John Hesp WSOP “I am to poker what Donald Trump is to politics – an amateur.”

[bennythedip2]

For 64-Year-Old John Hesp, WSOP Main Event is All About the Challenge - (July 15, 2017) Poker News

“I am to poker what Donald Trump is to politics.”
We talk to John Hesp who is building a stack in Main Event.

As Day 5 of the World Series of Poker Main Event commenced on Saturday, John Hesp stood out in the Brasilia room. His attire for the day is as multicolored as his chip stack, with differing hues and patterns of geometric shapes, flowers, and plenty more. The unique wardrobe, accented by a Panama-style hat, certainly set him set apart. If the clothes make the man, then Hesp has an active mind indeed.

“This shirt and this jacket and two other shirts, which are back in the hotel being laundered as we speak, were loaned to me by a good friend who lives back home in Bridlington,” he says. “I commented on how much I liked his shirts the last time we were here in Vegas and he offered to loan them to me for the trip this time. They so far have brought me very good luck.”

No doubt, the ensemble has been good to Hesp, who has worn some combination of his unique outfit each day he played. The 64-year-old is a native of Bridlington, England, a seaside town near Yorkshire, where he owns a company that rents caravan vacation homes, but is semi-retired with a management team that look after the company.

A recreational poker player for 20 years, Hesp now plays about once a month – although he played a bit more in the months leading up the Main Event.

Among the field of pros, Hesp readily admits that he is not one of them. As play entered the first break, Hesp stood on a stack of about 2.4 million after entering the day with about 1.4 million.

“I am to poker what Donald Trump is to politics – an amateur,” he says.

A father of four and grandfather of seven has only $2,207 in tournament winnings with all his final table appearances (and his only recorded win) at Napoleon’s Casino & Restaurant in Hull, U.K. When up for a game, Napoleon’s is his usual stop for a small tournament or an occasional cash game. This is his first trip to the WSOP and he’s hoping a nice finish and payday are ahead of him.

Playing in the Main Event has been a goal for many years and this summer Hesp decided to make that dream a reality. As he weaved his way through the field, which began with 7,221 players, Hesp amazed himself to advance into the top 1,000 – and has now worked his way inside the top 300.

“I’ve never played a big competition like this but it’s one of the things I’ve had on my bucket list for a while now,” he says. “I said to my wife about three months ago, ‘Would you mind if I went and played?’ and came with a pal of mine from Bridlington.

“This is my fourth time in Vegas, but I’ve never played in anything like this. I came out last November with a bunch of lads for four nights and played a bit of poker in some small tournaments in local casinos and didn’t really do any good then, but I just thought I’d take a shot in the World Series of Poker Main Event and here I am now.” John Hesp

While his friend busted out on Day 3, Hesp is still a lone fish in a pool of sharks, but hoping to turn the tables on a field that is heavy with pros.

“My friend’s flown home today, so I’ve got nobody on the rail shouting for me, but hopefully my friends back home are rooting for me,” he says. “They keep sending me messages on my phone and telling me to hang in there.”

As one of the oldest players remaining in the field, Hesp says he is in element playing against a group of younger, skilled players – both for the challenge and the social elements to the game.

“It’s not really about the money for me, it’s about the challenge."

“I love it,” he says. “This is the main reason I’m playing poker. I just like people, everybody’s an individual. I especially like playing with nice people, and there’s a lot of nice people here.”

Now guaranteed a nice cash, Hesp doesn’t have any concrete plans yet for the money.

“It’s not really about the money for me, it’s about the challenge,” he said. “The money’s obviously going to be useful and I’ll probably spoil the wife and family when I get home with a treat. I’d like to take the wife on a holiday maybe, since she’s been kind of enough to allow me to come here.”

After several days in Vegas and playing some of the best poker of his life, this family man still has a longing to get back to England and spend some time with his wife and family.

“Half of me really wants to go on,” he says. “And the other half wants to get home.”

But England will have to wait a bit longer. Day 6 is ahead, and Hesp hopes to be there.

[bennythedip2]

John Hesp - WSOP Main event - LIVING THE DREAM - by The Fox » Mon (Jul 17, 2017)

Every poker player wants to play the ultimate Tournament...The main event of the World Series of Poker.

John Hesp from Bridlington is actually doing it with an incredible run and is now in the last 27 currently sitting 6th in chips and with a minimum cash 0f over £200,000 guaranteed and a dream of glory may well await.

Here is the extract form the WSOP Blog outlining John's story so far.

