Tom Franklin - Live Updates

Level 16 Update: Tran Doubles Another Opponent

Jun 01, '09

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

Players Remaining: 223 out of 6,012

Chip Counts:

1. Zach Melaney — 366,000
2. Jamie Armstrong — 210,000
3. Dan Heimiller — 190,000
4. Phong Huynh — 170,000
5. Jonathan Aguiar — 107,000
6. Hoss Kural — 105,000
7. Alex Shin — 103,300
8. Jack Powell — 98,000
9. Rob Perelman — 97,500
10. Steve Sung — 90,000

Average Chip Count: 66,800

Notable Eliminations:

Big Hands:

Another Opponent Doubles Through J.C. Tran

Tran raised to 10,500 and the player in seat 5 moved in for his remaining 40,000. Tran made the call and showed KJ while his opponent showed AQ. The board ran out 8323Q and Tran lost another chunk of chips and was down to 98,000.

Heimiller Muscled Out

Dan Heimiller raised to 8,000 from middle position and action folded around to the player in seat 1. He moved in for 18,000 more and Heimiller thought briefly before mucking his hand. His chip stack was still well over 100,000 after the hand.

Captain Tom Gets “Unlucky”

The player in seat 9 moved all in for his remaining 12,000 in chips and action folded around to Captain Tom Franklin. He made the call and tabled KQ. Unfortunately, seat 9 showed KK, having the poor Captain dominated. The board ran out AAQJ2. “Aw,” Franklin said. “I got unlucky.” The table had a good chuckle and Franklin was down to 40,000.

Left In The Deck:

Many players left their seats at the beginning of the level thinking they were going on a break. The staff at the WSOP had to continually announce that there would be no break and play would continue as they are hoping to play down to the final table tonight.

Player Tags: J.C. Tran,   Daniel Heimiller,   Tom Franklin

Level 9 Update: Jesus Fades Away

May 30, '09

Blinds: 300-600 with 75 ante

Players Remaining: 580 out of 3,000

Notable Eliminations:

Marco Traniello
Chris Ferguson
Craig Grey

Big Hands:

Jesus Can’t Connect and is Gone

Chris Ferguson moved all in and was called by the player in seat 6. She tabled AK and was leading Ferguson’s J10. The board ran out 73227 and Ferguson made his way to the exit.

Aguiar Drops a Pot, Stack Barely Feels a Thing

Action folded around to Jonathan Aguiar on the button and he eyed the big blind’s stack like a hungry lion after a zebra. After his evaluation, he raised it to 1,500. The small blind folded and the big blind made the call, refusing to be pushed around. The flop came Q53 and the big blind pounced, pushing all in for about 4,000. Aguiar saw this zebra was not ready to die and mucked his cards. Despite the loss, Aguiar’s stack sat at a healthy 35,000.

Not so Gross for Gross

As the player in seat 2 evaluated his hand and decided to push all in, Steve Gross all but hesitated to do the same. With a reaction that fast Gross flipped his hand showing pocket aces while his opponent showed 87. The board produced a flush possibility but failed to connect for seat 2 and he was eliminated. Gross improved his stack to roughly 20,000.

Williams With the Knockout

David Williams called his opponent’s all in bet, showing A9. His opponent showed a meager J2. The flop paired Williams’ 9 and the river piled on the A to give Williams two-pair and the hand. His stack was up to 14,600.

Mercier Busts One

The player in seat 9 moved all in and Jason Mercier made the call. He tabled A10 while seat 9 showed K-7 offsuit. The board ran out Q102J6 and Mercier busted his opponent, improving his stack to 24,500.

Left In The Deck:

Jason Mercier pushed all in against the player in seat 5. Seat 5 folded and Mercier took the pot. After the hand, Tom Franklin said, “That’s a good bet there, you scared everybody off. Isn’t your name Jason?” Mercier replied, “Yeah, how do you know my name?” Franklin replied, “You’re famous!” Mercier then countered, “Well, not in America.” Franklin shot back, “I didn’t say in America!”

Mercier than asked Franklin if his name was Tom. Franklin took off his hat, which reads “Captain Tom” and replied, “Obviously.” Mercier laughed and said, “I wasn’t looking at the hat, I promise.”

