Tobey Maguire Poker Tournament Updates

End Of Day Three

Jul 12, '07

At the end of the previous level players went on a thirty minute break. Once they returned they were set to play one last hour before ending the night. 

Minieri Breaks $2,000,000

Dario Minieri was the first player known to cross the $2,000,000 mark.  He ended the day as the chip leader with $2,400,000.

Payout Jump

With the elimination of the 352nd place player a new payout level was reached.  All remaining 351 players are guaranteed $39,445. 

The Wrath Of Kahn

PokerStars Supernova Haved "RainKahn" Kahn was seated at the ESPN featured table with Daniel Alaei for the last hour and a half of the night.  In that short span he was involved in a number of big pots, and sent a few opponents to the rail.  The ruckus at the featured table was heard from across the room as Kahn got all-in with Q Q against his opponents pocket aces only to have the board bring the Q Q 8.  The 5 on the turn meant his opponent was drawing dead, and Kahn doubled to roughly $940,000.  He later eliminated another opponent with A J against two fours with a board of A 7 6 K Q.  Kahn even won a decently sized pot against Daniel Alaei without showdown. 

Tran Dodges Flush

Mimi Tran raised from middle position to $18,000, Nick Binger called from the cutoff, the player in seat No. 9 called from the button, and the player in seat No. 2 called from the big blind.  The flop came 6 5 4, the player in the big blind checked, Tran bet $35,000, Binger called, the player on the button raised to $100,000, the big blind folded, Tran called after much deliberation, and Binger folded.  The turn card was the 2, Tran checked and the player in seat No. 9 moved all in.  Tran showed her pocket Jacks as she folded, and her opponent graciously showed her the A 10 as he folded.

The Waco Kidd Cometh

A player in seat four raises to $25,000 and is flat called by seat six.  It is folded to Jared Hamby  and he says, "One time dealer!", as he looks at his cards then he immediately moves all in for $98,000.  Both players call and the flop comes AQ4.  Seat four pushes all in with AQ, and seat six folds.  Hamby rolls over AA, and takes down a massive pot.  Noah Schwartz has taken credit for the success, because earlier Hamby has rubbed his Star of David for good luck. 

The Camera's Aren't Just For You

Seated with Hamby was Tobey Maguire and Humberto Brenes.  That obviously lead to a plethora of ESPN cameras at the table, but Brenes wasn't sure why.  When Hamby told him that Maguire was a move star, He half jokingly whispered to Cardplayer.com, "That is why all the cameras are here, I though they were for me."  Humberto immediately began to ham it up with Maguire and Jared Hamby said,"Your Poker Famous, Poker Famous is good, but he's actually famous."

Apparently The Force Was Not With Him

Leif Force was eliminated after getting all-in with J-J against A-A and failing to get any help from the board.

Tate Taps Cordovez
With just minutes of play left and on a board reading 41056K. Conor ‘Sealy’ Tate popped $30,000 into the pot of around $100,000. CardPlayer.com broadcaster Diego Cordovez thought long and head and eventually one player at the table called the clock on him. Tate showed J for a flush and Cordovez ruefully mucked.

End Of Day

337 players will return for day  tomorrow at noon.  Stay tuned to Cardplayer.com for all of your live updates through the conclusion of the event.


Notable Chip Counts

Dario Minieri	2,405,000
Kenny Tran	1,300,000
Jeff Banghart	1,200,000
Hevad Khan	1,050,000
Rep Porter	1,040,000
Gus Hansen	1,035,000
Atlan Nicolas	1,000,000
Isaac Haxton	790,000
Bill Edler	600,000
Huck Seed	586,000
Darrell Dicken	540,000
Lee Watkinson	500,000
Maria Ho	485,000
Peter Feldman	415,000
Chad Brown	410,000
Robert Varkonyi	400,000
Alex Kravchenko	360,000
Carlos Mortensen	350,000
Thor Hansen	344,000
Jared Hamby	330,000
Warren Karp	315,000
Sorel Mizzi	280,000
Scotty Nguyen	270,000
Humberto Brenes	200,000
Daniel Alaei	182,000
Hasan Habib	153,000
Nick Binger	146,000
Robert Mizrachi	143,000
Mimi Tran	140,000
Sully Erna	120,000
Billy Baxter	105,000
Tobey Maguire	100,000
Berry Johnston	91,000

Player Tags: Mimi Tran,   Daniel Alaei,   Tobey Maguire,   Dario Minieri,   Leif Force,   Jared Hamby,   Nick Binger,   Hevad Khan

Back From Dinner; 100 To Go

Jul 10, '07

350 or Bust

The official announcement is that we will play five levels today or down to 350 players.  There are currently 450 at 50 tables, and the cries of "All in and called" are ringing through the air regularly.

Here Goes...Eliminations

Jeff Madsen, "Miami John" Cernuto, Tom McEvoy, James Van Alstyne, and David Einhorn have all been eliminated in the last level.  Madsen pushed his last $27,000 in with A 9, but he couldn't outrace his opponent's pocket fives and headed for the door. 

