Victor Ramdin - Live Updates

Level 4 Update -- Matt Vengrin Takes the Chip Lead

Apr 19, '09

Level: 4
Blinds: 200-400 with a 50 ante

Notable Chip Counts:

Matt Vengrin -- 200,000
Brian Rast -- 175,000
Freddy Deeb -- 170,000
Dan Heimiller -- 160,000
Freddy Bonyadi -- 160,000

Notable Eliminations:

Soheil Shamseddin

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Key Hands:

Matt Vengrin Takes the Chip Lead

Seat 8 bet 16,500 into a 22,000 pot with J642 sitting on the board. Matt Vengrin raised to 55,000 and seat 8 moved all in after a couple of minutes of deliberation. Vengrin made the call and they flipped up their cards:

Vengrin: 53
Seat 8: 22

River: A

Vengrin won the hand and eliminated his opponent. He grew his stack to 200,000, which was enough to move him into the chip lead.

Flush over Flush

Jason Strochak was all in on a board of 10543A against Robert Mizrachi. Mizrachi flipped up 97 for a flush but Strochak flipped over QJ for a higher flush to take down the pot. Strochak held 150,000 after the hand and Mizrachi was down to 30,000.

Shannon Shorr Wins a Nice Pot

Shannon Shorr raised to 1,300 and Victor Ramdin reraised to 4,500. Erik Cajelais and Shorr both made the call. The flop was dealt 1083 and everyone checked. The turn fell 2 and Shorr checked. Cajelais bet 15,000 and Shorr made the call. He turned up AK and Cajelais mucked a king. Shorr grew his stack to 86,000 while Cajelais holds strong at 94,000.

Player Tags: Victor Ramdin,   Jason Strochak,   Erik Cajelais,   Shannon Shorr,   Matthew Vengrin

Level 1 Update -- Brian Rast Holds Early Lead

Apr 19, '09

Level: 1
Blinds: 50-100

Notable Chip Counts:

Brian Rast -- 185,000
Joe Tehan -- 125,000
David Pham -- 120,000
Erica Schoenberg -- 120,000
Victor Ramdin -- 120,000

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Key Hands:

Victor Ramdin Builds His Stack Early

Curt Kohlberg, Mike Vela and Victor Ramdin saw a flop of 9 7 3 and Ramdin bet 700 from the button. Vela called and Kohlberg raised to 3,700. Ramdin called and Vela folded.

The turn was the K and Kohlberg bet 8,000. Ramdin called and the river was the 3. Kohberg checked, Ramdin bet 11,000 and Kohberg called. Ramdin turned over pocket sevens for a full house and took in the pot, increasing his stack to about 120,000.

Brian Rast Strikes Early Against Jon Kalmar

On a board reading J 9 5 6 2 Brian Rast bet 45,000 and Kalmar made the call. Rast showed 8 7 for the straight and Kalmar took a hit down to 23,000. After the hand Rast was up to 170,000.

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Spade Club:

Mike Grishman is playing in today's $25,000 WPT Championship thanks to Spade Club. The Oregon resident won his seat by playing for free on SpadeClub.com. Spade Club members can win their share of over $100,000 each month in daily freerolls and qualifiers.

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Tough Tables:

Table 64

Seat 1 -- James "mig.com" Mackey
Seat 4 -- Clonie Gowen
Seat 6 -- Daniel Negreanu
Seat 7 -- Jason Lester
Seat 8 -- Barry Greenstein
Seat 9 -- Matt Brady

Table 45

Seat 1 -- Steve "MrSmokey1" Billirakis
Seat 2 -- Allie Prescott
Seat 3 -- Dutch Boyd
Seat 4 -- Bill Edler
Seat 5 -- Eric "peachykeen" Liu
Seat 7 -- Brett "get crunk" Richey
Seat 8 -- Emeline Boich

Player Tags: Victor Ramdin,   Curt Kohlberg

Level 11 Update

Feb 22, '09

Level: 11

Blinds: 500-1,000 with a 100 ante

Players Left: 170 out of 696
 

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Score Board

Notable Chip Counts

Antonio Esfandiari - 405,000
Kofi Farkye - 391,000
Mike Sowers - 235,000
KJ Nam - 209,000
Bertrand Grospellier - 190,000
Haralabos Voulgaris - 188,000

Average: 80,000

Notable Eliminations

Victor Ramdin
Kevin Saul
Eric Hershler
David Oppenheim

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Big Hands:

Victor Ramdin Gets Two-Outed Out of the Tournament

Victor Ramdin had a rough day. Earlier in the tournament Ramdin was forced to lay down the third nut flush against Blake Cahail even though the flush draw had come runner, runner to get there.

On his final hand, Ramdin held trips fives on the turn and was up against his opponent's pocket queens. The river was one of those two remaining queens and Ramdin was eliminated from the tournament.

Liz Lieu Cracks Aces

Liz Lieu was all in with pocket tens against her opponent's pocket aces. The flop and turn were blanks, but the ten on the river was enough for Lieu to double up over 100,000 in chips.

James Mackey Doubles Through Hoyt Corkins

Hoyt Corkins has gone out of his way to play big pots to close out this day of the tournament. Recently, James Mackey was all in with AQ against Corkins and his A8. The board paired Mackey and he doubled up over 65,000.

Don't Push Around Kofi Farkye

On a flop of K106, Kevin Saul bet about 35,000 and Kofi Farkye raised to 80,000. Saul then moved all in for 164,000 and Farkye instantly called with KJ. Saul could only show 85 and didn't catch up when the turn came 4K. Saul was eliminated and Farkye picked up a new stack of 385,000.

Player Tags: Hoyt Corkins,   Victor Ramdin,   Liz Lieu,   Kevin Saul,   Kofi Farkye,   Blake Cahail

Adam Katz Wins Preflop Against Victor Ramdin

Jan 06, '09

Victor Ramdin raised to 3,100 preflop and Adam Katz reraised to 10,200 from the blinds. Ramdin reraised to 23,000 and Katz thought for a bit before moving all in for 45,7000.

Ramdin shook his head in disbelief before counting out his own stack. He had 47,000 in front of him and would be playing for virtually his whole stack.

After a few minutes, a crowd began to form to see what Ramdin would decide. After four minutes had past, he asked Katz what he wanted him to do. Katz remained silent, but Ramdin revealed that he was suited and may be forced to call.

Eventually, Ramdin folded his hand and Katz took in the pot deflating a tense situation around the table.

 

 

Player Tags: Victor Ramdin,   Adam Katz

Victor Ramdin Takes the Lead

Jan 06, '09

Team PokerStars Pro Victor Ramdin just won a huge hand and he now holds over 125,000 as the chip leader. In the hand his opponent open raised preflop, another opponent called, and Ramdin reraised. The original raiser mucked, the person that called moved all in, and Ramdin made the snap call and then flipped up pocket aces. His opponent held A-K and the board ran out 9-6-4-3-5 rainbow to give Ramdin the pot and the chip lead.












 

Player Tags: Victor Ramdin

Victor Ramdin Out

Oct 03, '08

Victor Ramdin has busted out of the tournament early on day 2.

















 

Player Tags: Victor Ramdin

$25K Heads Up Update

Sep 14, '08

Scott Seiver just stopped by to tell us about his recent victory in PokerStars $25,000 Heads Up Championship. Seiver, playing as gunning4you just beat Noah "Exclusive" Boeken to advance to the round of 32. He'll have a little while to continue on in this event until the next round begins.

Another player pulling double duty is Victor Ramdin, who is currently facing Ben "sauce123" Sulsky. Ramdin has a big lead and should be able to make it back here before losing too many chips.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Player Tags: Victor Ramdin,   Noah Boeken,   Scott Seiver,   Ben Sulsky

$10,000 Main Event - Day 3 - Level 12 (Hr. 2)

Jul 10, '08

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

Players Left: 828 of 6,844

Chip Leaders:
Sigurd Eskeland - 680,000
Jeff Kimber - 650,000
Karle Wilson - 570,000
Jeremiah Smith - 560,000
Geert Jans - 530,000
Matthew Jensen - 500,000
Peter Biebel - 500,000
Chris Barrile - 480,000
Alexander Kostritsyn - 475,000
Patrick Fortin - 450,000
Alex Outhred - 440,000

Other Notables:
Kido Pham – 400,000
Alan Jaffray – 357,000
Phil Hellmuth – 290,000
Victor Ramdin – 265,000
Bertrand Grospellier – 254,000
Thayer Rasmussen – 240,000
Robert Mizrachi – 236,000
Nenad Medic – 230,000
Matt Graham – 204,000
Hoyt Corkins – 200,000
Brandon Adams – 200,000
Hasan Habib – 200,000
Leo Wolpert – 194,000
David Baker – 129,000
Evelyn Ng – 120,000
Rolf Slotboom – 120,000
Tim West – 114,000
Jon Turner – 110,000
Jeff Madsen – 107,000
Steve Zolotow – 106,000
Ari Engel – 106,000
Thor Hansen – 83,000
Maya Antonius – 80,000
Adam Schoenfeld – 71,000
Mike Matusow – 70,000
Farzad Rouhani – 64,000
Bill Gazes – 63,000
Jason Gray – 60,000
Ryan Daut – 50,000
Cliff Josephy – 50,000
Alexander Kravchenko – 43,000
Mike Wattel – 42,000
Vanessa Rousso – 36,000

Eliminations:
Matt Glantz
John D'Agostino
Phil Gordon

Big Hands/Storylines

Kostritsyn Sets His Opponent Up

Action folded to Alexander Kostritsyn who limped from the hijack. It folded around to big blind who raised it to 20,000. Kostritsyn opted to call and they saw a highly coordinated flop: KQJ. His opponent led out for 25,000 and Kostritsyn, who had him well-covered, moved all-in. The decision was for an additional 75,000 and his opponent certainly took his time in deciding. He sent a barrage of questions Kostritsyn’s way, but was met only with wry answers in response. After seven minutes of thought, the clock was called on him. With ten seconds remaining in the countdown, he made the call and showed AK. Kostritsyn was well ahead with QQ and ended up holding when the turn and river were the 9 and K. That hand brings Kostritsyn up to a hefty 475,000.

Jensen Keeps Amassing Chips

Matt Jensen raised to 8,000 from middle position and was called by the small blind. The blind led out on a K76 flop for 15,000 and Jensen made the call. The turn was the 3 and the small blind checked. Jensen, sensing weakness, bet 25,000, prompting his opponent to make a quick fold. Jensen, who started the day with 143,000, now has over 400,000.

Deutekom Rakes in Monster Pot

Yde Van Deutekom was forced to stare down Victor Ramdin in a massive showdown as the final seconds counted down on level 12. Ramdin raised to 6000 preflop and Van Deutekom made the reraise to 18,000. Play was folded back to Ramdin, among the chip leaders in the event, who quickly reraised to 45,000. Van Deutekom had the clock called on him before making the call. The flop came 865, and when Ramdin checked, Van Deutekom stepped out for 45,000. Ramdin called. The 2 was the turn card and Ramdin then announced all-in, sending his stack of orange 5000 chips to the center of the table, having Van Deutekom covered. Van Deutekom tanked again, and again the clock was called. With about four seconds remaining in the countdown, he announced call for his remaining 109,500 and showed his KK. Ramdin was holding J4 for a double-gutter straight draw plus the flush draw. The river was a brick and Van Deutekom soared up the chip leaderboard, now with just over 400,000 in chips.

Phil Hellmuth Lives Up to His Catchphrase

The player in the hijack seat (one to the right of the cut-off) open raised to 6,000 total and the action folded to Phil Hellmuth on the button.  After deliberating, Hellmuth reraised an additional 16,000 and the other players folded.  When the action returned to the initial raiser, he pushed a stack of 20 orange 5,000 chips into the pot, making his total bet 106,000.  Hellmuth went into the tank, visibly frustrated by his opponent’s reraise.  After cursing his situation, Hellmuth folded AK face up.  As the dealer pushed the pot to the player, he obliged Hellmuth by revealing AA.  Hellmuth immediately changed his tune and enthusiastically reminded everyone within earshot (and some beyond) that he can, in fact, dodge bullets, baby.

Not-so-Lucky Sevens

A player in late position raised to 6000 preflop and Terry Lade on the button made the call. The flop came 777, the first player checked and Lade stepped out for 7000. The other player called, and the 8 was turned. The player again checked, and then called when Lade bet another 6500. The 4 on the river completed the board, and when the first player checked a third time, Lade ventured out for 15,000. The other player made the call. “Nice call,” Lade said. “You got a pair, you win.” The other player said he didn’t. “You have ace-high?” asked a surprised Lade. The player nodded and showed AJ which led to Lade mucking his hand.

Player Tags: Phil Hellmuth,   Victor Ramdin,   Matthew Jensen,   Terry Lade,   Alexander Kostritsyn

$10,000 Main Event - Level 11

Jul 10, '08

Blinds/Antes: 800-1,600-200

Players Remaining: 1,161 out of 6,844

Average Chip Stack: 118,000

Eliminations:
Chris Moneymaker
Darrell Dicken
Jennifer Harman
Patrik Antonius

Big Hands and Storylines:

Ramdin Outkicked

Action folded around to Victor Ramdin in the small blind who tossed in a 5,000 chip, declaring a raise. Michael Johnson in the big blind took a look down at his cards and made a quick call. Both players checked the QJ5 flop. The turn was the A and Ramdin checked. Johnson tossed out 6,000 and Ramdin made the call. The river was the 3 and Ramdin checked. Johnson checked behind and showed A7 for a pair of aces. Ramdin smiled and showed his narrowly outkicked A-6. Despite the loss, Ramdin still has 296,000. Johnson is up to 155,000.

Boatman Forced to Abandon Ship

Three players limped to the flop, including Barny Boatman in early position and Ruben Juarez in the cutoff. The flop was QJ5 and Boatman checked to Juarez who bet 3,000. The big blind folded and Boatman tossed in a raise to 8,000. Within seconds, Juarez had fired out a third bet, making it 16,000 more for Boatman to call. Boatman folded, leaving himself with 75,000 left after the hand. Juarez, from Ferris, Texas, is now approaching the chip leaders with 240,000.