John Hesp Back in the Hunt

Affable Englishman John Hesp has become the talk of the Main Event. The recreational player from Bridlington, U.K., has never played at the WSOP and never even played a large tournament. He has only $2,207 in tournament winnings with all his final table appearances (and his only recorded win) at Napoleon's Casino & Restaurant in Hull, U.K.

The 64-year-old retired business owner spoke with PokerNews at the afternoon break about his run through the field. He's been featured on the ESPN2 and PokerGO broadcasts, and has now been moved to the feature tables. What has it been like adjusting to the bright lights and cameras?

"I've no problem with the broadcast tables, the problem I've got is the shortness of the breaks," he says. "There's no time to do anything really."

Hesp's amazing run is now garnering plenty of attention with media interviews a regular part of his break schedule. He's had a great run of cards over the few hours, and now sits on just over 9 million chips after some big hands and shrewd play.

"I've been really riding hot," Hesp says. "I started pretty weak. I went down and now I've come back again."

[bennythedip2]

Re: WSOP 2017 - $10,000 Main event - by The Fox » Mon (Jul 17, 2017)
Play has concluded for Day 6 with 27 players and the final three tables will re-draw.

8 Brits chasing a dream. 5 of those would fall throughout the days play and their exits and payout are listed below

45 United Kingdom Max Silver $176,399 120.7 London - United Kingdom
52 United Kingdom Artan Dedusha $145,733 113.3 London - United Kingdom
55 United Kingdom Paul Vas Nunes $121,188 106.5 Guildford - United Kingdom
66 United Kingdom Thissa Desilva $101,444 100.4 London - United Kingdom
88 United Kingdom Charlie Carrel $72,514 89.8 London - United Kingdom

Pay jumps now get interesting as they increase dramatically for the final 27 with everyone now guaranteed $263,532.

All three Brits have had a strong finish with Jack Sinclair eliminating Joshua Horton in 28th place and finishing the day with over 27 million in chips and sits 3rd in chips.

John Hesp also had a stron final level and now has around 21 million, 6th in chips

Richard gryko is just short of 14 million and is 11th on the chip counts

All three are above average which stands at 13.37 million.

Payout for the Final 27

1st$8,150,000433.2
2nd$4,700,000360.6
3rd$3,500,000326.8
4th$2,600,000296.0
5th$2,000,000271.2
6th$1,675,000255.7
7th$1,425,000242.3
8th$1,200,000228.8
9th$1,000,000215.3
10th$825,001201.
911th$675,000188.9
12th-13th$535,000174.8
14th-15th$450,000165.1
16th-18th$340,000150.3
19th-27th$263,532138.0

Full Report and Details can be found below.

2015 Bracelet Winner Christian Pham Leading Final 27 After Day 6

Buy-in: $10,000
Prizepool: $67,877,400
Entries: 7,221
Remaining: 27

If Christian Pham's poker career got turned into a movie, it would probably get panned for being too much of a fairy tale, too hard to believe.

His first incredibly improbable moment came into 2015, when he claims to have accidentally registered for $1,500 2-7 Single Draw at the World Series of Poker when he meant to register for $1,500 Limit Hold'em. All he did was defeat a field of 219 and win a bracelet, overcoming the likes of Mike Leah, Robert Mizrachi and Huck Seed late.

Fast-forward to the 2017 WSOP, and Pham fired in a $575 Main Event qualifier, winning a seat. On Day 5, with his tournament life on the line after bluffing all in on a four-straight board with one pair against a set, Pham needed a six and a six only to chop and survive or it was curtains.

He found the six-ball to avoid joining the payout line. Two days later, he's the leader of the final 27 players left after Day 6, with a career-best $263,532 locked up and 31,440,000 in the big. That will represent more than 100 big blinds when play resumes for Day 7.

A breathless Pham, sans the bucket hat he can be so often seen wearing at tournaments in and around his native Minnesota, could barely contain his excitement.

"It's the hope of every poker player, we go to the final table, or we go the top 27, 18 something like that," he said. "And now, my dream come true. I'm very happy about that."

The key moment for Pham on Day 6 came in a three-bet pot against Superman costume-clad Jonathan Dwek, who accidentally reraised the minimum and wound up running a wheel with ace-eight. Unfortunately for the Canadian, Pham's bottom pair on the flop became a backdoor steel wheel, and Dwek was unable to find the fold button on the river when Pham shoved on him.

"Oh my God straight flush, that's amazing," Pham said as he recalled the hand, adding that he made another straight flush shortly after. "Two straight flush today! That's amazing! Oh my God, that's incredible."

