Lex Veldhuis - Live Updates

Veldhuis Hanging On

Oct 04, '09

Team PokerStars Netherlands Lex Veldhuis is sitting tight with 15,100 in chips. When the button came around to him he took his shot and moved all in. Justin Smith called from the big blind with A 10 and Veldhuis showed Q 3.

The board fell J 9 4 K 10 and Veldhuis made a straight to put him on 30,200. Smith still struggles to beat that starting chip stack.

Player Tags: Lex Veldhuis

Level 1 Update -- Lex Velhuis Off To A Good Start

Oct 03, '09

Blinds: 50-100

Players Remaining: 335 out of 340 (Unofficial)

Average Chip Count:

30,000

Notable Eliminations:

None

Hand of the Level:

Huck Seed Hurting Early On Thanks To Lex Veldhuis

Lex Veldhuis had a very good showing at the last EPT stop in Barcelona and so far today, he’s started on the good foot.

Huck Seed came in with a preflop limp and the cutoff raised it up to 250. Veldhuis then raised on the button to 950. Seed made the call and the flop came down 9-5-3.

Veldhuis continued with a bet of 1,500 and Seed called. The turn was the another 9 and once again Seed check-called a bet, this time for 3,500.

The river was a 2 and Velhuis bet 11,500. Seed made the call and mucked his hand when Veldhuis showed 9-6 for trips.

Left In The Deck:

Let’s Take A Look At The Field

Boris Becker	Jason Mercier	Greg Raymer
Ivan Demidov	William Thorson	Noah Boeken
Lex Veldhuis	Angel Guillen	J.C. Alvarado
Dario Minieri	Bertrand Grospellier	Humberto Brenes
Andre Akkari	Alexandre Gomes	Gualter Salles
Joe Hachem	Celina Lin	Leo Fernandez
Juan Maceiras	Johannes Strassman	Raymond Rahme
Denes Kalo	Andrey Zaichenko	Carlos Mortensen
Surinder Sunar	Matt Affleck	Narendra Banwari
Stephen O’Dwyer	Shane Schleger	Joe Serock
Theo Tran	Peter Jetten	William Molson
Benny Spindler	Vitaly Lunkin	Jonathan Aguiar
Timothy Finne	Clayton Maguire	Evan McNiff
Mohsin Charania	Scott Dorin	Ivo Donev
Davidi Kitai	Felipe Ramos	Erik Cajelais
Jesper Hougaard	Remy Biechel	Patrick Bueno
Bruno Fitoussi	Antony Lellouche	Max Pescatori
Nikolay Evdakov	Liya Gerasimova	Stefan Mattsson
Peter Hedlund	Mats Gavatin	Michael Tureniac
Claudio Rinaldi	J.P.Kelly	Robin Keston
Julian Thew	David Ulliot	Ram Vaswani
James Akenhead	Ben Grundy	Allyn Shulman
Barry Shulman	John Cernuto	Matthew Glantz
Christian Harder	John Juanda	Eugene Katchalov
Liz Lieu	Eric Liu	Huck Seed
Dan Shak	Brandon Adams	Allen Cunningham
Joe Ebanks	Scott Fischman	Lee Markholt
Men Nguyen	Thayer Rasmussen	Yevgeniy Timoshenko
Alec Torelli	David Williams	Benny Spindler

Player Tags: Huck Seed,   Lex Veldhuis

Veldhuis Hanging On

Oct 04, '09

Team PokerStars Netherlands Lex Veldhuis is sitting tight with 15,100 in chips. When the button came around to him he took his shot and moved all in. Justin Smith called from the big blind with A 10 and Veldhuis showed Q 3.

The board fell J 9 4 K 10 and Veldhuis made a straight to put him on 30,200. Smith still struggles to beat that starting chip stack.

Player Tags: Lex Veldhuis

Level 1 Update -- Lex Velhuis Off To A Good Start

Oct 03, '09

Blinds: 50-100

Players Remaining: 335 out of 340 (Unofficial)

Average Chip Count:

30,000

Notable Eliminations:

None

Hand of the Level:

Huck Seed Hurting Early On Thanks To Lex Veldhuis

Lex Veldhuis had a very good showing at the last EPT stop in Barcelona and so far today, he’s started on the good foot.

