Mickey Appleman Poker Tournament Updates

Level 1 Hour 1 Update: Day 1d Sold To Capacity

Jul 06, '09

Blinds: 50-100

Big Hands:

Ivey Takes An Early Pot

Picking up the action on the flop of 1063, Phil Ivey bet 300 and his opponent in seat 3 made the call. The turn then brought the K and Ivey led out again, this time for 600.

The player in seat 3 decided to muck his hand and Ivey took down an early pot. He was around 31,000.

G.I. Joe In The House

Star of the upcoming movie G.I. Joe Marlon Wayans has decided to take in some poker today during day 1d. He got involved early in the level against the player in seat 7.

The flop came down A79 and Wayans led out with 1,000. Seat 7 called and the turn was the 10. Wayans bet again and seat 7 called again. The river was the A and Wayans bet 3,200. Seat 7 called and tabled AK and Wayans mucked his cards. He was down to 22,000.

John Salley Making An Appearance

Former NBA star John Salley tangled with his opponent in seat 7. With the board showing Q752, seat 7 bet 200 and Salley made the call. The river brought the 9 and seat 7 bet 500.

Salley called again and seat 7 tabled KQ and Salley mucked. He was at 28,000 after the hand.

Brown Bests Big Slick

With the board reading 6107K, Chad Brown bet 1,600 on the button after his opponent checked. His opponent quickly put his chips in the pot for a call and they watch a 7 fall on the river.

Brown’s opponent checked one more time and Brown thought for a few seconds before checking behind on the river. Brown’s opponent confidently turned up AK and Brown just shrugged and turned up K10, good for top two pair and the pot.

Left In The Deck:

The Day 1d field has been sold to capacity. The Rio staff has even added tables to accomodate the massive amount of entrants that have registered for the final day 1 flight of the main event. Despite this, there are still 200 people lined up to register for the event. The tournament staff has indicated that these people will not be accommodated due to the sellout. This notice has fallen on deaf ears, however, as the people have refused to leave until they are allowed to register.

While there are 200 people still in line, there were many more who just left after receiving the news that the event was sold to capacity. Mickey Appleman and Richard Ashby are among the players who have been shutout of the event. Appleman has said that he has not missed the main event for 30 years. The people who have stuck around tend to be people who have flown in from the U.K., Austrailia and other places strictly to play this event.

These people could be accepted if the WSOP accepted alternates as there have already been over 30 bust-outs early in day 1d. If these people were allowed to register as alternates, they could have filled those empty seats. However, the WSOP staff has a policy not to accept alternates. It will be interesting to see how long the people hold their protest in line. Stay tuned to CardPlayer.com as we will have a full story on this later in the day.

Player Tags: Mickey Appleman,   Phil Ivey,   Richard Ashby

Level 5 Update: John Hennigan Eliminated

Jun 10, '09

Blinds: 250-500 with a 125 ante

Players Remaining: 87 of 96

Chip Counts:

1. Vince Musso — 84,000
2. Bruno Fitoussi — 64,000
3. Gus Hansen — 62,000
4. Jon Turner — 61,000
5. Amnon Filippi — 60,000
6. Max Pescatori — 58,000
7. Daniel Alaie — 56,500
8. Mark Weitzman — 54,000
9. Eli Elezra — 53,000
10. Mike Matusow — 53,000

Average Chip Count: 33,103

Notable Eliminations:

John Hennigan

Big Hands:

John Hennigan Eliminated by Gus Hansen

John Hennigan raises to 1,200 before the flop and Chino Rheem calls behind him. Gus Hansen reraises to 5,400 from the small blind and both players call.

Hansen stands pat while both Hennigan and Rheem draw one card each.

First to act, Hansen checks and Hennigan immediately moves all in for 17,775. Rheem tanks for a few minutes before Hennigan calls the clock on him. Rheem eventually folds as Hansen takes his turn in the tank. Hennigan proceeds to call the clock on him as well, perhaps prompting a call. Hansen calls with a 10-9 low and Hennigan throws his ace-high away. Johnny World is eliminated from the tournament.

Mickey Appleman Doubles Through Bobby Bellande

Barry Greenstein opens the pot for 1,500 from early position and Bobby Bellande calls from middle position. Mickey Appleman moves all in for 9,225 from the button, Greenstein folds and Bellande calls.