Immediately behind Pham in the counts are Valentin Messina (28,590,000), Jack Sinclair (27,535,000) and Ben Lamb (25,685,000).

Lamb, of course, finished third in the 2011 Main Event, banking $4 million. His tournament results have been relatively scarce since then, with appearances in $25K high roller tournaments here in Las Vegas accounting for the bulk of his action.

True to the feelings of a man who fires away in $25Ks and has been here before, Lamb isn't satisfied by getting to the final 27 and has his sights set much higher.

"I don't care about the final table," he said. "I want to win the whole damn thing. I'm going to go home and watch Game of Thrones and then watch a little tape of today.

"It's the most fun you can have to be deep in this poker tournament. I'm really excited to be here and the past will help me. But some of these guys have been here before too – multiple times."

Ben Lamb
One man in particular has made deep runs in the WSOP Main Event practically a yearly ritual at this point. Antoine Saout's own November Nine appearance predates Lamb's, as he made the final table back in 2009, also finishing third. Last year, Saout narrowly missed another final table with a 25th-place finish.

Saout had a fantastic summer in 2016 with three six-figure scores in Las Vegas, but admitted it has been a different story in 2017 as he came into the Main Event down and needed a big run to climb out of the hole he'd dug for himself.

Now, the Frenchman has navigated to the three-table redraw of the Main Event once again in something of a summer saver. He's in the middle of the pack with a stack of 9,945,000, but it's a count he's quite happy with as he struggled to gain much traction on Day 6.

"Today was a tough day," he said. "I fought. I was down to 4.6 million, but I finished at my peak at 10 million, so that's good."

Saout is far from the only Frenchman having a fantastic finish to the WSOP. Second-place Messina also hails from France, as do Benjamin Pollak (8,870,000) and Alexandre Reard (8,580,000). The four posed for pictures after bagging and had groups of fans waving French flags cheering them on throughout the day.

Saout accurately recalled that two of his countrymen also made the final 27 in 2009. Ludovic Lacay would finish 16th and Francois Balmigere 25th.

"It's very exciting," Saout said of the French contingent's surge. "We all have some chips. It's going to be a big day tomorrow. I hope we can make it two, three or even four [at the final table]."

The last 27 drew for their new seats after the eliminations of Joshua Horton in 28th when he made an inferior flush against Jack Sinclair. They'll come back to those seats at noon with 78 minutes left in Level 32 (120,000/240,000/40,000), and PokerNews will be providing hand-for-hand updates as the final three tables play down to the biggest final table in poker.

End-of-Day Chip Counts followed by Day 7 Seat Draw

Christian Pham 31,440,000 -80,000
Valentin Messina 28,590,000 -405,000
Jack Sinclair 27,535,000 -155,000
Ben Lamb 25,685,000 0
Pedro Oliveira 22,540,000 0
John Hesp 20,880,000 0
Randy Pisane 18,370,000 0
Scott Blumstein 18,125,000 3,225,000
Richard Dubini 14,975,000 1,485,000
Bryan Piccioli 14,500,000 0
Richard Gryko 13,760,000 -80,000
Jonas Mackoff 12,050,000 450,000
Michael Krasienko 11,430,000 -1,890,000
Robin Hegele 11,150,000 1,215,000
Antoine Saout 9,945,000 1,345,000
Michael Ruane 9,340,000 -880,000
Benjamin Pollak 8,870,000 240,000
Alexandre Reard 8,580,000 520,000
Karen Sarkisyan 8,105,000 0
Dan Ott 7,815,000 0
Damian Salas 7,800,000 0
David Guay 7,400,000 0
Scott Stewart 6,230,000 -1,675,000
Florian Lohnert 5,360,000 -80,000
Jake Bazeley 3,915,000 0
Marcel Luske 2,990,000 0
Michael Sklenicka 2,230,000 -70,000

Seat Draw Day 7

Table Seat Player Counttry Chip Count Big Blinds

1 1 John Hesp United Kingdom 20,880,000 87
1 2 Robin Hegele Germany 11,150,000 46
1 3 Scott Stewart United States 6,230,000 26
1 4 Damian Salas Argentina 7,800,000 33
1 5 Michael Ruane United States 9,340,000 39
1 6 Jack Sinclair United Kingdom 27,535,000 115
1 7 Bryan Piccioli United States 14,500,000 60
1 8 Jonas Mackoff Canada 12,050,000 50
1 9 Randy Pisane United States 18,370,000 77

