| Apr 19, '09 |
2009 Five-Star World Poker Classic |
WPT Championship - Event 16 |
2 |
+ |
Level 2 Update -- Boris Becker Takes a Hit
Apr 19, '09
Level: 2
Blinds: 100-200
Notable Chip Counts:
Brian Rast -- 180,000
Mimi Tran -- 155,000
Jean Max Gaspard -- 150,000
Shawn Cunix -- 144,000
David Singer -- 142,000
 Key Hands:
Boris Becker Takes a Hit
Justin Smith, Boris Becker, and the button saw a flop of 10 72 and Smith checked in the small blind. Becker bet 1,550 from the big blind and the button mucked. Smith made the call and the turn fell 5 . Smith checked and Becker fired out 3,500. Smith made the call and the river fell 2 . Smith checked and Becker bet 11,000. Smith raised to 37,000 and Becker made the call with AA and Smith turned up 1010. Becker was knocked down to 54,000 and Smith is up to 144,000.
Matt Brady Wins a Huge Pot
Daniel Negreanu raised to 400 from early position and Barry Greenstein, Matt Brady, James Mackey, the small blind, and Clonie Gowen all made the call. The flop was dealt 1073 and Negreanu opened the action with a 1,350 bet. Greenstein mucked, Brady made the call, Mackey mucked, the small blind called, and Gowen called as well. The turn fell 2 Negreanu opened the action again with a 4,800 bet. Brady made the call, the small blind mucked, and Gowen check-raised to 14,800. Negreanu mucked and Brady made the call. The river fell 4. Gowen bet 22,000, and Brady made the call. He turned up 33 for a set and Gowen mucked. Brady was up to 140,000 after the hand and Gowen fell to 63,000.
Player Tags: Clonie Gowen, Matt Brady, Boris Becker, Justin Smith
|
| Mar 06, '09 |
2009 NBC National Heads-Up Championship |
NBC Heads Up Championship Event |
1 |
+ |
|
|
| Jan 21, '09 |
2009 Aussie Millions |
Aussie Millions Main Event - Event 9 |
5 |
+ |
|
|
| Dec 18, '08 |
2008 Five Diamond World Poker Classic (WPT) |
WPT Doyle Brunson Classic Championship - Event 13 |
6 |
+ |
Level 22 Update
Dec 18, '08
Scoreboard
Level: 22
Blinds/Antes: 20,000-40,000 with a 5,000 ante
Players Left: 9 of 497
Average: 2,485,000
Notable Chip Counts
Evan McNiff - 5,695,000
Chino Rheem - 3,170,000
Steve Sung - 2,860,000
Ben Straate - 2,785,000
Justin Young - 2,350,000
Amnon Filippi - 1,785,000
Hoyt Corkins - 1,510,000
Joe McGowan - 1,160,000
Mike Matusow - 860,000
In the Money Eliminations
$72,060
12th: Brett Richey
11th: Robert Mizrachi
$86,470
10th: Clonie Gowen
Big Hands:
 Steve Sung Gets Frustrated Into the Break
Steve Sung raised from middle position to 80,000 and Evan McNiff called from the cutoff. The flop came 443 and Sung checked. McNiff bet 100,000 and Sung check raised to 250,000. McNiff called and the turn was the 2. Sung bet 400,000 and McNiff moved all in. Sung tanked for over 10 minutes, well into the break, going over each and ever possibility. Eventually, the clock was called and Sung mucked his hand, saving his last 1 million in chips for later. McNiff raised his chip lead to 3.8 million.
Steve Sung Doubles Through Clonie Gowen
Right after the break, Steve Sung got his chips back and then some from Clonie Gowen. Gowen raised to 100,000 from the small blind and Sung made the call from the big blind. The flop came down 1084 and Gowen bet 100,000. Sung called and the turn was the 4. Gowen checked, Sung bet 250,000 and Gowen moved in. Sung tanked for a minute before calling with 109 for top pair. Gowen could only show 98 for middle pair and the river 2 doubled Sung up. After the hand, Sung was up to 2 million while Gowen took a hit down to 1 million.
 Brett Richey Eliminated in 12th Place ($72,060)
Brett Richey raised to 110,000 and Chino Rheem reraised to 410,000 from the big blind. Richey moved all in and Rheem instantly called with pocket aces. Richey showed big slick and was unable to catch up, busting in 12th place.
Robert Mizrachi Eliminated in 11th Place ($72,060)
Evan McNiff raised to 100,000 from the button and Robert Mizrachi reraised to 375,000 from the small blind. McNiff moved in and Mizrachi called with AJ. McNiff showed pocket queens and they held when the board failed to produce any aces or diamonds, busting Mizrachi in 11th place.
Clonie Gowen Eliminated in 10th Place ($86,470)
Clonie Gowen raised to 110,000 in middle position and Steve Sung reraised to 340,000. Gowen moved all in for 825,000 and Sung called with AQ. Gowen showed pocket sixes, but they failed to hold up when the board came Q332A.
Left In The Deck:
After reviewing the tapes, it was determined that Tom Pniak's elimination hand was still in progress when the shuffle began on the other table. As a result, the ruling is that all three players will share 14th place and chop the prize money. After averaging it out, each player pocketed $67,255.
Player Tags: Clonie Gowen, Brett Richey, Chino Rheem, Steve Sung, Evan McNiff
Level 21 Update
Dec 18, '08
Scoreboard
Level: 21
Blinds/Antes: 15,000-30,000 with a 4,000 ante
 Players Left: 12 of 497
Average: 1,720,385
Notable Chip Counts
Evan McNiff - 3,430,000
Ben Straate - 2,360,000
Justin Young - 2,215,000
Amnon Filippi - 2,100,000
Clonie Gowen - 2,050,000
Chino Rheem - 1,891,000
Hoyt Corkins - 1,787,000
Brett Richey - 1,770,000
Steve Sung - 1,628,000
Mike Matusow - 1,140,000
Robert Mizrachi - 878,000
Joe McGowan - 694,000
In the Money Eliminations
$57,635
18th: Bill Klein
17th: Ben Tollerene
16th: Tom Pniak
$72,060
15th: Martin DeKnijff
14th: Jack Wu
13th: Nick Schulman
Big Hands:
Bill Klein Eliminated in 18th Place ($57,635)
Evan McNiff raised to 75,000 preflop and Bill Klein reraised to 215,000. McNiff reraised all in and Klein made the all-in call. Their cards:
Klein: JJ
McNiff: AK
Board: K9278
Klein was eliminated in 18th place, the first elimination of the day coming six hands in to play.
Ben Tollerene Eliminated in 17th Place ($57,635)
Ben Tollerene moved all in preflop and Chino Rheem made the call. Their cards:
Rheem: AK
Tollerene: A9
Board: 76228
Tollerene was eliminated in 17th place and Rheem was up to 1.85 million.
Tom Pniak Elimimnated in 16th Place ($57,635)
Tom Pniak raised from the small blind to 85,000 and Hoyt Corkins reraised all in from the big blind. Pniak made the all-in call and they turned up their cards:
Corkins: Q8
Pniak: 99
Board: AK7Q3
 Pniak was eliminated in 16th place and Corkins grew his stack to more than 1.7 million.
Clonie Gowen Scores a Double Knockout
Martin DeKnijff moved all in under the gun and Clonie Gowen moved all in over the top of him from the small blind. Jack Wu made the call from the big blind and Gowen had both of her opponents covered. Their cards:
Gowen: QQ
DeKnijff: AJ
Wu: AQ
Board: 652210
Gowen knocks out DeKnijj in 15th place and Wu in 14th place, but there is some confusion regarding the elimination order for spots 16-14 (you can read more about this below in Left in the Deck). In any case Gowen now holds just over 2 million.
 Nick Schulman's Swan Song
Nick Schulman was the short stack left in the field with 13 remaining and he decided to move his chips into the middle to make something happen. Two times for him this worked out well, as he doubled up with king-high to take his stack to 303,000, and then he doubled up again with sevens-up to jump up to 580,000. He eventually met his doom though, when he moved all in preflop with pocket jacks against Justin Young, who held A-K. The board was dealt A-K-10-3-3 to send Schulman to the rail in 13th place. He will take home $72,060 in prize money.
Left in the Deck:
To the Tapes
The Bellagio tournament staff is currently reviewing the elimination hands for Tom Pniak, Martin DeKnijff, and Jack Wu. The staff said that it looks like both hands began simultaneously so they are now firguing out how to split up the prize money for places 16-14. We'll let you know if they break it down by stack sizes or just divide things evenly among the three, and how the payouts are adjusted when that information is released by the tournament staff.
Player Tags: Hoyt Corkins, Tom Pniak, Clonie Gowen, Chino Rheem, Martin DeKnijff, Evan McNiff, Jack Wu, Bill Klein, Benjamin Tollerene
Level 19 Update
Dec 17, '08
Scoreboard
Level: 19
Blinds/Antes: 10,000-20,000 with a 3,000 ante
Players Left: 23 of 497
Average: 972,000
Notable Chip Counts
Ben Straate - 2,800,000
Evan McNiff - 1,600,000
Brett Richey - 1,575,000
Justin Young - 1,535,000
Robert Mizrachi - 1,345,000
In the Money Eliminations
$43,235
27th: Andy Bloch
26th: Mohsin Charania
25th: David Benyamine
24th: Chuck Kelley
Big Hands:
Chino Rheem Makes a Great Call
Chino Rheem checked a flop of KQ7 from the small blind and Clonie Gowen bet 75,000 from the big blind. The turn was dealt J and Rheem checked. Gowen bet 150,000 and Rheem made the call. The river fell K and Rheem checked again. Gowen bet 275,000 and Rheem made the call. Gowen showed down 98 and Rheem turned up A9 for the pick off of Gowen's bluff. Rheem held 1.35 million after the hand. Gowen was sent spiraling downward with just 550,000.
 Mike Matusow Doubles Up...
Mike "The Mouth" Matusow doubled up when his K-J made trip kings on a board that ran out K-K-8-3-9 against the pocket aces of Robert Mizrachi.
...Then the Mouth Busts David Benyamine in 25th Place ($43,235)
David Benyamine moved all in under the gun for 189,000 and Mike Matusow made the call. Their cards:
Matusow: 99
Benyamine: AQ
Board: K10434
Matusow climbed to 550,000 with the win and Benaymine hit the rail in 25th place.
Chuck Kelley Eliminated in 24th Place ($43,235)
Chuck Kelley moved all in from the big blind for 304,000 preflop and Hoyt Corkins went into the tank. He decided to call and they turned up their cards:
Corkins: 88
Kelley: 33
Board: KQ659
Kelley was eliminated on the hand in 24th place and then the field went on break.
Left in the Deck:
Volatile Leader Board
Each and every level the top of the leader board has undergone a drastic shuffle. The pots played today have been big, and as a result the chip leader can change at any given moment.
Player Tags: Hoyt Corkins, Robert Mizrachi, David Benyamine, Mike Matusow, Clonie Gowen
Level 17 Update
Dec 17, '08
Scoreboard
Level: 17
Blinds/Antes: 6,000-12,000 with a 2,000 ante
Players Left: 34 of 497
Average: 639,000
 Notable Chip Counts
Hunter Frey - 1,970,000
Nick Schulman - 1,800,000
Jack Wu - 1,440,000
Chino Rheem - 1,180,000
Justin Young - 1,150,000
In the Money Eliminations
$36,030
40th: Elizabeth Montizanti
39th: Jonathan Little
38th: Barry Greenstein
37th: Abe Mosseri
36th: Mike McClain
35th: Arthur Azen
Big Hands:
 Barry Greenstein Eliminated in 38th Place ($36,030)
Barry Greenstein was just knocked out of the tournament when his pocket sevens ran into the pocket queens of John Hennigan. The board delivered yet another queen to Hennigain and Greenstein was eliminated in 38th place.
Abe Mosseri Eliminated in 37th Place ($36,030)
Abe Mosseri was eliminated when his Q-9 ran into the pocket aces of Robert Mizrachi on a flop of Q-7-2. The turn and river brought no help and Mosseri was knocked out of play in 37th place.
Steve Sung Doubles Up Through Clonie Gowen
Steve Sung moved all in preflop for 266,000 and Clonie Gowen called him down. They flipped up their hands and Sung held AJ. Gowen held A10 and the board ran out K7369. Sung doubled up and Gowen fell to 1.03 million.