Cernuto's elimination was witnessed on the feature table, Cernuto was all in preflop with 10 10 against his opponent's Q 9.  Cernuto was safe through the turn as the board read 7 5 3 5, but the river was a cruel Q, and Cernuto received a nice hand from the spectator's as he left. 

Van Alstyne lost a huge pot to one of the chip leaders Avi Cohen, when his flopped two pair was out run by Cohen's nut flush on the turn.  With only a few chips Van Alstyne was eliminated a few hands later. 

David Einhorn, who last year donated all of his 18th place prize money to Parkinson's research, was the darling of the ESPN crews all day.  He was invovled in a three-way all-in hand that went to Steven O'Dwyer, who flopped a full house to bust Einhorn, and double through another player. 

McEvoy butted heads with Old School visionary Todd Phillips, and had the worst of it the whole way.  McEvoy's K-Q couldn't catch up to Phllips's A-K and the field is now light one more Main Event Champion.

Lester Bounces Back

Jason Lester started the level in ominous fashion, losing a race with A-Q against pocket Jacks after his opponent ended up with quads.  Then Lester got a repreive.  Lester raised to $7,000 from middle position, the player in Seat 4 reraised to $17,000 from the button, and Lester called.  The flop was Q 7 2, Lester pushed all in for his last $19,400, and Seat 4 called.  Seat 4 had J J and Lester held A 9.  The turn  5 was no help, but the river 3 completed Lester's flush, and he breathed a sigh of relief.  A few hands later Lester continued his punishment of seat 4 when he got him to pay off a $15,000 value bet on the river when Lester flopped a set of nines.

Duthie Breaks One

PokerStars representative John Duthie raised preflop to $6,000 from the cutoff and the player in Seat 8 called from the small blind.  On the A 10 8 flop Duthie made  a large bet that sent Seat 8 into the tank.  After a clock was called Seat 8 made the call.  The turn was the Q, and Seat 8 moved all in quickly, and Duthie called just as swiftly.  Duthie showed A K while Seat 8 was way behind with A 3.  The river was an innocuous 5, and Duthie collected the chips.

Euro Roundup
There is probably an average of one European per table, the majority English, as play moves towards conclusion for the day.

Hendon Mobster Joe Beevers took a hit from $113,000 to $52,000 in chips, Donnacha O'Dea has edged up slightly to $42,600, former Main Event finalist George McKeever is struggling but sitting patiently on $23,400 in chips sharing a table with Adam Noone and Bo Sehlstedt, Wille Tann jumped from $282,000 to $320,000 in chips, Conor Tate has $130,000 in chips and Julian Gardner has $87,000.

The ever colourful Jac Arama is enjoying plenty of laughs with his table and is sitting on $228,000 in chips.

Maguire Doubles Up

Tobey Maguire managed to double up in one of those dream situations.  With the board reading K 9 3 2, Maguire checked, his opponent in Seat 8 bet $13,000 and after a few minutes Maguire called.  The A fell on the river, and Maguire checked again.  Seat 8 moved all in and Maguire called for less.  Seat 8 held 9 9 for a set, but Maguire had a better set with K K, and he took the pot.
Notable Chip Counts

Kenny Tran	495,000
Minh Ly	212,000
Berry Johnston	191,000
Robert Mizrachi	159,000
Scotty Nguyen	74,000
Joe Tehan	74,000
Nam Le	57,100
David "The Dragon" Pham	49,000
John Hennigan	36,100

Player Tags: John Cernuto,   Tom McEvoy,   David Einhorn,   Jason Lester,   John Duthie,   James Van Alstyne,   Tobey Maguire,   Todd Phillips,   Jeff Madsen,   Avi Cohen

End of Day 1A

Jul 06, '07

Joe Awada Eliminated

On a flop of A 8 7, Joe Awada pushed all in and got called by seat 8.  Awada showed 9 9, but was in trouble against A K.  The turn was the 5, giving Awada straight and flush outs, but the river was the 10 and he angrily slammed the table with his water bottle as he was eliminated.  More angry with himself than his opponent, Awada then graciously said goodbye to the table before exiting. 

Tobey Maguire Survives

With $4,000 in the pot and a flop of A 7 6.  The cutoff bet out $3,000 and Maguire took a second before reraising all in for an additional $5,200.  It appears as though Maguire caught his opponent bluffing because the cutoff folded instantly, giving Maguire some more breathing room. 

Zeidman Coolered

After seeing a cheap flop from the big blind, PokerStars qualifier Cory Zeidman bet $1,000 with a K 6 4 7 board and his opponent raised to $3,000.  Zeidman called and the 9 on the river Zeidman checked and his opponent bet $3,000.   Zeidman called and his opponent revealed the 6 6 for a set of sixes and Zeidman flipped up his K 6 for a big-blind special two pair on the flop. 

Ly Doubles

Minh Ly got in a raising war with Dane Lomas with a board of Q 9 2 6, eventually getting it all-in.  Ly held the A Q for top pair and the nut flush draw, but Lomas held the 10 6 for a made flush.  The river brought the 8 and Ly doubled up with the rivered nuts.