Huck Seed came in with a preflop limp and the cutoff raised it up to 250. Veldhuis then raised on the button to 950. Seed made the call and the flop came down 9-5-3.

Veldhuis continued with a bet of 1,500 and Seed called. The turn was the another 9 and once again Seed check-called a bet, this time for 3,500.

The river was a 2 and Velhuis bet 11,500. Seed made the call and mucked his hand when Veldhuis showed 9-6 for trips.

Left In The Deck:

Let’s Take A Look At The Field

Boris Becker	Jason Mercier	Greg Raymer
Ivan Demidov	William Thorson	Noah Boeken
Lex Veldhuis	Angel Guillen	J.C. Alvarado
Dario Minieri	Bertrand Grospellier	Humberto Brenes
Andre Akkari	Alexandre Gomes	Gualter Salles
Joe Hachem	Celina Lin	Leo Fernandez
Juan Maceiras	Johannes Strassman	Raymond Rahme
Denes Kalo	Andrey Zaichenko	Carlos Mortensen
Surinder Sunar	Matt Affleck	Narendra Banwari
Stephen O’Dwyer	Shane Schleger	Joe Serock
Theo Tran	Peter Jetten	William Molson
Benny Spindler	Vitaly Lunkin	Jonathan Aguiar
Timothy Finne	Clayton Maguire	Evan McNiff
Mohsin Charania	Scott Dorin	Ivo Donev
Davidi Kitai	Felipe Ramos	Erik Cajelais
Jesper Hougaard	Remy Biechel	Patrick Bueno
Bruno Fitoussi	Antony Lellouche	Max Pescatori
Nikolay Evdakov	Liya Gerasimova	Stefan Mattsson
Peter Hedlund	Mats Gavatin	Michael Tureniac
Claudio Rinaldi	J.P.Kelly	Robin Keston
Julian Thew	David Ulliot	Ram Vaswani
James Akenhead	Ben Grundy	Allyn Shulman
Barry Shulman	John Cernuto	Matthew Glantz
Christian Harder	John Juanda	Eugene Katchalov
Liz Lieu	Eric Liu	Huck Seed
Dan Shak	Brandon Adams	Allen Cunningham
Joe Ebanks	Scott Fischman	Lee Markholt
Men Nguyen	Thayer Rasmussen	Yevgeniy Timoshenko
Alec Torelli	David Williams	Benny Spindler

Player Tags: Huck Seed,   Lex Veldhuis

Veldhuis Dominates

Sep 06, '09

Lex Veldhuis is totally dominating his table. Apprehension crosses his opponents faces at each and every bet.

In a recent hand, Veldhuis raised 16,000 from the cut-off and a short-stacked William Reynolds folded showing K-J. Reynolds has 24,000 left, while Veldhuis has 360,000.

Player Tags: Lex Veldhuis

Daniel's Destroyed

Sep 05, '09

Coming into the action as a big pot got swept away from Daniel Negreanu towards Lex Veldhuis, a bystander explained what went down.

The flop was Q 10 x (small card). Negreanu then checked the turn, Veldhuis bet, and Negreanu raised. Velhuis called.

Negreanu then bet the turn and Veldhuis called showing K 2 for a flopped flush. Negreanu mucked, and Veldhuis took down a pot worth more than 35,000 in chips.

It seems that the chips are just going one way today – to Veldhuis. He now sits on 157,500 in chips. Negreanu has a disappointing 9,500 left, but anything can happen with three more levels to go. It’s lucky a break is coming up as players in the same position as the Canadian legend can take the time to rejuvenate and come back for revenge.

Player Tags: Daniel Negreanu,   Lex Veldhuis

Veldhuis Takes a Hit

Sep 05, '09

Lex Veldhuis suffered a setback when an opponent (seat 8) at his table held pockets aces against his A-K. The flop brought A-10-10 to make a full house for seat 8 and slow down the aggressive attack that Veldhuis has been taking to his opponents.

Player Tags: Lex Veldhuis

Early Chip Leader

Sep 05, '09

Team PokerStars Pro Lex Veldhuis has dominated play coming out of the gates on day 1B and he now holds the early chip lead. Veldhuis already has 90,000.

Player Tags: Lex Veldhuis

Lex Veldhuis Wins an Early Pot

Sep 05, '09

A board of Q6298 sat on the table with 11,500 in the pot when Team PokerStars Pro Lex Veldhuis bet 7,500 from the button. His opponent in the cutoff then went into the tank for a few minutes and eventually made the call. Veldhuis turned over KK and he scored an early pot when his opponent mucked.