Appleman stands pat while Bellande draws one card. Bellande turns over 7632, waiting for Appleman to reveal his hand before turning over his last card. Appleman shows 98752 for a 9-8 low while Bellande turns over the Q for queen-high. Appleman doubles up to 22,000 this hand while Bellande falls down to 35,000 in chips.

Shawn Sheikhan Knock One Out

Shawn Sheihkhan gets it all in pre-flop against the player ins seat 2; Sheikhan has seat 2 covered. Seat 2 draws one card while Sheikhan stands pat. Seat 2 shows a queen-high while Sheikhan turns over 98542 for a 9-8 low. Sheikhan eliminates his opponent and brings his chip count up to 44,000 this hand.

Filippi Takes One from Fitoussi

Brunno Fitoussi raises to 800 from under the gun and the player in seat 4 calls from early position. Amnon Filippi reraises to 4,500 from the button, Fitoussi calls and seat 4 folds.

Fitoussi draws one card while Filippi stands pat. Both players check around.

Fitoussi shows queen-high while Filippi turns over 107652 for 10-7 low. Filippi rakes the pot and brings his chip count up to 66,000 while Fitoussi falls down to 60,000 in chips.

Player Tags: Barry Greenstein,   Mickey Appleman,   Gus Hansen,   Shawn Sheikhan,   John Hennigan,   Bruno Fitoussi,   Amnon Filippi,   Jean-Robert Bellande,   Chino Rheem

Level 12 Update: Phan Rolling

Jun 11, '09

Blinds: 1,000-2,000 with a 500 ante

Players Remaining: 27 out of 96

Chip Counts:

1. Vince Musso – 215,000
2. Roland de Wolfe – 210,000
3. Jean-Robert Bellande – 188,000
4. John Juanda – 181,000
5. David Benyamine – 165,000
6. Ville Wahlbeck – 160,000
7. Daniel Harmetz – 145,000
8. Anton Allemann – 130,000
9. Max Pescatori – 125,000
10. Justin Smith – 122,000

Average Chip Count: 106,667

Notable Eliminations:

Mickey Appleman

Big Hands:

Matusow Can’t Make The Call

Tim Phan raised to 6,000 from the button and the action was on Mike Matusow. He raised it to 21,000 total from the small blind and Phan made the call after a bit of thought.

Draw: Matusow stands pat, Phan draws 1 card

Matusow checked and Phan fired 28,000 into the pot. Matusow went into a massive tank session and stared down Phan. Eventually, Matusow released his hand and he was down to 50,000 while Phan improved to 112,000.

Binger Muscled Off A Hand

Michael Binger raised to 6,000 from the hijack position and action folded to seat 1 on the button. He raised it to 24,500 and the action came back to Binger. After a brief moment of thought, he mucked his hand and he was down to 75,000 in chips.

Ducks Fly Together

The player in seat 1 raised to 6,000 from the small blind and Tim Phan made the call from the big blind.

Draw: Seat 1 draws 2 cards, Phan draws 2 cards

Phan was surprised his opponent elected to draw two cards and decided to take two himself. Both players then checked and Phan showed a pair of deuces. His opponent then mucked and Phan scored the victory with a pair. He was up to 123,000 after the hand.

Wahlbeck Eliminates Appleman

Ville Wahlbeck raised to 17,000 before the draw and Mickey Appleman moved in for 23,000 total. Wahlbeck called the 6,000 and it was time to draw.

Draw: Wahlbeck stands pat, Appleman draws 1 card

Wahlbeck turned over a Jack-low and Appleman showed 8-7-5-3, but he received a Queen on the draw and he was eliminated.

Archie Karas Doubles Up Against Binger’s Number Two

Archie Karas was all in for about 40,000 and Michael Binger made the call. That’s when things got interesting. Binger was not sure how many cards to draw and the clock was eventually called by Binger himself. Binger had 60 seconds to draw or else he would be forced to stand pat. After a good amount of time, Binger finally drew one card and then Karas turned over 7-5-4-3-2 for the nuts.

“I’m drawing dead,” Binger said. He then received his card and salt was added to his wound. “I caught it too!” he said as he showed 7-6-4-3-2 for the second best hand in lowball. Karas raked in the pot and was at 84,000 while Binger was down to 96,000.

Left In The Deck:

The players have gone on a 60 minute dinner break and will return at approximately 7:30 p.m.