Fun at Orange 33

The only table that began the day with two of the top 20 players in chip counts was Orange 33, with both Eric Crain and Baja Kattamuri seated there. It makes for tough going for Jennifer Harman, shortstacked with just 16,000 in chips. It got even more difficult when experienced pro Mike Matusow was moved to the table shortly after play began.

Hasan Habib Cripples Opponent, Adds to Stack

On a board of 9885, Hasan Habib faced a bet of 15,000 from his lone opponent.  After asking how much the player had behind the bet and discovering it was only 11,000, Habib put the player all in.  Habib seemed a little surprised when the player went into the tank without quickly calling.  Eventually the player mucked his cards and Habib showed him A9.  Habib maintained a healthy chip stack of over 200,000 throughout the first hour.

Rheem Wants to Gamble

David Rheem made a small raise from the cut-off, then the player on the button moved all-in for 25,000. Rheem, who began the day 12th in chips, said “I have enough chips to gamble” and made the call, showing QJ. His opponent held 77. The flop came 985, with neither player holding a heart. But the 10 on the turn filled the straight for Rheem who eliminated his opponent.

Lade Loses Early Pot

Terry Lade, 20th in chips to begin the day, was involved in a heads-up battle with the player in seat 1. Play had been raised preflop and bet after the flop, which came KQ6. After the 2 fell on the turn, seat 1 bet 18,000 and Lade called. The 9 was the river, and seat 1 bet 20,000. Lade again called, asking “you got ace-king?” Seat 1 shook his head as he flipped over AA to take down the pot.

Vanessa Rousso Lives On

Vanessa Rousso moved all in pre-flop for her last 28,300 in chips and was called by a single opponent. Rousso turned over QQ, dominating the other player’s AQ. The board ran KJ752, and Rousso more than doubled up. She currently has around 65,000 in chips.

Patrick Antonius Eliminated

Patrick Antonius’ main event run has finally come to an end. After starting today with a short stack, Antonius moved all-in from the big blind after a button raise. The raise was 25,000 more to Jim Dalessandro after his initial raise of 6,000. Eventually Dalessandro made the call. Antonius was behind with his KJ against his opponent’s A10. The flop was K62, a hit for Antonius. However, the running 4 turn and Q river gave Dalessandro an ace-high flush and Antonius headed for the rail.

Bill Gazes Plays it Straight

The action folded to the player in the small blind who completed. Bill Gazes checked his big blind option, and the dealer put down a flop of Q42. The small blind checked, and Gazes made a bet of 3,000. After his opponent folded, Gazes turned over QJ for top pair. “Honest, kitchen-table poker,” Gazes added. “Bet your pairs and check everything else.” Gazes finished the hand with around 40,000 in chips.

One hand, one elimination for chip leader

Brian Schaedlich was still getting his chips out of his bag when the first hand was dealt at his table. He had not even acted yet and a short stack moved all in. Schaedlich looked down at a pair of eights and made the call. His opponent held A-8 and did not get lucky. Schaedlich began the day with 801,000 chips and already has at least a little more. According to a player at his table who played with him on day one, Schaedlich was just catching hands all day, yet opponents seemed to never believe him and would call with their second-best hands.

Player Tags: Bill Gazes,   Victor Ramdin,   Barny Boatman,   Patrik Antonius,   Vanessa Rousso,   Brian Schaedlich

$10,000 Main Event - Levy Triples

Jul 09, '08

Blinds/Antes: 600-1,200 with a 200 ante

Players Left: 936 of 2,378

Chip Leaders:

Raja Kattamuri: 410,000
Peter Biebel: 380,000
Alex Kostritsyn: 320,000
Alex Outhred: 320,000
Darryl Ronconi: 310,000
Victor Ramdin: 300,000
Steve Chung: 295,000
Paul Snead: 290,000
Steve Lade: 290,000
Rafael Caiaffe: 280,000

Spade Club:

David Kim: 110,000

Eliminations: Padraig Parkinson, David Sklansky, Rafe Furst, Anjela Brunson, Joe Hachem, Phil Laak, Dan Shak, Brad Booth

Big Hands:

Adam Levy Triples Up

The player in seat 5 limped in from under the gun and Adam Levy raised to 4,800 from the button. The player in the big blind raised all in, an the UTG player came over the top himslef, moving all in to isolate play. Levy callled all in and all three players turned over their cards.

Levy: KK
UTG: QQ
Big Blind: JJ

Board: K108A7

Levy got it all in with the best hand and flopped top set. The turn was a scare card for Levy, a queen or a jack on the river would give either of his opponents a straight, but Levy managed to dodge some paint as he tripled up that hand, eliminating one player and crippling the other as he brought his chip stack up to 185,000.

I Am Legend

Tommy "Legend" Le raised to 4,200 preflop from the button. Seat 5 called, as did seat 2 from the cutoff. The flop came A85 and action was checked to Le. He fired 6,000 into the pot and only the player in the cutoff made the call. The turn was the 6 and seat 2 checked to Le. The man known as "Legend" bet enough to put seat 2 all in. After much thought, seat 2 gave up his hand and Le showed A2 for top pair. He took the pot and was around 128,000.

Ramdin Takes a Pot

Victor Ramdin raised to 3,500 preflop from the cutoff and the player in seat 9 called from the big blind. The flop came 943 and seat 9 took a stab at the pot, firing 4,000. Ramdin would have none of that nonsense as he raised to 16,000. Seat 9 got the message and threw his hand in the muck. Ramdin took the pot and he was around 325,000

Grospellier Takes a Hit

Bertrand "ElKy" Grospellier bet enough to put "Hollywood" Dave Stann all in. Stann made the call and turned over AJ. Grospellier showed a dominated KJ and he needed help. The flop offered none as it came down Q43. The turn brough the 10, opening up straight possibilities for Grospellier, but he needed a non-diamond ace or nine to eliminate Stann. But the river brought the 2 and Grospellier took a hit, dropping his stack to 90,000.

Kim Taken For a Ride On Broadway

The player in seat 7 limped in from the button, David Kim completed the bet from the small blind and the player in seat 9 checked his option from the big blind. The flop came down AQJ and Kim fired 2,600. The big blind got out of the way but seat 7 hung around. The turn was the 3 and Kim checked. Seat 7 bet out 5,000 and Kim made the call. The river brought the 2 and Kim checked again. Seat 7 fired 10,000 and Kim made the call after a few moments of thought. Seat 7 turned over K10 for a flopped broadway straight. Kim showed down A2 for top pair and saw his stack go down to 110,000.

Daut Dodges A Big One

On a board of K6J, the player in seat 7 fired 3,500 and Ryan Daut raised to 9,500. Seat 7 made the call and the 6 came on the turn. Both players checked and the 7 fell on the river. Seat 7 fired 15,000 and Daut took a massive tank session. He took almost seven minutes before he finally mucked his hand. Seat 7 then showed JJ for a full house. Daut was down to 45,000 but things could have been much worse.

Player Tags: David Kim,   Victor Ramdin,   Tommy Le,   Ryan Daut,   Adam Levy,   European Report

$10,000 Main Event - Brunson and Minieri Take Their Leave

Jul 06, '08

Blinds/Antes: 200-400 with a 50 ante

Players Left: 1,503 of 2,461

Chip Leaders:

Steve Austin: 140,000
Shawn Conix: 136,000
Dylan Linde: 135,000
Jason Katsutani: 133,000
Carlos Mortensen: 133,000
Richard Smith: 130,000
William Blanda: 121,700
Victor Ramdin: 120,000
David Saab: 119,400
David Stucke: 115,000

CP Counts:

Phil Hellmuth: 52,800
Jeff Shulman: 40,000
Todd Brunson: busted

Eliminations: Dario Minieri, Todd Brunson, Shane Schleger, Cyndy Violette, Michael Mizrachi

Big Hands:

The Ladies Hold Cunningham... errr, Hold FOR Cunningham

The player in seat 4 raised to 1,200 from early position and Allen Cunningham made the call from the cutoff. The flop came down 964 and seat 4 fired 2,600. Cunningham quickly called and the turn was the 10. Seat 4 slowed down, checking to his opponent. Cunningham kept his foot on the gas and fired 5,000 into the pot. Seat 4 made the call and the river was the 2. Seat 4 checked and Cunningham took time to think about whether he could get any value out of a final bet. He decided he couldn't and checked as well. Seat 4 showed down JJ for an overpair. Cunningham showed an overpair of his own, QQ, and raked in the pot. He was at 80,000 after the hand.

Brunson Busts

Todd Brunson's tournament came to an end when his 56 ran into his opponent's nut flush with AJ on the turn of a board reading 6426. Brunson failed to improve on the river, which brought the A and the end of the Brunson's 2008 WSOP.

El Matador Gored... Slightly

On a board of Q10545, Carlos Mortensen made a 4,000 bet on the river and the player in seat 3 looked him up. Mortensen rolled his eyes and threw his hand into the muck. Seat 3 raked the pot, but failed to make a significant dent in Mortensen's growing stack. After the hand, Mortensen still had well over 120,000 in chips.

Bernard Lee Gets Bluffed Out?

Heads-up and on a board of 1093K5, Bernard Lee bet 7,700 on the river. His opponent in seat 7 thought for a minute before asking Lee how much he had left. Lee did a quick count replying, "A little under 11,000." Seat 7 moved all in and a short stacked Lee folded the hand after a minute or so in the tank. Seat 7 showed 88 as he raked the pot, Lee looked a little thrown off. Seat 7 said, "I wouldn't have done that, but you checked the king on the turn, so I knew you didn't have it." Lee shook his head and shrugged it off, down to 11,000 in chips.

Phil Gordon Can't Stand It

Gordon raised preflop to 1,025 from middle position and the player in seat 2 called from the cutoff. The flop came down QQJ and Gordon checked. Seat 2 fired 1,000 and Gordon quickly called. The turn was the 3 and Gordon checked again. Seat 2 fired 2,500 into the pot this time and Gordon quickly called again. The river was the 8 and Gordon checked one more time. Seat 2 fired 5,000 into the 9,050 pot. Gordon quickly called and seat 2 showed down KQ and Gordon shot out of his chair, a disgusted groan coming out of him. He took a short walk away from the table as his hand was placed in the muck. He was down to 35,000 in chips.

Matt Savage Knocks One Out On River

The player in seat 1 moved all in before the flop and Matt Savage made the call. Savage had him covered and both players turned over their cards.

Savage: A6
Seat 1: AQ
Board: Q7584

Matt Savage was way behind before the flop, his opponent making top pair on the flop and all but reducing Savage to going runner-runner. The 8 on the turn gave savage the open-ended straight draw, and the 4 on the river locked it up. Savage sucked out to make the eight-high straight, eliminating his opponent and bringing his stack up to 45,000 after the hand.

Men "The Master"...Not So Much

The player in seat 7 raised to 1,200 from the cutoff and Men "The Master" Nguyen reraised to 4,000 from the big blind. Seat 7 called and the flop came 765. Nguyen fired out 6,000 and seat 7 made the call. The turn was a scare card (2) and both players checked around. The river was another scare card (8), and Nguyen went into the tank for nearly three minutes on his own action. Finally Nguyen checked to to his opponent who rapped the table as well. Seat 7 said, "How big is your pair?" as he turned over A5 for a pair of fives. Nguyen said, "Fives are good man" as he threw his cards into the muck. Nguyen lost more than half of his stack that hand, now down to just 9,000 in chips.

Ramdin Pushed Out, So What?

Victor Ramdin raised to 1,200 from middle position and the player in seat 8 made the call from the small blind. The flop came down 1043. Ramdin continued with the aggression as he fired 2,000 into the pot. The small blind had enough of that nonsense, however, and he came over the top with 3,000 more. Ramdin mucked his hand, but was still left with a healthy 93,000 in chips.

Some More Magic

The player in seat 6 raised to 2,400 from middle position and action folded to Antonio Esfaniari on the button. "How much do you have left," Esfandiari asked his opponent. After getting his answer (approx. 24,000), Esfandiari made the call and the flop came down 1084. Seat 6 checked and Esfandiari applied the pressure with a bet of 4,600. Seat 6 liked the 24,000 he had left and decided not to put any more of it at risk as he mucked his hand. Esfandiari took the pot and was around 88,000 after the hand.

Dario's Day Over

Dario Minieri raised against one middle position limper to 1,600 from the small blind. The limper called, and also called Dario's bet of 2,300 on the flop of 722. The turn was the 10, and the Italian Harry Potter shoved for his remaining 7,500. His opponent called once again, and was in bad shape holding A10 against Minieri's QQ. But the river brought an unfortunate 10, sending the bracelet winner to the rail early in the last level of the night.

Player Tags: Men Nguyen,   Allen Cunningham,   Carlos Mortensen,   Phil Gordon,   Antonio Esfandiari,   Todd Brunson,   Victor Ramdin,   Bernard Lee,   Matt Savage,   Dario Minieri

$10,000 Main Event - Day 3 - Level 12 (Hr. 2)

Jul 10, '08

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

Players Left: 828 of 6,844

Chip Leaders:
Sigurd Eskeland - 680,000
Jeff Kimber - 650,000
Karle Wilson - 570,000
Jeremiah Smith - 560,000
Geert Jans - 530,000
Matthew Jensen - 500,000
Peter Biebel - 500,000
Chris Barrile - 480,000
Alexander Kostritsyn - 475,000
Patrick Fortin - 450,000
Alex Outhred - 440,000

Other Notables:
Kido Pham – 400,000
Alan Jaffray – 357,000
Phil Hellmuth – 290,000
Victor Ramdin – 265,000
Bertrand Grospellier – 254,000
Thayer Rasmussen – 240,000
Robert Mizrachi – 236,000
Nenad Medic – 230,000
Matt Graham – 204,000
Hoyt Corkins – 200,000
Brandon Adams – 200,000
Hasan Habib – 200,000
Leo Wolpert – 194,000
David Baker – 129,000
Evelyn Ng – 120,000
Rolf Slotboom – 120,000
Tim West – 114,000
Jon Turner – 110,000
Jeff Madsen – 107,000
Steve Zolotow – 106,000
Ari Engel – 106,000
Thor Hansen – 83,000
Maya Antonius – 80,000
Adam Schoenfeld – 71,000
Mike Matusow – 70,000
Farzad Rouhani – 64,000
Bill Gazes – 63,000
Jason Gray – 60,000
Ryan Daut – 50,000
Cliff Josephy – 50,000
Alexander Kravchenko – 43,000
Mike Wattel – 42,000
Vanessa Rousso – 36,000

Eliminations:
Matt Glantz
John D'Agostino
Phil Gordon

Big Hands/Storylines

Kostritsyn Sets His Opponent Up

Action folded to Alexander Kostritsyn who limped from the hijack. It folded around to big blind who raised it to 20,000. Kostritsyn opted to call and they saw a highly coordinated flop: KQJ. His opponent led out for 25,000 and Kostritsyn, who had him well-covered, moved all-in. The decision was for an additional 75,000 and his opponent certainly took his time in deciding. He sent a barrage of questions Kostritsyn’s way, but was met only with wry answers in response. After seven minutes of thought, the clock was called on him. With ten seconds remaining in the countdown, he made the call and showed AK. Kostritsyn was well ahead with QQ and ended up holding when the turn and river were the 9 and K. That hand brings Kostritsyn up to a hefty 475,000.