Arthur Azen Eliminated in 35th Place ($36,030)
Arthur Azen moved all in on a board of KJ37 holding Q4 in the hole. Hunter Frey called him down with A9 though, and he sent Azen to the rail in 35th place.
 Nick Schulman Makes a Great Call
Evan McNiff bet 150,000 from the cutoff on a board of A743 and Nick Schulman made the call. The river was dealt 7 and McNiff bet 327,000. Schulman went into the tank for several minutes and counted out the chips needed to make the call. He eventually moved them into the middle and McNiff turned up 42. Schulman turned up AJ to win the large pot and sky rocket his chip stack up to 1.8 million, which is good for second on the leader board. McNiff was knocked down to just over a million.
Left in the Deck:
Final Four Tables
The tournament is now down to four tables, and all of them are quite stacked with professional talent. There is nowhere left to hide in this tournament and there has been a lot of action and big bets.
Player Tags: Robert Mizrachi, Barry Greenstein, Clonie Gowen, John Hennigan, Abe Mosseri, Arthur Azen, Steve Sung, Hunter Frey
Level 8 Update
Dec 15, '08
Scoreboard
Level: 8
Blinds/Antes: 600-1,200 with a 200 ante
Players Left: 212 of 497
Average: 105,000
Notable Chip Counts
Clonie Gowen - 355,000
Kido Pham - 295,000
Luke Staudenmaier - 240,000
Phil Hellmuth - 226,000
David Pham - 225,000
Lex Veldhuis - 222,000
Notable Eliminations
Jimmy Fricke
Noah Schwartz
Bryan Devonshire
Mike Kamran
Kelly Kim
David Singer
John Myung
Erick Lindgren
Phil Laak
Big Hands:
Clonie Gowen Extends Her Lead
 Holding a set of nines on an ace-high flop. Clonie Gowen got her opponent to put in the rest of his stack with A-K. The turn gave him some outs with another ace, but the brick on the river gave Gowen the 45,000 pot, bringing her stack to a tournament leading 355,000.
David Benyamine Scores a Nice Pot
Seat 4 called in the small blind and David Benyamine checked on the big blind. The flop was dealt Q93 and seat 4 checked. Benyamine bet 2,500 and his opponent hemmed and hawed for a moment before folding. This exchange was indicative of how the last level went for Benyamine. He applied a lot of pressure and his chip stack now sits at 250,000 as a result.
Joe Hachem Doubles Up
The preflop pot had about 12,000 sitting in it when Joe Hachem decided to move all in following a preflop raise from Abe Mosseri. Mosseri decided to call and they turned up their hands. Hachem held pocket kings and Mosseri turned up AJ. The board was dealt 76433 and Hachem doubled up to survive.
 Left In The Deck:
The Last Table In The Poker Room
The poker room was down to its last table, but that didn't stop its inhabitants from causing a scene. Antonio Esfandiari was playing a game of "What's he think?" with the rest of the table, betting $100 a guess. The game, popularized in recent weeks by Daniel Negreanu, revolves around guessing what someone else believes the right answer to be. The goal is not to be correct, but to predict what someone else thinks is correct.
The most recent question started a debate amongst the table concerning the specific age that Phil Hellmuth lost a certain something. When asked to lock in his answer, Rene Angelil flat out said that he did not want to think about such things, getting a loud laugh from the table. Davidson Matthew stepped in and Esfandiari began to counter with the player in seat 1 back and forth over the number. When Esfandiari stopped the over at age 17, he was stunned to see that Matthew had locked in age 27.
 POY Update:
David Pham: 210,000
Michael Binger: 102,000
Bertrand Grospellier: 86,000
Erik Seidel: 49,000
Ivan Demidov: 31,000
Player Tags: David Benyamine, Clonie Gowen, Joe Hachem
Level 7 Update
Dec 15, '08
Scoreboard
Level: 7
Blinds/Antes: 500-1,000 with a 100 ante
Players Left: 252 of 497
Average: 789,000
Notable Chip Counts
Clonie Gowen - 300,000
Kido Pham - 284,000
Luke Staudenmaier - 240,000
Mike McClain - 230,000
David Pham - 222,000
Notable Eliminations
John Phan
Rhynie Campbell
Jason Lester
Evelyn Ng
Big Hands:
 Clonie Gowen Hits a Gutshot
Clonie Gowen attempted to steal Howard Lederer's big blind with a raise on the button to 3,000. Instead, the small blind called and they saw a flop of J66. After a check, Gowen bet 5,000. Her opponent called and the turn was the 9. The small blind checked and Gowen bet 10,000. After a few moments, her opponent moved all in for 19,900 more and Gowen went into the tank. After about two minutes, Gowen made the call with Q8 looking for a gutshot straight. Her opponent showed A9 for the best hand. Unfortunately for him, the river was the 10, giving Gowen a straight and a massive stack of 300,000. The rest of the table just shook their heads in disbelieft. Gowen herself admitted she was running well as her opponent slowly walked out of the room with a comment or two under his breath.
Amit Makhija Doubles Up With a Tough Call
Facing an all in bet with just pair of jacks on an ace-high board, Amit Makhija made the call for his tournament life and was relieved to see that his instincts were correct. He now has about 130,000.
Jimmy Tran Gets Nice Value on the River
A board of A72Q2 sat on the table with 8,000 in the pot when Jimmy Tran bet 6,700 on the river from the small blind. Seat 7 made the call from the big blind and Tran turned up 32. His opponent mucked and Tran won the hand.
Poker Room Report
There are just three tables remaining in the Bellagio Poker Room with a handful of professionals remaining. Those pros include Todd Brunson, Antonio Esfandiari, Jimmy Tran, Billy Baxter, and Mike Sexton.
 POY Update:
John Phan Eliminated
2008 Card Player Player of the Year leader John Phan has been eliminated from the tournament, meaning he will now watch and play cheerleader for everyone but the six remaining candidates who can still catch up to him.
David Pham: 222,000
Michael Binger: 130,000
Bertrand Grospellier: 112,000
Erik Seidel: 46,000
Ivan Demidov: 40,000
Player Tags: John Phan, Howard Lederer, Clonie Gowen, Amit Makhija
Level Five Update
Dec 13, '08
Level: 5
Blinds/Antes: 300-600 with a 75 ante
Scoreboard
Players Left: 165 of 203
Average: 55,000
Notable Chip Counts
Phil Hellmuth - 200,000
Ryan Young - 175,000
Nenad Medic - 150,000
Brent Hanks - 128,000
Mike Matusow - 115,000
Steve Billirakis - 103,000
Notable Eliminations
Jeff Madsen
David Williams
Steve Fiorentini
Zvi Shiff
Big Hands:
Phil Hellmuth Cracks Aces, Busts Theo Tran
On a flop of 842, Phil Hellmuth bet 10,000 and Theo Tran reraised to 25,000. Hellmuth called and the turn was the 3. Tran bet 23,000 and then called off the rest of his stack when Hellmuth moved in. Tran showed pocket aces, but Hellmuth had 65 for the nut straight, leaving Tran drawing dead. Hellmuth now has 200,000 in chips.
Justin Bonomo Picks Off Phil Ivey's Bluff
Sitting with just third pair, Justin Bonomo called a 13,000 bet from Phil Ivey with just third pair, no draw. When the river came, Ivey gave up his bluff and Bonomo took the 30,000 pot to increase his stack to 86,000.
Luke Staudenmaier Eliminates Jeff Madsen
Luke Staudenmaier is now up to 132,000 after knocking out Jeff Madsen. Staudenmaier also picked up a healthy pot with pocket kings a few hands later.
Clonie Gowen Gets Stronger
Seat 4 raised to 1,800 and Clonie Gowen reraised to 6,800 from late position. Her opponent called and checked a flop of K42. Gowen asked how much he had behind and fired out 10,000 when he showed her. Seat 4 folded and Gowen took the pot, increasing her stack to 142,000 in chips.
Player Tags: Clonie Gowen, Phil Ivey, Justin Bonomo, Luke Staudenmaier
|
| Dec 17, '08 |
2008 Five Diamond World Poker Classic (WPT) |
WPT Doyle Brunson Classic Championship - Event 13 |
5 |
+ |
Level 22 Update
Dec 18, '08
Scoreboard
Level: 22
Blinds/Antes: 20,000-40,000 with a 5,000 ante
Players Left: 9 of 497
Average: 2,485,000
Notable Chip Counts
Evan McNiff - 5,695,000
Chino Rheem - 3,170,000
Steve Sung - 2,860,000
Ben Straate - 2,785,000
Justin Young - 2,350,000
Amnon Filippi - 1,785,000
Hoyt Corkins - 1,510,000
Joe McGowan - 1,160,000
Mike Matusow - 860,000
In the Money Eliminations
$72,060
12th: Brett Richey
11th: Robert Mizrachi
$86,470
10th: Clonie Gowen
Big Hands:
Steve Sung Gets Frustrated Into the Break
Steve Sung raised from middle position to 80,000 and Evan McNiff called from the cutoff. The flop came 443 and Sung checked. McNiff bet 100,000 and Sung check raised to 250,000. McNiff called and the turn was the 2. Sung bet 400,000 and McNiff moved all in. Sung tanked for over 10 minutes, well into the break, going over each and ever possibility. Eventually, the clock was called and Sung mucked his hand, saving his last 1 million in chips for later. McNiff raised his chip lead to 3.8 million.
Steve Sung Doubles Through Clonie Gowen
Right after the break, Steve Sung got his chips back and then some from Clonie Gowen. Gowen raised to 100,000 from the small blind and Sung made the call from the big blind. The flop came down 1084 and Gowen bet 100,000. Sung called and the turn was the 4. Gowen checked, Sung bet 250,000 and Gowen moved in. Sung tanked for a minute before calling with 109 for top pair. Gowen could only show 98 for middle pair and the river 2 doubled Sung up. After the hand, Sung was up to 2 million while Gowen took a hit down to 1 million.
Brett Richey Eliminated in 12th Place ($72,060)
Brett Richey raised to 110,000 and Chino Rheem reraised to 410,000 from the big blind. Richey moved all in and Rheem instantly called with pocket aces. Richey showed big slick and was unable to catch up, busting in 12th place.
Robert Mizrachi Eliminated in 11th Place ($72,060)
Evan McNiff raised to 100,000 from the button and Robert Mizrachi reraised to 375,000 from the small blind. McNiff moved in and Mizrachi called with AJ. McNiff showed pocket queens and they held when the board failed to produce any aces or diamonds, busting Mizrachi in 11th place.
Clonie Gowen Eliminated in 10th Place ($86,470)
Clonie Gowen raised to 110,000 in middle position and Steve Sung reraised to 340,000. Gowen moved all in for 825,000 and Sung called with AQ. Gowen showed pocket sixes, but they failed to hold up when the board came Q332A.
Left In The Deck:
After reviewing the tapes, it was determined that Tom Pniak's elimination hand was still in progress when the shuffle began on the other table. As a result, the ruling is that all three players will share 14th place and chop the prize money. After averaging it out, each player pocketed $67,255.
Player Tags: Clonie Gowen, Brett Richey, Chino Rheem, Steve Sung, Evan McNiff
Level 21 Update
Dec 18, '08
Scoreboard
Level: 21
Blinds/Antes: 15,000-30,000 with a 4,000 ante
Players Left: 12 of 497
Average: 1,720,385
Notable Chip Counts
Evan McNiff - 3,430,000
Ben Straate - 2,360,000
Justin Young - 2,215,000
Amnon Filippi - 2,100,000
Clonie Gowen - 2,050,000
Chino Rheem - 1,891,000
Hoyt Corkins - 1,787,000
Brett Richey - 1,770,000
Steve Sung - 1,628,000
Mike Matusow - 1,140,000
Robert Mizrachi - 878,000
Joe McGowan - 694,000
In the Money Eliminations
$57,635
18th: Bill Klein
17th: Ben Tollerene
16th: Tom Pniak
$72,060
15th: Martin DeKnijff
14th: Jack Wu
13th: Nick Schulman
Big Hands:
Bill Klein Eliminated in 18th Place ($57,635)
Evan McNiff raised to 75,000 preflop and Bill Klein reraised to 215,000. McNiff reraised all in and Klein made the all-in call. Their cards:
Klein: JJ
McNiff: AK
Board: K9278
Klein was eliminated in 18th place, the first elimination of the day coming six hands in to play.
