$2,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em - End of Day 2
Jun 21, '08
The final table of event 38 is set and the big name of the lot is Lee Watkinson. Watkinson will be making his first final table since last year's World Series main event where he finished a dissapointing 8th place. Watkinson entered 10-handed play with a paucity of chips, a situation he would soon remedy by winning a race against Robert Cheung. He would never look back and by the time the final table was set, he would be 2nd in chips with 390,000. Jan Von Halle, whose play has been solid as a rock, will enter the final table with the chip lead. Other notables who will have the chance to earn a bracelet tomorrow include Ayaz Mahmood, Robert Cheung, and Chris Bell.
Action will begin tomorrow at 2 p.m. PST.
Players Left: 9 of 605
Chip Leaders:
Jan Von Halle - 470,000
Lee Watkinson - 390,000
Ayaz Mahmood - 330,000
Robert Cheung - 315,000
Keith Greer - 280,000
Chris Bell - 265,000
Michael Greco - 125,000
Benjamin Roberts - 120,000
Davidi Kitai - 80,000
Average Stack: 161,300
Eliminations:
10th – Benjamin Zamani
11th – Michael Binger
12th – Keith Lehr
13th – Jeff Sluzinski
14th – Amato Galasso
15th – Chris Dombrowski
The Road To The Final Table
Keith Lehr Is A Man Of His Word; He’s Also Eliminated
Before the start of the hand, Keith Lehr in the big blind warned everyone at his 6-handed table not to raise unless they were willing to play for 83,000, the size of his stack. Ayaz Mahmood, undeterred by this portentous statement, raised to 23,000. Action folded around to Lehr who – surprise, surprise – moved all of his chips in. Mahmood made the call and the two showed their hands:
Lehr: A
9
Mahmood: 4
4
The flop came K33. The turn 8 gave Lehr a flush draw in addition to his two overcards. The river was the 7 though, ending Lehr’s day a few hours earlier than he would have liked.
Bell Tolls For Binger
Chris Bell raised from middle position to 25,000 and Michael Binger raised to 78,000, leaving himself 75,000 behind. After a bit of thought, Bell moved all-in and Binger called. The two were racing: Bell’s JJ against Binger’s AQ. Binger was not aided by the board – 9
75109 – and he was eliminated in 11th place.
Ayaz Mahmood Folds.... A-K? Really?
Ayaz Mahmood raised to 28,000 and action at the 6-handed table folded to Bob Cheung in the big blind. Cheung stacked his chips and slid them forward and backward in thought, never moving them into the center of the table. After a minute or so of this, Mahmood implored Cheung, “Put your money in.” Another minute passed before Cheung raised the pot, making it 61,000 more and leaving about 160,000 behind. This prompted Mahmood to fold A-K offsuit face up. Mahmood and Cheung were the two biggest stacks at the table at the time; perhaps Mahmood did not want to tangle with someone who could cripple him before the final table.
Final Table Action
Watkinson Doubles Up
Early on at the final table, Lee Watkinson doubled up off of Robert Cheung. Cheung had QQ and Watkinson had AK. The flop was good news for Watkinson – K22 – the king giving him a near lock on the hand. The turn was the A, giving him an unnecessary two pair, but also providing Cheung with a flush draw. The river blanked, however, and Watkinson was able to double up, giving him a stack that would not wane for the remainder of the day.
Greer Doubles Up
Severely short-stacked Keith Greer, in the cutoff, moved 20,000 into the pot for a raise and reached for more chips to add to it, but since he had not announced an amount, the min-raise had to stand. Ayaz Mahmood called the 10,000 extra in the big blind. Both players checked the Q107 flop. On the 8 turn Mahmood bet 30,000, putting Greer all-in. Greer made a quick call and declared a set of tens. His 1010 had Mahmood’s 102 drawing dead. Greer doubled up to a little over 100,000.
Greer Double Doubles Up
Perhaps a simpler title would have been Greer Quadruples Up, but this was anything but a simple hand. Benjamin Zamani raised to 26,000 from middle position. Robert Cheung min-raised to 40,000. The action was only beginning though. Keith Greer, who had been playing extraordinarily tight, moved in for 67,000. Ayaz Mahmood cold-called the 4-bet, and Zamani called also, leaving himself 90,000 behind. Cheung asked the dealer, “The pot is open for a re-raise, right?” The dealer confirmed that it indeed was, and that put Cheung into decision mode. With numbers racing through his head, he stood up, and, after confirming that Mahmood had about 270,000 left behind him, he moved all-in. Mahmood folded, as did Zamani, and the massive pot was to be contested between Cheung and Greer. Greer showed QQ, which was not unexpected, but the table exploded in a cacophony of disbelief when Cheung showed his KQ. The board rolled off harmlessly and Greer was able to more than quadruple up.
The insanity wasn’t quite over yet. Remarkably, Ayaz Mahmood claimed to have fold pocket kings. Then again, perhaps it was not so unbelievable when you consider his berating of Cheung after the hand. He and Cheung got into a bit of a tiff about the hand which was quickly quashed by the dealer as play recommenced.
Michael Greco summed all of the action quite succinctly: “Mental. Mental. Absolutely mental.”
The Backbreaker
Davidi Kitai and Benjamin Zamani, the two short stacks, got all of their chips into the middle and showed the following hands:
Zamani: 1010
Kitai: AQ
The board peeled off A525K and Kitai had doubled up. After counting out what Zamani owed the Frenchman, he was left with a mere two chips. There would be no miracle comeback for Zamani today, as Jan Von Halle took his pair of chips only two hands later. Zamani's 10th place finish is good for $14,314.
Player Tags: Lee Watkinson, Ayaz Mahmood, Benjamin Roberts, Chris Bell, Michael Binger, Robert Cheung, Keith Lehr, Davidi Kitai, Michael Greco, Amato Galasso, Jeff Sluzinski, Jan Von Halle, Keith Greer, Chris Dombrowski, Benjamin Zamani
