James Mackey Poker Tournament Updates

Day 3 Begins at 3 p.m. PDT

Jul 04, '10

Day 3 will resume this afternoon.

Just 73 players remain out of the 1,941 that began the tournament.

The average chip stack is 171,264

The next player eliminated will receive $7,589. First place will take home $825,976.

Bracelet-winner James Mackey is still alive in the event. He currently sits with a massive stack of over 1,000,000 and is the overwhelming chip leader.

Other notables still remaining include Jon Turner, Isaac Baron, Dan Shak, Craig Marquis, Gabe Costner, Mark Newhouse, Josh Brikis, Lars Bonding, Mike Watson, David Baker.

Player Twitter Accounts:

Jon Turner
Mike Watson
Josh Brikis

Action will resume at 3 p.m. PDT today and might conclude when a final table is reached. However, depending on how the event plays out, a winner could be crowned on the fourth day.

Here’s a look at the chip counts.

Stay tuned to Card Player for action from the Rio!

Player Tags: James Mackey

Day 2 Complete

Jul 04, '10

Day 2 is in the books.

Just 85 players remain out of the 1,941 that began the tournament.

The average chip stack is 171,264

The next player eliminated will receive $7,589. First place will take home $825,976.

Bracelet-winner James Mackey is still alive in the event. He currently sits with a massive stack of over 1,000,000.

Action will resume at 3 p.m. PDT on Sunday and might conclude when a final table is reached. However, depending on how the event plays out, a winner could be crowned on the third day.

Player Tags: James Mackey

Day 3 Begins at 3 p.m. PDT

Jul 04, '10

Day 3 will resume this afternoon.

Just 73 players remain out of the 1,941 that began the tournament.

The average chip stack is 171,264

The next player eliminated will receive $7,589. First place will take home $825,976.

Bracelet-winner James Mackey is still alive in the event. He currently sits with a massive stack of over 1,000,000 and is the overwhelming chip leader.

Other notables still remaining include Jon Turner, Isaac Baron, Dan Shak, Craig Marquis, Gabe Costner, Mark Newhouse, Josh Brikis, Lars Bonding, Mike Watson, David Baker.

Player Twitter Accounts:

Jon Turner
Mike Watson
Josh Brikis

Action will resume at 3 p.m. PDT today and might conclude when a final table is reached. However, depending on how the event plays out, a winner could be crowned on the fourth day.

Here’s a look at the chip counts.

Stay tuned to Card Player for action from the Rio!

Player Tags: James Mackey

Day 2 Complete

Jul 04, '10

Day 2 is in the books.

Just 85 players remain out of the 1,941 that began the tournament.

The average chip stack is 171,264

The next player eliminated will receive $7,589. First place will take home $825,976.

Bracelet-winner James Mackey is still alive in the event. He currently sits with a massive stack of over 1,000,000.

Action will resume at 3 p.m. PDT on Sunday and might conclude when a final table is reached. However, depending on how the event plays out, a winner could be crowned on the third day.

Player Tags: James Mackey

Level 13: Lindgren, Binger, Ferguson Out

Jun 24, '10

Flop Games: 2,000-4,000 blinds
Stud Games: 1,000 ante, 1,000 bring-in, 4,000-8,000 limits

Players Remaining: 58 out of 241

Average Chip Stack: 124,655

Tournament Leaderboard:

1. Steve Billirakis – 340,000
2. Brian Townsend – 284,000
3. Brandon Adams – 255,000
4. Robert Mizrachi – 225,000
5. Carlos Mortensen – 220,000
6. Eric Sclavos – 210,000
7. Richard Ashby – 205,000
8. Eugene Katchalov – 200,000
9. Andrew Pantling – 185,000
10. John Racener – 175,000

Notable Eliminations:

Erick Lindgren
Michael Binger
Chris Ferguson
Justin Smith
Joe Hachem
Tom Schneider

Big Hands:

Stud

Townsend More Studly Than Lindgren

Picking up the action on fifth street, Brian Townsend bet 8,000 and Erick Lindgren made the call. It was the same story on sixth and seventh street and here were their boards:

Townsend: (876)4883
Lindgren: (muck)7J26

Townsend’s trip-eights caused Lindgren to muck his hand and Townsend took the pot. He was at 300,000 while Lindgren was down to just 22,500.