Ben Tollerene Eliminated in 17th Place ($57,635)
Ben Tollerene moved all in preflop and Chino Rheem made the call. Their cards:
Rheem: AK
Tollerene: A9
Board: 76228
Tollerene was eliminated in 17th place and Rheem was up to 1.85 million.
Tom Pniak Elimimnated in 16th Place ($57,635)
Tom Pniak raised from the small blind to 85,000 and Hoyt Corkins reraised all in from the big blind. Pniak made the all-in call and they turned up their cards:
Corkins: Q8
Pniak: 99
Board: AK7Q3
Pniak was eliminated in 16th place and Corkins grew his stack to more than 1.7 million.
Clonie Gowen Scores a Double Knockout
Martin DeKnijff moved all in under the gun and Clonie Gowen moved all in over the top of him from the small blind. Jack Wu made the call from the big blind and Gowen had both of her opponents covered. Their cards:
Gowen: QQ
DeKnijff: AJ
Wu: AQ
Board: 652210
Gowen knocks out DeKnijj in 15th place and Wu in 14th place, but there is some confusion regarding the elimination order for spots 16-14 (you can read more about this below in Left in the Deck). In any case Gowen now holds just over 2 million.
Nick Schulman's Swan Song
Nick Schulman was the short stack left in the field with 13 remaining and he decided to move his chips into the middle to make something happen. Two times for him this worked out well, as he doubled up with king-high to take his stack to 303,000, and then he doubled up again with sevens-up to jump up to 580,000. He eventually met his doom though, when he moved all in preflop with pocket jacks against Justin Young, who held A-K. The board was dealt A-K-10-3-3 to send Schulman to the rail in 13th place. He will take home $72,060 in prize money.
Left in the Deck:
To the Tapes
The Bellagio tournament staff is currently reviewing the elimination hands for Tom Pniak, Martin DeKnijff, and Jack Wu. The staff said that it looks like both hands began simultaneously so they are now firguing out how to split up the prize money for places 16-14. We'll let you know if they break it down by stack sizes or just divide things evenly among the three, and how the payouts are adjusted when that information is released by the tournament staff.
Player Tags: Hoyt Corkins, Tom Pniak, Clonie Gowen, Chino Rheem, Martin DeKnijff, Evan McNiff, Jack Wu, Bill Klein, Benjamin Tollerene
Level 19 Update
Dec 17, '08
Scoreboard
Level: 19
Blinds/Antes: 10,000-20,000 with a 3,000 ante
Players Left: 23 of 497
Average: 972,000
Notable Chip Counts
Ben Straate - 2,800,000
Evan McNiff - 1,600,000
Brett Richey - 1,575,000
Justin Young - 1,535,000
Robert Mizrachi - 1,345,000
In the Money Eliminations
$43,235
27th: Andy Bloch
26th: Mohsin Charania
25th: David Benyamine
24th: Chuck Kelley
Big Hands:
Chino Rheem Makes a Great Call
Chino Rheem checked a flop of KQ7 from the small blind and Clonie Gowen bet 75,000 from the big blind. The turn was dealt J and Rheem checked. Gowen bet 150,000 and Rheem made the call. The river fell K and Rheem checked again. Gowen bet 275,000 and Rheem made the call. Gowen showed down 98 and Rheem turned up A9 for the pick off of Gowen's bluff. Rheem held 1.35 million after the hand. Gowen was sent spiraling downward with just 550,000.
Mike Matusow Doubles Up...
Mike "The Mouth" Matusow doubled up when his K-J made trip kings on a board that ran out K-K-8-3-9 against the pocket aces of Robert Mizrachi.
...Then the Mouth Busts David Benyamine in 25th Place ($43,235)
David Benyamine moved all in under the gun for 189,000 and Mike Matusow made the call. Their cards:
Matusow: 99
Benyamine: AQ
Board: K10434
Matusow climbed to 550,000 with the win and Benaymine hit the rail in 25th place.
Chuck Kelley Eliminated in 24th Place ($43,235)
Chuck Kelley moved all in from the big blind for 304,000 preflop and Hoyt Corkins went into the tank. He decided to call and they turned up their cards:
Corkins: 88
Kelley: 33
Board: KQ659
Kelley was eliminated on the hand in 24th place and then the field went on break.
Left in the Deck:
Volatile Leader Board
Each and every level the top of the leader board has undergone a drastic shuffle. The pots played today have been big, and as a result the chip leader can change at any given moment.
Player Tags: Hoyt Corkins, Robert Mizrachi, David Benyamine, Mike Matusow, Clonie Gowen
Level 17 Update
Dec 17, '08
Scoreboard
Level: 17
Blinds/Antes: 6,000-12,000 with a 2,000 ante
Players Left: 34 of 497
Average: 639,000
Notable Chip Counts
Hunter Frey - 1,970,000
Nick Schulman - 1,800,000
Jack Wu - 1,440,000
Chino Rheem - 1,180,000
Justin Young - 1,150,000
In the Money Eliminations
$36,030
40th: Elizabeth Montizanti
39th: Jonathan Little
38th: Barry Greenstein
37th: Abe Mosseri
36th: Mike McClain
35th: Arthur Azen
Big Hands:
Barry Greenstein Eliminated in 38th Place ($36,030)
Barry Greenstein was just knocked out of the tournament when his pocket sevens ran into the pocket queens of John Hennigan. The board delivered yet another queen to Hennigain and Greenstein was eliminated in 38th place.
Abe Mosseri Eliminated in 37th Place ($36,030)
Abe Mosseri was eliminated when his Q-9 ran into the pocket aces of Robert Mizrachi on a flop of Q-7-2. The turn and river brought no help and Mosseri was knocked out of play in 37th place.
Steve Sung Doubles Up Through Clonie Gowen
Steve Sung moved all in preflop for 266,000 and Clonie Gowen called him down. They flipped up their hands and Sung held AJ. Gowen held A10 and the board ran out K7369. Sung doubled up and Gowen fell to 1.03 million.
Arthur Azen Eliminated in 35th Place ($36,030)
Arthur Azen moved all in on a board of KJ37 holding Q4 in the hole. Hunter Frey called him down with A9 though, and he sent Azen to the rail in 35th place.
Nick Schulman Makes a Great Call
Evan McNiff bet 150,000 from the cutoff on a board of A743 and Nick Schulman made the call. The river was dealt 7 and McNiff bet 327,000. Schulman went into the tank for several minutes and counted out the chips needed to make the call. He eventually moved them into the middle and McNiff turned up 42. Schulman turned up AJ to win the large pot and sky rocket his chip stack up to 1.8 million, which is good for second on the leader board. McNiff was knocked down to just over a million.
Left in the Deck:
Final Four Tables
The tournament is now down to four tables, and all of them are quite stacked with professional talent. There is nowhere left to hide in this tournament and there has been a lot of action and big bets.
Player Tags: Robert Mizrachi, Barry Greenstein, Clonie Gowen, John Hennigan, Abe Mosseri, Arthur Azen, Steve Sung, Hunter Frey
Level 8 Update
Dec 15, '08
Scoreboard
Level: 8
Blinds/Antes: 600-1,200 with a 200 ante
Players Left: 212 of 497
Average: 105,000
Notable Chip Counts
Clonie Gowen - 355,000
Kido Pham - 295,000
Luke Staudenmaier - 240,000
Phil Hellmuth - 226,000
David Pham - 225,000
Lex Veldhuis - 222,000
Notable Eliminations
Jimmy Fricke
Noah Schwartz
Bryan Devonshire
Mike Kamran
Kelly Kim
David Singer
John Myung
Erick Lindgren
Phil Laak
Big Hands:
Clonie Gowen Extends Her Lead
Holding a set of nines on an ace-high flop. Clonie Gowen got her opponent to put in the rest of his stack with A-K. The turn gave him some outs with another ace, but the brick on the river gave Gowen the 45,000 pot, bringing her stack to a tournament leading 355,000.
David Benyamine Scores a Nice Pot
Seat 4 called in the small blind and David Benyamine checked on the big blind. The flop was dealt Q93 and seat 4 checked. Benyamine bet 2,500 and his opponent hemmed and hawed for a moment before folding. This exchange was indicative of how the last level went for Benyamine. He applied a lot of pressure and his chip stack now sits at 250,000 as a result.
Joe Hachem Doubles Up
The preflop pot had about 12,000 sitting in it when Joe Hachem decided to move all in following a preflop raise from Abe Mosseri. Mosseri decided to call and they turned up their hands. Hachem held pocket kings and Mosseri turned up AJ. The board was dealt 76433 and Hachem doubled up to survive.
Left In The Deck:
The Last Table In The Poker Room
The poker room was down to its last table, but that didn't stop its inhabitants from causing a scene. Antonio Esfandiari was playing a game of "What's he think?" with the rest of the table, betting $100 a guess. The game, popularized in recent weeks by Daniel Negreanu, revolves around guessing what someone else believes the right answer to be. The goal is not to be correct, but to predict what someone else thinks is correct.
The most recent question started a debate amongst the table concerning the specific age that Phil Hellmuth lost a certain something. When asked to lock in his answer, Rene Angelil flat out said that he did not want to think about such things, getting a loud laugh from the table. Davidson Matthew stepped in and Esfandiari began to counter with the player in seat 1 back and forth over the number. When Esfandiari stopped the over at age 17, he was stunned to see that Matthew had locked in age 27.
POY Update:
David Pham: 210,000
Michael Binger: 102,000
Bertrand Grospellier: 86,000
Erik Seidel: 49,000
Ivan Demidov: 31,000
Player Tags: David Benyamine, Clonie Gowen, Joe Hachem
Level 7 Update
Dec 15, '08
Scoreboard
Level: 7
Blinds/Antes: 500-1,000 with a 100 ante
Players Left: 252 of 497
Average: 789,000
Notable Chip Counts
Clonie Gowen - 300,000
Kido Pham - 284,000
Luke Staudenmaier - 240,000
Mike McClain - 230,000
David Pham - 222,000
Notable Eliminations
John Phan
Rhynie Campbell
Jason Lester
Evelyn Ng
Big Hands:
Clonie Gowen Hits a Gutshot
Clonie Gowen attempted to steal Howard Lederer's big blind with a raise on the button to 3,000. Instead, the small blind called and they saw a flop of J66. After a check, Gowen bet 5,000. Her opponent called and the turn was the 9. The small blind checked and Gowen bet 10,000. After a few moments, her opponent moved all in for 19,900 more and Gowen went into the tank. After about two minutes, Gowen made the call with Q8 looking for a gutshot straight. Her opponent showed A9 for the best hand. Unfortunately for him, the river was the 10, giving Gowen a straight and a massive stack of 300,000. The rest of the table just shook their heads in disbelieft. Gowen herself admitted she was running well as her opponent slowly walked out of the room with a comment or two under his breath.
Amit Makhija Doubles Up With a Tough Call
Facing an all in bet with just pair of jacks on an ace-high board, Amit Makhija made the call for his tournament life and was relieved to see that his instincts were correct. He now has about 130,000.
Jimmy Tran Gets Nice Value on the River
A board of A72Q2 sat on the table with 8,000 in the pot when Jimmy Tran bet 6,700 on the river from the small blind. Seat 7 made the call from the big blind and Tran turned up 32. His opponent mucked and Tran won the hand.
Poker Room Report
There are just three tables remaining in the Bellagio Poker Room with a handful of professionals remaining. Those pros include Todd Brunson, Antonio Esfandiari, Jimmy Tran, Billy Baxter, and Mike Sexton.
POY Update:
John Phan Eliminated
2008 Card Player Player of the Year leader John Phan has been eliminated from the tournament, meaning he will now watch and play cheerleader for everyone but the six remaining candidates who can still catch up to him.
