Aces Cracked Leaves Kevin Campbell as the 2021 WSOP Main Event Bubble
Table Of Contents
At around 1:25 a.m. PT on Day 3 of the 2021 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, Kevin Campbell busted in 1,001st place, one spot shy of reaching the money, after suffering a bad beat. In doing so, although he won't be going home with cash, he became the infamous bubble of poker's most prestigious annual tournament.
Dozens of players, media, and spectators hovered over Campbell's table inside the jam-packed Amazon room at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino as they patiently awaited Jack Effel signal to the dealer to deal the community cards while the tournament was hand-for-hand.
Tough Way to Go Out
When Effel asked the players to turn their cards over, Campbell showed A?A? and was at risk preflop for 93,000 against the A?9? of Chris Alafogiannis. Mike Matusow, who was seated at the table, expressed his disappointment when seeing the hands turned over, although he called Campbell's exact hand prior to the cards being exposed.
But this is a cruel game sometimes, and Campbell would learn that the hard way when the board ran out 9?10?8?7?9?, giving Alafogiannis trips and leaving Campbell completely out of chips one spot from cashing. His table mate Paul Mattioda captured the carnage on his phone and tweeted it for the world to witness first hand what a Main Event bubble feels like.
Guys�� holy shit�� the money bubble just burst in the wsop main event in the grossest fashion at my table. On a side�� https://t.co/W9lOhgKcgD
— Paul Mattioda (@PaulShadyoda)
He won't go home empty-handed, however, as Effel informed him that he'll receive free entry into the 2022 WSOP Main Event.
A few hours earlier in the session, Chang Liu busted within striking distance of the bubble in one of the most cruel ways. He ran quad 4's into the quad 6's of Ugur Secilmis in a 200 big blind pot.
Who is Kevin Campbell?
Kevin Campbell is a professional poker player from New Jersey who came out to Las Vegas like many others hoping to win a bracelet in poker's most prestigious event.
"I've been playing professionally for about a decade," Campbell told PokerNews moments after busting. "I mostly play online mostly though in Jersey."
Day 3 was a rough session for the Main Event bubble. He just couldn't get anything going and then had a golden opportunity to double at the end, but ran into some horrible luck.
"I ran great the first two days, and then today, the first level was good, I ran it up to 300,000, and then I went over to this table," he said, pointing to his final table.
Campbell busted on the first hand he played at that table. Despite suffering a rough bad beat, he was in good spirits afterwards and took it in stride.
"S**t hurts, trust me, but I'm just so tired right now that I don't care," he said.
Campbell has over $178,000 in live tournament cashes, six coming in World Series of Poker bracelet events. He said he'll be back playing poker on Friday and is going to shrug off the bad beat and move on with his life.
As for the other 1,000 players in the 2021 WSOP Main Event, they're all guaranteed at least $15,000. Day 4 will begin at noon PT Friday. PokerNews' live reporting team will cover the session, and the entire World Series of Poker, from start to finish.
Check out all of the WSOP Main Event updates
In this Series
- 1 WSOP 2021 Schedule: 88 WSOP Bracelet Events, Sept. 30 - Nov. 23
- 2 WSOP 2021: Best Events to Play on a Budget
- 3 WSOP 2021 Main Event Satellites From $80 Hit GGPoker
- 4 WSOP 2021: Former Champ Chris Moneymaker Set to Miss This Year's WSOP
- 5 WSOP 2021: COVID-19 Vaccination Required for Players, Update on Staff
- 6 WSOP 2021: Best Hotels in Las Vegas
- 7 WSOP 2021: Try These 5 Hidden Gem Las Vegas Restaurants
- 8 World Series of Poker 2024: Read Phil Ivey's Top WSOP Tips
- 9 WSOP 2021: 8 Things Poker Players Should Definitely Bring to the WSOP - and 2 You Shouldn't!
- 10 How to Enter the WSOP 2021 Freezeout Events
- 11 Is It Worth Playing Cash Games During the WSOP?
- 12 What Game Should You Pick in Dealer��s Choice?
- 13 What We've Learned from the First Week of the 2021 WSOP
- 14 Hands That Helped GGPoker Ambassador Jason Koon Win 1st WSOP Gold Bracelet
- 15 GGPoker Successfully Brings Online Flip & Go Concept to Live 2021 WSOP
- 16 Jason Koon, Connor Drinan Lead 2021 WSOP Player of the Year Race
- 17 Anthony Zinno in Exclusive One-Player Club Following Fourth WSOP Title
- 18 Looking Back At The Illustrious History of the Poker Players Championship
- 19 Phil Hellmuth Blows Up AGAIN; Rails Against WSOP POY Rules
- 20 Poker Fan Loses Job, Twitch Streamer Gifts Him WSOP Main Event Package
- 21 WSOP 2021: Are the Fields Tougher or Softer than Recent Years?
- 22 Doyle Brunson Treats Crowd to Surprise WSOP Return on Halloween
- 23 Spooktastic: Best & Worst Halloween Costumes from the 2021 WSOP
- 24 Phil Ivey NFT Launch Party a True 'What Happens in Vegas' Night
- 25 Poker Community Buys Man Facing Terminal Cancer into WSOP Main Event
- 26 Everything You Need to Know About the 2021 WSOP Main Event
- 27 WSOP Temporarily Goes on Lockdown Over Suspect's "Suspicious Item"
- 28 Did Phil Hellmuth's Sex Ban Lead to 1989 WSOP Main Event Glory?
- 29 Doyle Brunson Arrives; Defending Champ Salas Busts Before 1st Break of 2021 WSOP Main Event
- 30 Aces Cracked Leaves Kevin Campbell as the 2021 WSOP Main Event Bubble
- 31 Quads Vs. Quads Sends Chang Liu Home Near WSOP Main Event Bubble
- 32 The Muck: Mike "The Mouth" Matusow Wants to End Max Late Reg
- 33 Doyle Brunson Proves He Still Has it Despite WSOP Main Event Exit
- 34 Phil "Gandalf" Hellmuth Makes Grand Entrance in 2021 WSOP Main Event
- 35 Chris Moneymaker Makes Late Decision to Play WSOP Main Event
- 36 Who is GGPoker Ambassador and YouTube Vlogger 'Greg Goes All In?'
- 37 The Muck: Poker Twitter Debates Potential Angle-Shooting in WSOP Main Event
- 38 Nick Rigby Plays the 2-3 "Dirty Diaper" in 2021 WSOP Main Event
- 39 Is Josh Arieh Running Away with WSOP Player of the Year?
- 40 'Wedding Crashers' & 'Old School' Star Vince Vaughn to Join WSOP's Move to Strip in 2022
- 41 Eli Elezra Selected as 2021 Poker Hall of Fame Inductee
- 42 Master of Ceremonies Vince Vaughn Suffers Bad Beat in His First WSOP Tournament
- 43 Players Implement Covid Contract During WSOP $250K Super High Roller
- 44 How Much Money Did Players at the WSOP Main Event Final Table Really Make?
- 45 Phil Hellmuth Breaks WSOP Single Series Final Table Record
- 46 Daniel Negreanu's Most Mind-Boggling WSOP Stat at the Rio
- 47 Josh Arieh a Surprising 2021 WSOP Player of the Year Winner