Hold’em

Barbieri Flushes Smith

Justin Smith raised to 8,000 from under the gun and Daniel Alaei made the call from the cutoff. Al Barbieri was in the big blind and threw in the extra 4,000 to see a flop. It came down 753.

Barbieri bet 4,000 and Smith raised to 8,000. Alaei got out of the way and Smith made the call. The turn was the Q and Barbieri led out with 8,000. Smith called and the 10 came on the river.

Barbieri bet another 8,000 and Smith called. Barbieri turned over 92 for a flush and Smith mucked. Barbieri took the pot and was at 150,000 while Smith was down to 61,000. Smith would bust later in the level on a seven-card stud hand.

Lindgren Busts

A few hands after losing to Brian Townsend, Erick Lindgren was all in holding QQ. He was up against Greg Raymer’s AJ and Andrew Brown’s KQ.

The flop came down K54, giving Brown top pair and Raymer the nut-flush draw. The turn was the 9 and Lindgren needed the case queen to stay alive. But the K fell on the river and Lindgren was eliminated.

Omaha/8

Billirakis Fills Up

Steve Billirakis raised to 8,000 from the cutoff and Scotty Nguyen called from the button. Phil Galfond tagged along from the big blind and the flop came down K84. Billirakis bet 4,000 and both opponents called.

The turn was the 4 and Billirakis bet 8,000. Both players called and the 4 came on the river. Billirakis bet 8,000 more and Nguyen was the only caller.

Billirakis turned over AAJ5 for a full house and Nguyen mucked. Billirakis was up to 280,000 while Nguyen was around 85,000.

Jesus Walks

Scotty Nguyen raised to 8,000 and Chris Ferguson made the call from the big blind. The flop came down KQ3 and both players checked. The 6 fell on the turn and both players went nuts.

Ferguson’s chips eventually all got into the middle and he turned over KJ105 for top pair and a broadway draw. Nguyen turned over A662 for a set of sixes and the nut-low draw. The 7 on the river gave no help to Ferguson and he was eliminated. Nguyen was up to 170,000 after the knockout.

Razz

Michael Binger Eliminated

Michael Binger found himself all in against James Mackey. Binger was drawing to a 9-7 low but paired jacks and had to settle for a jack-low. The 9-7 would not have made a difference, however, as Mackey made a 9-4 low and Binger made his exit from the tournament.

Player Tags: Scotty Nguyen,   Chris Ferguson,   Erick Lindgren,   James Mackey,   Steve Billirakis,   Michael Binger,   Phil Galfond,   Brian Townsend

Level 12: Action Before The Dinner Bell

Jun 24, '10

Flop Games: 1,500-3,000 blinds
Stud Games: 700 ante, 1,000 bring-in, 3,000-6,000 limits

Players Remaining: 76 out of 241

Average Chip Stack: 92,962

Tournament Leaderboard:

1. Steve Billirakis – 202,000
2. Magnus Persson – 185,000
3. John Racener – 175,000
4. Annie Duke – 170,000
5. Daniel Alaei – 155,000
6. Greg Raymer – 151,000
7. Nick Schulman – 147,000
8. Carlos Mortensen – 145,000
9. Andrew Pantling – 138,000
10. Robert Mizrachi – 136,000

Notable Eliminations:

Jean-Robert Bellande
Ted Forrest

Note: Players have gone on a 60-minute dinner break and will return to action at 8:20 p.m.

Big Hands:

Razz

Mackey’s Cards Are Awful, Takes Pot

Chris Ferguson completed to 3,000 and James Mackey raised to 6,000. Ferguson made the call and then led out for another 3,000 on fourth street. Mackey made the call and Ferguson bet 6,000 on fifth street.

Mackey called again and both players checked sixth street. They did the same on seventh street and Mackey turned over 8-7-5-3-2. Ferguson mucked and Mackey took down the pot. Ferguson was down to 35,000 while Mackey was at 60,000.

Forrest Cut Down

Ted Forrest was all in on fourth street against Phil Galfond. By the time their boards ran out, Forrest wound up with two pair, nines and fours.

That’s never a good thing in razz, especially when Galfond made a 9-8 low and Forrest made his way to the exit.

Omaha/8

Alioto Gets Quartered

On a flop of 1076, Magnus Persson, the player in seat 3 and Dario Alioto all put in three bets.

