Travis Rice Poker Tournament Updates

No Repeat For Rice

Sep 30, '08

Travis Rice has been eliminated from the tournament. Rice was short stacked and pushed his last 5,000 with A-K only to run into Jeff Brown's pocket aces.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Player Tags: Travis Rice

The Champ Is Back

Sep 30, '08

Travis Rice, last year's UltimateBet Aruba Poker Classic winner has arrived and is seated across the table from Tiffany Michelle.

Rice has already taken a few hits to his stack, but remains in contention for a repeat performance.

 

 

 

 

 

Player Tags: Travis Rice

Hour Two

Jun 17, '07

Leader Board

Seat one: Evan Schwartz - $2,170,000
Seat two: Justin Rollo - $850,000
Seat four: Adam Ross - $270,000
Seat five: Ben Ponzio - $650,000
Seat six: Danny Noam - $830,000
Seat seven: David Hewitt - $375,000
Seat nine: Travis Rice - $1,360,000

Price of Poker Increases

Action continued along seven handed uneventfully for the next dozen or so hands. The blinds were then kicked up again to $30,000-$60,000 with a $5,000 ante.

Adam Ross Eliminated in Seventh Place ($61,878)

Adam Ross pushed all in and Travis Rice made the call. Rice flipped over K 10. Ross showed down A 7. The board was rolled out K 10 3 3 2 and Ross was eliminated in seventh place. He took home $61,878 in prize money.

The Big Three

With action down to six handed, three players held the lions share of the chips. The table had been divided into the haves, and have not's. Rice , Justin Rollo, and Evan Schwartz represented the big three and they were all seated right next to each other.

Triples Alley

David Hewitt moved all in preflop and both Danny Noam and Justin Rollo made the call. The two live payers then check down a board of 6 5 4 10 8. Hewitt flipped up A 7 to take down the pot. Neither Noam (Q J) or Rollo (A 8) showed down enough strength to beat him out of the pot.

Danny Noam Eliminated in Sixth Place ($82,504)

Danny Noam was all in preflop with pocket eights against the As 10s that Schwartz held. The board was dealt Q 10 5 4 4 and Schwartz won the pot with tens up. Noam was eliminated in sixth place, and took home $82,504 in prize money.

Revised Leader Board

Seat one: Evan Schwartz - $1,240,000
Seat two: Justin Rollo - $1,350,000
Seat five: Ben Ponzio - $1,750,000
Seat seven: David Hewitt - $600,000
Seat nine: Travis Rice - 1$,540,000

Ground Rollo Double

Justin Rollo raised from the cut off and Rice reraised from the big blind. Rollo moved all in and Rice calls with pocket jacks. Rollo rolled over K Q. The board was rolled out A 10 4 Q 7 and Rollo paired up his queen. He doubled up through Rice on the hand.

Travis Rice Eliminated in Fifth Place ($111,970)

Travis Rice was all in on the short stack with 8 7, against the A 7 of David Hewitt. The board hit the table Q 10 3 7 5, and Hewitt took down the pot with his ace kicker. Rice was eliminated in fifth place. He took home $111,970 in prize money. The chip leader at the beginning of the day has fallen.

Player Tags: Danny Noam,   Ben Ponzio,   Evan Schwartz,   Adam Ross,   David Hewitt,   Travis Rice,   Justin Rollo

Adam Ross Eliminated in Seventh Place ($61,878)

Jun 17, '07

Adam Ross pushed all in and Travis Rice made the call. Rice flipped over K 10. Ross showed down A 7. The board was rolled out K10 3 3 2 and Ross was eliminated in seventh place. He took home $61,878 in prize money.

Player Tags: Adam Ross,   Travis Rice

Hour One

Jun 17, '07

Darryl Ronconi Eliminated in Ninth Place ($34,770)

Darryl Ronconi made it $100,000 to go and Travis Rice reraised from the big blind to $560,000. Ronconi moved all in and Rice called with K Q. Ronconi showed pocket jacks. Start your engines gentleman, we have a race. The board hits the table Q 8 2 6 7, and Rice paired up his queen to take down the pot. Ronconi was eliminated in ninth place, and took home $34,770.

