Level 9 Update: Eric Baldwin Eliminated
Dec 15, '09
Blinds: 800-1,600 with a 100 ante
Players Remaining: 159 out of 329
Chip Counts:
1. Eric Hershler — 350,000
2. Danny Wong — 325,000
3. Brent Hanks — 300,000
4. Faraz Jaka — 295,000
5. Antonio Esfandiari — 260,000
6. Dave Ulliot — 250,000
7. Doyle Brunson — 247,000
8. Jon Turner — 240,000
9. John Juanda — 230,000
10. Shawn Buchanan — 220,000
Average Chip Count: 124,151
Notable Eliminations:
Eric Baldwin
Kathy Liebert
Justin Smith
Joe Cada
J.J. Liu
John Monnette
Big Hands:
Eric Baldwin Eliminated
On a flop of J
4
2
Tom Dwan bet 15,800 and Eric Baldwin (picture right) raised to 37,000. Dwan made the call and the turn fell 4. Dwan checked and Baldwin moved all in for 60,000. Dwan made the call. Their cards:
Dwan: 7
4
Badlwin: AA
River: 6
Baldwin was eliminated on the hand and Dwan grew his stack to 300,000.
Yevgeniy Timoshenko Doubles Up
Yevgeniy Timoshenko was all in preflop for 48.6 million and John Juanda called him down. Their cards:
Timoshenko: AA
Juanda: AQ
Board: 1092J9
Timoshenko doubled up on the hand to survive in the tournament.
Eric Hershler Takes the Chip Lead
On a flop of KJ4 Eric Hershler (pictured right) bet 10,000 from the big blind and Darryll Fish raised an additional 16,200 from the hi-jack. Hershler called and the 9 fell on the turn. Hershler checked and Fish went into the tank before betting 38,800. Hershler made the call and the 6 fell on the river. Hershler checked, Fish bet 50,200, and Herhsler made the call. Fish turned over 22 and Hershler revealed K10. Hershler won the hand and he grew his stack to 350,000 to take the chip lead.
Left in the Deck
The official prize pool for the tournament has been released.
1st: $1,428,430
2nd: $952,290
3rd: $571,374
4th: $333,302
5th: $249,976
6th: $202,362
7th: $154,747
8th: $107,133
9th: $76,183
10th-12th: $57,137
13th-15th: $47,615
16th-18th: $38,092
19th-27th: $28,569
POY Watch
With Baldwin now out of the tournament and the final size of the field set, the final POY contenders left in the tournament know what to shoot for if they hope to pass Baldwin for the 2009 crown.
Here is a look at the top three point totals in the race:
Eric Baldwin: 6,994
Cornel Cimpan: 5,934
Yebgeniy Timoshenko: 5,509
POY Points to be Awarded at the Final Table of this event:
1: 1,980
2: 1,650
3: 1,320
4: 990
5: 825
6: 660
Cornel Cimpan needs a third-place finish or better here at Bellagio to pass Baldwin and Yevgeniy Timoshenko needs a second-place finish or better to pass Badlwin. Soheil Shamseddin and Mike Leah can’t pass Baldwin with a win but they can improve their final standings in the POY race.
Here is a look at where the remaining top 10 players in the POY race stand in chips in this event:
Yevgeniy Timoshenko: 95,000
Soheil Shamseddin: 90,000
Cornel Cimpan: 65,000
Mike Leah: 55,000
Player Tags: Cornel Cimpan, Soheil Shamseddin, Eric Baldwin, Mike Leah, Eric Hershler, Darryll Fish
Steven Landfish Eliminated in 21st Place ($28,569)
Dec 17, '09
Steven Landfish was all in for his tournament life with pocket eights against the pocket kings of Eric Hershler. The board affected nothing and Landfish was eliminated from the tournament. Hershler held 565,000 after the hand.
Player Tags: Steven Landfish, Eric Hershler
Hasan Habib Enforces Rule, Makes Big Laydown
Dec 17, '09
We caught up with the action on a board reading K9322 and Hasan Habib bet 80,000. Jeremy Brown then moved all in for 332,000, covering Habib’s last 105,000.
After tanking for about two minutes, Habib folded, flashing the 2 in the process. As Brown was being pushed the pot, he turned over the 3 and left his other card face down.
Habib, sensing a bit of a needle, then asked the dealer to show the other card. The floor was called and it was confirmed that showing just one card is allowed, but anybody at the table may request to see the other if they wish. Habib insisted and Brown was forced to reveal the 3 for a full house.
The table then raged in a debate over whether or not Brown’s intention in showing one card was to needle Habib. Brown insisted he only did so because Habib had shown one card and Emeline Boich agreed. Antonio Esfandiari took it one step further and bet Habib $1,000 that it wasn’t a needle.
They finally agreed on Eric Hershler as an impartial observer, but Hershler disappointed by saying that both views could be valid. A few minutes later, after being warned by the floor to tone it down, Esfandiari relented and admitted that Brown’s intention was to needle, but that he was right because he failed “miserably” to do so. Esfandiari believes that a true needle would have been if Brown showed something arbitrary like a seven.
During all of the commotion, Brandon Terry was eliminated from the tournament.
Player Tags: Hasan Habib, Antonio Esfandiari, Jeremy Brown, Eric Hershler
Eric Hershler Eliminated in 8th Place ($107,133)
Dec 18, '09
Josh Arieh raised to 210,000 and Eric Hershler reraised all in for 490,000. Arieh called with KJ but needed help against Hershler’s A10.
The board came J82310 and Hershler was eliminated from the tournament.
Player Tags: Josh Arieh, Eric Hershler
Sam Stein raised to 32,000 under the gun and Eric Hershler made the call from the big blind. The flop was dealt A
After getting his aces cracked, Eric Hershler is all in with pocket jacks against his opponent's A
Eric Hershler is all in on a flop of 10