Player Tags: Mickey Appleman,   Mike Matusow,   Archie Karas,   Tim Phan,   Ville Wahlbeck,   Michael Binger

Level 10 Update: Appleman Breaks 100k

Jun 11, '09

Blinds: 600-1,200 with a 300 ante

Players Remaining: 35 out of 96

Chip Counts:

1. Roland de Wolfe – 200,000
2. John Juanda – 165,000
3. Vince Musso – 165,000
4. Eliyahu Levy – 105,000
5. Mickey Appleman – 105,000
6. Anton Allemann – 90,000
7. Bruno Fitoussi – 90,000
8. Doug Booth – 88,000
9. Farzad Bonyadi – 87,000
10. Mike Matusow – 81,000

Average Chip Count: 66,977

Notable Eliminations:

Daniel Alaei
Gus Hansen
Sam Grizzle
Andy Black
Eli Elezra
Shawn Buchanan
Shawn Sheikhan

Big Hands:

Buchanan Takes Some Off Juanda, Then Goes Bust

Shawn Buchanan raised to 3,400 before the draw and action folded to John Juanda in the big blind. He made the call and it was time to draw.

Draw: Juanda draws 1 card, Buchanan draws 1 card

Juanda checked after receiving his card and Buchanan fired another 3,400 into the pot. Juanda decided to call and Buchanan tabled 10-9-8-4-2. Juanda mucked and was down to 170,000 while Buchanan was at 56,000. Those chips would not last Buchanan long, however, as he would go bust later in the level.

Mueller Flexes The Muscle

The player in seat 4 raised to 3,800 and Jean-Robert Bellande made the call from the button. Greg Mueller was next to act in the small blind and he counted out some chips. He finally raised to 14,500 and everyone mucked. Mueller took the pot and he was around 80,000 while Bellande was at 124,000.

The Apple Falls On Elezra

Mickey Appleman raised to 3,600 before the draw and action folded around to Eli Elezra in the big blind. He elected to call and it was time to draw.

Draw: Elezra draws 1 card, Appleman draws 1 card

Elezra received his card and decided to check. Appleman quickly fired another 5,000 into the pot and Elezra mucked. He was down to 19,000 and would later be eliminated. Appleman was around 100,000.

Bueno Bests Pescatori

After the draw and with 10,000 already in the pot, Patrick Bueno fired 8,000 into the pot. Max Pescatori went into the tank but finally mucked. He was down to 48,000 while Bueno was up to 83,000.

Blackout

Andrew Black moved all in for his final 15,000 and Justin Smith was next to act. He repopped to 41,000 and everyone else folded. Smith took his change back and it was time to draw.

Draw: Black stands pat, Smith stands pat

Both players were happy with their holdings and Black showed an 8-7 low. Black’s happiness turned to sorrow, however, as Smith turned 8-6-5-3-2 for a better low and Black made his exit.

Player Tags: Mickey Appleman,   John Juanda,   Max Pescatori,   Greg Mueller,   Eli Elezra,   Shawn Buchanan,   Jean-Robert Bellande,   Andy Black,   Patrick Bueno,   Justin Smith

Level 5 Update: John Hennigan Eliminated

Jun 10, '09

Blinds: 250-500 with a 125 ante

Players Remaining: 87 of 96

Chip Counts:

1. Vince Musso — 84,000
2. Bruno Fitoussi — 64,000
3. Gus Hansen — 62,000
4. Jon Turner — 61,000
5. Amnon Filippi — 60,000
6. Max Pescatori — 58,000
7. Daniel Alaie — 56,500
8. Mark Weitzman — 54,000
9. Eli Elezra — 53,000
10. Mike Matusow — 53,000

Average Chip Count: 33,103

Notable Eliminations:

John Hennigan

Big Hands:

John Hennigan Eliminated by Gus Hansen

John Hennigan raises to 1,200 before the flop and Chino Rheem calls behind him. Gus Hansen reraises to 5,400 from the small blind and both players call.

Hansen stands pat while both Hennigan and Rheem draw one card each.

First to act, Hansen checks and Hennigan immediately moves all in for 17,775. Rheem tanks for a few minutes before Hennigan calls the clock on him. Rheem eventually folds as Hansen takes his turn in the tank. Hennigan proceeds to call the clock on him as well, perhaps prompting a call. Hansen calls with a 10-9 low and Hennigan throws his ace-high away. Johnny World is eliminated from the tournament.

Mickey Appleman Doubles Through Bobby Bellande

Barry Greenstein opens the pot for 1,500 from early position and Bobby Bellande calls from middle position. Mickey Appleman moves all in for 9,225 from the button, Greenstein folds and Bellande calls.