Jensen Keeps Amassing Chips

Matt Jensen raised to 8,000 from middle position and was called by the small blind. The blind led out on a K76 flop for 15,000 and Jensen made the call. The turn was the 3 and the small blind checked. Jensen, sensing weakness, bet 25,000, prompting his opponent to make a quick fold. Jensen, who started the day with 143,000, now has over 400,000.

Deutekom Rakes in Monster Pot

Yde Van Deutekom was forced to stare down Victor Ramdin in a massive showdown as the final seconds counted down on level 12. Ramdin raised to 6000 preflop and Van Deutekom made the reraise to 18,000. Play was folded back to Ramdin, among the chip leaders in the event, who quickly reraised to 45,000. Van Deutekom had the clock called on him before making the call. The flop came 865, and when Ramdin checked, Van Deutekom stepped out for 45,000. Ramdin called. The 2 was the turn card and Ramdin then announced all-in, sending his stack of orange 5000 chips to the center of the table, having Van Deutekom covered. Van Deutekom tanked again, and again the clock was called. With about four seconds remaining in the countdown, he announced call for his remaining 109,500 and showed his KK. Ramdin was holding J4 for a double-gutter straight draw plus the flush draw. The river was a brick and Van Deutekom soared up the chip leaderboard, now with just over 400,000 in chips.

Phil Hellmuth Lives Up to His Catchphrase

The player in the hijack seat (one to the right of the cut-off) open raised to 6,000 total and the action folded to Phil Hellmuth on the button.  After deliberating, Hellmuth reraised an additional 16,000 and the other players folded.  When the action returned to the initial raiser, he pushed a stack of 20 orange 5,000 chips into the pot, making his total bet 106,000.  Hellmuth went into the tank, visibly frustrated by his opponent’s reraise.  After cursing his situation, Hellmuth folded AK face up.  As the dealer pushed the pot to the player, he obliged Hellmuth by revealing AA.  Hellmuth immediately changed his tune and enthusiastically reminded everyone within earshot (and some beyond) that he can, in fact, dodge bullets, baby.

Not-so-Lucky Sevens

A player in late position raised to 6000 preflop and Terry Lade on the button made the call. The flop came 777, the first player checked and Lade stepped out for 7000. The other player called, and the 8 was turned. The player again checked, and then called when Lade bet another 6500. The 4 on the river completed the board, and when the first player checked a third time, Lade ventured out for 15,000. The other player made the call. “Nice call,” Lade said. “You got a pair, you win.” The other player said he didn’t. “You have ace-high?” asked a surprised Lade. The player nodded and showed AJ which led to Lade mucking his hand.

Player Tags: Phil Hellmuth,   Victor Ramdin,   Matthew Jensen,   Terry Lade,   Alexander Kostritsyn

$10,000 Main Event - Level 11

Jul 10, '08

Blinds/Antes: 800-1,600-200

Players Remaining: 1,161 out of 6,844

Average Chip Stack: 118,000

Eliminations:
Chris Moneymaker
Darrell Dicken
Jennifer Harman
Patrik Antonius

Big Hands and Storylines:

Ramdin Outkicked

Action folded around to Victor Ramdin in the small blind who tossed in a 5,000 chip, declaring a raise. Michael Johnson in the big blind took a look down at his cards and made a quick call. Both players checked the QJ5 flop. The turn was the A and Ramdin checked. Johnson tossed out 6,000 and Ramdin made the call. The river was the 3 and Ramdin checked. Johnson checked behind and showed A7 for a pair of aces. Ramdin smiled and showed his narrowly outkicked A-6. Despite the loss, Ramdin still has 296,000. Johnson is up to 155,000.

Boatman Forced to Abandon Ship

Three players limped to the flop, including Barny Boatman in early position and Ruben Juarez in the cutoff. The flop was QJ5 and Boatman checked to Juarez who bet 3,000. The big blind folded and Boatman tossed in a raise to 8,000. Within seconds, Juarez had fired out a third bet, making it 16,000 more for Boatman to call. Boatman folded, leaving himself with 75,000 left after the hand. Juarez, from Ferris, Texas, is now approaching the chip leaders with 240,000.

Fun at Orange 33

The only table that began the day with two of the top 20 players in chip counts was Orange 33, with both Eric Crain and Baja Kattamuri seated there. It makes for tough going for Jennifer Harman, shortstacked with just 16,000 in chips. It got even more difficult when experienced pro Mike Matusow was moved to the table shortly after play began.

Hasan Habib Cripples Opponent, Adds to Stack

On a board of 9885, Hasan Habib faced a bet of 15,000 from his lone opponent.  After asking how much the player had behind the bet and discovering it was only 11,000, Habib put the player all in.  Habib seemed a little surprised when the player went into the tank without quickly calling.  Eventually the player mucked his cards and Habib showed him A9.  Habib maintained a healthy chip stack of over 200,000 throughout the first hour.

Rheem Wants to Gamble

David Rheem made a small raise from the cut-off, then the player on the button moved all-in for 25,000. Rheem, who began the day 12th in chips, said “I have enough chips to gamble” and made the call, showing QJ. His opponent held 77. The flop came 985, with neither player holding a heart. But the 10 on the turn filled the straight for Rheem who eliminated his opponent.

Lade Loses Early Pot

Terry Lade, 20th in chips to begin the day, was involved in a heads-up battle with the player in seat 1. Play had been raised preflop and bet after the flop, which came KQ6. After the 2 fell on the turn, seat 1 bet 18,000 and Lade called. The 9 was the river, and seat 1 bet 20,000. Lade again called, asking “you got ace-king?” Seat 1 shook his head as he flipped over AA to take down the pot.

Vanessa Rousso Lives On

Vanessa Rousso moved all in pre-flop for her last 28,300 in chips and was called by a single opponent. Rousso turned over QQ, dominating the other player’s AQ. The board ran KJ752, and Rousso more than doubled up. She currently has around 65,000 in chips.

Patrick Antonius Eliminated

Patrick Antonius’ main event run has finally come to an end. After starting today with a short stack, Antonius moved all-in from the big blind after a button raise. The raise was 25,000 more to Jim Dalessandro after his initial raise of 6,000. Eventually Dalessandro made the call. Antonius was behind with his KJ against his opponent’s A10. The flop was K62, a hit for Antonius. However, the running 4 turn and Q river gave Dalessandro an ace-high flush and Antonius headed for the rail.

Bill Gazes Plays it Straight

The action folded to the player in the small blind who completed. Bill Gazes checked his big blind option, and the dealer put down a flop of Q42. The small blind checked, and Gazes made a bet of 3,000. After his opponent folded, Gazes turned over QJ for top pair. “Honest, kitchen-table poker,” Gazes added. “Bet your pairs and check everything else.” Gazes finished the hand with around 40,000 in chips.

One hand, one elimination for chip leader

Brian Schaedlich was still getting his chips out of his bag when the first hand was dealt at his table. He had not even acted yet and a short stack moved all in. Schaedlich looked down at a pair of eights and made the call. His opponent held A-8 and did not get lucky. Schaedlich began the day with 801,000 chips and already has at least a little more. According to a player at his table who played with him on day one, Schaedlich was just catching hands all day, yet opponents seemed to never believe him and would call with their second-best hands.

Player Tags: Bill Gazes,   Victor Ramdin,   Barny Boatman,   Patrik Antonius,   Vanessa Rousso,   Brian Schaedlich

$10,000 Main Event - Levy Triples

Jul 09, '08

Blinds/Antes: 600-1,200 with a 200 ante

Players Left: 936 of 2,378

Chip Leaders:

Raja Kattamuri: 410,000
Peter Biebel: 380,000
Alex Kostritsyn: 320,000
Alex Outhred: 320,000
Darryl Ronconi: 310,000
Victor Ramdin: 300,000
Steve Chung: 295,000
Paul Snead: 290,000
Steve Lade: 290,000
Rafael Caiaffe: 280,000

Spade Club:

David Kim: 110,000

Eliminations: Padraig Parkinson, David Sklansky, Rafe Furst, Anjela Brunson, Joe Hachem, Phil Laak, Dan Shak, Brad Booth

Big Hands:

Adam Levy Triples Up

The player in seat 5 limped in from under the gun and Adam Levy raised to 4,800 from the button. The player in the big blind raised all in, an the UTG player came over the top himslef, moving all in to isolate play. Levy callled all in and all three players turned over their cards.

Levy: KK
UTG: QQ
Big Blind: JJ

Board: K108A7

Levy got it all in with the best hand and flopped top set. The turn was a scare card for Levy, a queen or a jack on the river would give either of his opponents a straight, but Levy managed to dodge some paint as he tripled up that hand, eliminating one player and crippling the other as he brought his chip stack up to 185,000.

I Am Legend

Tommy "Legend" Le raised to 4,200 preflop from the button. Seat 5 called, as did seat 2 from the cutoff. The flop came A85 and action was checked to Le. He fired 6,000 into the pot and only the player in the cutoff made the call. The turn was the 6 and seat 2 checked to Le. The man known as "Legend" bet enough to put seat 2 all in. After much thought, seat 2 gave up his hand and Le showed A2 for top pair. He took the pot and was around 128,000.

Ramdin Takes a Pot

Victor Ramdin raised to 3,500 preflop from the cutoff and the player in seat 9 called from the big blind. The flop came 943 and seat 9 took a stab at the pot, firing 4,000. Ramdin would have none of that nonsense as he raised to 16,000. Seat 9 got the message and threw his hand in the muck. Ramdin took the pot and he was around 325,000

Grospellier Takes a Hit

Bertrand "ElKy" Grospellier bet enough to put "Hollywood" Dave Stann all in. Stann made the call and turned over AJ. Grospellier showed a dominated KJ and he needed help. The flop offered none as it came down Q43. The turn brough the 10, opening up straight possibilities for Grospellier, but he needed a non-diamond ace or nine to eliminate Stann. But the river brought the 2 and Grospellier took a hit, dropping his stack to 90,000.

Kim Taken For a Ride On Broadway

The player in seat 7 limped in from the button, David Kim completed the bet from the small blind and the player in seat 9 checked his option from the big blind. The flop came down AQJ and Kim fired 2,600. The big blind got out of the way but seat 7 hung around. The turn was the 3 and Kim checked. Seat 7 bet out 5,000 and Kim made the call. The river brought the 2 and Kim checked again. Seat 7 fired 10,000 and Kim made the call after a few moments of thought. Seat 7 turned over K10 for a flopped broadway straight. Kim showed down A2 for top pair and saw his stack go down to 110,000.

Daut Dodges A Big One

On a board of K6J, the player in seat 7 fired 3,500 and Ryan Daut raised to 9,500. Seat 7 made the call and the 6 came on the turn. Both players checked and the 7 fell on the river. Seat 7 fired 15,000 and Daut took a massive tank session. He took almost seven minutes before he finally mucked his hand. Seat 7 then showed JJ for a full house. Daut was down to 45,000 but things could have been much worse.

Player Tags: David Kim,   Victor Ramdin,   Tommy Le,   Ryan Daut,   Adam Levy,   European Report

$10,000 Main Event - Brunson and Minieri Take Their Leave

Jul 06, '08

Blinds/Antes: 200-400 with a 50 ante

Players Left: 1,503 of 2,461

Chip Leaders:

Steve Austin: 140,000
Shawn Conix: 136,000
Dylan Linde: 135,000
Jason Katsutani: 133,000
Carlos Mortensen: 133,000
Richard Smith: 130,000
William Blanda: 121,700
Victor Ramdin: 120,000
David Saab: 119,400
David Stucke: 115,000

CP Counts:

Phil Hellmuth: 52,800
Jeff Shulman: 40,000
Todd Brunson: busted

Eliminations: Dario Minieri, Todd Brunson, Shane Schleger, Cyndy Violette, Michael Mizrachi

Big Hands:

The Ladies Hold Cunningham... errr, Hold FOR Cunningham

The player in seat 4 raised to 1,200 from early position and Allen Cunningham made the call from the cutoff. The flop came down 964 and seat 4 fired 2,600. Cunningham quickly called and the turn was the 10. Seat 4 slowed down, checking to his opponent. Cunningham kept his foot on the gas and fired 5,000 into the pot. Seat 4 made the call and the river was the 2. Seat 4 checked and Cunningham took time to think about whether he could get any value out of a final bet. He decided he couldn't and checked as well. Seat 4 showed down JJ for an overpair. Cunningham showed an overpair of his own, QQ, and raked in the pot. He was at 80,000 after the hand.

Brunson Busts

Todd Brunson's tournament came to an end when his 56 ran into his opponent's nut flush with AJ on the turn of a board reading 6426. Brunson failed to improve on the river, which brought the A and the end of the Brunson's 2008 WSOP.

