Gus Hansen - Live Updates

The Reader

Jan 19, '09

Gus Hansen has his nose in a book today after showing up very late to the tournament. This has been a habit as of late for Hansen, who was also reading during the $25,000 high roller event at the PCA. Maybe his New Year's resolution is to read more, maybe he saw the golden globe nominated movie too many times, or maybe it is just Gus being Gus.












 

Player Tags: Gus Hansen

Gus Hansen Eliminated in 21st Place

Jan 16, '09

Gus Hansen raised preflop to 20,000 and Masaaki Kagawa went into the tank. He eventually made the call and Hansen moved all in for his last 7,000 in the dark as a flop of A-K-3 hit the table. Kagawa made the call and Hansen flipped over two red sevens. Kagawa showed down J-10 and the turn and river fell 10-K. Hansen busted out of the tournament in 21st place.












 

Player Tags: Gus Hansen,   Masaaki Kagawa

Gus Hansen Eliminated

Oct 22, '08

Shortly after the break, Gus Hansen was eliminated from the tournament.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Player Tags: Gus Hansen

Aussie Millions Rematch

Oct 22, '08

In a rematch of their 2006 Aussie Millions showdown, Gus Hansen is seated to the right of Jimmy "gobboboy" Fricke.

That's pretty weird and freaky, right dude?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Player Tags: Gus Hansen,   Jimmy Fricke

Gus Hansen Makes His Entrance

Oct 21, '08

Gus Hansen finally showed up today and promptly joined a table featuring Barry Greenstein and Bill Edler. We're not sure if he had pre-registered or not, but the tournament clock has been updated to a total of 362 players.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Player Tags: Gus Hansen

Gus Hansen Eliminated

Oct 22, '08

Shortly after the break, Gus Hansen was eliminated from the tournament.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Player Tags: Gus Hansen

Aussie Millions Rematch

Oct 22, '08

In a rematch of their 2006 Aussie Millions showdown, Gus Hansen is seated to the right of Jimmy "gobboboy" Fricke.

That's pretty weird and freaky, right dude?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Player Tags: Gus Hansen,   Jimmy Fricke

Gus Hansen Makes His Entrance

Oct 21, '08

Gus Hansen finally showed up today and promptly joined a table featuring Barry Greenstein and Bill Edler. We're not sure if he had pre-registered or not, but the tournament clock has been updated to a total of 362 players.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Player Tags: Gus Hansen

Gus Hansen Doubles Up

Oct 01, '08

Gus Hansen moves all in preflop from the big blind for 7,250 and Kathy Liebert makes the call UTG+1. They then flip over their hands:

Hansen: JJ
Liebert: AQ

Board: 96282

Hansen doubles up to 15,000 on the hand and Liebert holds 18,000.









 

Player Tags: Gus Hansen

$10,000 Main Event - Almost Done

Jul 11, '08

Blinds/Antes: 5,000-10,000 with a 1,000 ante

Players Left: 202 of 6,844

Chip Leaders:

Jeremy Joseph: 2,700,000
Nikolay Losev: 1,900,000
Andrew Rosskamm: 1,800,000
Mark Ketteringham: 1,700,000
Alfred Fernandez: 1,700,000
Justin Sadauskas: 1,600,000
Brandon Cantu: 1,600,000
Lanini Davor: 1,600,000
James McManus: 1,600,000
Phi Nguyen: 1,600,000

Average Stack: 716,649

Big Hands:

Hellmuth Loses A Third Of His Stack

Santeri Valikoski raised to 27,000 from early position preflop. Hellmuth was next to act and made the call. The flop came down KJ5 and Valikoski checked. Hellmuth fired 30,000 into the pot and Valikoski hung around. The turn was the 5 and Valikoski checked again. Hellmuth grabbed a large stack of orange "5,000" chips and shoved it into the pot. The bet was 100,000 and Valikoski took some time to think before deciding to call. The river was the Q and Valikoski checked one last time. Hellmuth gave up and checked behind his opponent. Valikoski showed J10 reluctantly, thinking Hellmuth had the better hand. But Hellmuth mucked and Valikoski took a huge chunk from Hellmuth's stack. The "Poker Brat" was down to about 200,000. "He's tough, man," Hellmuth said about his opponent.

A few hands later, Hellmuth said, "Here we go again, huh?" as he and Valikosi were heads up again. The flop ran KQ2 and Valikosi checked to Hellmuth, who fired 20,000. Valikosi folded this time and Hellmuth showed KQ for flopped top two pair and began to talk about how he wished Valikosi had paired a queen in the hand so he could call him down.

Cunningham Fires Under the Gun and Gets Burned

Allen Cunningham raised to 30,000 under the gun and action folded to Ronald Adams on the button. He made the call and the blinds folded. The flop came down 433. Cunningham checked and Adams fired 50,000 into the pot. Cunningham slid his chips gradually into the pot to make the call. The turn brought the 4 and Cunningham checked again. Adams kept pushing as he fired 100,000 into the pot. Cunningham had enough and mucked his hand. His stack was around 1.5 million after the hand.

Hansen Takes Hit

When the player in seat 4 put in a raise to 30,000, Gus Hansen re-raised from the big blind to 102,000. Seat 4 insta-called and the flop ran A32. Hansen checked from the big blind and seat 4 bet out 175,000. Hansen thought for a minute, shrugged and then mucked his hand, losing more than 100,000 in the hand. Hansen has around 1,300,000 in chips.

No Blow Ups

Mike "The Mouth" Matusow quietly raised to 30,000 from middle position. The table quietly folded back around to Matusow, who quietly flipped over AK as he raked in the blinds and antes.

Corkins Chops It Up

Hoyt Corkins had Anthony Meeker all in before the flop. Both players held big slick, Corkins with the AK and Meeker with the AK. The flop put Corkins on a freeroll for the rest of the hand, running out 432. The turn improved both players to a straight, but also gave Corkins a flush draw with the 5. Meeker almost seemed to have given up hope in the hand when the 8 rolled off on the river, saving Meeker from elimination as he split the pot with the quiet cowboy.

Mark Vos is a Sick Puppy

On the river of a board reading AJ674, Mark Vos was heads up with William Soffin. Vos led out for 150,000, and Soffin made the call, mucking his hand when Vos turned over JJ for flopped middle set. As Soffin counted out his chips for the call, it was discovered that he would be left with only 1,000 - a single yellow chip, which he tried to give to Vos by hiding it in the haphazard pile that he pushed into the felt. Vos adamantly refused to take the chip, and the dealer recounted the stack to confirm that Soffin was in fact left with nothing more than a chip and a chair. During the process, another player at the table spoke up: "Did you put him on only 1,000 left? 'Cuz that's pretty f***ed up if you did." The table erupted into laughter, the pot moved to Vos, and Soffin anted all-in on the next hand.

Mark Vos opened the pot with a small raise, only to have Andrew Brooks reraise to 60,000 from the button. The big blind, Jose Baeza, then reraised all-in for a total of 161,000. Vos quickly folded, Brooks made the call, and the three players turned over their cards.

Brooks: AK
Baeza: JJ
Soffin: 34

The flop brought AQ5, leading everyone at the table to start calling loudly and in unison for a deuce to ship the antes to Soffin. The turn brought the 8, and still louder cries for a deuce. "You know everyone at this table wants you to win this pot," Vos assured Soffin. The river did in fact improve Soffin's hand, but not enough, bringing only the 4. Both the main and the side pot went to Brooks, and Baeza and Soffin were eliminated.

Player Tags: Hoyt Corkins,   Allen Cunningham,   Gus Hansen,   Mike Matusow,   Phil Hellmuth,   Mark Vos

Main Event - Day 4 - Level 18 - Hour 2

Jul 11, '08

Tournament officials have announced that remaining players will only play one more two-hour level tonight when they return from their 90-minute break.

Blinds/Antes: 4,000-8,000-1,000

Players Remaining: 216 of 6,844

Chip Leaders:

Jeremy Joseph - 2,500,000
Brandon Cantu - 1,800,000
Keoni Schwartz - 1,700,000
David Saab - 1,650,000
Phi Nguyen - 1,600,000
Nikolay Losev - 1,600,000
Andrew Rosskamm - 1,500,000
Darus Suharto - 1,500,000
Mark Ketteringham - 1,470,000
David Benefield - 1,400,000

Other Notables

Gus Hansen – 1,400,000
Shawn Sheikhan – 1,100,000
Ylon Schwartz – 1,000,000
Matt Matros – 940,000
Chris Klodnicki – 620,000
Craig Marquis – 550,000
Jeff Madsen – 430,000
Mike Matusow – 415,000
Kido Pham – 400,000
Thomas Keller – 355,000
Andrew Teng – 300,000
Hoyt Corkins – 300,000
Phil Hellmuth – 300,000

Average Chip Stack: 573,000

Eliminations:

Hevad Khan
Evelyn Ng
Jon Turner

Big Hands and Storylines:

Gus Hansen takes monster pot with two pair

After raising to 24,000 from the cutoff position, Hansen then called a reraise to 84,000 by Joseph Ward out of the small blind. The flop came AT5 and Ward bet 100,000. Hansen took a long time to act, but ultimately called. The turn was the 9 and Ward checked. Hansen took his time and then bet 200,000. The action was on Ward and he stood up. He separated 200,000 from his stack and saw he would less than 200,000 remaining. After a couple minutes he moved all in. Hansen called and showed AT. Ward held AQ and needed a queen on the river. The river was the 7 and Hansen took the pot of 1.2 million chips. After the hand he had roughly 1.4 million chips.

Helge Pedersen Doubles Through Pontus Khosravi

Pontus Khosravi raised from the hijack and Helge Pedersen moved in from the button for 260,000 total. Khosravi made the call and showed AK, but he was trailing the KK of Pedersen. The board – Q7632 – did not help the Swede, and his stack took a big hit. After the confrontation, both players had stacks of about 530,000.

Hellmuth Melts Down in Three Consecutive Hands, But Doubles Later

The action folded to Santeri Valikoski in the small blind, who completed. Phil Hellmuth raised an additional 10,000, and Valikoski made the call. The flop came A52, and Valikoski checked. Hellmuth tossed three orange 5,000 chips across the line. “This is a bluff,” Hellmuth told his opponent as he pointed to the chips. Valikoski made the call and bet 25,000 when the A fell on the turn. Hellmuth announced a raise and added 30,000 to Valikoski’s bet. Valikoski called, and both players checked the 6 on the river. Hellmuth turned over K10, and his opponent showed 75. “No, he didn’t!” Phil Hellmuth screamed as he stood up from the table. “He called a raise with five-seven from out of position, that idiot from Northern Europe.” Hellmuth made quite a point of his opponent’s place of origin, mentioning it several times throughout his tirade.

After knocking his chips into a pile and screaming over and over in frustration, Hellmuth called another opponent’s pre-flop raise on the next hand and lost approximately 60,000 in chips when his opponent’s ace-king made top pair.

On the next hand, Hellmuth made it 20,000 to go from the cut-off and his opponent in the big blind raised to 85,000 total. Hellmuth instantly called, beating his opponent into the pot. His opponent asked how much Hellmuth had behind, as he still had not restacked his chips. When the KQ5 flop fell, the player made a bet of 75,000 and Hellmuth folded pocket jacks face up.

Hellmuth launched into another angry tantrum, culminating in him praying to the heavens for better circumstances and constantly referring to his situation as a "nightmare." Hellmuth finished the bender with under 160,000 in chips after losing approximately two-thirds of his stack in the three-hand span.

Later, though Hellmuth doubled when from the big blind his A-5 turned trips against a player with K-10 and top pair. The board in that hand was 10-9-5-5-Q. Hellmuth ended the level with about 320,000 chips.

Evelyn Ng Eliminated

Keith Ferrera raised to 19,000 from early position and Evelyn Ng pushed all in for her remaining 122,000 as the next player to act. The action folded around, and Ferrera quickly called and turned over KK. Ng’s 1010 were in bad shape, and the 98742 board offered no assistance.

Kostritsyn Loses Massive Pot

Alexander Kostritsyn took a significant blow when Cristian Dragomir snagged a two-outter on the river for a pot in excess of 1,000,000 in chips. Kostritsyn raised preflop to 22,000, Dragomir to his immediate right called, along with one other player and the big blind. The flop came J96, and once the big blind checked, Kostritsyn bet 58,000. Dragomir made the call, and the two were heads-up to see the 2 fall on the turn. Kostritsyn then bet out 105,000, and again Dragomir made the call. The 9 hit the river to pair the board, and Kostritsyn bet another 105,000. Dragomir then raised to 300,000 and Kostritsyn called. It was bad news for Kostritsyn who showed king-jack for top pair. Dragomir held K9 for trips made on the river and scoop the massive pot.

The Rich Get Richer

Chip-leader Jeremy Joseph can do no wrong. He elected to make a massive call against Damien Creurer, who was all-in for 271,000. Joseph, with chips to spare, made the call with KQ, and learned he was up against A9. No problem. Joseph hit the flop of K98, dodged the 10 on the turn, the made trips on the river with the K to add to his stack and send Creurer to the rails.

Khan, sixth a year ago, bows out

On a Q74 flop, Hevad Khan, who was short-stacked at around 150,000, found himself all in and in big trouble against Tiffany Michelle. Khan held 99 and was up against KQ, meaning he needed a nine and no hearts. The turn and river were 105 and Khan was eliminated. After a very loud and very deep run last year, Khan was much more subdued during this year's series. At the start of every tournament an announcement was made warning players not to celebrate excessively. Most if not all the time, the announcement would specifically mention not to lift up any chairs, something Khan did often last year. When he was knocked out today, he quietly got up and waited for his pay slip.

Incredible hand ends with ace-high winning

Stephane Hornet raised from late position, and then Matt Lessinger made a big reraise to 130,000 from the button. Then Alex Borteh came over the top from the big blind. He had both players covered and moved all in. Hornet was frustrated but went ahead and moved all in. The action was back on Lessinger, and he was also extremely exasperated. He ultimately folded, and was shocked to see the hands that were turned up.

Hornet: AK
Borteh: KQ

Board: 73386

Lessinger, who had 250,000 chips left, said he folded two queens. Borteh now has 285,000 chips left, while Hornet is now up to 500,000 chips.

Player Tags: Evelyn Ng,   Gus Hansen,   Phil Hellmuth,   Alex Borteh,   Tiffany Michelle,   Hevad Khan,   Jeremy Joseph,   Santeri Valikoski,   Alexander Kostritsyn,   Cristian Dragomir,   Stephan Hornet

Main Event - Day 4 - Level 16

Jul 11, '08

Blinds/Antes: 2,500-5,000-500

Players Remaining: 408 of 6,844

Average Chip Stack: 301,000

Eliminations:

Brian Schaedlich
Robert Mizrachi
John-Robert Bellande

Big Hands and Storylines:

Rosen Takes Bad Fall

Jamie Rosen lost more than half his chips after an aggressive play against Cornel Pazai. After a flop of 1098, Pazai bet 40,000. Rosen, with a healthy chip count, sent out a stack of orange chips to make the bet 100,000. Pazai then announced all-in and Rosen called. Pazai held J10 for top pair and open-ender, while Rosen had 86 for bottom pair and a flush draw. The turn came the A and the river the 7, which gave both players straights but Pazai’s going to the jack. Rosen had to ship 285,000 across the table.

Khosravi Doubles Up

After a flop of 1083, the 9 fell on the turn. Pontus Khosravi bet 35,000 and was then pushed all-in by his opponent. Khosravi had no trouble making the call, flipping over QJ for the nut straight. His opponent held A3 for the flush draw, but Khosravi dodged a heart on the river and doubled his stack of 149,000.

Early Aces for Cozen

Glenn Cozen didn’t have to wait long to add to his chip stack, thanks to picking up pocket aces early after play resumed Friday. Cozen was in the big blind and saw his opponent under the gun raise to 13,000. Play folded around to Cozen, who reraised, and his opponent then moved all-in for his final 70,000. Cozen showed him AA, while his opponent held 99. The flop came 763, followed by the 3 on the turn and 7 on the river, and Cozen collected the chips.

Naimark Doubles Through Malinasky

After a player raised and another called, David Naimark pushed all of his remaining chips into the pot over the top. The action folded to Doron Malinasky in the small blind, who asked for a clarification of the bet size. After the dealer counted out Naimark’s 56,000 in chips, she noticed that he forgot to include a single 500 chip he had been using to cap his cards. Having him covered, Malinasky pushed all in over the top and the original raiser and caller folded. Naimark tossed in his remaining chip and turned over QQ. Malinasky tabled AK, making it a classic race confrontation. The board ran 66654, and Naimark more than doubled up to almost 150,000 in chips.

Despite Being Dominated, Moon Kim Doubles Through Kostritsyn

Moon Kim got his last 25,000 into the pot preflop with AJ against Alexander Kostritsyn’s AQ. As is protocol during the final money group of the main event, the floor staff was called to monitor the action as the board was dealt. Kostritsyn maintained his lead during the 1083 flop and 8 turn, but the J on the river hit Kim and won the pot for him. Despite the loss, Kostritsyn finished the hand with close to one million in chips.

Hansen nearly doubles up with aces

A player in late position got over 300,000 chips in preflop against Gus Hansen on the button. Hansen, who had him barely covered, was right there with him with red aces. Bernard Brady held AQ, and though he flopped a queen, the board in the end was Q9778. He was eliminated, and now Hansen has over 650,000 chips, more than twice the average.

Mizrachi folds on river, later goes out

Robert Mizrachi called an early position raise, then called a 12,500 bet on a K-J-9 flop. A seven came on the turn, and Mizrachi called a bet of 24,000. Then a nine came on the river, and Mizrachi's opponent moved all in. Mizrachi had about 110,000 chips left, and took over two minutes to fold. He was eliminated shortly after.

Player Tags: Robert Mizrachi,   Gus Hansen,   David Naimark,   Doron Malmasky,   Alexander Kostritsyn,   Jamie Rosen,   Cornel Pazara

$10,000 Main Event - Day 3 Over

Jul 10, '08

Day 3 has come to an end. Players broke the money bubble late in level 4 and the bustout bonanza began soon afterward. There are 474 players returning for Day 4. Jeremiah Smith was the big story in Day 3 as he was the first to break the 1 million mark and led for most of the day. He lost the chip lead late in the day to Jeremy Joseph, but only 150,000 seperates them. Tune in Friday for all the live updates from Day 4 of the 2008 WSOP main event.

Notables still in the field include:

Phil Hellmuth, Mike Matusow, Johnny Chan, Jeff Madsen, Gus Hansen, Hoyt Corkins, Victor Ramdin, Hevad Khan, Alexander Kostritsyn, Allen Cunningham, Robert Mizrachi, Mark Vos, Chip Jett, Markus Golser, Jean-Robert Bellande, Evelyn Ng, Matt Matros, Tommy Le, Hasan Habib, Shawn Sheikhan, Dag Martin Mikkelson and Jon Friedberg.

Online stars still alive include:

Steve “MrSmokey1” Billirakis, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Adam “Roothlus” Levy, David Benefield and Thayer “THAY3R” Rasmussen

Blinds/Antes: 2,000-4,000 with a 500 ante

Players Left: 474 of 6,844

Chip Leaders:

Jeremy Joseph: 1,450,000
Jeremiah Smith: 1,300,000
Owen Crowe: 1,000,000
Alexander Kostritsyn: 980,000
Dag Mikkelsen: 930,000
Mark Ketteringham: 915,000
Alan Jaffray: 870,000
Cristian Dragomir: 860,000
Sarkis Akopyan: 850,000
Robert Georato: 820,000

Average Stack: 279,347

Notable Eliminations:

483rd: Rolf Slotboom: $25,090
518th: Chau Giang: $25,090
618th: Brandon Adams: $21,230
625th: Vanessa Rousso: $21,230
651st: Men Nguyen: $21,230

Big Hands:

Adams Crippled, Then Busted

Brandon Adams raised to 12,000 from the cutoff and the big blind made the call. The flop came J108 and the big blind checked. Adams then fired 20,000 into the pot and the big blind check-raised all in to about 65,000. Adams made the call and turned over J5 for top pair. But his opponent showed J8 for two pair and the upper hand. The turn brought the 4 and Adams needed a 10 to, at best, chop the pot. But the river was the 9 and Adams was crippled, left with just 25,000 in chips.

A few hands later, Adams Pushed his last 24,000 all in from middle position. Action folded to the small blind, who pushed all in for 80,000 total to isolate. But the big blind didn't just throw away his hand. He tanked and eventually called, having both Adams and the small blind covered. The small blind showed A10, the big blind showed 77 and Adams was thrilled to show 88. "This is the best hand I could really hope for," he said. "Anyone fold an ace?" The didn't look good for Adams, running AK10 to give the small blind two pair. However, Adams had the 8 for a flush draw and had some more outs. But the board completed with the J and J and the small blind took the pot, sending Adams to the rail while doubling up through the big blind.

"No Foster's?"

Mark Vos has joined the table featuring tournament chipleader Jeremiah Smith and Jon "PearlJammer" Turner. The table has had some friendly conversation, including Smith asking Vos, "No Foster's? I heard it's Australian for beer." Vos gave a "pft" and rolled his eyes in response.

Turner Takes One With Overpair

Jon Turner simply called from the big blind when another player raised to 11,000 from late position. The flop came J92 and Turner checked to the raiser who bet 15,000. Turner made the call and check-called his opponent's bet of 35,000 when the 6s hit on the turn. Turner checked the 10d on the river and his opponent slowed down and quickly checked behind him. Turned flipped over QQ for a slow-played overpair and was thrilled to see his opponent's AJ. Turner took the pot, adding an additional 65,000 to his stack.

Markus Golser Takes a Hit

Markus Golser got his opponent all in with the board showing K1028 and showed down K10 for top two pair. However, his opponent showed AJ for the nut flush. Golser couldn not improve to a full house on the river and took a hit, dropping to 120,000 in chips.

One Man's Trash Is Gus Hansen's Treasure

On a board reading 9239, Gus Hansen moved all in and was called by his opponent in seat 2. Seat 2 turned over JJ for two pair, but Hansen showed down Q9 for a set on the turn. The river was the icing on the cake as the Q filled up Hansen. He doubled up to around 320,000 in chips.

"Wow, what a turn," Hansen said after the hand. "It was a piece of s%#& hand, but I was on tilt," Hansen added as the table moved on to the next hand.

Chan Takes a Small One, His Table Gets Tougher

After the player in seat 2 raised to 12,000, only Johnny Chan and the player on the button made the call. The fop came K98 and seat 2 checked to Chain who fired 30,500. Everyone folded and chan flashed A-K to seat 2 before raking in his chips.
Johnny Chan and Hoyt Corkins are now seated right beside each other after Corkins' table broke.

Hellmuth Makes His Money In These Situations

The player in seat 7 raised to 16,000 and Phil Hellmuth made the call. The player in seat 2 then popped it for 20,000 more and only Hellmuth made the call. The flop came J75 and Hellmuth made his patented check in the dark. Seat 2 almost immediately moved all in and Hellmuth went into character. The raise was 47,000 more and Hellmuth said, "This is how I make all my money," Hellmuth started. "By making great moves right here." He eventually folded his hand, but only after a million cameras showed up to the table. "Show it!" Hellmuth said to his opponent. He showed a queen and raked in the pot. Hellmuth was around 490,000.

Freerolling On Table 39

Over on Table 39 (Blue), two players were all before the flop, both with pocket jacks. One player held a pair of red jacks, the other held black jacks. The board came 962, giving one player a freeroll with the club flush draw. The turn was the 2, but the river was the 8, giving one player the flush and eliminating his opponent.

