2006 WSOP Event 5 - No Limit Hold 'em Shorthanded

Place  WinnerPrize1Dutch Boyd$475,7122Joe Hachem  $256,800  The first short handed event of the 2006 World Series of Poker kicked off on Friday, June 30th at noon, and concluded at time finished on July 2nd or 3rd. Event 5 had a buy in of $2,500, making it the first of the more expensive events as well, and was No Limit Hold 'em Shorthanded, with six players to a table. When the event kicked off on Friday the impact of a shorthanded table was seen as late players made some tables seem deserted. One story has a table with only two players, leaving four stacks being blinded off, with the active two flipping a coin to see who would steal the blinds.  The action eventually got underway, however, and by the end of the first day Daniel Negreanu was the chip leader, with WPT Player of the Year Gavin Smith hot on his heels, and 37 other players hungry for the win.  The second day began at 2pm, giving the sleepy a couple of extra hours to find their way to their seats. As the day wound on 33 players dropped by the way, leaving only the final table crew (and their chips) Dutch Boyd 909,000; Michael Goodman 573,000; Joseph Hachem 297,000; Peter Hassett 150,000; David Solomon 93,000; Jeff Knight 62,000.  On the final day, about 70 minutes after the game begins, David Solomon of Austin, TX was out in 6th place. Peter Hassett was next out around 4:30pm, followed by Michael Goodman about an hour later. Another 40 minutes and it's down to two players as Jeff Knight, who started as the short stack, was out in third.  The heads up match is proof enough that Joe Hachem was no flash in the pan when he won the WSOP Main Event last year, and his play at the final table showed he was not afraid to tangle with Boyd, despite a crushing chip lead on Dutch's side. Unfortunately for the reigning champ it was Dutch Boyd who won in the final hand, despite being dominated with A5 to Hachem's AQ. Shortly before 8pm the board read AK9J, but a 5 on the river gave Boyd the win and over $400,000.