2008 WSOP Forecast, Day Twenty Three: Yet Another Pro WIll Win

  This certainly is becoming the year of the pros at the 2008 World Series of Poker, where it will be Day 23 today. On the day's docket there is only one start up game, Event 39, an ubiquitous No limit Holdem event with a $1,500 buy in; ironically, starting up when the last $1,500 No limit Hold'em event, Event 36, ends.  Also ending today is the real exciting topic, the final table of the $10,000 World Championship Omaha High-Low Split 8 or Better, Event 37. Last night around dinner time there were some 60 players left. A look at the chip leaders tells the tale: Englishman Ram Vaswani, one of the infamous Hendon Mob, held the lead with Frenchman David Benyamine close on his heels. Among the rest of the chip leaders was a Canadian Brad Booth, American Huck Seed (a former World Series of Poker main event champion) and another Englishman, Roland De Wolfe.  This was always going to be a pro event. The high price tag, the relative obscurity of the game (when compared to No Limit Texas Holdem, at any rate) and the prevalence of other NLHE games on the cheap meant that mostly pros were destined to play this game, and as we can see the pros hold the lead. Calling the winner as a pro may be an easy prediction but we are going to stick with the smart money; we also will go a bit further and claim it will be a pro that has not won any other events so far this year.