David Pham: 222,000
Michael Binger: 130,000
Bertrand Grospellier: 112,000
Erik Seidel: 46,000
Ivan Demidov: 40,000
Player Tags: John Phan, Howard Lederer, Clonie Gowen, Amit Makhija
Level Five Update
Dec 13, '08
Level: 5
Blinds/Antes: 300-600 with a 75 ante
Scoreboard
Players Left: 165 of 203
Average: 55,000
Notable Chip Counts
Phil Hellmuth - 200,000
Ryan Young - 175,000
Nenad Medic - 150,000
Brent Hanks - 128,000
Mike Matusow - 115,000
Steve Billirakis - 103,000
Notable Eliminations
Jeff Madsen
David Williams
Steve Fiorentini
Zvi Shiff
Big Hands:
Phil Hellmuth Cracks Aces, Busts Theo Tran
On a flop of 842, Phil Hellmuth bet 10,000 and Theo Tran reraised to 25,000. Hellmuth called and the turn was the 3. Tran bet 23,000 and then called off the rest of his stack when Hellmuth moved in. Tran showed pocket aces, but Hellmuth had 65 for the nut straight, leaving Tran drawing dead. Hellmuth now has 200,000 in chips.
Justin Bonomo Picks Off Phil Ivey's Bluff
Sitting with just third pair, Justin Bonomo called a 13,000 bet from Phil Ivey with just third pair, no draw. When the river came, Ivey gave up his bluff and Bonomo took the 30,000 pot to increase his stack to 86,000.
Luke Staudenmaier Eliminates Jeff Madsen
Luke Staudenmaier is now up to 132,000 after knocking out Jeff Madsen. Staudenmaier also picked up a healthy pot with pocket kings a few hands later.
Clonie Gowen Gets Stronger
Seat 4 raised to 1,800 and Clonie Gowen reraised to 6,800 from late position. Her opponent called and checked a flop of K42. Gowen asked how much he had behind and fired out 10,000 when he showed her. Seat 4 folded and Gowen took the pot, increasing her stack to 142,000 in chips.
Player Tags: Clonie Gowen, Phil Ivey, Justin Bonomo, Luke Staudenmaier
|
| Dec 15, '08 |
2008 Five Diamond World Poker Classic (WPT) |
WPT Doyle Brunson Classic Championship - Event 13 |
3 |
+ |
Level 22 Update
Dec 18, '08
Scoreboard
Level: 22
Blinds/Antes: 20,000-40,000 with a 5,000 ante
Players Left: 9 of 497
Average: 2,485,000
Notable Chip Counts
Evan McNiff - 5,695,000
Chino Rheem - 3,170,000
Steve Sung - 2,860,000
Ben Straate - 2,785,000
Justin Young - 2,350,000
Amnon Filippi - 1,785,000
Hoyt Corkins - 1,510,000
Joe McGowan - 1,160,000
Mike Matusow - 860,000
In the Money Eliminations
$72,060
12th: Brett Richey
11th: Robert Mizrachi
$86,470
10th: Clonie Gowen
Big Hands:
Steve Sung Gets Frustrated Into the Break
Steve Sung raised from middle position to 80,000 and Evan McNiff called from the cutoff. The flop came 443 and Sung checked. McNiff bet 100,000 and Sung check raised to 250,000. McNiff called and the turn was the 2. Sung bet 400,000 and McNiff moved all in. Sung tanked for over 10 minutes, well into the break, going over each and ever possibility. Eventually, the clock was called and Sung mucked his hand, saving his last 1 million in chips for later. McNiff raised his chip lead to 3.8 million.
Steve Sung Doubles Through Clonie Gowen
Right after the break, Steve Sung got his chips back and then some from Clonie Gowen. Gowen raised to 100,000 from the small blind and Sung made the call from the big blind. The flop came down 1084 and Gowen bet 100,000. Sung called and the turn was the 4. Gowen checked, Sung bet 250,000 and Gowen moved in. Sung tanked for a minute before calling with 109 for top pair. Gowen could only show 98 for middle pair and the river 2 doubled Sung up. After the hand, Sung was up to 2 million while Gowen took a hit down to 1 million.
Brett Richey Eliminated in 12th Place ($72,060)
Brett Richey raised to 110,000 and Chino Rheem reraised to 410,000 from the big blind. Richey moved all in and Rheem instantly called with pocket aces. Richey showed big slick and was unable to catch up, busting in 12th place.
Robert Mizrachi Eliminated in 11th Place ($72,060)
Evan McNiff raised to 100,000 from the button and Robert Mizrachi reraised to 375,000 from the small blind. McNiff moved in and Mizrachi called with AJ. McNiff showed pocket queens and they held when the board failed to produce any aces or diamonds, busting Mizrachi in 11th place.
Clonie Gowen Eliminated in 10th Place ($86,470)
Clonie Gowen raised to 110,000 in middle position and Steve Sung reraised to 340,000. Gowen moved all in for 825,000 and Sung called with AQ. Gowen showed pocket sixes, but they failed to hold up when the board came Q332A.
Left In The Deck:
After reviewing the tapes, it was determined that Tom Pniak's elimination hand was still in progress when the shuffle began on the other table. As a result, the ruling is that all three players will share 14th place and chop the prize money. After averaging it out, each player pocketed $67,255.
Player Tags: Clonie Gowen, Brett Richey, Chino Rheem, Steve Sung, Evan McNiff
Level 21 Update
Dec 18, '08
Scoreboard
Level: 21
Blinds/Antes: 15,000-30,000 with a 4,000 ante
Players Left: 12 of 497
Average: 1,720,385
Notable Chip Counts
Evan McNiff - 3,430,000
Ben Straate - 2,360,000
Justin Young - 2,215,000
Amnon Filippi - 2,100,000
Clonie Gowen - 2,050,000
Chino Rheem - 1,891,000
Hoyt Corkins - 1,787,000
Brett Richey - 1,770,000
Steve Sung - 1,628,000
Mike Matusow - 1,140,000
Robert Mizrachi - 878,000
Joe McGowan - 694,000
In the Money Eliminations
$57,635
18th: Bill Klein
17th: Ben Tollerene
16th: Tom Pniak
$72,060
15th: Martin DeKnijff
14th: Jack Wu
13th: Nick Schulman
Big Hands:
Bill Klein Eliminated in 18th Place ($57,635)
Evan McNiff raised to 75,000 preflop and Bill Klein reraised to 215,000. McNiff reraised all in and Klein made the all-in call. Their cards:
Klein: JJ
McNiff: AK
Board: K9278
Klein was eliminated in 18th place, the first elimination of the day coming six hands in to play.
Ben Tollerene Eliminated in 17th Place ($57,635)
Ben Tollerene moved all in preflop and Chino Rheem made the call. Their cards:
Rheem: AK
Tollerene: A9
Board: 76228
Tollerene was eliminated in 17th place and Rheem was up to 1.85 million.
Tom Pniak Elimimnated in 16th Place ($57,635)
Tom Pniak raised from the small blind to 85,000 and Hoyt Corkins reraised all in from the big blind. Pniak made the all-in call and they turned up their cards:
Corkins: Q8
Pniak: 99
Board: AK7Q3
Pniak was eliminated in 16th place and Corkins grew his stack to more than 1.7 million.
Clonie Gowen Scores a Double Knockout
Martin DeKnijff moved all in under the gun and Clonie Gowen moved all in over the top of him from the small blind. Jack Wu made the call from the big blind and Gowen had both of her opponents covered. Their cards:
Gowen: QQ
DeKnijff: AJ
Wu: AQ
Board: 652210
Gowen knocks out DeKnijj in 15th place and Wu in 14th place, but there is some confusion regarding the elimination order for spots 16-14 (you can read more about this below in Left in the Deck). In any case Gowen now holds just over 2 million.
Nick Schulman's Swan Song
Nick Schulman was the short stack left in the field with 13 remaining and he decided to move his chips into the middle to make something happen. Two times for him this worked out well, as he doubled up with king-high to take his stack to 303,000, and then he doubled up again with sevens-up to jump up to 580,000. He eventually met his doom though, when he moved all in preflop with pocket jacks against Justin Young, who held A-K. The board was dealt A-K-10-3-3 to send Schulman to the rail in 13th place. He will take home $72,060 in prize money.
Left in the Deck:
To the Tapes
The Bellagio tournament staff is currently reviewing the elimination hands for Tom Pniak, Martin DeKnijff, and Jack Wu. The staff said that it looks like both hands began simultaneously so they are now firguing out how to split up the prize money for places 16-14. We'll let you know if they break it down by stack sizes or just divide things evenly among the three, and how the payouts are adjusted when that information is released by the tournament staff.
Player Tags: Hoyt Corkins, Tom Pniak, Clonie Gowen, Chino Rheem, Martin DeKnijff, Evan McNiff, Jack Wu, Bill Klein, Benjamin Tollerene
Level 19 Update
Dec 17, '08
Scoreboard
Level: 19
Blinds/Antes: 10,000-20,000 with a 3,000 ante
Players Left: 23 of 497
Average: 972,000
Notable Chip Counts
Ben Straate - 2,800,000
Evan McNiff - 1,600,000
Brett Richey - 1,575,000
Justin Young - 1,535,000
Robert Mizrachi - 1,345,000
In the Money Eliminations
$43,235
27th: Andy Bloch
26th: Mohsin Charania
25th: David Benyamine
24th: Chuck Kelley
Big Hands:
Chino Rheem Makes a Great Call
Chino Rheem checked a flop of KQ7 from the small blind and Clonie Gowen bet 75,000 from the big blind. The turn was dealt J and Rheem checked. Gowen bet 150,000 and Rheem made the call. The river fell K and Rheem checked again. Gowen bet 275,000 and Rheem made the call. Gowen showed down 98 and Rheem turned up A9 for the pick off of Gowen's bluff. Rheem held 1.35 million after the hand. Gowen was sent spiraling downward with just 550,000.
Mike Matusow Doubles Up...
Mike "The Mouth" Matusow doubled up when his K-J made trip kings on a board that ran out K-K-8-3-9 against the pocket aces of Robert Mizrachi.
...Then the Mouth Busts David Benyamine in 25th Place ($43,235)
David Benyamine moved all in under the gun for 189,000 and Mike Matusow made the call. Their cards:
Matusow: 99
Benyamine: AQ
Board: K10434
Matusow climbed to 550,000 with the win and Benaymine hit the rail in 25th place.
Chuck Kelley Eliminated in 24th Place ($43,235)
Chuck Kelley moved all in from the big blind for 304,000 preflop and Hoyt Corkins went into the tank. He decided to call and they turned up their cards:
Corkins: 88
Kelley: 33
Board: KQ659
Kelley was eliminated on the hand in 24th place and then the field went on break.
Left in the Deck:
Volatile Leader Board
Each and every level the top of the leader board has undergone a drastic shuffle. The pots played today have been big, and as a result the chip leader can change at any given moment.
Player Tags: Hoyt Corkins, Robert Mizrachi, David Benyamine, Mike Matusow, Clonie Gowen
Level 17 Update
Dec 17, '08
Scoreboard
Level: 17
Blinds/Antes: 6,000-12,000 with a 2,000 ante
Players Left: 34 of 497
Average: 639,000
Notable Chip Counts
Hunter Frey - 1,970,000
Nick Schulman - 1,800,000
Jack Wu - 1,440,000
Chino Rheem - 1,180,000
Justin Young - 1,150,000
In the Money Eliminations
$36,030
40th: Elizabeth Montizanti
39th: Jonathan Little
38th: Barry Greenstein
37th: Abe Mosseri
36th: Mike McClain
35th: Arthur Azen
Big Hands:
Barry Greenstein Eliminated in 38th Place ($36,030)
Barry Greenstein was just knocked out of the tournament when his pocket sevens ran into the pocket queens of John Hennigan. The board delivered yet another queen to Hennigain and Greenstein was eliminated in 38th place.
Abe Mosseri Eliminated in 37th Place ($36,030)
Abe Mosseri was eliminated when his Q-9 ran into the pocket aces of Robert Mizrachi on a flop of Q-7-2. The turn and river brought no help and Mosseri was knocked out of play in 37th place.
Steve Sung Doubles Up Through Clonie Gowen
Steve Sung moved all in preflop for 266,000 and Clonie Gowen called him down. They flipped up their hands and Sung held AJ. Gowen held A10 and the board ran out K7369. Sung doubled up and Gowen fell to 1.03 million.
Arthur Azen Eliminated in 35th Place ($36,030)
Arthur Azen moved all in on a board of KJ37 holding Q4 in the hole. Hunter Frey called him down with A9 though, and he sent Azen to the rail in 35th place.
