If only Paul Pierce had stayed patient for another 20 minutes, he would have made it to Stage 9 of the World Series of Poker Main Event.
However, just as his Boston Celtics came up short in the NBA playoffs, Pierce came up short in heads-up action against Allan Vrooman.
Pierce tried to ride his pocket deuces to victory, and he went all-in pre-flop. Little did he know what Vrooman had in his pocket: a pair of jacks. Going into the flop well behind, Pierce had to hope to hit another two in order to overcome Vrooman's jacks.
He had no such luck. When it was all said and done, right down to the last, hopeful card on the river, Vrooman's two pair (jacks and kings) sent Pierce's deuces and kings packing. Despite ultimately losing, Pierce managed to outlast over half of the field of 2,031 players.