 

Player Tags: Hoyt Corkins,   Gus Hansen,   Johnny Chan,   Jon Turner,   Brandon Adams,   Mark Vos

$10,000 Main Event - Day 3 - Level 13 (Hr. 2)

Jul 10, '08

Blinds/Antes: 1,200-2,400-300

Players Left: 747 of 6844

Chip Leaders:
Alberto Font - 745,000
Sigurd Eskeland - 700,000
Jeff Kimber - 670,000
Jeremiah Smith - 650,000
Vito Branciforte - 560,000
Mark Ketteringham - 560,000
Geert Jans - 550,000
Jeremy Joseph - 520,000
Alexander Kostritsyn - 520,000
Victor Ramdin - 510,000

Other Notables
Mark Vos – 360,000
Phil Hellmuth – 300,000
Owen Crowe – 280,000
Jon Turner – 275,000
Robert Mizrachi – 275,000
Shawn Sheikhan – 270,000
Jeff Madsen – 260,000
Bertrand Grospellier – 250,000
Ryan Daut – 205,000
Gus Hansen – 200,000
Brandon Adams – 190,000
Rolf Slotboom – 125,000
Craig Marquis – 110,000
Leo Wolpert – 100,000
Jason Gray – 88,000
Maya Antonius – 73,000
Ari Engel – 65,000
Bill Gazes – 65,000
Thor Hansen – 65,000
Alexander Kravchenko – 32,000

Big Hands/Storylines

Five-Alive for Hansen

Gus Hansen was getting short-stacked, but managed a significant breakthrough with about 40 minutes remaining before the dinner break. Hansen was on the button and called a preflop raise from a player one from the cut-off. The flop came 953, and the first player bet 15,000. Hansen then moved all-in for his remaining 61,500. The player called. Hansen showed 55 for the flopped set, while his opponent held K9. The A and 7 completed the board and Hansen doubled up.

Kido Pham’s Stack Dwindling

Action folded around to the button where Kido Pham raised to 9,000. The small blind called and they saw a flop. The was AK7 and the small blind checked to Pham. Pham bet 12,000 and was quickly called. The K on the turn slowed down the action and both players checked. The river was the 10 and again both players checked. The small blind showed his A8 for a pair of aces and that was good to take down the pot. This hand continues the decline of Kido Pham, who is now down to 85,000.

Smith's monster stack gets even bigger

Preflop, Ryan Daut raised to 6,300 from early position and was called by Jeremiah Smith and the big blind. The flop came J95 and when it checked around to Smith he bet 12,000. Daut called and the turn was the J. Daut checked and Smith quickly fired 20,000. Daut again called and then checked after the T came on the river. Smith again bet quickly, this time for 25,000. Daut folded and Smith took down the pot. After the hand Smith was over 700,000 chips. 

Bad Time to Push

Jamal Sawaqdeh was in the small blind and called a preflop raise from the player with the button. The flop came KJ10, and after Sawaqdeh checked, the button went all-in for 47,900. Sawaqdeh made the call and and showed QJ for middle pair, along with flush and straight draws. His opponent could only manage Q3 for the open-ender. The K on the turn didn't change anything, but the 9 on the river gave Sawaqdeh the straight flush to eliminate his opponent.

Hellmuth moves all in, gets fold, "so sick"

Phil Hellmuth was on the button and was in a pot against the big blind. The flop was AJ9 and Hellmuth bet 6,000 after his opponent checked. The blind called and then bet out 25,000 when the turn came J. Hellmuth thought for a minute and then moved all in. He had the blind, who said this situation was "so sick" a couple times, covered. Finally he flashed 87 and folded. Hellmuth jumped out of his chair and told him he was drawing dead and was mad at himself for raising. After the hadn he was up to about 260,000 chips.

Player Tags: Gus Hansen,   Phil Hellmuth,   Kido Pham,   Jeremiah Smith,   Ryan Daut

$10,000 Main Event - Day 3 - Level 13

Jul 10, '08

Blinds/Antes: 1,200-2,400-300

Players Remaining: 810 out of 6,844

Average Chip Stack: 169,000

Eliminations:

Brandon Schaefer

Big Hands and Storylines:

Men Nguyen Takes Down a Large Pot, Eliminates Opponent

Men Nguyen took down a large pot with pocket aces after risking his tournament life against two opponents.  The aces held, and Nguyen eliminated one opponent.  The pot brought Men’s stack to over 100,000.

Gus put to the test and folds

With a board of J863, Gus Hansen bet 22,200 and was raised all in. Hansen had 55,000 chip left, and after a minute to think -- and allow camera crews and reporters to swarm -- he folded.

Khan commits most of stack, gets fold

With the board 9843, Hevad Khan bet 43,500 and only had about 30,000 behind him. The pot had about 170,000 chips in it, giving Khan's opponent fantastic odds if there was a chance he was ahead or had a reasonable draw. But he folded, and after the hand Khan had about 200,000 chips.

Patel doubles up through Agarwal

Kush Patel moved all in and was called by Aditya Agarwal. Patel held A-Q and was up against pocket nines. Things looked good initially for Agarwal, but an ace came on the river to give the 110,000-chip pot to Patel. Agarwal dropped to about 215,000 chips after the hand.

Matusow Gets His Chips Back

Mike Matusow has recovered from the hit he took earlier today. He got all-in against an opponent on a board of 873. His opponent had KK but Matusow had him drawing to two outs with 77. The turn was the 8 and the river was the 6. With that, Matusow climbs back up to 250,000

Player Tags: Gus Hansen,   Kush Patel,   Aditya Agarwal,   Hevad Khan

$10,000 Main Event - Day 3 - Level 12

Jul 10, '08

Blinds/Antes: 1,000-2,000-300

Players Remaining: 974 out of 6,844

Average Chip Stack: 137,000

Eliminations:

Tony Cousineau
Erik Seidel

Big Hands and Storylines:

Shawn Sheikhan Loses Half His Stack in Two Hands

Shawn Sheikhan raised to 6,500 from middle position and was called only by the two players in the blinds. On a flop of A75, the action was checked to Sheikhan who fired a bet of 12,000 into the pot. The small blind called, allowing the big blind to get out of the way. The turn brought the A and another check from the small blind. Sheikhan launched four orange 5,000 chips across the line, and the small blind made the call. “Black card,” Sheikhan requested as the dealer put down the Q on the river. “God damn it,” Sheikhan exclaimed upon sight of the red queen. The small blind checked, and Sheikhan announced that he held an ace. The small blind turned over J10 and Sheikhan was verbally distraught. He flashed the Ac as he mucked his cards.

On the next hand, the player under the gun raised to 7,000 and Sheikhan made the call as the next player to act. All other players folded, and the dealer put down a flop of J86. Both players checked, and the 9 came on the turn. Again the under-the-gun player checked, prompting a bet of 15,000 from Sheikhan which was quickly called. The player check-called another bet of Sheikhan’s, this time 20,000, when a blank fell on the river. “You got it,” Sheikhan declared after his opponent made the call. The player turned over 1010 and Sheikhan mucked his cards.

After the two-hand downward spiral, Sheikhan was left with only 110,00 in chips.

Traply Needs No Trap To Snare Gray

Peter Traply raised to 5,300 from early position and Jason Gray called from the cutoff. The flop was AJ10 and Traply led out for 9,500, Gray called. Traply bet another 22,000 on the 5 turn and Gray again called. The river was the 4 and Traply fired a third bullet – 48,000 – which Gray called after a minute of thought. Traply tabled KQ for a flopped straight which was good to take down the sizeable pot. Traply is now up to 245,000; Gray is down to 75,000.

Matusow Takes a Hit

Mike Matusow raised pre-flop from middle position and was met with an all-in raise from an opponent. Matusow learned that it would be 8,500 more to call, and call he did. Matusow was pleased to see that his Q10 was live against his opponent’s A3 . The board offered no help, however, as it ran out J545K . After losing that pot, Matusow is down to 112,000.

Hevad Khan Doubles Up with an Unlikely Suck Out

After the action folded around, Hevad Khan made it 6,000 to go from his position on the button. The small blind folded, but the player in the big blind elected to call. The flop came 644 and the big blind led out with a bet of 8,000. Khan announced a raise and moved all in for an additional 36,300. The camera crews came rushing over while the big blind deliberated his situation, ultimately deciding to call. “Nice call. Do you have a pair?” Khan asked, to which his opponent nodded and turned over 22. Khan turned over A7 and needed to catch a card. The 8 on the turn didn’t directly improve Khan, but the 6 on the river counterfeited the deuces and brought a round of gasps from the players and spectators. Khan’s ace-high was good enough to double him up and bring him close to 100,000 in chips.

The two players had a recent history. After a flop of 554 Khan bet 11,500 and his opponent called. Both players then checked the 7 on the turn and 10 on the river. The button then showed 33 which was enough to win the pot.

Rousso Makes Jacks Work

Vanessa Rousso was in the small blind, and play was folded until a player in late position moved all-in for 28,000. Rousso, not with a lot of chips herself, made the call and turned over JJ. The all-in player held 74, and the flop gave him numerous outs, coming 642. However he had two swings and misses, as the 2 came on the turn and 8 hit the river to send the chips to Rousso. She now has about 74,000 in chips.

Hansen Dominated

Gus Hansen raised to 6600 from middle position and the small blind then moved all-in for 17,500. Hansen admitted he wasn’t crazy about his cards. “This is my worst hand of the day, which means I’m probably going to call,” he said. He came close to folding, but finally threw in the chips to call. He didn’t like realizing he was up against A6. “Oh my God, I wanted diamonds,” he said, turning over K7. Neither player would connect with the board that finished J8432 and the small blind stayed alive. A few hands later in the big blind, Hansen was given a walk, at which time he flipped over another king-seven. “Now I’m one-for-two” he quipped.

Agarwal drops 12,200x3 with tens

Aditya Agarwal faced bets of 12,200 on the flop, turn and river and called every time. The board in the end was K8792 and Agarwal's opponent flipped over AJ for a flush. Agarwal showed the 10 for a worse flush. His opponent then asked to see his other card. Agarwal didn't like it, but his opponent saw it was the T. After the hand Agarwal had roughly 200,000 chips.

 

Player Tags: Gus Hansen,   Shawn Sheikhan,   Mike Matusow,   Vanessa Rousso,   Jason Gray,   Aditya Agarwal,   Hevad Khan,   Peter Traply

$10,000 Main Event - Day 2B - Level 6 (Hour 2)

Jul 09, '08

Blinds: 300-600, 75 ante

Chip Leaders:
Henning Granstad - 242,950
Igor Ioffe - 195,000
David Stucke - 168,000
David Benefield - 160,000
Dylan Linde - 146,000
Bill Blanda - 145,000
Sami Rustom - 140,450
Steve Billirakis - 137,000
David Singer - 136,000

Other Notables:
Nenad Medic - 122,000
Brad Booth - 120,000
Gus Hansen - 117,000
Andrew Robl - 105,000
Ayaz Mahmood - 80,000
Shun Uchida - 80,000
Jan Sjavik - 79,000
Phil Hellmuth - 77,000
Jeff Madsen - 75,000
Evelyn Ng - 75,000
Phil Gordon - 73,000
Chris Moneymaker - 68,000
David Daneshgar - 62,000
Liz Lieu - 55,000
Tony Dunst - 55,000
Mike Matusow - 53,000
Rolf Slotboom - 50,000
Joe Hachem - 34,000
Matt Hawrilenko - 32,000
Minh Nguyen - 32,000
Amir Vahedi - 31,950
Kyle Kloeckner - 30,000
Cory Zeidman - 28,000
Ryan Daut - 24,000
Bill Chen -24,000
Howard Lederer - 24,000
Nick Binger - 22,000
Ryan Daut - 18,000
Allen Cunningham - 16,000
Michael Binger - 12,000
Shannon Elizabeth - 11,500
Jeff Shulman - 10,000

Eliminations:
Alex Jacob
Jerry Yang
Beth Shak
Brian Townsend
Danny Wong
Joe Awada

Big Hands and Storylines:

Amnon Filippi Eliminated

Ryan Hughes raised to 1,400 under the gun and three players in middle position called. Then Charles Large, on the button, moved in for 12,500. Amnon Filippi, who had been holding his chips in his hand since the start of his hand, moved in for about 4,200. Hughes called and the three other players folded. The three players showed their hands:

Hughes: 99
Filippi: AK
Large: AK

Interestingly, not only were Filippi and Large sharing outs, but one of the players who folded claimed to have had pocket nines. The board was even worse news for Filippi and Large: the 876 flop giving Hughes an open-ended straight draw in addition to his pair. The turn was the 4, giving Large a flush draw, but the 8 on the river ended the World Series hopes of both Large and Filippi. Hughes is now up to 73,000.

Duane Thompson Doubles Through Evelyn Ng

Duane Thompson was all-in on the button for 11,000 against Evelyn Ng in the small blind. Thompson showed A2 and was visibly pleased when Ng showed KQ. Thompson was audibly pleased too, saying, “I can’t believe I’m ahead.” The raggy board – 75325 – kept him ahead, and he doubled up to 24,000. Despite the hit, Ng still has 75,000.

D’Agostino Takes a Hit

John D’Agostino just lost a 60k pot when his A-K could not improve against his opponent’s pocket queens. D’Agostino, sitting directly across from Phil Gordon, is down to 55,000.

Yang's run comes to an end

The defending champion has been eliminated. Seated at the second featured table, Jerry Yang was shortstacked and in need of luck. He first ran A-2 into A-Q, but survived when the board brought two pair and only their aces played. Then he moved in with A-J and was called by A-9, but a nine came on the flop and Yang was eliminated. On his way out, he wished everyone at his table good luck and then received a nice applause from everyone in the Amazon Room.

Goldstein Can't Pull the Trigger

Ken Goldstein, the SpadeClub poker room manager, was on the button and called a raise to 1500 from a player in middle position. The flop came K53 and both players checked. The 5 paired the board on the turn, and again both players checked. The J on the river brought the flush into play, and another checks followed. "No pair," declared the other player. Goldstein couldn't show a winner at that point. When the other player showed 108, Goldstein mucked his hand. Goldstein had about 12,000 in chips after the hand.

Hansen off to Nice Start

Gus Hansen was in middle position and raised to 1625, which resulted in play being folded around to the big blind, who made the call. The flop came J54, and both players checked. The 10 fell on the turn, and the big blind came out with a 4000 bet. Hansen seemed uncertain whether to simply call, or push the player all-in for his remaining 21,000. He finally made the call, and the 2 on the river made a four-flush on board. It was enough of a scare card that both players checked. The big blind showed KJ for top pair, while Hansen held 1010 for a set spiked on the turn, and he collected the pot. Hansen has about 120,000 in chips.

Player Tags: Evelyn Ng,   Kenny Goldstein,   Gus Hansen,   John D'Agostino,   Amnon Filippi,   Jerry Yang

$10,000 Main Event - Day 1 Officially Over... Really

Jul 06, '08

Day 1 has officially come to an end. More than 2,000 people registered for Day 1D and just under 1,400 survived to make it to Day 2. Among the notables moving on were Antonio "The Magician" Esfandiari, David Oppenheim, Phil Hellmuth and Victor Ramdin. The biggest news of the day was the $9,119,517 awarded to the eventual winner of poker's biggest event. The total amount of players was also announced at 6,844, a little over 500 more players than last year. A total of 666 players will make the money. The field will get Monday off, so join Card Player Tuesday at noon for all of the live updates as we keep you posted on Day 2A.

Blinds/Antes: 200-400 with a 50 ante

Players Left: 1,386 of 2,461

Chip Leaders:

Dylan Linde: 146,000
Steve Austin: 137,000
Christian Choi: 135,000
Jason Katsutani: 133,000
Richard Smith: 130,000
Paul Loh: 127,000
Tom Braband: 124,000
David Oppenheim: 123,000
Victor Ramdin: 121,000
David Stucke: 120,000

CP Counts:

Phil Hellmuth: 75,000
Jeff Shulman: 25,000

Eliminations: Layne Flack, C.K. Hua, Eugene Todd

Big Hands:

A Flush Can Beat a Straight, But Flack Can't Get There and He's Out

Layne Flack raised to 1,350 from early position and he was called by one opponent. The flop came down J98 and Flack checked. His opponent bet half the pot as he put 1,800 in the middle. Flack then pushed all in and his opponent quickly made the call. Flack showed KJ for top pair with second kicker, along with a flush-draw. He needed to sharpen his drawing pencil, however, as Flack's opponent showed Q10 for a flopped straight. The 4 offered no help and Flack needed a heart to stay alive. The river washed away any hope as the 2 landed on the felt and Flack made his way toward the exit.

You Would Call Too If You Had This Many Chips

Carlos Mortensen raised to 1,100 from under the gun. Three players called and the flop came KJ5. The player in seat 9 checked and Mortensen fired 3,000 into the pot. Everyone folded except for seat 9, who made the call. The turn was the 2 and seat 9 checked again. Mortensen bet 6,000 and seat 9 moved all in for an additional 12,000. Mortensen counted the call in his hand, then kissed them goodbye as he tossed them into the pot. Seat 9 showed 98 for a flopped flush and Mortensen briefly flashed KQ and attempted to muck it. But the dealer turned the cards over and put the 2 on the felt to complete the board. Mortensen took the tiny pinch to his stack.

Can Do Cantu...

Brandon Cantu raised to 1,600 from the button. The blinds both called and the flop came 1064 and action was checked to Cantu. He bet 2,700 and only the big blind stuck around. On the 7 turn, both players checked. When the 9 hit on the river, the big blind fired 4,000 and Cantu thought briefly before announcing he was all in, having the big blind covered. The big blind mucked his hand and Cantu took the pot.

...But Hansen Can Do It Better

Later, Cantu again raised to 1,200 from the button. Gus Hansen was in the small blind this time and made the call, along with the player in the big blind. The flop was A32 was checked around to Cantu, who bet 2,500. Hansen called and the big blind got out of the way. The Q came on the turn and both players checked. When the 5 came on the river, Hansen fired out 6,000 and Cantu insta-called. Hansen turned over AK for top pair. Cantu had a look of disgust on his face as he mucked his hand. Hansen took the pot and was at 74,000.

Lederer Takes a Shot and Misses

A player raised to 1,500 from the button and Howard Lederer made the call. Both players checked the flop of K45. The 9 fell on the turn and Lederer led out for 1,500. The button called and both players checked the river, which was the 8. Lederer showed A4 for bottom pair and a busted nut flush draw. His opponent showed A9 for second pair, good enough to take the pot. Lederer was down to 32,000.

Prop Bets In Brasilia

Antonio Esfandiari and Victor Ramdin, two of today's big stacks, were sitting at adjacent tables. Esfandiari came over to Ramdin and asked if he wanted to bet the flop. Ramdin bet $1,000 that two of the three cards on the flop would be black. Esfandiari clarified the bet, saying the bet would double if the flop was all the same color, triple if the flop was all the same suit, and multiply by 10 if a three-card straight flush hit the board.

"Fine, I'll take red," Esfandiari proclaimed after the clarification.

"Black baby," Ramdin screamed.

The flop came down J85 and Ramdin won the prop bet.

"Man, nothing ever goes right in my life," Esfandiari said. "I'm gonna stiff you, punk," he added as he walked back to his table."Double or nothing on the next flop?" Ramdin asked. "Okay," Esfandiari responded. Read more about Esfandiari's prop betting in his Pro Analysis.

Ramdin Stays Hot

With four limpers in front of him, the player in the cutoff raised to 2,700 before the flop. Ramdin limp-raised to 5,500 from under the gun. Action folded back to the cutoff who made the call. The flop came down K65 and Ramdin fired 6,000. The cutoff thought for a bit before releasing his hand. After the hand, Ramdin had 122,000 in chips.

Gordon's Bullets With the Execution

Ryan Young raised to 1,400 from middle position and the player in seat 7 repopped to 6,350. Phil Gordon then shoved all in and Young got out of the way. Seat 7 made the call and was covered by Gordon. Gordon turned over AA while seat 7 had KQ. The flop came out 1082, relatively harmless to Gordon's hand. But the turn brought the J, giving seat 7 an open-ended straight draw. But the river was the 3 and Gordon knocked out seat 7. He improved his stack to 62,000.

Player Tags: Gus Hansen,   Carlos Mortensen,   Phil Gordon,   Layne Flack,   Brandon Cantu,   European Report

$10,000 Main Event - Day 1D - Level One, Hour One

Jul 06, '08

Blinds/Antes: 50/100

Big Hands and Storylines:

Yang Active, Loses Pot

A year off hasn’t dampened the aggressiveness of defending champion Jerry Yang. He won a small pot with A2, pairing his deuce on the flop, but then got embroiled in a costly battle. Yang was in the big blind and saw a flop come Q63. He made a bet and was called by the player in the cut-off position. The A came on the turn and Yang stepped out for 1200. Again the cut-off called. The K on the river made a dangerous board even more treacherous. Yang led out for 3000, and the player in the cut-off then raised to 8500. Yang tanked, then reluctantly folded, though issued the warning “I’m going to lay down one time.” Yang lost a quarter of his stack and was just under 15,000.

A few hands later Yang took another beat, though did well not to lose more than he did. After a flopping a set of 10s, Yang was up against pocket aces, but lost when the board four-flushed. Yang is now down to just over 12,000 in chips.

Tilly Stymied Early

Jennifer Tilly tried to create something on consecutive hands, but came away empty. From middle position she raised to 300 and was called by the player in the cut-off. The flop came A43. Tilly checked, faced a 300 bet, and folded her hand. The next deal, Tilly raised this time to 200 and was called by the player on the button. The small blind then reraised to 750, and Tilly folded along with the big blind and button.

Norman Chad, Will You Marry Me?

World Series of Poker commentator Norman Chad, who often comically references his ex-wives during final table broadcasts, has inadvertently wooed the heart of at least one female viewer.  Seated in the blue section of the Amazon Room, Kay Sweeney reported to her table wearing a t-shirt bearing the words, “NORM’S NEXT WIFE.”  Chad eventually made his way to her table while reporting on today’s action, and Sweeney insisted on having a picture taken of the two potential lovebirds as soon as she was out of a hand.  “Play every hand,” Chad advised.  After getting on one knee, Sweeney formally proposed to Chad.  “Will you marry me?” Sweeney asked while holding Chad’s hand.  “I’ll get back to you,” Chad replied to a burst of laughter from the rail.

Wolfe lays down top pair

Five players limped in preflop and saw a 10-3-2 flop. Paul Wolfe bet out from the small blind for 500. He got one caller and the others folded. The turn was a four and Wolfe bet 1,000. This time his opponent raised another 1,300. Wolfe quickly folded A-10 face up and his opponent took down the pot.

Federer-Nadal distracting many

Many players are paying as much attention to the Wimbledon final as they are to their table. Gus Hansen is an exception. He has set up a chair next to the television and is spending more time there than at his seat at his table. Apparently being 15 feet away was too far and he needed to see the exciting match up-close.

Meandering through the Brasilia Room, we noticed these players taking their shot at the main event:

Hevad Khan
Ray Davis
Brett Jungblut
Mark Newhouse
Tom Schneider
Eugene Todd
Layne Flack
Antonio Esfandiari
Allen Kessler
Phil Gordon
Shane Schleger
Gregory Dyer
Jose Canseco
Todd Brunson
Ryan Daut
David Williams (already down to 12,000)

and players found within the confines of the much cozier Tropicana Room:

Alexander Kostritsyn
Thayer Rasmussen
Ray Coburn
Can Kim Hua
Ari Engel

Player Tags: Gus Hansen,   Paul Wolfe,   Jennifer Tilly,   Jerry Yang,   Norman Chad

$10,000 Main Event - Almost Done

Jul 11, '08

Blinds/Antes: 5,000-10,000 with a 1,000 ante

Players Left: 202 of 6,844

Chip Leaders:

Jeremy Joseph: 2,700,000
Nikolay Losev: 1,900,000
Andrew Rosskamm: 1,800,000
Mark Ketteringham: 1,700,000
Alfred Fernandez: 1,700,000
Justin Sadauskas: 1,600,000
Brandon Cantu: 1,600,000
Lanini Davor: 1,600,000
James McManus: 1,600,000
Phi Nguyen: 1,600,000

Average Stack: 716,649

Big Hands:

Hellmuth Loses A Third Of His Stack

Santeri Valikoski raised to 27,000 from early position preflop. Hellmuth was next to act and made the call. The flop came down KJ5 and Valikoski checked. Hellmuth fired 30,000 into the pot and Valikoski hung around. The turn was the 5 and Valikoski checked again. Hellmuth grabbed a large stack of orange "5,000" chips and shoved it into the pot. The bet was 100,000 and Valikoski took some time to think before deciding to call. The river was the Q and Valikoski checked one last time. Hellmuth gave up and checked behind his opponent. Valikoski showed J10 reluctantly, thinking Hellmuth had the better hand. But Hellmuth mucked and Valikoski took a huge chunk from Hellmuth's stack. The "Poker Brat" was down to about 200,000. "He's tough, man," Hellmuth said about his opponent.