Player Tags: Tom Franklin,   Chris Ferguson,   Jonathan Aguiar,   Steve Gross,   Jason Mercier

Level 8 Update: Mercier Takes A Hit

May 30, '09

Blinds: 200-400 with a 50 ante

Players Remaining: 660 out of 3,000

Big Hands:

Mercier Drops One To Franklin

Jason Mercier raised to 1,275 from early position and Tom Franklin was the only caller from the big blind. The flop came K42 and Franklin checked to Mercier who fired 1,600. Franklin called and the 7 dropped on the turn. Both players checked and the river was the 5. Both players checked again and Franklin tabled pocket queens. Mercier mucked and Franklin increased his stack to 34,000 while Mercier dropped to 21,000.

Jeff Willams Takes a Hit

Williams raised to 1,050 from middle position and seat 5 called. Seat 6 went all in for 5,775 and action folded to Williams who made the call. Seat 5 got out of the way and they showed their cards:

Williams: AJ
Seat 6: KK

The board ran out 7510310 and Williams could not crack the pocket kings. He was down to 12,500.

Traniello’s Double Up Flushed

Marco Traniello moved all in for his last 900. The player in seat 5 moved all in for 2,000 more, but took it back as no one else called. He showed A10, dominating Traniello’s A7. But the flop came J74, giving Traniello a pair and the lead. The turn brought the 2, holding Traniello’s slim lead. But the river brought the 6, giving both players a spade flush and preventing Traniello from doubling up and chopping the ante’s with seat 5. His stack slightly improved to 1,300.

Left In The Deck:

Players are being moved at a lightning fast pace here in the Amazon Room. The movement has brought Jonathan Aguiar to seat 7 at table 5 in the blue section. He has company as Chris Ferguson is sitting in seat 2.

Player Tags: Tom Franklin,   Marco Traniello,   Jonathan Aguiar,   Jeff Williams,   Jason Mercier

Level 16 Update: Tran Doubles Another Opponent

Jun 01, '09

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

Players Remaining: 223 out of 6,012

Chip Counts:

1. Zach Melaney — 366,000
2. Jamie Armstrong — 210,000
3. Dan Heimiller — 190,000
4. Phong Huynh — 170,000
5. Jonathan Aguiar — 107,000
6. Hoss Kural — 105,000
7. Alex Shin — 103,300
8. Jack Powell — 98,000
9. Rob Perelman — 97,500
10. Steve Sung — 90,000

Average Chip Count: 66,800

Notable Eliminations:

Big Hands:

Another Opponent Doubles Through J.C. Tran

Tran raised to 10,500 and the player in seat 5 moved in for his remaining 40,000. Tran made the call and showed KJ while his opponent showed AQ. The board ran out 8323Q and Tran lost another chunk of chips and was down to 98,000.

Heimiller Muscled Out

Dan Heimiller raised to 8,000 from middle position and action folded around to the player in seat 1. He moved in for 18,000 more and Heimiller thought briefly before mucking his hand. His chip stack was still well over 100,000 after the hand.

Captain Tom Gets “Unlucky”

The player in seat 9 moved all in for his remaining 12,000 in chips and action folded around to Captain Tom Franklin. He made the call and tabled KQ. Unfortunately, seat 9 showed KK, having the poor Captain dominated. The board ran out AAQJ2. “Aw,” Franklin said. “I got unlucky.” The table had a good chuckle and Franklin was down to 40,000.

Left In The Deck:

Many players left their seats at the beginning of the level thinking they were going on a break. The staff at the WSOP had to continually announce that there would be no break and play would continue as they are hoping to play down to the final table tonight.

Player Tags: J.C. Tran,   Daniel Heimiller,   Tom Franklin

Level 9 Update: Jesus Fades Away

May 30, '09

Blinds: 300-600 with 75 ante

Players Remaining: 580 out of 3,000

Notable Eliminations:

Marco Traniello
Chris Ferguson
Craig Grey

Big Hands:

Jesus Can’t Connect and is Gone

Chris Ferguson moved all in and was called by the player in seat 6. She tabled AK and was leading Ferguson’s J10. The board ran out 73227 and Ferguson made his way to the exit.