Black Busts

Andrew Black raised to $4,200 from the button and his opponent called from the cutoff. The flop brought the J 10 6 and both players checked. The 8 fell on the turn and the player in the cutoff checked.  Black bet $8,000 and his opponent called.  The 3 fell on the river and once again the player in  the cutoff checked.  Black bet $15,000 and his opponent quickly called with 7 7.   Black mucked his hand, clearly frustrated.  A few hands later he moved in on a flop of 4-3-3 holding 5-4, only to run into the A-A of an opponent.  After the turn and river bricked off Black was sent to the rail.

Player Tags: Minh Ly,   Cory Zeidman,   Joe Awada,   Tobey Maguire,   Andy Black

Graveyard Shift

Jul 06, '07

Victor Ramdin and Mike Sexton Eliminated

Victor Ramdin and Mike Sexton were eliminated this past hour. Sexton moved his short stack all-in with A 4 and got called by Joe Awada's A J.   The board came down 7 5 3 A 7 and Awada's jack kicker was good enough to send Sexton to the rail. 

Up and Down For Zeidman

PokerStars qualifier and stud specialist Cory Zeidman has had a hard time getting some momentum going today.  In one hand he raised to $3,200 preflop and got a call from the player to his left.  The flop brought the A 9 2 and Zeidman again bet $3,000 and his opponent called. The K on the turn prompted both players to check, and they did the same after a blank fell on the river.  Zeidman flipped up A-J only to see his opponent reveal A-Q.  A few hands later Zeidman recouped his losses when he bet $3,500 after the board came J 4 2 5.  The player in the cut off called and the river brought the K. Zeidman bet $3,500 and after a moment his opponent called.  Zeidman revealed the 5 2 and his low two pair was good.

Tobey Maguire Wins With Queen High
On a Jack high board Tobey Maguire showed down Q-8 offsuit and somehow took down the substantial pot.  He only had a few thousand behind so that pot has kept him off life support for the time being. 

Tough Day

One man exiting the Amazon room was more visibly upset than others today.  After taking a bad beat in a huge pot, this gentleman left the Rio in tears, sobbing hysterically as his friend led him out.

Notable Chip Counts

Barry Greenstein	96,000
Andy Black	46,000
Joe Awada	41,000
Huck Seed	35,000
Victor Ramdin	27,000
Joe Tehan	19,000
Dustin Woolf	18,000

Player Tags: Victor Ramdin,   Cory Zeidman,   Mike Sexton,   Tobey Maguire

End Of Day Three

Jul 12, '07

At the end of the previous level players went on a thirty minute break. Once they returned they were set to play one last hour before ending the night. 

Minieri Breaks $2,000,000

Dario Minieri was the first player known to cross the $2,000,000 mark.  He ended the day as the chip leader with $2,400,000.

Payout Jump

With the elimination of the 352nd place player a new payout level was reached.  All remaining 351 players are guaranteed $39,445. 

The Wrath Of Kahn

PokerStars Supernova Haved "RainKahn" Kahn was seated at the ESPN featured table with Daniel Alaei for the last hour and a half of the night.  In that short span he was involved in a number of big pots, and sent a few opponents to the rail.  The ruckus at the featured table was heard from across the room as Kahn got all-in with Q Q against his opponents pocket aces only to have the board bring the Q Q 8.  The 5 on the turn meant his opponent was drawing dead, and Kahn doubled to roughly $940,000.  He later eliminated another opponent with A J against two fours with a board of A 7 6 K Q.  Kahn even won a decently sized pot against Daniel Alaei without showdown. 

Tran Dodges Flush

Mimi Tran raised from middle position to $18,000, Nick Binger called from the cutoff, the player in seat No. 9 called from the button, and the player in seat No. 2 called from the big blind.  The flop came 6 5 4, the player in the big blind checked, Tran bet $35,000, Binger called, the player on the button raised to $100,000, the big blind folded, Tran called after much deliberation, and Binger folded.  The turn card was the 2, Tran checked and the player in seat No. 9 moved all in.  Tran showed her pocket Jacks as she folded, and her opponent graciously showed her the A 10 as he folded.

The Waco Kidd Cometh

A player in seat four raises to $25,000 and is flat called by seat six.  It is folded to Jared Hamby  and he says, "One time dealer!", as he looks at his cards then he immediately moves all in for $98,000.  Both players call and the flop comes AQ4.  Seat four pushes all in with AQ, and seat six folds.  Hamby rolls over AA, and takes down a massive pot.  Noah Schwartz has taken credit for the success, because earlier Hamby has rubbed his Star of David for good luck. 

The Camera's Aren't Just For You

Seated with Hamby was Tobey Maguire and Humberto Brenes.  That obviously lead to a plethora of ESPN cameras at the table, but Brenes wasn't sure why.  When Hamby told him that Maguire was a move star, He half jokingly whispered to Cardplayer.com, "That is why all the cameras are here, I though they were for me."  Humberto immediately began to ham it up with Maguire and Jared Hamby said,"Your Poker Famous, Poker Famous is good, but he's actually famous."