The turn was the 9 and Persson bet 6,000. He was called by both opponents and the river was the 8. Persson bet again and was called again.

Persson turned over A963 for the nut flush and it was good for the entire high pot. Alioto and seat 3 each showed the same low and split the low pot. Alioto was at 40,000 while Persson was up to 185,000.

Player Tags: Chris Ferguson,   Ted Forrest,   James Mackey,   Dario Alioto,   Magnus Persson

Level Nine: Elezra Out

Jun 24, '10

Flop Games: 800-1,500 blinds
Stud Games: 300 ante, 500 bring-in, 1,500-3,000 limits

Players Remaining: 130 out of 241

Average Chip Stack: 55,615

Tournament Leaderboard:

1. Carlos Mortensen – 175,000
2. Sergey Altbregin – 143,000
3. Scott Bohlman – 117,600
4. Scotty Nguyen – 113,800
5. Mikael Thuritz – 107,700
6. Brendan Taylor – 106,000
7. Todd Brunson – 105,500
8. Arturo Diaz – 104,800
9. John Racener – 103,500
10. Matt Glantz – 97,500

Notable Eliminations:

Doyle Brunson
Eli Elezra

Big Hands:

Stud/8

Clements Takes One Off Lisandro

Scott Clements completed to 1,500 and Jeffrey Lisandro made the call. Clements bet another 1,500 on fourth street and Lisandro threw in another call.

Clements then bet 3,000 on every street afterward and Lisandro called him down. Clements then tabled (753)46KQ for a seven-high straight.

Lisandro mucked and he was down to 40,000 while Clements was at 44,000.

Omaha/8

Daniel Negreanu Takes One Off Mackey

Picking up the action on a flop of J52, Daniel Negreanu and James Mackey each checked and saw the 3 land on the turn.

Negreanu bet 3,000 and Mackey thought a few moments and released his hand. Negreanu took the pot and he was at 65,000. Mackey was at 26,000.

Hold’em

Elezra Eliminated

Eli Elezra got his last 4,000 into the middle preflop and he was called by Pawel Andrzejewski.

Elezra turned over his KJ while Andrzejewski turned over 88.

The flop came down J108, giving Elezra top pair but Andrzejewski a set. The board finished off 37 and Elezra was out.

Lindgren Fills Up

Picking up the action after the board had run out AQ8A6, Erick Lindgren bet 3,000 and Eric Buchman made the call.

Lindgren turned over AQ for aces-full and Buchman mucked. Lindgren took the pot and was at 68,000 while Buchman was down to 17,000.

Player Tags: Erick Lindgren,   Daniel Negreanu,   Eli Elezra,   Jeffrey Lisandro,   James Mackey,   Scott Clements

Level 2 Update: McEvoy and Cantu Hit the Rail

May 29, '10

Blinds: 25-50

Entrants: 3,765

Card Player Chip Counts:

Allyn Jaffrey Shulman – 2,250
Barry Shulman – 4,475

Notable Eliminations:

Tom McEvoy
Brandon Cantu

Big Hands:

Shamseddin’s Bluff Gets Picked Off

On a flop of J63, Soheil Shamseddin bet 300 and was called by a player on the button. The turn was the 10 and Shamseddin moved all in and was quickly called by his opponent.

Shamseddin tabled Q9, giving him an open-ended straight draw, and the player on the button showed Q10, giving him a pair of tens. Another ten fell on the river, doubling up the player on the button to 9,800, while Shamseddin dropped to 2,500.

Veldhuis Takes a Big Hit

After a preflop raise, Lex Veldhuis and three other players saw a flop of J95. Veldhuis bet 350 and was called by one player and the other two folded. The turn was the 4 and both players checked.

After the 2 fell, Veldhuis took a few moments to bet 2100 and was instantly called by his opponent. Veldhuis shrugged a bit and then mucked his cards and his opponent turned over KJ, good for a pair of jacks and the pot.

Amarillo Adds a Few Chips

After four players saw a flop of Q97 and a player in middle position bet 325 and was called by Amarillo “Slim” Preston on the button. The turn was the 2 and Preston bet 800 after his opponent checked.

The 2 was dealt on the river and both players checked. Preston tabled A Q which was good for the pot and he is now sitting with 7,800.