Aguiar Drops a Pot, Stack Barely Feels a Thing

Action folded around to Jonathan Aguiar on the button and he eyed the big blind’s stack like a hungry lion after a zebra. After his evaluation, he raised it to 1,500. The small blind folded and the big blind made the call, refusing to be pushed around. The flop came Q53 and the big blind pounced, pushing all in for about 4,000. Aguiar saw this zebra was not ready to die and mucked his cards. Despite the loss, Aguiar’s stack sat at a healthy 35,000.

Not so Gross for Gross

As the player in seat 2 evaluated his hand and decided to push all in, Steve Gross all but hesitated to do the same. With a reaction that fast Gross flipped his hand showing pocket aces while his opponent showed 87. The board produced a flush possibility but failed to connect for seat 2 and he was eliminated. Gross improved his stack to roughly 20,000.

Williams With the Knockout

David Williams called his opponent’s all in bet, showing A9. His opponent showed a meager J2. The flop paired Williams’ 9 and the river piled on the A to give Williams two-pair and the hand. His stack was up to 14,600.

Mercier Busts One

The player in seat 9 moved all in and Jason Mercier made the call. He tabled A10 while seat 9 showed K-7 offsuit. The board ran out Q102J6 and Mercier busted his opponent, improving his stack to 24,500.

Left In The Deck:

Jason Mercier pushed all in against the player in seat 5. Seat 5 folded and Mercier took the pot. After the hand, Tom Franklin said, “That’s a good bet there, you scared everybody off. Isn’t your name Jason?” Mercier replied, “Yeah, how do you know my name?” Franklin replied, “You’re famous!” Mercier then countered, “Well, not in America.” Franklin shot back, “I didn’t say in America!”

Mercier than asked Franklin if his name was Tom. Franklin took off his hat, which reads “Captain Tom” and replied, “Obviously.” Mercier laughed and said, “I wasn’t looking at the hat, I promise.”

Player Tags: Tom Franklin,   Chris Ferguson,   Jonathan Aguiar,   Steve Gross,   Jason Mercier

Level 8 Update: Mercier Takes A Hit

May 30, '09

Blinds: 200-400 with a 50 ante

Players Remaining: 660 out of 3,000

Big Hands:

Mercier Drops One To Franklin

Jason Mercier raised to 1,275 from early position and Tom Franklin was the only caller from the big blind. The flop came K42 and Franklin checked to Mercier who fired 1,600. Franklin called and the 7 dropped on the turn. Both players checked and the river was the 5. Both players checked again and Franklin tabled pocket queens. Mercier mucked and Franklin increased his stack to 34,000 while Mercier dropped to 21,000.

Jeff Willams Takes a Hit

Williams raised to 1,050 from middle position and seat 5 called. Seat 6 went all in for 5,775 and action folded to Williams who made the call. Seat 5 got out of the way and they showed their cards:

Williams: AJ
Seat 6: KK

The board ran out 7510310 and Williams could not crack the pocket kings. He was down to 12,500.

Traniello’s Double Up Flushed

Marco Traniello moved all in for his last 900. The player in seat 5 moved all in for 2,000 more, but took it back as no one else called. He showed A10, dominating Traniello’s A7. But the flop came J74, giving Traniello a pair and the lead. The turn brought the 2, holding Traniello’s slim lead. But the river brought the 6, giving both players a spade flush and preventing Traniello from doubling up and chopping the ante’s with seat 5. His stack slightly improved to 1,300.

Left In The Deck:

Players are being moved at a lightning fast pace here in the Amazon Room. The movement has brought Jonathan Aguiar to seat 7 at table 5 in the blue section. He has company as Chris Ferguson is sitting in seat 2.

Player Tags: Tom Franklin,   Marco Traniello,   Jonathan Aguiar,   Jeff Williams,   Jason Mercier

The Chark Is Caught

Jan 07, '09

Humbero Brenes moved all in under the gun for 25,200 and was called by "Captain" Tom Franklin.

