May 31 to June 4
WSOP bracelets among the final 8 players.
- 1STNaseem Salem$1,089,964
- 2NDAlexis Cruz$726,598
- 3RDChad Lipton$503,997
- 4THChris Brewer$355,610
- 5THJohn Racener$255,306
- 6TH
Roman Hrabec$186,562 - 7THJoey Weissman$138,802
- 8THCliff Josephy$105,178
Pressure? It’s relative.
Forces that might cause some to crack can be laughed off by others. It’s about perspective, belief, risk and reward.
Thursday's final table of the WSOP’s Event #11 — the $10K GGMillion$ High Roller — featured more than a few players who have been here, done that. John Racener has three WSOP bracelets already; Chris Brewer and Cliff Josephy each have two; Joey Weissman and Roman Hrabec, one apiece.
That’s five of the final eight with WSOP hardware already on the mantelpiece; experience handling the pressure of playing for poker’s greatest prizes. Final table muscle-memory.
And yet, of the eight players who returned for this fourth day of action, none of those five would make it to the end. In fact, they’d be the first to fall.
Outlasting them all was Naseem Salem, a businessman who sees poker as a hobby, a way to let off steam.
When playing poker is your release, pressure looks different.
Salem ends the day with his first WSOP bracelet and a huge $1,089,964 in prize money.
Naseem Salem and his first WSOP bracelet.“The bracelet is always the goal of every poker player,” said Salem, a 57-year-old businessman out of San Diego, California. “It's like, you’d love to have it, you want to have it.
"But for me… I don’t know, I kind of thought it was too late for me, because I don't have the stamina to play for days to win a bracelet. But I tell you, it feels great.”
Outrunning bad beats, a biased rail and a natural disaster
The final table convened at 1pm on the main stage of the Paris ballroom. By 2pm, three former WSOP winners were out.
Cliff Josephy got his chips in preflop with pocket 8s against Chad Lipton’s pocket kings. A king on the flop delivered a set for Lipton, and ended Josephy’s run.
Shortly afterwards, Joey Weissman (
) and Roman Hrabec (
) got their stacks in preflop. Lipton was there too, this time with 
. Once again, Lipton flopped a set and it was enough to knock out two more bracelet-winners.
Chad Lipton did damage early on at the final table.Then, the earth moved. Literally.
An earthquake, 16 miles west of Las Vegas. Noticeable, but quickly shrugged off by the locals. Just our planet’s hot core, blowing off some steam to release a little pressure.
As I said: relative.
Like the earthquake, Lipton’s hot start to the day didn’t last. Racener and Brewer were next out before Lipton made his exit, leaving Salem heads-up against Texas’ Alexis Cruz.
98% of the time, it works every time
The crowd on the rail grew, almost all friends of Cruz who cheered every pot the man won. Cruz had the crowd on his side, and it looked as if the poker gods might be rooting for him too.
Cruz, slightly ahead in chips, lost a huge all-in when both players made full houses, and soon found himself all-in once more for his tournament life, his 
against Salem’s 
.
The flop was safe for the sixes, but an ace on the turn left Cruz drawing thin. Only a six could save him. The river was a six.
The crowd roared. Cruz doubled. Salem smiled.
Alexis Cruz of Midland, Texas, is a student of Ali Imsirovic.“It’s the closest you can come to a bracelet without winning one,” Salem said to Cruz’s supporters on the rail. “2% with one card to go.”
When even the fates appear to be pulling for the other guy, it would have been understandable if Salem’s will had weakened.
It didn’t. The two battled on, and ultimately risked it all on a flip, Cruz’s pocket jacks versus the ace-queen of Salem. Again, the ace came on the turn. This time, it held.
Perspective, and managing expectations
“It’s life experience,” says Salem, when I ask how he handled the situation with such poise. “I’m 57-years-old, I've seen many things in my life. Playing poker, winning a bracelet, yes it's important, it’s fun, it's a great thing to do. But life has shown me so many things, that this is no big deal.”
Salem gives plenty of credit to his coach, Rui Campos, who he first met when they were sat next to each other in the WSOP Main Event. The other secret to his success? Lowered expectations.
“I told people close to me, ‘I want to come third’. I didn’t expect myself to be second or first. I came to the final table as chip leader, but I thought if I came third I would not be disappointed."
Cruz, left, and Salem both played the heads-up finale with smiles on their faces.“Yes, a bracelet is great, and the difference in the money is great too — even though, thank god, I’m well-to-do — but that's not the point. You still want to succeed. And that's what kept me calm and that's why, even when he hit the 6 on the river, it did not affect me. I kept my expectations low, and my mindset was: it's not over until it's over.”
Runner-up Cruz, who banked a career-best $726,598 for second place, was gracious in defeat — as was his crowd of supporters, who applauded Salem’s victory.
“I love that my people showed out and took the time to come,” said Cruz. “This opportunity doesn't come up often, so I'm just happy that I could share this with everybody.
“It’s a bittersweet moment but man, I really enjoyed it.”
Images courtesy of the WSOP.
