Cuts Like a Knife Razor Caps Day 19 of PokerListings.coms 2008 Series Coverage with Epic Win

It was a long time coming for poker pro John "Razor" Phan.

Despite years of solid performances at the World Series of Poker* Phan had, despite four final table appearances, always come up just short of the prestigious gold bracelet.

But that all changed in the early hours of Day 19 of PokerListings.com's live 2008 series coverage (http://www.pokerlistings.com/live-tournaments/wsop) when, after an epic seven-hour heads-up match with 22-year-old upstart Johnny Neckar in Event 29, $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em, Phan finally pulled away for the win, his first bracelet and the $434,789 first-place prize.

In typical Razor fashion, it was also a little unpredictable, a little booze-soaked and an undeniable crowd-pleaser.

At times, Phan seemed locked in and focused on finally requiting his lust for WSOP* gold. At other times, though, winning seemed like the last thing on his mind, as he pushed all-in blind on several hands and generally gave off the air the whole thing was no big deal either way.

Phan explains in his PokerListings.com post-win interview (http://www.pokerlistings.com/poker-player-interviews/wsop/2008/john-phan-in-the-zone):

"I love to gamble. Being a poker player is tough. You don't win tournaments if you're not a true gambler. Sometimes you've got to take risks like that. I can outplay him, but I love to gamble. It's in my blood," he said. "With the Main Event bracelet I wouldn't do that, but with this bracelet - it's nice, but it's not all that."

Still, Phan says it will make a big difference somewhere - namely his grandmother's village in Vietnam:

"I love to do charity work. I love to give back. And I guess it pays back. You just have to be nice to everybody. It's karma.

"Every time I win something big, I donate a lot of rice and food to my grandmother's village and they're all real happy. I'll be going back there after this World Series to donate. It'll be fun.

"That's my promise for the rest of my life. One day I'll open a business, and I won't mind giving half my profits to unfortunate people."

Proving poker is a truly international game where all types can be successful, joining Phan in the winners' club on Day 19 was his diametrical personality opposite - soft-spoken Dutchman Rob Hollink, a former EPT Grand Final winner who captured his first bracelet in Event 30, the $10,000 World Championship of Limit Hold'em.

An exclusive PokerListings.com post-win interview with Hollink is available here (http://www.pokerlistings.com/live-tournaments/player-interviews).

Live 2008 WSOP* coverage continues daily at PokerListings.com with updates, blogs, player interviews and photos directly from the Rio for all ongoing events.

Feature events on Thursday include the final tables of Event 32, $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em, and Event 33, the $10,000 World Championship of Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo Split Eight-or-Better.

Live coverage is, as always, capped off by the PokerListings.com daily video recap (http://www.pokerlistings.com/live-tournaments/wsop/2008/videos) with host Amy Macbride, bringing viewers up to speed on all the day's big winners, critical hands and major talking points.

Visit the PokerListings.com World Series coverage section (http://www.pokerlistings.com/live-tournaments/wsop) to access all features.

About PokerListings.com:

PokerListings.com (http://www.pokerlistings.com) was launched in 2003 and quickly became the largest online poker guide in the world. It provides poker players with in-depth reviews of all major online poker rooms, the world's best sign-up bonuses and promotions, breaking poker news and detailed content on strategy, tours, tournaments and the game's best players. PokerListings.com also has the best live poker tournament reporting on the Web, with unrivaled year-round coverage from the World Series, the World Poker Tour, the European Poker Tour and more.

(*World Series of Poker and WSOP are trademarks of Harrah's License Company, LLC ('Harrahs'). Harrah's does not sponsor or endorse, and is not associated or affiliated with PokerListings.com or its products, services, promotions or tournaments.)

Cuts Like a Knife Razor Caps Day 19 of PokerListings.coms 2008 Series Coverage with Epic Win

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Cuts Like a Knife Razor Caps Day 19 of PokerListings.coms 2008 Series Coverage with Epic Win

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