Appleman stands pat while Bellande draws one card. Bellande turns over 7632, waiting for Appleman to reveal his hand before turning over his last card. Appleman shows 98752 for a 9-8 low while Bellande turns over the Q for queen-high. Appleman doubles up to 22,000 this hand while Bellande falls down to 35,000 in chips.

Shawn Sheikhan Knock One Out

Shawn Sheihkhan gets it all in pre-flop against the player ins seat 2; Sheikhan has seat 2 covered. Seat 2 draws one card while Sheikhan stands pat. Seat 2 shows a queen-high while Sheikhan turns over 98542 for a 9-8 low. Sheikhan eliminates his opponent and brings his chip count up to 44,000 this hand.

Filippi Takes One from Fitoussi

Brunno Fitoussi raises to 800 from under the gun and the player in seat 4 calls from early position. Amnon Filippi reraises to 4,500 from the button, Fitoussi calls and seat 4 folds.

Fitoussi draws one card while Filippi stands pat. Both players check around.

Fitoussi shows queen-high while Filippi turns over 107652 for 10-7 low. Filippi rakes the pot and brings his chip count up to 66,000 while Fitoussi falls down to 60,000 in chips.

Player Tags: Barry Greenstein,   Mickey Appleman,   Gus Hansen,   Shawn Sheikhan,   John Hennigan,   Bruno Fitoussi,   Amnon Filippi,   Jean-Robert Bellande,   Chino Rheem

Level 12 Update: Phan Rolling

Jun 11, '09

Blinds: 1,000-2,000 with a 500 ante

Players Remaining: 27 out of 96

Chip Counts:

1. Vince Musso – 215,000
2. Roland de Wolfe – 210,000
3. Jean-Robert Bellande – 188,000
4. John Juanda – 181,000
5. David Benyamine – 165,000
6. Ville Wahlbeck – 160,000
7. Daniel Harmetz – 145,000
8. Anton Allemann – 130,000
9. Max Pescatori – 125,000
10. Justin Smith – 122,000

Average Chip Count: 106,667

Notable Eliminations:

Mickey Appleman

Big Hands:

Matusow Can’t Make The Call

Tim Phan raised to 6,000 from the button and the action was on Mike Matusow. He raised it to 21,000 total from the small blind and Phan made the call after a bit of thought.

Draw: Matusow stands pat, Phan draws 1 card

Matusow checked and Phan fired 28,000 into the pot. Matusow went into a massive tank session and stared down Phan. Eventually, Matusow released his hand and he was down to 50,000 while Phan improved to 112,000.

Binger Muscled Off A Hand

Michael Binger raised to 6,000 from the hijack position and action folded to seat 1 on the button. He raised it to 24,500 and the action came back to Binger. After a brief moment of thought, he mucked his hand and he was down to 75,000 in chips.

Ducks Fly Together

The player in seat 1 raised to 6,000 from the small blind and Tim Phan made the call from the big blind.

Draw: Seat 1 draws 2 cards, Phan draws 2 cards

Phan was surprised his opponent elected to draw two cards and decided to take two himself. Both players then checked and Phan showed a pair of deuces. His opponent then mucked and Phan scored the victory with a pair. He was up to 123,000 after the hand.

Wahlbeck Eliminates Appleman

Ville Wahlbeck raised to 17,000 before the draw and Mickey Appleman moved in for 23,000 total. Wahlbeck called the 6,000 and it was time to draw.

Draw: Wahlbeck stands pat, Appleman draws 1 card

Wahlbeck turned over a Jack-low and Appleman showed 8-7-5-3, but he received a Queen on the draw and he was eliminated.

Archie Karas Doubles Up Against Binger’s Number Two

Archie Karas was all in for about 40,000 and Michael Binger made the call. That’s when things got interesting. Binger was not sure how many cards to draw and the clock was eventually called by Binger himself. Binger had 60 seconds to draw or else he would be forced to stand pat. After a good amount of time, Binger finally drew one card and then Karas turned over 7-5-4-3-2 for the nuts.

“I’m drawing dead,” Binger said. He then received his card and salt was added to his wound. “I caught it too!” he said as he showed 7-6-4-3-2 for the second best hand in lowball. Karas raked in the pot and was at 84,000 while Binger was down to 96,000.

Left In The Deck:

The players have gone on a 60 minute dinner break and will return at approximately 7:30 p.m.

