Home / Poker News December 2008 / Poker After Dark to launch with Close But No Cigar
Poker After Dark to launch with Close But No Cigar
Posted by: James Carter. - Mon, 2008-12-29 12:28
Poker After Dark’s 5th season will feature a group of participants who have all made it to the WSOP Main Event’s final table at least once in their careers, but who have all failed to take the coveted piece of jewelry home. This is not to say that these guys are losers: after all, they do possess 13 WSOP bracelets among them.
Mike Matusow, Dewey Tomko, Lee Watkinson, David Williams, Andy Black and Allen Cunningham will all play in the inaugural “Close But No Cigar” Poker After Dark event, having coughed up the $20,000 buy-in.
The winner will most probably walk away extremely satisfied as all the prize-pool will end up in his possession.
The show will hit the air on December 29th and will entertain viewers for 5 consecutive nights, as it’ll be wrapped up by a player-interview and director’s cuts segment on January 3rd.
The Irish poker sensation, Andy Black first came close to a WSOP Main Event title in 1997, when he got sent to the rail in 14th place by none other than the “The Kid” himself, Stu Ungar. Later, that hand gave birth to countless speculations, Black however admitted that Ungar had simply outplayed him.
A second – even closer – brush with fame came in 2005 for Andy who returned from a break he took from poker to finish 5th in the Main Event. Mike Matusow was also there at that 2005 final table which eventually gave Joe Hachem his first and only WSOP title.
A notoriously unlucky player, Matusow had also finished at the final table in 2001, sent home in 6th place then. That title went to Carlos Mortensen, who bested none other than Dewey Tomko, another player from the “Close But No Cigar” roster. Tomko had come close to the title one more time, in 1982. Jack Straus denied him the glory then, sending him packing in 2nd.
David Williams finished 2nd to Greg Raymer in 2004, and who doesn’t remember the heroic battle that Allen Cunningham waged against Jamie Gold and Lady Luck at the 2006 WSOP final table.
Lee Watkinson fell at the hands of Jerry Yang in 8th place in 2007.