Shulman Wins a Small Pot

After a raise to 125 from a player in the cutoff, Publisher of Card Player Media Barry Shulman three-bet to 300 on the button and took in a small pot after the player folded. Shulman is sitting at 4,475.

James Mackey Wins a Pot

We caught up with James Mackey in the middle of a hand. A player in early position bet 100 and Mackey raised to 300 on a flop of 877, prompting a quick fold from his opponent. Mackey is up to 2,975.

Brandon Cantu Eliminated

Brandon Cantu moved all in with pocket jacks and was called by an opponent with queens. The board ran out A8682 and Cantu was gone.

Left in the Deck:

Some Players Like to be Fashionably Late

With late registration open until the end of the second level, some notable faces have taken their seats. Tom Dwan, Eric Mizrachi, Chris Moore, and Frank Kasella all are now registered fr the tournament. The official number of entrants for the day is 3,765.

Players are now on a short break

The halls of the Rio are flooded with players. Action will resume in 20 minutes.

While You are Waiting

If you are waiting, check out a recent episode of Under the Gun that featured Brandon Cantu.

Player Tags: Tom McEvoy,   Allyn Jaffrey Shulman,   Barry Shulman,   James Mackey,   Soheil Shamseddin,   Lex Veldhuis

David Benyamine Doubles Up and Cripples James Mackey

Apr 20, '10

James Mackey and David Benyamine got involved in a series of bets and raises preflop, which eventually saw Benyamine move all of his chips into the middle. Mackey made the call and they flipped over their cards:

Mackey: AK
Benyamine: KK

Board: 85376

Benyamine won the hand with kings and he doubled up to survive with 385,000. Mackey was crippled with just 3,000 after the hand and he was eliminated shortly thereafter.

On his final hand Mackey held J-4 in the hole against the pocket kings of Amit Makhija. The board ran out J-6-4-K-4 and Mackey busted with a lower full house than Makhija, who grew his stack to 220,000.

Player Tags: David Benyamine,   James Mackey

Level 12 Update: Mike Matusow, Phil Ivey, and Barry Greenstein Eliminated

Oct 23, '09

Blinds: 1,500-3,000 with a 400 ante

Players Left: 68 of 275

Average Chip Count: 242,647

Chip Counts:

1. Jason Somerville — 775,000
2. Jonas Entin — 725,000
3. Jason Lavallee — 575,000
4. Richard Sciuto — 457,000
5. Dutch Boyd — 450,000
6. Gary Gibbs — 400,000
7: Matt Glantz — 380,000
7. Dan Shak — 380,000
9. Lee Markholt — 360,000
10. Scott Clements — 340,000

Notable Eliminations:

Mike Matusow
Russell Rosenblum
Joseph Elpayaa
Eugene Katchalov
Barry Greenstein
Phil Ivey

Big Hands:

Mike Matusow Eliminated

Mike Matusow (pictured right) opened the action with a raise preflop from early position. Jonas Entin called from the big blind and the flop fell K77. Entin checked and Matusow bet 15,000. Entin check-raised to 36,000 and Matusow moved all in. Entin made the call and the two players flipped over their cards:

Entin: 87
Matusow: AK

Turn and River: J9

Entin won the hand to grow his stack to 450,000 and Matusow was eliminated on the hand.

Russell Rosenblum Eliminated by the Quads of Jonas Entin

James Mackey raised to 8,000 and Jonas Entin made the call preflop. Russell Rosenblum reraised to 33,000 and Mackey mucked. Entin made the call and the flop was dealt A82. Both players checked and the turn fell 8. Rosenblum checked again and Entin bet 40,000. Rosenblum raised all in and Entin made the call. Their cards:

Entin: KK
Rosenblum: 88

Rosenblum won the hand with quad eights to grow his stack to 580,000 and Rosenlbum was eliminated.

Barry Greenstein Eliminated

Barry Greenstein (pictured left) moved all in preflop on a short stack and James Mackey called him down. Their cards:

Mackey: 55
Greenstein: KJ

Board: 53364

Greenstein was eliminated on the hand and Mackey moved up to 280,000.

Kathy Liebert Doubles up and Cripples Phil Ivey

Kathy Liebert moved all in from the cutoff for 42,700 and Phil Ivey made the call from the button. Thier cards:

Ivey: AJ
Liebert: A9

Board: KQ967

Ivey was crippled on the hand, holding only 3,000. He moved that all in two hands later and an opponent knocked him out of the tournament with a pair of deuces.