A few hands later, Hellmuth said, "Here we go again, huh?" as he and Valikosi were heads up again. The flop ran KQ2 and Valikosi checked to Hellmuth, who fired 20,000. Valikosi folded this time and Hellmuth showed KQ for flopped top two pair and began to talk about how he wished Valikosi had paired a queen in the hand so he could call him down.

Cunningham Fires Under the Gun and Gets Burned

Allen Cunningham raised to 30,000 under the gun and action folded to Ronald Adams on the button. He made the call and the blinds folded. The flop came down 433. Cunningham checked and Adams fired 50,000 into the pot. Cunningham slid his chips gradually into the pot to make the call. The turn brought the 4 and Cunningham checked again. Adams kept pushing as he fired 100,000 into the pot. Cunningham had enough and mucked his hand. His stack was around 1.5 million after the hand.

Hansen Takes Hit

When the player in seat 4 put in a raise to 30,000, Gus Hansen re-raised from the big blind to 102,000. Seat 4 insta-called and the flop ran A32. Hansen checked from the big blind and seat 4 bet out 175,000. Hansen thought for a minute, shrugged and then mucked his hand, losing more than 100,000 in the hand. Hansen has around 1,300,000 in chips.

No Blow Ups

Mike "The Mouth" Matusow quietly raised to 30,000 from middle position. The table quietly folded back around to Matusow, who quietly flipped over AK as he raked in the blinds and antes.

Corkins Chops It Up

Hoyt Corkins had Anthony Meeker all in before the flop. Both players held big slick, Corkins with the AK and Meeker with the AK. The flop put Corkins on a freeroll for the rest of the hand, running out 432. The turn improved both players to a straight, but also gave Corkins a flush draw with the 5. Meeker almost seemed to have given up hope in the hand when the 8 rolled off on the river, saving Meeker from elimination as he split the pot with the quiet cowboy.

Mark Vos is a Sick Puppy

On the river of a board reading AJ674, Mark Vos was heads up with William Soffin. Vos led out for 150,000, and Soffin made the call, mucking his hand when Vos turned over JJ for flopped middle set. As Soffin counted out his chips for the call, it was discovered that he would be left with only 1,000 - a single yellow chip, which he tried to give to Vos by hiding it in the haphazard pile that he pushed into the felt. Vos adamantly refused to take the chip, and the dealer recounted the stack to confirm that Soffin was in fact left with nothing more than a chip and a chair. During the process, another player at the table spoke up: "Did you put him on only 1,000 left? 'Cuz that's pretty f***ed up if you did." The table erupted into laughter, the pot moved to Vos, and Soffin anted all-in on the next hand.

Mark Vos opened the pot with a small raise, only to have Andrew Brooks reraise to 60,000 from the button. The big blind, Jose Baeza, then reraised all-in for a total of 161,000. Vos quickly folded, Brooks made the call, and the three players turned over their cards.

Brooks: AK
Baeza: JJ
Soffin: 34

The flop brought AQ5, leading everyone at the table to start calling loudly and in unison for a deuce to ship the antes to Soffin. The turn brought the 8, and still louder cries for a deuce. "You know everyone at this table wants you to win this pot," Vos assured Soffin. The river did in fact improve Soffin's hand, but not enough, bringing only the 4. Both the main and the side pot went to Brooks, and Baeza and Soffin were eliminated.

Player Tags: Hoyt Corkins,   Allen Cunningham,   Gus Hansen,   Mike Matusow,   Phil Hellmuth,   Mark Vos

Main Event - Day 4 - Level 18 - Hour 2

Jul 11, '08

Tournament officials have announced that remaining players will only play one more two-hour level tonight when they return from their 90-minute break.

Blinds/Antes: 4,000-8,000-1,000

Players Remaining: 216 of 6,844

Chip Leaders:

Jeremy Joseph - 2,500,000
Brandon Cantu - 1,800,000
Keoni Schwartz - 1,700,000
David Saab - 1,650,000
Phi Nguyen - 1,600,000
Nikolay Losev - 1,600,000
Andrew Rosskamm - 1,500,000
Darus Suharto - 1,500,000
Mark Ketteringham - 1,470,000
David Benefield - 1,400,000

Other Notables

Gus Hansen – 1,400,000
Shawn Sheikhan – 1,100,000
Ylon Schwartz – 1,000,000
Matt Matros – 940,000
Chris Klodnicki – 620,000
Craig Marquis – 550,000
Jeff Madsen – 430,000
Mike Matusow – 415,000
Kido Pham – 400,000
Thomas Keller – 355,000
Andrew Teng – 300,000
Hoyt Corkins – 300,000
Phil Hellmuth – 300,000

Average Chip Stack: 573,000

Eliminations:

Hevad Khan
Evelyn Ng
Jon Turner

Big Hands and Storylines:

Gus Hansen takes monster pot with two pair

After raising to 24,000 from the cutoff position, Hansen then called a reraise to 84,000 by Joseph Ward out of the small blind. The flop came AT5 and Ward bet 100,000. Hansen took a long time to act, but ultimately called. The turn was the 9 and Ward checked. Hansen took his time and then bet 200,000. The action was on Ward and he stood up. He separated 200,000 from his stack and saw he would less than 200,000 remaining. After a couple minutes he moved all in. Hansen called and showed AT. Ward held AQ and needed a queen on the river. The river was the 7 and Hansen took the pot of 1.2 million chips. After the hand he had roughly 1.4 million chips.

Helge Pedersen Doubles Through Pontus Khosravi

Pontus Khosravi raised from the hijack and Helge Pedersen moved in from the button for 260,000 total. Khosravi made the call and showed AK, but he was trailing the KK of Pedersen. The board – Q7632 – did not help the Swede, and his stack took a big hit. After the confrontation, both players had stacks of about 530,000.

Hellmuth Melts Down in Three Consecutive Hands, But Doubles Later

The action folded to Santeri Valikoski in the small blind, who completed. Phil Hellmuth raised an additional 10,000, and Valikoski made the call. The flop came A52, and Valikoski checked. Hellmuth tossed three orange 5,000 chips across the line. “This is a bluff,” Hellmuth told his opponent as he pointed to the chips. Valikoski made the call and bet 25,000 when the A fell on the turn. Hellmuth announced a raise and added 30,000 to Valikoski’s bet. Valikoski called, and both players checked the 6 on the river. Hellmuth turned over K10, and his opponent showed 75. “No, he didn’t!” Phil Hellmuth screamed as he stood up from the table. “He called a raise with five-seven from out of position, that idiot from Northern Europe.” Hellmuth made quite a point of his opponent’s place of origin, mentioning it several times throughout his tirade.

After knocking his chips into a pile and screaming over and over in frustration, Hellmuth called another opponent’s pre-flop raise on the next hand and lost approximately 60,000 in chips when his opponent’s ace-king made top pair.

On the next hand, Hellmuth made it 20,000 to go from the cut-off and his opponent in the big blind raised to 85,000 total. Hellmuth instantly called, beating his opponent into the pot. His opponent asked how much Hellmuth had behind, as he still had not restacked his chips. When the KQ5 flop fell, the player made a bet of 75,000 and Hellmuth folded pocket jacks face up.

Hellmuth launched into another angry tantrum, culminating in him praying to the heavens for better circumstances and constantly referring to his situation as a "nightmare." Hellmuth finished the bender with under 160,000 in chips after losing approximately two-thirds of his stack in the three-hand span.

Later, though Hellmuth doubled when from the big blind his A-5 turned trips against a player with K-10 and top pair. The board in that hand was 10-9-5-5-Q. Hellmuth ended the level with about 320,000 chips.

Evelyn Ng Eliminated

Keith Ferrera raised to 19,000 from early position and Evelyn Ng pushed all in for her remaining 122,000 as the next player to act. The action folded around, and Ferrera quickly called and turned over KK. Ng’s 1010 were in bad shape, and the 98742 board offered no assistance.

Kostritsyn Loses Massive Pot

Alexander Kostritsyn took a significant blow when Cristian Dragomir snagged a two-outter on the river for a pot in excess of 1,000,000 in chips. Kostritsyn raised preflop to 22,000, Dragomir to his immediate right called, along with one other player and the big blind. The flop came J96, and once the big blind checked, Kostritsyn bet 58,000. Dragomir made the call, and the two were heads-up to see the 2 fall on the turn. Kostritsyn then bet out 105,000, and again Dragomir made the call. The 9 hit the river to pair the board, and Kostritsyn bet another 105,000. Dragomir then raised to 300,000 and Kostritsyn called. It was bad news for Kostritsyn who showed king-jack for top pair. Dragomir held K9 for trips made on the river and scoop the massive pot.

The Rich Get Richer

Chip-leader Jeremy Joseph can do no wrong. He elected to make a massive call against Damien Creurer, who was all-in for 271,000. Joseph, with chips to spare, made the call with KQ, and learned he was up against A9. No problem. Joseph hit the flop of K98, dodged the 10 on the turn, the made trips on the river with the K to add to his stack and send Creurer to the rails.

Khan, sixth a year ago, bows out

On a Q74 flop, Hevad Khan, who was short-stacked at around 150,000, found himself all in and in big trouble against Tiffany Michelle. Khan held 99 and was up against KQ, meaning he needed a nine and no hearts. The turn and river were 105 and Khan was eliminated. After a very loud and very deep run last year, Khan was much more subdued during this year's series. At the start of every tournament an announcement was made warning players not to celebrate excessively. Most if not all the time, the announcement would specifically mention not to lift up any chairs, something Khan did often last year. When he was knocked out today, he quietly got up and waited for his pay slip.

Incredible hand ends with ace-high winning

Stephane Hornet raised from late position, and then Matt Lessinger made a big reraise to 130,000 from the button. Then Alex Borteh came over the top from the big blind. He had both players covered and moved all in. Hornet was frustrated but went ahead and moved all in. The action was back on Lessinger, and he was also extremely exasperated. He ultimately folded, and was shocked to see the hands that were turned up.

Hornet: AK
Borteh: KQ

Board: 73386

Lessinger, who had 250,000 chips left, said he folded two queens. Borteh now has 285,000 chips left, while Hornet is now up to 500,000 chips.

Player Tags: Evelyn Ng,   Gus Hansen,   Phil Hellmuth,   Alex Borteh,   Tiffany Michelle,   Hevad Khan,   Jeremy Joseph,   Santeri Valikoski,   Alexander Kostritsyn,   Cristian Dragomir,   Stephan Hornet

Main Event - Day 4 - Level 16

Jul 11, '08

Blinds/Antes: 2,500-5,000-500

Players Remaining: 408 of 6,844

Average Chip Stack: 301,000

Eliminations:

Brian Schaedlich
Robert Mizrachi
John-Robert Bellande

Big Hands and Storylines:

Rosen Takes Bad Fall

Jamie Rosen lost more than half his chips after an aggressive play against Cornel Pazai. After a flop of 1098, Pazai bet 40,000. Rosen, with a healthy chip count, sent out a stack of orange chips to make the bet 100,000. Pazai then announced all-in and Rosen called. Pazai held J10 for top pair and open-ender, while Rosen had 86 for bottom pair and a flush draw. The turn came the A and the river the 7, which gave both players straights but Pazai’s going to the jack. Rosen had to ship 285,000 across the table.

Khosravi Doubles Up

After a flop of 1083, the 9 fell on the turn. Pontus Khosravi bet 35,000 and was then pushed all-in by his opponent. Khosravi had no trouble making the call, flipping over QJ for the nut straight. His opponent held A3 for the flush draw, but Khosravi dodged a heart on the river and doubled his stack of 149,000.

Early Aces for Cozen

Glenn Cozen didn’t have to wait long to add to his chip stack, thanks to picking up pocket aces early after play resumed Friday. Cozen was in the big blind and saw his opponent under the gun raise to 13,000. Play folded around to Cozen, who reraised, and his opponent then moved all-in for his final 70,000. Cozen showed him AA, while his opponent held 99. The flop came 763, followed by the 3 on the turn and 7 on the river, and Cozen collected the chips.

Naimark Doubles Through Malinasky

After a player raised and another called, David Naimark pushed all of his remaining chips into the pot over the top. The action folded to Doron Malinasky in the small blind, who asked for a clarification of the bet size. After the dealer counted out Naimark’s 56,000 in chips, she noticed that he forgot to include a single 500 chip he had been using to cap his cards. Having him covered, Malinasky pushed all in over the top and the original raiser and caller folded. Naimark tossed in his remaining chip and turned over QQ. Malinasky tabled AK, making it a classic race confrontation. The board ran 66654, and Naimark more than doubled up to almost 150,000 in chips.

Despite Being Dominated, Moon Kim Doubles Through Kostritsyn

Moon Kim got his last 25,000 into the pot preflop with AJ against Alexander Kostritsyn’s AQ. As is protocol during the final money group of the main event, the floor staff was called to monitor the action as the board was dealt. Kostritsyn maintained his lead during the 1083 flop and 8 turn, but the J on the river hit Kim and won the pot for him. Despite the loss, Kostritsyn finished the hand with close to one million in chips.

Hansen nearly doubles up with aces

A player in late position got over 300,000 chips in preflop against Gus Hansen on the button. Hansen, who had him barely covered, was right there with him with red aces. Bernard Brady held AQ, and though he flopped a queen, the board in the end was Q9778. He was eliminated, and now Hansen has over 650,000 chips, more than twice the average.

Mizrachi folds on river, later goes out

Robert Mizrachi called an early position raise, then called a 12,500 bet on a K-J-9 flop. A seven came on the turn, and Mizrachi called a bet of 24,000. Then a nine came on the river, and Mizrachi's opponent moved all in. Mizrachi had about 110,000 chips left, and took over two minutes to fold. He was eliminated shortly after.

Player Tags: Robert Mizrachi,   Gus Hansen,   David Naimark,   Doron Malmasky,   Alexander Kostritsyn,   Jamie Rosen,   Cornel Pazara

$10,000 Main Event - Day 3 Over

Jul 10, '08

Day 3 has come to an end. Players broke the money bubble late in level 4 and the bustout bonanza began soon afterward. There are 474 players returning for Day 4. Jeremiah Smith was the big story in Day 3 as he was the first to break the 1 million mark and led for most of the day. He lost the chip lead late in the day to Jeremy Joseph, but only 150,000 seperates them. Tune in Friday for all the live updates from Day 4 of the 2008 WSOP main event.

Notables still in the field include:

Phil Hellmuth, Mike Matusow, Johnny Chan, Jeff Madsen, Gus Hansen, Hoyt Corkins, Victor Ramdin, Hevad Khan, Alexander Kostritsyn, Allen Cunningham, Robert Mizrachi, Mark Vos, Chip Jett, Markus Golser, Jean-Robert Bellande, Evelyn Ng, Matt Matros, Tommy Le, Hasan Habib, Shawn Sheikhan, Dag Martin Mikkelson and Jon Friedberg.

Online stars still alive include:

Steve “MrSmokey1” Billirakis, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Adam “Roothlus” Levy, David Benefield and Thayer “THAY3R” Rasmussen

Blinds/Antes: 2,000-4,000 with a 500 ante

Players Left: 474 of 6,844

Chip Leaders:

Jeremy Joseph: 1,450,000
Jeremiah Smith: 1,300,000
Owen Crowe: 1,000,000
Alexander Kostritsyn: 980,000
Dag Mikkelsen: 930,000
Mark Ketteringham: 915,000
Alan Jaffray: 870,000
Cristian Dragomir: 860,000
Sarkis Akopyan: 850,000
Robert Georato: 820,000

Average Stack: 279,347

Notable Eliminations:

483rd: Rolf Slotboom: $25,090
518th: Chau Giang: $25,090
618th: Brandon Adams: $21,230
625th: Vanessa Rousso: $21,230
651st: Men Nguyen: $21,230

Big Hands:

Adams Crippled, Then Busted

Brandon Adams raised to 12,000 from the cutoff and the big blind made the call. The flop came J108 and the big blind checked. Adams then fired 20,000 into the pot and the big blind check-raised all in to about 65,000. Adams made the call and turned over J5 for top pair. But his opponent showed J8 for two pair and the upper hand. The turn brought the 4 and Adams needed a 10 to, at best, chop the pot. But the river was the 9 and Adams was crippled, left with just 25,000 in chips.

A few hands later, Adams Pushed his last 24,000 all in from middle position. Action folded to the small blind, who pushed all in for 80,000 total to isolate. But the big blind didn't just throw away his hand. He tanked and eventually called, having both Adams and the small blind covered. The small blind showed A10, the big blind showed 77 and Adams was thrilled to show 88. "This is the best hand I could really hope for," he said. "Anyone fold an ace?" The didn't look good for Adams, running AK10 to give the small blind two pair. However, Adams had the 8 for a flush draw and had some more outs. But the board completed with the J and J and the small blind took the pot, sending Adams to the rail while doubling up through the big blind.

"No Foster's?"

Mark Vos has joined the table featuring tournament chipleader Jeremiah Smith and Jon "PearlJammer" Turner. The table has had some friendly conversation, including Smith asking Vos, "No Foster's? I heard it's Australian for beer." Vos gave a "pft" and rolled his eyes in response.

Turner Takes One With Overpair

Jon Turner simply called from the big blind when another player raised to 11,000 from late position. The flop came J92 and Turner checked to the raiser who bet 15,000. Turner made the call and check-called his opponent's bet of 35,000 when the 6s hit on the turn. Turner checked the 10d on the river and his opponent slowed down and quickly checked behind him. Turned flipped over QQ for a slow-played overpair and was thrilled to see his opponent's AJ. Turner took the pot, adding an additional 65,000 to his stack.

Markus Golser Takes a Hit

Markus Golser got his opponent all in with the board showing K1028 and showed down K10 for top two pair. However, his opponent showed AJ for the nut flush. Golser couldn not improve to a full house on the river and took a hit, dropping to 120,000 in chips.

One Man's Trash Is Gus Hansen's Treasure

On a board reading 9239, Gus Hansen moved all in and was called by his opponent in seat 2. Seat 2 turned over JJ for two pair, but Hansen showed down Q9 for a set on the turn. The river was the icing on the cake as the Q filled up Hansen. He doubled up to around 320,000 in chips.

"Wow, what a turn," Hansen said after the hand. "It was a piece of s%#& hand, but I was on tilt," Hansen added as the table moved on to the next hand.

Chan Takes a Small One, His Table Gets Tougher

After the player in seat 2 raised to 12,000, only Johnny Chan and the player on the button made the call. The fop came K98 and seat 2 checked to Chain who fired 30,500. Everyone folded and chan flashed A-K to seat 2 before raking in his chips.
Johnny Chan and Hoyt Corkins are now seated right beside each other after Corkins' table broke.

Hellmuth Makes His Money In These Situations

The player in seat 7 raised to 16,000 and Phil Hellmuth made the call. The player in seat 2 then popped it for 20,000 more and only Hellmuth made the call. The flop came J75 and Hellmuth made his patented check in the dark. Seat 2 almost immediately moved all in and Hellmuth went into character. The raise was 47,000 more and Hellmuth said, "This is how I make all my money," Hellmuth started. "By making great moves right here." He eventually folded his hand, but only after a million cameras showed up to the table. "Show it!" Hellmuth said to his opponent. He showed a queen and raked in the pot. Hellmuth was around 490,000.

Freerolling On Table 39

Over on Table 39 (Blue), two players were all before the flop, both with pocket jacks. One player held a pair of red jacks, the other held black jacks. The board came 962, giving one player a freeroll with the club flush draw. The turn was the 2, but the river was the 8, giving one player the flush and eliminating his opponent.

 

Player Tags: Hoyt Corkins,   Gus Hansen,   Johnny Chan,   Jon Turner,   Brandon Adams,   Mark Vos

$10,000 Main Event - Day 3 - Level 13 (Hr. 2)

Jul 10, '08

Blinds/Antes: 1,200-2,400-300

Players Left: 747 of 6844

Chip Leaders:
Alberto Font - 745,000
Sigurd Eskeland - 700,000
Jeff Kimber - 670,000
Jeremiah Smith - 650,000
Vito Branciforte - 560,000
Mark Ketteringham - 560,000
Geert Jans - 550,000
Jeremy Joseph - 520,000
Alexander Kostritsyn - 520,000
Victor Ramdin - 510,000

Other Notables
Mark Vos – 360,000
Phil Hellmuth – 300,000
Owen Crowe – 280,000
Jon Turner – 275,000
Robert Mizrachi – 275,000
Shawn Sheikhan – 270,000
Jeff Madsen – 260,000
Bertrand Grospellier – 250,000
Ryan Daut – 205,000
Gus Hansen – 200,000
Brandon Adams – 190,000
Rolf Slotboom – 125,000
Craig Marquis – 110,000
Leo Wolpert – 100,000
Jason Gray – 88,000
Maya Antonius – 73,000
Ari Engel – 65,000
Bill Gazes – 65,000
Thor Hansen – 65,000
Alexander Kravchenko – 32,000

Big Hands/Storylines

Five-Alive for Hansen

Gus Hansen was getting short-stacked, but managed a significant breakthrough with about 40 minutes remaining before the dinner break. Hansen was on the button and called a preflop raise from a player one from the cut-off. The flop came 953, and the first player bet 15,000. Hansen then moved all-in for his remaining 61,500. The player called. Hansen showed 55 for the flopped set, while his opponent held K9. The A and 7 completed the board and Hansen doubled up.

Kido Pham’s Stack Dwindling

Action folded around to the button where Kido Pham raised to 9,000. The small blind called and they saw a flop. The was AK7 and the small blind checked to Pham. Pham bet 12,000 and was quickly called. The K on the turn slowed down the action and both players checked. The river was the 10 and again both players checked. The small blind showed his A8 for a pair of aces and that was good to take down the pot. This hand continues the decline of Kido Pham, who is now down to 85,000.

Smith's monster stack gets even bigger

Preflop, Ryan Daut raised to 6,300 from early position and was called by Jeremiah Smith and the big blind. The flop came J95 and when it checked around to Smith he bet 12,000. Daut called and the turn was the J. Daut checked and Smith quickly fired 20,000. Daut again called and then checked after the T came on the river. Smith again bet quickly, this time for 25,000. Daut folded and Smith took down the pot. After the hand Smith was over 700,000 chips. 

Bad Time to Push

Jamal Sawaqdeh was in the small blind and called a preflop raise from the player with the button. The flop came KJ10, and after Sawaqdeh checked, the button went all-in for 47,900. Sawaqdeh made the call and and showed QJ for middle pair, along with flush and straight draws. His opponent could only manage Q3 for the open-ender. The K on the turn didn't change anything, but the 9 on the river gave Sawaqdeh the straight flush to eliminate his opponent.

Hellmuth moves all in, gets fold, "so sick"

Phil Hellmuth was on the button and was in a pot against the big blind. The flop was AJ9 and Hellmuth bet 6,000 after his opponent checked. The blind called and then bet out 25,000 when the turn came J. Hellmuth thought for a minute and then moved all in. He had the blind, who said this situation was "so sick" a couple times, covered. Finally he flashed 87 and folded. Hellmuth jumped out of his chair and told him he was drawing dead and was mad at himself for raising. After the hadn he was up to about 260,000 chips.

Player Tags: Gus Hansen,   Phil Hellmuth,   Kido Pham,   Jeremiah Smith,   Ryan Daut

$10,000 Main Event - Day 3 - Level 13

Jul 10, '08

Blinds/Antes: 1,200-2,400-300

Players Remaining: 810 out of 6,844

Average Chip Stack: 169,000

Eliminations:

Brandon Schaefer

Big Hands and Storylines:

Men Nguyen Takes Down a Large Pot, Eliminates Opponent

Men Nguyen took down a large pot with pocket aces after risking his tournament life against two opponents.  The aces held, and Nguyen eliminated one opponent.  The pot brought Men’s stack to over 100,000.