Apparently The Force Was Not With Him

Leif Force was eliminated after getting all-in with J-J against A-A and failing to get any help from the board.

Tate Taps Cordovez
With just minutes of play left and on a board reading 41056K. Conor ‘Sealy’ Tate popped $30,000 into the pot of around $100,000. CardPlayer.com broadcaster Diego Cordovez thought long and head and eventually one player at the table called the clock on him. Tate showed J for a flush and Cordovez ruefully mucked.

End Of Day

337 players will return for day  tomorrow at noon.  Stay tuned to Cardplayer.com for all of your live updates through the conclusion of the event.


Notable Chip Counts

Dario Minieri	2,405,000
Kenny Tran	1,300,000
Jeff Banghart	1,200,000
Hevad Khan	1,050,000
Rep Porter	1,040,000
Gus Hansen	1,035,000
Atlan Nicolas	1,000,000
Isaac Haxton	790,000
Bill Edler	600,000
Huck Seed	586,000
Darrell Dicken	540,000
Lee Watkinson	500,000
Maria Ho	485,000
Peter Feldman	415,000
Chad Brown	410,000
Robert Varkonyi	400,000
Alex Kravchenko	360,000
Carlos Mortensen	350,000
Thor Hansen	344,000
Jared Hamby	330,000
Warren Karp	315,000
Sorel Mizzi	280,000
Scotty Nguyen	270,000
Humberto Brenes	200,000
Daniel Alaei	182,000
Hasan Habib	153,000
Nick Binger	146,000
Robert Mizrachi	143,000
Mimi Tran	140,000
Sully Erna	120,000
Billy Baxter	105,000
Tobey Maguire	100,000
Berry Johnston	91,000

Player Tags: Mimi Tran,   Daniel Alaei,   Tobey Maguire,   Dario Minieri,   Leif Force,   Jared Hamby,   Nick Binger,   Hevad Khan

Back From Dinner; 100 To Go

Jul 10, '07

350 or Bust

The official announcement is that we will play five levels today or down to 350 players.  There are currently 450 at 50 tables, and the cries of "All in and called" are ringing through the air regularly.

Here Goes...Eliminations

Jeff Madsen, "Miami John" Cernuto, Tom McEvoy, James Van Alstyne, and David Einhorn have all been eliminated in the last level.  Madsen pushed his last $27,000 in with A 9, but he couldn't outrace his opponent's pocket fives and headed for the door. 

Cernuto's elimination was witnessed on the feature table, Cernuto was all in preflop with 10 10 against his opponent's Q 9.  Cernuto was safe through the turn as the board read 7 5 3 5, but the river was a cruel Q, and Cernuto received a nice hand from the spectator's as he left. 

Van Alstyne lost a huge pot to one of the chip leaders Avi Cohen, when his flopped two pair was out run by Cohen's nut flush on the turn.  With only a few chips Van Alstyne was eliminated a few hands later. 

David Einhorn, who last year donated all of his 18th place prize money to Parkinson's research, was the darling of the ESPN crews all day.  He was invovled in a three-way all-in hand that went to Steven O'Dwyer, who flopped a full house to bust Einhorn, and double through another player. 

McEvoy butted heads with Old School visionary Todd Phillips, and had the worst of it the whole way.  McEvoy's K-Q couldn't catch up to Phllips's A-K and the field is now light one more Main Event Champion.

Lester Bounces Back

Jason Lester started the level in ominous fashion, losing a race with A-Q against pocket Jacks after his opponent ended up with quads.  Then Lester got a repreive.  Lester raised to $7,000 from middle position, the player in Seat 4 reraised to $17,000 from the button, and Lester called.  The flop was Q 7 2, Lester pushed all in for his last $19,400, and Seat 4 called.  Seat 4 had J J and Lester held A 9.  The turn  5 was no help, but the river 3 completed Lester's flush, and he breathed a sigh of relief.  A few hands later Lester continued his punishment of seat 4 when he got him to pay off a $15,000 value bet on the river when Lester flopped a set of nines.

Duthie Breaks One

PokerStars representative John Duthie raised preflop to $6,000 from the cutoff and the player in Seat 8 called from the small blind.  On the A 10 8 flop Duthie made  a large bet that sent Seat 8 into the tank.  After a clock was called Seat 8 made the call.  The turn was the Q, and Seat 8 moved all in quickly, and Duthie called just as swiftly.  Duthie showed A K while Seat 8 was way behind with A 3.  The river was an innocuous 5, and Duthie collected the chips.

Euro Roundup
There is probably an average of one European per table, the majority English, as play moves towards conclusion for the day.

Hendon Mobster Joe Beevers took a hit from $113,000 to $52,000 in chips, Donnacha O'Dea has edged up slightly to $42,600, former Main Event finalist George McKeever is struggling but sitting patiently on $23,400 in chips sharing a table with Adam Noone and Bo Sehlstedt, Wille Tann jumped from $282,000 to $320,000 in chips, Conor Tate has $130,000 in chips and Julian Gardner has $87,000.

The ever colourful Jac Arama is enjoying plenty of laughs with his table and is sitting on $228,000 in chips.

