty makes the Main Event final table, then it's gonna be all over, baby. Charismatic personality makes him a fan favorite. He plays poker the way it ought to be played: drinking and making everyone around him laugh (most of the time). He nearly made the final table last year until he got cold decked a few times. He was immortalized when he won the 1998 WSOP Main Event after telling his opponent, "You call and it's gonna be all over, baby." His opponent called, and Scotty secured his second bracelet. He won his fifth WSOP bracelet on June 25 when he took down almost $2 million for winning the $50K HORSE event, considered the most prestigious of all events at the WSOP by the pros.

7. Daniel Negreanu

He won his first bracelet in four years at this year's WSOP and also has five cashes overall, so "Kid Poker" is running well right now.

His uncanny knack for calling an opponent's hole cards never gets old, although his paying off his opponents even though he knows they have him beat might have. Daniel, stop paying them off! Negreanu recorded his fifth cash of the 2008 WSOP when he took 13th place in the $50K HORSE event, a tournament he says he is destined to win someday.

8. John "Razor" Phan

He's finally having a breakout year at the WSOP as far as wins are concerned. He is the only player to win two bracelets at the 2008 WSOP, and those are his first two career bracelets after coming so close in the past. He was runner-up to Jon Friedberg in a 2006 event and was second again to Francois Safieddine last year in a $2,500 event.

9. Erick Lindgren

No "dream" final table would be complete without including the 2008 World Series of Poker Player of the Year, right? All this guy did in June was shed that dreaded label of being the best poker player in the world to never win a WSOP bracelet. He put that to rest when he beat Bodog Poker pro Justin Bonomo heads-up in Event No. 4, which was a $5K mixed Holdem event, a star-studded final table which included Bonomo, Williams, Roland de Wolfe and Howard Lederer. Lindgren went on to clinch the 2008 Player of the Year honors when he took third place in the $50K HORSE event for almost $800,000.

Meet the team that features David Williams, Evelyn Ng, Jean-Robert Bellande and Justin Bonomo!  Team Bodog poker players!