El Matador Gored... Slightly

On a board of Q10545, Carlos Mortensen made a 4,000 bet on the river and the player in seat 3 looked him up. Mortensen rolled his eyes and threw his hand into the muck. Seat 3 raked the pot, but failed to make a significant dent in Mortensen's growing stack. After the hand, Mortensen still had well over 120,000 in chips.

Bernard Lee Gets Bluffed Out?

Heads-up and on a board of 1093K5, Bernard Lee bet 7,700 on the river. His opponent in seat 7 thought for a minute before asking Lee how much he had left. Lee did a quick count replying, "A little under 11,000." Seat 7 moved all in and a short stacked Lee folded the hand after a minute or so in the tank. Seat 7 showed 88 as he raked the pot, Lee looked a little thrown off. Seat 7 said, "I wouldn't have done that, but you checked the king on the turn, so I knew you didn't have it." Lee shook his head and shrugged it off, down to 11,000 in chips.

Phil Gordon Can't Stand It

Gordon raised preflop to 1,025 from middle position and the player in seat 2 called from the cutoff. The flop came down QQJ and Gordon checked. Seat 2 fired 1,000 and Gordon quickly called. The turn was the 3 and Gordon checked again. Seat 2 fired 2,500 into the pot this time and Gordon quickly called again. The river was the 8 and Gordon checked one more time. Seat 2 fired 5,000 into the 9,050 pot. Gordon quickly called and seat 2 showed down KQ and Gordon shot out of his chair, a disgusted groan coming out of him. He took a short walk away from the table as his hand was placed in the muck. He was down to 35,000 in chips.

Matt Savage Knocks One Out On River

The player in seat 1 moved all in before the flop and Matt Savage made the call. Savage had him covered and both players turned over their cards.

Savage: A6
Seat 1: AQ
Board: Q7584

Matt Savage was way behind before the flop, his opponent making top pair on the flop and all but reducing Savage to going runner-runner. The 8 on the turn gave savage the open-ended straight draw, and the 4 on the river locked it up. Savage sucked out to make the eight-high straight, eliminating his opponent and bringing his stack up to 45,000 after the hand.

Men "The Master"...Not So Much

The player in seat 7 raised to 1,200 from the cutoff and Men "The Master" Nguyen reraised to 4,000 from the big blind. Seat 7 called and the flop came 765. Nguyen fired out 6,000 and seat 7 made the call. The turn was a scare card (2) and both players checked around. The river was another scare card (8), and Nguyen went into the tank for nearly three minutes on his own action. Finally Nguyen checked to to his opponent who rapped the table as well. Seat 7 said, "How big is your pair?" as he turned over A5 for a pair of fives. Nguyen said, "Fives are good man" as he threw his cards into the muck. Nguyen lost more than half of his stack that hand, now down to just 9,000 in chips.

Ramdin Pushed Out, So What?

Victor Ramdin raised to 1,200 from middle position and the player in seat 8 made the call from the small blind. The flop came down 1043. Ramdin continued with the aggression as he fired 2,000 into the pot. The small blind had enough of that nonsense, however, and he came over the top with 3,000 more. Ramdin mucked his hand, but was still left with a healthy 93,000 in chips.

Some More Magic

The player in seat 6 raised to 2,400 from middle position and action folded to Antonio Esfaniari on the button. "How much do you have left," Esfandiari asked his opponent. After getting his answer (approx. 24,000), Esfandiari made the call and the flop came down 1084. Seat 6 checked and Esfandiari applied the pressure with a bet of 4,600. Seat 6 liked the 24,000 he had left and decided not to put any more of it at risk as he mucked his hand. Esfandiari took the pot and was around 88,000 after the hand.

Dario's Day Over

Dario Minieri raised against one middle position limper to 1,600 from the small blind. The limper called, and also called Dario's bet of 2,300 on the flop of 722. The turn was the 10, and the Italian Harry Potter shoved for his remaining 7,500. His opponent called once again, and was in bad shape holding A10 against Minieri's QQ. But the river brought an unfortunate 10, sending the bracelet winner to the rail early in the last level of the night.

Player Tags: Men Nguyen,   Allen Cunningham,   Carlos Mortensen,   Phil Gordon,   Antonio Esfandiari,   Todd Brunson,   Victor Ramdin,   Bernard Lee,   Matt Savage,   Dario Minieri

$10,000 Main Event - Day 3 - Level 12 (Hr. 2)

Jul 10, '08

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

Players Left: 828 of 6,844

Chip Leaders:
Sigurd Eskeland - 680,000
Jeff Kimber - 650,000
Karle Wilson - 570,000
Jeremiah Smith - 560,000
Geert Jans - 530,000
Matthew Jensen - 500,000
Peter Biebel - 500,000
Chris Barrile - 480,000
Alexander Kostritsyn - 475,000
Patrick Fortin - 450,000
Alex Outhred - 440,000

Other Notables:
Kido Pham – 400,000
Alan Jaffray – 357,000
Phil Hellmuth – 290,000
Victor Ramdin – 265,000
Bertrand Grospellier – 254,000
Thayer Rasmussen – 240,000
Robert Mizrachi – 236,000
Nenad Medic – 230,000
Matt Graham – 204,000
Hoyt Corkins – 200,000
Brandon Adams – 200,000
Hasan Habib – 200,000
Leo Wolpert – 194,000
David Baker – 129,000
Evelyn Ng – 120,000
Rolf Slotboom – 120,000
Tim West – 114,000
Jon Turner – 110,000
Jeff Madsen – 107,000
Steve Zolotow – 106,000
Ari Engel – 106,000
Thor Hansen – 83,000
Maya Antonius – 80,000
Adam Schoenfeld – 71,000
Mike Matusow – 70,000
Farzad Rouhani – 64,000
Bill Gazes – 63,000
Jason Gray – 60,000
Ryan Daut – 50,000
Cliff Josephy – 50,000
Alexander Kravchenko – 43,000
Mike Wattel – 42,000
Vanessa Rousso – 36,000

Eliminations:
Matt Glantz
John D'Agostino
Phil Gordon

Big Hands/Storylines

Kostritsyn Sets His Opponent Up

Action folded to Alexander Kostritsyn who limped from the hijack. It folded around to big blind who raised it to 20,000. Kostritsyn opted to call and they saw a highly coordinated flop: KQJ. His opponent led out for 25,000 and Kostritsyn, who had him well-covered, moved all-in. The decision was for an additional 75,000 and his opponent certainly took his time in deciding. He sent a barrage of questions Kostritsyn’s way, but was met only with wry answers in response. After seven minutes of thought, the clock was called on him. With ten seconds remaining in the countdown, he made the call and showed AK. Kostritsyn was well ahead with QQ and ended up holding when the turn and river were the 9 and K. That hand brings Kostritsyn up to a hefty 475,000.

Jensen Keeps Amassing Chips

Matt Jensen raised to 8,000 from middle position and was called by the small blind. The blind led out on a K76 flop for 15,000 and Jensen made the call. The turn was the 3 and the small blind checked. Jensen, sensing weakness, bet 25,000, prompting his opponent to make a quick fold. Jensen, who started the day with 143,000, now has over 400,000.

Deutekom Rakes in Monster Pot

Yde Van Deutekom was forced to stare down Victor Ramdin in a massive showdown as the final seconds counted down on level 12. Ramdin raised to 6000 preflop and Van Deutekom made the reraise to 18,000. Play was folded back to Ramdin, among the chip leaders in the event, who quickly reraised to 45,000. Van Deutekom had the clock called on him before making the call. The flop came 865, and when Ramdin checked, Van Deutekom stepped out for 45,000. Ramdin called. The 2 was the turn card and Ramdin then announced all-in, sending his stack of orange 5000 chips to the center of the table, having Van Deutekom covered. Van Deutekom tanked again, and again the clock was called. With about four seconds remaining in the countdown, he announced call for his remaining 109,500 and showed his KK. Ramdin was holding J4 for a double-gutter straight draw plus the flush draw. The river was a brick and Van Deutekom soared up the chip leaderboard, now with just over 400,000 in chips.

Phil Hellmuth Lives Up to His Catchphrase

The player in the hijack seat (one to the right of the cut-off) open raised to 6,000 total and the action folded to Phil Hellmuth on the button.  After deliberating, Hellmuth reraised an additional 16,000 and the other players folded.  When the action returned to the initial raiser, he pushed a stack of 20 orange 5,000 chips into the pot, making his total bet 106,000.  Hellmuth went into the tank, visibly frustrated by his opponent’s reraise.  After cursing his situation, Hellmuth folded AK face up.  As the dealer pushed the pot to the player, he obliged Hellmuth by revealing AA.  Hellmuth immediately changed his tune and enthusiastically reminded everyone within earshot (and some beyond) that he can, in fact, dodge bullets, baby.

Not-so-Lucky Sevens

A player in late position raised to 6000 preflop and Terry Lade on the button made the call. The flop came 777, the first player checked and Lade stepped out for 7000. The other player called, and the 8 was turned. The player again checked, and then called when Lade bet another 6500. The 4 on the river completed the board, and when the first player checked a third time, Lade ventured out for 15,000. The other player made the call. “Nice call,” Lade said. “You got a pair, you win.” The other player said he didn’t. “You have ace-high?” asked a surprised Lade. The player nodded and showed AJ which led to Lade mucking his hand.

Player Tags: Phil Hellmuth,   Victor Ramdin,   Matthew Jensen,   Terry Lade,   Alexander Kostritsyn

$10,000 Main Event - Level 11

Jul 10, '08

Blinds/Antes: 800-1,600-200

Players Remaining: 1,161 out of 6,844

Average Chip Stack: 118,000

Eliminations:
Chris Moneymaker
Darrell Dicken
Jennifer Harman
Patrik Antonius

Big Hands and Storylines:

Ramdin Outkicked

Action folded around to Victor Ramdin in the small blind who tossed in a 5,000 chip, declaring a raise. Michael Johnson in the big blind took a look down at his cards and made a quick call. Both players checked the QJ5 flop. The turn was the A and Ramdin checked. Johnson tossed out 6,000 and Ramdin made the call. The river was the 3 and Ramdin checked. Johnson checked behind and showed A7 for a pair of aces. Ramdin smiled and showed his narrowly outkicked A-6. Despite the loss, Ramdin still has 296,000. Johnson is up to 155,000.

Boatman Forced to Abandon Ship

Three players limped to the flop, including Barny Boatman in early position and Ruben Juarez in the cutoff. The flop was QJ5 and Boatman checked to Juarez who bet 3,000. The big blind folded and Boatman tossed in a raise to 8,000. Within seconds, Juarez had fired out a third bet, making it 16,000 more for Boatman to call. Boatman folded, leaving himself with 75,000 left after the hand. Juarez, from Ferris, Texas, is now approaching the chip leaders with 240,000.

Fun at Orange 33

The only table that began the day with two of the top 20 players in chip counts was Orange 33, with both Eric Crain and Baja Kattamuri seated there. It makes for tough going for Jennifer Harman, shortstacked with just 16,000 in chips. It got even more difficult when experienced pro Mike Matusow was moved to the table shortly after play began.

Hasan Habib Cripples Opponent, Adds to Stack

On a board of 9885, Hasan Habib faced a bet of 15,000 from his lone opponent.  After asking how much the player had behind the bet and discovering it was only 11,000, Habib put the player all in.  Habib seemed a little surprised when the player went into the tank without quickly calling.  Eventually the player mucked his cards and Habib showed him A9.  Habib maintained a healthy chip stack of over 200,000 throughout the first hour.

Rheem Wants to Gamble

David Rheem made a small raise from the cut-off, then the player on the button moved all-in for 25,000. Rheem, who began the day 12th in chips, said “I have enough chips to gamble” and made the call, showing QJ. His opponent held 77. The flop came 985, with neither player holding a heart. But the 10 on the turn filled the straight for Rheem who eliminated his opponent.

Lade Loses Early Pot

Terry Lade, 20th in chips to begin the day, was involved in a heads-up battle with the player in seat 1. Play had been raised preflop and bet after the flop, which came KQ6. After the 2 fell on the turn, seat 1 bet 18,000 and Lade called. The 9 was the river, and seat 1 bet 20,000. Lade again called, asking “you got ace-king?” Seat 1 shook his head as he flipped over AA to take down the pot.

Vanessa Rousso Lives On

Vanessa Rousso moved all in pre-flop for her last 28,300 in chips and was called by a single opponent. Rousso turned over QQ, dominating the other player’s AQ. The board ran KJ752, and Rousso more than doubled up. She currently has around 65,000 in chips.

Patrick Antonius Eliminated

Patrick Antonius’ main event run has finally come to an end. After starting today with a short stack, Antonius moved all-in from the big blind after a button raise. The raise was 25,000 more to Jim Dalessandro after his initial raise of 6,000. Eventually Dalessandro made the call. Antonius was behind with his KJ against his opponent’s A10. The flop was K62, a hit for Antonius. However, the running 4 turn and Q river gave Dalessandro an ace-high flush and Antonius headed for the rail.

Bill Gazes Plays it Straight

The action folded to the player in the small blind who completed. Bill Gazes checked his big blind option, and the dealer put down a flop of Q42. The small blind checked, and Gazes made a bet of 3,000. After his opponent folded, Gazes turned over QJ for top pair. “Honest, kitchen-table poker,” Gazes added. “Bet your pairs and check everything else.” Gazes finished the hand with around 40,000 in chips.

One hand, one elimination for chip leader

Brian Schaedlich was still getting his chips out of his bag when the first hand was dealt at his table. He had not even acted yet and a short stack moved all in. Schaedlich looked down at a pair of eights and made the call. His opponent held A-8 and did not get lucky. Schaedlich began the day with 801,000 chips and already has at least a little more. According to a player at his table who played with him on day one, Schaedlich was just catching hands all day, yet opponents seemed to never believe him and would call with their second-best hands.