Maguire Doubles Up

Tobey Maguire managed to double up in one of those dream situations.  With the board reading K 9 3 2, Maguire checked, his opponent in Seat 8 bet $13,000 and after a few minutes Maguire called.  The A fell on the river, and Maguire checked again.  Seat 8 moved all in and Maguire called for less.  Seat 8 held 9 9 for a set, but Maguire had a better set with K K, and he took the pot.
Notable Chip Counts

Kenny Tran	495,000
Minh Ly	212,000
Berry Johnston	191,000
Robert Mizrachi	159,000
Scotty Nguyen	74,000
Joe Tehan	74,000
Nam Le	57,100
David "The Dragon" Pham	49,000
John Hennigan	36,100

Player Tags: John Cernuto,   Tom McEvoy,   David Einhorn,   Jason Lester,   John Duthie,   James Van Alstyne,   Tobey Maguire,   Todd Phillips,   Jeff Madsen,   Avi Cohen

End of Day 1A

Jul 06, '07

Joe Awada Eliminated

On a flop of A 8 7, Joe Awada pushed all in and got called by seat 8.  Awada showed 9 9, but was in trouble against A K.  The turn was the 5, giving Awada straight and flush outs, but the river was the 10 and he angrily slammed the table with his water bottle as he was eliminated.  More angry with himself than his opponent, Awada then graciously said goodbye to the table before exiting. 

Tobey Maguire Survives

With $4,000 in the pot and a flop of A 7 6.  The cutoff bet out $3,000 and Maguire took a second before reraising all in for an additional $5,200.  It appears as though Maguire caught his opponent bluffing because the cutoff folded instantly, giving Maguire some more breathing room. 

Zeidman Coolered

After seeing a cheap flop from the big blind, PokerStars qualifier Cory Zeidman bet $1,000 with a K 6 4 7 board and his opponent raised to $3,000.  Zeidman called and the 9 on the river Zeidman checked and his opponent bet $3,000.   Zeidman called and his opponent revealed the 6 6 for a set of sixes and Zeidman flipped up his K 6 for a big-blind special two pair on the flop. 

Ly Doubles

Minh Ly got in a raising war with Dane Lomas with a board of Q 9 2 6, eventually getting it all-in.  Ly held the A Q for top pair and the nut flush draw, but Lomas held the 10 6 for a made flush.  The river brought the 8 and Ly doubled up with the rivered nuts.

Black Busts

Andrew Black raised to $4,200 from the button and his opponent called from the cutoff. The flop brought the J 10 6 and both players checked. The 8 fell on the turn and the player in the cutoff checked.  Black bet $8,000 and his opponent called.  The 3 fell on the river and once again the player in  the cutoff checked.  Black bet $15,000 and his opponent quickly called with 7 7.   Black mucked his hand, clearly frustrated.  A few hands later he moved in on a flop of 4-3-3 holding 5-4, only to run into the A-A of an opponent.  After the turn and river bricked off Black was sent to the rail.

Player Tags: Minh Ly,   Cory Zeidman,   Joe Awada,   Tobey Maguire,   Andy Black

Graveyard Shift

Jul 06, '07

Victor Ramdin and Mike Sexton Eliminated

Victor Ramdin and Mike Sexton were eliminated this past hour. Sexton moved his short stack all-in with A 4 and got called by Joe Awada's A J.   The board came down 7 5 3 A 7 and Awada's jack kicker was good enough to send Sexton to the rail. 

Up and Down For Zeidman

PokerStars qualifier and stud specialist Cory Zeidman has had a hard time getting some momentum going today.  In one hand he raised to $3,200 preflop and got a call from the player to his left.  The flop brought the A 9 2 and Zeidman again bet $3,000 and his opponent called. The K on the turn prompted both players to check, and they did the same after a blank fell on the river.  Zeidman flipped up A-J only to see his opponent reveal A-Q.  A few hands later Zeidman recouped his losses when he bet $3,500 after the board came J 4 2 5.  The player in the cut off called and the river brought the K. Zeidman bet $3,500 and after a moment his opponent called.  Zeidman revealed the 5 2 and his low two pair was good.

Tobey Maguire Wins With Queen High
On a Jack high board Tobey Maguire showed down Q-8 offsuit and somehow took down the substantial pot.  He only had a few thousand behind so that pot has kept him off life support for the time being. 

Tough Day

One man exiting the Amazon room was more visibly upset than others today.  After taking a bad beat in a huge pot, this gentleman left the Rio in tears, sobbing hysterically as his friend led him out.

Notable Chip Counts

Barry Greenstein	96,000
Andy Black	46,000
Joe Awada	41,000
Huck Seed	35,000
Victor Ramdin	27,000
Joe Tehan	19,000
Dustin Woolf	18,000

Player Tags: Victor Ramdin,   Cory Zeidman,   Mike Sexton,   Tobey Maguire

End Of Day Three

Jul 12, '07

At the end of the previous level players went on a thirty minute break. Once they returned they were set to play one last hour before ending the night. 

Minieri Breaks $2,000,000

Dario Minieri was the first player known to cross the $2,000,000 mark.  He ended the day as the chip leader with $2,400,000.

