Larry & Harry Knopp finish 14th-15th in the 2007 WSOP Circuit Event at Grand Casino Tunica

Larry & Harry Knopp from
West Virginia finished
14th and 15th in the 2007
WSOP Circuit Event at
Grand Casino Tunica

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2007 Grand Casino Tunica WSOP Circuit Event Report

All in the Family:
Two Brothers Finish 14-15 in
540-Player WSOP Tournament

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Harry & Larry Knopp 2007 WSOP Circuit Grand Casino Tunica

Tunica, MS – What are the odds that two brothers would enter the same
poker tournament and both would end up just a few places away from
making it to the final table? That is precisely what happened when brothers
Larry Knopp and Harry Knopp entered a no-limit hold’em tournament held at
the Grand Tunica Resort-Casino in Tunica, Mississippi. Harry Knopp finished in
15th place. His brother Larry finished 14th.

The $500 buy-in tournament attracted a whopping 540 players. The
tournament was the third of eight open events at this year’s World Series of
Poker Circuit held in Tunica.

Family members entering a poker tournament together is nothing new, nor
unusual. Brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, parents and children –
all have made poker into a family affair. The World Series of Poker has
become so popular with so many people worldwide that it’s not unusual to
see siblings playing together in the same tournament, or sitting at the same
table. What is unusual is that two members of the same family would outlast
so many opponents and finish in the money so close together.

Both men are proud veterans of the United States Navy. Harry Knopp, 66,
was active in the military for twenty years and served in Vietnam. He is now
retired and lives in Parkersburg, West Virginia. Larry, 68, was also active in
the military and served much of his tour of duty in England. He is also retired
and now lives in Spencer, West Virginia.

As the tournament progressed, the Knopp Brothers began to realize they
were experiencing something special. “We were getting down to the last
few tables, and I would look over and see Larry winning lots of chips. He
was doing really well,” Larry Knopp said. “I would holler out, ‘go, big
brother!”

Unfortunately, the Knopp Brothers good fortune did not last. Twelve hours
into play and close to midnight, play got down to just two tables (the
tournament started with 54). The brothers were placed together at the
same table. Odds were against both surviving. Down to just 18 players out
of the initial field of 540, the brothers watched as three more players were
eliminated. Only 15 players remained. Then, the odds finally ran out on
Harry Knopp, who finished in 15th place. A few hands later, Larry Knopp was
knocked-out and finished 14th.

When asked if outlasting his brother in a major poker tournament makes him
the better poker player, Harry Knopp emphatically denied the allegation. “No
way!” he said. “He just got lucky!”

The brothers did agree that their dream is to play together heads-up
someday for first place at the World Series of Poker. “That would truly be a
dream come true,” Larry Knopp said.

“I agree – we got pretty close in this one,” Harry Knopp replied. “We almost
made it.”

Report by Nolan Dalla

Tournament Director – Janis Sexton

Grand Tunica Poker Room Manager – Karen Kaegin

Larry & Harry Knopp