Nick Schulman Makes a Great Call
Evan McNiff bet 150,000 from the cutoff on a board of A743 and Nick Schulman made the call. The river was dealt 7 and McNiff bet 327,000. Schulman went into the tank for several minutes and counted out the chips needed to make the call. He eventually moved them into the middle and McNiff turned up 42. Schulman turned up AJ to win the large pot and sky rocket his chip stack up to 1.8 million, which is good for second on the leader board. McNiff was knocked down to just over a million.
Left in the Deck:
Final Four Tables
The tournament is now down to four tables, and all of them are quite stacked with professional talent. There is nowhere left to hide in this tournament and there has been a lot of action and big bets.
Player Tags: Robert Mizrachi, Barry Greenstein, Clonie Gowen, John Hennigan, Abe Mosseri, Arthur Azen, Steve Sung, Hunter Frey
Level 8 Update
Dec 15, '08
Scoreboard
Level: 8
Blinds/Antes: 600-1,200 with a 200 ante
Players Left: 212 of 497
Average: 105,000
Notable Chip Counts
Clonie Gowen - 355,000
Kido Pham - 295,000
Luke Staudenmaier - 240,000
Phil Hellmuth - 226,000
David Pham - 225,000
Lex Veldhuis - 222,000
Notable Eliminations
Jimmy Fricke
Noah Schwartz
Bryan Devonshire
Mike Kamran
Kelly Kim
David Singer
John Myung
Erick Lindgren
Phil Laak
Big Hands:
Clonie Gowen Extends Her Lead
Holding a set of nines on an ace-high flop. Clonie Gowen got her opponent to put in the rest of his stack with A-K. The turn gave him some outs with another ace, but the brick on the river gave Gowen the 45,000 pot, bringing her stack to a tournament leading 355,000.
David Benyamine Scores a Nice Pot
Seat 4 called in the small blind and David Benyamine checked on the big blind. The flop was dealt Q93 and seat 4 checked. Benyamine bet 2,500 and his opponent hemmed and hawed for a moment before folding. This exchange was indicative of how the last level went for Benyamine. He applied a lot of pressure and his chip stack now sits at 250,000 as a result.
Joe Hachem Doubles Up
The preflop pot had about 12,000 sitting in it when Joe Hachem decided to move all in following a preflop raise from Abe Mosseri. Mosseri decided to call and they turned up their hands. Hachem held pocket kings and Mosseri turned up AJ. The board was dealt 76433 and Hachem doubled up to survive.
Left In The Deck:
The Last Table In The Poker Room
The poker room was down to its last table, but that didn't stop its inhabitants from causing a scene. Antonio Esfandiari was playing a game of "What's he think?" with the rest of the table, betting $100 a guess. The game, popularized in recent weeks by Daniel Negreanu, revolves around guessing what someone else believes the right answer to be. The goal is not to be correct, but to predict what someone else thinks is correct.
The most recent question started a debate amongst the table concerning the specific age that Phil Hellmuth lost a certain something. When asked to lock in his answer, Rene Angelil flat out said that he did not want to think about such things, getting a loud laugh from the table. Davidson Matthew stepped in and Esfandiari began to counter with the player in seat 1 back and forth over the number. When Esfandiari stopped the over at age 17, he was stunned to see that Matthew had locked in age 27.
POY Update:
David Pham: 210,000
Michael Binger: 102,000
Bertrand Grospellier: 86,000
Erik Seidel: 49,000
Ivan Demidov: 31,000
Player Tags: David Benyamine, Clonie Gowen, Joe Hachem
Level 7 Update
Dec 15, '08
Scoreboard
Level: 7
Blinds/Antes: 500-1,000 with a 100 ante
Players Left: 252 of 497
Average: 789,000
Notable Chip Counts
Clonie Gowen - 300,000
Kido Pham - 284,000
Luke Staudenmaier - 240,000
Mike McClain - 230,000
David Pham - 222,000
Notable Eliminations
John Phan
Rhynie Campbell
Jason Lester
Evelyn Ng
Big Hands:
Clonie Gowen Hits a Gutshot
Clonie Gowen attempted to steal Howard Lederer's big blind with a raise on the button to 3,000. Instead, the small blind called and they saw a flop of J66. After a check, Gowen bet 5,000. Her opponent called and the turn was the 9. The small blind checked and Gowen bet 10,000. After a few moments, her opponent moved all in for 19,900 more and Gowen went into the tank. After about two minutes, Gowen made the call with Q8 looking for a gutshot straight. Her opponent showed A9 for the best hand. Unfortunately for him, the river was the 10, giving Gowen a straight and a massive stack of 300,000. The rest of the table just shook their heads in disbelieft. Gowen herself admitted she was running well as her opponent slowly walked out of the room with a comment or two under his breath.
Amit Makhija Doubles Up With a Tough Call
Facing an all in bet with just pair of jacks on an ace-high board, Amit Makhija made the call for his tournament life and was relieved to see that his instincts were correct. He now has about 130,000.
Jimmy Tran Gets Nice Value on the River
A board of A72Q2 sat on the table with 8,000 in the pot when Jimmy Tran bet 6,700 on the river from the small blind. Seat 7 made the call from the big blind and Tran turned up 32. His opponent mucked and Tran won the hand.
Poker Room Report
There are just three tables remaining in the Bellagio Poker Room with a handful of professionals remaining. Those pros include Todd Brunson, Antonio Esfandiari, Jimmy Tran, Billy Baxter, and Mike Sexton.
POY Update:
John Phan Eliminated
2008 Card Player Player of the Year leader John Phan has been eliminated from the tournament, meaning he will now watch and play cheerleader for everyone but the six remaining candidates who can still catch up to him.
David Pham: 222,000
Michael Binger: 130,000
Bertrand Grospellier: 112,000
Erik Seidel: 46,000
Ivan Demidov: 40,000
Player Tags: John Phan, Howard Lederer, Clonie Gowen, Amit Makhija
Level Five Update
Dec 13, '08
Level: 5
Blinds/Antes: 300-600 with a 75 ante
Scoreboard
Players Left: 165 of 203
Average: 55,000
Notable Chip Counts
Phil Hellmuth - 200,000
Ryan Young - 175,000
Nenad Medic - 150,000
Brent Hanks - 128,000
Mike Matusow - 115,000
Steve Billirakis - 103,000
Notable Eliminations
Jeff Madsen
David Williams
Steve Fiorentini
Zvi Shiff
Big Hands:
Phil Hellmuth Cracks Aces, Busts Theo Tran
On a flop of 842, Phil Hellmuth bet 10,000 and Theo Tran reraised to 25,000. Hellmuth called and the turn was the 3. Tran bet 23,000 and then called off the rest of his stack when Hellmuth moved in. Tran showed pocket aces, but Hellmuth had 65 for the nut straight, leaving Tran drawing dead. Hellmuth now has 200,000 in chips.
Justin Bonomo Picks Off Phil Ivey's Bluff
Sitting with just third pair, Justin Bonomo called a 13,000 bet from Phil Ivey with just third pair, no draw. When the river came, Ivey gave up his bluff and Bonomo took the 30,000 pot to increase his stack to 86,000.
Luke Staudenmaier Eliminates Jeff Madsen
Luke Staudenmaier is now up to 132,000 after knocking out Jeff Madsen. Staudenmaier also picked up a healthy pot with pocket kings a few hands later.
Clonie Gowen Gets Stronger
Seat 4 raised to 1,800 and Clonie Gowen reraised to 6,800 from late position. Her opponent called and checked a flop of K42. Gowen asked how much he had behind and fired out 10,000 when he showed her. Seat 4 folded and Gowen took the pot, increasing her stack to 142,000 in chips.
Player Tags: Clonie Gowen, Phil Ivey, Justin Bonomo, Luke Staudenmaier
|
| Dec 13, '08 |
2008 Five Diamond World Poker Classic (WPT) |
WPT Doyle Brunson Classic Championship - Event 13 |
1 |
+ |
Level 22 Update
Dec 18, '08
Scoreboard
Level: 22
Blinds/Antes: 20,000-40,000 with a 5,000 ante
Players Left: 9 of 497
Average: 2,485,000
Notable Chip Counts
Evan McNiff - 5,695,000
Chino Rheem - 3,170,000
Steve Sung - 2,860,000
Ben Straate - 2,785,000
Justin Young - 2,350,000
Amnon Filippi - 1,785,000
Hoyt Corkins - 1,510,000
Joe McGowan - 1,160,000
Mike Matusow - 860,000
In the Money Eliminations
$72,060
12th: Brett Richey
11th: Robert Mizrachi
$86,470
10th: Clonie Gowen
Big Hands:
Steve Sung Gets Frustrated Into the Break
Steve Sung raised from middle position to 80,000 and Evan McNiff called from the cutoff. The flop came 443 and Sung checked. McNiff bet 100,000 and Sung check raised to 250,000. McNiff called and the turn was the 2. Sung bet 400,000 and McNiff moved all in. Sung tanked for over 10 minutes, well into the break, going over each and ever possibility. Eventually, the clock was called and Sung mucked his hand, saving his last 1 million in chips for later. McNiff raised his chip lead to 3.8 million.
Steve Sung Doubles Through Clonie Gowen
Right after the break, Steve Sung got his chips back and then some from Clonie Gowen. Gowen raised to 100,000 from the small blind and Sung made the call from the big blind. The flop came down 1084 and Gowen bet 100,000. Sung called and the turn was the 4. Gowen checked, Sung bet 250,000 and Gowen moved in. Sung tanked for a minute before calling with 109 for top pair. Gowen could only show 98 for middle pair and the river 2 doubled Sung up. After the hand, Sung was up to 2 million while Gowen took a hit down to 1 million.
Brett Richey Eliminated in 12th Place ($72,060)
Brett Richey raised to 110,000 and Chino Rheem reraised to 410,000 from the big blind. Richey moved all in and Rheem instantly called with pocket aces. Richey showed big slick and was unable to catch up, busting in 12th place.
Robert Mizrachi Eliminated in 11th Place ($72,060)
Evan McNiff raised to 100,000 from the button and Robert Mizrachi reraised to 375,000 from the small blind. McNiff moved in and Mizrachi called with AJ. McNiff showed pocket queens and they held when the board failed to produce any aces or diamonds, busting Mizrachi in 11th place.
Clonie Gowen Eliminated in 10th Place ($86,470)
Clonie Gowen raised to 110,000 in middle position and Steve Sung reraised to 340,000. Gowen moved all in for 825,000 and Sung called with AQ. Gowen showed pocket sixes, but they failed to hold up when the board came Q332A.
Left In The Deck:
After reviewing the tapes, it was determined that Tom Pniak's elimination hand was still in progress when the shuffle began on the other table. As a result, the ruling is that all three players will share 14th place and chop the prize money. After averaging it out, each player pocketed $67,255.
Player Tags: Clonie Gowen, Brett Richey, Chino Rheem, Steve Sung, Evan McNiff
Level 21 Update
Dec 18, '08
Scoreboard
Level: 21
Blinds/Antes: 15,000-30,000 with a 4,000 ante
Players Left: 12 of 497
Average: 1,720,385
Notable Chip Counts
Evan McNiff - 3,430,000
Ben Straate - 2,360,000
Justin Young - 2,215,000
Amnon Filippi - 2,100,000
Clonie Gowen - 2,050,000
Chino Rheem - 1,891,000
Hoyt Corkins - 1,787,000
Brett Richey - 1,770,000
Steve Sung - 1,628,000
Mike Matusow - 1,140,000
Robert Mizrachi - 878,000
Joe McGowan - 694,000
In the Money Eliminations
$57,635
18th: Bill Klein
17th: Ben Tollerene
16th: Tom Pniak
$72,060
15th: Martin DeKnijff
14th: Jack Wu
13th: Nick Schulman
Big Hands:
Bill Klein Eliminated in 18th Place ($57,635)
Evan McNiff raised to 75,000 preflop and Bill Klein reraised to 215,000. McNiff reraised all in and Klein made the all-in call. Their cards:
Klein: JJ
McNiff: AK
Board: K9278
Klein was eliminated in 18th place, the first elimination of the day coming six hands in to play.
