Wall Street exec thrills backers

If it weren't for his seat at the final table of the World Series of Poker's Main Event, Steve Begleiter might have been sitting in the Rio's race and sports book, betting on the Breeders' Cup horse races Saturday.

Instead, the 47-year-old Wall Street executive spent his day inside the Rio's Penn & Teller Theater, looking to claim the $8.5 million prize in poker's most prestigious event, the $10,000 buy-in no-limit hold'em world championship.

Seven players still remained at 11:30 p.m. Saturday, 10 hours after play began with nine.

Antoine Saout moved from seventh into the chip lead after taking a 26 million pot, the largest of the night, from Begleiter. Saout, who began the day with 9.5 million chips, had 52.55 million at 11:30 p.m.

Eric Buchman was in second with 47.9 million chips. Darvin Moon had 36 million. Begleiter fell to fourth, but he still had 19.65 million chips. Joe Cada was fifth with 16.65 million. Jeff Shulman with 16.2 million chips was in sixth place.

The first half of play Saturday was dominated by slow play and tight action. Later on, wild swings and a fluctuating leader board excited the crowd.

As the dinner break neared, seven-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Phil Ivey climbed into contention. But Cada, down to his last 2 million in tournament chips, doubled up on Ivey and sent him into seventh place. Ivey had 6.575 million chips at 11:30 p.m.

"I'm a competitive person," said Begleiter, a resident of Chappaqua, N.Y., who won his hometown poker league. "I tried not to think about how long and tough this final table would be. There are nine guys who want the bracelet and most are more experienced than me."

Backed by boisterous supporters wearing blue T-shirts with the phrase, "Begs! Begs! Begs!" -- including 21 players from his poker league who will share in his winnings -- Begleiter played a cautious game until the 90th hand.

He and Moon were heads up when the flop came 2 of diamonds and 3-4 of clubs.

Moon checked and Begleiter bet 5.35 million. Moon check-raised to 15 million and Begleiter followed with an all-in call of 21 million. Moon folded and Begleiter, who had been fading, moved into second place in the chip count.

A 24-year executive with the Wall Street investment firm Bear Stearns, Begleiter was at the forefront of the company when it fell apart in 2008. In the book, "House of Cards," which described the firm's meltdown, Begleiter is discussed as being present at many of the meetings that led to the closure.

This past week, Begleiter was profiled by Bloomberg News Service and appeared on the cable news network CNBC to discuss the collapse and his new career as a poker player.

Begleiter, now a partner in Flexpoint Ford, a New York City private equity firm, said poker is a hobby on Wall Street.

"It's almost like a second profession for a lot of us. Since I qualified for the final table, I've heard from a lot of friends and the people I worked with. They're all rooting for me."

Former Bear Stearns gaming analyst Joe Greff, who now holds a similar position with JP Morgan, said in an e-mail he thought Begleiter "was a nice guy. I hope he does well."

Horse racing also fascinates Begleiter. He normally would be wagering on the Breeders' Cup, also running this weekend.

Begleiter spent Friday afternoon at the Rio race book betting on the first day of races to take his mind off the Main Event.

"How can the World Series of Poker be at the same time as the Breeders' Cup," Begleiter laughingly said.

Begleiter played in the 2008 World Series of Poker's Main Event, but busted out on the first day. This year, he rode a hot hand to third place going into Saturday's final table.

The biggest swing belonged to Florida professional Kevin Schaffel, who was eliminated in eighth place and won $1.3 million.

On the game's 68th hand, Schaffel gave up roughly 20 million in chips to Buchman, when his pocket aces didn't hold. Buchman, who had pocket kings, picked up a third king on the flop, and a fourth king on the turn.

Schaffel, 51, started the day in sixth place and fell all the way to last. He moved into fifth place when he eliminated England's James Akenhead in ninth place on the 59th hand.

Contact reporter Howard Stutz at hstutz @reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3871.