Break Time

The players then went on a 20 minute break and will color up the chips when they return. Rice remained in the chip lead after the break with over $1.8 million. Blinds were kicked up to $20,000-$40,000 with a $5,000 ante.

The Thinker

Many players at the table were still passive at this point and many of them appeared to be deep in though, or bored. They looked like a modern lineup of Rodin’s famous sculpture, “The Thinker,” with their fists or hands on their chin, cheeks, or face.

Ken Einiger Eliminated in Eighth Place ($45,672)

Ken Einiger raised under the gun, and Evan Schwartz reraised to $235,000. Einiger called. The flop hit the board Q 6 6. Einiger bet $300,000 and Schwartz went into the tank for a minute or two before he moved all in. Einiger immediately called with A Q. Schwartz showed down A K. The turn card was dealt 4, and the river brought the K. Einiger was eliminated in eighth place, and he took home $45,672.

Player Tags: Evan Schwartz,   Ken Einiger,   Darryl Ronconi,   Travis Rice

Darryl Ronconi Eliminated in Ninth Place ($34,770)

Jun 17, '07

Darryl Ronconi made it $100,000 to go and Travis Rice reraised from the big blind to $560,000. Ronconi moved all in and Rice called with K Q. Ronconi showed pocket jacks. Start your engines gentleman, we have a race. The board hits the table Q 8 2 6 7, and Rice paired up his queen to take down the pot. Ronconi was eliminated in ninth place, and took home $34,770.

Player Tags: Darryl Ronconi,   Travis Rice

One And Done

Jun 16, '07

Once the final ten players were consolidated into the final table, it took only one hand to stop play for the night.
 

Praz Banzi pushed all of his chips into the middle against Travis Rice with the board reading 8-6-4-K.  Banzi flipped up his A-3, he and received the very unfortunate news that he was drawing dead when Rice showed 6-6 for the set.  The river King filled Rice’s boat, and Banzi was eliminated in 10^th place earning $26,667.
 

Rice was very active in the last level.  He doubled up against then-chipleader Ken Einiger in a huge hand.  Facing a $160,000 bet from Einiger on the flop of Q 10 6, Rice moved all in over the top for $232,000 more.  Einiger made the call and showed A6, but Rice was way ahead with the A10.  The 9 and Q rolled off on the turn and river, and Rice doubled up.
 

The final nine going into tomorrow’s final table are as follows.
 

Seat 1. Evan Schwartz - $792,000
Seat 2. Justin Rollo - $772,000
Seat 3. Adam Ross - $662,000
Seat 4. Darryl Ronconi - $346,000
Seat 5. Ben Ponzio - $415,000
Seat 6. Danny Noam - $563,000
Seat 7. David Hewitt- $600,000
Seat 8. Ken Einiger - $1,039,000
Seat 9. Travis Rice - $1,284,000

 
The final table will begin at 2pm PST

Player Tags: Ken Einiger,   Travis Rice,   Praz Bansi

Einiger Hits Blackjack

Jun 16, '07

Only 13 players remain on the final two tables.  With the bottom three chip stacks at or below $200,000 in chips and the blinds at $15,000 and $30,000, The final table should be decided in the next hour.

Ken Einger must have though he was at the blackjack tables when he eliminated Kazuki Ikeuchi.  Ikeuchi pushed all in from early position with A6, and Einiger flat called with A10.  David Daneshgar who folded from the big blind, announced when the hands were flipped that he folded A-10.  The board ran out K-5-3-K-4, and Ikeuchi was eliminated in 16^th place.  Einiger now has over $900,000 in chips and is a force to be reckoned with.

An interesting story up until now in this tournament has been the run of friends Travis Rice and Eric Baldwin.  Buddies of Player of the Year contender Jared Hamby, these two both recently made the final table of Event #2 at this year’s Bellagio Cup III. However that feat won’t be duplicated in this event as Baldwin lost a race for all of his chips to Evan Schwartz, A-K vs. J-J, busting in 15^th place.  Rice has worked his way among the chip leaders with over $700,000, so Hamby and Baldwin will have to cheer him from the rail.

Daneshgar was the most recent elimination, his 14^th place finish netting him $23,720.