Ben Tollerene Eliminated in 17th Place ($57,635)
Ben Tollerene moved all in preflop and Chino Rheem made the call. Their cards:
Rheem: AK
Tollerene: A9
Board: 76228
Tollerene was eliminated in 17th place and Rheem was up to 1.85 million.
Tom Pniak Elimimnated in 16th Place ($57,635)
Tom Pniak raised from the small blind to 85,000 and Hoyt Corkins reraised all in from the big blind. Pniak made the all-in call and they turned up their cards:
Corkins: Q8
Pniak: 99
Board: AK7Q3
Pniak was eliminated in 16th place and Corkins grew his stack to more than 1.7 million.
Clonie Gowen Scores a Double Knockout
Martin DeKnijff moved all in under the gun and Clonie Gowen moved all in over the top of him from the small blind. Jack Wu made the call from the big blind and Gowen had both of her opponents covered. Their cards:
Gowen: QQ
DeKnijff: AJ
Wu: AQ
Board: 652210
Gowen knocks out DeKnijj in 15th place and Wu in 14th place, but there is some confusion regarding the elimination order for spots 16-14 (you can read more about this below in Left in the Deck). In any case Gowen now holds just over 2 million.
Nick Schulman's Swan Song
Nick Schulman was the short stack left in the field with 13 remaining and he decided to move his chips into the middle to make something happen. Two times for him this worked out well, as he doubled up with king-high to take his stack to 303,000, and then he doubled up again with sevens-up to jump up to 580,000. He eventually met his doom though, when he moved all in preflop with pocket jacks against Justin Young, who held A-K. The board was dealt A-K-10-3-3 to send Schulman to the rail in 13th place. He will take home $72,060 in prize money.
Left in the Deck:
To the Tapes
The Bellagio tournament staff is currently reviewing the elimination hands for Tom Pniak, Martin DeKnijff, and Jack Wu. The staff said that it looks like both hands began simultaneously so they are now firguing out how to split up the prize money for places 16-14. We'll let you know if they break it down by stack sizes or just divide things evenly among the three, and how the payouts are adjusted when that information is released by the tournament staff.
Player Tags: Hoyt Corkins, Tom Pniak, Clonie Gowen, Chino Rheem, Martin DeKnijff, Evan McNiff, Jack Wu, Bill Klein, Benjamin Tollerene
Level 19 Update
Dec 17, '08
Scoreboard
Level: 19
Blinds/Antes: 10,000-20,000 with a 3,000 ante
Players Left: 23 of 497
Average: 972,000
Notable Chip Counts
Ben Straate - 2,800,000
Evan McNiff - 1,600,000
Brett Richey - 1,575,000
Justin Young - 1,535,000
Robert Mizrachi - 1,345,000
In the Money Eliminations
$43,235
27th: Andy Bloch
26th: Mohsin Charania
25th: David Benyamine
24th: Chuck Kelley
Big Hands:
Chino Rheem Makes a Great Call
Chino Rheem checked a flop of KQ7 from the small blind and Clonie Gowen bet 75,000 from the big blind. The turn was dealt J and Rheem checked. Gowen bet 150,000 and Rheem made the call. The river fell K and Rheem checked again. Gowen bet 275,000 and Rheem made the call. Gowen showed down 98 and Rheem turned up A9 for the pick off of Gowen's bluff. Rheem held 1.35 million after the hand. Gowen was sent spiraling downward with just 550,000.
Mike Matusow Doubles Up...
Mike "The Mouth" Matusow doubled up when his K-J made trip kings on a board that ran out K-K-8-3-9 against the pocket aces of Robert Mizrachi.
...Then the Mouth Busts David Benyamine in 25th Place ($43,235)
David Benyamine moved all in under the gun for 189,000 and Mike Matusow made the call. Their cards:
Matusow: 99
Benyamine: AQ
Board: K10434
Matusow climbed to 550,000 with the win and Benaymine hit the rail in 25th place.
Chuck Kelley Eliminated in 24th Place ($43,235)
Chuck Kelley moved all in from the big blind for 304,000 preflop and Hoyt Corkins went into the tank. He decided to call and they turned up their cards:
Corkins: 88
Kelley: 33
Board: KQ659
Kelley was eliminated on the hand in 24th place and then the field went on break.
Left in the Deck:
Volatile Leader Board
Each and every level the top of the leader board has undergone a drastic shuffle. The pots played today have been big, and as a result the chip leader can change at any given moment.
Player Tags: Hoyt Corkins, Robert Mizrachi, David Benyamine, Mike Matusow, Clonie Gowen
Level 17 Update
Dec 17, '08
Scoreboard
Level: 17
Blinds/Antes: 6,000-12,000 with a 2,000 ante
Players Left: 34 of 497
Average: 639,000
Notable Chip Counts
Hunter Frey - 1,970,000
Nick Schulman - 1,800,000
Jack Wu - 1,440,000
Chino Rheem - 1,180,000
Justin Young - 1,150,000
In the Money Eliminations
$36,030
40th: Elizabeth Montizanti
39th: Jonathan Little
38th: Barry Greenstein
37th: Abe Mosseri
36th: Mike McClain
35th: Arthur Azen
Big Hands:
Barry Greenstein Eliminated in 38th Place ($36,030)
Barry Greenstein was just knocked out of the tournament when his pocket sevens ran into the pocket queens of John Hennigan. The board delivered yet another queen to Hennigain and Greenstein was eliminated in 38th place.
Abe Mosseri Eliminated in 37th Place ($36,030)
Abe Mosseri was eliminated when his Q-9 ran into the pocket aces of Robert Mizrachi on a flop of Q-7-2. The turn and river brought no help and Mosseri was knocked out of play in 37th place.
Steve Sung Doubles Up Through Clonie Gowen
Steve Sung moved all in preflop for 266,000 and Clonie Gowen called him down. They flipped up their hands and Sung held AJ. Gowen held A10 and the board ran out K7369. Sung doubled up and Gowen fell to 1.03 million.
Arthur Azen Eliminated in 35th Place ($36,030)
Arthur Azen moved all in on a board of KJ37 holding Q4 in the hole. Hunter Frey called him down with A9 though, and he sent Azen to the rail in 35th place.
Nick Schulman Makes a Great Call
Evan McNiff bet 150,000 from the cutoff on a board of A743 and Nick Schulman made the call. The river was dealt 7 and McNiff bet 327,000. Schulman went into the tank for several minutes and counted out the chips needed to make the call. He eventually moved them into the middle and McNiff turned up 42. Schulman turned up AJ to win the large pot and sky rocket his chip stack up to 1.8 million, which is good for second on the leader board. McNiff was knocked down to just over a million.
Left in the Deck:
Final Four Tables
The tournament is now down to four tables, and all of them are quite stacked with professional talent. There is nowhere left to hide in this tournament and there has been a lot of action and big bets.
Player Tags: Robert Mizrachi, Barry Greenstein, Clonie Gowen, John Hennigan, Abe Mosseri, Arthur Azen, Steve Sung, Hunter Frey
Level 8 Update
Dec 15, '08
Scoreboard
Level: 8
Blinds/Antes: 600-1,200 with a 200 ante
Players Left: 212 of 497
Average: 105,000
Notable Chip Counts
Clonie Gowen - 355,000
Kido Pham - 295,000
Luke Staudenmaier - 240,000
Phil Hellmuth - 226,000
David Pham - 225,000
Lex Veldhuis - 222,000
Notable Eliminations
Jimmy Fricke
Noah Schwartz
Bryan Devonshire
Mike Kamran
Kelly Kim
David Singer
John Myung
Erick Lindgren
Phil Laak
Big Hands:
Clonie Gowen Extends Her Lead
Holding a set of nines on an ace-high flop. Clonie Gowen got her opponent to put in the rest of his stack with A-K. The turn gave him some outs with another ace, but the brick on the river gave Gowen the 45,000 pot, bringing her stack to a tournament leading 355,000.
David Benyamine Scores a Nice Pot
Seat 4 called in the small blind and David Benyamine checked on the big blind. The flop was dealt Q93 and seat 4 checked. Benyamine bet 2,500 and his opponent hemmed and hawed for a moment before folding. This exchange was indicative of how the last level went for Benyamine. He applied a lot of pressure and his chip stack now sits at 250,000 as a result.
Joe Hachem Doubles Up
The preflop pot had about 12,000 sitting in it when Joe Hachem decided to move all in following a preflop raise from Abe Mosseri. Mosseri decided to call and they turned up their hands. Hachem held pocket kings and Mosseri turned up AJ. The board was dealt 76433 and Hachem doubled up to survive.
Left In The Deck:
The Last Table In The Poker Room
The poker room was down to its last table, but that didn't stop its inhabitants from causing a scene. Antonio Esfandiari was playing a game of "What's he think?" with the rest of the table, betting $100 a guess. The game, popularized in recent weeks by Daniel Negreanu, revolves around guessing what someone else believes the right answer to be. The goal is not to be correct, but to predict what someone else thinks is correct.
The most recent question started a debate amongst the table concerning the specific age that Phil Hellmuth lost a certain something. When asked to lock in his answer, Rene Angelil flat out said that he did not want to think about such things, getting a loud laugh from the table. Davidson Matthew stepped in and Esfandiari began to counter with the player in seat 1 back and forth over the number. When Esfandiari stopped the over at age 17, he was stunned to see that Matthew had locked in age 27.
POY Update:
David Pham: 210,000
Michael Binger: 102,000
Bertrand Grospellier: 86,000
Erik Seidel: 49,000
Ivan Demidov: 31,000
Player Tags: David Benyamine, Clonie Gowen, Joe Hachem
Level 7 Update
Dec 15, '08
Scoreboard
Level: 7
Blinds/Antes: 500-1,000 with a 100 ante
Players Left: 252 of 497
Average: 789,000
Notable Chip Counts
Clonie Gowen - 300,000
Kido Pham - 284,000
Luke Staudenmaier - 240,000
Mike McClain - 230,000
David Pham - 222,000
Notable Eliminations
John Phan
Rhynie Campbell
Jason Lester
Evelyn Ng
Big Hands:
Clonie Gowen Hits a Gutshot
Clonie Gowen attempted to steal Howard Lederer's big blind with a raise on the button to 3,000. Instead, the small blind called and they saw a flop of J66. After a check, Gowen bet 5,000. Her opponent called and the turn was the 9. The small blind checked and Gowen bet 10,000. After a few moments, her opponent moved all in for 19,900 more and Gowen went into the tank. After about two minutes, Gowen made the call with Q8 looking for a gutshot straight. Her opponent showed A9 for the best hand. Unfortunately for him, the river was the 10, giving Gowen a straight and a massive stack of 300,000. The rest of the table just shook their heads in disbelieft. Gowen herself admitted she was running well as her opponent slowly walked out of the room with a comment or two under his breath.
Amit Makhija Doubles Up With a Tough Call
Facing an all in bet with just pair of jacks on an ace-high board, Amit Makhija made the call for his tournament life and was relieved to see that his instincts were correct. He now has about 130,000.
Jimmy Tran Gets Nice Value on the River
A board of A72Q2 sat on the table with 8,000 in the pot when Jimmy Tran bet 6,700 on the river from the small blind. Seat 7 made the call from the big blind and Tran turned up 32. His opponent mucked and Tran won the hand.
Poker Room Report
There are just three tables remaining in the Bellagio Poker Room with a handful of professionals remaining. Those pros include Todd Brunson, Antonio Esfandiari, Jimmy Tran, Billy Baxter, and Mike Sexton.
POY Update:
John Phan Eliminated
2008 Card Player Player of the Year leader John Phan has been eliminated from the tournament, meaning he will now watch and play cheerleader for everyone but the six remaining candidates who can still catch up to him.
David Pham: 222,000
Michael Binger: 130,000
Bertrand Grospellier: 112,000
Erik Seidel: 46,000
Ivan Demidov: 40,000
Player Tags: John Phan, Howard Lederer, Clonie Gowen, Amit Makhija
Level Five Update
Dec 13, '08
Level: 5
Blinds/Antes: 300-600 with a 75 ante
Scoreboard
Players Left: 165 of 203
Average: 55,000
Notable Chip Counts
Phil Hellmuth - 200,000
Ryan Young - 175,000
Nenad Medic - 150,000
Brent Hanks - 128,000
Mike Matusow - 115,000
Steve Billirakis - 103,000
Notable Eliminations
Jeff Madsen
David Williams
Steve Fiorentini
Zvi Shiff
Big Hands:
Phil Hellmuth Cracks Aces, Busts Theo Tran
On a flop of 842, Phil Hellmuth bet 10,000 and Theo Tran reraised to 25,000. Hellmuth called and the turn was the 3. Tran bet 23,000 and then called off the rest of his stack when Hellmuth moved in. Tran showed pocket aces, but Hellmuth had 65 for the nut straight, leaving Tran drawing dead. Hellmuth now has 200,000 in chips.