Player Tags: Bill Gazes,   Victor Ramdin,   Barny Boatman,   Patrik Antonius,   Vanessa Rousso,   Brian Schaedlich

$10,000 Main Event - Levy Triples

Jul 09, '08

Blinds/Antes: 600-1,200 with a 200 ante

Players Left: 936 of 2,378

Chip Leaders:

Raja Kattamuri: 410,000
Peter Biebel: 380,000
Alex Kostritsyn: 320,000
Alex Outhred: 320,000
Darryl Ronconi: 310,000
Victor Ramdin: 300,000
Steve Chung: 295,000
Paul Snead: 290,000
Steve Lade: 290,000
Rafael Caiaffe: 280,000

Spade Club:

David Kim: 110,000

Eliminations: Padraig Parkinson, David Sklansky, Rafe Furst, Anjela Brunson, Joe Hachem, Phil Laak, Dan Shak, Brad Booth

Big Hands:

Adam Levy Triples Up

The player in seat 5 limped in from under the gun and Adam Levy raised to 4,800 from the button. The player in the big blind raised all in, an the UTG player came over the top himslef, moving all in to isolate play. Levy callled all in and all three players turned over their cards.

Levy: KK
UTG: QQ
Big Blind: JJ

Board: K108A7

Levy got it all in with the best hand and flopped top set. The turn was a scare card for Levy, a queen or a jack on the river would give either of his opponents a straight, but Levy managed to dodge some paint as he tripled up that hand, eliminating one player and crippling the other as he brought his chip stack up to 185,000.

I Am Legend

Tommy "Legend" Le raised to 4,200 preflop from the button. Seat 5 called, as did seat 2 from the cutoff. The flop came A85 and action was checked to Le. He fired 6,000 into the pot and only the player in the cutoff made the call. The turn was the 6 and seat 2 checked to Le. The man known as "Legend" bet enough to put seat 2 all in. After much thought, seat 2 gave up his hand and Le showed A2 for top pair. He took the pot and was around 128,000.

Ramdin Takes a Pot

Victor Ramdin raised to 3,500 preflop from the cutoff and the player in seat 9 called from the big blind. The flop came 943 and seat 9 took a stab at the pot, firing 4,000. Ramdin would have none of that nonsense as he raised to 16,000. Seat 9 got the message and threw his hand in the muck. Ramdin took the pot and he was around 325,000

Grospellier Takes a Hit

Bertrand "ElKy" Grospellier bet enough to put "Hollywood" Dave Stann all in. Stann made the call and turned over AJ. Grospellier showed a dominated KJ and he needed help. The flop offered none as it came down Q43. The turn brough the 10, opening up straight possibilities for Grospellier, but he needed a non-diamond ace or nine to eliminate Stann. But the river brought the 2 and Grospellier took a hit, dropping his stack to 90,000.

Kim Taken For a Ride On Broadway

The player in seat 7 limped in from the button, David Kim completed the bet from the small blind and the player in seat 9 checked his option from the big blind. The flop came down AQJ and Kim fired 2,600. The big blind got out of the way but seat 7 hung around. The turn was the 3 and Kim checked. Seat 7 bet out 5,000 and Kim made the call. The river brought the 2 and Kim checked again. Seat 7 fired 10,000 and Kim made the call after a few moments of thought. Seat 7 turned over K10 for a flopped broadway straight. Kim showed down A2 for top pair and saw his stack go down to 110,000.

Daut Dodges A Big One

On a board of K6J, the player in seat 7 fired 3,500 and Ryan Daut raised to 9,500. Seat 7 made the call and the 6 came on the turn. Both players checked and the 7 fell on the river. Seat 7 fired 15,000 and Daut took a massive tank session. He took almost seven minutes before he finally mucked his hand. Seat 7 then showed JJ for a full house. Daut was down to 45,000 but things could have been much worse.

Player Tags: David Kim,   Victor Ramdin,   Tommy Le,   Ryan Daut,   Adam Levy,   European Report

$10,000 Main Event - Brunson and Minieri Take Their Leave

Jul 06, '08

Blinds/Antes: 200-400 with a 50 ante

Players Left: 1,503 of 2,461

Chip Leaders:

Steve Austin: 140,000
Shawn Conix: 136,000
Dylan Linde: 135,000
Jason Katsutani: 133,000
Carlos Mortensen: 133,000
Richard Smith: 130,000
William Blanda: 121,700
Victor Ramdin: 120,000
David Saab: 119,400
David Stucke: 115,000

CP Counts:

Phil Hellmuth: 52,800
Jeff Shulman: 40,000
Todd Brunson: busted

Eliminations: Dario Minieri, Todd Brunson, Shane Schleger, Cyndy Violette, Michael Mizrachi

Big Hands:

The Ladies Hold Cunningham... errr, Hold FOR Cunningham

The player in seat 4 raised to 1,200 from early position and Allen Cunningham made the call from the cutoff. The flop came down 964 and seat 4 fired 2,600. Cunningham quickly called and the turn was the 10. Seat 4 slowed down, checking to his opponent. Cunningham kept his foot on the gas and fired 5,000 into the pot. Seat 4 made the call and the river was the 2. Seat 4 checked and Cunningham took time to think about whether he could get any value out of a final bet. He decided he couldn't and checked as well. Seat 4 showed down JJ for an overpair. Cunningham showed an overpair of his own, QQ, and raked in the pot. He was at 80,000 after the hand.

Brunson Busts

Todd Brunson's tournament came to an end when his 56 ran into his opponent's nut flush with AJ on the turn of a board reading 6426. Brunson failed to improve on the river, which brought the A and the end of the Brunson's 2008 WSOP.

El Matador Gored... Slightly

On a board of Q10545, Carlos Mortensen made a 4,000 bet on the river and the player in seat 3 looked him up. Mortensen rolled his eyes and threw his hand into the muck. Seat 3 raked the pot, but failed to make a significant dent in Mortensen's growing stack. After the hand, Mortensen still had well over 120,000 in chips.

Bernard Lee Gets Bluffed Out?

Heads-up and on a board of 1093K5, Bernard Lee bet 7,700 on the river. His opponent in seat 7 thought for a minute before asking Lee how much he had left. Lee did a quick count replying, "A little under 11,000." Seat 7 moved all in and a short stacked Lee folded the hand after a minute or so in the tank. Seat 7 showed 88 as he raked the pot, Lee looked a little thrown off. Seat 7 said, "I wouldn't have done that, but you checked the king on the turn, so I knew you didn't have it." Lee shook his head and shrugged it off, down to 11,000 in chips.

Phil Gordon Can't Stand It

Gordon raised preflop to 1,025 from middle position and the player in seat 2 called from the cutoff. The flop came down QQJ and Gordon checked. Seat 2 fired 1,000 and Gordon quickly called. The turn was the 3 and Gordon checked again. Seat 2 fired 2,500 into the pot this time and Gordon quickly called again. The river was the 8 and Gordon checked one more time. Seat 2 fired 5,000 into the 9,050 pot. Gordon quickly called and seat 2 showed down KQ and Gordon shot out of his chair, a disgusted groan coming out of him. He took a short walk away from the table as his hand was placed in the muck. He was down to 35,000 in chips.

Matt Savage Knocks One Out On River

The player in seat 1 moved all in before the flop and Matt Savage made the call. Savage had him covered and both players turned over their cards.

Savage: A6
Seat 1: AQ
Board: Q7584

Matt Savage was way behind before the flop, his opponent making top pair on the flop and all but reducing Savage to going runner-runner. The 8 on the turn gave savage the open-ended straight draw, and the 4 on the river locked it up. Savage sucked out to make the eight-high straight, eliminating his opponent and bringing his stack up to 45,000 after the hand.

Men "The Master"...Not So Much

The player in seat 7 raised to 1,200 from the cutoff and Men "The Master" Nguyen reraised to 4,000 from the big blind. Seat 7 called and the flop came 765. Nguyen fired out 6,000 and seat 7 made the call. The turn was a scare card (2) and both players checked around. The river was another scare card (8), and Nguyen went into the tank for nearly three minutes on his own action. Finally Nguyen checked to to his opponent who rapped the table as well. Seat 7 said, "How big is your pair?" as he turned over A5 for a pair of fives. Nguyen said, "Fives are good man" as he threw his cards into the muck. Nguyen lost more than half of his stack that hand, now down to just 9,000 in chips.

Ramdin Pushed Out, So What?

Victor Ramdin raised to 1,200 from middle position and the player in seat 8 made the call from the small blind. The flop came down 1043. Ramdin continued with the aggression as he fired 2,000 into the pot. The small blind had enough of that nonsense, however, and he came over the top with 3,000 more. Ramdin mucked his hand, but was still left with a healthy 93,000 in chips.

Some More Magic

The player in seat 6 raised to 2,400 from middle position and action folded to Antonio Esfaniari on the button. "How much do you have left," Esfandiari asked his opponent. After getting his answer (approx. 24,000), Esfandiari made the call and the flop came down 1084. Seat 6 checked and Esfandiari applied the pressure with a bet of 4,600. Seat 6 liked the 24,000 he had left and decided not to put any more of it at risk as he mucked his hand. Esfandiari took the pot and was around 88,000 after the hand.

Dario's Day Over

Dario Minieri raised against one middle position limper to 1,600 from the small blind. The limper called, and also called Dario's bet of 2,300 on the flop of 722. The turn was the 10, and the Italian Harry Potter shoved for his remaining 7,500. His opponent called once again, and was in bad shape holding A10 against Minieri's QQ. But the river brought an unfortunate 10, sending the bracelet winner to the rail early in the last level of the night.

Player Tags: Men Nguyen,   Allen Cunningham,   Carlos Mortensen,   Phil Gordon,   Antonio Esfandiari,   Todd Brunson,   Victor Ramdin,   Bernard Lee,   Matt Savage,   Dario Minieri

$1,500 HORSE - Final Day - Level 23

Jul 01, '08

Blinds/Antes: Stud - A: 3,000 B: 5,000 C: 15,000 , Razz - A: 3,000 B: 5,000 C: 15,000, Stud 8 - A: 3,000 B: 5,000 C: 15,000, Omaha: 8,000/15,000, Hold’em: 8,000/15,000

Players Remaining: 6 of 803

Chip Counts:
Tommy Hang – 680,000
Phil Hellmuth – 400,000
James Schaaf – 392,000
Jason Dollinger – 346,000
Sam Silverman – 310,000
Esther Rossi  - 166,000

Eliminations:
Matt Grapenthien Eliminated in 8th Place ($27,511)
Victor Ramdin Eliminated in 7th Place ($32,992)

Big Hands:

Matt Grapenthien Eliminated in 8th Place($27,511)

The final table saw its first elimination during the Omaha eight-or-better round.  Matt Grapenthien limped in pre-flop and Tommy Hang completed from the small blind.  Victor Ramdin checked his big blind option and the three players saw a flop of AKQ.  The action checked around, and the dealer put down the A on the turn.  Again Hang and Ramdin checked, but this time Grapentien put out a bet.  Hang check-raised, prompting Ramdin to fold.  Grapenthien made the call and turned over AJ63 for trip aces.  Hang flipped over KK82 for a full house, kings full of aces.  Grapenthien failed to fill up on the river, and he was eliminated in 8th place for a cash prize of $27,511.

Large Crowd Gathers for Phil Hellmuth

A large crowd of spectators has gathered around the final table in the Amazon Room to watch Phil Hellmuth attempt to win his 12th World Series of Poker title.  A special section has been designated for several members of Hellmuth’s extended family who have joined the crowd to cheer for Hellmuth.

Victor Ramdin Eliminated in 7^th Place ($32,992)

Victor Ramdin became the 7th place finisher during the stud round.  James Schaaf finished him off when his two pair, tens and deuces, overtook Ramdin's nines.  Ramdin earned $32,992 for his finish.

Player Tags: Matt Grapenthien,   Tommy Hang,   Phil Hellmuth,   Victor Ramdin,   James Schaaf

$1,500 HORSE - Final Day - Final Table Set!

Jul 01, '08

 

Blinds/Antes: Stud - A: 3000 B: 3000 C: 12000 , Razz - A: 3000 B: 3000 C: 12000, Stud 8 - A: 3000 B: 3000 C: 12000, Omaha: 6000/12000, Hold’em: 6000/12000

Players Remaining: 8 of 803

Chip Leaders:
Tommy Hang - 680,000
Phil Hellmuth - 400,000
James Schaaf - 392,000
Jason Dollinger - 346,000
Sam Silverman - 310,000
Victor Ramdin - 166,000
Esther Rossi - 78,000
Matt Grapenthien - 46,000

Eliminations:
Lonnie Heimowitz Eliminated in 10th Place ($22,031)
Edward Brogdon Eliminated in 9th Place ($22,031)

Big Hands:

Lonnie Heimowitz Eliminated in 10th Place ($22,031)

During the Omaha eight-or-better round, Lonnie Heimowitz got it all in pre-flop with AQ76 against Victor Ramdin’s JJ43.  The flop came AKQ, giving two pair to Heimowitz and a flush draw to Ramdin.  The 10 on the turn was a blank for Ramdin, but the 5 on the river completed his flush.  Heimowitz was eliminated in 10th place, earning $22,031 for his efforts.

Final Table Bubble Played Nine-Handed

As the players sweat the bubble for the final table, the remaining nine players will be combining into one nine-handed table.  When another player has been eliminated, the remaining eight final tablists will take a one hour dinner break.

Edward Brogdon Eliminated in 9th Place ($22,031)

Not long after combining into one nine-handed table, Edward Brogdon became the final table bubble boy after being eliminated by current chip leader Tommy Hang.  Brogdon and Hang got it all in pre-flop, with 106 for Hang and 77 for Brogdon.  The final board read KQ432, and Brogdon earned $22,031 for his “unlucky” 9th place finish.

