World Series of Poker Player Begs to be Taken Seriously

Bernard Lee, Boston Herald

At the 2005 World Series of Poker Main Event, Joseph Hachem had a cheering section that carried him to victory with the memorable Australian chant: "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie - Oi, Oi, Oi!"

As the members of the 2009 November Nine prepare for this year's WSOP final table in Las Vegas, each player will bring their own personal rooting section to the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino.

One such player is Steven Beglieter, aka "Begs," who plans to bring dozens of friends and family, including the other 21 members of his home game.

During a recent interview, Begs discussed a critical hand during Day 7 of the 2009 WSOP Main Event.

With blinds 50,000 and 100,000, antes 10,000, Begs was sitting on the button. After all the early- and mid-position players folded, Tommy Vedes raised to 290,000 from the cutoff seat.

After Begleiter looked down at Ah-Qs, he decided to re-raise Vedes to 650,000.

Once the blinds got out of the way, Vedes four-bet Begleiter to 1.49 million.

Now, Begs had a huge decision with only 28 players remaining in the 2009 WSOP Main Event.

Finally, he chose to push all-in for almost 5.3 million chips.

Vedes insta-called, flipping over Kh-Kc.

Admitting later in the interview that he overplayed his hand, Begs was a 71:29 underdog heading to the flop. He certainly needed to get lucky to remain in the biggest tournament of the year.

The dealer revealed three unhelpful cards for Begs: Js-7h-3s

His situation just got worse, as he was now an 83:17 underdog.

His supporters called out for an almighty ace.

The poker gods must have heard their pleas because the Ad fell on the turn, suddenly making Begs a 95:5 favorite.

When the Qd hit on the river, Begleiter survived this crucial all-in, raking in a pot of almost 11 million chips.

The victory catapulted him among the chip leaders at the end of Day 7.

After another successful run on Day 8, Begs became a member of the 2009 November Nine. He will enter the final table third in chips with just under 30 million.

If Steven Begleiter captures the 2009 WSOP Main Event, his supporters could be echoing the next famous poker chant: "Begs! Begs! Begs!"