Justin Bonomo Picks Off Phil Ivey's Bluff
Sitting with just third pair, Justin Bonomo called a 13,000 bet from Phil Ivey with just third pair, no draw. When the river came, Ivey gave up his bluff and Bonomo took the 30,000 pot to increase his stack to 86,000.
Luke Staudenmaier Eliminates Jeff Madsen
Luke Staudenmaier is now up to 132,000 after knocking out Jeff Madsen. Staudenmaier also picked up a healthy pot with pocket kings a few hands later.
Clonie Gowen Gets Stronger
Seat 4 raised to 1,800 and Clonie Gowen reraised to 6,800 from late position. Her opponent called and checked a flop of K42. Gowen asked how much he had behind and fired out 10,000 when he showed her. Seat 4 folded and Gowen took the pot, increasing her stack to 142,000 in chips.
Player Tags: Clonie Gowen, Phil Ivey, Justin Bonomo, Luke Staudenmaier
|
| Jul 05, '08 |
2008 39th Annual World Series of Poker |
Event 54 - World Championship No-Limit Hold'em |
3 |
+ |
$10,000 Main Event - Day 1C - Level 5, Hour 1
Jul 05, '08
Blinds/Antes: 200/400/50
Players Remaining: 1,116 of 1,928
Chip Counts:
Henning Granstad - 205,000
Arnaud Mattern - 147,000
David Baker - 145,000
Andrew Tisler - 140,000
Michael Souza - 133,000
Moshin Charania - 122,000
David Singer - 121,000
Howard Berchuwitz - 118,000
Serj Markarian - 115,000
Andrew Brokos - 112,000
Eliminations:
Jared Hamby
Big Hands and Storylines:
Jacob Under the Heat
 The table featuring both Alex Jacob and Clonie Gowen is the next due to be broken in the main event, and it can’t come soon enough for Jacob, now down to below 10,000 in chips. After folding both his blinds and the button in the face of raises, Jacob was finally one from the cut-off when he opened the proceedings for 1100. The button called, and that may have persuaded both the small blind and big blind to also look Jacob up. The flop came KJ5, and after both blinds checked Jacob bet 2000 into the pot. The button folded, as did the small blind, but the big blind check-raised all-in, which would have cost Jacob another 5000. With only 8500 in chips remaining, Jacob laid his hand down.
While, Jacob may be happy to change tables, Gowen is likely to be disappointed as she has profited from the situation. As well, David Baker is also sorry to move along, having amassed 145,000 in chips from the current arrangement.
Nenad's Kings Dead, Still Way Ahead
After taking a break from his solitaire game on his iPod, Nenad Medic raised to 1,200 from middle position. The player next to act reraised to a total of 3,800, and the action folded around back to Medic. Without delay, Medic tossed enough orange 5,000 chips into the pot to put his opponent all in. His opponent went into the tank, voicing his concern over the strength of Medic’s hand. After several minutes, the player made the call and Medic flipped over KK. “That’s what I thought,” his opponent said as he turned over AQ. The QJ7 flop brought some hope for the player, and the A on the turn was just enough to overtake the kings. The 4 on the river failed to improve Medic, and he paid off his opponent to the tune of 6,900 in chips. Despite the loss, Medic still had over 60,000 in chips during the level.
 Board allows Mahmood to take away pot
Ayaz Mahmood raised to 1,500 from early position and a player reraised to 3,000. Mahmood called and checked in the dark on the flop. The flop came A73 and the preflop reraiser checked. The 4 came on the turn and Mahmood bet 4,000. His opponent called and the river was the 4. Mahmood now bet 6,000 and his opponent folded KK face up. Mahmood flashed the K and took down the pot.
Singer takes a hit
David Singer limped into the pot from middle position and saw the flop with both blinds. The flop came A97 and a woman in the small blind bet out 700. The big blind folded and Singer made the call. The turn was the T and she bet 1,200. This time Singer raised to 3,600. She called, and when the river came the 8 she bet out 5,000. Singer thought it over for a couple minutes and ultimately made the call. His opponent flipped over QJ and took down the pot. The small hit to Singer's stack dropped him to around 100,000 chips.
 Overbet puts Mercier to the test
Following a flop of A76 Isabelle Mercier bet 1,850 and was raised to 4,000. She made the call and the turn was the J. She checked and her opponent moved all in for 18,025, roughly twice as much as was in the pot. The odd bet had Mercier frustrated, and her opponent -- who had pulled the hood of his sweatshirt over his head and ducked his head down to completely hide -- was offering no clues. Ultimately she folded her hand and opted not to risk any of her remaining 35,000 chips.
Sklansky gets some breathing room
After a player in middle position limped into the pot David Sklansky raised to 1,500. The limper called and the players saw a T82 flop. After his opponent checked, Sklansky moved all in for 8,800 and took down the pot. After the hand he had just under 13,000 chips, about one-third of the average at this point.
Player Tags: Clonie Gowen, David Singer, David Sklansky, Isabelle Mercier, Nenad Medic, Alex Jacob, David Baker
$10,000 Main Event - Day 1C - Level 4, Hour 2
Jul 05, '08
Blinds/Antes: 150/300/25
Day 1C Players Remaining: 1,251 out of 1,928
Recent Eliminations: Amit Makhija, Jeffrey Lisandro, Kirk Morrison, Bryan Devonshire.
Big Hands and Storylines:
Makhija Busts Out
 Amit Makhija was nursing a shortstack, but appeared on the verge of successfully staving off his elimination midway through the second hour of level 4. It all ended when his flopped two pair ran into a straight.
Just previously, Makhija held only 5425 in chips when he was the big blind. Play was folded to the button who raised to 900, and Makhija had enough chips to scare off his opponent with an all-in. The move brought him to 6650 in chips. Then two hands later as the button, Makhija watched as the player in the cut-off put in an initial raise to 725. Again Makhija pushed all-in, and again his opponent folded in the face of the move.
The next hand spelled his doom, however. From the cut-off Makhija raised to 900, and the big blind was the lone caller. The flop came AQJ, the big blind checked, and Makhija bet 1200. The big blind called the bet, and together they saw the 9 hit the turn. The big blind checked, Makhija bet 3200, and the big blind then check-raised to put Makhija all-in. Makhija made the instant call, showing AQ. But the big blind had filled his straight, holding 108. Needing an ace or queen on the river to stay alive, Makhija saw the 3 come down and end his main event.
Lisandro Loves His Luck, Later Loses
Despite patiently nursing a short stack throughout most of the level, Jeffrey Lisandro ultimately ended up with a one-way ticket to the rail after a successful double up. Lisandro first got it all in with 44 for his last 2,800 against his opponent’s QJ. The flop was beautiful for Lisandro, bringing J104. The 2 on the turn had his opponent drawing dead, and Lisandro collected his chips.
Within two hands, Lisandro again got his chips back into the middle against the same opponent, this time while holding AsQs against his opponent’s KK. The flop brought another set with K54, and the 8 on the turn this time had Lisandro drawing dead. Lisandro made his exit.
 Moneymaker drops some chips, but going strong
With the board Q55K8, Chris Moneymaker and his opponent both checked. His opponent flipped over A8 and Moneyaker mucked. The pot had just a few thousand in it, and Moneymaker currently has around 70,000 chips.
Gowen's small bluff fails
With the board A9848, Clonie Gowen bet 3,000 and her opponent called. Gowen immediately mucked her hand, and though he didn't need to her opponent showed A7. After the hand Gowen was up to 60,000 chips.
Devonshire out, Mattern takes chip lead
On a T86 flop, a series of back-and-forth raises ends with Bryan Devonshire all in and Arnaud Mattern right there with him in a monster pot. They both hold 9-7, but Mattern's cards are spades giving him a flush draw. And what do you know -- it made a difference. After the A on the turn, the A came on the river to give Mattern the pot and give him 155,000 chips.
Don’t Mess with Singer
A player in middle position raised to 1000 and David Singer, one of the chip leaders of the day, called from the button, as did the big blind. The flop came KQ2, the big blind checked, and the original raiser bet out 1600. Singer made the call and the big blind folded. The J hit the turn and his opponent came out for 2500. Singer then put in a reraise to 7000. His opponent then mucked his hand.
Boredom for some
It's the main event and there are millions at stake, but for some players the slow pace of play creates the need for distractions. Nenad Medic has been playing solitare on his ipod and David Benefield has been reading a book. But it looks like they're also playing some good poker when the time calls for it; Medic and Benefield have 90,000 and 60,000 chips, respectively.
Player Tags: Chris Moneymaker, Clonie Gowen, David Singer, Jeffrey Lisandro, Nenad Medic, Amit Makhija, David Benefield
$10,000 Main Event - Level 4, Hour 1
Jul 05, '08
Blinds/Antes: 150-300-25
Players Remaining: 1,341 of 1,928
Chip Leaders:
Henning Granstad - 120,000
David SInger - 108,000
Michael Martin - 97,000
Brian Rast - 94,200
Jason Kang - 91,200
Diogo Borges - 85,400
David Einhorn - 80,000
Igor Ioffe - 79,100
Ryan Hughes - 78,000
Clonie Gowen - 77,900
Players Eliminated:
J.C. Tran
Big Hands and Storylines:
Gowen Adds to Stack
Clonie Gowen was one from the cut-off position and facing a raise to 800. She reraised things to 2300, both blinds folded, and the initial raiser called. The flop came 775, the original bettor checked and Gowen bet 2600. She was called, and the 10 came on the turn. Another check-call followed with Gowen sliding out 4500 in chips. The Q fell on the river, and with play checked to her again Gowen bet 5700. That was enough to take the pot down uncontested.
 Lisandro crippled
With the board AJ76, Jeffrey Lisandro checked and his opponent directly to his left bet 1,000. It was a small bet compared to the size of the pot, and Lisandro raised to 4,000. His opponent called, and when the 8 came on the turn he bet 5,000. His opponent asked to see how many chips Lisandro had left. He got a look and then raised to 11,000. Lisandro leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. After a minute he called and his opponent showed 77 for a set and the pot. After the hand Lisandro had just 2,500 chips.
Singer on fire, over 100k
With the board K9648, David Singer bet out 9,000 and was called. He flipped over A3 and his opponent shook his head and turned over 66 for a set. Singer collected the sizable pot and after the hand had over 100,000 chips.
Evelyn Ng Takes Wing
Evelyn Ng continued to accumulate chips by eliminating opponents. In one hand during the fourth level, Ng put her opponent all in pre-flop while holding pocket tens. Her opponent made the call and turned over pocket sixes, making Ng a large favorite. As the cameras rushed over to capture the moment, the dealer put out a board that offered no improvement to the sixes. Ng took the pot, bringing her chip stack to over 50,000.
Player Tags: Evelyn Ng, Clonie Gowen, David Singer, Jeffrey Lisandro
$10,000 Main Event - Griffin Out, So Is Nobles
Jul 05, '08
Blinds/Antes: 150-300
Chip Leaders:
Michael Martin: 103,000
Jeff Madsen: 85,000
Clonie Gowen: 76,000
Rajesh Vohra: 68,000
Brad Booth: 65,000
Rhett Butler: 63,000
Carl Henriksson: 62,000
Kenneth Brooks: 60,000
Brian Townsend: 54,800
Chris Moneymaker: 51,650
CP Chip Counts:
Mike Matusow: 41,400
Rolf Slotboom: 30,000
Marcel Luske: 17,000
Bertrand Grospellier: 13,500
Michael Binger: 10,900
Mark Gregorich: 6,375
Eliminations: Gavin Griffin, Dmitri Nobles, Vivek Rajkumar, Scott Seiver
Big Hands:
 Griffin Gone
A player raised to 1,200 from late position and Gavin Griffin pushed his final 3,550 into the pot. The player called and showed KK, having Griffin in a world of hurt as he showed 66. Any possible flush Griffin could hit would not save him as his opponent had those draws covered. Griffin needed to hit some kind of a straight or a one of the two remaining sixes. The board ran out Q10394 and Griffin's main event was over.