Player Tags: Lex Veldhuis

Veldhuis Dominates

Sep 06, '09

Lex Veldhuis is totally dominating his table. Apprehension crosses his opponents faces at each and every bet.

In a recent hand, Veldhuis raised 16,000 from the cut-off and a short-stacked William Reynolds folded showing K-J. Reynolds has 24,000 left, while Veldhuis has 360,000.

Player Tags: Lex Veldhuis

Daniel's Destroyed

Sep 05, '09

Coming into the action as a big pot got swept away from Daniel Negreanu towards Lex Veldhuis, a bystander explained what went down.

The flop was Q 10 x (small card). Negreanu then checked the turn, Veldhuis bet, and Negreanu raised. Velhuis called.

Negreanu then bet the turn and Veldhuis called showing K 2 for a flopped flush. Negreanu mucked, and Veldhuis took down a pot worth more than 35,000 in chips.

It seems that the chips are just going one way today – to Veldhuis. He now sits on 157,500 in chips. Negreanu has a disappointing 9,500 left, but anything can happen with three more levels to go. It’s lucky a break is coming up as players in the same position as the Canadian legend can take the time to rejuvenate and come back for revenge.

Player Tags: Daniel Negreanu,   Lex Veldhuis

Veldhuis Takes a Hit

Sep 05, '09

Lex Veldhuis suffered a setback when an opponent (seat 8) at his table held pockets aces against his A-K. The flop brought A-10-10 to make a full house for seat 8 and slow down the aggressive attack that Veldhuis has been taking to his opponents.

Player Tags: Lex Veldhuis

Early Chip Leader

Sep 05, '09

Team PokerStars Pro Lex Veldhuis has dominated play coming out of the gates on day 1B and he now holds the early chip lead. Veldhuis already has 90,000.

Player Tags: Lex Veldhuis

Lex Veldhuis Wins an Early Pot

Sep 05, '09

A board of Q6298 sat on the table with 11,500 in the pot when Team PokerStars Pro Lex Veldhuis bet 7,500 from the button. His opponent in the cutoff then went into the tank for a few minutes and eventually made the call. Veldhuis turned over KK and he scored an early pot when his opponent mucked.

Player Tags: Lex Veldhuis

Level 3 Hour 2 Update: Deeb, Vos Eliminated

Jul 03, '09

Blinds: 150-300

Chip Counts:

1. Dragan Galic – 110,000
2. Jeff Williams – 100,000
3. Jeremy Ausmus – 88,000
4. Radek Stockner – 88,000
5. Eli Elezra – 84,300
6. Keven Stammen – 74,000
7. Bryan Colin – 72,000
8. Michael Kamran – 72,000
9. Allyn Jaffrey Shulman – 40,000
10. Barry Shulman – 30,000

Notable Eliminations:

Freddy Deeb, Matt Glantz, Nelly, Chris Moorman, Mark Vos, Gabe Kaplan

Big Hands:

Freddy Deeb Busted By Keven Stammen

Three players were in a pot that saw a flop of KQ4 hit the felt. Keven Stammen fired 2,200 and Freddy Deeb made the call, as did another player. The turn was the 10 and everyone checked. The river was the Q and Deeb led out with 6,000. The other player in the hand folded, but Stammen repopped it to 37,000 total. Deeb only had 11,000 behind and made the call.

Deeb then tabled AJ for a Broadway straight, but Stammen showed KQ for a full house and Deeb’s main event was over.

Chris Moorman Gone

The player in the small blind limped in and Chris Moorman moved all in. The small blind called and the players tabled their hands.

Small Blind: AK
Moorman: JJ

Board: A4437

Moorman was outflopped and could not catch up the rest of the way and his main event was cut short on day 1.

Mark Vos Ousted

Mark Vos raised to 700 preflop and action folded around to Peter Hedlund. He reraised to 3,000 and Vos came back over the top, moving in for 8,450. Hedlund called and showed down AK. Vos tabled QQ and things were looking good for Vos. But the turn brought another ace to the party and Vos couldn’t hit his set on the river and he was eliminated.