Storylines:

Final Table Set

With the elimination of Edward Brogdon (9th) right before the dinner break, the final eight players prepared for the final table. Here was what the final table (eight-handed) looked like as the players left for dinner:

Seat 1 - James Schaaf - 392,000
Seat 2 - Matt Grapenthien - 46,000
Seat 3 - Sam Silverman - 310,000
Seat 4 - Phil Hellmuth - 400,000
Seat 5 - Jason Dollinger - 346,000
Seat 6 - Tommy Hang - 680,000
Seat 7 - Victor Ramdin - 78,000
Seat 8 - Esther Rossi - 166,000

Player Tags: Lonnie Heimowitz,   Matt Grapenthien,   Tommy Hang,   Phil Hellmuth,   Victor Ramdin,   Sam Silverman,   Esther Rossi,   Edward Brogdon,   European Report,   James Schaaf,   Jason Dollinger

$1,500 HORSE - Final Day - Level 22

Jul 01, '08

Blinds/Antes: Stud - A: 3000 B: 3000 C: 12000 , Razz - A: 3000 B: 3000 C: 12000, Stud 8 - A: 3000 B: 3000 C: 12000, Omaha: 6000/12000, Hold’em: 6000/12000

Players Remaining: 10 of 803

Chip Leaders:
Phil Hellmuth - 420000
Sam Silverman - 345000
James Schaaf - 340000
Jason Dollinger - 285000
Tommy Hang - 280000
Matt Grapenthien - 250000
Esther Rossi - 190000
Victor Ramdin - 150000
Edward Brogdon - 60000
Lonnie Heimowitz - 26000

Eliminations:
Randy Holland Eliminated in 13th Place ($11,070)
Phillip Penn Eliminated in 12th Place ($16,551)
Steve Diano Eliminated in 11th Place ($16,551)

Big Hands:

Randy Holland Eliminated in 13th Place ($11,070)

Sam Silverman eliminated Randy Holland during the razz level when his 9-6-5-4-3 ended up being the better hand against Holland’s 10-5-4-3-2.  Holland picked up $11,070 in prize money as he exited the tournament area in 13th place.

Phillip Penn Sr. Eliminated in 12th Place ($16,551)

Phillip Penn was eliminated by Matt Grapenthein during the stud eight-or-better round, earning $16,551 for his 12th place finish.

Steve Diano Eliminated in 11th Place ($16,551)

Steve Diano fell victim to Esther Rossi’s four-of-a-kind during the stud eight-or-better round and was unable to take even a portion of the pot with a low.  Diano earned $16,551 for his 11th place finish, and the remaining players are closer to the final table.  Only two more eliminations before the seats are redrawn and final table play commences.

Player Tags: Phil Hellmuth,   Victor Ramdin,   Sam Silverman,   European Report,   James Schaaf,   Jason Dollinger

$1,500 HORSE - Final Day - Level 21

Jul 01, '08

Players Remaining: 13 of 803

Chip Leaders:
Phil Hellmuth - 440000
Matt Grapenthien - 373000
Tommy Hang - 370000
Sam Silverman - 250000
Jason Dollinger - 235000
James Schaaf - 200000
Victor Ramdin - 200000
Esther Rossi - 143000
Edward Brogdon - 112000
Phillip Penn Sr. – 105000

As final table time approaches, players seem to be playing more cautiously.  Several of the tournament’s smallest stacks were already eliminated during the previous two rounds.  The last hour saw no eliminations.  Players spent 20 minutes of the hour on a break.

Player Tags: Phil Hellmuth,   Victor Ramdin

$1,500 HORSE - Final Day - Level 20

Jul 01, '08

Blinds/Antes: Razz, Stud  – Ante: 2000, Bring: 2000, Complete: 8000.  Hold’em – Blinds: 4000/8000

Players Remaining: 13 of 803

Chip Leaders:
Phil Hellmuth - 420000          
Tommy Hang - 282000          
Victor Ramdin - 275000        
Sam Silverman - 245000        
James Schaaf - 205000          
Matt Grapenthien - 170000   
Edward Brogdon - 155000    
Jason Dollinger - 145000       
Esther Rossi - 130000            
Phillip Penn Sr. - 130000

Eliminations:
Stephen Wolff Eliminated in 17th Place ($6,686)
Art Young Eliminated in 16th Place ($8,878)
Keith Sexton Eliminated in 15th Place ($8,878)
Arash Ghaneian Eliminated in 14th Place ($11,070)

Big Hands:

Stephen Wolff Eliminated in 17th Place ($6,686)

As the remaining players continued to battle down to final table play, Stephen Wolff made his exit during the hold’em round.  Wolff got it all in with Phillip Penn on a flop of As8c3h and turned over Ad5c.  Penn showed 8s3s for bottom two pair.  The turn and river blanked for Wolff, and he earned $6,686 for his 17th place finish.

Art Young Eliminated in 16th Place ($8,878)

Lonnie Heimowitz’s ten-seven low was good enough to eliminate Art Young during the razz round.  Young earned $8,878 for his 16th place finish.

Keith Sexton Eliminated in 15th Place ($8,878)

Steve Diano continued his elimination binge by taking aim on Keith Sexton during the razz round.  Diano eliminated Sexton when his eight-low was good against Sexton’s ten-low.  Sexton earned $8,878 for his 15th place finish.

Arash Ghaneian Eliminated in 14th Place ($11,070)

Arash Ghaneian was eliminated as the prize amounts continued to rise, earning an $11,070 payday in the stud round when Matt Grapenthein’s two pair, queens and jacks, caused Ghaneian to muck his hole cards.

 

Player Tags: Art Young,   Phil Hellmuth,   Victor Ramdin,   Arash Ghaneian,   Keith Sexton,   Steve Wolff,   European Report

$1,500 H.O.R.S.E. - End of Day 2

Jun 30, '08

The big story of day 2 was, once again, Phil Hellmuth. Coming into the day as chip leader, he floundered for a bit, relinquishing the lead for most of the day, but ultimately picked himself up by the bootstraps and strode back to the top. By the conclusion of the day, Hellmuth would not only be chip leader once again, but his chip stack would tower over most his competitors’.

With 21 players left, Hellmuth has a real chance of picking up his 12^th bracelet, and his first in a non-hold’em event. The final 21 players will return tomorrow at 3 p.m. PST to play for the $256,412 and World Series of Poker bracelet.

Here is an unofficial list of chip leaders heading into tomorrow’s final day:
Phil Hellmuth Jr. - 287,500
James Schaaf - 236,500
Art Young - 175,000
Victor Ramdin - 158,500
Matt Grapenthien - 151,000
Esther Rossi - 133,500
Steven Diano - 120,000
Arash Ghaneian - 114,000
Jason Dollinger - 110,500
Edward Brogdon - 104,500
Tam "Tommy" Hang - 92,000

Here is a bit of action from the final level of the day:

---

Razz

Razz Not Kind to Arash

Arash Ghaneian: 79210
Esther Rossi: 5Q98

Arash Ghaneian completed and Esther Rossi was the only caller. Ghaneian continued betting on every street until the river. When he was dealt his final card he slowly squeezed it and checked when he had seen what it was. Rossi, having checked her card, fired out a bet for the first time in the hand. Ghaneian called and she showed (A)(4)(3) for an 8-low. Rossi took down the pot and moved up to 130,000. Despite the hit, Ghaneian is still going strong with 110,000.

Stud

Joe Hachem Eliminated

Steven Diano: J1033
Joe Hachem: 2273

Diano completed at the outset with the J and James Schaaf raised with the Q. Joe Hachem, having brought in with the 2, called, and so did Diano. The turn paired Hachem’s upcard and he bet out. Diano called, and Schaaf, looking incredulously toward Hachem and Diano, folded. Hachem bet both fifth and sixth streets, putting himself all-in on the latter round. The two turned over their cards: Hachem showed (A)(K) for a pair of twos while Diano tabled (K)(9). Diano’s measly pair of threes was ahead going to seventh street. Hachem turned over his final card – the 8 – and made his exit from the Brasilia Room, but not before tearing into Diano's hand selection a bit: “Where were you going with that?”

Diano is up to 120,000.

Player Tags: Art Young,   Matt Grapenthien,   Tommy Hang,   Phil Hellmuth,   Victor Ramdin,   Arash Ghaneian,   Esther Rossi,   Steven Diano,   Joe Hachem,   Edward Brogdon,   James Schaaf,   Jason Dollinger

$1,500 H.O.R.S.E. - Day 2 - Level 17 Recap

Jun 30, '08

Note: Play will end for the night at the conclusion of level 18

Stakes:
Hold’em/Omaha:  2,000-4,000 blinds
Stud/Razz/Stud8:  1,000 ante, 1,000 bring in, 4,000-8,000 stakes

Players Left:  26 of 803

Chip Leaders:
Phil Hellmuth - 190,000
Arash Ghaneian - 175,000
Matt Grapenthien - 125,000
Ed Tonnellier – 120,000
Art Young - 112,000
Jens Voertmann - 110,000
James Schaaf - 110,000
Randall Holland - 105,000
Phillip Penn Sr. - 99,000
Michael Scipione - 98,000
Edward Brogdon - 92,000

Average Stack: 92,650

Eliminations:
Alex Jacob
Allen Cunningham
Giovanni Rizzo

Big Hands and Storylines:

Stud

Hellmuth and Tonnellier Tangle Again

Ed Tonnellier: 7109K
Phil Hellmuth: 106AQ

“Omaha” Ed Tonnellier completed with the 7 and Hellmuth raised with the 10. Tonnellier put in a third bet and Hellmuth called. Tonnellier bet out on fourth street and was called by Hellmuth. Hellmuth was dealt an ace on fifth street and opted to check to Tonnellier, who bet. Hellmuth called. “OmahaEd” drew a king on sixth street and bet after Hellmuth checked. As Hellmuth sorted through his chips he asked, “You hit three kings?” Tonnellier replied, “If I hit three kings then why are you calling?” Hellmuth, never content to let anyone else get the last word in, said, “You might have aces. I hope you have aces,” before making the call. Hellmuth checked on seventh street, Tonnellier bet again, and Hellmuth folded. After the hand, Tonnellier showed his set of kings.

Hellmuth has 190,000 and Tonnellier has 120,000.

Ramdin Gets Hang’d

Tommy Hang: A6K3
Victor Ramdin: QK109

The action picks up on fourth street where Hang bets into Ramdin and garners a call. The action plays out the same on fifth street. Hang slows down on sixth street when Ramdin’s board shows four to a straight, and both players check. Both players check on seventh street as well, and Hang turns over an ace for a pair of aces. Ramdin can only muster a pair of queens, and the pot is Hang’s.

After the pot, Hang was up to 60,000 and Ramdin was on life support with only 12,000.

Omaha/8b

Keith Sexton Doubles Up

Keith Sexton got all in on the turn against Giovanni Rizzo. The board read AJ92 and the two turned over their cards:

Rizzo: AKK4
Sexton: AQ32

The river was the 3 and Sexton avoided Rizzo’s slew of outs. Sexton doubled up to 60,000. Rizzo was knocked down to 20,000 and would be eliminated a short time later.

Player Tags: Randy Holland,   Art Young,   Phillip Penn Sr.,   Matt Grapenthien,   Tommy Hang,   Allen Cunningham,   Ed Tonnellier,   Phil Hellmuth,   Victor Ramdin,   Arash Ghaneian,   Keith Sexton,   Alex Jacob,   Edward Brogdon,   Jens Voertmann,   Michael Scipione,   James Schaaf

$1,500 H.O.R.S.E. - Day 2 - Level 16 Recap

Jun 30, '08

Note: The players are now on a 20 minute break. After returning, they will play another level-and-a-half before concluding at 3:00 a.m. PST.

Stakes:
Hold’em/Omaha:  1,500-3,000 blinds
Stud/Razz/Stud8:  700 ante, 1,000 bring in, 3,000-6,000 stakes

Players Left:  33 of 803

Chip Leaders:
Phil Hellmuth – 145,000
Art Young - 126,000
Steven Diano - 120,000
Jens Voertmann - 112,000
Michael Scipione - 98,000
James Schaaf - 90,000
Ed Tonnellier - 87,000
Edward Brogdon - 80,000
Victor Ramdin - 77,000
Huai Zhang - 77,000

Average Stack: 73,000

Eliminations:
John Juanda
Michelle Ankenman

Big Hands and Storylines:

Hold’em

“OmahaEd” Tries His Hand at Hold’em Against Hellmuth

On a flop of 873, “Omaha” Ed Tonnellier check-raised Phil Hellmuth, but Hellmuth, master of tournament hold’em, made it three bets. Tonnellier called but acknowledged that he was behind Hellmuth. Tonnellier then check-called the A on the turn and the 9 on the river. Hellmuth showed AK and "OmahaEd" mucked his AJ face up.

Hellmuth Doesn’t Mess Around

Phillip Penn Sr. raised pre-flop and Phil Hellmuth re-raised. Penn made the call and they saw a flop of J72. Penn check-called Hellmuth’s bet on the flop, and then did the same on the turn and river, both of which were deuces. Hellmuth showed down QQ and Penn mucked.

Hellmuth’s patience has paid off. After a slow start he has collected a series of big pots, giving him nearly 150,000 on the day.

Omaha/8b

That’s Why They Call Him “OmahaEd”

“Omaha” Ed Tonnellier raised on the button and Phillip Penn Sr. called from the big blind. Both players checked the J104 flop. Penn bet the turn when the dealer displayed the A. The river was the 2. Penn checked, Tonnellier bet, and Penn called. Tonnellier showed 7543 for a runner-runner wheel to scoop the pot. “OmahaEd” is now up to 80,000.

After losing a series of giant pots, Phillip Penn Sr. has gone from chip leader to short stack. He only has 12,000 in chips now, and will need to mount a serious comeback to have any shot at winning.

Player Tags: Art Young,   John Juanda,   Phillip Penn Sr.,   Ed Tonnellier,   Phil Hellmuth,   Victor Ramdin,   Steven Diano,   Huai Zhang,   Edward Brogdon,   Jens Voertmann,   Michael Scipione,   Michelle Ankenman,   James Schaaf

$1,500 H.O.R.S.E. - Day 2 - Level 14 Recap

Jun 30, '08

Note: The players are now on a 20 minute break

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

Players Left:  54 of 803

Chip Leaders:
Arash Ghaneian - 102,000
David Gee - 97,000
James Schaaf - 91,000
Chad Brown - 86,000
Phillip Penn Sr. - 82,000
Joe Bolnick -82,000
Jason Dollinger - 81,300
Steven Diano - 78,000
Ed Tonnellier - 76,000
Cliff Pappas – 76,000

Average Stack: 44,600

Eliminations:
Mike Matusow

Big Hands and Storylines:

Hold’em

The Unsinkable Chad Brown

Tommy Hang raised from the cutoff and Chad Brown re-raised from the small blind. Hang called and the two of them saw a flop. The flop came down QJ3. Brown bet, Hang raised, and Brown called. The turn was the Q and Brown checked to Hang. Hang bet and was quickly raised by Brown. Hang called, and then again called on the 9 river. Brown triumphantly showed AA and Hang mucked his hand.