Player Tags: Mickey Appleman,   Mike Matusow,   Archie Karas,   Tim Phan,   Ville Wahlbeck,   Michael Binger

Level 10 Update: Appleman Breaks 100k

Jun 11, '09

Blinds: 600-1,200 with a 300 ante

Players Remaining: 35 out of 96

Chip Counts:

1. Roland de Wolfe – 200,000
2. John Juanda – 165,000
3. Vince Musso – 165,000
4. Eliyahu Levy – 105,000
5. Mickey Appleman – 105,000
6. Anton Allemann – 90,000
7. Bruno Fitoussi – 90,000
8. Doug Booth – 88,000
9. Farzad Bonyadi – 87,000
10. Mike Matusow – 81,000

Average Chip Count: 66,977

Notable Eliminations:

Daniel Alaei
Gus Hansen
Sam Grizzle
Andy Black
Eli Elezra
Shawn Buchanan
Shawn Sheikhan

Big Hands:

Buchanan Takes Some Off Juanda, Then Goes Bust

Shawn Buchanan raised to 3,400 before the draw and action folded to John Juanda in the big blind. He made the call and it was time to draw.

Draw: Juanda draws 1 card, Buchanan draws 1 card

Juanda checked after receiving his card and Buchanan fired another 3,400 into the pot. Juanda decided to call and Buchanan tabled 10-9-8-4-2. Juanda mucked and was down to 170,000 while Buchanan was at 56,000. Those chips would not last Buchanan long, however, as he would go bust later in the level.

Mueller Flexes The Muscle

The player in seat 4 raised to 3,800 and Jean-Robert Bellande made the call from the button. Greg Mueller was next to act in the small blind and he counted out some chips. He finally raised to 14,500 and everyone mucked. Mueller took the pot and he was around 80,000 while Bellande was at 124,000.

The Apple Falls On Elezra

Mickey Appleman raised to 3,600 before the draw and action folded around to Eli Elezra in the big blind. He elected to call and it was time to draw.

Draw: Elezra draws 1 card, Appleman draws 1 card

Elezra received his card and decided to check. Appleman quickly fired another 5,000 into the pot and Elezra mucked. He was down to 19,000 and would later be eliminated. Appleman was around 100,000.

Bueno Bests Pescatori

After the draw and with 10,000 already in the pot, Patrick Bueno fired 8,000 into the pot. Max Pescatori went into the tank but finally mucked. He was down to 48,000 while Bueno was up to 83,000.

Blackout

Andrew Black moved all in for his final 15,000 and Justin Smith was next to act. He repopped to 41,000 and everyone else folded. Smith took his change back and it was time to draw.

Draw: Black stands pat, Smith stands pat

Both players were happy with their holdings and Black showed an 8-7 low. Black’s happiness turned to sorrow, however, as Smith turned 8-6-5-3-2 for a better low and Black made his exit.

Player Tags: Mickey Appleman,   John Juanda,   Max Pescatori,   Greg Mueller,   Eli Elezra,   Shawn Buchanan,   Jean-Robert Bellande,   Andy Black,   Patrick Bueno,   Justin Smith

$1,500 H.O.R.S.E - Level 11

Jun 30, '08

Blinds:
Hold'em: 500-1,000
Omaha 8: 500-1,000
Razz: Ante 200, Bring-in 300, Completion 1,000
Stud: Ante 200, Bring-in 300, Completion 1,000
Stud 8: Ante 200, Bring-in 300, Completion 1,000

Players Left: 94 of 803

Chip Counts:
Chad Brown: 74,000
Victor Ramdin: 51,000
Steven Diano: 48,600
Ed Tonnellier: 45,000
Mike Baxley: 41,000
David Gee: 38,000
Michelle Ankenman: 37,500
Jens Voertmann: 37,500
Tommy Hang: 36,000

Average Stack: 25,638

Eliminations: David Benyamine

Storylines:

Tough Table

In seats 1-3 at one table are Chad Brown, Mike Matusow and Joe Hachem. When it was announced that the money bubble is approaching, Matusow said, "I'm dying to make the money. Please, let me make the money so I can vomit."

Hands:

Hold'em

Binger Happy To Chop

Michael Binger bet 2,000 on a board of J1065 and was called by the player in seat 3. The 9 hit on the river and both players slowed down and checked. Binger showed A5 and smiled when he saw his opponent's A5. They chopped the pot and Binger sat with around 16,000 in chips.