Brenes showed pocket fives but was crushed by Franklin's pocket jacks. The board came A10634 and Brenes was eliminated from the tournament.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Player Tags: Humberto Brenes,   Tom Franklin

Level 20 Update

Dec 17, '08

Scoreboard

Level: 20
Blinds/Antes: 12,000-24,000 with a 3,000 ante

Players Left: 18 of 497
Average: 1,242,500

Notable Chip Counts

Ben Straate - 2,600,000
Justin Young - 2,100,000
Brett Richey - 1,940,000
Evan McNiff - 1,530,000
Mike Matusow - 1,470,000

In the Money Eliminations

$43,235
23rd: John Hennigan
22nd: Jacobo Fernandez
21st: Hunter "HEMIpwrSWT" Frey

$57,635
20th: "Captain" Tom Franklin
19th: Steven Landfish

---

Big Hands:

John Hennigan Busts

After doubling up Jack Wu, a short stacked John Hennigan was eliminated from the tournament in 23rd place.

Mike Matusow Doubles Through Jacobo Fernandez, Who Later Busts

Mike Matusow was all in preflop with pocket kings against Jacobo Fernandez and his pocket nines. The board ran out safely for Matusow and he doubled up to 1.2 million. Fernandez was left with just six big blinds and was eliminated a few hands later when Amnon Filippi rivered a flush.

Hunter Frey Out

Short stacked Hunter Frey was all in holding QJ against Brett Richey's 97. The board came K9852 and Frey was eliminated in 21st place.

Captain Tom Ships Out

Captain Tom Franklin was all in holding pocket queens on a flop of KJ10. Ben Straate made the call with top set of kings. Franklin needed to make his open-ended straight draw to double up but the turn and river came runner-runner deuces to give Straate a full house and the pot. Franklin was eliminated in 20th place.

Steven Landfish Goes From Chip Leader to Out

Despite holding the chip lead for about an hour earlier in the day, Steven Landfish was eliminated when his pocket sixes lost a race to Hoyt Corkins AQ. The board gave Corkins a full house and Landfish was eliminated in 19th place. After he cashed out, the final 18 players redrew for the final two tables.

 

Player Tags: Tom Franklin,   Mike Matusow,   John Hennigan,   Brett Richey,   Jacobo Fernandez,   Hunter Frey,   Ben Straate

$1,500 Limit Shootout - Hour Four

Jul 01, '08

Note: The official numbers are in...Today's $1,500 Limit Shootout event attracted a total of 823 entrants, creating a total prizepool $1,123,395. One player from each starting table will be paid, places 90 - 10 will each recieve $5,055 while the first place winner will receive $278,180 and a shiny new bracelet.

Note: Players will take a short twenty-minute break at the conclusion of Level 4 and will return at roughly 4:45 pm to begin Level 5 with increased blinds of 150-300 and stakes of 300-600.

Blinds: 100-200
Stakes: 200-400

Players: 823

Eliminations: Roy Winston, Tom Franklin, Dutch Boyd, Eric Froehlich, Sam Grizzle, Joe Sebok, Sam Grizzle, David Levi, Alex Kravchenko, Daniel Negreanu, Josh Arieh

Big Hands:

Table 42

Roy" The Oracle" Winston Eliminated

Both Alan Smurfit and Roy Winston were involved in a huge pot with three other players at their table. The action was capped at 800 each or 4,00 total before the flop, Winston was all in. The finall board was Q887J, where Smurfit turned over 109 for the nut straight to the queen. Smurfit flopped an inside straight draw, turned an open-ended straight draw, and rivered the nuts. Smurfit raked a huge pot, putting him in good shape to win his table as Roy Winston hit the rail.

Dutch Boyd Eliminated

Short stacked, Dutch Boyd got it all in with J2 against an opponent holding Q9. The board came  AK487, no help for either player as queen-high held up. Boyd was not happy with the way things went today as he stormed out of the room early in Level 4.

JC Tran Flops Quads, Sam Grizzle Hits The rail

Hot off of his big win last night, JC Tran got involved in a pot with Sam Grizzle from the small blind. Grizzle raised before the flop and Tran called. The flop came 888, and Tran bet out. Grizzle raised all in and Tran called. Tran was quick to turn over his cards, exposing Q8 for flopped quads as Grizzle just shook his head and threw his hand away before making an early exit here on Day 1.