Player Tags: David Daneshgar,   Evan Schwartz,   Ken Einiger,   Eric Baldwin,   Travis Rice,   Kazuki Ikeuchi

Hour Two

Jun 17, '07

Leader Board

Seat one: Evan Schwartz - $2,170,000
Seat two: Justin Rollo - $850,000
Seat four: Adam Ross - $270,000
Seat five: Ben Ponzio - $650,000
Seat six: Danny Noam - $830,000
Seat seven: David Hewitt - $375,000
Seat nine: Travis Rice - $1,360,000

Price of Poker Increases

Action continued along seven handed uneventfully for the next dozen or so hands. The blinds were then kicked up again to $30,000-$60,000 with a $5,000 ante.

Adam Ross Eliminated in Seventh Place ($61,878)

Adam Ross pushed all in and Travis Rice made the call. Rice flipped over K 10. Ross showed down A 7. The board was rolled out K 10 3 3 2 and Ross was eliminated in seventh place. He took home $61,878 in prize money.

The Big Three

With action down to six handed, three players held the lions share of the chips. The table had been divided into the haves, and have not's. Rice , Justin Rollo, and Evan Schwartz represented the big three and they were all seated right next to each other.

Triples Alley

David Hewitt moved all in preflop and both Danny Noam and Justin Rollo made the call. The two live payers then check down a board of 6 5 4 10 8. Hewitt flipped up A 7 to take down the pot. Neither Noam (Q J) or Rollo (A 8) showed down enough strength to beat him out of the pot.

Danny Noam Eliminated in Sixth Place ($82,504)

Danny Noam was all in preflop with pocket eights against the As 10s that Schwartz held. The board was dealt Q 10 5 4 4 and Schwartz won the pot with tens up. Noam was eliminated in sixth place, and took home $82,504 in prize money.

Revised Leader Board

Seat one: Evan Schwartz - $1,240,000
Seat two: Justin Rollo - $1,350,000
Seat five: Ben Ponzio - $1,750,000
Seat seven: David Hewitt - $600,000
Seat nine: Travis Rice - 1$,540,000

Ground Rollo Double

Justin Rollo raised from the cut off and Rice reraised from the big blind. Rollo moved all in and Rice calls with pocket jacks. Rollo rolled over K Q. The board was rolled out A 10 4 Q 7 and Rollo paired up his queen. He doubled up through Rice on the hand.

Travis Rice Eliminated in Fifth Place ($111,970)

Travis Rice was all in on the short stack with 8 7, against the A 7 of David Hewitt. The board hit the table Q 10 3 7 5, and Hewitt took down the pot with his ace kicker. Rice was eliminated in fifth place. He took home $111,970 in prize money. The chip leader at the beginning of the day has fallen.

Player Tags: Danny Noam,   Ben Ponzio,   Evan Schwartz,   Adam Ross,   David Hewitt,   Travis Rice,   Justin Rollo

Adam Ross Eliminated in Seventh Place ($61,878)

Jun 17, '07

Adam Ross pushed all in and Travis Rice made the call. Rice flipped over K 10. Ross showed down A 7. The board was rolled out K10 3 3 2 and Ross was eliminated in seventh place. He took home $61,878 in prize money.

Player Tags: Adam Ross,   Travis Rice

Hour One

Jun 17, '07

Darryl Ronconi Eliminated in Ninth Place ($34,770)

Darryl Ronconi made it $100,000 to go and Travis Rice reraised from the big blind to $560,000. Ronconi moved all in and Rice called with K Q. Ronconi showed pocket jacks. Start your engines gentleman, we have a race. The board hits the table Q 8 2 6 7, and Rice paired up his queen to take down the pot. Ronconi was eliminated in ninth place, and took home $34,770.

Break Time

The players then went on a 20 minute break and will color up the chips when they return. Rice remained in the chip lead after the break with over $1.8 million. Blinds were kicked up to $20,000-$40,000 with a $5,000 ante.

The Thinker

Many players at the table were still passive at this point and many of them appeared to be deep in though, or bored. They looked like a modern lineup of Rodin’s famous sculpture, “The Thinker,” with their fists or hands on their chin, cheeks, or face.