Appleman Gets Away

After check-calling his opponent on a flop of J55, Mickey Appleman bet out 2,000 on the 3 turn. His opponent tanked and eventually raised to 4,000. Appleman mucked and cut his losses.

Omaha 8

"What a card on the river, huh?"

On board of 3285 Joe Hachem bet 2,000 and was called by the player in seat 5. When the 3 hit on the river seat 5 immediately bet out into Hachem. The man from down under thought about what to do and reluctantly made the call. His opponent turned over a big hand - A1079 for the nut flush and 7-low.
"What a card on the river, huh?" Hachem said in defeat, and mucked his hand.

Razz

Finally A Good Hand

Alex Jacob raised and the player in seat 2 made the call. When Jacobs got the 5 on fourth street, seat 2 paired and mucked. Jacob showed his down cards. Allen Cunningham commented that finally somebody had a big hand. Their hands were:
Jacob: A5(34) 
Seat 2: 44 (x-x)
Jacob showed he was drawing at the nuts.

Player Tags: Mickey Appleman,   Mike Matusow,   Joe Hachem,   Michael Binger,   Alex Jacob

Day 3 Ends

Jun 27, '08

Day 3 has ended just a few minutes after the beginning of level 16 at the HORSE event. Mickey Appleman was eliminated in 26th place, and he was followed to the rail by David Oppenheim in 25th place. The field is now down to 24 players remaining and they will all return tomorrow at 3 p.m. to play down to a final table of eight.  Those eight seats will be the most coveted seats in the poker world tomorrow.

Daily recap and official chip counts coming soon.

Player Tags: Mickey Appleman,   David Oppenheim

Omaha World Championship - End of Day

Jun 19, '08

Note: Play has ended for the day. The remaining players will return tomorrow at 3:00pm in the Brazilian Room and play down to a final table.

Blinds/Antes: 600/1200

Limits: 1200/2400

Players Remaining: 123 of 235

Average Stack: 38,211

Chip Counts:
Soheil Shamseddin - 104,000
Brad Booth - 99,000
Erick Lindgren - 84,000
Annie Duke - 78,000
David Chiu - 73,000
Jamie Pickering - 68,000
Jason Gray - 58,000
Roland de Wolfe - 54,000
Bruno Fitoussi - 53,000
Mike Matusow - 50,600

Recent Eliminations:
Lee Watkinson
Justin Bonomo
Allen Kessler
Tony G

Big Hands:

Gabe Kaplan Struggling to Stay Alive

On a board of QJ665, Gabe Kaplan faced a bet from his opponent and deliberated before throwing his cards into the muck and giving up on a pot worth over 12,000 in chips. “I flopped two pair,” the player told Kaplan as he mucked his cards face down and dragged the pot. Kaplan finished the hand with less than 15,000 in chips.

Chau Giang and Bill Gazes Split a Pot

Chau Giang Checked to Bill Gazes on a board of AJ32, and Gazes thought pensively before checking behind. The Q river was dealt, prompting Giang to bet. Gazes made the call, and Giang turned over his A1032 for a ten-high flush. Gazes turned over KK85 for a playable low, and the two players split the pot.

Mickey Appleman Trying to Improve His Short Stack

In a hand on table 15 in the orange section of the Amazon Room, the action folded to Mickey Appleman on the button. Appleman called, as did Annie Duke in the small blind. Johnny Chan checked his big blind option and the three players saw a flop of A62. Duke and Chan checked to Appleman, who bet. Duke folded, but Chan called and the two players saw the 10 on the turn. Chan checked and Appleman checked behind. The A on the river was dealt, and again Chan checked. Appleman bet and Chan called. Appleman turned over KK98 for two pair, aces and kings. Chan turned over 10872 for a playable low, and the pot was split.