Joe Sebok Eliminated

It was set over set that ended the day early for Joe Sebok. Losing most of chips to mark Seif with a set of sixes against Seif's set of jacks, Sebok got his last 800 in the pot on the very next hand with pocket kings against Matt Graham's Q-J. The board came A-10-9-J-8, giving Graham a straight to the queen on the river. Sebok was eliminated around the half-way mark in Level 4.

Alex Kravchenko Eliminated

Heads-up on a flop of 762, Kravchenko bet out and his opponent made the call. The turn was the K, and once again Kravchenko bet out. This time his opponent raised and Kravchenko called all in. Kravchenko turned over AJ for overcards while his opponent showed J7 for middle pair. The river was the Q, and that's it for Alex Kravchenko.

Player Tags: Tom Franklin,   Alan Smurfit,   Eric Froehlich,   Roy Winston,   Dutch Boyd

Omaha Update

Jun 27, '07

What is there to say about the action in a split-pot limit game?

The day has brought many eliminations, and as a good deal of pros still remain in the field, David Sklansky just doubled up with the short stack. Sklansky re-raised all-in with A Q J 6 against Young Pham’s A K 5 3. The board came 10 10 6 8 6, giving Sklansky a full house on the river, scooping the pot and doubling through Pham. Sklansky lives to see another pot, and so does Captain Tom Franklin. Franklin calls all-in for $400 from the small blind and the big blind raises while the button calls the raise and all-in. Franklin shows A Q 8 3 while the big blind shows 7 7 5 4, and the button turns over A A 10 9. The board comes 9 6 4 8 5, giving Franklin half the main pot with the A-6 low and another quarter of the main pot with a pair of eights - ace kicker. So Franklin doesn’t quite double up this hand but he does make an ROI of 50 % and lives to see another day.

Level 7 has just come to an end and the remaining 250 players are about to enter Level 8 where the blinds have increased to $300-$600. Be sure to check back with CardPlayer.com for more updates and your favorite Pro Blogs.

Notable Chip Counts

John Juanda	28,000
Marcel Luske	25,000
Phil Hellmuth Jr	24,000
Robert Mizrachi	21,000
Todd Brunson	19,000
Kathy Liebert	15,000
Young Phan	8,000
Minh Nguyen	8,000
Robert Williamson III	6,300
Scotty Nguyen	5,100
Tony G	3,300
David Sklansky	3,100
Cyndy Violette	3,000
Annie Duke	3,000
John "The Razor" Phan	2,800

Player Tags: Tom Franklin,   David Sklansky,   Young Pham

Levels 25, 26, and 27 -Stud Eight or Better, Hold'em and Omaha Eight or Better

Jun 25, '07

STUD EIGHT OR BETTER

The End of an Era

Table 41 has been broken, sending numerous big name pros to other tables in the H.O.R.S.E. event.  2006 champion Chip Reese joined Amnon Filipi, Rob Mizrachi, Gavin Smith, Bruno Fitoussi, Greg Mueller and Rob Hollink.   Eli Elezra, who is still chip leader but not by nearly as large a margin, moved to table 13 to join Freddy Deeb, David Sklansky, Joe Cassidy and Tuan Le.  Joe Cassidy was later eliminated in that level.

HOLD'EM

Ramdin Not Victor-ious

At the end of the stud eight or better level Victor Ramdin was crippled. The next hand he found himself with most of his stack in on the big blind. "I'm pot committed." When two players raised before action got back to him, Ramdin reluctantly folded. A few hands later Ramdin was all in, with only Gabe Kaplan left to act.  Ramdin revealed his A, prompting Kaplan to call with A 10. Ramdin turned up his other card, the 6, and after he didn't improve he was eliminated from the event.

Gazes Survives

Bill Gazes had only $17,000 left when he raised to $10,000.  Huck Seed reraised to $15,000, and Gazes just called.  With only $2,000 behind, he saw a flop of Q 7 4 and went all-in.  Seed had to call with his 8-8, but Gazes took down the hand with his K Q, making two pair on  the river to lock up the pot. 

OMAHA EIGHT OR BETTER

Eliminations

Doyle Brunson went into the final table of this event last year as the chip leader.  He won't have the same opportunity this year, for he was eliminated this past level. Patrik Antonius and "Captain" Tom Franklin also hit the rail this level.

