Hal Rotholz: XxXx / Kx4xAx
Ren Lin: XxXx / 2x2xAx
Ren Lin completed and Hal Rotholz defended his bring in. On fourth street, Rotholz bet and Lin called. On fifth, Rotholz slowed down with a check and Lin bet. Rotholz folded.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,200,000
350,000
|
350,000 |
|
||
|
600,000
-70,000
|
-70,000 |
John Racener: XxXx/6x10x2x5x/Xx
Brandon Shack-Harris: XxXx/3x4x6x7x/Xx
Ren Lin: XxXx/2xKx - folded on fourth street
Ren Lin completed before Brandon Shack-Harris raised. John Racener called, as did Lin and they went three-handed to fourth street.
Shack-Harris bet and only Racener called. Shack-Harris bet again on fifth and Racener called once more.
Shack-Harris fired out another bet on sixth, but this time Racener raised. Shack-Harris reraised and Racener called.
Shack-Harris bet again on seventh as Racener went into the tank. Even Ren Lin fell silent as Racener continued to ponder the decision, and he eventually emerged with a raise.
"That's so f**king sick. I even caught a blocker," Shack-Harris said as he called. Racener showed Ax4x3x for a wheel and Shack-Harris mucked.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,300,000
-600,000
|
-600,000 |
|
||
|
1,100,000
620,000
|
620,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
850,000
-110,000
|
-110,000 |
|
|
||
Ren Lin: XxXx/5x8x9x10x/Xx
George Alexander: XxXx/4x2x10xQx/Xx
Ren Lin completed, George Alexander raised, and Lin called.
Alexander bet on fourth and fifth streets as Lin called down to sixth. Lin then bet and Alexander called.
Both players checked seventh and Lin showed 9x7x6x for a 9-8-7-6-5. "Touchdown, baby," he yelled out as Alexander mucked.
"How do I start like that and lose to a nine-eight?" Alexander wondered as Lin took the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,200,000 | |
|
||
|
|
960,000
500,000
|
500,000 |
|
|
||
Earlier this year on an ordinary Monday afternoon, a bespectacled man walked into the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop on Las Vegas Blvd. Tucked under his arm was an uninteresting box that only he knew contained something rather interesting – a pair of gold watches dating back more than 40 years.
These were not your run-of-the-mill wristwear, but rather evidence of a unique and often overlooked time of poker history, a year when the World Series of Poker (WSOP) gold bracelet, now the game’s highest accolade, was replaced in favor of watches.
The man holding the box was David Sklansky, who in 1978 forever changed poker by advocating a mathematical approach to the game in his groundbreaking book The Theory of Poker. Nicknamed “The Mathematician,” he proved his prowess just four years later when he won two WSOP tournaments in five days.
First, he won the 1982 WSOP Event #7: $800 Mixed Doubles Limit Seven Card Stud, a tournament that paired one man with one woman, alongside Dani Kelly, and followed that up by taking down Event #12: $1,000 Limit 5-Card Draw High. A year later, the Binions reverted back to the beloved bracelets players know today, and Sklansky captured his third piece of WSOP hardware by winning Event #11: $1,000 Limit Omaha.
It was a remarkable accomplishment, and for more than four decades he’s kept safe the evidence of his victories, both of which still worked. So, why was Sklansky carrying his 1982 WSOP gold watches, two of only 15 ever awarded, into a pawn shop? Well, he was looking to sell them of course, but not to just any of the dozens of pawn shops spread across Las Vegas. Oh no, he was walking into arguably the most famous pawn shop in the world, the home to the wildly popular television show Pawn Stars, and he was there to do it with cameras rolling.
Read all about the 1982 WSOP watches here in our feature article!