Payout Jump

With the elimination of the 352nd place player a new payout level was reached.  All remaining 351 players are guaranteed $39,445. 

The Wrath Of Kahn

PokerStars Supernova Haved "RainKahn" Kahn was seated at the ESPN featured table with Daniel Alaei for the last hour and a half of the night.  In that short span he was involved in a number of big pots, and sent a few opponents to the rail.  The ruckus at the featured table was heard from across the room as Kahn got all-in with Q Q against his opponents pocket aces only to have the board bring the Q Q 8.  The 5 on the turn meant his opponent was drawing dead, and Kahn doubled to roughly $940,000.  He later eliminated another opponent with A J against two fours with a board of A 7 6 K Q.  Kahn even won a decently sized pot against Daniel Alaei without showdown. 

Tran Dodges Flush

Mimi Tran raised from middle position to $18,000, Nick Binger called from the cutoff, the player in seat No. 9 called from the button, and the player in seat No. 2 called from the big blind.  The flop came 6 5 4, the player in the big blind checked, Tran bet $35,000, Binger called, the player on the button raised to $100,000, the big blind folded, Tran called after much deliberation, and Binger folded.  The turn card was the 2, Tran checked and the player in seat No. 9 moved all in.  Tran showed her pocket Jacks as she folded, and her opponent graciously showed her the A 10 as he folded.

The Waco Kidd Cometh

A player in seat four raises to $25,000 and is flat called by seat six.  It is folded to Jared Hamby  and he says, "One time dealer!", as he looks at his cards then he immediately moves all in for $98,000.  Both players call and the flop comes AQ4.  Seat four pushes all in with AQ, and seat six folds.  Hamby rolls over AA, and takes down a massive pot.  Noah Schwartz has taken credit for the success, because earlier Hamby has rubbed his Star of David for good luck. 

The Camera's Aren't Just For You

Seated with Hamby was Tobey Maguire and Humberto Brenes.  That obviously lead to a plethora of ESPN cameras at the table, but Brenes wasn't sure why.  When Hamby told him that Maguire was a move star, He half jokingly whispered to Cardplayer.com, "That is why all the cameras are here, I though they were for me."  Humberto immediately began to ham it up with Maguire and Jared Hamby said,"Your Poker Famous, Poker Famous is good, but he's actually famous."

Apparently The Force Was Not With Him

Leif Force was eliminated after getting all-in with J-J against A-A and failing to get any help from the board.

Tate Taps Cordovez
With just minutes of play left and on a board reading 41056K. Conor ‘Sealy’ Tate popped $30,000 into the pot of around $100,000. CardPlayer.com broadcaster Diego Cordovez thought long and head and eventually one player at the table called the clock on him. Tate showed J for a flush and Cordovez ruefully mucked.

End Of Day

337 players will return for day  tomorrow at noon.  Stay tuned to Cardplayer.com for all of your live updates through the conclusion of the event.


Notable Chip Counts

Dario Minieri	2,405,000
Kenny Tran	1,300,000
Jeff Banghart	1,200,000
Hevad Khan	1,050,000
Rep Porter	1,040,000
Gus Hansen	1,035,000
Atlan Nicolas	1,000,000
Isaac Haxton	790,000
Bill Edler	600,000
Huck Seed	586,000
Darrell Dicken	540,000
Lee Watkinson	500,000
Maria Ho	485,000
Peter Feldman	415,000
Chad Brown	410,000
Robert Varkonyi	400,000
Alex Kravchenko	360,000
Carlos Mortensen	350,000
Thor Hansen	344,000
Jared Hamby	330,000
Warren Karp	315,000
Sorel Mizzi	280,000
Scotty Nguyen	270,000
Humberto Brenes	200,000
Daniel Alaei	182,000
Hasan Habib	153,000
Nick Binger	146,000
Robert Mizrachi	143,000
Mimi Tran	140,000
Sully Erna	120,000
Billy Baxter	105,000
Tobey Maguire	100,000
Berry Johnston	91,000

Player Tags: Mimi Tran,   Daniel Alaei,   Tobey Maguire,   Dario Minieri,   Leif Force,   Jared Hamby,   Nick Binger,   Hevad Khan

Back From Dinner; 100 To Go

Jul 10, '07

350 or Bust

The official announcement is that we will play five levels today or down to 350 players.  There are currently 450 at 50 tables, and the cries of "All in and called" are ringing through the air regularly.

Here Goes...Eliminations

Jeff Madsen, "Miami John" Cernuto, Tom McEvoy, James Van Alstyne, and David Einhorn have all been eliminated in the last level.  Madsen pushed his last $27,000 in with A 9, but he couldn't outrace his opponent's pocket fives and headed for the door. 

Cernuto's elimination was witnessed on the feature table, Cernuto was all in preflop with 10 10 against his opponent's Q 9.  Cernuto was safe through the turn as the board read 7 5 3 5, but the river was a cruel Q, and Cernuto received a nice hand from the spectator's as he left. 