Tournament Info

Only 78 players remain in the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event.   Almost fifty people have hit the rail since play restarted  for the day at 2 p.m.  The players are currently on dinner break, and will return at 9 p.m.
Notable Chip Counts

Eli Elezra	500,000
Allen Cunningham	350,000
Freddy Deeb	324,000
John Juanda	285,000
David Williams	285,000
Chip Reese	280,000
Annie Duke	270,000
Andy Bloch	260,000
Mike Matusow	250,000
Tuan Le	243,000
Phil Ivey	235,000
Phil Hellmuth Jr	230,000
Cyndy Violette	230,000
Barry Greenstein	230,000
Scotty Nguyen	210,000
Huckleberry Seed	210,000
David Sklansky	208,000
Gavin Smith	200,000
Phil Laak	191,000
Toto Leonidas	185,000
Robert Mizrachi	180,000
Daniel Negreanu	180,000
Gabe Kaplan	165,000
Erick Lindgren	165,000
Greg Raymer	158,000
Chris Ferguson	148,000
John Hennigan	145,000
Isabelle Mercier	120,000
Dewey Tomko	120,000
Erik Seidel	105,000
Todd Brunson	85,000
Sam Grizzle	63,000
Howard Lederer	18,000

Player Tags: Tom Franklin,   David Reese,   Bill Gazes,   Huck Seed,   Doyle Brunson,   Victor Ramdin,   Eli Elezra,   Patrik Antonius

Hour Five

Jun 24, '07

Break Time

The players started the hour on a 15 minute break, and when they returned it was to play some more stud.

Here’s What They’re Playing For

The official number of entrants was released, and the 148 players had created a prize pool of $7,104,000. The first-place finisher will take home $2,276,832.

Two Kings

Mike Sexton bets $1,600 on fifth street with two kings exposed and T.J. Cloutier made the call. Cloutier then asked, “You only have two kings Mike?” Cloutier then called down Sexton’s bets on sixth and seventh street. Cloutier then turned up 4 4 (5 10 4 9) 6.

Blue Moon

Six players to a flop in seven card stud is rare, four players remaining at the end of the hand happens once in a blue moon. That was what happened when “Captain” Tom Franklin turned over a flush on the end of a hand with Maureen Feduniak, Jerrod Ankenman, and a player in seat one. The three players mucked and Franklin took down the hefty pot.

Quick Hits

Near the end of the hour Tim Phan and Max Pescatori tangled on a pot to the river, but Pescatori mucked when Phan flipped up jacks and fives. Rafi Amit also took a hit when his opponent turned up three of a kind threes.

Annie Duke	145,000
Mickey Appleman	145,000
Erick Lindgren	145,000
Allen Cunningham	143,300
Scotty Nguyen	140,000
Doyle Brunson	135,500
Bill Chen	135,000
Mike Matusow	135,000
Steve Zolotow	134,000
Daniel Negreanu	133,000
Phil Hellmuth Jr.	119,000
Sam Farha	118,000
Bill Gazes	117,800
Max Pescatori	109,000
Ted Forrest	108,000
Chip Reese	108,000
Freddy Deeb	108,000
Tim Phan	108,000

Player Tags: T.J. Cloutier,   Tom Franklin,   Maureen Feduniak,   Mike Sexton,   Jerrod Ankenman

Levels 25, 26, and 27 -Stud Eight or Better, Hold'em and Omaha Eight or Better

Jun 25, '07

STUD EIGHT OR BETTER

The End of an Era

Table 41 has been broken, sending numerous big name pros to other tables in the H.O.R.S.E. event.  2006 champion Chip Reese joined Amnon Filipi, Rob Mizrachi, Gavin Smith, Bruno Fitoussi, Greg Mueller and Rob Hollink.   Eli Elezra, who is still chip leader but not by nearly as large a margin, moved to table 13 to join Freddy Deeb, David Sklansky, Joe Cassidy and Tuan Le.  Joe Cassidy was later eliminated in that level.

HOLD'EM

Ramdin Not Victor-ious

At the end of the stud eight or better level Victor Ramdin was crippled. The next hand he found himself with most of his stack in on the big blind. "I'm pot committed." When two players raised before action got back to him, Ramdin reluctantly folded. A few hands later Ramdin was all in, with only Gabe Kaplan left to act.  Ramdin revealed his A, prompting Kaplan to call with A 10. Ramdin turned up his other card, the 6, and after he didn't improve he was eliminated from the event.

