I was right about Lamar Wilkinson. He didn’t win the gold bracelet in the 2-7 event. He got knocked out by Shawn Sheikhan in fourth place. But I was also wrong. I in no way have meant to imply that he is a bad player. You don’t make a final table at the World Series, especially in an event as tough as this one, if you don’t have some serious skills. He also made the final table of this same event in 2000, finishing fifth. In 2002 he finished 25th in the main event. The day I do better than that I might feel confident to talk smack about a professional poker player… but I doubt that day will ever come.
More than deriding Wilkinson’s game, I have been trying to emphasize how great the competition is at his table. With Wilkinson gone the bracelet is now being fought over by Sheihkan, Erick Seidel, and Chad Brown. At last glance Sheikhan had a large chip lead. He had a large wall of orange $5,000 chips in front of him that climbed halfway up his chest. Do I consider him to be any more of a poker star than Wilkinson? Well, after cashing seven times at the World Series, making four final tables, and finishing 11th in the main event in 2005, all in the course of six years, I would have to say that he is indeed one of the top players in the world. If he ends up winning the 2-7 bracelet tonight, then I will reiterate that last statement with a lot more emphasis.
Meanwhile, the line to register for the main event continues to snake its way down the hall. It has been the same length the entire day: extremely long. Poker players are starting to remind me more and more of Dead heads.