Jerry Yang Doubles Up

A player in middle position raised to 850 and Jerry Yang all in 3,925. Action folded around to the middle position player. He made the call and Yang showed KQ. The middle position player showed 22 and the flop fell QQ3.

The player in the big blind then announced that he had folded a deuce. The turn was the K, filling up Yang and the river was the case 2. Yang doubled to 8,000.

Prerry Friedman Cracks Aces, Eliminates Opponent

Perry Friedman took a flop heads up against his opponent and the flop fell 998. After a series of bets and raises all of the money got in and the cards were turned face up.

Friedman showed K9, which was miles ahead of the AA of his opponent. The turn was the 7 and the river was the 8, giving Friedman a full house and the pot.

Nines Are No Good For Alexander

Jason Alexander raised from the hijack position and was called by the small blind. The flop was A104 and both players checked. The turn was the 6 and the small blind checked again.

Alexander decided it was time to bet and put out 1500 into the middle. He was met with a check-raise to 3500 from the small blind. After some thought, Alexander put in the call. The river was the 8 and both players checked.

Alexander tabled the 99, but the small blind turned over AQ and took the pot.

Veldhuis With A Stone Cold Bluff

Over at the feature table, the flop came down 432 and the action was checked to Lex Veldhuis. He fired 2,300 and his opponent made the call. The turn was the 9 and action was checked to Veldhuis again. He fired 6,000 more chips into the pot and his opponent stuck around. The river was the A and action was checked again to Veldhuis. He then moved all in for over 40,000, having his opponent covered. This induced a fold and Veldhuis then tabled K6 for absolutely nothing. He raked in the pot and was at 70,000.

Yang Doubles Up Again

After being moved to a new table, Jerry Yang made it 900 to go preflop and was three-bet by Steve Paul-Ambrose to 2550. Yang called and they saw a flop of 2K8 and Steve Paul-Ambrose put out enough to put Yang all in.

Yang put in the call and said “This is the hand I won the World Series with,” said Yang as he tabled the 88, giving him middle set. Steve Paul-Ambrose showed the 99 and needed to improve to take the pot.

The turn was the K and the 5, doubling up Yang to 17,000.

Player Tags: Perry Friedman,   Peter Hedlund,   Mark Vos,   Jerry Yang,   Jason Alexander,   Freddy Deeb,   Keven Stammen,   Lex Veldhuis,   Chris Moorman

Level 11 Update: Eli Elezra Eliminated

Jul 01, '09

Blinds: 8,00-1,600 with a 200 ante

Players Remaining: 132 out of 928

Chip Counts:

1. Rui Cao — 445,000
2. Rory Mathews — 369,800
3. Sander Lylloff — 360,000
4. Faraz Jaka — 325,000
5. Lars Bonding — 288,300
6. Lex Veldhus — 240,000
7. Lee Vlastaris — 239,500
8. David Peters — 237,400
9. Eugene Katchalov — 216,100
10. Thorsten Schaefer — 198,000

Average Chip Count: 105,454

Notable Eliminations:

Eli Elezra
Van Marcus

Big Hands

Eli Elezra Eliminated by Faraz Jaka

Eli Elzra gets it all in before the flop against Faraz Jaka.

It’s your classic race situation; Elezra has A-K and Jaka has pocket jacks.

The board comes Q-6-7-10-2, no help for Elezra who is eliminated fro the tournament.

Lex Veldhuis Doubles Up

Lex Veldhuis gets it all in before the flop against Daniel Sink.

Veldhuis: KK
Sink: AQ

Board: Q4JK3

Velduis turns a set of kings and rivers the flush to double up to over 100,000 in chips. Sink falls below 50,000 this hand.

Van Marcus Eliminated

Van Marcus gets it all in before the flop with A7 against an opponent with AK.

The board came 886106, no help for Marcus who is eliminated from the tournament.

Player Tags: Eli Elezra,   Van Marcus,   Lex Veldhuis,   Faraz Jaka

Level 2 Update: Adams Makes a Big Call

Jun 23, '09

Blinds: 150-300

Players Remaining: 263 out of 263

Big Hands:

Brandon Adams Picks Off Mizzi’s River Bluff

On a board reading Q1056, Brandon Adams checked and called 3200 from Sorel Mizzi.

The river card was the 6, completing a flush draw, and Brandon Adams checked and instantly called 7500 from Mizzi. Mizzi announced “Jack Nine” meaning he missed his straight draw and Adams tabled the A10, good for second pair.

