2008 WSOP Event 52 Winner David Daneshgar

  David Daneshgar has the sort of resume that most poker players would like for themselves. His lifetime earnings top the 1.5 million mark. He has gotten paid in over fifty of the tournaments he has entered, five of those being first place finishes, and in cash games he has been a consistent money maker. After a while players seated at the casino table with him submissively wet themselves when he makes a bet. The only thing missing from his credentials was a high profile tournament win. In short, there was a bracelet sized hole in his resume that he was looking to fill at this year's World Series of Poker. Event #52 was his best chance to finally attain this prize.  At the start of the day he was fourth in the chip count and almost half a million chips behind the leader, Corwin Cole. On the surface this does not sound like an encouraging way to start the day, but considering how the WSOP has gone this year, it was actually the perfect place to start. After an extremely brief feeling out period, that is not nearly as much fun as it sounds, Voitto Rintala became the first casualty of the day. Rinalta was not only beaten, but crushed. On hand number three he was hobbled when his pocket 8's smashed into Sitron's pocket queens like Jell-o against titanium. On the very next hand, Voitto was all-in before the flop. He was called by Jeff Courtney and Farzad Rouhani. The board was showing 5-9-5-Q when a third 5 was dealt to the board on the river. At this point Rouhani pushed all his chips to the center of the table. Courtney decided to test the discretion/valor thing and simply avoided the encounter by folding.  Voitto Rintala was already all-in, so he had no choice to stay and see the Rouhani turn over a Q-5. The Queen that Farzad had connected with the board would have been enough to beat Voitto's pocket sixes, but the quad 5s just added injury to injury. Voitto Rintala was osuted in 9th place with extreme prejudice.  While Jeff Courtney had run away from that hand, Farzad Rouhani was not going to play the "He who fights and runs away lives to fight another day" game with Jeff. At his next opportunity he had another go at Courtney. In a hand involving these two players Courtney holding K-Q raised Farzad all-in after a 3s-2s-Qs flop. Another Queen on the turn gave Jeff an encouraging threesome of Queens. He was ahead As-Jd until a 8s gave Rouhani a nut flush. The double-up reinforced Farzad's growing stack and seriously crippled Courtney even further.  Farzad moved all-in against Jeff on a 5h-Jh-8h flop. Courntney was holding a Jc-Kh for a top pair and a flush draw. Luck would not be with him as he had run into Rouhani's pocket Aces. The board never advanced his cause and Jeff Courtney was now among the walking wounded.  They were now at the point where Rouhani had more chips than Courtney. Courtney moved all-in with pocket Jacks, but was beat when Farzad's A-Q connected with a Queen that appeared on the flop for a top pair. Farzad Rouhani had finished off Jeff Courtney in 8th place.  Andrey Zaichenko started near the bottom, but was experiencing something of a tournament renaissance as he doubled up through Corwin Cole. His day came to a screeching halt when he tried to steal the blinds by moving all-in from the button. Scott Sitron, who was holding pocket Kings, was going to have none of it and blocked the steal attempt. Zaichenko was caught with only 9-6, and while the board gave his opponent trip Kings, it gave him nothing. Andrey Zaichenko went away in 7th place.  Matt Matros started the day 2nd in the chip count, and had gone downhill from there. A crippling loss during hand #43 had made him the smallest stack at the table, and Corwin Cole soon after had ended his day in 6th place.  With five players left, Corwin Cole had gone from start of the day chip leader, to somebody in last place struggling to survive. In a desperation move he moved all-in pre-flop with an unsuited 9-8. Current chip leader Scott Sitron called from the Big Blind. He was holding Ac-8c. A flop of A-6-3 gave Sitron a top pair that would not be beat. Corwin Cole ended a disappointing day in 5th place.  Sitron eliminated Farzad Rouhani on the very next hand when his pocket tens became a full house thanks to a ten and a pair of fours that showed up on the flop and turn. Farzad was punted in fourth place.  Dan Heimiller was the last former bracelet winner sitting at the table, and he would not be adding any new jewelry to his collection. Just after dinner, Scott Sitron took the action to his opponents. On the eighth hand after the evening meal, he raised 225,000 before the flop. Daneshgar folded, but Heimiller chose this moment to make a stand. He raised all-in.  Dan Heimiller was holding an A-3 while Scott Sitron was clutching an A-10. The board connected with nobody, and Sitron won the kicker war. Dan Heimiller was ejected in 3rd place.  Going into heads-up play against David Daneshgar, Scott had over a 1.5 million advantage in chips and all the momentum. While he maintained that lead for forty hands, he couldn't finish off his opponent. At the 40th hand Daneshgar moved all-in on the turn with a pot of over 2.2 million chips. Sitron thought for a moment before folding and mucking his hand. Not only had his lead dissolved in one big hand, and he was now looking up at the new chip leader, but the tournament would not last another dozen hands from that point.  On the tenth hand after the Sitron gave away the lead, he was all-in before the flop with an A-8. David Daneshgar was holding pocket tens. The board did nothing to improve Sitron's hand and he was left behind in second place. David Daneshgar had won his first bracelet in a brilliant, come from behind manner. Congratulations!