2 1 Richard Dubini Argentina 14,975,000 62
2 2 Antoine Saout France 9,945,000 41
2 3 Valentin Messina France 28,590,000 119
2 4 Pedro Oliveira Portugal 22,540,000 94
2 5 Florian Lohnert Germany 5,360,000 22
2 6 Alexandre Reard France 8,580,000 36
2 7 David Guay Canada 7,400,000 31
2 8 Richard Gryko United Kingdom 13,760,000 57
2 9 Scott Blumstein United States 18,125,000 76

3 1 Michael Sklenicka Czech Republic 2,230,000 9
3 2 Jake Bazeley United States 3,915,000 16
3 3 Christian Pham United States 31,440,000 131
3 4 Michael Krasienko United States 11,430,000 48
3 5 Benjamin Pollak France 8,870,000 37
3 6 Daniel Ott United States 7,815,000 33
3 7 Marcel Luske Netherlands 2,990,000 12
3 8 Karen Sarkisyan Russia 8,105,000 34
3 9 Ben Lamb United States 25,685,000 107

[bennythedip2]

Latest update - WSOP (Tue 18th July 2017)

Rooting for the 64yr old John Hesp in the WSOP.

In his lifetime he has cashed for $2700...

He is now chip leader with 10 left. Over $8million for 1st!!!!

[Tony2005]

2017 World Series of Poker Main Event: Scott Blumstein Bags Half The Chips In Play
John Hesp Victim Of Massive Cooler To Lose Chip Lead, Lamb and Sinclair Bust




Card Player’s 2017 WSOP coverage is sponsored by BetOnline Poker.

After a two-day break from the grueling task of making the World Series of Poker main event final table, the nine remaining survivors took their seats in the Rio All-Suites Hotel & Casino for the first of three days of coverage.

In years past, viewers were forced to wait months until the WSOP main event crowned a winner, but tournament officials decided to axe that short-lived tradition in favor of a summer resolution.


Thanks to one of the most entertaining final tables in recent memory, the move looks like it’s going to pay off. Fans of the game got to see just 75 hands of play, but instead of silent, statuesque players, the audience was treated to action flops, and players unafraid to show emotion.

In fact, on the very first hand of the day, fan-favorite John Hesp eagerly showed a bluff that he pulled off against Antoine Saout. It was a great start for the Englishman making his first career WSOP cash, but it didn’t last long.

Before Hesp could get involved again, however, former WSOP main event final tablist Ben Lamb made his final move with AHeart Suit 9Heart Suit, only to run into the AClub Suit QHeart Suit of Jack Sinclair. The board offered no help to Lamb and he was awarded with $1,000,000 for his ninth-place finish.

It looked like Sinclair was poised to keep running up the leaderboard, but he gave up some chips when he doubled up Saout.

Then came the hand of the night, a clash between the two biggest stacks at the table. Scott Blumstein raised from under-the-gun and Hesp called in the big blind. The flop came down AClub Suit 7Diamond Suit 5Heart Suit and both players checked.

The turn was the 10Spade Suit and Hesp checked again. This time Blumstein bet 3 million. Hesp check-raised to 7 million, and Blumstein reraised to 17 million. The raise prompted Hesp to jump out of his chair, take a few steps away from the table, and then return with an all-in.


Blumstein immediately called, producing the largest pot of the tournament. Hesp held AHeart Suit 10Heart Suit for top two pair, but he was drawing dead against the ADiamond Suit ASpade Suit for top set. Blumenstein doubled up, giving him 43 percent of the chips in play. Hesp was left in the middle of the pack, searching for answers.

Sinclair, still recovering from a few wayward pots, made his final move with KSpade Suit JSpade Suit, only to run into the pocket aces of Bryan Piccioli. The flop of KHeart Suit 4Club Suit 3Heart Suit gave Sinclair some hope, but the turn and river were bricks to send him to the rail in eight place, good for $1,200,000.

After another orbit, played ended for the evening. The final table will resume at 5:30 p.m. local time on Friday.

Here’s a look at the overnight chip counts.

Scott Blumstein 178,300,000
Benjamin Pollak 77,525,000
Bryan Piccioli 35,750,000
John Hesp 22,475,000
Daniel Ott 16,350,000
Damian Salas 15,625,000
Antoine Saout 14,550,000

[bennythedip2]

WSOP 2017 - Main Event - Final Table Day 1 Part 2

Friday .. 21sr July -

FT Coverage .. NOT live - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXpH67LYB2I