Player Tags: Kathy Liebert,   Barry Greenstein,   Mike Matusow,   Phil Ivey,   James Mackey,   Jonas Entin

James Mackey Eliminated in 11th Place ($32,700)

Aug 25, '09

After a series of preflop raises, James Mackey was all in holding pocket kings against Matt Marafioti’s pocket aces.

Marafioti asked for the board to hold and the dealer obliged by spreading a safe jack-high flop and two bricks on the turn and river to send Mackey to the payouts cage.

Player Tags: James Mackey

Level 8 Update

Aug 23, '09

Blinds: 500-1,000 with a 100 ante

Players Remaining: 104 out of 278

Chip Counts:

1. Steven Begleiter — 330,000
2. Matt Widdoes — 250,000
3. Kevin Schaffel — 175,000
4. Bryan Devonshire — 170,000
5. Josh Schlein — 165,000
6. Nick Schulman — 158,000
7. Sam Stein — 146,000
8. Mikey Nguyen — 145,000
9. Amir Vahedi — 144,000
10. Dwyte Pilgrim — 136,000

Average Chip Count: 80,480

Notable Eliminations:

David Pham
Freddy Deeb
Kenna James
Scott Montgomery
David Baker
Jimmy Tran
Gavin Griffin
Jeff Madsen
Scott Clements
Mike Leah
Justin Young
Nick Cassavetes
Stephen O’Dwyer

Hand of the Level:

James Mackey Takes a Hit in a Huge Pot

Late position raised to 5,300 after two players limped preflop and James Mackey reraised to 15,000 from the big blind. The two limpers mucked and late position reraised all in for 75,400. Mackey made the call and they flipped up their cards:

Mackey: AK
Late Position: KK

Board: J99QJ

Late position won the pot with pocket kings and Mackey watched his stack plummet downward to just 52,000.

Level Summary:

Another level on day 2 of the 2009 Legends of Poker, and another fast level of action. It felt like the field was racing down to 100 players during the level, and when they headed to break just 104 players remained. The money bubble will not happen until 27 players remain so it looks like things won’t slow down anytime soon either.

A lot of professional players beat up on each other during the level. Bryan Devonshire eliminated Kenna James early, and then Men Nguyen doubled up through Billy Baxter. Scott Montgomery was eliminated by Mickey Mills, Zach Clark was taken out by chip leader Steven Begleiter, and Allen Carter was eliminated by Allen Kessler. The chips continue to fly here are the Bike.

Player Tags: James Mackey

James Mackey Eliminated in 11th Place ($32,700)

Aug 25, '09

After a series of preflop raises, James Mackey was all in holding pocket kings against Matt Marafioti’s pocket aces.

Marafioti asked for the board to hold and the dealer obliged by spreading a safe jack-high flop and two bricks on the turn and river to send Mackey to the payouts cage.

Player Tags: James Mackey

Level 8 Update

Aug 23, '09

Blinds: 500-1,000 with a 100 ante

Players Remaining: 104 out of 278

Chip Counts:

1. Steven Begleiter — 330,000
2. Matt Widdoes — 250,000
3. Kevin Schaffel — 175,000
4. Bryan Devonshire — 170,000
5. Josh Schlein — 165,000
6. Nick Schulman — 158,000
7. Sam Stein — 146,000
8. Mikey Nguyen — 145,000
9. Amir Vahedi — 144,000
10. Dwyte Pilgrim — 136,000

Average Chip Count: 80,480

Notable Eliminations:

David Pham
Freddy Deeb
Kenna James
Scott Montgomery
David Baker
Jimmy Tran
Gavin Griffin
Jeff Madsen
Scott Clements
Mike Leah
Justin Young
Nick Cassavetes
Stephen O’Dwyer

Hand of the Level:

James Mackey Takes a Hit in a Huge Pot

Late position raised to 5,300 after two players limped preflop and James Mackey reraised to 15,000 from the big blind. The two limpers mucked and late position reraised all in for 75,400. Mackey made the call and they flipped up their cards:

Mackey: AK
Late Position: KK

Board: J99QJ

Late position won the pot with pocket kings and Mackey watched his stack plummet downward to just 52,000.

