John Esposito Jr. Poker Tournament Updates

Down to 75

Jun 30, '07

The field has narrowed down to 75 players and play is starting to get intense. Every passing moment it seems a player either jumps out of his seat yelling or calls the floorman to settle a dispute. Blair Rodman has emerged as the chip leader in the last level with $305,000 and Eugene Todd is not far behind with $300,000. Jennifer Tilly has climbed into the top five in chips recently as well.

The hand that caused the most commotion in the last level went down between John Esposito and Steve Crawford. Enjoying relative success for most of the day, Esposito was just plain unlucky. The board showed J 8 2 and Esposito bet out $60,000. Crawford waited for only a moment before coming back over the top all in. Esposito made the call and was barely covered by Crawford. Esposito turned over A J and Crawford was behind with J 10. The turn brought the 10 and Esposito yelled at his misfortune. Crawford only needed to dodge a club or an ace on the river and he would double up. The river was the 3 and Esposito broke his glasses in frustration. Crawford jumped up to almost $300,000 after the hand. Esposito was officially eliminated in 79th place, earning $7,233.

Jordan Morgan was also eliminated in the last level in 80th place, taking home $7,233.

Notable Chip Counts

Steve Crawford	390,000
Eugene Todd	300,000
Jennifer Tilly	230,000
Blair Rodman	225,000
Roland de Wolfe	220,000
Nick Frangos	205,000
Noah Boeken	141,500
TJ Cloutier	118,000
David Singer	115,000
Rafe Furst	105,000
Anna Wroblewski	26,000
Joe Pelton	25,500

Player Tags: John Esposito Jr.,   Blair Rodman,   Eugene Todd,   Jennifer Tilly,   Jordan Morgan,   Steven Crawford

Hour One Recap

Jun 30, '07

The cards finally got into the air on day two of event #47 at around 3:30 p.m. The returning players finished the last few minutes of level 11 and played straight into level 12. The players are now on a 15 minute break following the completion of the twelfth level.

There are fewer than 90 players left and with tables breaking and players moving seats some tough tables have been formed. At table 68 David Singer, Nick Frangos and Blair Rodman are all sharing the felt. Across the tournament area T.J. Cloutier, Raymond Davis, and Rafe Furst can all be seen sitting at the same table.

Though the money bubble has burst, there is still a long, hard road ahead for any of these players to survive until the final table. Jordan Morgan is making a serious push for the final table and has been putting pressure on the other players at his table all day. Morgan raised to $6,500 preflop and the player in seat eight pushed all in for a little under $50,000. Morgan didn't even wait for the dealer to count out the bet before announcing that he would make the call. The player in seat eight showed A 10 and Morgan was holding J J. The board came 5 5 2 Q 4 and Morgan added his opponent's chips to his stack. Morgan now has over $130,000.

Kirk Morrison was eliminated in 111th place, earning $4,822. John Esposito raised to $9,000 from middle position and Kirk Morrison reraised to $29,000 total. Esposito went deep into the tank and began to interrogate Morrison for information. "You trying to pull something?" asked Esposito. "If I'm gonna call I might as well put you all in, " said Esposito. Esposito then put $50,000 into the middle, reraising Morrison all in. Morrison only had a few thousand left and made the call. Esposito showed A Q and Morrison was holding 6 6. "Thought you had somethin' like that, " said Esposito. The board came K Q 9 K 10 and Esposito took down the pot, eliminating Morrison in 111th place.

Notable Chip Counts

Eugene Todd	210,000
Jennifer Tilly	170,000
Roland de Wolfe	135,000
Jordan Morgan	133,000
Anna Wroblewski	130,000
Nick Frangos	120,000
Rafe Furst	118,000
TJ Cloutier	62,000
David Singer	62,000
Noah Boeken	61,000
Tom McEvoy	43,000
Joe Pelton	25,500

Player Tags: T.J. Cloutier,   John Esposito Jr.,   Raymond Davis,   Blair Rodman,   David Singer,   Nikolaos Frangos,   Rafe Furst,   Jordan Morgan,   Kirk Morrison

Omaha on Dinner Break

Jun 25, '07

The players went on dinner break until 10:30pm following the completion of the fourth level

Rolf Slotboom was not able to survive to the break as he could not catch up to John Esposito's Aces.