Brad Booth Picks Up Aces
Three players limped to Booth who made it 1,500 to go. One limper folded and the second called. Marcel Luske was the third limper and called as well. The flop came 886 and everyone checked. When the 3 came on the turn, action was checked to Booth who fired 1,700. He was called by seat 2 and Luske got out of the way. Seat 2 checked in the dark and the 5 came on the river. Booth bet 2,500 and was called. He showed AA and his opponent mucked. Booth took a pot worth 7,500 and increased his stack to about 72,000.
 Gowen Needs No Showdown
On a board of 10103, Alex Jacob checked, Clonie Gowen checked and the player in seat 3 fired 750. Jacob folded and Gowen made the call. The turn was the Q and Gowen led out with a bet of 2,500. Seat 3 made the call and the 5 fell on the river. Gowen bet 4,500 and seat 3 shook his head, mucking his hand as he lost a third of his stack in the hand. Gowen took the pot without a showdown and was nearing 70,000 in chips.
Luske Runs Into Kings
On a flop of Q63, seat 2 checked to Marcel Luske, who bet 1,000. Seat 2 made the call and the 6 came on the turn. Seat 2 checked to Luske again and "The Flying Dutchman" fired 2,000. Seat 2 made the call and both players checked the 8 on the river. Seat 2 rolled over KK and Luske quickly mucked.
 Madsen With a Gutshot
In a three-way limped pot, the flop came down AQ3. Madsen bet 1,000 from the button and only one player made the call. The turn was the 4 and Madsen's opponent checked. Madsen then bet 2,500, which his opponent called. The K fell on the river and Madsen fired 5,600 into the pot. His opponent called again and Madsen showed J10 for a broadway straight on the river. Madsen was up to about 85,000.
Singer Bluffed For All to See
On a board of QQ4J, the player in seat 3 bet 800 and David Singer made the call. The 10 came on the river and seat 3 bet 1,600. Singer thought about a call, but mucked his hand as camera crews looked on. Seat 3 showed A2 for a whole lot of nothing and said that he only bluffed Singer because the cameras were around.
 Full House v.s. Flush, Ng Doubles
With 9938 on the board Evelyn Ng bet 2,500 and was check-raised to 7,500. Ng elected to just call and the J came on the river. After her opponent bet 6,000, Ng moved all in for 9,125 total and was called by her opponent, who held the AK for the rivered nut flush. However, Ng held JJ for a rivered full house to take down the large pot, boosting her stack to 50,000.
Dmitri Nobles Busts
Nobles was all in on a board showing Q105A2. Nobles held AK, but it was second best to his opponent's 1010. Nobles' opponent apologized for knocking him out, but it was little consolation to Nobles as he made his way toward the exit.
Player Tags: Evelyn Ng, Clonie Gowen, David Singer, Gavin Griffin, Brad Booth, Dmitri Nobles, European Report
$10,000 Main Event - Huck Seed Goes Broke Early
Jul 05, '08
Blinds: 50-100
Chip Leaders:
Brian Townsend: 40,000
Joe Awada: 26,600
Greice Yamaguchi: 23,500
Dominic Tremblay: 21,500
Bill Chen: 21,000
Lee Childs: 20,350
Eliminations: Shawn Buchanan, Huck Seed
Big Hands:
Huck Seed Eliminated
On a board of 773Q, the player in seat 9 bet 6,000 on the turn and Seed went into the tank. Staring at his opponent and cocking his head, Seed ultimately moved all in for just under 16,00 total. Seat 9 went into the tank and eventually made the call, showing A7 for trip sevens, ace kicker. Seed turned over 97 for trip sevens with a weaker kicker. The 2 fell on the river, eliminating the former 1996 Main event world champion just minutes into the day.
Set Over Set, Shawn Buchanan Eliminated Early
Just minutes into Day 1c of the $10,000 NL Main Event, Shawn Buchanan got it all in with a set of sevens on a board of J7652. He was beaten by a set of jacks and lost almost his entire stack this hand, leaving himself with only 300 chips left. Crippled, the next hand Buchanan got it in with K-10 against K-Q and failed to improve. It was a very, very early day for Shawn Buchanan who has been eliminated from the tournament.
Clonie Gowen Misreads Hand, Eliminates Player
On a flop of A54, Alex Jacob bet 300 and Clonie Gowen raised to 800. The player in the big blind reraised to 2,000, Jacob mucked and Gowen reraised to 4,000. The big blind quickly moved all in and Gowen insta-called.
Gowen: A3
Big Blind: 54
Gowen flopped top pair and an inside straight draw but was trailing her opponent who made two pair on the flop. The 8 came on the turn, no help to either player, but the 3 hit the river, giving Gowen a better two pair and the win. Gowen raked the pot, doubling up early to about 40,000 as she elimianted her opponent. " I didn't double check," she said. "I thought I had ace-five." She then said that if she would have double checked her cards again she wouldn't have called.
Opponent Slow-Plays Aces, Binger Gets Trapped
In a three-way limped pot, the flop came 1083. The player in the big blind bet out 400 and Michael Binger made the call as the small blind folded. The turn borught the A, and the big blind bet 1,000. Binger thought for a moment before calling. The river was the 4, and the big blind bet 2,500. Binger made the call and the big blind turned over AA for top set. Binger mucked his cards and fell down to about 16,000 after the hand.
Scharf Practice
German Eddy Scharf has set about gathering chips at his table. The two-time bracelet winner bet around the pot of 4,000 on the river with the board reading Q107Q9 and got his opponent to lay down. He is now up to almost 25,000.
Parky Poker
Irishman Padraig Parkinson has been quite active at what he described as a "passive" table. He won a succession of small pots uncontested until one player played back at him, forcing him to fold to a bet and he is currently sitting on just over his starting stack.
Player Tags: Huck Seed, Clonie Gowen, Shawn Buchanan, Eduard Scharf, Padraig Parkinson, Michael Binger
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| Jun 30, '08 |
2008 39th Annual World Series of Poker |
Event 50 - World Championship Pot Limit Omaha |
2 |
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$10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha - Level 15 - D'Agostino Out on Bubble
Jun 30, '08
Blinds: 2,500-5,000
Players Remaining: 36 of 381
Average Chip Stack: 211,700
Eliminations:
John D'Agostino - 37th place
Clonie Gowen - 38th place
Chris Pappas - 39th place
Gary Benson - 40th place
Hands and Storylines:
 D'Agostino's aces get cracked -- hand-for-hand ends
It folded around to Magnus Petersson in the small blind and he raised to 15,000 and John D'Agostino reraised all in. Petersson called and when the two flipped over their hands D'Agostino was hoping to double up.
D'Agostino: AA85
Petersson: KKQ7
Board: 77248
Petersson flopped trips and knocked out D'Agostino, ending the long and painful hand-for-hand play.
Evdakov extends record, but draws others' ire
Nikolay Evdakov cashed in this event, giving him 10 cashes for this year's series. But he has been a short stack this entire level, and his methodical pace has irritated many others. Players were openly talking about his play just a few feet away and timing him to see how long he would take before acting. David Williams definitely doesn't consider him a contender in this event, saying he "stalls, waits for the nuts, doubles up and goes back into hiding."
Big stacks take bullying to the edge
On one hand during hand-for-hand play, Kido Pham announced that if the first two players folded he would raise in the dark. He already had the chips in his hand, and when it was his turn to act he raised to 12,000, just 7,000 more than the big blind. "I want to call a reraise," Pham said. But it never came to that; all the players folded. Pham quickly put his cards in the muck and collected the blinds.
 Arieh tried something similar, but the result was different. He raised blind, but Julian Powell reraised. Arieh called the preflop raise, and then called on the flop when Powell moved the rest of his chips in.
Powell: AAJ3
Arieh: KT62
Board: 8427A
Arieh had a great chance to win, flopping a pair and a flush draw, but missed all his outs and doubled up another opponent.
Clonie gone in 39th
Clonie Gowen called all in with an overpair and a flush draw against Shawn Buchanan's top two pair. Buchanan turned a full house, leaving Gowen with just two outs on the river. The river was a blank, and Gowen missed out on cashing by two spots.
Williams picks up chips, then drops back down
David Williams was ecstatic when he knocked out Gary Benson with top two pair against top and bottom pair on the flop. He was over 100,000 chips for the first time in a long time and then won more hands to get over 150,000 chips. But during hand-for-hand play he gave many of them back when he called a 25,000 river bet with the board K97J6 and was shown Q8.
Player Tags: John D'Agostino, Clonie Gowen, David Williams, Kido Pham, Magnus Petersson, European Report
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| Jun 25, '08 |
2008 39th Annual World Series of Poker |
Event 44 - No-Limit Hold'em with Rebuys |
1 |
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$1,000 NL Hold'em w/Rebuys - Level 5
Jun 25, '08
Blinds: 150/300 with 25 ante
Players Left: 420 of 879 (field accounted for 2508 rebuys and add-ons combined)
Chip Leaders:
Mark Seif - 73,000
Jason Mercier - 62,000
Jamie Rosen - 54,400
John Phan - 51,000
J.C. Tran - 50,300
Brandon Cantu - 46,500
Nicholas Levi - 44,600
Richard Fohrenbach - 41,200
Terrence Chan - 41,000
Peter Feldman - 36,400
Eliminations: Phil Gordon, Kristy Gazes, Nikolay Evdakov, David Pham, Antonio Esfandiari, Shannon Elizabeth, Vivek Rajkumar, Jean-Robert Bellande.
Big Hands/Storylines
Players were divided between the Amazon Room and Brasilia Room to start the tournament, but following level 4 all Brasilia Room players were moved into the main Amazon facility.
It was almost a reunion of sorts of ladies night on Poker After Dark. Clonie Gowen and Vanessa Rousso are seated together, while behind them were Kristy Gazes and Kathy Liebert. Gazes wouldn't last however, falling victim to a cruel river.
 Don't Trust the Queen of Diamonds . . .
Kristy Gazes moved all-in for her final 4,175 in chips and drew a lone call from seat 10 who showed AQ. Gazes held in her possession 44. She dodged the flop that came J106, and the 10 on the turn did her no damage. But the Q on the river sent Gazes packing.
Gowen Takes the Initiative
Clonie Gowen was one of five players to call the blind and see the flop for 300. A dangerous looking 976 board was checked by the first four players, including Vanessa Rousso. Gowen then bet out 1500, and drew four folds in response to take the pot.
Gordon Makes Right Read at Wrong Time
Play was still at 300 when it came to the cutoff who raised to 800. The button called, then Phil Gordon in the small blind raised to 3500. The cutoff folded and the button called. The flop came A42. Gordon checked and the button player moved all-in, having enough chips to cover Gordon's remaining 10,300. Gordon made several motions as if he was about to call, trying to draw a response. Eventually, sensing weakness, he did make the decision to call, and was rewarded when his opponent showed 75 for a small flush draw. Gordon was ahead with A8. The J on the turn kept Gordon in the lead, but the 3 on the turn put an end to the night for the Little Green Book author.
 Dragon Slayer
He hasn't been officially put to rest, but David "Dragon" Pham was crippled after a recent battle. The flop came K92, and after the 8 on the turn Pham bet 2,000, leaving him with just 2,825 in chips. The A on the river made it a four-flush board, and now his opponent in seat 1 bet enough to put Pham all-in. Pham laid it down but was eliminated a few hands later.
Dzianisau Knocks off Two
Seat 1 moved all-in for 4200, seat 3 followed all-in for 3550, and Aliaksandr Dzianisau made the call from late position. Seat 1 held 1010, seat 3 showed AK, and Dzianisau proved to be ahead with QQ. The flop hit seat 3, coming KJ8, but ran out 68 to give Dzianisau the flush for the winning hand.
Player Tags: David Pham, Kristy Gazes, Phil Gordon, Clonie Gowen, Aliaksandr Dzianisau
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During the party at PURE last night, Ali Nejad joked about Clonie Gowen's match with Full Tilt player Jerry Yang. Nejad quipped, "In an exciting cross promotional development, this match will be broadcasted on CourtTV." The match ended up being much more tame, however.