Ken Einiger Eliminated in Eighth Place ($45,672)

Ken Einiger raised under the gun, and Evan Schwartz reraised to $235,000. Einiger called. The flop hit the board Q 6 6. Einiger bet $300,000 and Schwartz went into the tank for a minute or two before he moved all in. Einiger immediately called with A Q. Schwartz showed down A K. The turn card was dealt 4, and the river brought the K. Einiger was eliminated in eighth place, and he took home $45,672.

Player Tags: Evan Schwartz,   Ken Einiger,   Darryl Ronconi,   Travis Rice

Darryl Ronconi Eliminated in Ninth Place ($34,770)

Jun 17, '07

Darryl Ronconi made it $100,000 to go and Travis Rice reraised from the big blind to $560,000. Ronconi moved all in and Rice called with K Q. Ronconi showed pocket jacks. Start your engines gentleman, we have a race. The board hits the table Q 8 2 6 7, and Rice paired up his queen to take down the pot. Ronconi was eliminated in ninth place, and took home $34,770.

Player Tags: Darryl Ronconi,   Travis Rice

One And Done

Jun 16, '07

Once the final ten players were consolidated into the final table, it took only one hand to stop play for the night.
 

Praz Banzi pushed all of his chips into the middle against Travis Rice with the board reading 8-6-4-K.  Banzi flipped up his A-3, he and received the very unfortunate news that he was drawing dead when Rice showed 6-6 for the set.  The river King filled Rice’s boat, and Banzi was eliminated in 10^th place earning $26,667.
 

Rice was very active in the last level.  He doubled up against then-chipleader Ken Einiger in a huge hand.  Facing a $160,000 bet from Einiger on the flop of Q 10 6, Rice moved all in over the top for $232,000 more.  Einiger made the call and showed A6, but Rice was way ahead with the A10.  The 9 and Q rolled off on the turn and river, and Rice doubled up.
 

The final nine going into tomorrow’s final table are as follows.
 

Seat 1. Evan Schwartz - $792,000
Seat 2. Justin Rollo - $772,000
Seat 3. Adam Ross - $662,000
Seat 4. Darryl Ronconi - $346,000
Seat 5. Ben Ponzio - $415,000
Seat 6. Danny Noam - $563,000
Seat 7. David Hewitt- $600,000
Seat 8. Ken Einiger - $1,039,000
Seat 9. Travis Rice - $1,284,000

 
The final table will begin at 2pm PST

Player Tags: Ken Einiger,   Travis Rice,   Praz Bansi

Einiger Hits Blackjack

Jun 16, '07

Only 13 players remain on the final two tables.  With the bottom three chip stacks at or below $200,000 in chips and the blinds at $15,000 and $30,000, The final table should be decided in the next hour.

Ken Einger must have though he was at the blackjack tables when he eliminated Kazuki Ikeuchi.  Ikeuchi pushed all in from early position with A6, and Einiger flat called with A10.  David Daneshgar who folded from the big blind, announced when the hands were flipped that he folded A-10.  The board ran out K-5-3-K-4, and Ikeuchi was eliminated in 16^th place.  Einiger now has over $900,000 in chips and is a force to be reckoned with.

An interesting story up until now in this tournament has been the run of friends Travis Rice and Eric Baldwin.  Buddies of Player of the Year contender Jared Hamby, these two both recently made the final table of Event #2 at this year’s Bellagio Cup III. However that feat won’t be duplicated in this event as Baldwin lost a race for all of his chips to Evan Schwartz, A-K vs. J-J, busting in 15^th place.  Rice has worked his way among the chip leaders with over $700,000, so Hamby and Baldwin will have to cheer him from the rail.

Daneshgar was the most recent elimination, his 14^th place finish netting him $23,720.

Player Tags: David Daneshgar,   Evan Schwartz,   Ken Einiger,   Eric Baldwin,   Travis Rice,   Kazuki Ikeuchi

Bellagio Cup III Event #2 Final Table

Jun 13, '07

We're about 25 minutes away from the final table of Event #2 at the Bellagio Cup III here in the Fontana Lounge.  This event had 103 entries paying $2,500 creating a total prize pool of  $249,775. Yesterday featured many well known players taking a shot at the bracelet including J. J. Liu, John Gale, Steve Dannenman, Jon "Apestyles" Van Fleet and Ian "Ian J" Johns.  Nine places are being paid, and here are the final 9 with their chip counts and seat positions.