“Weeee insta-call,” said Antonio Esfandiari, who is sitting to the right of Mizzi. “These young whipper snappers can’t help but three-bet you.”

Boutin Scoops a Pot, Eliminates Player

On a board reading Q874, Burt Boutin bet 5500 and was called by Chad Batista. Another player was all in for his last 5200.

The river card was the 10 and both Boutin and Batista checked. Boutin tabled 56, showing that he made a flush on the turn and eliminated an opponent while raking a pot.

Filippi Makes a Good Call on Veldhuis

After a preflop raise from Lex Veldhuis was called by Amnon Filippi, the two see a flop of 2J4. Filippi checked and called 1400 from Veldhuis.

The turn was the 7 and Filippi checked and called 3800. The 3 fell on the river and Filippi checked again. Veldhuis bet 8700 and was instantly called by Filippi. Veldhuis announced that he “missed” and Filippi tabled 99 and took the pot.

Player Tags: Burt Boutin,   Amnon Filippi,   Brandon Adams,   Lex Veldhuis

Level 14 Update: Mimi Tran, Doyle Brunson Eliminated

Jun 16, '09

Blinds: 2,500-5,000

Players Remaining: 41 out of 185

Chip Counts:

1. Chad Brown – 376,000
2. Kenny Hsiung – 330,000
3. Matt Hawrilenko – 310,000
4. Kenny Shei – 300,000
5. Soheil Shamseddin – 260,000
6. Ralph Perry – 255,000
7. Howard Lederer – 250,000
8. Pat Pezzin – 250,000
9. Todd Brunson – 250,000
10. Daniel Alaei – 225,000

Average Chip Count: 132,241

Notable Eliminations:

Mimi Tran
Doyle Brunson
Vitaly Lunkin
Eli Elezra
Chino Rheem

Big Hands:

Alaei Busts Doyle

Daniel Alaei raised to 5,000 from the cutoff and Doyle Brunson called with his short stack, putting himself all in.

Brunson: K7
Alaei: A9

Board: A101053

Alaei was ahead preflop and expanded his lead when he hit an ace on the flop. Brunson was drawing dead on the turn and he was eliminated.

Mimi Tran Eliminated

Once again facing ace-deuce, Mimi Tran got the last of her chips in the pot behind once more. Tran held ace-six against the flopped two pair of Soheil Shamseddin with ace-two. Tran failed to catch up on the river like she did to Eli Elezra just a few hands ago.

Zolotow Can’t Knock Veldhuis Out

Lex Veldhuis was all in preflop against Steve Zolotow.

Zolotow: KJ
Veldhuis: A8

Zolotow was drawing very live with his suited hand and the flop came 652. Zolotow was still drawing live to knock Veldhuis out but his chances were growing slimmer. The 3 on the turn offered Zolotow no more help and the 9 sealed the hand for Veldhuis, who doubled up to almost 30,000 while Zolotow was left with 25,000.

Player Tags: Mimi Tran,   Steve Zolotow,   Doyle Brunson,   Daniel Alaei,   Lex Veldhuis

Final Table: Hour Three Update

May 31, '09

Blinds: 50,000-100,000 with a 10,000 ante

Players Remaining: 6 out of 201

Chip Counts:

1. Greg Raymer — 6,410,000
2. Vitaly Lunkin — 4,340,000
3. Justin Bonomo — 3,795,000
4. Isaac Haxton — 3,405,000
5. Dani Stern — 3,115,000

Average Chip Count: 3,445,000

Notable Eliminations:

7. Lex Veldhuis – $277,940
6. Alec Torelli – $329,730

Big Hands:

Lex Veldhuis Eliminated in Seventh Place ($277,940)

Greg Raymer raised to 200,000 preflop from the cutoff and Lex Veldhuis reraised all in for 1,265,000 from the small blind. Raymer made the call and they flipped up their cards:

Raymer: KK
Veldhuis: A7

Board: J62Q10

Veldhuis was eliminated in seventh place and Raymer held 7,665,000 after the hand.

Alec Torelli Eliminated in Sixth Place ($329,730)

Alec Torelli moved all in from the cutoff for 1,055,000 and Isaac Haxton called on the button. Their cards:

Torelli: A2
Haxton: A10

Board: QJ8Q5

Torelli was eliminated in sixth place and Haxton grew his stack to 4,645,000.