Denis Strebkov: 7x3x / 9x5x7x10x / 8x 
Dzmitry Urbanovich: AxKx / 6x3x2xKx / 4x
Dzmitry Urbanovich completed, Denis Strebkov raised and Urbanovich called. On fourth street, Strebkov bet and Urbanovich called after eyeballing Strebkov's short stack, saying, "One more street." Fifth street saw Urbanovich bet, covering Strebkov who called quickly. The remaining streets were dealt and Urbanovich made a six-four to beat Strebkov's nine-eight and eliminate him in eighth place.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,050,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
Busted | |
|
|
||
Brandon Shack-Harris: XxXx/4x9x8x8x/Xx
George Alexander: XxXx/4x6x7xJx/Xx
In a three-way limped pot, George Alexander bet on fourth street and only Brandon Shack-Harris called.
Alexander continued betting on fifth and sixth as Shack-Harris called him down to seventh. Alexander then bet again.
Shack-Harris called once more and Alexander shook his head as Shack-Harris showed Ax2x for a 9-8-4-2-A. Alexander mucked and Shack-Harris put a little more distance between them.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,900,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
1,200,000
-200,000
|
-200,000 |
|
|
||
Denis Strebkov: Ax2x / 6x6x10x5x / 9x
Hal Rotholz: 4x2x / Kx9x10xJx / 9x
Denis Strebkov completed and Hal Rotholz defended his bring in. Both players checked fourth street. On fifth, Rotholz bet, Strebkov raised all-in, and Rotholz called. The remaining streets were dealt, giving Strebkov a nine-six to beat Rotholz's jack-ten and double up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
670,000
-90,000
|
-90,000 |
|
|
250,000
120,000
|
120,000 |
|
|
||
Jared Bleznick: XxXx/5x4x8x10x/Xx
Hal Rotholz: XxXx/2x6x8xJx/Xx
Jared Bleznick completed and Hal Rotholz called.
Both players checked on fourth before Rotholz bet on fifth. Bleznick called and the rest of the board was checked down.
Both players had an 8-7, but Bleznick finished with 8-7-5-4-A to win the pot.
After the hand, Bleznick related a story of a No-Limit Hold'em tournament he played where someone called his all in for 85 big blinds with two tens.
"Everyone thinks I'm some kind of maniac," Bleznick said as he then got involved in a four-way pot.
Jared Bleznick: XxXx/7x8x - folded on fourth street
Hal Rotholz: XxXx/7x2x4x
George Alexander: XxXx/Jx3x - folded on fourth street
Denis Strebkov: XxXx/9x7xQx - folded on fifth street
Bleznick completed and picked up three callers in Rotholz, George Alexander, and Denis Strebkov. "See, this is the stuff I was talking about. Does anyone else get called by a jack?" Bleznick said.
Rotholz then bet on fourth street and only Strebkov called. Rotholz bet again on fifth and Strebkov quickly mucked.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,400,000
-50,000
|
-50,000 |
|
|
||
|
1,200,000
200,000
|
200,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
760,000
320,000
|
320,000 |
|
|
130,000
-310,000
|
-310,000 |
|
|
||
Dzmitry Urbanovich: XxXx / 7x5xQx4x / Xx
Ren Lin: XxXx / 7xJxKx9x / Xx
Dzmitry Urbanovich and Ren Lin went heads up to fourth street where Urbanovich bet and Lin called. On fifth, Urbanovich bet again and Lin called once more. Both players checked sixth and seventh street.
Urbanovich showed 10x7x5x for a queen-ten and Lin showed Jx8x2x for a jack-nine and the win.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
800,000 | |
|
|
460,000
-160,000
|
-160,000 |
|
|
||
John Racener: XxXx/4x10x2x
George Alexander: XxXx/3x9xKx - folded on fifth street
Jared Bleznick: XxXx/KxKx - folded on fourth street
John Racener completed and was called by George Alexander and Jared Bleznick.
Alexander bet on fourth street and Racener called, while Bleznick got out of the way. Racener then bet on fifth.
Alexander tanked for a minute before mucking as Racener flashed a 3x as he took the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,450,000
50,000
|
50,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
1,000,000
150,000
|
150,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
480,000
130,000
|
130,000 |
|
|
||
