The entrepreneur, poker player, commentator and minor celebrity rolled into one had dominated this tournament from the get go. He ended Day One with a massive, near 2:1 chip lead over his nearest rival, maintained it through Day Two and started the final table with that lead still in tact.

Ultimately however, Gordon couldn’t hold on when it mattered most and despite outlasting more than half of his final table opponents he eventually fell in fourth place when his A-T failed to improve against Clint Schafer’s A-Q. He received $116,697 for fourth place but that will be no consolation to the multi-millionaire Gordon; it was recognition he was after, not money.

Gordon’s conqueror Schafer eventually went on to play an incredible six-hour heads-up duel with Lou Esposito, the eventual winner. The players traded blows back and forth for what seemed like eternity until Esposito was finally able to land the knock out blow.

All the money went in on the crucial hand with the flop showing 8-6-4. Both players had a pair of sixes, but Esposito’s king kicker gave him the edge over Schafer’s 8-7, although Schafer did have a gutshot straight draw. In the end no help came on the turn or river and Esposito took down the pot and the title with his king kicker. He won $516,801 along with a WSOPC gold ring while Schafer collected $266,736 for second place.