Omaha/8b

Ramdin Raises River, Reaps Rewards

Victor Ramdin raised pre-flop and was called by James Schaaf in late position. Both players checked the 1095 flop. Ramdin then check-called a bet on the K turn. On the river (9), Ramdin checked for the third time, eliciting a bet from Schaaf. On this street, however, Ramdin raised. Schaaf glowered, knowing that he was beat, and slid his cards into the muck. The hand brings Ramdin up to 33,000.

Mike Matusow Eliminated

On a flop of JJ7, Mike Matusow moved his final 6,000 chips in from the big blind. David Gee and Steven Diano both called. The turn was the 9 and Gee bet, Diano raised, Gee 3-bet, and Diano called. While this was going on, Mike Matusow was announcing to Phil Hellmuth at an adjacent table that he was about to be knocked out. On the river (6) Gee bet and Diano called. Diano asked, “Do you have J-9?” Gee turned over two of his cards: a jack and a nine. Diano angrily threw his J-7 toward the middle of the table. Mike Matusow, meanwhile, was busy showing everyone within view his AA82, saying that if he was going out, that at least he was going out getting most of his chips in pre-flop with that hand. With Matusow’s exit, the room will be a little more subdued, but much less interesting.

Player Tags: Phillip Penn Sr.,   Chad Brown,   Ed Tonnellier,   Victor Ramdin,   Arash Ghaneian,   David Gee,   Cliff Pappas,   Steven Diano,   James Schaaf,   Joe Bolnick,   Jason Dollinger

$1,500 H.O.R.S.E - Level 12 - Money Bubble Bursts

Jun 30, '08

Note: Players are now on a 60-minute dinner break.

Blinds:
Hold'em: 600-1,200
Omaha 8: 600-1,200
Razz: Ante 300, Bring-in 300, Completion 1,200
Stud: Ante 300, Bring-in 300, Completion 1,200
Stud 8: Ante 300, Bring-in 300, Completion 1,200

Players Left: 80 of 803

Chip Counts:
Chad Brown: 81,000
James Schaaf: 77,000
David Gee: 76,000
Arash Ghaneian: 71,400
Vaughan Machado: 68,000
Steven Diano: 62,000
Sam Silverman: 61,000
Ed Tonnellier: 58,600
Blakely Purvis: 57,000
Esther Rossi: 52,000

Eliminations: Thor Hansen, Bart Hanson, Luca Pagano, Jonathan Dwek

Storylines:

Matusow Sitting At Table Next To Hellmuth
Here are some tidbits:

Mike Matusow and Phil Hellmuth have been chatting away now that they are sitting at nearby tables.
"Mike, do you have over 20 (thousand)?"
"I do now. I just got the antes. While you're over there crying, I'm grinding away."
Matusow then turned to his table and laughed, then whispered how he loves messing with Phil.
"That's your problem. You're trying to play pots. I'm chopping out 300s at a time," Matusow yelled back at Hellmuth. "That's your problem. You're going against your bread and butter."
And later, when Hellmuth said he and Matusow had about the same in chips with 20,000, Matusow was back at it, saying, "But I started the day with 10,000. You started with 43 (thousand)."

Another Record

The tournament bubble has just busted. Hellmuth sits in the middle of the pack and has extended his tournament cashes record.

Hands:

Omaha 8

Ramdin Heating Up

Victor Ramdin got Bart Hanson and Luca Pagano all in, having both covered. The board showed AJJ7J. Ramdin showed the nuts - J9K4 for quads. Pagano showed A6K3 and was eliminated, and so was Hanson.

Stud

Brown Takes Nice Pot, Building a Big Stack

Chad Brown bet and was called by one opponent on every street. They showed down:
Brown: JJ67(10107)
His opponent: 9JKA(Muck)
Brown showed two pair and his opponent mucked. Brown and gradually climbed among the chip leaders with 81,000 in chips.

Hellmuth With the KO

Phil Hellmuth got in a raise-fest with Jonathan Dwek, eventually getting Dwek all in. Hellmuth showed K10675 (665) for trip 6s to top Dwek's aces, and Dwek was eliminated.

Stud 8

Hansen is Bubble Boy

Thor Hansen held a pair of 4s with A-3 in the hole. His opponent held a broadway straight. Hansen failed to hit a low and he was the bubble boy.

Player Tags: Chad Brown,   Phil Hellmuth,   Victor Ramdin,   Luca Pagano,   Jonathan Dwek,   European Report

$1,500 HORSE - Final Day - Level 23

Jul 01, '08

Blinds/Antes: Stud - A: 3,000 B: 5,000 C: 15,000 , Razz - A: 3,000 B: 5,000 C: 15,000, Stud 8 - A: 3,000 B: 5,000 C: 15,000, Omaha: 8,000/15,000, Hold’em: 8,000/15,000

Players Remaining: 6 of 803

Chip Counts:
Tommy Hang – 680,000
Phil Hellmuth – 400,000
James Schaaf – 392,000
Jason Dollinger – 346,000
Sam Silverman – 310,000
Esther Rossi  - 166,000

Eliminations:
Matt Grapenthien Eliminated in 8th Place ($27,511)
Victor Ramdin Eliminated in 7th Place ($32,992)

Big Hands:

Matt Grapenthien Eliminated in 8th Place($27,511)

The final table saw its first elimination during the Omaha eight-or-better round.  Matt Grapenthien limped in pre-flop and Tommy Hang completed from the small blind.  Victor Ramdin checked his big blind option and the three players saw a flop of AKQ.  The action checked around, and the dealer put down the A on the turn.  Again Hang and Ramdin checked, but this time Grapentien put out a bet.  Hang check-raised, prompting Ramdin to fold.  Grapenthien made the call and turned over AJ63 for trip aces.  Hang flipped over KK82 for a full house, kings full of aces.  Grapenthien failed to fill up on the river, and he was eliminated in 8th place for a cash prize of $27,511.

Large Crowd Gathers for Phil Hellmuth

A large crowd of spectators has gathered around the final table in the Amazon Room to watch Phil Hellmuth attempt to win his 12th World Series of Poker title.  A special section has been designated for several members of Hellmuth’s extended family who have joined the crowd to cheer for Hellmuth.

Victor Ramdin Eliminated in 7^th Place ($32,992)

Victor Ramdin became the 7th place finisher during the stud round.  James Schaaf finished him off when his two pair, tens and deuces, overtook Ramdin's nines.  Ramdin earned $32,992 for his finish.

Player Tags: Matt Grapenthien,   Tommy Hang,   Phil Hellmuth,   Victor Ramdin,   James Schaaf

$1,500 HORSE - Final Day - Final Table Set!

Jul 01, '08

 

Blinds/Antes: Stud - A: 3000 B: 3000 C: 12000 , Razz - A: 3000 B: 3000 C: 12000, Stud 8 - A: 3000 B: 3000 C: 12000, Omaha: 6000/12000, Hold’em: 6000/12000

Players Remaining: 8 of 803

Chip Leaders:
Tommy Hang - 680,000
Phil Hellmuth - 400,000
James Schaaf - 392,000
Jason Dollinger - 346,000
Sam Silverman - 310,000
Victor Ramdin - 166,000
Esther Rossi - 78,000
Matt Grapenthien - 46,000

Eliminations:
Lonnie Heimowitz Eliminated in 10th Place ($22,031)
Edward Brogdon Eliminated in 9th Place ($22,031)

Big Hands:

Lonnie Heimowitz Eliminated in 10th Place ($22,031)

During the Omaha eight-or-better round, Lonnie Heimowitz got it all in pre-flop with AQ76 against Victor Ramdin’s JJ43.  The flop came AKQ, giving two pair to Heimowitz and a flush draw to Ramdin.  The 10 on the turn was a blank for Ramdin, but the 5 on the river completed his flush.  Heimowitz was eliminated in 10th place, earning $22,031 for his efforts.

Final Table Bubble Played Nine-Handed

As the players sweat the bubble for the final table, the remaining nine players will be combining into one nine-handed table.  When another player has been eliminated, the remaining eight final tablists will take a one hour dinner break.

Edward Brogdon Eliminated in 9th Place ($22,031)

Not long after combining into one nine-handed table, Edward Brogdon became the final table bubble boy after being eliminated by current chip leader Tommy Hang.  Brogdon and Hang got it all in pre-flop, with 106 for Hang and 77 for Brogdon.  The final board read KQ432, and Brogdon earned $22,031 for his “unlucky” 9th place finish.

Storylines:

Final Table Set

With the elimination of Edward Brogdon (9th) right before the dinner break, the final eight players prepared for the final table. Here was what the final table (eight-handed) looked like as the players left for dinner:

Seat 1 - James Schaaf - 392,000
Seat 2 - Matt Grapenthien - 46,000
Seat 3 - Sam Silverman - 310,000
Seat 4 - Phil Hellmuth - 400,000
Seat 5 - Jason Dollinger - 346,000
Seat 6 - Tommy Hang - 680,000
Seat 7 - Victor Ramdin - 78,000
Seat 8 - Esther Rossi - 166,000

Player Tags: Lonnie Heimowitz,   Matt Grapenthien,   Tommy Hang,   Phil Hellmuth,   Victor Ramdin,   Sam Silverman,   Esther Rossi,   Edward Brogdon,   European Report,   James Schaaf,   Jason Dollinger

$1,500 HORSE - Final Day - Level 22

Jul 01, '08

Blinds/Antes: Stud - A: 3000 B: 3000 C: 12000 , Razz - A: 3000 B: 3000 C: 12000, Stud 8 - A: 3000 B: 3000 C: 12000, Omaha: 6000/12000, Hold’em: 6000/12000

Players Remaining: 10 of 803

Chip Leaders:
Phil Hellmuth - 420000
Sam Silverman - 345000
James Schaaf - 340000
Jason Dollinger - 285000
Tommy Hang - 280000
Matt Grapenthien - 250000
Esther Rossi - 190000
Victor Ramdin - 150000
Edward Brogdon - 60000
Lonnie Heimowitz - 26000

Eliminations:
Randy Holland Eliminated in 13th Place ($11,070)
Phillip Penn Eliminated in 12th Place ($16,551)
Steve Diano Eliminated in 11th Place ($16,551)

Big Hands:

Randy Holland Eliminated in 13th Place ($11,070)

Sam Silverman eliminated Randy Holland during the razz level when his 9-6-5-4-3 ended up being the better hand against Holland’s 10-5-4-3-2.  Holland picked up $11,070 in prize money as he exited the tournament area in 13th place.

Phillip Penn Sr. Eliminated in 12th Place ($16,551)

Phillip Penn was eliminated by Matt Grapenthein during the stud eight-or-better round, earning $16,551 for his 12th place finish.

Steve Diano Eliminated in 11th Place ($16,551)

Steve Diano fell victim to Esther Rossi’s four-of-a-kind during the stud eight-or-better round and was unable to take even a portion of the pot with a low.  Diano earned $16,551 for his 11th place finish, and the remaining players are closer to the final table.  Only two more eliminations before the seats are redrawn and final table play commences.

Player Tags: Phil Hellmuth,   Victor Ramdin,   Sam Silverman,   European Report,   James Schaaf,   Jason Dollinger

$1,500 HORSE - Final Day - Level 21

Jul 01, '08

Players Remaining: 13 of 803

Chip Leaders:
Phil Hellmuth - 440000
Matt Grapenthien - 373000
Tommy Hang - 370000
Sam Silverman - 250000
Jason Dollinger - 235000
James Schaaf - 200000
Victor Ramdin - 200000
Esther Rossi - 143000
Edward Brogdon - 112000
Phillip Penn Sr. – 105000

As final table time approaches, players seem to be playing more cautiously.  Several of the tournament’s smallest stacks were already eliminated during the previous two rounds.  The last hour saw no eliminations.  Players spent 20 minutes of the hour on a break.

Player Tags: Phil Hellmuth,   Victor Ramdin

$1,500 HORSE - Final Day - Level 20

Jul 01, '08

Blinds/Antes: Razz, Stud  – Ante: 2000, Bring: 2000, Complete: 8000.  Hold’em – Blinds: 4000/8000

Players Remaining: 13 of 803

Chip Leaders:
Phil Hellmuth - 420000          
Tommy Hang - 282000          
Victor Ramdin - 275000        
Sam Silverman - 245000        
James Schaaf - 205000          
Matt Grapenthien - 170000   
Edward Brogdon - 155000    
Jason Dollinger - 145000       
Esther Rossi - 130000            
Phillip Penn Sr. - 130000

Eliminations:
Stephen Wolff Eliminated in 17th Place ($6,686)
Art Young Eliminated in 16th Place ($8,878)
Keith Sexton Eliminated in 15th Place ($8,878)
Arash Ghaneian Eliminated in 14th Place ($11,070)

Big Hands:

Stephen Wolff Eliminated in 17th Place ($6,686)

As the remaining players continued to battle down to final table play, Stephen Wolff made his exit during the hold’em round.  Wolff got it all in with Phillip Penn on a flop of As8c3h and turned over Ad5c.  Penn showed 8s3s for bottom two pair.  The turn and river blanked for Wolff, and he earned $6,686 for his 17th place finish.

Art Young Eliminated in 16th Place ($8,878)

Lonnie Heimowitz’s ten-seven low was good enough to eliminate Art Young during the razz round.  Young earned $8,878 for his 16th place finish.

Keith Sexton Eliminated in 15th Place ($8,878)

Steve Diano continued his elimination binge by taking aim on Keith Sexton during the razz round.  Diano eliminated Sexton when his eight-low was good against Sexton’s ten-low.  Sexton earned $8,878 for his 15th place finish.

Arash Ghaneian Eliminated in 14th Place ($11,070)

Arash Ghaneian was eliminated as the prize amounts continued to rise, earning an $11,070 payday in the stud round when Matt Grapenthein’s two pair, queens and jacks, caused Ghaneian to muck his hole cards.

