World Series of Poker Down to 27 Players

World Series of Poker Down to 27 Players By Adam Goldman For Associated Press Poker's top guns and unknowns were in a high-stakes showdown Thursday, each looking to make the nine-person final table at the World Series of Poker's main event and grab a piece of gambling glory. With only 27 players left, round six of the no-limit Texas Hold 'em tournament moved to the legendary Binion's Gambling Hall & Hotel in downtown Las Vegas, the place where the World Series began 36 years ago. In the lead were pros Mike "The Mouth" Matusow with $5.1 million in chips, followed by Phil Ivey and his stack of $4.6 million. Steve Dannenmann ($4.3 million) and Tex Barch ($3.9 million) were next, and last year's champ Greg "Fossilman" Raymer held the fifth spot with $3.8 million. The last woman from an overall field of 5,619 players who began play at the Rio hotel-casino was amateur Tiffany Williamson. The London corporate attorney stood in 19th place with $1.1 million. No woman has ever won poker's richest and largest event, and only one has made it to the final table. Expect Matusow, Ivey and Raymer to test the surviving players repeatedly, forcing them to make difficult decisions while avoiding the tough ones themselves. The three have considerable experience in high-stakes games and are not likely to buckle under the glare of ESPN's cameras and the intense atmosphere that will swallow up the room at Binion's. After play ended Wednesday, Matusow said he didn't expect to crack with a prize of $7.5 million awaiting the winner. "For five days, I've kept my head together," Matusow said. "I just need to keep it together for two more. I've stayed phenomenally patient and picked my spots." If Matusow wins, it should lessen the pain of a vicious beat he suffered in the 2004 World Series in which his ace-king lost to an ace-queen when the river, or final card, turned up to be a queen. The outcome had Matusow in tears, and he ended up in 87th place. During round five, Raymer was a rock in reptilian sunglasses, pushing around players and stealing pots. He took more than $1 million from Williamson when she made a major mistake after Raymer pushed all-in and Williamson failed to read his hand and fold hers. Raymer also was lucky, winning two decent-sized pots on fifth street. The first time the river gave him a flush to beat two jacks and he later collected a top pair of aces to crush two 7s. Raymer said he gave himself 1,500-1 odds to win the tournament before it started. Now, going into the penultimate round, he improved them to 9-1. In 2004, Raymer ran through 2,576 people to take home $5 million. Like Matusow, the always calm Raymer doesn't intend to change his strategy in the homestretch. "I'm just going to play each hand for itself," he said.