"CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR"

POKER AFTER DARK IS A FLUSH WITH THE FANS

THE LINEUP

• Mike Matusow
• Allen Cunningham
• Andy Black
• Lee Watkinson
• Dewey Tomko
• David Williams

The pros in this week's match have all played in the WSOP Main Event and managed to battle their way to the final table. All were within reach of that singular gold bracelet. You might think they'd be bitter but they're not. These players know poker is a game played over a lifetime. And one event, won or lost, doesn't define them. No one knows that better than Dewey Tomko. He was a Main Event runner up twice. David Williams feels his pain. He played bridesmaid to Greg Raymer's bride in 2004. Mike Matusow was hardly a wall flower at the Big Dance, finishing 6th in 2001 and 9th in 2005. Andy Black's loss at the hands of Stu Unger almost ended his career, but returned to the Main Event a few years later and finished 5th. In 2007's Main Event, Lee Watkinson's final table exit came courtesy of Jerry Yang, the match's eventual winner. And so far Allen Cunningham's highest Main Event finish has been 4th. The key words there are "so far." After all, there's always next year.