Chad Brown and Aaron Kanter have joined Jeff Madsen among the chip leaders, but there is plenty of poker left to play.
Notable Chip Counts

Marcel Luske	24,200
Mike Sexton	14,000
Berry Johnston	7,600
Joe Hachem	5,900
Tony G	5,400
David "Devilfish" Ulliott	5,300

Player Tags: John Esposito Jr.,   Aaron Kanter,   Jeff Madsen,   Rolf Slotboom

Level Two Recap

Jun 25, '07

The players in today's $2,000 No Limit Hold 'Em Seniors event have gone on their first 15 minute break of the day following the completion of the second level. The blinds will raise to $100-$200 to start level three.

The atmosphere in the seniors event is always unique during this part of each year's World Series of Poker.  Following 25 straight days of gambling and  pressure packed poker, the seniors event comes along and provides a brief repreive from the established chaotic pace. Dont' be mistaken, there are plenty of good players competing for a very large amount of money but the overall feel of this tournament is rather friendly. Light hearted conversations have replaced Bose headphones and iPods and suckouts are met with congratulations as opposed to profanity laced threats. Oklahoma Johnny has been seen walking around the tournament area stopping at almost every table to greet an old friend or in some cases meet a new one. In no other tournament will you find so many players simply enjoying the fact that they are at the World Series of Poker playing cards.

The Amazon Room is littered with unfamiliar faces in this event and for many this is the first time they have played in such a large tournament, let alone at the World Series of Poker. In the field of over 1,800 a few notable faces have popped. Al Krux, John Esposito, Amarillo Slim, Jerry Buss, Tom McEvoy and Chau Giang have all shown up to play in this year's event. Giang took no time at all to start gambling this afternoon and soon found himself nursing a short stack. The player in seat three at Giang's table made a preflop raise and Giang responded by pushing all in for his last $3,200. The player in seat three made the call and showed J 10. Giang exposed A Q and was in the lead. The dealer put out 9 8 3 on the flop and Giang said, "Oh, that's nice." The turn brought what Giang feared, the 7 completing his opponent's straight. The river was the 8 and Giang was left with $1,200 after the hand.

Player Tags: Tom McEvoy,   John Esposito Jr.,   Jerry Buss,   Chau Giang,   Al Krux

Final Table Set

Jun 22, '07

Only five minutes into the new level, John Esposito eliminated the last two players of the day in one hand.  With all the money in preflop, Esposito held J-J against the 3-3 and A-Q of his opponents. His Jacks held up, and the final table was set.  Ryan Young remains the chip leader at around $2,500,000, with Dustin Kirksen a little more than $800,000 chips behind him.  With the three-way pot that ended the night, Esposito climbed into third at around $900,000.  Nam Le will go into the final table with approximately $450,000 and Michael Trimby from Northern Ireland will feel confident on $650,000 in chips - read his Pro Blog during the final table. With $616,154 and a gold bracelet on the line, the final table is sure to be exciting.  Make sure to check back tomorrow at 3 p.m. for final table coverage here at Cardplayer.com.

Player Tags: John Esposito Jr.,   Nam Le,   Ryan Young

End of Day One

Jun 21, '07

Day one has come to an end with 147 players remaining. Each player returning tomorrow at 2 p.m. will make at least $3,989 and play is scheduled to continue until the final table is established. The chip leader heading into day two is Sean Chen and notables Nam Le, John Esposito, Phil Gordon, Kathey Liebert and Joe Sebok are all returning as well. Come back to CardPlayer.com to follow all the action, hear from your favorite players in our Pro Blogs and see who makes the final table.

Notable Chip Counts

J.C. Alvarado	110,000
Nam Le	68,000
Phil Gordon	58,000
Kathy Liebert	55,000
Joe Sebok	52,000
Joe Tehan	48,000
Travis Green	45,000
Antonio Esfandiari	45,000
John Juanda	44,000
Aaron Kanter	42,000
Clonie Gowen	40,000
Dutch Boyd	29,000
Juha Helppi	9,000

Player Tags: John Esposito Jr.,   Kathy Liebert,   Nam Le,   Phil Gordon,   Joe Sebok,   Sean Chen