Gus put to the test and folds

With a board of J863, Gus Hansen bet 22,200 and was raised all in. Hansen had 55,000 chip left, and after a minute to think -- and allow camera crews and reporters to swarm -- he folded.

Khan commits most of stack, gets fold

With the board 9843, Hevad Khan bet 43,500 and only had about 30,000 behind him. The pot had about 170,000 chips in it, giving Khan's opponent fantastic odds if there was a chance he was ahead or had a reasonable draw. But he folded, and after the hand Khan had about 200,000 chips.

Patel doubles up through Agarwal

Kush Patel moved all in and was called by Aditya Agarwal. Patel held A-Q and was up against pocket nines. Things looked good initially for Agarwal, but an ace came on the river to give the 110,000-chip pot to Patel. Agarwal dropped to about 215,000 chips after the hand.

Matusow Gets His Chips Back

Mike Matusow has recovered from the hit he took earlier today. He got all-in against an opponent on a board of 873. His opponent had KK but Matusow had him drawing to two outs with 77. The turn was the 8 and the river was the 6. With that, Matusow climbs back up to 250,000

Player Tags: Gus Hansen,   Kush Patel,   Aditya Agarwal,   Hevad Khan

$10,000 Main Event - Day 3 - Level 12

Jul 10, '08

Blinds/Antes: 1,000-2,000-300

Players Remaining: 974 out of 6,844

Average Chip Stack: 137,000

Eliminations:

Tony Cousineau
Erik Seidel

Big Hands and Storylines:

Shawn Sheikhan Loses Half His Stack in Two Hands

Shawn Sheikhan raised to 6,500 from middle position and was called only by the two players in the blinds. On a flop of A75, the action was checked to Sheikhan who fired a bet of 12,000 into the pot. The small blind called, allowing the big blind to get out of the way. The turn brought the A and another check from the small blind. Sheikhan launched four orange 5,000 chips across the line, and the small blind made the call. “Black card,” Sheikhan requested as the dealer put down the Q on the river. “God damn it,” Sheikhan exclaimed upon sight of the red queen. The small blind checked, and Sheikhan announced that he held an ace. The small blind turned over J10 and Sheikhan was verbally distraught. He flashed the Ac as he mucked his cards.

On the next hand, the player under the gun raised to 7,000 and Sheikhan made the call as the next player to act. All other players folded, and the dealer put down a flop of J86. Both players checked, and the 9 came on the turn. Again the under-the-gun player checked, prompting a bet of 15,000 from Sheikhan which was quickly called. The player check-called another bet of Sheikhan’s, this time 20,000, when a blank fell on the river. “You got it,” Sheikhan declared after his opponent made the call. The player turned over 1010 and Sheikhan mucked his cards.

After the two-hand downward spiral, Sheikhan was left with only 110,00 in chips.

Traply Needs No Trap To Snare Gray

Peter Traply raised to 5,300 from early position and Jason Gray called from the cutoff. The flop was AJ10 and Traply led out for 9,500, Gray called. Traply bet another 22,000 on the 5 turn and Gray again called. The river was the 4 and Traply fired a third bullet – 48,000 – which Gray called after a minute of thought. Traply tabled KQ for a flopped straight which was good to take down the sizeable pot. Traply is now up to 245,000; Gray is down to 75,000.

Matusow Takes a Hit

Mike Matusow raised pre-flop from middle position and was met with an all-in raise from an opponent. Matusow learned that it would be 8,500 more to call, and call he did. Matusow was pleased to see that his Q10 was live against his opponent’s A3 . The board offered no help, however, as it ran out J545K . After losing that pot, Matusow is down to 112,000.

Hevad Khan Doubles Up with an Unlikely Suck Out

After the action folded around, Hevad Khan made it 6,000 to go from his position on the button. The small blind folded, but the player in the big blind elected to call. The flop came 644 and the big blind led out with a bet of 8,000. Khan announced a raise and moved all in for an additional 36,300. The camera crews came rushing over while the big blind deliberated his situation, ultimately deciding to call. “Nice call. Do you have a pair?” Khan asked, to which his opponent nodded and turned over 22. Khan turned over A7 and needed to catch a card. The 8 on the turn didn’t directly improve Khan, but the 6 on the river counterfeited the deuces and brought a round of gasps from the players and spectators. Khan’s ace-high was good enough to double him up and bring him close to 100,000 in chips.

The two players had a recent history. After a flop of 554 Khan bet 11,500 and his opponent called. Both players then checked the 7 on the turn and 10 on the river. The button then showed 33 which was enough to win the pot.

Rousso Makes Jacks Work

Vanessa Rousso was in the small blind, and play was folded until a player in late position moved all-in for 28,000. Rousso, not with a lot of chips herself, made the call and turned over JJ. The all-in player held 74, and the flop gave him numerous outs, coming 642. However he had two swings and misses, as the 2 came on the turn and 8 hit the river to send the chips to Rousso. She now has about 74,000 in chips.

Hansen Dominated

Gus Hansen raised to 6600 from middle position and the small blind then moved all-in for 17,500. Hansen admitted he wasn’t crazy about his cards. “This is my worst hand of the day, which means I’m probably going to call,” he said. He came close to folding, but finally threw in the chips to call. He didn’t like realizing he was up against A6. “Oh my God, I wanted diamonds,” he said, turning over K7. Neither player would connect with the board that finished J8432 and the small blind stayed alive. A few hands later in the big blind, Hansen was given a walk, at which time he flipped over another king-seven. “Now I’m one-for-two” he quipped.

Agarwal drops 12,200x3 with tens

Aditya Agarwal faced bets of 12,200 on the flop, turn and river and called every time. The board in the end was K8792 and Agarwal's opponent flipped over AJ for a flush. Agarwal showed the 10 for a worse flush. His opponent then asked to see his other card. Agarwal didn't like it, but his opponent saw it was the T. After the hand Agarwal had roughly 200,000 chips.

 

Player Tags: Gus Hansen,   Shawn Sheikhan,   Mike Matusow,   Vanessa Rousso,   Jason Gray,   Aditya Agarwal,   Hevad Khan,   Peter Traply

$10,000 Main Event - Day 2B - Level 6 (Hour 2)

Jul 09, '08

Blinds: 300-600, 75 ante

Chip Leaders:
Henning Granstad - 242,950
Igor Ioffe - 195,000
David Stucke - 168,000
David Benefield - 160,000
Dylan Linde - 146,000
Bill Blanda - 145,000
Sami Rustom - 140,450
Steve Billirakis - 137,000
David Singer - 136,000

Other Notables:
Nenad Medic - 122,000
Brad Booth - 120,000
Gus Hansen - 117,000
Andrew Robl - 105,000
Ayaz Mahmood - 80,000
Shun Uchida - 80,000
Jan Sjavik - 79,000
Phil Hellmuth - 77,000
Jeff Madsen - 75,000
Evelyn Ng - 75,000
Phil Gordon - 73,000
Chris Moneymaker - 68,000
David Daneshgar - 62,000
Liz Lieu - 55,000
Tony Dunst - 55,000
Mike Matusow - 53,000
Rolf Slotboom - 50,000
Joe Hachem - 34,000
Matt Hawrilenko - 32,000
Minh Nguyen - 32,000
Amir Vahedi - 31,950
Kyle Kloeckner - 30,000
Cory Zeidman - 28,000
Ryan Daut - 24,000
Bill Chen -24,000
Howard Lederer - 24,000
Nick Binger - 22,000
Ryan Daut - 18,000
Allen Cunningham - 16,000
Michael Binger - 12,000
Shannon Elizabeth - 11,500
Jeff Shulman - 10,000

Eliminations:
Alex Jacob
Jerry Yang
Beth Shak
Brian Townsend
Danny Wong
Joe Awada

Big Hands and Storylines:

Amnon Filippi Eliminated

Ryan Hughes raised to 1,400 under the gun and three players in middle position called. Then Charles Large, on the button, moved in for 12,500. Amnon Filippi, who had been holding his chips in his hand since the start of his hand, moved in for about 4,200. Hughes called and the three other players folded. The three players showed their hands:

Hughes: 99
Filippi: AK
Large: AK

Interestingly, not only were Filippi and Large sharing outs, but one of the players who folded claimed to have had pocket nines. The board was even worse news for Filippi and Large: the 876 flop giving Hughes an open-ended straight draw in addition to his pair. The turn was the 4, giving Large a flush draw, but the 8 on the river ended the World Series hopes of both Large and Filippi. Hughes is now up to 73,000.

Duane Thompson Doubles Through Evelyn Ng

Duane Thompson was all-in on the button for 11,000 against Evelyn Ng in the small blind. Thompson showed A2 and was visibly pleased when Ng showed KQ. Thompson was audibly pleased too, saying, “I can’t believe I’m ahead.” The raggy board – 75325 – kept him ahead, and he doubled up to 24,000. Despite the hit, Ng still has 75,000.

D’Agostino Takes a Hit

John D’Agostino just lost a 60k pot when his A-K could not improve against his opponent’s pocket queens. D’Agostino, sitting directly across from Phil Gordon, is down to 55,000.

Yang's run comes to an end

The defending champion has been eliminated. Seated at the second featured table, Jerry Yang was shortstacked and in need of luck. He first ran A-2 into A-Q, but survived when the board brought two pair and only their aces played. Then he moved in with A-J and was called by A-9, but a nine came on the flop and Yang was eliminated. On his way out, he wished everyone at his table good luck and then received a nice applause from everyone in the Amazon Room.

Goldstein Can't Pull the Trigger

Ken Goldstein, the SpadeClub poker room manager, was on the button and called a raise to 1500 from a player in middle position. The flop came K53 and both players checked. The 5 paired the board on the turn, and again both players checked. The J on the river brought the flush into play, and another checks followed. "No pair," declared the other player. Goldstein couldn't show a winner at that point. When the other player showed 108, Goldstein mucked his hand. Goldstein had about 12,000 in chips after the hand.

Hansen off to Nice Start

Gus Hansen was in middle position and raised to 1625, which resulted in play being folded around to the big blind, who made the call. The flop came J54, and both players checked. The 10 fell on the turn, and the big blind came out with a 4000 bet. Hansen seemed uncertain whether to simply call, or push the player all-in for his remaining 21,000. He finally made the call, and the 2 on the river made a four-flush on board. It was enough of a scare card that both players checked. The big blind showed KJ for top pair, while Hansen held 1010 for a set spiked on the turn, and he collected the pot. Hansen has about 120,000 in chips.

Player Tags: Evelyn Ng,   Kenny Goldstein,   Gus Hansen,   John D'Agostino,   Amnon Filippi,   Jerry Yang

$10,000 Main Event - Day 1 Officially Over... Really

Jul 06, '08

Day 1 has officially come to an end. More than 2,000 people registered for Day 1D and just under 1,400 survived to make it to Day 2. Among the notables moving on were Antonio "The Magician" Esfandiari, David Oppenheim, Phil Hellmuth and Victor Ramdin. The biggest news of the day was the $9,119,517 awarded to the eventual winner of poker's biggest event. The total amount of players was also announced at 6,844, a little over 500 more players than last year. A total of 666 players will make the money. The field will get Monday off, so join Card Player Tuesday at noon for all of the live updates as we keep you posted on Day 2A.

Blinds/Antes: 200-400 with a 50 ante

Players Left: 1,386 of 2,461

Chip Leaders:

Dylan Linde: 146,000
Steve Austin: 137,000
Christian Choi: 135,000
Jason Katsutani: 133,000
Richard Smith: 130,000
Paul Loh: 127,000
Tom Braband: 124,000
David Oppenheim: 123,000
Victor Ramdin: 121,000
David Stucke: 120,000

CP Counts:

Phil Hellmuth: 75,000
Jeff Shulman: 25,000

Eliminations: Layne Flack, C.K. Hua, Eugene Todd

Big Hands:

A Flush Can Beat a Straight, But Flack Can't Get There and He's Out

Layne Flack raised to 1,350 from early position and he was called by one opponent. The flop came down J98 and Flack checked. His opponent bet half the pot as he put 1,800 in the middle. Flack then pushed all in and his opponent quickly made the call. Flack showed KJ for top pair with second kicker, along with a flush-draw. He needed to sharpen his drawing pencil, however, as Flack's opponent showed Q10 for a flopped straight. The 4 offered no help and Flack needed a heart to stay alive. The river washed away any hope as the 2 landed on the felt and Flack made his way toward the exit.

You Would Call Too If You Had This Many Chips

Carlos Mortensen raised to 1,100 from under the gun. Three players called and the flop came KJ5. The player in seat 9 checked and Mortensen fired 3,000 into the pot. Everyone folded except for seat 9, who made the call. The turn was the 2 and seat 9 checked again. Mortensen bet 6,000 and seat 9 moved all in for an additional 12,000. Mortensen counted the call in his hand, then kissed them goodbye as he tossed them into the pot. Seat 9 showed 98 for a flopped flush and Mortensen briefly flashed KQ and attempted to muck it. But the dealer turned the cards over and put the 2 on the felt to complete the board. Mortensen took the tiny pinch to his stack.

Can Do Cantu...

Brandon Cantu raised to 1,600 from the button. The blinds both called and the flop came 1064 and action was checked to Cantu. He bet 2,700 and only the big blind stuck around. On the 7 turn, both players checked. When the 9 hit on the river, the big blind fired 4,000 and Cantu thought briefly before announcing he was all in, having the big blind covered. The big blind mucked his hand and Cantu took the pot.

...But Hansen Can Do It Better

Later, Cantu again raised to 1,200 from the button. Gus Hansen was in the small blind this time and made the call, along with the player in the big blind. The flop was A32 was checked around to Cantu, who bet 2,500. Hansen called and the big blind got out of the way. The Q came on the turn and both players checked. When the 5 came on the river, Hansen fired out 6,000 and Cantu insta-called. Hansen turned over AK for top pair. Cantu had a look of disgust on his face as he mucked his hand. Hansen took the pot and was at 74,000.

Lederer Takes a Shot and Misses

A player raised to 1,500 from the button and Howard Lederer made the call. Both players checked the flop of K45. The 9 fell on the turn and Lederer led out for 1,500. The button called and both players checked the river, which was the 8. Lederer showed A4 for bottom pair and a busted nut flush draw. His opponent showed A9 for second pair, good enough to take the pot. Lederer was down to 32,000.

Prop Bets In Brasilia

Antonio Esfandiari and Victor Ramdin, two of today's big stacks, were sitting at adjacent tables. Esfandiari came over to Ramdin and asked if he wanted to bet the flop. Ramdin bet $1,000 that two of the three cards on the flop would be black. Esfandiari clarified the bet, saying the bet would double if the flop was all the same color, triple if the flop was all the same suit, and multiply by 10 if a three-card straight flush hit the board.

"Fine, I'll take red," Esfandiari proclaimed after the clarification.

"Black baby," Ramdin screamed.

The flop came down J85 and Ramdin won the prop bet.

"Man, nothing ever goes right in my life," Esfandiari said. "I'm gonna stiff you, punk," he added as he walked back to his table."Double or nothing on the next flop?" Ramdin asked. "Okay," Esfandiari responded. Read more about Esfandiari's prop betting in his Pro Analysis.

Ramdin Stays Hot

With four limpers in front of him, the player in the cutoff raised to 2,700 before the flop. Ramdin limp-raised to 5,500 from under the gun. Action folded back to the cutoff who made the call. The flop came down K65 and Ramdin fired 6,000. The cutoff thought for a bit before releasing his hand. After the hand, Ramdin had 122,000 in chips.

Gordon's Bullets With the Execution

Ryan Young raised to 1,400 from middle position and the player in seat 7 repopped to 6,350. Phil Gordon then shoved all in and Young got out of the way. Seat 7 made the call and was covered by Gordon. Gordon turned over AA while seat 7 had KQ. The flop came out 1082, relatively harmless to Gordon's hand. But the turn brought the J, giving seat 7 an open-ended straight draw. But the river was the 3 and Gordon knocked out seat 7. He improved his stack to 62,000.

Player Tags: Gus Hansen,   Carlos Mortensen,   Phil Gordon,   Layne Flack,   Brandon Cantu,   European Report

$10,000 Main Event - Day 1D - Level One, Hour One

Jul 06, '08

Blinds/Antes: 50/100

Big Hands and Storylines:

Yang Active, Loses Pot

A year off hasn’t dampened the aggressiveness of defending champion Jerry Yang. He won a small pot with A2, pairing his deuce on the flop, but then got embroiled in a costly battle. Yang was in the big blind and saw a flop come Q63. He made a bet and was called by the player in the cut-off position. The A came on the turn and Yang stepped out for 1200. Again the cut-off called. The K on the river made a dangerous board even more treacherous. Yang led out for 3000, and the player in the cut-off then raised to 8500. Yang tanked, then reluctantly folded, though issued the warning “I’m going to lay down one time.” Yang lost a quarter of his stack and was just under 15,000.

A few hands later Yang took another beat, though did well not to lose more than he did. After a flopping a set of 10s, Yang was up against pocket aces, but lost when the board four-flushed. Yang is now down to just over 12,000 in chips.

Tilly Stymied Early

Jennifer Tilly tried to create something on consecutive hands, but came away empty. From middle position she raised to 300 and was called by the player in the cut-off. The flop came A43. Tilly checked, faced a 300 bet, and folded her hand. The next deal, Tilly raised this time to 200 and was called by the player on the button. The small blind then reraised to 750, and Tilly folded along with the big blind and button.

Norman Chad, Will You Marry Me?

World Series of Poker commentator Norman Chad, who often comically references his ex-wives during final table broadcasts, has inadvertently wooed the heart of at least one female viewer.  Seated in the blue section of the Amazon Room, Kay Sweeney reported to her table wearing a t-shirt bearing the words, “NORM’S NEXT WIFE.”  Chad eventually made his way to her table while reporting on today’s action, and Sweeney insisted on having a picture taken of the two potential lovebirds as soon as she was out of a hand.  “Play every hand,” Chad advised.  After getting on one knee, Sweeney formally proposed to Chad.  “Will you marry me?” Sweeney asked while holding Chad’s hand.  “I’ll get back to you,” Chad replied to a burst of laughter from the rail.

Wolfe lays down top pair

Five players limped in preflop and saw a 10-3-2 flop. Paul Wolfe bet out from the small blind for 500. He got one caller and the others folded. The turn was a four and Wolfe bet 1,000. This time his opponent raised another 1,300. Wolfe quickly folded A-10 face up and his opponent took down the pot.

Federer-Nadal distracting many

Many players are paying as much attention to the Wimbledon final as they are to their table. Gus Hansen is an exception. He has set up a chair next to the television and is spending more time there than at his seat at his table. Apparently being 15 feet away was too far and he needed to see the exciting match up-close.

Meandering through the Brasilia Room, we noticed these players taking their shot at the main event:

Hevad Khan
Ray Davis
Brett Jungblut
Mark Newhouse
Tom Schneider
Eugene Todd
Layne Flack
Antonio Esfandiari
Allen Kessler
Phil Gordon
Shane Schleger
Gregory Dyer
Jose Canseco
Todd Brunson
Ryan Daut
David Williams (already down to 12,000)

and players found within the confines of the much cozier Tropicana Room:

Alexander Kostritsyn
Thayer Rasmussen
Ray Coburn
Can Kim Hua
Ari Engel

Player Tags: Gus Hansen,   Paul Wolfe,   Jennifer Tilly,   Jerry Yang,   Norman Chad

$10,000 Main Event - Almost Done

Jul 11, '08

Blinds/Antes: 5,000-10,000 with a 1,000 ante

Players Left: 202 of 6,844

Chip Leaders:

Jeremy Joseph: 2,700,000
Nikolay Losev: 1,900,000
Andrew Rosskamm: 1,800,000
Mark Ketteringham: 1,700,000
Alfred Fernandez: 1,700,000
Justin Sadauskas: 1,600,000
Brandon Cantu: 1,600,000
Lanini Davor: 1,600,000
James McManus: 1,600,000
Phi Nguyen: 1,600,000

Average Stack: 716,649

Big Hands:

Hellmuth Loses A Third Of His Stack

Santeri Valikoski raised to 27,000 from early position preflop. Hellmuth was next to act and made the call. The flop came down KJ5 and Valikoski checked. Hellmuth fired 30,000 into the pot and Valikoski hung around. The turn was the 5 and Valikoski checked again. Hellmuth grabbed a large stack of orange "5,000" chips and shoved it into the pot. The bet was 100,000 and Valikoski took some time to think before deciding to call. The river was the Q and Valikoski checked one last time. Hellmuth gave up and checked behind his opponent. Valikoski showed J10 reluctantly, thinking Hellmuth had the better hand. But Hellmuth mucked and Valikoski took a huge chunk from Hellmuth's stack. The "Poker Brat" was down to about 200,000. "He's tough, man," Hellmuth said about his opponent.

A few hands later, Hellmuth said, "Here we go again, huh?" as he and Valikosi were heads up again. The flop ran KQ2 and Valikosi checked to Hellmuth, who fired 20,000. Valikosi folded this time and Hellmuth showed KQ for flopped top two pair and began to talk about how he wished Valikosi had paired a queen in the hand so he could call him down.

Cunningham Fires Under the Gun and Gets Burned

Allen Cunningham raised to 30,000 under the gun and action folded to Ronald Adams on the button. He made the call and the blinds folded. The flop came down 433. Cunningham checked and Adams fired 50,000 into the pot. Cunningham slid his chips gradually into the pot to make the call. The turn brought the 4 and Cunningham checked again. Adams kept pushing as he fired 100,000 into the pot. Cunningham had enough and mucked his hand. His stack was around 1.5 million after the hand.

Hansen Takes Hit

When the player in seat 4 put in a raise to 30,000, Gus Hansen re-raised from the big blind to 102,000. Seat 4 insta-called and the flop ran A32. Hansen checked from the big blind and seat 4 bet out 175,000. Hansen thought for a minute, shrugged and then mucked his hand, losing more than 100,000 in the hand. Hansen has around 1,300,000 in chips.

No Blow Ups

Mike "The Mouth" Matusow quietly raised to 30,000 from middle position. The table quietly folded back around to Matusow, who quietly flipped over AK as he raked in the blinds and antes.

Corkins Chops It Up

Hoyt Corkins had Anthony Meeker all in before the flop. Both players held big slick, Corkins with the AK and Meeker with the AK. The flop put Corkins on a freeroll for the rest of the hand, running out 432. The turn improved both players to a straight, but also gave Corkins a flush draw with the 5. Meeker almost seemed to have given up hope in the hand when the 8 rolled off on the river, saving Meeker from elimination as he split the pot with the quiet cowboy.

Mark Vos is a Sick Puppy

On the river of a board reading AJ674, Mark Vos was heads up with William Soffin. Vos led out for 150,000, and Soffin made the call, mucking his hand when Vos turned over JJ for flopped middle set. As Soffin counted out his chips for the call, it was discovered that he would be left with only 1,000 - a single yellow chip, which he tried to give to Vos by hiding it in the haphazard pile that he pushed into the felt. Vos adamantly refused to take the chip, and the dealer recounted the stack to confirm that Soffin was in fact left with nothing more than a chip and a chair. During the process, another player at the table spoke up: "Did you put him on only 1,000 left? 'Cuz that's pretty f***ed up if you did." The table erupted into laughter, the pot moved to Vos, and Soffin anted all-in on the next hand.

Mark Vos opened the pot with a small raise, only to have Andrew Brooks reraise to 60,000 from the button. The big blind, Jose Baeza, then reraised all-in for a total of 161,000. Vos quickly folded, Brooks made the call, and the three players turned over their cards.

Brooks: AK
Baeza: JJ
Soffin: 34

The flop brought AQ5, leading everyone at the table to start calling loudly and in unison for a deuce to ship the antes to Soffin. The turn brought the 8, and still louder cries for a deuce. "You know everyone at this table wants you to win this pot," Vos assured Soffin. The river did in fact improve Soffin's hand, but not enough, bringing only the 4. Both the main and the side pot went to Brooks, and Baeza and Soffin were eliminated.

Player Tags: Hoyt Corkins,   Allen Cunningham,   Gus Hansen,   Mike Matusow,   Phil Hellmuth,   Mark Vos

Main Event - Day 4 - Level 18 - Hour 2

Jul 11, '08

Tournament officials have announced that remaining players will only play one more two-hour level tonight when they return from their 90-minute break.

