Just three days after longtime UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva was defeated, longtime welterweight king Georges St-Pierre lost as well. The main difference is that, while Silva was knocked out in the Octagon, GSP was KO'd by two pair at the World Series of Poker.
World Series of Poker: GSP knocked out early in Vegas
Georges St-Pierre hopes his UFC 167 Main Event lasts longer than his WSOP Main Event. The UFC champ lost on the first day of the World Series of Poker, as odds are stacked high against amateur players.
USA TODAY Sports
For the second year in a row, GSP made a short-lived appearance in the WSOP’s main event, which is being played this week at the Rio All Suites Casino in Vegas. Unfortunately for St-Pierre, his tournament didn’t last long, as he failed to make it past the first day of play, and he won’t be a factor in WSOP odds this year.
Over 6,300 card sharks ponied up $10,000 apiece to play in the Main Event, which involves far more people than a UFC Main Event. St-Pierre was sponsored by the online poker website 888 Poker.
Late Sunday night St-Pierre was still alive, and went into a flop with pocket kings. But he caught air, and went down in defeat to two pair, aces and fives.
St-Pierre then went all in with what chips he had left on a suited 10-6 and again came up empty, ending his stay in the tournament.
Patience isn’t necessarily a virtue or a necessity in the Octagon, but it is at the poker table, and St-Pierre acknowledged it’s not one of his strong suits.
“I am known as a very disciplined fighter, but also a very undisciplined poker player,” the champ told PokerListings.com. “That’s what I’m working on; I need to be more disciplined.”
Of course, he could always do it the “old school” way and just threaten to throttle everybody at the table. But this is the “new” Vegas, and that kind of behavior is frowned upon, at least in the poker room.
Main-event play at the WSOP picks up again on Wednesday. By Sunday the field will be whittled down to the final nine players, who will then take a break before congregating for final-table play on November 4.
With this year’s prize pool coming in at just under $60 million, this year’s champ will win almost $8.4 million -- before the taxman cometh around.
Other notables from the sporting world playing in the main event include Vancouver Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo, Olympic skier Petter Northug and Spanish soccer star Gerard Pique. All three made it through the first day of play.
St-Pierre will be back in Vegas a couple weeks after the WSOP finals for his own Main Event at UFC 167 on Nov. 16. He will take on top welterweight challenger Johny Hendricks at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. (UFC odds coming soon to SBNation; stay tuned).
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