Final Table Set

Jun 22, '07

Only five minutes into the new level, John Esposito eliminated the last two players of the day in one hand.  With all the money in preflop, Esposito held J-J against the 3-3 and A-Q of his opponents. His Jacks held up, and the final table was set.  Ryan Young remains the chip leader at around $2,500,000, with Dustin Kirksen a little more than $800,000 chips behind him.  With the three-way pot that ended the night, Esposito climbed into third at around $900,000.  Nam Le will go into the final table with approximately $450,000 and Michael Trimby from Northern Ireland will feel confident on $650,000 in chips - read his Pro Blog during the final table. With $616,154 and a gold bracelet on the line, the final table is sure to be exciting.  Make sure to check back tomorrow at 3 p.m. for final table coverage here at Cardplayer.com.

Player Tags: John Esposito Jr.,   Nam Le,   Ryan Young

End of Day One

Jun 21, '07

Day one has come to an end with 147 players remaining. Each player returning tomorrow at 2 p.m. will make at least $3,989 and play is scheduled to continue until the final table is established. The chip leader heading into day two is Sean Chen and notables Nam Le, John Esposito, Phil Gordon, Kathey Liebert and Joe Sebok are all returning as well. Come back to CardPlayer.com to follow all the action, hear from your favorite players in our Pro Blogs and see who makes the final table.

Notable Chip Counts

J.C. Alvarado	110,000
Nam Le	68,000
Phil Gordon	58,000
Kathy Liebert	55,000
Joe Sebok	52,000
Joe Tehan	48,000
Travis Green	45,000
Antonio Esfandiari	45,000
John Juanda	44,000
Aaron Kanter	42,000
Clonie Gowen	40,000
Dutch Boyd	29,000
Juha Helppi	9,000

Player Tags: John Esposito Jr.,   Kathy Liebert,   Nam Le,   Phil Gordon,   Joe Sebok,   Sean Chen

Matusow Climbs the Leaderboard

Jun 11, '07

The players are on a 15 minute following the completion of the last level. There are less than 330 players left and the money starts at 98. Official numbers and payouts have been posted in the payouts section.

Mike Matusow doubled up early in the round to around $20,000 and looked up from his stack saying, "this is torture man. Torture." Matusow continued to climb up the ranks of this tournament and now has $48,000, the result of a good call for a big pot. With the board showing J10410, Matusow's opponent pushed all in for $10,000. Matusow went into the tank for a long time and eventually called. Matusow turned over A-J for top two and his opponent showed the bluff and turned over A-9. The river was the 6 and Matusow took down the large pot, esentially doubling him up. After the hand Matusow said, "something just wasn't right. I figured hey, I've made wrong calls before, I'll make this one." Matusow's instincts were right and he now sits amongst the chip leaders.

Joe Sebok wasn't as fortunate as Matusow, having busted out in the last level. Sebok was card dead for much of the afternoon and found himself all in with pocket eights. His opponent held pocket jacks and when the board came 9-5-3-K-Q, Sebok never improved. Also eliminated this round were J.C. Tran, Young Phan, Michael Binger and Paul Wolfe.

Before his elimination, Paul Wolfe sat at a table that had been gathering a lot of attention. The never quiet Davood Mehrmand had gotten in the habit of berating the players at his table, especially the woman in the five seat. The floorman seemed to be posted at this table just to make sure nothing got out of hand. Tony Cousineau got into the act from the neighboring table, yelling at Paul Wolfe. "You got everything under control over there Paul?" asked Cousineau. Wolfe replied, "I'm just watchin him berate everyone at the table. It's ridiculous." During all this, John Esposito sat down at the table and immediately became concerned with the situation he was walking in to. "Honey, don't worry about that guy. (Mehrmand) He does this everywhere he goes. I'm not gonna stand for it. (To Mehrmand) You just be quiet!" Esposito commanded respect as he sat down. "I can't believe nobody stood up for her. You guys ought to be ashamed of yourselves. Don't worry honey, Uncle Johnny is here." The nonsense present at the table earlier seems to be calmed now that Esposito has arrived.

Play will resume following the break and continue for approximately one half of a level and the players will go on dinner break.

Player Tags: J.C. Tran,   Davood Mehrmand,   John Esposito Jr.,   Young Phan,   Paul Wolfe,   Mike Matusow,   Joe Sebok,   Michael Binger