Player Tags: Greg Raymer,   Alec Torelli,   Isaac Haxton,   Lex Veldhuis

Level 21 Update: Clark Hamagami, Doshi Suresh, and Davd Baker Eliminated

May 30, '09

Blinds: 18,000-36,000 with a 4,000 chip ante

Players Remaining: 14 out of 201

Chip Counts:

1. Lex Veldhuis — 5,200,000
2. Justin Bonomo — 3,200,000
3. Alec Torelli — 2,600,000
4. Greg Raymer — 2,100,000
5. David Baker — 1,900,000
6. Ted Forrest — 1,900,000
7. Dani Stern- 1,430,000
8. Isaac Haxton – 1,400,000
9. Noah Schwartz – 1,400,000
10. Brian Rast – 1,160,000

Average Chip Count: 1,608,000

Notable Eliminations:

17. Clark Hamagami ($96,171)
16. Doshi Suresh ($96,171)
15. David Baker ($128,666)

Big Hands:

Doshi Suresh Eliminated by Greg Raymer in 16th Place ($96,171)

Doshi Suresh moved all-in pre-flop and was quickly called by the big stack of Greg Raymer. Suresh tabled A10 and Raymer exposed QQ. The flop came 674, giving Suresh a back door flush draw to go along with his over card. The 10 hit the turn and Raymer was well ahead, looking to dodge the remaining tens and aces in the deck. The 5 fell on the turn and Suresh was eliminated. Raymer is now up to 2,600,000 in chips and could add this prestigious tournament to his poker resume to go along with his main event win a few years ago.

David Baker Eliminated in 15th Place ($128,666)

David Baker raised to 85,000 on the button and Lex Veldhuis reraised to 205,000 from the small blind. Baker moved all in for 1,480,000 and Velhuis called him down. Their cards:

Baker: 66
Veldhuis: JJ

Board: A729A

Baker was eliminated in 15th place and Veldhuis grew his stack to 5.2 million to take the chip lead.

Greg Raymer gets Aces Cracked Twice

Brian Townsend was all in preflop on the small blind for 275,000 and Greg Ramyer had him covered under the gun. Their cards:

Raymer: AA
Townsend: AQ

Board: K109J3

Townsend doubled up on the hand to survive with a Broadway straight and Raymer took a hit on the hand.

A few hands later Keith Lehr was the player all in preflop and once again Raymer had his opponent covered. Their cards:

Raymer: AA
Lehr: K9

Board: K7329

Lehr doubled up on the hand to survive and Raymer couled only watch as his aces were crakced for a second time in a row. Raymer still held 2.1 million after the hand due to the short stacks that he was up against in both cases.

Left in the Deck

- Layne Flack came over from his Omaha 8 or Better to talk with Ted Forrest.

- The tournament staff is currently coloring up the players and adding 50,000 pink chips into play.

Player Tags: David Baker,   Ted Forrest,   Greg Raymer,   Brian Townsend,   Keith Lehr,   Lex Veldhuis

Level 20 Update: Andy Black and Matthew Glantz Eliminated

May 30, '09

Blinds: 15,000-30,000 with a 4,000 chip ante

Players Remaining: 17 out of 201

Chip Counts:

1. Justin Bonomo — 3,500,000
2. Lex Veldhuis — 3,000,000
3. Alec Torelli — 2,600,000
4. Greg Raymer — 2,000,000
5. David Baker — 1,900,000
6. Ted Forrest — 1,900,000
7. Isaac Haxton – 1,400,000
8. Dani Stern- 1,170,000
9. Brian Rast – 1,160,000
10. Brian Townsend – 500,000

Average Chip Count: 1,400,000

Notable Eliminations:

19. Andy Black ($71,858)
18. Matthew Glantz ($96,171)

Big Hands:

Andy Black Finds a Lucky Flop, Horrible Turn, Eliminated in 19th Place ($71,858)

With less than 10 big blinds, Andy Black moved all-in for just under 300,000. The action was folded to Dani Stern, who instantly called with AK. Black was disgruntled and turned over a dominated AJ. The flop was magic for Black as it came AJ6. The visibly excited Black had his emotions change when the devastating K hit on the turn, giving Stern a better two pair. The 5 fell on the river and and Black was eliminated in 19th place.

