Anthony Rivera Shows His Mettle in Event #8 at the 2008 World Series of Poker
Event #8 at the 2008 World Series of Poker was a new one, a $10,000 World Championship of Mixed Games drew in 192 entries, most of these being hard-core rounders. The Mixed Games format included different brands of poker each level. These games included Stud, Stud Hi-Lo and Razz, No Limit Hold'em, Pot Limit Omaha, Omaha 8/b, Triple Draw Lowball (2-7) and more, making this a game for true poker aficionados.
Therefore it's no surprise that folks such as Doyle Brunson and Tom Schneider (last years WSOP Player of the Year) made bank in the event. Gus Hansen, 2007 Aussie Millions Main Event champion, narrowly missed the final table, taking tenth place and $45,120 for his efforts.
The final table was no less star-studded. Jeff Madsen, a two-time WSOP bracelet winner, hit the rail first. He was sent there by none other than Sammy Farha, who lost to Chris Moneymaker in the 2003 World Series of Poker Main Event. Farha, for his part, busted in sixth place after Eli Elezra made an eight-high during a round of Razz.
Elezra became the next casualty of the final table after Michael DeMichele earned a full house in Stud 8. Elezra, a former Israeli commando who earned his first WSOP bracelet in 2007, collected $108,288. DeMichele followed Elezra out the door, losing a heartbreaker of a hand in 2-7 triple draw against the eventual champ, Tony Rivera. Rivera, a 22 year old cash game specialist, went on to defeat James “mig.com” Mackey in a lightning-quick heads-up match that lasted about five minutes.
Rivera, who said he was “confident” because he plays “with these guys all the time in mixed games at the Bellagio”, earned close to half a million dollars in addition to claiming his first bracelet.
These are the final results:
1) Tony Rivera — $483,688 2) James Mackey — $297,792 3) Matt Glantz — $184,992 4) Michael DeMichele — $139,872 5) Eli Elezra — $108,288 6) Sam Farha — $85,728 7) Tom Dwan —$67,680 8) Jeff Madsen — $54,144 9) David Oppenheim - $45,120
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