Level Summary:

Another level on day 2 of the 2009 Legends of Poker, and another fast level of action. It felt like the field was racing down to 100 players during the level, and when they headed to break just 104 players remained. The money bubble will not happen until 27 players remain so it looks like things won’t slow down anytime soon either.

A lot of professional players beat up on each other during the level. Bryan Devonshire eliminated Kenna James early, and then Men Nguyen doubled up through Billy Baxter. Scott Montgomery was eliminated by Mickey Mills, Zach Clark was taken out by chip leader Steven Begleiter, and Allen Carter was eliminated by Allen Kessler. The chips continue to fly here are the Bike.

Player Tags: James Mackey

Level 15 Update: Greg Raymer Gets Stronger

May 29, '09

Blinds: 6,000-12,000 with a 2,000 ante

Players Remaining: 40 out of 201

Chip Counts:

1. Greg Raymer — 2,660,000
2. Lex Veldhuis — 1,400,000
3. Matth Glantz — 1,058,000
4. Brian Townsend — 1,015,000
5. Justin Bonomo — 980,000
6. Ted Forrest — 940,000
7. Vitaly Lunkin — 915,000
8. Sorel Mizzi — 840,000
9. Chris Moneymaker — 835,000
10. David Pham — 820,000

Average Chip Count: 603,000

Notable Eliminations:

James Mackey
Alex Jacob
Dale Pinchot

Big Hands:

Greg Raymer Takes Out James Mackey

Shortly into the level, James Mackey found himself all in holding K-Q. Unfortunately, Greg Raymer woke up with A-K. The board brought a king, but Raymer’s kicker was enough to send Mackey home out of the money. After the hand, Raymer stacked ballooned to 1.67 million.

Alec Torelli Picks Up a Big Pot With an All-In Move

Greg Raymer opened from early position to 30,000 and Vanessa Rousso made the call. Brian Rast then raised to 105,000 in the hijack and the action moved over to Alec Torelli. After a few minutes in thought, Torelli moved all in for 810,000.

Raymer quickly folded, as did Rousso. Rast asked for a count, saw that his 650,000 was well covered and the folded. Torelli moved up to approximately 960,000.

Phil Galfond Doubles Through Justin Bonomo

Phil Galfond found himself all in holding a dominating A-K against Justin Bonomo and his A-J. A king hit the flop and Bonomo failed to catch up, doubling Galfond to 488,000 in chips. Bonomo is still healthy with about 1.1 million.

Sami Kelopuro Doubles Up Courtesy of Alan Sass

After an all-in and call, Sami Kelopuro revealed his pocket queens and was way ahead of Alan Sass and his pocket eights. The board ran out Q63J4 and Kelopuro’s set of queens were enough to double him up to about 375,000 in chips.

Chris Moneymaker Gives Up Some Chips to Noah Schwartz

Noah Schwartz was all in on the short stack holding pocket kings against the pocket sevens of Chris Moneymaker. The board failed to help the 2003 champion and Schwartz doubled up to 320,000. Moneymaker dropped below the million mark with 910,000.

Sorel Mizzi Doubles Through Frank Kassela

On a flop of J107 Sorel Mizzi is all in holding J-10 for top two pair against Frank Kassela’s and his pocket eights. Kassela needs an eight or a nine to bust Mizzi but the turn and river come 610, giving Mizzi a boat and a newly formed stack of about 750,000 in chips.

Player Tags: Frank Kassela,   Chris Moneymaker,   Greg Raymer,   James Mackey,   Justin Bonomo,   Vanessa Rousso,   Brian Rast,   Phil Galfond,   Alan Sass,   Noah Schwartz,   Alec Torelli,   Sorel Mizzi,   Sami Kelopuro

Level 11 Update -- Day 2 Begins

May 29, '09

Blinds: 2,500-5,000 with a 500 ante

Players Remaining: 79 out of 201

Chip Counts:

1. Bruno Fitoussi – 812,500
2. Chris Moneymaker – 805,000
3. Sorel Mizzi – 772,000
4. Justin Bonomo – 738,000
5. Alexander Veldhuis – 646,500
6. Kyle Wilson – 611,500
7. Brian Townsend – 609,000
8. Emil Patel – 494,500
9. Alan Sass – 491,000
10. Alex Jacob – 450,000