Johnny Kincaid - Seat 4 - Omaha, NE - $131,300

Jorge Walker - Seat 8 - Cerritos, CA - $101,700

Florian Langmann - Seat 7 - Dreden, Germany - $79,400

Jonathan Shecter - Seat 6 - Las Vegas, NV - $39,200

Eric Baldwin - Seat 9 - Beaver Dam, WI - $36,200

Jeff James - Seat 5 - Prescott, AZ - $33,400

Ed Forlani - Seat 2 - Las Vegas, NV - $31,700

Tom Dobrilovic - Seat 3 - West Nyack, NY - $31,600

Travis Rice - Seat 1 - Ft. Worth, TX - $30,600

Ninth place is walking away with $4,485 while First place will take home $108,480, a $25,000 seat into the WPT Championship and a gold Bellagio Cup III bracelet. 

Player Tags: Jorge Walker,   Jonathan Shecter,   John Kincaid,   Tomislav Dobrilovic,   Jeff James,   Eric Baldwin,   Travis Rice,   Florian Langmann

Hour Four Update

Jun 10, '07

Your First Half of Hour Four...
Has been lost, thanks to computer problems.  Heres a quick rundown of what was lost.  Very vivid description of Humberto Brenes doubling up and Travis Rice busting in 6th place. 

Blinds Raised
The blinds have been raised to $20,000-$40,000.

Jason Lester Doubles Up
Jason Lester raises to $130,000 and Joe Patrick reraises to $400,000.  Lester makes the call for his last $290,000 and tables AJ.  Lester shows 99 and board comes 10522J.  Lester spikes a jack on the river to double up keep the table six handed.  

Jeffrey Lisandro Takes Out Two
Joe Patrick raised to $140,000, Jeff Lisandro reraised to $300,000 and Jason Lester moved all in for his last $580,000.  Patrick made the call as did Lisandro.  Patrick tabled 77, Lester AK and Lisandro QQ.  The flop came JJ9 and the queens were the best hand at the time.  The turn was the 6, and Lisandro was one card away from eliminating two players.  The best hand actually held when river came 6 sending both Patrick and Lester home.  Because he has less chips, Patrick took 5th place and won $99,142 while Lester was eliminated in 4th and took down $132,813. 

Here are the Three handed chip counts:

Jeff Lisandro -- $1,995,000
Allen Cunningham -- $1,660,000
Humberto Brenes -- $325,000

Player Tags: Allen Cunningham,   Jason Lester,   Travis Rice,   Joe Patrick

And Then There Were Nine

Jun 09, '07

Play has ended in day two of the $5,000 Pot Limit Hold 'Em event. The final nine players are Jeff Lisandro, Jason Lester, Allen Cunningham, Gavin Griffin, Travis Rice, Joe Patrick, Alan Jaffray, Humberto Brenes, and Keith Lehr. The final table will begin tomorrow at 3 p.m. This will be the second year in a row that Jason Lester will be at the final table for this event, last year was able to outlast 378 players to take down the bracelet.

The main attraction during this level of play was the back and forth battle between Humberto Brenes and Joe Sebok. Brenes was up to his usual antics, singing and dancing and saying who knows what about sharks, all the while betting large and using his stack to his advantage. Earlier in the round Sebok and Brenes were involved in a hand in which Sebok folded to an all in bet by Brenes. Brenes showed the A and told Sebok that "he didn't have a chance." Several hands later the two butted heads again, this time with negative consequences for Sebok. Brenes pushed all in from the button and stood up and made a two handed gesture to do so. The small blind, Keith Lehr, hadn't returned from dinner yet so his hand was folded and his blind put into the middle. Sebok called from the big blind for $80,000. Sebok showed KJ and Brenes yelled out, "Blackjack hand baby!" and turned over 83. Brenes called out for an eight and the flop was 873. Brenes freaked out and starts playing with his shark toy again. Sebok, all but drawing dead, gets up from the table. The turn is the 5 and the river brings the 8 to fill up Humberto's boat. Sebok was eliminated in 11th place, earning $21,512.