Tony G Doubles Up

Severely short stacked, Tony G moved all-in pre-flop with 33 and was called by the 22 of Isaac Haxton. The board ran out A5658 and Tony G doubled through Haxton to 400,000 in chips.

Alex Veldhuis Makes Big All-in Bet

Brian Townsend raised pre-flop to 75,000 and Alec Torelli re-raised from the cut off to 185,000. Action was folded to Alex Veldhuis in the big blind who moved all in for about 1,800,000 total. Torelli tanked for a few minutes before finally folding to the large bet from Veldhuis.

Matthew Glantz Eliminated in 18th Place ($96,171)

Alex Veldhuis and Matthew Glantz saw a flop of Q22. The two players got all the chips into the middle with Glantz holding Q9 against the superior AQ of Veldhuis. Glantz failed to hit his kicker as the board ran out and was sent to the rail right before the 20 minute break. Veldhuis is now up to 3,000,000 in chips.

Tony G Doubles Up Again

Isaac Haxton and Tony G were once again tangled up in a pot with Tony G holding the 1010 and Haxton with AQ. The flop was scary for Tony G, as it came 2105, giving him top set but Haxton the nut flush draw. The 4 hit the turn and Tony G was safe. The Q fell on the river and Tony G doubled up to 870,000.

Left In The Deck

Players are on a 20 minute break and will play 2 more levels before a dinner break.

Player Tags: Matthew Glantz,   Andy Black,   Brian Townsend,   Isaac Haxton,   Lex Veldhuis

Final Table: Hour Three Update

May 31, '09

Blinds: 50,000-100,000 with a 10,000 ante

Players Remaining: 6 out of 201

Chip Counts:

1. Greg Raymer — 6,410,000
2. Vitaly Lunkin — 4,340,000
3. Justin Bonomo — 3,795,000
4. Isaac Haxton — 3,405,000
5. Dani Stern — 3,115,000

Average Chip Count: 3,445,000

Notable Eliminations:

7. Lex Veldhuis – $277,940
6. Alec Torelli – $329,730

Big Hands:

Lex Veldhuis Eliminated in Seventh Place ($277,940)

Greg Raymer raised to 200,000 preflop from the cutoff and Lex Veldhuis reraised all in for 1,265,000 from the small blind. Raymer made the call and they flipped up their cards:

Raymer: KK
Veldhuis: A7

Board: J62Q10

Veldhuis was eliminated in seventh place and Raymer held 7,665,000 after the hand.

Alec Torelli Eliminated in Sixth Place ($329,730)

Alec Torelli moved all in from the cutoff for 1,055,000 and Isaac Haxton called on the button. Their cards:

Torelli: A2
Haxton: A10

Board: QJ8Q5

Torelli was eliminated in sixth place and Haxton grew his stack to 4,645,000.

Player Tags: Greg Raymer,   Alec Torelli,   Isaac Haxton,   Lex Veldhuis

Level 21 Update: Clark Hamagami, Doshi Suresh, and Davd Baker Eliminated

May 30, '09

Blinds: 18,000-36,000 with a 4,000 chip ante

Players Remaining: 14 out of 201

Chip Counts:

1. Lex Veldhuis — 5,200,000
2. Justin Bonomo — 3,200,000
3. Alec Torelli — 2,600,000
4. Greg Raymer — 2,100,000
5. David Baker — 1,900,000
6. Ted Forrest — 1,900,000
7. Dani Stern- 1,430,000
8. Isaac Haxton – 1,400,000
9. Noah Schwartz – 1,400,000
10. Brian Rast – 1,160,000

Average Chip Count: 1,608,000

Notable Eliminations:

17. Clark Hamagami ($96,171)
16. Doshi Suresh ($96,171)
15. David Baker ($128,666)

Big Hands:

Doshi Suresh Eliminated by Greg Raymer in 16th Place ($96,171)

Doshi Suresh moved all-in pre-flop and was quickly called by the big stack of Greg Raymer. Suresh tabled A10 and Raymer exposed QQ. The flop came 674, giving Suresh a back door flush draw to go along with his over card. The 10 hit the turn and Raymer was well ahead, looking to dodge the remaining tens and aces in the deck. The 5 fell on the turn and Suresh was eliminated. Raymer is now up to 2,600,000 in chips and could add this prestigious tournament to his poker resume to go along with his main event win a few years ago.