Van Alstyne lost a huge pot to one of the chip leaders Avi Cohen, when his flopped two pair was out run by Cohen's nut flush on the turn.  With only a few chips Van Alstyne was eliminated a few hands later. 

David Einhorn, who last year donated all of his 18th place prize money to Parkinson's research, was the darling of the ESPN crews all day.  He was invovled in a three-way all-in hand that went to Steven O'Dwyer, who flopped a full house to bust Einhorn, and double through another player. 

McEvoy butted heads with Old School visionary Todd Phillips, and had the worst of it the whole way.  McEvoy's K-Q couldn't catch up to Phllips's A-K and the field is now light one more Main Event Champion.

Lester Bounces Back

Jason Lester started the level in ominous fashion, losing a race with A-Q against pocket Jacks after his opponent ended up with quads.  Then Lester got a repreive.  Lester raised to $7,000 from middle position, the player in Seat 4 reraised to $17,000 from the button, and Lester called.  The flop was Q 7 2, Lester pushed all in for his last $19,400, and Seat 4 called.  Seat 4 had J J and Lester held A 9.  The turn  5 was no help, but the river 3 completed Lester's flush, and he breathed a sigh of relief.  A few hands later Lester continued his punishment of seat 4 when he got him to pay off a $15,000 value bet on the river when Lester flopped a set of nines.

Duthie Breaks One

PokerStars representative John Duthie raised preflop to $6,000 from the cutoff and the player in Seat 8 called from the small blind.  On the A 10 8 flop Duthie made  a large bet that sent Seat 8 into the tank.  After a clock was called Seat 8 made the call.  The turn was the Q, and Seat 8 moved all in quickly, and Duthie called just as swiftly.  Duthie showed A K while Seat 8 was way behind with A 3.  The river was an innocuous 5, and Duthie collected the chips.

Euro Roundup
There is probably an average of one European per table, the majority English, as play moves towards conclusion for the day.

Hendon Mobster Joe Beevers took a hit from $113,000 to $52,000 in chips, Donnacha O'Dea has edged up slightly to $42,600, former Main Event finalist George McKeever is struggling but sitting patiently on $23,400 in chips sharing a table with Adam Noone and Bo Sehlstedt, Wille Tann jumped from $282,000 to $320,000 in chips, Conor Tate has $130,000 in chips and Julian Gardner has $87,000.

The ever colourful Jac Arama is enjoying plenty of laughs with his table and is sitting on $228,000 in chips.

Maguire Doubles Up

Tobey Maguire managed to double up in one of those dream situations.  With the board reading K 9 3 2, Maguire checked, his opponent in Seat 8 bet $13,000 and after a few minutes Maguire called.  The A fell on the river, and Maguire checked again.  Seat 8 moved all in and Maguire called for less.  Seat 8 held 9 9 for a set, but Maguire had a better set with K K, and he took the pot.
Notable Chip Counts

Kenny Tran	495,000
Minh Ly	212,000
Berry Johnston	191,000
Robert Mizrachi	159,000
Scotty Nguyen	74,000
Joe Tehan	74,000
Nam Le	57,100
David "The Dragon" Pham	49,000
John Hennigan	36,100

Player Tags: John Cernuto,   Tom McEvoy,   David Einhorn,   Jason Lester,   John Duthie,   James Van Alstyne,   Tobey Maguire,   Todd Phillips,   Jeff Madsen,   Avi Cohen

End of Day 1A

Jul 06, '07

Joe Awada Eliminated

On a flop of A 8 7, Joe Awada pushed all in and got called by seat 8.  Awada showed 9 9, but was in trouble against A K.  The turn was the 5, giving Awada straight and flush outs, but the river was the 10 and he angrily slammed the table with his water bottle as he was eliminated.  More angry with himself than his opponent, Awada then graciously said goodbye to the table before exiting. 

Tobey Maguire Survives

With $4,000 in the pot and a flop of A 7 6.  The cutoff bet out $3,000 and Maguire took a second before reraising all in for an additional $5,200.  It appears as though Maguire caught his opponent bluffing because the cutoff folded instantly, giving Maguire some more breathing room. 

Zeidman Coolered

After seeing a cheap flop from the big blind, PokerStars qualifier Cory Zeidman bet $1,000 with a K 6 4 7 board and his opponent raised to $3,000.  Zeidman called and the 9 on the river Zeidman checked and his opponent bet $3,000.   Zeidman called and his opponent revealed the 6 6 for a set of sixes and Zeidman flipped up his K 6 for a big-blind special two pair on the flop. 

Ly Doubles

Minh Ly got in a raising war with Dane Lomas with a board of Q 9 2 6, eventually getting it all-in.  Ly held the A Q for top pair and the nut flush draw, but Lomas held the 10 6 for a made flush.  The river brought the 8 and Ly doubled up with the rivered nuts.

Black Busts

Andrew Black raised to $4,200 from the button and his opponent called from the cutoff. The flop brought the J 10 6 and both players checked. The 8 fell on the turn and the player in the cutoff checked.  Black bet $8,000 and his opponent called.  The 3 fell on the river and once again the player in  the cutoff checked.  Black bet $15,000 and his opponent quickly called with 7 7.   Black mucked his hand, clearly frustrated.  A few hands later he moved in on a flop of 4-3-3 holding 5-4, only to run into the A-A of an opponent.  After the turn and river bricked off Black was sent to the rail.