Chris Sandrock was the 10th place finisher, also taking home $21,512. Sandrock was all in with pocket fives against Joe Patrick who had two black aces. The 5 on the river gave Sandrock trips, but it also gave Patrick the ace high flush.

Tune back in to CardPlayer.com to see what happens on the final table and to see who will make history.

Player Tags: Allen Cunningham,   Jason Lester,   Jeffrey Lisandro,   Gavin Griffin,   Joe Sebok,   Chris Sandrock,   Travis Rice,   Joe Patrick

Hour Four Update

Jun 10, '07

Your First Half of Hour Four...
Has been lost, thanks to computer problems.  Heres a quick rundown of what was lost.  Very vivid description of Humberto Brenes doubling up and Travis Rice busting in 6th place. 

Blinds Raised
The blinds have been raised to $20,000-$40,000.

Jason Lester Doubles Up
Jason Lester raises to $130,000 and Joe Patrick reraises to $400,000.  Lester makes the call for his last $290,000 and tables AJ.  Lester shows 99 and board comes 10522J.  Lester spikes a jack on the river to double up keep the table six handed.  

Jeffrey Lisandro Takes Out Two
Joe Patrick raised to $140,000, Jeff Lisandro reraised to $300,000 and Jason Lester moved all in for his last $580,000.  Patrick made the call as did Lisandro.  Patrick tabled 77, Lester AK and Lisandro QQ.  The flop came JJ9 and the queens were the best hand at the time.  The turn was the 6, and Lisandro was one card away from eliminating two players.  The best hand actually held when river came 6 sending both Patrick and Lester home.  Because he has less chips, Patrick took 5th place and won $99,142 while Lester was eliminated in 4th and took down $132,813. 

Here are the Three handed chip counts:

Jeff Lisandro -- $1,995,000
Allen Cunningham -- $1,660,000
Humberto Brenes -- $325,000

Player Tags: Allen Cunningham,   Jason Lester,   Travis Rice,   Joe Patrick

And Then There Were Nine

Jun 09, '07

Play has ended in day two of the $5,000 Pot Limit Hold 'Em event. The final nine players are Jeff Lisandro, Jason Lester, Allen Cunningham, Gavin Griffin, Travis Rice, Joe Patrick, Alan Jaffray, Humberto Brenes, and Keith Lehr. The final table will begin tomorrow at 3 p.m. This will be the second year in a row that Jason Lester will be at the final table for this event, last year was able to outlast 378 players to take down the bracelet.

The main attraction during this level of play was the back and forth battle between Humberto Brenes and Joe Sebok. Brenes was up to his usual antics, singing and dancing and saying who knows what about sharks, all the while betting large and using his stack to his advantage. Earlier in the round Sebok and Brenes were involved in a hand in which Sebok folded to an all in bet by Brenes. Brenes showed the A and told Sebok that "he didn't have a chance." Several hands later the two butted heads again, this time with negative consequences for Sebok. Brenes pushed all in from the button and stood up and made a two handed gesture to do so. The small blind, Keith Lehr, hadn't returned from dinner yet so his hand was folded and his blind put into the middle. Sebok called from the big blind for $80,000. Sebok showed KJ and Brenes yelled out, "Blackjack hand baby!" and turned over 83. Brenes called out for an eight and the flop was 873. Brenes freaked out and starts playing with his shark toy again. Sebok, all but drawing dead, gets up from the table. The turn is the 5 and the river brings the 8 to fill up Humberto's boat. Sebok was eliminated in 11th place, earning $21,512.

Chris Sandrock was the 10th place finisher, also taking home $21,512. Sandrock was all in with pocket fives against Joe Patrick who had two black aces. The 5 on the river gave Sandrock trips, but it also gave Patrick the ace high flush.

Tune back in to CardPlayer.com to see what happens on the final table and to see who will make history.

Player Tags: Allen Cunningham,   Jason Lester,   Jeffrey Lisandro,   Gavin Griffin,   Joe Sebok,   Chris Sandrock,   Travis Rice,   Joe Patrick