Player Tags: Annie Duke,   Erick Lindgren,   Mickey Appleman,   Bill Gazes,   David Chiu,   Gabe Kaplan,   Chau Giang,   Brad Booth,   Soheil Shamseddin,   European Report

$10,000 World Championship Limit Hold'em - Day 1 - Level 7 Recap

Jun 15, '08

Note: The players are about to begin the final level of the day

Blinds: 500-1,000

Players Left:  118 of 218

Chip Leaders:
J.C. Tran - 84,000
Mickey Appleman - 58,000
Terrence Chan - 57,000
John Hennigan - 56,000
Michael Binger - 55,000
Eric Froehlich - 53,000
Greg Mueller - 52,000
Minh Ly - 51,000
Erick Lindgren - 51,000
Joe Sebok - 50,000

Average Stack: 36,950

Eliminations:
Daniel Negreanu
Mark “Newhizzle” Newhouse
Scotty Nguyen

Big Hands and Storylines:

Congratulations to Barry Greenstein

An announcement was made over the public address system informing the room of Barry Greenstein’s victory in the $1,500 razz tournament. Apparently Barry did not stick around to savor his victory for very long, because as the announcement was being made he was taking his seat at table 14 in the $10,000 limit tournament while simultaneously conducting an interview. When asked by a fellow player how much the tournament win was worth, Barry seemed hesitant to answer, though he eventually said it was about $150,000. For the record, it was $158,659.

Bloch Takes One Down

Michael Binger made a raise from early position; Andy Bloch in the big blind was the only caller. On a flop of Q104, Bloch checked, Binger bet, and Bloch called. Both players checked the 5 turn. The river was the J, Bloch bet out and got a call from Binger. Bloch’s 54 made two-pair and he raked in the pot. Bloch now has 33,000, still far short of Binger’s stack of 55,000.

Sung Sunk

On a flop of KT8, Steve Sung bet from the small blind and was called by Daniel Alaei in late position. The action played out the same way, bet-call, on both the 3 turn and K river. Sung tabled A8 and Alaei showed JT for a higher two-pair. Sung, with 39,000, still has more chips than Alaei, but 21,000 is still a respectable amount at this juncture of the tournament.

Brandon Adams Hit Hard

Brandon Adams lost about 5,000 chips on a hand in which he flopped top-pair top-kicker against his opponent’s set of eights. The board was AJ8T6; Adams had AK and his opponent tabled 88. Adams is now down to 10,000 and will in all likelihood need to double up in the day’s final level to make it to day 2.

Player Tags: J.C. Tran,   Scotty Nguyen,   Erick Lindgren,   Barry Greenstein,   Mickey Appleman,   Andy Bloch,   Minh Ly,   Daniel Negreanu,   Greg Mueller,   John Hennigan,   Daniel Alaei,   Terrence Chan,   Eric Froehlich,   Joe Sebok,   Steve Sung,   Brandon Adams,   Michael Binger,   Mark Newhouse

$10,000 World Championship Limit Hold'em - Day 1 - Level 6 Recap

Jun 15, '08

Note: Players are now on a 20-minute break

Blinds: 400-800

Players Left: 143 of 218

Chip Leaders:
Michael Binger - 60,000
Mickey Appleman - 58,000
Greg Mueller - 53,000
Bill Chen - 52,000
Terrence Chan - 50,000
John Hennigan - 48,000
J.C. Tran - 47,000
David Oppenheim - 44,000
Eric Froehlich - 42,000

Average Stack: 30,500

Eliminations:
Bill Edler

Big Hands and Storylines:

Breaks are for the Weak

Barry Greenstein, currently heads-up with Chris Klodnicki in the $1,500 razz event, has decided to use his break in that tournament to play some limit hold’em. Despite having 750,000 in razz, Greenstein has a paltry 15,000 chips here in the $10,000 limit event. Though that tends to happen when you sit out of a tournament for hours at a time.

Edler Out

Bill Edler raised pre-flop to 1,600 and got one caller in the small blind. Both players checked the AJ6 flop. And on the K turn, Edler tossed in his last 1,300 chips. The small blind instantly called and turned over QT for a turned straight and Edler’s A2 was drawing dead.

Full- Blown Tomko

Dewey Tomko just took a big pot down against Greg Mueller and Hoyt Corkins: Corkins raised pre-flop from middle position and Tomko called one to his left. Mueller called from the small blind and the flop was seen by those three. Mueller bet into his opponents on the K76 flop, and Corkins quickly raised him. Tomko, without much thought, made the call, and Mueller called as well. The turn was the Q and Mueller and Corkins both checked. Tomko bet and took down the pot right there. Tomko now stands at 29,000, a bit above Corkins’ 22,000 but still well behind Mueller’s 53,000.

Schulman’s Set Superior

Nick Schulman bet into his opponent on the river with the board showing A9677. His opponent called and Schulman tabled 99 for the full house, growing his stack to 26,000.