Blinds/Antes: 4,000-8,000-1,000

Players Remaining: 216 of 6,844

Chip Leaders:

Jeremy Joseph - 2,500,000
Brandon Cantu - 1,800,000
Keoni Schwartz - 1,700,000
David Saab - 1,650,000
Phi Nguyen - 1,600,000
Nikolay Losev - 1,600,000
Andrew Rosskamm - 1,500,000
Darus Suharto - 1,500,000
Mark Ketteringham - 1,470,000
David Benefield - 1,400,000

Other Notables

Gus Hansen – 1,400,000
Shawn Sheikhan – 1,100,000
Ylon Schwartz – 1,000,000
Matt Matros – 940,000
Chris Klodnicki – 620,000
Craig Marquis – 550,000
Jeff Madsen – 430,000
Mike Matusow – 415,000
Kido Pham – 400,000
Thomas Keller – 355,000
Andrew Teng – 300,000
Hoyt Corkins – 300,000
Phil Hellmuth – 300,000

Average Chip Stack: 573,000

Eliminations:

Hevad Khan
Evelyn Ng
Jon Turner

Big Hands and Storylines:

Gus Hansen takes monster pot with two pair

After raising to 24,000 from the cutoff position, Hansen then called a reraise to 84,000 by Joseph Ward out of the small blind. The flop came AT5 and Ward bet 100,000. Hansen took a long time to act, but ultimately called. The turn was the 9 and Ward checked. Hansen took his time and then bet 200,000. The action was on Ward and he stood up. He separated 200,000 from his stack and saw he would less than 200,000 remaining. After a couple minutes he moved all in. Hansen called and showed AT. Ward held AQ and needed a queen on the river. The river was the 7 and Hansen took the pot of 1.2 million chips. After the hand he had roughly 1.4 million chips.

Helge Pedersen Doubles Through Pontus Khosravi

Pontus Khosravi raised from the hijack and Helge Pedersen moved in from the button for 260,000 total. Khosravi made the call and showed AK, but he was trailing the KK of Pedersen. The board – Q7632 – did not help the Swede, and his stack took a big hit. After the confrontation, both players had stacks of about 530,000.

Hellmuth Melts Down in Three Consecutive Hands, But Doubles Later

The action folded to Santeri Valikoski in the small blind, who completed. Phil Hellmuth raised an additional 10,000, and Valikoski made the call. The flop came A52, and Valikoski checked. Hellmuth tossed three orange 5,000 chips across the line. “This is a bluff,” Hellmuth told his opponent as he pointed to the chips. Valikoski made the call and bet 25,000 when the A fell on the turn. Hellmuth announced a raise and added 30,000 to Valikoski’s bet. Valikoski called, and both players checked the 6 on the river. Hellmuth turned over K10, and his opponent showed 75. “No, he didn’t!” Phil Hellmuth screamed as he stood up from the table. “He called a raise with five-seven from out of position, that idiot from Northern Europe.” Hellmuth made quite a point of his opponent’s place of origin, mentioning it several times throughout his tirade.

After knocking his chips into a pile and screaming over and over in frustration, Hellmuth called another opponent’s pre-flop raise on the next hand and lost approximately 60,000 in chips when his opponent’s ace-king made top pair.

On the next hand, Hellmuth made it 20,000 to go from the cut-off and his opponent in the big blind raised to 85,000 total. Hellmuth instantly called, beating his opponent into the pot. His opponent asked how much Hellmuth had behind, as he still had not restacked his chips. When the KQ5 flop fell, the player made a bet of 75,000 and Hellmuth folded pocket jacks face up.

Hellmuth launched into another angry tantrum, culminating in him praying to the heavens for better circumstances and constantly referring to his situation as a "nightmare." Hellmuth finished the bender with under 160,000 in chips after losing approximately two-thirds of his stack in the three-hand span.

Later, though Hellmuth doubled when from the big blind his A-5 turned trips against a player with K-10 and top pair. The board in that hand was 10-9-5-5-Q. Hellmuth ended the level with about 320,000 chips.

Evelyn Ng Eliminated

Keith Ferrera raised to 19,000 from early position and Evelyn Ng pushed all in for her remaining 122,000 as the next player to act. The action folded around, and Ferrera quickly called and turned over KK. Ng’s 1010 were in bad shape, and the 98742 board offered no assistance.

Kostritsyn Loses Massive Pot

Alexander Kostritsyn took a significant blow when Cristian Dragomir snagged a two-outter on the river for a pot in excess of 1,000,000 in chips. Kostritsyn raised preflop to 22,000, Dragomir to his immediate right called, along with one other player and the big blind. The flop came J96, and once the big blind checked, Kostritsyn bet 58,000. Dragomir made the call, and the two were heads-up to see the 2 fall on the turn. Kostritsyn then bet out 105,000, and again Dragomir made the call. The 9 hit the river to pair the board, and Kostritsyn bet another 105,000. Dragomir then raised to 300,000 and Kostritsyn called. It was bad news for Kostritsyn who showed king-jack for top pair. Dragomir held K9 for trips made on the river and scoop the massive pot.

The Rich Get Richer

Chip-leader Jeremy Joseph can do no wrong. He elected to make a massive call against Damien Creurer, who was all-in for 271,000. Joseph, with chips to spare, made the call with KQ, and learned he was up against A9. No problem. Joseph hit the flop of K98, dodged the 10 on the turn, the made trips on the river with the K to add to his stack and send Creurer to the rails.

Khan, sixth a year ago, bows out

On a Q74 flop, Hevad Khan, who was short-stacked at around 150,000, found himself all in and in big trouble against Tiffany Michelle. Khan held 99 and was up against KQ, meaning he needed a nine and no hearts. The turn and river were 105 and Khan was eliminated. After a very loud and very deep run last year, Khan was much more subdued during this year's series. At the start of every tournament an announcement was made warning players not to celebrate excessively. Most if not all the time, the announcement would specifically mention not to lift up any chairs, something Khan did often last year. When he was knocked out today, he quietly got up and waited for his pay slip.

Incredible hand ends with ace-high winning

Stephane Hornet raised from late position, and then Matt Lessinger made a big reraise to 130,000 from the button. Then Alex Borteh came over the top from the big blind. He had both players covered and moved all in. Hornet was frustrated but went ahead and moved all in. The action was back on Lessinger, and he was also extremely exasperated. He ultimately folded, and was shocked to see the hands that were turned up.

Hornet: AK
Borteh: KQ

Board: 73386

Lessinger, who had 250,000 chips left, said he folded two queens. Borteh now has 285,000 chips left, while Hornet is now up to 500,000 chips.

Player Tags: Evelyn Ng,   Gus Hansen,   Phil Hellmuth,   Alex Borteh,   Tiffany Michelle,   Hevad Khan,   Jeremy Joseph,   Santeri Valikoski,   Alexander Kostritsyn,   Cristian Dragomir,   Stephan Hornet

Main Event - Day 4 - Level 16

Jul 11, '08

Blinds/Antes: 2,500-5,000-500

Players Remaining: 408 of 6,844

Average Chip Stack: 301,000

Eliminations:

Brian Schaedlich
Robert Mizrachi
John-Robert Bellande

Big Hands and Storylines:

Rosen Takes Bad Fall

Jamie Rosen lost more than half his chips after an aggressive play against Cornel Pazai. After a flop of 1098, Pazai bet 40,000. Rosen, with a healthy chip count, sent out a stack of orange chips to make the bet 100,000. Pazai then announced all-in and Rosen called. Pazai held J10 for top pair and open-ender, while Rosen had 86 for bottom pair and a flush draw. The turn came the A and the river the 7, which gave both players straights but Pazai’s going to the jack. Rosen had to ship 285,000 across the table.

Khosravi Doubles Up

After a flop of 1083, the 9 fell on the turn. Pontus Khosravi bet 35,000 and was then pushed all-in by his opponent. Khosravi had no trouble making the call, flipping over QJ for the nut straight. His opponent held A3 for the flush draw, but Khosravi dodged a heart on the river and doubled his stack of 149,000.

Early Aces for Cozen

Glenn Cozen didn’t have to wait long to add to his chip stack, thanks to picking up pocket aces early after play resumed Friday. Cozen was in the big blind and saw his opponent under the gun raise to 13,000. Play folded around to Cozen, who reraised, and his opponent then moved all-in for his final 70,000. Cozen showed him AA, while his opponent held 99. The flop came 763, followed by the 3 on the turn and 7 on the river, and Cozen collected the chips.

Naimark Doubles Through Malinasky

After a player raised and another called, David Naimark pushed all of his remaining chips into the pot over the top. The action folded to Doron Malinasky in the small blind, who asked for a clarification of the bet size. After the dealer counted out Naimark’s 56,000 in chips, she noticed that he forgot to include a single 500 chip he had been using to cap his cards. Having him covered, Malinasky pushed all in over the top and the original raiser and caller folded. Naimark tossed in his remaining chip and turned over QQ. Malinasky tabled AK, making it a classic race confrontation. The board ran 66654, and Naimark more than doubled up to almost 150,000 in chips.

Despite Being Dominated, Moon Kim Doubles Through Kostritsyn

Moon Kim got his last 25,000 into the pot preflop with AJ against Alexander Kostritsyn’s AQ. As is protocol during the final money group of the main event, the floor staff was called to monitor the action as the board was dealt. Kostritsyn maintained his lead during the 1083 flop and 8 turn, but the J on the river hit Kim and won the pot for him. Despite the loss, Kostritsyn finished the hand with close to one million in chips.

Hansen nearly doubles up with aces

A player in late position got over 300,000 chips in preflop against Gus Hansen on the button. Hansen, who had him barely covered, was right there with him with red aces. Bernard Brady held AQ, and though he flopped a queen, the board in the end was Q9778. He was eliminated, and now Hansen has over 650,000 chips, more than twice the average.

Mizrachi folds on river, later goes out

Robert Mizrachi called an early position raise, then called a 12,500 bet on a K-J-9 flop. A seven came on the turn, and Mizrachi called a bet of 24,000. Then a nine came on the river, and Mizrachi's opponent moved all in. Mizrachi had about 110,000 chips left, and took over two minutes to fold. He was eliminated shortly after.

Player Tags: Robert Mizrachi,   Gus Hansen,   David Naimark,   Doron Malmasky,   Alexander Kostritsyn,   Jamie Rosen,   Cornel Pazara

$10,000 Main Event - Day 3 Over

Jul 10, '08

Day 3 has come to an end. Players broke the money bubble late in level 4 and the bustout bonanza began soon afterward. There are 474 players returning for Day 4. Jeremiah Smith was the big story in Day 3 as he was the first to break the 1 million mark and led for most of the day. He lost the chip lead late in the day to Jeremy Joseph, but only 150,000 seperates them. Tune in Friday for all the live updates from Day 4 of the 2008 WSOP main event.

Notables still in the field include:

Phil Hellmuth, Mike Matusow, Johnny Chan, Jeff Madsen, Gus Hansen, Hoyt Corkins, Victor Ramdin, Hevad Khan, Alexander Kostritsyn, Allen Cunningham, Robert Mizrachi, Mark Vos, Chip Jett, Markus Golser, Jean-Robert Bellande, Evelyn Ng, Matt Matros, Tommy Le, Hasan Habib, Shawn Sheikhan, Dag Martin Mikkelson and Jon Friedberg.

Online stars still alive include:

Steve “MrSmokey1” Billirakis, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Adam “Roothlus” Levy, David Benefield and Thayer “THAY3R” Rasmussen

Blinds/Antes: 2,000-4,000 with a 500 ante

Players Left: 474 of 6,844

Chip Leaders:

Jeremy Joseph: 1,450,000
Jeremiah Smith: 1,300,000
Owen Crowe: 1,000,000
Alexander Kostritsyn: 980,000
Dag Mikkelsen: 930,000
Mark Ketteringham: 915,000
Alan Jaffray: 870,000
Cristian Dragomir: 860,000
Sarkis Akopyan: 850,000
Robert Georato: 820,000

Average Stack: 279,347

Notable Eliminations:

483rd: Rolf Slotboom: $25,090
518th: Chau Giang: $25,090
618th: Brandon Adams: $21,230
625th: Vanessa Rousso: $21,230
651st: Men Nguyen: $21,230

Big Hands:

Adams Crippled, Then Busted

Brandon Adams raised to 12,000 from the cutoff and the big blind made the call. The flop came J108 and the big blind checked. Adams then fired 20,000 into the pot and the big blind check-raised all in to about 65,000. Adams made the call and turned over J5 for top pair. But his opponent showed J8 for two pair and the upper hand. The turn brought the 4 and Adams needed a 10 to, at best, chop the pot. But the river was the 9 and Adams was crippled, left with just 25,000 in chips.

A few hands later, Adams Pushed his last 24,000 all in from middle position. Action folded to the small blind, who pushed all in for 80,000 total to isolate. But the big blind didn't just throw away his hand. He tanked and eventually called, having both Adams and the small blind covered. The small blind showed A10, the big blind showed 77 and Adams was thrilled to show 88. "This is the best hand I could really hope for," he said. "Anyone fold an ace?" The didn't look good for Adams, running AK10 to give the small blind two pair. However, Adams had the 8 for a flush draw and had some more outs. But the board completed with the J and J and the small blind took the pot, sending Adams to the rail while doubling up through the big blind.

"No Foster's?"

Mark Vos has joined the table featuring tournament chipleader Jeremiah Smith and Jon "PearlJammer" Turner. The table has had some friendly conversation, including Smith asking Vos, "No Foster's? I heard it's Australian for beer." Vos gave a "pft" and rolled his eyes in response.

Turner Takes One With Overpair

Jon Turner simply called from the big blind when another player raised to 11,000 from late position. The flop came J92 and Turner checked to the raiser who bet 15,000. Turner made the call and check-called his opponent's bet of 35,000 when the 6s hit on the turn. Turner checked the 10d on the river and his opponent slowed down and quickly checked behind him. Turned flipped over QQ for a slow-played overpair and was thrilled to see his opponent's AJ. Turner took the pot, adding an additional 65,000 to his stack.

Markus Golser Takes a Hit

Markus Golser got his opponent all in with the board showing K1028 and showed down K10 for top two pair. However, his opponent showed AJ for the nut flush. Golser couldn not improve to a full house on the river and took a hit, dropping to 120,000 in chips.

One Man's Trash Is Gus Hansen's Treasure

On a board reading 9239, Gus Hansen moved all in and was called by his opponent in seat 2. Seat 2 turned over JJ for two pair, but Hansen showed down Q9 for a set on the turn. The river was the icing on the cake as the Q filled up Hansen. He doubled up to around 320,000 in chips.

"Wow, what a turn," Hansen said after the hand. "It was a piece of s%#& hand, but I was on tilt," Hansen added as the table moved on to the next hand.

Chan Takes a Small One, His Table Gets Tougher

After the player in seat 2 raised to 12,000, only Johnny Chan and the player on the button made the call. The fop came K98 and seat 2 checked to Chain who fired 30,500. Everyone folded and chan flashed A-K to seat 2 before raking in his chips.
Johnny Chan and Hoyt Corkins are now seated right beside each other after Corkins' table broke.

Hellmuth Makes His Money In These Situations

The player in seat 7 raised to 16,000 and Phil Hellmuth made the call. The player in seat 2 then popped it for 20,000 more and only Hellmuth made the call. The flop came J75 and Hellmuth made his patented check in the dark. Seat 2 almost immediately moved all in and Hellmuth went into character. The raise was 47,000 more and Hellmuth said, "This is how I make all my money," Hellmuth started. "By making great moves right here." He eventually folded his hand, but only after a million cameras showed up to the table. "Show it!" Hellmuth said to his opponent. He showed a queen and raked in the pot. Hellmuth was around 490,000.

Freerolling On Table 39

Over on Table 39 (Blue), two players were all before the flop, both with pocket jacks. One player held a pair of red jacks, the other held black jacks. The board came 962, giving one player a freeroll with the club flush draw. The turn was the 2, but the river was the 8, giving one player the flush and eliminating his opponent.

 

Player Tags: Hoyt Corkins,   Gus Hansen,   Johnny Chan,   Jon Turner,   Brandon Adams,   Mark Vos

$10,000 Main Event - Day 3 - Level 13 (Hr. 2)

Jul 10, '08

Blinds/Antes: 1,200-2,400-300

Players Left: 747 of 6844

Chip Leaders:
Alberto Font - 745,000
Sigurd Eskeland - 700,000
Jeff Kimber - 670,000
Jeremiah Smith - 650,000
Vito Branciforte - 560,000
Mark Ketteringham - 560,000
Geert Jans - 550,000
Jeremy Joseph - 520,000
Alexander Kostritsyn - 520,000
Victor Ramdin - 510,000

Other Notables
Mark Vos – 360,000
Phil Hellmuth – 300,000
Owen Crowe – 280,000
Jon Turner – 275,000
Robert Mizrachi – 275,000
Shawn Sheikhan – 270,000
Jeff Madsen – 260,000
Bertrand Grospellier – 250,000
Ryan Daut – 205,000
Gus Hansen – 200,000
Brandon Adams – 190,000
Rolf Slotboom – 125,000
Craig Marquis – 110,000
Leo Wolpert – 100,000
Jason Gray – 88,000
Maya Antonius – 73,000
Ari Engel – 65,000
Bill Gazes – 65,000
Thor Hansen – 65,000
Alexander Kravchenko – 32,000

Big Hands/Storylines

Five-Alive for Hansen

Gus Hansen was getting short-stacked, but managed a significant breakthrough with about 40 minutes remaining before the dinner break. Hansen was on the button and called a preflop raise from a player one from the cut-off. The flop came 953, and the first player bet 15,000. Hansen then moved all-in for his remaining 61,500. The player called. Hansen showed 55 for the flopped set, while his opponent held K9. The A and 7 completed the board and Hansen doubled up.

Kido Pham’s Stack Dwindling

Action folded around to the button where Kido Pham raised to 9,000. The small blind called and they saw a flop. The was AK7 and the small blind checked to Pham. Pham bet 12,000 and was quickly called. The K on the turn slowed down the action and both players checked. The river was the 10 and again both players checked. The small blind showed his A8 for a pair of aces and that was good to take down the pot. This hand continues the decline of Kido Pham, who is now down to 85,000.

Smith's monster stack gets even bigger

Preflop, Ryan Daut raised to 6,300 from early position and was called by Jeremiah Smith and the big blind. The flop came J95 and when it checked around to Smith he bet 12,000. Daut called and the turn was the J. Daut checked and Smith quickly fired 20,000. Daut again called and then checked after the T came on the river. Smith again bet quickly, this time for 25,000. Daut folded and Smith took down the pot. After the hand Smith was over 700,000 chips. 

Bad Time to Push

Jamal Sawaqdeh was in the small blind and called a preflop raise from the player with the button. The flop came KJ10, and after Sawaqdeh checked, the button went all-in for 47,900. Sawaqdeh made the call and and showed QJ for middle pair, along with flush and straight draws. His opponent could only manage Q3 for the open-ender. The K on the turn didn't change anything, but the 9 on the river gave Sawaqdeh the straight flush to eliminate his opponent.

Hellmuth moves all in, gets fold, "so sick"

Phil Hellmuth was on the button and was in a pot against the big blind. The flop was AJ9 and Hellmuth bet 6,000 after his opponent checked. The blind called and then bet out 25,000 when the turn came J. Hellmuth thought for a minute and then moved all in. He had the blind, who said this situation was "so sick" a couple times, covered. Finally he flashed 87 and folded. Hellmuth jumped out of his chair and told him he was drawing dead and was mad at himself for raising. After the hadn he was up to about 260,000 chips.

Player Tags: Gus Hansen,   Phil Hellmuth,   Kido Pham,   Jeremiah Smith,   Ryan Daut

$10,000 Main Event - Day 3 - Level 13

Jul 10, '08

Blinds/Antes: 1,200-2,400-300

Players Remaining: 810 out of 6,844

Average Chip Stack: 169,000

Eliminations:

Brandon Schaefer

Big Hands and Storylines:

Men Nguyen Takes Down a Large Pot, Eliminates Opponent

Men Nguyen took down a large pot with pocket aces after risking his tournament life against two opponents.  The aces held, and Nguyen eliminated one opponent.  The pot brought Men’s stack to over 100,000.

Gus put to the test and folds

With a board of J863, Gus Hansen bet 22,200 and was raised all in. Hansen had 55,000 chip left, and after a minute to think -- and allow camera crews and reporters to swarm -- he folded.

Khan commits most of stack, gets fold

With the board 9843, Hevad Khan bet 43,500 and only had about 30,000 behind him. The pot had about 170,000 chips in it, giving Khan's opponent fantastic odds if there was a chance he was ahead or had a reasonable draw. But he folded, and after the hand Khan had about 200,000 chips.

Patel doubles up through Agarwal

Kush Patel moved all in and was called by Aditya Agarwal. Patel held A-Q and was up against pocket nines. Things looked good initially for Agarwal, but an ace came on the river to give the 110,000-chip pot to Patel. Agarwal dropped to about 215,000 chips after the hand.

Matusow Gets His Chips Back

Mike Matusow has recovered from the hit he took earlier today. He got all-in against an opponent on a board of 873. His opponent had KK but Matusow had him drawing to two outs with 77. The turn was the 8 and the river was the 6. With that, Matusow climbs back up to 250,000

Player Tags: Gus Hansen,   Kush Patel,   Aditya Agarwal,   Hevad Khan

$10,000 Main Event - Day 3 - Level 12

Jul 10, '08

Blinds/Antes: 1,000-2,000-300

Players Remaining: 974 out of 6,844

Average Chip Stack: 137,000

Eliminations:

Tony Cousineau
Erik Seidel

Big Hands and Storylines:

Shawn Sheikhan Loses Half His Stack in Two Hands

Shawn Sheikhan raised to 6,500 from middle position and was called only by the two players in the blinds. On a flop of A75, the action was checked to Sheikhan who fired a bet of 12,000 into the pot. The small blind called, allowing the big blind to get out of the way. The turn brought the A and another check from the small blind. Sheikhan launched four orange 5,000 chips across the line, and the small blind made the call. “Black card,” Sheikhan requested as the dealer put down the Q on the river. “God damn it,” Sheikhan exclaimed upon sight of the red queen. The small blind checked, and Sheikhan announced that he held an ace. The small blind turned over J10 and Sheikhan was verbally distraught. He flashed the Ac as he mucked his cards.

On the next hand, the player under the gun raised to 7,000 and Sheikhan made the call as the next player to act. All other players folded, and the dealer put down a flop of J86. Both players checked, and the 9 came on the turn. Again the under-the-gun player checked, prompting a bet of 15,000 from Sheikhan which was quickly called. The player check-called another bet of Sheikhan’s, this time 20,000, when a blank fell on the river. “You got it,” Sheikhan declared after his opponent made the call. The player turned over 1010 and Sheikhan mucked his cards.

After the two-hand downward spiral, Sheikhan was left with only 110,00 in chips.

Traply Needs No Trap To Snare Gray

Peter Traply raised to 5,300 from early position and Jason Gray called from the cutoff. The flop was AJ10 and Traply led out for 9,500, Gray called. Traply bet another 22,000 on the 5 turn and Gray again called. The river was the 4 and Traply fired a third bullet – 48,000 – which Gray called after a minute of thought. Traply tabled KQ for a flopped straight which was good to take down the sizeable pot. Traply is now up to 245,000; Gray is down to 75,000.

Matusow Takes a Hit

Mike Matusow raised pre-flop from middle position and was met with an all-in raise from an opponent. Matusow learned that it would be 8,500 more to call, and call he did. Matusow was pleased to see that his Q10 was live against his opponent’s A3 . The board offered no help, however, as it ran out J545K . After losing that pot, Matusow is down to 112,000.