Player Tags: Minh Ly,   Cory Zeidman,   Joe Awada,   Tobey Maguire,   Andy Black

Graveyard Shift

Jul 06, '07

Victor Ramdin and Mike Sexton Eliminated

Victor Ramdin and Mike Sexton were eliminated this past hour. Sexton moved his short stack all-in with A 4 and got called by Joe Awada's A J.   The board came down 7 5 3 A 7 and Awada's jack kicker was good enough to send Sexton to the rail. 

Up and Down For Zeidman

PokerStars qualifier and stud specialist Cory Zeidman has had a hard time getting some momentum going today.  In one hand he raised to $3,200 preflop and got a call from the player to his left.  The flop brought the A 9 2 and Zeidman again bet $3,000 and his opponent called. The K on the turn prompted both players to check, and they did the same after a blank fell on the river.  Zeidman flipped up A-J only to see his opponent reveal A-Q.  A few hands later Zeidman recouped his losses when he bet $3,500 after the board came J 4 2 5.  The player in the cut off called and the river brought the K. Zeidman bet $3,500 and after a moment his opponent called.  Zeidman revealed the 5 2 and his low two pair was good.

Tobey Maguire Wins With Queen High
On a Jack high board Tobey Maguire showed down Q-8 offsuit and somehow took down the substantial pot.  He only had a few thousand behind so that pot has kept him off life support for the time being. 

Tough Day

One man exiting the Amazon room was more visibly upset than others today.  After taking a bad beat in a huge pot, this gentleman left the Rio in tears, sobbing hysterically as his friend led him out.

Notable Chip Counts

Barry Greenstein	96,000
Andy Black	46,000
Joe Awada	41,000
Huck Seed	35,000
Victor Ramdin	27,000
Joe Tehan	19,000
Dustin Woolf	18,000

Player Tags: Victor Ramdin,   Cory Zeidman,   Mike Sexton,   Tobey Maguire

Play Concludes For The Night

Jun 28, '07

Play has officially ended for the night.  The bubble was burst after only three hands in the hand-for-hand period.  David Bach moved all in for his last $18,300, and he was called by the player in Seat 1 who had him exactly covered.  Bach had two pair, Kings and twos, but Seat One turned over Kings and eights for a better two pair. 

Carl Olson, Isabelle Mercier, Jeff Shulman, and Fred Goldberg were some of the pros to be eliminated in the last hour.  Shulman lost a race to Jamie Gold with pocket Jacks to Gold's A-Q.  Goldberg was the victim of a horrendous beat.  Goldberg moved all in on a flop of 10 5 4, and his opponent went deep into the tank.  Goldberg called the clock on him, and he called just as time was winding down.  Goldberg showed K K and his opponent tabled Q 10.  Goldberg's face dropped as the dealer dealt out the 10 on the turn.  The 5 fell on the river and Goldberg was eliminated in 82nd place just out of the money.

Congratulations were announced for Phil Hellmuth for his 62nd career World Series cash, and Men Nguyen was also lauded for this 59th career cash.  The tournament director's first announced that it was his 56th cash, and he was quick to correct him. 

Defending champion Jeff Madsen is still alive in the tournament, but he is on the short stack,  losing a pot to Justin Bonomo on the last hand of the evening.  Dutch Boyd, who won a short-handed bracelet last year, is among the chip leaders with close to $300,000, having raked a huge pot in a boat-over-boat situation.  Also still alive are Allen Cunningham, Joe Beevers, Ram Vaswani, Mark Vos, Scott Clements, and Tobey Maguire among others.

The players will return at 2pm tomorrow to play down to the final nine

Notable Chip Counts

Dutch Boyd	284,000
Bill Gazes	205,000
Ram Vaswani	185,000
Phil Hellmuth	180,000
Erik Friberg	175,000
Men "The Master" Nguyen	144,000
Mark Vos	140,000
Sam Grizzle	100,000
Roland de Wolfe	100,000
Sorel "Imper1um" Mizzi	98,000
Nick Schulman	97,000
Justin "ZeeJustin" Bonomo	90,000
Tobey Maguire	88,000
Tony G	87,000
Allen Cunningham	86,000
Jeff Madsen	76,000
Scott Clements	62,000
Phil Laak	61,000
Bill Edler	60,000
Hoyt Corkins	55,000
Jamie Gold	54,000
Eugene Todd	37,000
Tony Hachem	33,000
Amir Vahedi	33,000
Jon "pearljammer" Turner	32,300

Player Tags: Jeff Shulman,   Men Nguyen,   Allen Cunningham,   Joe Beevers,   Phil Hellmuth,   David Bach,   Ram Vaswani,   Tobey Maguire,   Isabelle Mercier,   Scott Clements,   Jamie Gold,   Carl Olson,   Fred Goldberg,   Mark Vos,   Dutch Boyd,   Jeff Madsen