Gazes Survives

Bill Gazes had only $17,000 left when he raised to $10,000.  Huck Seed reraised to $15,000, and Gazes just called.  With only $2,000 behind, he saw a flop of Q 7 4 and went all-in.  Seed had to call with his 8-8, but Gazes took down the hand with his K Q, making two pair on  the river to lock up the pot. 

OMAHA EIGHT OR BETTER

Eliminations

Doyle Brunson went into the final table of this event last year as the chip leader.  He won't have the same opportunity this year, for he was eliminated this past level. Patrik Antonius and "Captain" Tom Franklin also hit the rail this level.

Tournament Info

Only 78 players remain in the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event.   Almost fifty people have hit the rail since play restarted  for the day at 2 p.m.  The players are currently on dinner break, and will return at 9 p.m.
Notable Chip Counts

Eli Elezra	500,000
Allen Cunningham	350,000
Freddy Deeb	324,000
John Juanda	285,000
David Williams	285,000
Chip Reese	280,000
Annie Duke	270,000
Andy Bloch	260,000
Mike Matusow	250,000
Tuan Le	243,000
Phil Ivey	235,000
Phil Hellmuth Jr	230,000
Cyndy Violette	230,000
Barry Greenstein	230,000
Scotty Nguyen	210,000
Huckleberry Seed	210,000
David Sklansky	208,000
Gavin Smith	200,000
Phil Laak	191,000
Toto Leonidas	185,000
Robert Mizrachi	180,000
Daniel Negreanu	180,000
Gabe Kaplan	165,000
Erick Lindgren	165,000
Greg Raymer	158,000
Chris Ferguson	148,000
John Hennigan	145,000
Isabelle Mercier	120,000
Dewey Tomko	120,000
Erik Seidel	105,000
Todd Brunson	85,000
Sam Grizzle	63,000
Howard Lederer	18,000

Player Tags: Tom Franklin,   David Reese,   Bill Gazes,   Huck Seed,   Doyle Brunson,   Victor Ramdin,   Eli Elezra,   Patrik Antonius

Hour Five

Jun 24, '07

Break Time

The players started the hour on a 15 minute break, and when they returned it was to play some more stud.

Here’s What They’re Playing For

The official number of entrants was released, and the 148 players had created a prize pool of $7,104,000. The first-place finisher will take home $2,276,832.

Two Kings

Mike Sexton bets $1,600 on fifth street with two kings exposed and T.J. Cloutier made the call. Cloutier then asked, “You only have two kings Mike?” Cloutier then called down Sexton’s bets on sixth and seventh street. Cloutier then turned up 4 4 (5 10 4 9) 6.

Blue Moon

Six players to a flop in seven card stud is rare, four players remaining at the end of the hand happens once in a blue moon. That was what happened when “Captain” Tom Franklin turned over a flush on the end of a hand with Maureen Feduniak, Jerrod Ankenman, and a player in seat one. The three players mucked and Franklin took down the hefty pot.

Quick Hits

Near the end of the hour Tim Phan and Max Pescatori tangled on a pot to the river, but Pescatori mucked when Phan flipped up jacks and fives. Rafi Amit also took a hit when his opponent turned up three of a kind threes.

Annie Duke	145,000
Mickey Appleman	145,000
Erick Lindgren	145,000
Allen Cunningham	143,300
Scotty Nguyen	140,000
Doyle Brunson	135,500
Bill Chen	135,000
Mike Matusow	135,000
Steve Zolotow	134,000
Daniel Negreanu	133,000
Phil Hellmuth Jr.	119,000
Sam Farha	118,000
Bill Gazes	117,800
Max Pescatori	109,000
Ted Forrest	108,000
Chip Reese	108,000
Freddy Deeb	108,000
Tim Phan	108,000

Player Tags: T.J. Cloutier,   Tom Franklin,   Maureen Feduniak,   Mike Sexton,   Jerrod Ankenman

Level 8 Update

Jun 20, '07

Seventy-two players remain in today’s Pot-Limit Omaha event, slightly less than a quarter of the original 293 entrants. As players continue to drop and the room is consolidated, some new heavily stacked tables are starting to emerge.