Hevad Khan Doubles Up with an Unlikely Suck Out

After the action folded around, Hevad Khan made it 6,000 to go from his position on the button. The small blind folded, but the player in the big blind elected to call. The flop came 644 and the big blind led out with a bet of 8,000. Khan announced a raise and moved all in for an additional 36,300. The camera crews came rushing over while the big blind deliberated his situation, ultimately deciding to call. “Nice call. Do you have a pair?” Khan asked, to which his opponent nodded and turned over 22. Khan turned over A7 and needed to catch a card. The 8 on the turn didn’t directly improve Khan, but the 6 on the river counterfeited the deuces and brought a round of gasps from the players and spectators. Khan’s ace-high was good enough to double him up and bring him close to 100,000 in chips.

The two players had a recent history. After a flop of 554 Khan bet 11,500 and his opponent called. Both players then checked the 7 on the turn and 10 on the river. The button then showed 33 which was enough to win the pot.

Rousso Makes Jacks Work

Vanessa Rousso was in the small blind, and play was folded until a player in late position moved all-in for 28,000. Rousso, not with a lot of chips herself, made the call and turned over JJ. The all-in player held 74, and the flop gave him numerous outs, coming 642. However he had two swings and misses, as the 2 came on the turn and 8 hit the river to send the chips to Rousso. She now has about 74,000 in chips.

Hansen Dominated

Gus Hansen raised to 6600 from middle position and the small blind then moved all-in for 17,500. Hansen admitted he wasn’t crazy about his cards. “This is my worst hand of the day, which means I’m probably going to call,” he said. He came close to folding, but finally threw in the chips to call. He didn’t like realizing he was up against A6. “Oh my God, I wanted diamonds,” he said, turning over K7. Neither player would connect with the board that finished J8432 and the small blind stayed alive. A few hands later in the big blind, Hansen was given a walk, at which time he flipped over another king-seven. “Now I’m one-for-two” he quipped.

Agarwal drops 12,200x3 with tens

Aditya Agarwal faced bets of 12,200 on the flop, turn and river and called every time. The board in the end was K8792 and Agarwal's opponent flipped over AJ for a flush. Agarwal showed the 10 for a worse flush. His opponent then asked to see his other card. Agarwal didn't like it, but his opponent saw it was the T. After the hand Agarwal had roughly 200,000 chips.

 

Player Tags: Gus Hansen,   Shawn Sheikhan,   Mike Matusow,   Vanessa Rousso,   Jason Gray,   Aditya Agarwal,   Hevad Khan,   Peter Traply

$10,000 Main Event - Day 2B - Level 6 (Hour 2)

Jul 09, '08

Blinds: 300-600, 75 ante

Chip Leaders:
Henning Granstad - 242,950
Igor Ioffe - 195,000
David Stucke - 168,000
David Benefield - 160,000
Dylan Linde - 146,000
Bill Blanda - 145,000
Sami Rustom - 140,450
Steve Billirakis - 137,000
David Singer - 136,000

Other Notables:
Nenad Medic - 122,000
Brad Booth - 120,000
Gus Hansen - 117,000
Andrew Robl - 105,000
Ayaz Mahmood - 80,000
Shun Uchida - 80,000
Jan Sjavik - 79,000
Phil Hellmuth - 77,000
Jeff Madsen - 75,000
Evelyn Ng - 75,000
Phil Gordon - 73,000
Chris Moneymaker - 68,000
David Daneshgar - 62,000
Liz Lieu - 55,000
Tony Dunst - 55,000
Mike Matusow - 53,000
Rolf Slotboom - 50,000
Joe Hachem - 34,000
Matt Hawrilenko - 32,000
Minh Nguyen - 32,000
Amir Vahedi - 31,950
Kyle Kloeckner - 30,000
Cory Zeidman - 28,000
Ryan Daut - 24,000
Bill Chen -24,000
Howard Lederer - 24,000
Nick Binger - 22,000
Ryan Daut - 18,000
Allen Cunningham - 16,000
Michael Binger - 12,000
Shannon Elizabeth - 11,500
Jeff Shulman - 10,000

Eliminations:
Alex Jacob
Jerry Yang
Beth Shak
Brian Townsend
Danny Wong
Joe Awada

Big Hands and Storylines:

Amnon Filippi Eliminated

Ryan Hughes raised to 1,400 under the gun and three players in middle position called. Then Charles Large, on the button, moved in for 12,500. Amnon Filippi, who had been holding his chips in his hand since the start of his hand, moved in for about 4,200. Hughes called and the three other players folded. The three players showed their hands:

Hughes: 99
Filippi: AK
Large: AK

Interestingly, not only were Filippi and Large sharing outs, but one of the players who folded claimed to have had pocket nines. The board was even worse news for Filippi and Large: the 876 flop giving Hughes an open-ended straight draw in addition to his pair. The turn was the 4, giving Large a flush draw, but the 8 on the river ended the World Series hopes of both Large and Filippi. Hughes is now up to 73,000.

Duane Thompson Doubles Through Evelyn Ng

Duane Thompson was all-in on the button for 11,000 against Evelyn Ng in the small blind. Thompson showed A2 and was visibly pleased when Ng showed KQ. Thompson was audibly pleased too, saying, “I can’t believe I’m ahead.” The raggy board – 75325 – kept him ahead, and he doubled up to 24,000. Despite the hit, Ng still has 75,000.

D’Agostino Takes a Hit

John D’Agostino just lost a 60k pot when his A-K could not improve against his opponent’s pocket queens. D’Agostino, sitting directly across from Phil Gordon, is down to 55,000.

Yang's run comes to an end

The defending champion has been eliminated. Seated at the second featured table, Jerry Yang was shortstacked and in need of luck. He first ran A-2 into A-Q, but survived when the board brought two pair and only their aces played. Then he moved in with A-J and was called by A-9, but a nine came on the flop and Yang was eliminated. On his way out, he wished everyone at his table good luck and then received a nice applause from everyone in the Amazon Room.

Goldstein Can't Pull the Trigger

Ken Goldstein, the SpadeClub poker room manager, was on the button and called a raise to 1500 from a player in middle position. The flop came K53 and both players checked. The 5 paired the board on the turn, and again both players checked. The J on the river brought the flush into play, and another checks followed. "No pair," declared the other player. Goldstein couldn't show a winner at that point. When the other player showed 108, Goldstein mucked his hand. Goldstein had about 12,000 in chips after the hand.

Hansen off to Nice Start

Gus Hansen was in middle position and raised to 1625, which resulted in play being folded around to the big blind, who made the call. The flop came J54, and both players checked. The 10 fell on the turn, and the big blind came out with a 4000 bet. Hansen seemed uncertain whether to simply call, or push the player all-in for his remaining 21,000. He finally made the call, and the 2 on the river made a four-flush on board. It was enough of a scare card that both players checked. The big blind showed KJ for top pair, while Hansen held 1010 for a set spiked on the turn, and he collected the pot. Hansen has about 120,000 in chips.

Player Tags: Evelyn Ng,   Kenny Goldstein,   Gus Hansen,   John D'Agostino,   Amnon Filippi,   Jerry Yang

$10,000 Main Event - Day 1 Officially Over... Really

Jul 06, '08

Day 1 has officially come to an end. More than 2,000 people registered for Day 1D and just under 1,400 survived to make it to Day 2. Among the notables moving on were Antonio "The Magician" Esfandiari, David Oppenheim, Phil Hellmuth and Victor Ramdin. The biggest news of the day was the $9,119,517 awarded to the eventual winner of poker's biggest event. The total amount of players was also announced at 6,844, a little over 500 more players than last year. A total of 666 players will make the money. The field will get Monday off, so join Card Player Tuesday at noon for all of the live updates as we keep you posted on Day 2A.

Blinds/Antes: 200-400 with a 50 ante

Players Left: 1,386 of 2,461

Chip Leaders:

Dylan Linde: 146,000
Steve Austin: 137,000
Christian Choi: 135,000
Jason Katsutani: 133,000
Richard Smith: 130,000
Paul Loh: 127,000
Tom Braband: 124,000
David Oppenheim: 123,000
Victor Ramdin: 121,000
David Stucke: 120,000

CP Counts:

Phil Hellmuth: 75,000
Jeff Shulman: 25,000

Eliminations: Layne Flack, C.K. Hua, Eugene Todd

Big Hands:

A Flush Can Beat a Straight, But Flack Can't Get There and He's Out

Layne Flack raised to 1,350 from early position and he was called by one opponent. The flop came down J98 and Flack checked. His opponent bet half the pot as he put 1,800 in the middle. Flack then pushed all in and his opponent quickly made the call. Flack showed KJ for top pair with second kicker, along with a flush-draw. He needed to sharpen his drawing pencil, however, as Flack's opponent showed Q10 for a flopped straight. The 4 offered no help and Flack needed a heart to stay alive. The river washed away any hope as the 2 landed on the felt and Flack made his way toward the exit.

You Would Call Too If You Had This Many Chips

Carlos Mortensen raised to 1,100 from under the gun. Three players called and the flop came KJ5. The player in seat 9 checked and Mortensen fired 3,000 into the pot. Everyone folded except for seat 9, who made the call. The turn was the 2 and seat 9 checked again. Mortensen bet 6,000 and seat 9 moved all in for an additional 12,000. Mortensen counted the call in his hand, then kissed them goodbye as he tossed them into the pot. Seat 9 showed 98 for a flopped flush and Mortensen briefly flashed KQ and attempted to muck it. But the dealer turned the cards over and put the 2 on the felt to complete the board. Mortensen took the tiny pinch to his stack.

Can Do Cantu...

Brandon Cantu raised to 1,600 from the button. The blinds both called and the flop came 1064 and action was checked to Cantu. He bet 2,700 and only the big blind stuck around. On the 7 turn, both players checked. When the 9 hit on the river, the big blind fired 4,000 and Cantu thought briefly before announcing he was all in, having the big blind covered. The big blind mucked his hand and Cantu took the pot.

...But Hansen Can Do It Better

Later, Cantu again raised to 1,200 from the button. Gus Hansen was in the small blind this time and made the call, along with the player in the big blind. The flop was A32 was checked around to Cantu, who bet 2,500. Hansen called and the big blind got out of the way. The Q came on the turn and both players checked. When the 5 came on the river, Hansen fired out 6,000 and Cantu insta-called. Hansen turned over AK for top pair. Cantu had a look of disgust on his face as he mucked his hand. Hansen took the pot and was at 74,000.

Lederer Takes a Shot and Misses

A player raised to 1,500 from the button and Howard Lederer made the call. Both players checked the flop of K45. The 9 fell on the turn and Lederer led out for 1,500. The button called and both players checked the river, which was the 8. Lederer showed A4 for bottom pair and a busted nut flush draw. His opponent showed A9 for second pair, good enough to take the pot. Lederer was down to 32,000.

Prop Bets In Brasilia

Antonio Esfandiari and Victor Ramdin, two of today's big stacks, were sitting at adjacent tables. Esfandiari came over to Ramdin and asked if he wanted to bet the flop. Ramdin bet $1,000 that two of the three cards on the flop would be black. Esfandiari clarified the bet, saying the bet would double if the flop was all the same color, triple if the flop was all the same suit, and multiply by 10 if a three-card straight flush hit the board.

"Fine, I'll take red," Esfandiari proclaimed after the clarification.

"Black baby," Ramdin screamed.

The flop came down J85 and Ramdin won the prop bet.

"Man, nothing ever goes right in my life," Esfandiari said. "I'm gonna stiff you, punk," he added as he walked back to his table."Double or nothing on the next flop?" Ramdin asked. "Okay," Esfandiari responded. Read more about Esfandiari's prop betting in his Pro Analysis.

Ramdin Stays Hot

With four limpers in front of him, the player in the cutoff raised to 2,700 before the flop. Ramdin limp-raised to 5,500 from under the gun. Action folded back to the cutoff who made the call. The flop came down K65 and Ramdin fired 6,000. The cutoff thought for a bit before releasing his hand. After the hand, Ramdin had 122,000 in chips.

Gordon's Bullets With the Execution

Ryan Young raised to 1,400 from middle position and the player in seat 7 repopped to 6,350. Phil Gordon then shoved all in and Young got out of the way. Seat 7 made the call and was covered by Gordon. Gordon turned over AA while seat 7 had KQ. The flop came out 1082, relatively harmless to Gordon's hand. But the turn brought the J, giving seat 7 an open-ended straight draw. But the river was the 3 and Gordon knocked out seat 7. He improved his stack to 62,000.

Player Tags: Gus Hansen,   Carlos Mortensen,   Phil Gordon,   Layne Flack,   Brandon Cantu,   European Report

$10,000 Main Event - Day 1D - Level One, Hour One

Jul 06, '08

Blinds/Antes: 50/100

Big Hands and Storylines:

Yang Active, Loses Pot

A year off hasn’t dampened the aggressiveness of defending champion Jerry Yang. He won a small pot with A2, pairing his deuce on the flop, but then got embroiled in a costly battle. Yang was in the big blind and saw a flop come Q63. He made a bet and was called by the player in the cut-off position. The A came on the turn and Yang stepped out for 1200. Again the cut-off called. The K on the river made a dangerous board even more treacherous. Yang led out for 3000, and the player in the cut-off then raised to 8500. Yang tanked, then reluctantly folded, though issued the warning “I’m going to lay down one time.” Yang lost a quarter of his stack and was just under 15,000.

A few hands later Yang took another beat, though did well not to lose more than he did. After a flopping a set of 10s, Yang was up against pocket aces, but lost when the board four-flushed. Yang is now down to just over 12,000 in chips.

Tilly Stymied Early

Jennifer Tilly tried to create something on consecutive hands, but came away empty. From middle position she raised to 300 and was called by the player in the cut-off. The flop came A43. Tilly checked, faced a 300 bet, and folded her hand. The next deal, Tilly raised this time to 200 and was called by the player on the button. The small blind then reraised to 750, and Tilly folded along with the big blind and button.

Norman Chad, Will You Marry Me?

World Series of Poker commentator Norman Chad, who often comically references his ex-wives during final table broadcasts, has inadvertently wooed the heart of at least one female viewer.  Seated in the blue section of the Amazon Room, Kay Sweeney reported to her table wearing a t-shirt bearing the words, “NORM’S NEXT WIFE.”  Chad eventually made his way to her table while reporting on today’s action, and Sweeney insisted on having a picture taken of the two potential lovebirds as soon as she was out of a hand.  “Play every hand,” Chad advised.  After getting on one knee, Sweeney formally proposed to Chad.  “Will you marry me?” Sweeney asked while holding Chad’s hand.  “I’ll get back to you,” Chad replied to a burst of laughter from the rail.

Wolfe lays down top pair

Five players limped in preflop and saw a 10-3-2 flop. Paul Wolfe bet out from the small blind for 500. He got one caller and the others folded. The turn was a four and Wolfe bet 1,000. This time his opponent raised another 1,300. Wolfe quickly folded A-10 face up and his opponent took down the pot.

Federer-Nadal distracting many

Many players are paying as much attention to the Wimbledon final as they are to their table. Gus Hansen is an exception. He has set up a chair next to the television and is spending more time there than at his seat at his table. Apparently being 15 feet away was too far and he needed to see the exciting match up-close.

Meandering through the Brasilia Room, we noticed these players taking their shot at the main event:

Hevad Khan
Ray Davis
Brett Jungblut
Mark Newhouse
Tom Schneider
Eugene Todd
Layne Flack
Antonio Esfandiari
Allen Kessler
Phil Gordon
Shane Schleger
Gregory Dyer
Jose Canseco
Todd Brunson
Ryan Daut
David Williams (already down to 12,000)

and players found within the confines of the much cozier Tropicana Room:

Alexander Kostritsyn
Thayer Rasmussen
Ray Coburn
Can Kim Hua
Ari Engel

Player Tags: Gus Hansen,   Paul Wolfe,   Jennifer Tilly,   Jerry Yang,   Norman Chad

$10,000 Main Event - Almost Done

Jul 11, '08

Blinds/Antes: 5,000-10,000 with a 1,000 ante

Players Left: 202 of 6,844

Chip Leaders:

Jeremy Joseph: 2,700,000
Nikolay Losev: 1,900,000
Andrew Rosskamm: 1,800,000
Mark Ketteringham: 1,700,000
Alfred Fernandez: 1,700,000
Justin Sadauskas: 1,600,000
Brandon Cantu: 1,600,000
Lanini Davor: 1,600,000
James McManus: 1,600,000
Phi Nguyen: 1,600,000

Average Stack: 716,649

Big Hands:

Hellmuth Loses A Third Of His Stack

Santeri Valikoski raised to 27,000 from early position preflop. Hellmuth was next to act and made the call. The flop came down KJ5 and Valikoski checked. Hellmuth fired 30,000 into the pot and Valikoski hung around. The turn was the 5 and Valikoski checked again. Hellmuth grabbed a large stack of orange "5,000" chips and shoved it into the pot. The bet was 100,000 and Valikoski took some time to think before deciding to call. The river was the Q and Valikoski checked one last time. Hellmuth gave up and checked behind his opponent. Valikoski showed J10 reluctantly, thinking Hellmuth had the better hand. But Hellmuth mucked and Valikoski took a huge chunk from Hellmuth's stack. The "Poker Brat" was down to about 200,000. "He's tough, man," Hellmuth said about his opponent.

A few hands later, Hellmuth said, "Here we go again, huh?" as he and Valikosi were heads up again. The flop ran KQ2 and Valikosi checked to Hellmuth, who fired 20,000. Valikosi folded this time and Hellmuth showed KQ for flopped top two pair and began to talk about how he wished Valikosi had paired a queen in the hand so he could call him down.

Cunningham Fires Under the Gun and Gets Burned

Allen Cunningham raised to 30,000 under the gun and action folded to Ronald Adams on the button. He made the call and the blinds folded. The flop came down 433. Cunningham checked and Adams fired 50,000 into the pot. Cunningham slid his chips gradually into the pot to make the call. The turn brought the 4 and Cunningham checked again. Adams kept pushing as he fired 100,000 into the pot. Cunningham had enough and mucked his hand. His stack was around 1.5 million after the hand.

Hansen Takes Hit

When the player in seat 4 put in a raise to 30,000, Gus Hansen re-raised from the big blind to 102,000. Seat 4 insta-called and the flop ran A32. Hansen checked from the big blind and seat 4 bet out 175,000. Hansen thought for a minute, shrugged and then mucked his hand, losing more than 100,000 in the hand. Hansen has around 1,300,000 in chips.

No Blow Ups

Mike "The Mouth" Matusow quietly raised to 30,000 from middle position. The table quietly folded back around to Matusow, who quietly flipped over AK as he raked in the blinds and antes.

Corkins Chops It Up

Hoyt Corkins had Anthony Meeker all in before the flop. Both players held big slick, Corkins with the AK and Meeker with the AK. The flop put Corkins on a freeroll for the rest of the hand, running out 432. The turn improved both players to a straight, but also gave Corkins a flush draw with the 5. Meeker almost seemed to have given up hope in the hand when the 8 rolled off on the river, saving Meeker from elimination as he split the pot with the quiet cowboy.

Mark Vos is a Sick Puppy

On the river of a board reading AJ674, Mark Vos was heads up with William Soffin. Vos led out for 150,000, and Soffin made the call, mucking his hand when Vos turned over JJ for flopped middle set. As Soffin counted out his chips for the call, it was discovered that he would be left with only 1,000 - a single yellow chip, which he tried to give to Vos by hiding it in the haphazard pile that he pushed into the felt. Vos adamantly refused to take the chip, and the dealer recounted the stack to confirm that Soffin was in fact left with nothing more than a chip and a chair. During the process, another player at the table spoke up: "Did you put him on only 1,000 left? 'Cuz that's pretty f***ed up if you did." The table erupted into laughter, the pot moved to Vos, and Soffin anted all-in on the next hand.

Mark Vos opened the pot with a small raise, only to have Andrew Brooks reraise to 60,000 from the button. The big blind, Jose Baeza, then reraised all-in for a total of 161,000. Vos quickly folded, Brooks made the call, and the three players turned over their cards.

Brooks: AK
Baeza: JJ
Soffin: 34

The flop brought AQ5, leading everyone at the table to start calling loudly and in unison for a deuce to ship the antes to Soffin. The turn brought the 8, and still louder cries for a deuce. "You know everyone at this table wants you to win this pot," Vos assured Soffin. The river did in fact improve Soffin's hand, but not enough, bringing only the 4. Both the main and the side pot went to Brooks, and Baeza and Soffin were eliminated.

Player Tags: Hoyt Corkins,   Allen Cunningham,   Gus Hansen,   Mike Matusow,   Phil Hellmuth,   Mark Vos

Main Event - Day 4 - Level 18 - Hour 2

Jul 11, '08

Tournament officials have announced that remaining players will only play one more two-hour level tonight when they return from their 90-minute break.

Blinds/Antes: 4,000-8,000-1,000

Players Remaining: 216 of 6,844

Chip Leaders:

Jeremy Joseph - 2,500,000
Brandon Cantu - 1,800,000
Keoni Schwartz - 1,700,000
David Saab - 1,650,000
Phi Nguyen - 1,600,000
Nikolay Losev - 1,600,000
Andrew Rosskamm - 1,500,000
Darus Suharto - 1,500,000
Mark Ketteringham - 1,470,000
David Benefield - 1,400,000

Other Notables

Gus Hansen – 1,400,000
Shawn Sheikhan – 1,100,000
Ylon Schwartz – 1,000,000
Matt Matros – 940,000
Chris Klodnicki – 620,000
Craig Marquis – 550,000
Jeff Madsen – 430,000
Mike Matusow – 415,000
Kido Pham – 400,000
Thomas Keller – 355,000
Andrew Teng – 300,000
Hoyt Corkins – 300,000
Phil Hellmuth – 300,000

Average Chip Stack: 573,000

Eliminations:

Hevad Khan
Evelyn Ng
Jon Turner

Big Hands and Storylines:

Gus Hansen takes monster pot with two pair

After raising to 24,000 from the cutoff position, Hansen then called a reraise to 84,000 by Joseph Ward out of the small blind. The flop came AT5 and Ward bet 100,000. Hansen took a long time to act, but ultimately called. The turn was the 9 and Ward checked. Hansen took his time and then bet 200,000. The action was on Ward and he stood up. He separated 200,000 from his stack and saw he would less than 200,000 remaining. After a couple minutes he moved all in. Hansen called and showed AT. Ward held AQ and needed a queen on the river. The river was the 7 and Hansen took the pot of 1.2 million chips. After the hand he had roughly 1.4 million chips.

Helge Pedersen Doubles Through Pontus Khosravi

Pontus Khosravi raised from the hijack and Helge Pedersen moved in from the button for 260,000 total. Khosravi made the call and showed AK, but he was trailing the KK of Pedersen. The board – Q7632 – did not help the Swede, and his stack took a big hit. After the confrontation, both players had stacks of about 530,000.

Hellmuth Melts Down in Three Consecutive Hands, But Doubles Later

The action folded to Santeri Valikoski in the small blind, who completed. Phil Hellmuth raised an additional 10,000, and Valikoski made the call. The flop came A52, and Valikoski checked. Hellmuth tossed three orange 5,000 chips across the line. “This is a bluff,” Hellmuth told his opponent as he pointed to the chips. Valikoski made the call and bet 25,000 when the A fell on the turn. Hellmuth announced a raise and added 30,000 to Valikoski’s bet. Valikoski called, and both players checked the 6 on the river. Hellmuth turned over K10, and his opponent showed 75. “No, he didn’t!” Phil Hellmuth screamed as he stood up from the table. “He called a raise with five-seven from out of position, that idiot from Northern Europe.” Hellmuth made quite a point of his opponent’s place of origin, mentioning it several times throughout his tirade.

After knocking his chips into a pile and screaming over and over in frustration, Hellmuth called another opponent’s pre-flop raise on the next hand and lost approximately 60,000 in chips when his opponent’s ace-king made top pair.

On the next hand, Hellmuth made it 20,000 to go from the cut-off and his opponent in the big blind raised to 85,000 total. Hellmuth instantly called, beating his opponent into the pot. His opponent asked how much Hellmuth had behind, as he still had not restacked his chips. When the KQ5 flop fell, the player made a bet of 75,000 and Hellmuth folded pocket jacks face up.

Hellmuth launched into another angry tantrum, culminating in him praying to the heavens for better circumstances and constantly referring to his situation as a "nightmare." Hellmuth finished the bender with under 160,000 in chips after losing approximately two-thirds of his stack in the three-hand span.