David Baker Eliminated in 15th Place ($128,666)

David Baker raised to 85,000 on the button and Lex Veldhuis reraised to 205,000 from the small blind. Baker moved all in for 1,480,000 and Velhuis called him down. Their cards:

Baker: 66
Veldhuis: JJ

Board: A729A

Baker was eliminated in 15th place and Veldhuis grew his stack to 5.2 million to take the chip lead.

Greg Raymer gets Aces Cracked Twice

Brian Townsend was all in preflop on the small blind for 275,000 and Greg Ramyer had him covered under the gun. Their cards:

Raymer: AA
Townsend: AQ

Board: K109J3

Townsend doubled up on the hand to survive with a Broadway straight and Raymer took a hit on the hand.

A few hands later Keith Lehr was the player all in preflop and once again Raymer had his opponent covered. Their cards:

Raymer: AA
Lehr: K9

Board: K7329

Lehr doubled up on the hand to survive and Raymer couled only watch as his aces were crakced for a second time in a row. Raymer still held 2.1 million after the hand due to the short stacks that he was up against in both cases.

Left in the Deck

- Layne Flack came over from his Omaha 8 or Better to talk with Ted Forrest.

- The tournament staff is currently coloring up the players and adding 50,000 pink chips into play.

Player Tags: David Baker,   Ted Forrest,   Greg Raymer,   Brian Townsend,   Keith Lehr,   Lex Veldhuis

Level 20 Update: Andy Black and Matthew Glantz Eliminated

May 30, '09

Blinds: 15,000-30,000 with a 4,000 chip ante

Players Remaining: 17 out of 201

Chip Counts:

1. Justin Bonomo — 3,500,000
2. Lex Veldhuis — 3,000,000
3. Alec Torelli — 2,600,000
4. Greg Raymer — 2,000,000
5. David Baker — 1,900,000
6. Ted Forrest — 1,900,000
7. Isaac Haxton – 1,400,000
8. Dani Stern- 1,170,000
9. Brian Rast – 1,160,000
10. Brian Townsend – 500,000

Average Chip Count: 1,400,000

Notable Eliminations:

19. Andy Black ($71,858)
18. Matthew Glantz ($96,171)

Big Hands:

Andy Black Finds a Lucky Flop, Horrible Turn, Eliminated in 19th Place ($71,858)

With less than 10 big blinds, Andy Black moved all-in for just under 300,000. The action was folded to Dani Stern, who instantly called with AK. Black was disgruntled and turned over a dominated AJ. The flop was magic for Black as it came AJ6. The visibly excited Black had his emotions change when the devastating K hit on the turn, giving Stern a better two pair. The 5 fell on the river and and Black was eliminated in 19th place.

Tony G Doubles Up

Severely short stacked, Tony G moved all-in pre-flop with 33 and was called by the 22 of Isaac Haxton. The board ran out A5658 and Tony G doubled through Haxton to 400,000 in chips.

Alex Veldhuis Makes Big All-in Bet

Brian Townsend raised pre-flop to 75,000 and Alec Torelli re-raised from the cut off to 185,000. Action was folded to Alex Veldhuis in the big blind who moved all in for about 1,800,000 total. Torelli tanked for a few minutes before finally folding to the large bet from Veldhuis.

Matthew Glantz Eliminated in 18th Place ($96,171)

Alex Veldhuis and Matthew Glantz saw a flop of Q22. The two players got all the chips into the middle with Glantz holding Q9 against the superior AQ of Veldhuis. Glantz failed to hit his kicker as the board ran out and was sent to the rail right before the 20 minute break. Veldhuis is now up to 3,000,000 in chips.

Tony G Doubles Up Again

Isaac Haxton and Tony G were once again tangled up in a pot with Tony G holding the 1010 and Haxton with AQ. The flop was scary for Tony G, as it came 2105, giving him top set but Haxton the nut flush draw. The 4 hit the turn and Tony G was safe. The Q fell on the river and Tony G doubled up to 870,000.

Left In The Deck

Players are on a 20 minute break and will play 2 more levels before a dinner break.

Player Tags: Matthew Glantz,   Andy Black,   Brian Townsend,   Isaac Haxton,   Lex Veldhuis