 

Player Tags: Art Young,   Phil Hellmuth,   Victor Ramdin,   Arash Ghaneian,   Keith Sexton,   Steve Wolff,   European Report

$1,500 H.O.R.S.E. - End of Day 2

Jun 30, '08

The big story of day 2 was, once again, Phil Hellmuth. Coming into the day as chip leader, he floundered for a bit, relinquishing the lead for most of the day, but ultimately picked himself up by the bootstraps and strode back to the top. By the conclusion of the day, Hellmuth would not only be chip leader once again, but his chip stack would tower over most his competitors’.

With 21 players left, Hellmuth has a real chance of picking up his 12^th bracelet, and his first in a non-hold’em event. The final 21 players will return tomorrow at 3 p.m. PST to play for the $256,412 and World Series of Poker bracelet.

Here is an unofficial list of chip leaders heading into tomorrow’s final day:
Phil Hellmuth Jr. - 287,500
James Schaaf - 236,500
Art Young - 175,000
Victor Ramdin - 158,500
Matt Grapenthien - 151,000
Esther Rossi - 133,500
Steven Diano - 120,000
Arash Ghaneian - 114,000
Jason Dollinger - 110,500
Edward Brogdon - 104,500
Tam "Tommy" Hang - 92,000

Here is a bit of action from the final level of the day:

---

Razz

Razz Not Kind to Arash

Arash Ghaneian: 79210
Esther Rossi: 5Q98

Arash Ghaneian completed and Esther Rossi was the only caller. Ghaneian continued betting on every street until the river. When he was dealt his final card he slowly squeezed it and checked when he had seen what it was. Rossi, having checked her card, fired out a bet for the first time in the hand. Ghaneian called and she showed (A)(4)(3) for an 8-low. Rossi took down the pot and moved up to 130,000. Despite the hit, Ghaneian is still going strong with 110,000.

Stud

Joe Hachem Eliminated

Steven Diano: J1033
Joe Hachem: 2273

Diano completed at the outset with the J and James Schaaf raised with the Q. Joe Hachem, having brought in with the 2, called, and so did Diano. The turn paired Hachem’s upcard and he bet out. Diano called, and Schaaf, looking incredulously toward Hachem and Diano, folded. Hachem bet both fifth and sixth streets, putting himself all-in on the latter round. The two turned over their cards: Hachem showed (A)(K) for a pair of twos while Diano tabled (K)(9). Diano’s measly pair of threes was ahead going to seventh street. Hachem turned over his final card – the 8 – and made his exit from the Brasilia Room, but not before tearing into Diano's hand selection a bit: “Where were you going with that?”

Diano is up to 120,000.

Player Tags: Art Young,   Matt Grapenthien,   Tommy Hang,   Phil Hellmuth,   Victor Ramdin,   Arash Ghaneian,   Esther Rossi,   Steven Diano,   Joe Hachem,   Edward Brogdon,   James Schaaf,   Jason Dollinger

$1,500 H.O.R.S.E. - Day 2 - Level 17 Recap

Jun 30, '08

Note: Play will end for the night at the conclusion of level 18

Stakes:
Hold’em/Omaha:  2,000-4,000 blinds
Stud/Razz/Stud8:  1,000 ante, 1,000 bring in, 4,000-8,000 stakes

Players Left:  26 of 803

Chip Leaders:
Phil Hellmuth - 190,000
Arash Ghaneian - 175,000
Matt Grapenthien - 125,000
Ed Tonnellier – 120,000
Art Young - 112,000
Jens Voertmann - 110,000
James Schaaf - 110,000
Randall Holland - 105,000
Phillip Penn Sr. - 99,000
Michael Scipione - 98,000
Edward Brogdon - 92,000

Average Stack: 92,650

Eliminations:
Alex Jacob
Allen Cunningham
Giovanni Rizzo

Big Hands and Storylines:

Stud

Hellmuth and Tonnellier Tangle Again

Ed Tonnellier: 7109K
Phil Hellmuth: 106AQ

“Omaha” Ed Tonnellier completed with the 7 and Hellmuth raised with the 10. Tonnellier put in a third bet and Hellmuth called. Tonnellier bet out on fourth street and was called by Hellmuth. Hellmuth was dealt an ace on fifth street and opted to check to Tonnellier, who bet. Hellmuth called. “OmahaEd” drew a king on sixth street and bet after Hellmuth checked. As Hellmuth sorted through his chips he asked, “You hit three kings?” Tonnellier replied, “If I hit three kings then why are you calling?” Hellmuth, never content to let anyone else get the last word in, said, “You might have aces. I hope you have aces,” before making the call. Hellmuth checked on seventh street, Tonnellier bet again, and Hellmuth folded. After the hand, Tonnellier showed his set of kings.

Hellmuth has 190,000 and Tonnellier has 120,000.

Ramdin Gets Hang’d

Tommy Hang: A6K3
Victor Ramdin: QK109

The action picks up on fourth street where Hang bets into Ramdin and garners a call. The action plays out the same on fifth street. Hang slows down on sixth street when Ramdin’s board shows four to a straight, and both players check. Both players check on seventh street as well, and Hang turns over an ace for a pair of aces. Ramdin can only muster a pair of queens, and the pot is Hang’s.

After the pot, Hang was up to 60,000 and Ramdin was on life support with only 12,000.

Omaha/8b

Keith Sexton Doubles Up

Keith Sexton got all in on the turn against Giovanni Rizzo. The board read AJ92 and the two turned over their cards:

Rizzo: AKK4
Sexton: AQ32

The river was the 3 and Sexton avoided Rizzo’s slew of outs. Sexton doubled up to 60,000. Rizzo was knocked down to 20,000 and would be eliminated a short time later.

Player Tags: Randy Holland,   Art Young,   Phillip Penn Sr.,   Matt Grapenthien,   Tommy Hang,   Allen Cunningham,   Ed Tonnellier,   Phil Hellmuth,   Victor Ramdin,   Arash Ghaneian,   Keith Sexton,   Alex Jacob,   Edward Brogdon,   Jens Voertmann,   Michael Scipione,   James Schaaf

$1,500 H.O.R.S.E. - Day 2 - Level 16 Recap

Jun 30, '08

Note: The players are now on a 20 minute break. After returning, they will play another level-and-a-half before concluding at 3:00 a.m. PST.

Stakes:
Hold’em/Omaha:  1,500-3,000 blinds
Stud/Razz/Stud8:  700 ante, 1,000 bring in, 3,000-6,000 stakes

Players Left:  33 of 803

Chip Leaders:
Phil Hellmuth – 145,000
Art Young - 126,000
Steven Diano - 120,000
Jens Voertmann - 112,000
Michael Scipione - 98,000
James Schaaf - 90,000
Ed Tonnellier - 87,000
Edward Brogdon - 80,000
Victor Ramdin - 77,000
Huai Zhang - 77,000

Average Stack: 73,000

Eliminations:
John Juanda
Michelle Ankenman

Big Hands and Storylines:

Hold’em

“OmahaEd” Tries His Hand at Hold’em Against Hellmuth

On a flop of 873, “Omaha” Ed Tonnellier check-raised Phil Hellmuth, but Hellmuth, master of tournament hold’em, made it three bets. Tonnellier called but acknowledged that he was behind Hellmuth. Tonnellier then check-called the A on the turn and the 9 on the river. Hellmuth showed AK and "OmahaEd" mucked his AJ face up.

Hellmuth Doesn’t Mess Around

Phillip Penn Sr. raised pre-flop and Phil Hellmuth re-raised. Penn made the call and they saw a flop of J72. Penn check-called Hellmuth’s bet on the flop, and then did the same on the turn and river, both of which were deuces. Hellmuth showed down QQ and Penn mucked.

Hellmuth’s patience has paid off. After a slow start he has collected a series of big pots, giving him nearly 150,000 on the day.

Omaha/8b

That’s Why They Call Him “OmahaEd”

“Omaha” Ed Tonnellier raised on the button and Phillip Penn Sr. called from the big blind. Both players checked the J104 flop. Penn bet the turn when the dealer displayed the A. The river was the 2. Penn checked, Tonnellier bet, and Penn called. Tonnellier showed 7543 for a runner-runner wheel to scoop the pot. “OmahaEd” is now up to 80,000.

After losing a series of giant pots, Phillip Penn Sr. has gone from chip leader to short stack. He only has 12,000 in chips now, and will need to mount a serious comeback to have any shot at winning.

Player Tags: Art Young,   John Juanda,   Phillip Penn Sr.,   Ed Tonnellier,   Phil Hellmuth,   Victor Ramdin,   Steven Diano,   Huai Zhang,   Edward Brogdon,   Jens Voertmann,   Michael Scipione,   Michelle Ankenman,   James Schaaf

$1,500 H.O.R.S.E. - Day 2 - Level 14 Recap

Jun 30, '08

Note: The players are now on a 20 minute break

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

Players Left:  54 of 803

Chip Leaders:
Arash Ghaneian - 102,000
David Gee - 97,000
James Schaaf - 91,000
Chad Brown - 86,000
Phillip Penn Sr. - 82,000
Joe Bolnick -82,000
Jason Dollinger - 81,300
Steven Diano - 78,000
Ed Tonnellier - 76,000
Cliff Pappas – 76,000

Average Stack: 44,600

Eliminations:
Mike Matusow

Big Hands and Storylines:

Hold’em

The Unsinkable Chad Brown

Tommy Hang raised from the cutoff and Chad Brown re-raised from the small blind. Hang called and the two of them saw a flop. The flop came down QJ3. Brown bet, Hang raised, and Brown called. The turn was the Q and Brown checked to Hang. Hang bet and was quickly raised by Brown. Hang called, and then again called on the 9 river. Brown triumphantly showed AA and Hang mucked his hand.

Omaha/8b

Ramdin Raises River, Reaps Rewards

Victor Ramdin raised pre-flop and was called by James Schaaf in late position. Both players checked the 1095 flop. Ramdin then check-called a bet on the K turn. On the river (9), Ramdin checked for the third time, eliciting a bet from Schaaf. On this street, however, Ramdin raised. Schaaf glowered, knowing that he was beat, and slid his cards into the muck. The hand brings Ramdin up to 33,000.

Mike Matusow Eliminated

On a flop of JJ7, Mike Matusow moved his final 6,000 chips in from the big blind. David Gee and Steven Diano both called. The turn was the 9 and Gee bet, Diano raised, Gee 3-bet, and Diano called. While this was going on, Mike Matusow was announcing to Phil Hellmuth at an adjacent table that he was about to be knocked out. On the river (6) Gee bet and Diano called. Diano asked, “Do you have J-9?” Gee turned over two of his cards: a jack and a nine. Diano angrily threw his J-7 toward the middle of the table. Mike Matusow, meanwhile, was busy showing everyone within view his AA82, saying that if he was going out, that at least he was going out getting most of his chips in pre-flop with that hand. With Matusow’s exit, the room will be a little more subdued, but much less interesting.

Player Tags: Phillip Penn Sr.,   Chad Brown,   Ed Tonnellier,   Victor Ramdin,   Arash Ghaneian,   David Gee,   Cliff Pappas,   Steven Diano,   James Schaaf,   Joe Bolnick,   Jason Dollinger

$1,500 H.O.R.S.E - Level 12 - Money Bubble Bursts

Jun 30, '08

Note: Players are now on a 60-minute dinner break.

Blinds:
Hold'em: 600-1,200
Omaha 8: 600-1,200
Razz: Ante 300, Bring-in 300, Completion 1,200
Stud: Ante 300, Bring-in 300, Completion 1,200
Stud 8: Ante 300, Bring-in 300, Completion 1,200

Players Left: 80 of 803

Chip Counts:
Chad Brown: 81,000
James Schaaf: 77,000
David Gee: 76,000
Arash Ghaneian: 71,400
Vaughan Machado: 68,000
Steven Diano: 62,000
Sam Silverman: 61,000
Ed Tonnellier: 58,600
Blakely Purvis: 57,000
Esther Rossi: 52,000

Eliminations: Thor Hansen, Bart Hanson, Luca Pagano, Jonathan Dwek

Storylines:

Matusow Sitting At Table Next To Hellmuth
Here are some tidbits:

Mike Matusow and Phil Hellmuth have been chatting away now that they are sitting at nearby tables.
"Mike, do you have over 20 (thousand)?"
"I do now. I just got the antes. While you're over there crying, I'm grinding away."
Matusow then turned to his table and laughed, then whispered how he loves messing with Phil.
"That's your problem. You're trying to play pots. I'm chopping out 300s at a time," Matusow yelled back at Hellmuth. "That's your problem. You're going against your bread and butter."
And later, when Hellmuth said he and Matusow had about the same in chips with 20,000, Matusow was back at it, saying, "But I started the day with 10,000. You started with 43 (thousand)."

Another Record

The tournament bubble has just busted. Hellmuth sits in the middle of the pack and has extended his tournament cashes record.

Hands:

Omaha 8

Ramdin Heating Up

Victor Ramdin got Bart Hanson and Luca Pagano all in, having both covered. The board showed AJJ7J. Ramdin showed the nuts - J9K4 for quads. Pagano showed A6K3 and was eliminated, and so was Hanson.

Stud

Brown Takes Nice Pot, Building a Big Stack

Chad Brown bet and was called by one opponent on every street. They showed down:
Brown: JJ67(10107)
His opponent: 9JKA(Muck)
Brown showed two pair and his opponent mucked. Brown and gradually climbed among the chip leaders with 81,000 in chips.

Hellmuth With the KO

Phil Hellmuth got in a raise-fest with Jonathan Dwek, eventually getting Dwek all in. Hellmuth showed K10675 (665) for trip 6s to top Dwek's aces, and Dwek was eliminated.

Stud 8

Hansen is Bubble Boy

Thor Hansen held a pair of 4s with A-3 in the hole. His opponent held a broadway straight. Hansen failed to hit a low and he was the bubble boy.

Player Tags: Chad Brown,   Phil Hellmuth,   Victor Ramdin,   Luca Pagano,   Jonathan Dwek,   European Report