John Monnette Wins $5K Stud (Event #10), Grabs Second Career WSOP Bracelet
A mixed-game specialist, John Monnette's first WSOP bracelet came last year in the $2,500 buy-in 8-game mix event. He has over 20 cashes at the WSOP since 2005, including four final tables, and has now earned more than $833,000 at the WSOP.
Late Tuesday night, John Monnette of California earned his second WSOP bracelet by capturing Event #10, the $5,000 Seven-Card Stud event at the 2012 World Series of Poker. Monnette topped a tough field of 145 for the win, including outlasting a stacked final table that included Perry Friedman, Bryn Kenney, five-time WSOP bracelet winner Jeff Lisandro, and eventual runner-up Huu Vinh already making his second seven-card stud final table at the 2012 WSOP.
After two days of play the field was whittled down to 16 players, all of whom split the event's $681,500 prize pool. Those coming up shy of the final table included Nick Schulman (16th, $12,035), Mike Sexton (15th, $12,035), Max Pescatori (12th, $15,906), Cyndy Violette (11th, $15,906), and Eugene Katchalov (9th, $18,693).
Sexton's finish marked his third cash -- and third relatively deep run -- at this year's WSOP following a round of 16 finish in Event #3 ($3,000 PLO/NLHE Heads-Up) and a 15th place in Event #4 ($1,500 Seven-Card Stud Hi-Low).
With Katchalov's elimination the final eight-handed table began with John Monnette the chip leader, Huu Vinh in second position, and Tim Finne and Raymond Dehkharghani on the short stacks.
Finne would soon eliminate Dehkhargani in eighth, then came a rapid sequence that saw Vinh knock out Kenney in seventh, Monnette eliminate Mark Dickstein in sixth, and Jeff Lisandro fall in fifth in a hand versus Perry Friedman. Lisandro's was not only gunning for a sixth WSOP bracelet, but his fifth in a stud event, as four of his bracelets were won in stud, stud hi-low, and razz.
Finne would continue to grab pots to push into the lead with four remaning, then Monnette charged back, knocking out Friedman in fourth along the way. All three players -- Monnette, Vinh, and Finne -- would occupy the top spot during three-handed play until they reached the dinner break at which point Monnette was in front.
After their return, Monnette grabbed several pots from both of his opponents to push well out in front. Vinh would manage to knock out Finne in third, drawing trip queens to beat Finne's pair of eights, but Monnette would still have about a 6-to-1 chip lead when heads-up play began.
Soon after that came the final hand. Vinh was all in by third street and would draw Qc-8h / 3h-Kd-5c-4s / 7s (king-high) versus Monnette's Ac-Qh / Jc-6d-Jd-8c / 9h (pair of jacks), and Monnette had won.
Vinh's runner-up finish improved on his fifth-place showing just a few days ago in Event #7, the $1,500 buy-in Seven-Card Stud event. Here's how the payouts went at last night's final table:
2012 WSOP Event #10: Seven-Card Stud ($5,000):
1. John Monnette -- $190,826
2. Huu Vinh -- $117,913
3. Timothy 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
A mixed-game specialist, Monnette's first WSOP bracelet came last year in the $2,500 buy-in 8-game mix event. He has over 20 cashes at the WSOP since 2005, including four final tables, and has now earned more than $833,000 at the WSOP.