Later, though Hellmuth doubled when from the big blind his A-5 turned trips against a player with K-10 and top pair. The board in that hand was 10-9-5-5-Q. Hellmuth ended the level with about 320,000 chips.

Evelyn Ng Eliminated

Keith Ferrera raised to 19,000 from early position and Evelyn Ng pushed all in for her remaining 122,000 as the next player to act. The action folded around, and Ferrera quickly called and turned over KK. Ng’s 1010 were in bad shape, and the 98742 board offered no assistance.

Kostritsyn Loses Massive Pot

Alexander Kostritsyn took a significant blow when Cristian Dragomir snagged a two-outter on the river for a pot in excess of 1,000,000 in chips. Kostritsyn raised preflop to 22,000, Dragomir to his immediate right called, along with one other player and the big blind. The flop came J96, and once the big blind checked, Kostritsyn bet 58,000. Dragomir made the call, and the two were heads-up to see the 2 fall on the turn. Kostritsyn then bet out 105,000, and again Dragomir made the call. The 9 hit the river to pair the board, and Kostritsyn bet another 105,000. Dragomir then raised to 300,000 and Kostritsyn called. It was bad news for Kostritsyn who showed king-jack for top pair. Dragomir held K9 for trips made on the river and scoop the massive pot.

The Rich Get Richer

Chip-leader Jeremy Joseph can do no wrong. He elected to make a massive call against Damien Creurer, who was all-in for 271,000. Joseph, with chips to spare, made the call with KQ, and learned he was up against A9. No problem. Joseph hit the flop of K98, dodged the 10 on the turn, the made trips on the river with the K to add to his stack and send Creurer to the rails.

Khan, sixth a year ago, bows out

On a Q74 flop, Hevad Khan, who was short-stacked at around 150,000, found himself all in and in big trouble against Tiffany Michelle. Khan held 99 and was up against KQ, meaning he needed a nine and no hearts. The turn and river were 105 and Khan was eliminated. After a very loud and very deep run last year, Khan was much more subdued during this year's series. At the start of every tournament an announcement was made warning players not to celebrate excessively. Most if not all the time, the announcement would specifically mention not to lift up any chairs, something Khan did often last year. When he was knocked out today, he quietly got up and waited for his pay slip.

Incredible hand ends with ace-high winning

Stephane Hornet raised from late position, and then Matt Lessinger made a big reraise to 130,000 from the button. Then Alex Borteh came over the top from the big blind. He had both players covered and moved all in. Hornet was frustrated but went ahead and moved all in. The action was back on Lessinger, and he was also extremely exasperated. He ultimately folded, and was shocked to see the hands that were turned up.

Hornet: AK
Borteh: KQ

Board: 73386

Lessinger, who had 250,000 chips left, said he folded two queens. Borteh now has 285,000 chips left, while Hornet is now up to 500,000 chips.

Player Tags: Evelyn Ng,   Gus Hansen,   Phil Hellmuth,   Alex Borteh,   Tiffany Michelle,   Hevad Khan,   Jeremy Joseph,   Santeri Valikoski,   Alexander Kostritsyn,   Cristian Dragomir,   Stephan Hornet

Main Event - Day 4 - Level 16

Jul 11, '08

Blinds/Antes: 2,500-5,000-500

Players Remaining: 408 of 6,844

Average Chip Stack: 301,000

Eliminations:

Brian Schaedlich
Robert Mizrachi
John-Robert Bellande

Big Hands and Storylines:

Rosen Takes Bad Fall

Jamie Rosen lost more than half his chips after an aggressive play against Cornel Pazai. After a flop of 1098, Pazai bet 40,000. Rosen, with a healthy chip count, sent out a stack of orange chips to make the bet 100,000. Pazai then announced all-in and Rosen called. Pazai held J10 for top pair and open-ender, while Rosen had 86 for bottom pair and a flush draw. The turn came the A and the river the 7, which gave both players straights but Pazai’s going to the jack. Rosen had to ship 285,000 across the table.

Khosravi Doubles Up

After a flop of 1083, the 9 fell on the turn. Pontus Khosravi bet 35,000 and was then pushed all-in by his opponent. Khosravi had no trouble making the call, flipping over QJ for the nut straight. His opponent held A3 for the flush draw, but Khosravi dodged a heart on the river and doubled his stack of 149,000.

Early Aces for Cozen

Glenn Cozen didn’t have to wait long to add to his chip stack, thanks to picking up pocket aces early after play resumed Friday. Cozen was in the big blind and saw his opponent under the gun raise to 13,000. Play folded around to Cozen, who reraised, and his opponent then moved all-in for his final 70,000. Cozen showed him AA, while his opponent held 99. The flop came 763, followed by the 3 on the turn and 7 on the river, and Cozen collected the chips.

Naimark Doubles Through Malinasky

After a player raised and another called, David Naimark pushed all of his remaining chips into the pot over the top. The action folded to Doron Malinasky in the small blind, who asked for a clarification of the bet size. After the dealer counted out Naimark’s 56,000 in chips, she noticed that he forgot to include a single 500 chip he had been using to cap his cards. Having him covered, Malinasky pushed all in over the top and the original raiser and caller folded. Naimark tossed in his remaining chip and turned over QQ. Malinasky tabled AK, making it a classic race confrontation. The board ran 66654, and Naimark more than doubled up to almost 150,000 in chips.

Despite Being Dominated, Moon Kim Doubles Through Kostritsyn

Moon Kim got his last 25,000 into the pot preflop with AJ against Alexander Kostritsyn’s AQ. As is protocol during the final money group of the main event, the floor staff was called to monitor the action as the board was dealt. Kostritsyn maintained his lead during the 1083 flop and 8 turn, but the J on the river hit Kim and won the pot for him. Despite the loss, Kostritsyn finished the hand with close to one million in chips.

Hansen nearly doubles up with aces

A player in late position got over 300,000 chips in preflop against Gus Hansen on the button. Hansen, who had him barely covered, was right there with him with red aces. Bernard Brady held AQ, and though he flopped a queen, the board in the end was Q9778. He was eliminated, and now Hansen has over 650,000 chips, more than twice the average.

Mizrachi folds on river, later goes out

Robert Mizrachi called an early position raise, then called a 12,500 bet on a K-J-9 flop. A seven came on the turn, and Mizrachi called a bet of 24,000. Then a nine came on the river, and Mizrachi's opponent moved all in. Mizrachi had about 110,000 chips left, and took over two minutes to fold. He was eliminated shortly after.

Player Tags: Robert Mizrachi,   Gus Hansen,   David Naimark,   Doron Malmasky,   Alexander Kostritsyn,   Jamie Rosen,   Cornel Pazara

$10,000 Main Event - Day 3 Over

Jul 10, '08

Day 3 has come to an end. Players broke the money bubble late in level 4 and the bustout bonanza began soon afterward. There are 474 players returning for Day 4. Jeremiah Smith was the big story in Day 3 as he was the first to break the 1 million mark and led for most of the day. He lost the chip lead late in the day to Jeremy Joseph, but only 150,000 seperates them. Tune in Friday for all the live updates from Day 4 of the 2008 WSOP main event.

Notables still in the field include:

Phil Hellmuth, Mike Matusow, Johnny Chan, Jeff Madsen, Gus Hansen, Hoyt Corkins, Victor Ramdin, Hevad Khan, Alexander Kostritsyn, Allen Cunningham, Robert Mizrachi, Mark Vos, Chip Jett, Markus Golser, Jean-Robert Bellande, Evelyn Ng, Matt Matros, Tommy Le, Hasan Habib, Shawn Sheikhan, Dag Martin Mikkelson and Jon Friedberg.

Online stars still alive include:

Steve “MrSmokey1” Billirakis, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Adam “Roothlus” Levy, David Benefield and Thayer “THAY3R” Rasmussen

Blinds/Antes: 2,000-4,000 with a 500 ante

Players Left: 474 of 6,844

Chip Leaders:

Jeremy Joseph: 1,450,000
Jeremiah Smith: 1,300,000
Owen Crowe: 1,000,000
Alexander Kostritsyn: 980,000
Dag Mikkelsen: 930,000
Mark Ketteringham: 915,000
Alan Jaffray: 870,000
Cristian Dragomir: 860,000
Sarkis Akopyan: 850,000
Robert Georato: 820,000

Average Stack: 279,347

Notable Eliminations:

483rd: Rolf Slotboom: $25,090
518th: Chau Giang: $25,090
618th: Brandon Adams: $21,230
625th: Vanessa Rousso: $21,230
651st: Men Nguyen: $21,230

Big Hands:

Adams Crippled, Then Busted

Brandon Adams raised to 12,000 from the cutoff and the big blind made the call. The flop came J108 and the big blind checked. Adams then fired 20,000 into the pot and the big blind check-raised all in to about 65,000. Adams made the call and turned over J5 for top pair. But his opponent showed J8 for two pair and the upper hand. The turn brought the 4 and Adams needed a 10 to, at best, chop the pot. But the river was the 9 and Adams was crippled, left with just 25,000 in chips.

A few hands later, Adams Pushed his last 24,000 all in from middle position. Action folded to the small blind, who pushed all in for 80,000 total to isolate. But the big blind didn't just throw away his hand. He tanked and eventually called, having both Adams and the small blind covered. The small blind showed A10, the big blind showed 77 and Adams was thrilled to show 88. "This is the best hand I could really hope for," he said. "Anyone fold an ace?" The didn't look good for Adams, running AK10 to give the small blind two pair. However, Adams had the 8 for a flush draw and had some more outs. But the board completed with the J and J and the small blind took the pot, sending Adams to the rail while doubling up through the big blind.

"No Foster's?"

Mark Vos has joined the table featuring tournament chipleader Jeremiah Smith and Jon "PearlJammer" Turner. The table has had some friendly conversation, including Smith asking Vos, "No Foster's? I heard it's Australian for beer." Vos gave a "pft" and rolled his eyes in response.

Turner Takes One With Overpair

Jon Turner simply called from the big blind when another player raised to 11,000 from late position. The flop came J92 and Turner checked to the raiser who bet 15,000. Turner made the call and check-called his opponent's bet of 35,000 when the 6s hit on the turn. Turner checked the 10d on the river and his opponent slowed down and quickly checked behind him. Turned flipped over QQ for a slow-played overpair and was thrilled to see his opponent's AJ. Turner took the pot, adding an additional 65,000 to his stack.

Markus Golser Takes a Hit

Markus Golser got his opponent all in with the board showing K1028 and showed down K10 for top two pair. However, his opponent showed AJ for the nut flush. Golser couldn not improve to a full house on the river and took a hit, dropping to 120,000 in chips.

One Man's Trash Is Gus Hansen's Treasure

On a board reading 9239, Gus Hansen moved all in and was called by his opponent in seat 2. Seat 2 turned over JJ for two pair, but Hansen showed down Q9 for a set on the turn. The river was the icing on the cake as the Q filled up Hansen. He doubled up to around 320,000 in chips.

"Wow, what a turn," Hansen said after the hand. "It was a piece of s%#& hand, but I was on tilt," Hansen added as the table moved on to the next hand.

Chan Takes a Small One, His Table Gets Tougher

After the player in seat 2 raised to 12,000, only Johnny Chan and the player on the button made the call. The fop came K98 and seat 2 checked to Chain who fired 30,500. Everyone folded and chan flashed A-K to seat 2 before raking in his chips.
Johnny Chan and Hoyt Corkins are now seated right beside each other after Corkins' table broke.

Hellmuth Makes His Money In These Situations

The player in seat 7 raised to 16,000 and Phil Hellmuth made the call. The player in seat 2 then popped it for 20,000 more and only Hellmuth made the call. The flop came J75 and Hellmuth made his patented check in the dark. Seat 2 almost immediately moved all in and Hellmuth went into character. The raise was 47,000 more and Hellmuth said, "This is how I make all my money," Hellmuth started. "By making great moves right here." He eventually folded his hand, but only after a million cameras showed up to the table. "Show it!" Hellmuth said to his opponent. He showed a queen and raked in the pot. Hellmuth was around 490,000.

Freerolling On Table 39

Over on Table 39 (Blue), two players were all before the flop, both with pocket jacks. One player held a pair of red jacks, the other held black jacks. The board came 962, giving one player a freeroll with the club flush draw. The turn was the 2, but the river was the 8, giving one player the flush and eliminating his opponent.

 

Player Tags: Hoyt Corkins,   Gus Hansen,   Johnny Chan,   Jon Turner,   Brandon Adams,   Mark Vos

$10,000 Main Event - Day 3 - Level 13 (Hr. 2)

Jul 10, '08

Blinds/Antes: 1,200-2,400-300

Players Left: 747 of 6844

Chip Leaders:
Alberto Font - 745,000
Sigurd Eskeland - 700,000
Jeff Kimber - 670,000
Jeremiah Smith - 650,000
Vito Branciforte - 560,000
Mark Ketteringham - 560,000
Geert Jans - 550,000
Jeremy Joseph - 520,000
Alexander Kostritsyn - 520,000
Victor Ramdin - 510,000

Other Notables
Mark Vos – 360,000
Phil Hellmuth – 300,000
Owen Crowe – 280,000
Jon Turner – 275,000
Robert Mizrachi – 275,000
Shawn Sheikhan – 270,000
Jeff Madsen – 260,000
Bertrand Grospellier – 250,000
Ryan Daut – 205,000
Gus Hansen – 200,000
Brandon Adams – 190,000
Rolf Slotboom – 125,000
Craig Marquis – 110,000
Leo Wolpert – 100,000
Jason Gray – 88,000
Maya Antonius – 73,000
Ari Engel – 65,000
Bill Gazes – 65,000
Thor Hansen – 65,000
Alexander Kravchenko – 32,000

Big Hands/Storylines

Five-Alive for Hansen

Gus Hansen was getting short-stacked, but managed a significant breakthrough with about 40 minutes remaining before the dinner break. Hansen was on the button and called a preflop raise from a player one from the cut-off. The flop came 953, and the first player bet 15,000. Hansen then moved all-in for his remaining 61,500. The player called. Hansen showed 55 for the flopped set, while his opponent held K9. The A and 7 completed the board and Hansen doubled up.

Kido Pham’s Stack Dwindling

Action folded around to the button where Kido Pham raised to 9,000. The small blind called and they saw a flop. The was AK7 and the small blind checked to Pham. Pham bet 12,000 and was quickly called. The K on the turn slowed down the action and both players checked. The river was the 10 and again both players checked. The small blind showed his A8 for a pair of aces and that was good to take down the pot. This hand continues the decline of Kido Pham, who is now down to 85,000.

Smith's monster stack gets even bigger

Preflop, Ryan Daut raised to 6,300 from early position and was called by Jeremiah Smith and the big blind. The flop came J95 and when it checked around to Smith he bet 12,000. Daut called and the turn was the J. Daut checked and Smith quickly fired 20,000. Daut again called and then checked after the T came on the river. Smith again bet quickly, this time for 25,000. Daut folded and Smith took down the pot. After the hand Smith was over 700,000 chips. 

Bad Time to Push

Jamal Sawaqdeh was in the small blind and called a preflop raise from the player with the button. The flop came KJ10, and after Sawaqdeh checked, the button went all-in for 47,900. Sawaqdeh made the call and and showed QJ for middle pair, along with flush and straight draws. His opponent could only manage Q3 for the open-ender. The K on the turn didn't change anything, but the 9 on the river gave Sawaqdeh the straight flush to eliminate his opponent.

Hellmuth moves all in, gets fold, "so sick"

Phil Hellmuth was on the button and was in a pot against the big blind. The flop was AJ9 and Hellmuth bet 6,000 after his opponent checked. The blind called and then bet out 25,000 when the turn came J. Hellmuth thought for a minute and then moved all in. He had the blind, who said this situation was "so sick" a couple times, covered. Finally he flashed 87 and folded. Hellmuth jumped out of his chair and told him he was drawing dead and was mad at himself for raising. After the hadn he was up to about 260,000 chips.

Player Tags: Gus Hansen,   Phil Hellmuth,   Kido Pham,   Jeremiah Smith,   Ryan Daut

$10,000 Main Event - Day 3 - Level 13

Jul 10, '08

Blinds/Antes: 1,200-2,400-300

Players Remaining: 810 out of 6,844

Average Chip Stack: 169,000

Eliminations:

Brandon Schaefer

Big Hands and Storylines:

Men Nguyen Takes Down a Large Pot, Eliminates Opponent

Men Nguyen took down a large pot with pocket aces after risking his tournament life against two opponents.  The aces held, and Nguyen eliminated one opponent.  The pot brought Men’s stack to over 100,000.

Gus put to the test and folds

With a board of J863, Gus Hansen bet 22,200 and was raised all in. Hansen had 55,000 chip left, and after a minute to think -- and allow camera crews and reporters to swarm -- he folded.

Khan commits most of stack, gets fold

With the board 9843, Hevad Khan bet 43,500 and only had about 30,000 behind him. The pot had about 170,000 chips in it, giving Khan's opponent fantastic odds if there was a chance he was ahead or had a reasonable draw. But he folded, and after the hand Khan had about 200,000 chips.

Patel doubles up through Agarwal

Kush Patel moved all in and was called by Aditya Agarwal. Patel held A-Q and was up against pocket nines. Things looked good initially for Agarwal, but an ace came on the river to give the 110,000-chip pot to Patel. Agarwal dropped to about 215,000 chips after the hand.

Matusow Gets His Chips Back

Mike Matusow has recovered from the hit he took earlier today. He got all-in against an opponent on a board of 873. His opponent had KK but Matusow had him drawing to two outs with 77. The turn was the 8 and the river was the 6. With that, Matusow climbs back up to 250,000

Player Tags: Gus Hansen,   Kush Patel,   Aditya Agarwal,   Hevad Khan

$10,000 Main Event - Day 3 - Level 12

Jul 10, '08

Blinds/Antes: 1,000-2,000-300

Players Remaining: 974 out of 6,844

Average Chip Stack: 137,000

Eliminations:

Tony Cousineau
Erik Seidel

Big Hands and Storylines:

Shawn Sheikhan Loses Half His Stack in Two Hands

Shawn Sheikhan raised to 6,500 from middle position and was called only by the two players in the blinds. On a flop of A75, the action was checked to Sheikhan who fired a bet of 12,000 into the pot. The small blind called, allowing the big blind to get out of the way. The turn brought the A and another check from the small blind. Sheikhan launched four orange 5,000 chips across the line, and the small blind made the call. “Black card,” Sheikhan requested as the dealer put down the Q on the river. “God damn it,” Sheikhan exclaimed upon sight of the red queen. The small blind checked, and Sheikhan announced that he held an ace. The small blind turned over J10 and Sheikhan was verbally distraught. He flashed the Ac as he mucked his cards.

On the next hand, the player under the gun raised to 7,000 and Sheikhan made the call as the next player to act. All other players folded, and the dealer put down a flop of J86. Both players checked, and the 9 came on the turn. Again the under-the-gun player checked, prompting a bet of 15,000 from Sheikhan which was quickly called. The player check-called another bet of Sheikhan’s, this time 20,000, when a blank fell on the river. “You got it,” Sheikhan declared after his opponent made the call. The player turned over 1010 and Sheikhan mucked his cards.

After the two-hand downward spiral, Sheikhan was left with only 110,00 in chips.

Traply Needs No Trap To Snare Gray

Peter Traply raised to 5,300 from early position and Jason Gray called from the cutoff. The flop was AJ10 and Traply led out for 9,500, Gray called. Traply bet another 22,000 on the 5 turn and Gray again called. The river was the 4 and Traply fired a third bullet – 48,000 – which Gray called after a minute of thought. Traply tabled KQ for a flopped straight which was good to take down the sizeable pot. Traply is now up to 245,000; Gray is down to 75,000.

Matusow Takes a Hit

Mike Matusow raised pre-flop from middle position and was met with an all-in raise from an opponent. Matusow learned that it would be 8,500 more to call, and call he did. Matusow was pleased to see that his Q10 was live against his opponent’s A3 . The board offered no help, however, as it ran out J545K . After losing that pot, Matusow is down to 112,000.

Hevad Khan Doubles Up with an Unlikely Suck Out

After the action folded around, Hevad Khan made it 6,000 to go from his position on the button. The small blind folded, but the player in the big blind elected to call. The flop came 644 and the big blind led out with a bet of 8,000. Khan announced a raise and moved all in for an additional 36,300. The camera crews came rushing over while the big blind deliberated his situation, ultimately deciding to call. “Nice call. Do you have a pair?” Khan asked, to which his opponent nodded and turned over 22. Khan turned over A7 and needed to catch a card. The 8 on the turn didn’t directly improve Khan, but the 6 on the river counterfeited the deuces and brought a round of gasps from the players and spectators. Khan’s ace-high was good enough to double him up and bring him close to 100,000 in chips.

The two players had a recent history. After a flop of 554 Khan bet 11,500 and his opponent called. Both players then checked the 7 on the turn and 10 on the river. The button then showed 33 which was enough to win the pot.

Rousso Makes Jacks Work

Vanessa Rousso was in the small blind, and play was folded until a player in late position moved all-in for 28,000. Rousso, not with a lot of chips herself, made the call and turned over JJ. The all-in player held 74, and the flop gave him numerous outs, coming 642. However he had two swings and misses, as the 2 came on the turn and 8 hit the river to send the chips to Rousso. She now has about 74,000 in chips.

Hansen Dominated

Gus Hansen raised to 6600 from middle position and the small blind then moved all-in for 17,500. Hansen admitted he wasn’t crazy about his cards. “This is my worst hand of the day, which means I’m probably going to call,” he said. He came close to folding, but finally threw in the chips to call. He didn’t like realizing he was up against A6. “Oh my God, I wanted diamonds,” he said, turning over K7. Neither player would connect with the board that finished J8432 and the small blind stayed alive. A few hands later in the big blind, Hansen was given a walk, at which time he flipped over another king-seven. “Now I’m one-for-two” he quipped.

Agarwal drops 12,200x3 with tens

Aditya Agarwal faced bets of 12,200 on the flop, turn and river and called every time. The board in the end was K8792 and Agarwal's opponent flipped over AJ for a flush. Agarwal showed the 10 for a worse flush. His opponent then asked to see his other card. Agarwal didn't like it, but his opponent saw it was the T. After the hand Agarwal had roughly 200,000 chips.

 

Player Tags: Gus Hansen,   Shawn Sheikhan,   Mike Matusow,   Vanessa Rousso,   Jason Gray,   Aditya Agarwal,   Hevad Khan,   Peter Traply

$10,000 Main Event - Day 2B - Level 6 (Hour 2)

Jul 09, '08

Blinds: 300-600, 75 ante

Chip Leaders:
Henning Granstad - 242,950
Igor Ioffe - 195,000
David Stucke - 168,000
David Benefield - 160,000
Dylan Linde - 146,000
Bill Blanda - 145,000
Sami Rustom - 140,450
Steve Billirakis - 137,000
David Singer - 136,000

Other Notables:
Nenad Medic - 122,000
Brad Booth - 120,000
Gus Hansen - 117,000
Andrew Robl - 105,000
Ayaz Mahmood - 80,000
Shun Uchida - 80,000
Jan Sjavik - 79,000
Phil Hellmuth - 77,000
Jeff Madsen - 75,000
Evelyn Ng - 75,000
Phil Gordon - 73,000
Chris Moneymaker - 68,000
David Daneshgar - 62,000
Liz Lieu - 55,000
Tony Dunst - 55,000
Mike Matusow - 53,000
Rolf Slotboom - 50,000
Joe Hachem - 34,000
Matt Hawrilenko - 32,000
Minh Nguyen - 32,000
Amir Vahedi - 31,950
Kyle Kloeckner - 30,000
Cory Zeidman - 28,000
Ryan Daut - 24,000
Bill Chen -24,000
Howard Lederer - 24,000
Nick Binger - 22,000
Ryan Daut - 18,000
Allen Cunningham - 16,000
Michael Binger - 12,000
Shannon Elizabeth - 11,500
Jeff Shulman - 10,000

Eliminations:
Alex Jacob
Jerry Yang
Beth Shak
Brian Townsend
Danny Wong
Joe Awada

Big Hands and Storylines:

Amnon Filippi Eliminated

Ryan Hughes raised to 1,400 under the gun and three players in middle position called. Then Charles Large, on the button, moved in for 12,500. Amnon Filippi, who had been holding his chips in his hand since the start of his hand, moved in for about 4,200. Hughes called and the three other players folded. The three players showed their hands:

Hughes: 99
Filippi: AK
Large: AK

Interestingly, not only were Filippi and Large sharing outs, but one of the players who folded claimed to have had pocket nines. The board was even worse news for Filippi and Large: the 876 flop giving Hughes an open-ended straight draw in addition to his pair. The turn was the 4, giving Large a flush draw, but the 8 on the river ended the World Series hopes of both Large and Filippi. Hughes is now up to 73,000.