Average Chip Count: 271,011

Notable Eliminations:

Mike Watson
Shawn Buchanan
Amit Makhija

Big Hands:

Sorel Mizzi Wins Huge Double Up

On a board of 88s4, Sorel Mizzi bet out 40,000 and Michael DeMichele contemplated briefly before calling. The pot stood at 150,000 at the moment. The turn brought the 4 and Mizzi tanked before betting 90,500 into DeMichele. DeMichele eventually called and the 4 landed on the river, putting a full house on board. Mizzi once again tanked before announcing he was all-in. DeMichele looked shocked and tanked for minutes before finally calling the 266,500 chip all-in from Mizzi. Mizzi turned over the AA and DeMichele eventually mucked. Mizzi is now among the top chip leaders, with 772,000.

Mike Watson is Elminated

The short stacked Michael Watson moved all in with AQ and was called by James Mackey with pocket sixes and another opponent with pocket queens. Watson failed to hit the ace and was knocked out of the tournament.

Vitaly Lunkin Eliminates an Opponent

The button moved all in preflop and Vitaly Lunkin made the call from late position, covering his opponent. The recent RPT Moscow champion flipped over 1010 and the button showed down 88. The board ran out A6K99 and Lunkin won the hand to grow his stack to 289,000. The button was eliminated and made his way to the rail.

Brian Rast Doubles Up

Brian Rast moved all in from late position for 136,500 preflop and the button called him down. Their cards:

Rast: AJ
Button: AQ

Board: 81038J

Rast doubled up on the hand to survive with more than 270,000.

Amit Makhija is Eliminated By Mike Matusow

Amit Makhija moved all in pre-flop with ace king off-suit and was called by the AA of Mike Matusow. Makhija failed to hit any miracle and was eliminated by the three-time bracelet winner.

Alex Jacob Moves All-in On The River

On a board of 48Q1010, Alex Jacob moved all in for 137,000 against the big stack of Chris Moneymaker. Moneymaker went into the tank for quite some time asking Jacob if he would show his hand if he folded. Jacob was stone faced and took down the large pot once Moneymaker folded. Jacob is now up to 450,000.

James Mackey Wins a Coin-flip, Eliminates Shawn Buchanan

After some raising, James Mackey moved all-in pre-flop for 114,500 and Shawn went into the tank for minutes. Buchanan counted his chips, noticing that Mackey had him covered and eventually made the call. Mackey turned over KQ and Buchanan tabled the 1010. The flop of JJ5 was safe for Buchanan but the Q on the turn made the situation grim. The river brought the 7 and Mackey’s chip stack rose to 310,000.

Player Tags: Mike Matusow,   Shawn Buchanan,   James Mackey,   Michael Watson,   Michael DeMichele,   Sorel Mizzi,   Amit Makhija

James Mackey Eliminated in 3rd Place ($100,000)

Feb 20, '09

Vivek Rajkumar has won his tenth match of the tournament, eliminating James "mig.com" Mackey and advancing to face Chris Moore in the finals.

Rajkumar took an early lead in the match with a series of four bets that were never called. Then, he made a set of threes, taking a huge pot and a 3-1 chip lead.

On the final hand, Rajkumar slow played aces and got Mackey to pay him off with his entire stack. Mackey earns $100,000 for his finish.

Player Tags: James Mackey,   Vivek Rajkumar

Chris Moore Defeats James Mackey

Feb 20, '09

Chris Moore grinded down James Mackey from the start and quickly built a large and what proved to be insurmountable lead.

On the final hand, Mackey got his last few thousand in with Q-8 only to see Moore show a dominating A-8. The board helped neither player and Moore moved on to the finals to face whoever it is that advances from the loser's bracket.

Mackey will still have a shot to be that player, but he's going to have to wait a few rounds to get his revenge.

Player Tags: James Mackey,   Chris Moore

James Mackey Defeats Evan Roberts

Feb 20, '09

James Mackey Defeats Evan Roberts

After grinding him down to his final 2,000 in chips, James Mackey pushed with Q-6 to put his short stacked opponent, Evan Roberts all in. Roberts woke up with pocket threes, but it failed to hold when Mackey paired up.

Mackey advances to the final two in the winner's bracket and Roberts must now fight his way back from the loser's bracket.

Player Tags: James Mackey,   Evan Roberts