World Series of Poker Euro Update: Day 33Another European Goes All The Way On Day 33 Of The World Seriesby Rebecca McAdam | Published: Jul 01, 2008 | |
 
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The Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas was buzzing today as both the $10,000 World Championship Pot Limit Omaha and the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E events produced champions. The $1,500 no-limit hold’em event found its final table, and the $1,500 limit hold’em shootout began its journey also on day 33 of this year’s WSOP.
Irishman Marty Smyth was the highlight of the $10,000 World Championship Pot Limit Omaha event. Trail-blazing his way through the field yesterday, he was a force to be reckoned with at the final table today. After doubling up through Michael Mizrachi, he went on to eliminate Richard Harroch, further increasing his chip lead. Then, Peter Jetten took down Mizrachi, and went heads up against Smyth for the gold.
Smyth raised to 240,000 and Jetten reraised to 720,000. Smyth called and the flop came K
9
6
. Jetten bet the pot (1,440,000) and after a minute to think it over Smyth raised all in. Jetten called and the two turned over their hands.
Jetten: AQT4
Smyth: QJT7
Turn/River: T4
Nobody had a pair on the flop, but Smyth had a wrap draw. The turn gave Smyth a straight, and Jetten needed a jack to avoid losing roughly two million chips. It didn’t come, and Smyth took a significant chip lead.
In the final hand of the night, Jetten limped in and Smyth raised to 300,000. Jetten called and the two saw the Q
T9 flop. Smyth bet and Jetten raised pot. Smyth moved all in and Jetten called.
Jetten: KJ32
Smyth: KJJQ
Both players flopped the nuts, a king-high straight, but Smyth had a club-flush draw and a pair of queens. His Irish supporters chanted “Freeroll! Freeroll!” and “Club! Club!” while waiting for the turn and river to be dealt. The atmosphere was electric as the turn was dealt the 7, and the river, the 6, giving Smyth a flush, the pot, the bracelet and $859,532. Jetten finished in second, earning $528,257.
Another crowd of spectators gathering around a final table were those who were interested in Phil Hellmuth's battle to win his 12th Word Series title in the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. event. It looked as if he was there to stay, but as it got closer to the final two, his record-breaking attempt came to an end when he was eliminated in third place.
James Schaaf then began his heads up match with Tommy Hang at a 2 to 1 chip disadvantage, but a few lucky draws and some aggressive play gave him the lead and eventually the title. He received $256,412 while Hang took home the $158,933 runner-up prize.
The $1,500 no-limit hold’em tournament found its final table today. Hopes for another European champion lie with Finn
Voitto Rintala (who was decked out with cosmetic contact lenses that made him appear soulless), and Russian Andrey Zaichenko. They have a lot to contend with however with Corwin Cole in the chip lead, and other notable players such as Matt Matros in their presence. Farzad Rouhani will enter tomorrow’s final table as the only player with an opportunity to win his second bracelet of the series. It will be a tall task however, as he will come in on the short stack. Dan Heimiller will also bring a bracelet with him to the final table.
During the early hours of the $1,500 limit hold’em shootout, which began today, Bruno Fitoussi from France ran straight into a bad beat. He raised to 200 before the flop from an early position, and the player in seat 7 raised to 300. Action folded back around to Fitoussi who made the call. The flop came AKQ, and seat 7 bet 100 and Fitoussi called. The turn was the 7 and both players checked. The river was the 10 and Fitoussi bet 200, seat 7 raised to 400, and Fitoussi went into the tank. Seat 7 asked, "How does it feel to catch a bad beat like that on the river?" Fitoussi replied, "I shouldn't have missed that bet on the turn." Fitoussi ended up folding the hand face up, showing his opponent AK as seat 7 raked the pot. After the hand Fitoussi was down to 1,700 in chips. He was eliminated a couple of hours later.
During the fourth hour, both Alan Smurfit from Ireland and Roy Winston were involved in a huge pot with three other players at their table. The action was capped at 800 each, and Winston was all-in. The board came Q887J, and Smurfit turned over 109 for the nut straight to the queen. Smurfit flopped an inside straight draw, turned an open-ended straight draw, and rivered the nuts. The Irishman raked a huge pot, putting him in good shape to win his table, as Winston hit the rail.
Heads-up on a flop of 762, Russian Alexander Kravchenko bet out and his opponent made the call. The turn was the K, and once again Kravchenko bet. This time his opponent raised and Kravchenko called all-in. Kravchenko turned over AJ for overcards while his opponent showed J7 for middle pair. The river was the Q, hence the end for Mr. Kravchenko.
Frenchman David Benyamine got it all-in before the flop with QJ against Marc Klecan's J5. Benyamine was in a good position to double up until the flop came 655, and gave Klecan trip fives. Benyamine needed two running queens to win, or two running sixes or jacks to chop the pot. The turn and river brought the K and the 7 however, and Benyamine was sent to the rail.
Elsewhere, German Davood Mehrmand had his opponent down to 900 in chips after the player committed his big blind, then folded to a bet on a flop of 664. Then in the small blind, the player raised all-in preflop and showed K7. Mehrmand made the call with Q2. The flop came J103, and his rival still led with the 4 on the turn. But the 2 on the river paired Mehrmand and brought the match to an end.
Brit Ram Vaswani, the defending champion of this event, was all-in on a few occasions but continued to stave off elimination. Vaswani was down to his final 2400 in chips, including his big blind, when he went all-in preflop with pocket twos. His opponent called with K10. The flop came Q75, and with the 8 on the turn and 6 on the river Vaswani managed to stay alive, doubling up his meagre holdings.
In the next hand, Vaswani and his opponent capped the betting preflop at 2400. After the flop came A85, Vaswani bet and took it down.
Later in the level, Vaswani was down to 4000 in chips. Both players went to 1,800 preflop and saw the board come 432. Vaswani bet 600 and was called. The turn was the 7 and Vaswani bet 1,200, again getting called. After the 7 on the river Vaswani bet his final 350 and was called. Vaswani showed A6 for an ace-high, and that was enough against his opponent king-nine offsuit.
Luck finally ran out however when Vaswani had his king-high cracked by a jack on the river hit by his opponent.
Of the 90 players who returned to play four levels in round two, only 18 were eliminated. Players will return tomorrow and continue to knock each other out until a champion is left standing.
The last two tournaments before the main event will kick off tomorrow. They may be last but they are definitely not least. They are the $5,000 Ante Up For Africa Charity event, and the media event. The day will also see the final tables of both the $1,500 no-limit hold’em and the $1,500 limit hold’em shootout.
Check back at CardPlayer.com regularly for more updates and news from the 2008 World Series of Poker.