Duane Thompson Doubles Through Evelyn Ng

Duane Thompson was all-in on the button for 11,000 against Evelyn Ng in the small blind. Thompson showed A2 and was visibly pleased when Ng showed KQ. Thompson was audibly pleased too, saying, “I can’t believe I’m ahead.” The raggy board – 75325 – kept him ahead, and he doubled up to 24,000. Despite the hit, Ng still has 75,000.

D’Agostino Takes a Hit

John D’Agostino just lost a 60k pot when his A-K could not improve against his opponent’s pocket queens. D’Agostino, sitting directly across from Phil Gordon, is down to 55,000.

Yang's run comes to an end

The defending champion has been eliminated. Seated at the second featured table, Jerry Yang was shortstacked and in need of luck. He first ran A-2 into A-Q, but survived when the board brought two pair and only their aces played. Then he moved in with A-J and was called by A-9, but a nine came on the flop and Yang was eliminated. On his way out, he wished everyone at his table good luck and then received a nice applause from everyone in the Amazon Room.

Goldstein Can't Pull the Trigger

Ken Goldstein, the SpadeClub poker room manager, was on the button and called a raise to 1500 from a player in middle position. The flop came K53 and both players checked. The 5 paired the board on the turn, and again both players checked. The J on the river brought the flush into play, and another checks followed. "No pair," declared the other player. Goldstein couldn't show a winner at that point. When the other player showed 108, Goldstein mucked his hand. Goldstein had about 12,000 in chips after the hand.

Hansen off to Nice Start

Gus Hansen was in middle position and raised to 1625, which resulted in play being folded around to the big blind, who made the call. The flop came J54, and both players checked. The 10 fell on the turn, and the big blind came out with a 4000 bet. Hansen seemed uncertain whether to simply call, or push the player all-in for his remaining 21,000. He finally made the call, and the 2 on the river made a four-flush on board. It was enough of a scare card that both players checked. The big blind showed KJ for top pair, while Hansen held 1010 for a set spiked on the turn, and he collected the pot. Hansen has about 120,000 in chips.

Player Tags: Evelyn Ng,   Kenny Goldstein,   Gus Hansen,   John D'Agostino,   Amnon Filippi,   Jerry Yang

$10,000 Main Event - Day 1 Officially Over... Really

Jul 06, '08

Day 1 has officially come to an end. More than 2,000 people registered for Day 1D and just under 1,400 survived to make it to Day 2. Among the notables moving on were Antonio "The Magician" Esfandiari, David Oppenheim, Phil Hellmuth and Victor Ramdin. The biggest news of the day was the $9,119,517 awarded to the eventual winner of poker's biggest event. The total amount of players was also announced at 6,844, a little over 500 more players than last year. A total of 666 players will make the money. The field will get Monday off, so join Card Player Tuesday at noon for all of the live updates as we keep you posted on Day 2A.

Blinds/Antes: 200-400 with a 50 ante

Players Left: 1,386 of 2,461

Chip Leaders:

Dylan Linde: 146,000
Steve Austin: 137,000
Christian Choi: 135,000
Jason Katsutani: 133,000
Richard Smith: 130,000
Paul Loh: 127,000
Tom Braband: 124,000
David Oppenheim: 123,000
Victor Ramdin: 121,000
David Stucke: 120,000

CP Counts:

Phil Hellmuth: 75,000
Jeff Shulman: 25,000

Eliminations: Layne Flack, C.K. Hua, Eugene Todd

Big Hands:

A Flush Can Beat a Straight, But Flack Can't Get There and He's Out

Layne Flack raised to 1,350 from early position and he was called by one opponent. The flop came down J98 and Flack checked. His opponent bet half the pot as he put 1,800 in the middle. Flack then pushed all in and his opponent quickly made the call. Flack showed KJ for top pair with second kicker, along with a flush-draw. He needed to sharpen his drawing pencil, however, as Flack's opponent showed Q10 for a flopped straight. The 4 offered no help and Flack needed a heart to stay alive. The river washed away any hope as the 2 landed on the felt and Flack made his way toward the exit.

You Would Call Too If You Had This Many Chips

Carlos Mortensen raised to 1,100 from under the gun. Three players called and the flop came KJ5. The player in seat 9 checked and Mortensen fired 3,000 into the pot. Everyone folded except for seat 9, who made the call. The turn was the 2 and seat 9 checked again. Mortensen bet 6,000 and seat 9 moved all in for an additional 12,000. Mortensen counted the call in his hand, then kissed them goodbye as he tossed them into the pot. Seat 9 showed 98 for a flopped flush and Mortensen briefly flashed KQ and attempted to muck it. But the dealer turned the cards over and put the 2 on the felt to complete the board. Mortensen took the tiny pinch to his stack.

Can Do Cantu...

Brandon Cantu raised to 1,600 from the button. The blinds both called and the flop came 1064 and action was checked to Cantu. He bet 2,700 and only the big blind stuck around. On the 7 turn, both players checked. When the 9 hit on the river, the big blind fired 4,000 and Cantu thought briefly before announcing he was all in, having the big blind covered. The big blind mucked his hand and Cantu took the pot.

...But Hansen Can Do It Better

Later, Cantu again raised to 1,200 from the button. Gus Hansen was in the small blind this time and made the call, along with the player in the big blind. The flop was A32 was checked around to Cantu, who bet 2,500. Hansen called and the big blind got out of the way. The Q came on the turn and both players checked. When the 5 came on the river, Hansen fired out 6,000 and Cantu insta-called. Hansen turned over AK for top pair. Cantu had a look of disgust on his face as he mucked his hand. Hansen took the pot and was at 74,000.

Lederer Takes a Shot and Misses

A player raised to 1,500 from the button and Howard Lederer made the call. Both players checked the flop of K45. The 9 fell on the turn and Lederer led out for 1,500. The button called and both players checked the river, which was the 8. Lederer showed A4 for bottom pair and a busted nut flush draw. His opponent showed A9 for second pair, good enough to take the pot. Lederer was down to 32,000.

Prop Bets In Brasilia

Antonio Esfandiari and Victor Ramdin, two of today's big stacks, were sitting at adjacent tables. Esfandiari came over to Ramdin and asked if he wanted to bet the flop. Ramdin bet $1,000 that two of the three cards on the flop would be black. Esfandiari clarified the bet, saying the bet would double if the flop was all the same color, triple if the flop was all the same suit, and multiply by 10 if a three-card straight flush hit the board.

"Fine, I'll take red," Esfandiari proclaimed after the clarification.

"Black baby," Ramdin screamed.

The flop came down J85 and Ramdin won the prop bet.

"Man, nothing ever goes right in my life," Esfandiari said. "I'm gonna stiff you, punk," he added as he walked back to his table."Double or nothing on the next flop?" Ramdin asked. "Okay," Esfandiari responded. Read more about Esfandiari's prop betting in his Pro Analysis.

Ramdin Stays Hot

With four limpers in front of him, the player in the cutoff raised to 2,700 before the flop. Ramdin limp-raised to 5,500 from under the gun. Action folded back to the cutoff who made the call. The flop came down K65 and Ramdin fired 6,000. The cutoff thought for a bit before releasing his hand. After the hand, Ramdin had 122,000 in chips.

Gordon's Bullets With the Execution

Ryan Young raised to 1,400 from middle position and the player in seat 7 repopped to 6,350. Phil Gordon then shoved all in and Young got out of the way. Seat 7 made the call and was covered by Gordon. Gordon turned over AA while seat 7 had KQ. The flop came out 1082, relatively harmless to Gordon's hand. But the turn brought the J, giving seat 7 an open-ended straight draw. But the river was the 3 and Gordon knocked out seat 7. He improved his stack to 62,000.

Player Tags: Gus Hansen,   Carlos Mortensen,   Phil Gordon,   Layne Flack,   Brandon Cantu,   European Report

$10,000 Main Event - Day 1D - Level One, Hour One

Jul 06, '08

Blinds/Antes: 50/100

Big Hands and Storylines:

Yang Active, Loses Pot

A year off hasn’t dampened the aggressiveness of defending champion Jerry Yang. He won a small pot with A2, pairing his deuce on the flop, but then got embroiled in a costly battle. Yang was in the big blind and saw a flop come Q63. He made a bet and was called by the player in the cut-off position. The A came on the turn and Yang stepped out for 1200. Again the cut-off called. The K on the river made a dangerous board even more treacherous. Yang led out for 3000, and the player in the cut-off then raised to 8500. Yang tanked, then reluctantly folded, though issued the warning “I’m going to lay down one time.” Yang lost a quarter of his stack and was just under 15,000.

A few hands later Yang took another beat, though did well not to lose more than he did. After a flopping a set of 10s, Yang was up against pocket aces, but lost when the board four-flushed. Yang is now down to just over 12,000 in chips.

Tilly Stymied Early

Jennifer Tilly tried to create something on consecutive hands, but came away empty. From middle position she raised to 300 and was called by the player in the cut-off. The flop came A43. Tilly checked, faced a 300 bet, and folded her hand. The next deal, Tilly raised this time to 200 and was called by the player on the button. The small blind then reraised to 750, and Tilly folded along with the big blind and button.

Norman Chad, Will You Marry Me?

World Series of Poker commentator Norman Chad, who often comically references his ex-wives during final table broadcasts, has inadvertently wooed the heart of at least one female viewer.  Seated in the blue section of the Amazon Room, Kay Sweeney reported to her table wearing a t-shirt bearing the words, “NORM’S NEXT WIFE.”  Chad eventually made his way to her table while reporting on today’s action, and Sweeney insisted on having a picture taken of the two potential lovebirds as soon as she was out of a hand.  “Play every hand,” Chad advised.  After getting on one knee, Sweeney formally proposed to Chad.  “Will you marry me?” Sweeney asked while holding Chad’s hand.  “I’ll get back to you,” Chad replied to a burst of laughter from the rail.

Wolfe lays down top pair

Five players limped in preflop and saw a 10-3-2 flop. Paul Wolfe bet out from the small blind for 500. He got one caller and the others folded. The turn was a four and Wolfe bet 1,000. This time his opponent raised another 1,300. Wolfe quickly folded A-10 face up and his opponent took down the pot.

Federer-Nadal distracting many

Many players are paying as much attention to the Wimbledon final as they are to their table. Gus Hansen is an exception. He has set up a chair next to the television and is spending more time there than at his seat at his table. Apparently being 15 feet away was too far and he needed to see the exciting match up-close.

Meandering through the Brasilia Room, we noticed these players taking their shot at the main event:

Hevad Khan
Ray Davis
Brett Jungblut
Mark Newhouse
Tom Schneider
Eugene Todd
Layne Flack
Antonio Esfandiari
Allen Kessler
Phil Gordon
Shane Schleger
Gregory Dyer
Jose Canseco
Todd Brunson
Ryan Daut
David Williams (already down to 12,000)

and players found within the confines of the much cozier Tropicana Room:

Alexander Kostritsyn
Thayer Rasmussen
Ray Coburn
Can Kim Hua
Ari Engel

Player Tags: Gus Hansen,   Paul Wolfe,   Jennifer Tilly,   Jerry Yang,   Norman Chad

$50,000 World Championship H.O.R.S.E. - Day 2 - Level 9

Jun 26, '08

Blinds/Antes:
Hold'em -Omaha 8/b: 1,500-3,000
Razz-Stud-Stud 8/b: 700 ante, 1,000 bring-in, 3,000 completion

Players Left: 97 of 148

Chip Leaders:
Patrick Bueno: 416,000
Doyle Brunson: 301,000
James Mackey: 288,000
Douglas Ganger: 280,000
Mike Wattel: 270,000
Barry Greenstein: 267,000
Bill Chen: 265,000
Chris Reslock: 265,000
Abe Mosseri: 260,000
David Bach:  260,000

Eliminations: Jason Gray, Howard Lederer, David Benyamine, David Benyamine, Mike Sexton, John D'Agostino, Gus Hansen, Hasan Habib

Big Hands:

Hold'em

Jason Gray Eliminated by Daniel Negreanu

Daniel Negreanu raised to 6,000 from the cutoff and Jason Gray reraised to 9,000 from the big blind. Negreanu reraised to 12,000 and Gray called all in.

Negreanu: KK
Gray: Q10
Board: 88325

Gray was pretty far behind the entire time, and with no help on the board, Jason Gray was eliminated. Negreanu broke the 200,000 mark after this hand.

Howard Lederer Eliminated by Jen Harman

A short stacked Howard Lederer got it all in before the flop with KJ against Jen Harman's AQ. Harman ended up making a full house on the river, eliminating Lederer from the tournament and bringing her chip count up to almost 80,000.

Omaha 8/b

Gus Hansen Eliminated by Thor Hansen

A short stacked Gus Hansen limped from under the gun and Allen Cunningham limped behind him. Thor Hansen raised to 6,000 and both Gus and Allen called the raise. The flop came KK4, and Gus bet 3,000. Allen raised to 6,000 and Thor reraised to 9,000. Hansen called all in for his last 5,000 and Allen folded.

Thor: AAKQ
Gus: A732

Gus got it in with the nut flush draw and a backdoor low draw while Thor has a pair of aces. The turn was the 8 and the river was the 8. Gus failed to improve and was eliminated about halfway through the level.

Stud

Kostritsyn Takes 100K + Pot From Raymer

In one of the biggest pots, if not the biggest pot of the night so far, Alex Kostrtsyn held trip sixes against Greg Raymer's trip nines on fifth street. Kostritsyn went on to fill up while Raymer failed to improve. The result was Kostritsyn taking down a 100,000 pot and grabbing the chip lead with 315,000 while Raymer fell to just over 70,000 in chips.

Stud 8/b

David Benyamine Eliminated by Doyle Brunson

David Benyamine got it all in on sixth street against Doyle Brunson.
 
Brunson: 243A - 776
Benyamine: 765K - 62-X

With Benyamine all in on sixth street, both players turned over their cards while the dealer proceeded to deal the river card face down. Benyamine had the lead going into seventh street with a pair of sixes (high) and a low draw. Brunson made a pair of sevens on seventh street while Benyamine bricked out, failing to make a low hand and failing to improve his pair of sixes for the high hand. Benyamine throws his river card into the muck and makes an early exit here on Day 2.

Player Tags: Gus Hansen,   Daniel Negreanu,   Howard Lederer,   David Benyamine,   Doyle Brunson,   Jennifer Harman

$50,000 World Championship H.O.R.S.E - Day 2 - Level 7 Recap

Jun 26, '08

Stakes:
Hold’em/Omaha:  1,000-2,000 blinds
Stud/Razz/Stud8:  500 ante, 500 bring in, 2,000-4,000 stakes

Players Left: 122 of 148

Chip Leaders:
Steve Wolff - 285,000
Tom Dwan - 280,000
Isabelle Mercier - 280,000
Abraham "Abe" Mosseri - 260,000
Joe Cassidy - 257,000
Ray Dehkharghani - 245,000
Doug Ganger - 230,000
William Chen - 225,000
Minh Ly - 200,000
Pat Pezzin - 196,500

Average Stack: 121,300

Eliminations:
Andrew Black
David Grey
Antanas “Tony G” Guoga

Big Hands and Storylines:

Hold’em

Ivey Climbing

Robert Mizrachi raised from early position and was met by a re-raise from Phil Ivey on the button. Mizrachi called and the two saw a AK7 flop. Mizrachi check-raised Ivey’s continuation bet and Ivey made the call. Mizrachi bet 4,000 on the 7 turn and Ivey made a quick call. The river was the 6. Mizrachi checked and Ivey bet. Mizrachi mulled it over his decision for a minute or so before announcing a call. Ivey turned over AJ. His pair of aces was good enough to take down the pot and grow his stack to 130,000. Mizrachi now has about 12 big bets left with 50,000.

Razz

Chipping Up Off The Old Bloch

Hawrilenko: 85JA
Bloch: 42109

Matt “Hoss_TBF” Hawrilenko completed with the 8 and was raised by Andy Bloch on his left. Johnny Chan and Mike Wattel both called, as did Hawrilenko, and the 4 each drew a fourth card. Hawrilenko caught a 5, Bloch a 2, Chan a J, and Wattel the K. Bloch led out with his 4-low, Chan and Wattel called, but Hawrilenko put in a raise and then Bloch 3-bet, squeezing Chan and Wattel out of the pot, much to their consternation. On 5^th street, Bloch bet and Hawrilenko called. The tables turned on 6^th street and Bloch check-called a bet from Hawrilenko. Both players checked the river and Hawrilenko’s (A-6-4) gave him an 8-low. Bloch briefly showed (9-7-3) and mucked his 9-low. With the pot Hawrilenko moved up to 90,000.

Stud

David Grey Eliminated

Andy Bloch completed with the T and was raised by David Grey with the Q up. Grey admitted that, with about 13,000 chips to start the hand, he was almost certainly going to end up all-in on the hand. That is indeed what ended up happening, with he and Bloch all-in on 6^th street:

Grey: (Q)(6)Q478
Bloch: (K)(J)1025A

Grey’s pair of queens was ahead of Bloch going to the final card, but Bloch had a slew of outs: any diamond, ace, king, or queen would give him the lead in the hand. Bloch flipped over his final card like it was hot: Q. Grey could only laugh as Bloch made a straight with the card that he so desperately needed.

Bloch now has an impressive 180,000 chips.

Stud/8b

Gus’ Flush Trips Up Kravchenko

With boards of:

Hansen: 8355
Kravchenko: 76KK

Hansen was the aggressor on all streets, betting when checked to and leading out when acting first. On 7^th street, Kravchenko timidly check-called Hansen’s river bet and was not happy to see Gus table (Q)(J)(7) for a flush. Kravchenko could not produce a low and the pot was shipped to the Dane. Hansen now has  60,000.

Player Tags: Robert Mizrachi,   Antanas Guoga,   Andy Bloch,   Minh Ly,   Gus Hansen,   Joe Cassidy,   David Grey,   Phil Ivey,   Abe Mosseri,   Pat Pezzin,   Alexander Kravchenko,   Ray Dehkharghani,   Isabelle Mercier,   Steve Wolff,   Andy Black,   Matt Hawrilenko,   William Chen,   Tom Dwan,   Doug Ganger

$50,000 H.O.R.S.E - Level 4

Jun 25, '08

Players are now on a 20 minute break

Blinds:
Hold'em: 600-1,200
Omaha 8: 600-1,200
Razz: 300 ante, 300 bring-in, 1,200 completion
Stud: 300 ante, 300 bring-in, 1,200 completion
Eight or Better: 300 ante, 300 bring-in, 1,200 completion

Chip Counts:
Ray Dehkharghani: 190,000
James Mackey: 185,000
Ralph Perry: 170,000
Shawn Sheikhan: 167,000
Chris Reslock: 152,000
Minh Ly: 152,000
Greg Mascio: 152,000
Steve Sung: 150,000
Rafi Amit: 150,000
Bill Chen: 148,000

Storylines:

The Drunken Fan

It's late, it's Vegas, and during the level a drunken spectator was thrilled to be able talk (yell) over the rail to Scotty Nguyen and express his admiration. Clearly excited to see poker's superstars in person, the man later noticed Tony G and began to tell Tony how great he is, to which Tony just smiled and gave two thumbs up. This made the drunk's night. Too bad he won't remember it in the morning...

Hold'em

Hansen Strong Out Of The Small Blind

David Williams raised and the player in seat 2 re-raised all preflop. Gus Hansen, sitting in the small blind, made the call and so did Williams. The flop came 1077, Hansen checked, David Williams checked and seat 2 bet out. Hansen quickly re-raised, Williams folded and seat 2 folded AK face up. Hansen didn't show and just raked his chips while talking about how he played the hand.

Friedman's Pair of Aces Beats Dwan

Perry Friedman bet and was called by Tom Dwan on every street of a A65108 board. Friedman flipped over A4 for a pair of aces, and it was good enough to take the pot.

Omaha 8

Mackey Takes One From Some Tough Competition

On a flop of A106 James Mackey checked and David Singer bet. Both Andy Bloch and Mackey made the call. The J came on the turn and Mackey checked again, allowing Singer to bet. Bloch made the call and Mackey said raise, then put in some more chips. Singer didn't hear Mackey say raise and the floor was called to the table. The dealer explained to the floorman that he did indeed hear Mackey say raise before he put his chips in, then he said it again while putting them in. The floorman said the raise stood and Singer and Bloch both made the call. The players checked the 3 river card and Mackey turned over AK4Q for the nut straight. When he saw Mackey's hand Bloch laughed and mucked. Singer also mucked and Mackey won a nice three-way pot again two of the better H.O.R.S.E players in the tournament. At the end of the level he sat with around 185,000 in chips.

Flack Scoops

Layne Flack raised from late position and was called by Hasan Habib, Justin Bonomo and John Cernuto. The flop came 973 and action was checked to Flack who bet out. Both Habib and Bonomo called, but Cernuto folded. The turn was the 10 and action was again checked to Flack who bet out. Both opponents made the call again and the river brought the 7. Action checked to Flack, he bet, Habib called and Bonomo folded.
Flack turned over 9-9-A-4, giving him a set of nines to scoop the entire pot.

Brown Missteps

The player in seat 2 bet the A108 flop and Chad Brown made the call. On the 2 turn card seat 2 bet and Brown raised. Both players checked the 4 river and Brown turned over A-8-4-6. His opponent showed A-10-5-7. There was some brief confusion as to who got what, but the dealer explained that Brown's opponent had the best two pair and low hand because Brown had not made a low hand.

Razz

Sheikhan Ready To Gamble

Shawn Sheikhan bet out on every street and was called by the player in seat 4. Their cards were:
Sheikhan: 4A23 (K-9-6)
Seat 4: 58J3 (A-4-8)

Sheikhan went ahead and bet blind after being dealt the final card. He showed a big hand - 6-low. Seat 4 paired his 8 on the end and Sheikhan took down a big pot.
After the hand Sheikhan told the table, "You guys want to gamble - I'll gamble."
Sheikhan had around 167,000 in chips.

Stud

Forrest Takes Monster Pot From Hellmuth

Ted Forrest bet every street and was called by Phil Hellmuth all the way down to seventh street. Hellmuth took off his sunglasses to look at his last down card. He put out a bet and started to put his shades back on but stopped dead in his tracks when Forrest raised him. A frustrated Hellmuth made the call and Forrest turned over his hand. Their cards were:
Forrest: QQ5A (Q-J-5)
Hellmuth: 764K (X-X-X)

Seeing Forrest's three queens, Hellmuth quietly slid his cards into the muck.

Stud 8

An Aggressive Galfond Bets Out Ivey and Williamson

Phil Galfond bet on fifth and sixth street and was called by Robert Williamson III and Phil Ivey. When Galfond led out on the end, Ivey mucked his hand and Williamson looked pained as he thought over his decision.
Galfond: AKQJ (X-X-X)
Ivey: 59QK
Williamson III: 82J9 (X-X-X)

Williamson eventually mucked, and Dwan started to infer about his friend Galfond's hand. Galfond smiled and the table laughed when he showed only one card - the 7.

Player Tags: Andy Bloch,   Hasan Habib,   Chad Brown,   Gus Hansen,   Ted Forrest,   Layne Flack,   Shawn Sheikhan,   Phil Hellmuth,   David Singer,   Phil Ivey,   Perry Friedman,   David Williams,   James Mackey,   Justin Bonomo,   Robert Williamson III,   Tom Dwan