Table # 24 now plays host to Josh Arieh, Barry Greenstein, Allen Cunningham, and Captain Tom Franklin. Josh Arieh is stacked with chips and high on the leader board, with Barry Greenstein following not too far behind him. Captain Tom Franklin on the other hand is fatally short-stacked even after tripling up through the player on the button. Arieh limps in a pot from the cutoff followed by the player on the button. Franklin raises all-in for a total of $2,000 from the small blind. Both players call and the flop comes A Q 2. Arieh checks to the button who bets $6,400. Arieh folds out of the side pot and the button shows A Q 7 5. Franklin turns over Q 10 7 7 and the turn and river bring the K and the J, giving Franklin a straight for the win. Franklin triples up this hand and lives to see another flop.

Table # 22 is also in contention for the stacked table award with Dewey Tomko, David Williams, Gioi Luong, and Robert Williamson III. On a flop of J 6 4, Williamson, Luong, Tomko, and the big blind all check around. The 4 hits the turn and once again, all of the players check around. The river brings the 8 and David Williamson fires $1,600 at the pot. Everyone folds to Dewey Tomko who re-raises to $4,000. Williamson looks over at Tomko’s stack and shakes his head, saying, “Wow, that’s eights full right there betting.” Williamson goes into the tank and makes the call a few minutes later. Tomko turns over Q 9 8 8 for eights full, and Williamson gets a good laugh at himself.

Keep your browsers locked on CardPlayer.com for more updates and your favorite Pro Blogs.

Notable Chip Counts

David Williams	99,000
Erick Lindgren	98,400
Johnny Chan	93,000
Humberto Brenes	85,000
Josh Arieh	80,000
Joseph Hachem	73,000
Eli Elezra	66,000
John D'Agostino	64,600
Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi	59,000
Chau Giang	46,000
David "Devilfish" Ulliott	33,000
Robert Williamson III	33,000
Allen Cunningham	27,000
Ram Vaswani	24,000
Dewey Tomko	19,000
Mike Sexton	15,000

Player Tags: Tom Franklin,   Josh Arieh,   Barry Greenstein,   Allen Cunningham

Level 5 Update

Jun 19, '07

Level 5 has come to an end and 184 players now remain with an average chip stack of $4,630. Due to the rapid movement of the heads-up event, all of the stud players have now been moved from outside in the Players Pavilion to inside the Amazon Room. We started to see a few more eliminations as the cost of poker has slowly started to rise, and among those eliminated were Humberto Brenes and Captain Tom Franklin. 

Brenes was eliminated when his aces-up ran into trip jacks and Captain Tom Franklin hit the rail when he ran into Marcel Luske and his full house. In a three-way pot, Tom Franklin was all-in on fifth street, showing a board of 10 9 10 6 against Marcel Luske’s board of 3 6 3 A. The player in seat 6 was showing a board of Q 4 10 J as he called Luske down to the river. Luske checked the river to Seat-6 who fired out a value bet only to be check-raised by Luske. Seat-6 calls and Luske shows 3 4 4 for the full house. Seat-6 folds out of the side pot followed by Captain who mucks his cards as well, leaving only Marcel Luske to rake both pots and add some well-needed chips to his stack. 

Allen Kessler managed to steal a nice pot right before the level change, but it wouldn’t come without a little trash talk from a sore opponent. The player in seat 3 was showing a board of 8 10 9 K against Kessler’s 9 Q K J. Seat-3 was betting the whole time and Kessler called him down to the river. Kessler fires out a bet on the river and his opponent shakes his head and makes the call. Kessler shows 10 10 2 for the straight and Seat-3 smacks the table the flips over 8 8 7 for busted rolled-up eights. Kessler rakes the pot and Seat-3 lets him know just what’s on his mind. 

As players head into Level 6, the stakes will increase to $200-$400 with a $50 ante. Be sure to keep your browsers locked on CardPlayer.com for more updates and all of your favorite Pro Blogs.

Player Tags: Humberto Brenes,   Tom Franklin,   Allen Kessler,   Marcel Luske