Player Tags: Hoyt Corkins,   J.C. Tran,   Barry Greenstein,   Mickey Appleman,   Dewey Tomko,   David Oppenheim,   Greg Mueller,   John Hennigan,   Terrence Chan,   Eric Froehlich,   Michael Binger,   Nick Schulman

$10,000 World Championship Limit Hold'em - Day 1 - Level 5 Recap

Jun 15, '08

Blinds: 300-600

Players Left: 184 of 218

Chip Leaders:
Michael Binger - 60,000
Liz Lieu - 55,000
David Oppenheim - 55,000
Minh Ly - 42,000
Justin Bonomo - 40,000
Todd Witteles - 40,000
Mickey Appleman - 39,000
J.C. Tran - 38,000
Andy Bloch - 38,000
Richard Brodie - 37,000

Average Stack: 23,700

Eliminations:
Anna Wroblewski
Doyle Brunson
Marcel Luske
Patrik Antonius
Thor Hansen
Vivek Rajkumar

Big Hands and Storylines:

Kicker Problems for Boeken

Noah Boeken and Bill Edler tangled again, with Edler claiming his revenge on this occasion. Boeken raised from middle position and Edler re-raised him. The table folded around and Boeken made the call. The board came Q55T8 and Boeken check-called Edler on every street. Edler tabled AQ and Boeken rapped the table, flashed a queen, and mucked his cards. With that pot Edler is up to 28,500.

Duck Tales

With only four big blinds left, Vivek “psyduck” Rajkumar got all of his chips into the middle with AJ against his opponent’s A2. When the board ran out KT3K5, Rajkumar was up to 5,000 chips. Unfortunately his day would not last much longer and he busted 15 minutes later.

So That’s Why He Wears a Suit

We here at Card Player never tire of Marcel Luske’s antics. While many players’ shenanigans can be cruel and tragic (which makes them not really shenanigans at all) Marcel’s are always good-natured and amusing. After rivering a straight against Matt Hawrilenko to stay alive in the tournament, Luske leaned close to the table, laid his necktie flat on the felt, and made a very simple request to the dealer: “Gimme da money.” The dealer – like all of the players at the table – was entertained by this turn of events and obliged the Dutchman, placing the chips on his tie. As Luske dragged the pot in a most unusual manner, Terrence Chan asked Hawrilenko, “Now wasn’t it worth it to lose that small pot?” Unfortunately for lovers of fanciful fun and dapperly-dressed Dutchman, Luske would be eliminated later in the level.

Traniello a Thorn in Arieh’s Side

Marco Traniello has just taken two pots off of Josh Arieh and increased his stack to 28,000.

In the first pot Traniello raised from the button and Arieh called in the big blind. The two checked a AJ2 flop, and Traniello took it down on the turn (4) when Arieh check-folded.

The next hand was a bit bigger: Marco raised in early position and Arieh 3-bet him in late position. Theo Tran called in the big blind, and Traniello called. The flop was 992. Tran checked, Traniello bet, Arieh called, and Tran folded. Traniello and Arieh both checked the 6c turn. The 2 seemed to be a harmless river card, so when Traniello checked, Arieh fired 1,200. Traniello called and the two showed their cards:

Arieh: 8-8
Traniello T-T

Traniello’s recent run has propelled him up into the upper-third of today’s players. Arieh is down to 18,500, and Theo Tran is lingering at 13,000.

Player Tags: J.C. Tran,   Thor Hansen,   Josh Arieh,   Richard Brodie,   Mickey Appleman,   Andy Bloch,   Minh Ly,   David Oppenheim,   Doyle Brunson,   Marco Traniello,   Marcel Luske,   Bill Edler,   Noah Boeken,   Patrik Antonius,   Justin Bonomo,   Liz Lieu,   Todd Witteles,   Michael Binger,   Theo Tran,   V R,   Anna Wroblewski,   European Report

$3,000 H.O.R.S.E - Level 17

Jun 12, '08

Limits:
Hold'em/Omaha: 5,000-10,000, 2,500-5,000 blinds
Razz/Stud/Stud8b: 5,000-10,000, 1,000 ante, 2,000 bring-in

Players Left: 20 of 414

Chip Counts:

Jared Davis: 260,000
Jennifer Harman-Traniello: 191,000
Blair Rodman: 180,000
Farzad Rouhani: 161,000
Alexander Jung: 146,000
Marcel Luske: 140,000
Ross Tsodikov: 135,000
J.J. Hazan: 135,000
Steve Zolotow: 132,000
Hoyt Corkins: 124,000

Average Chip Stack: 124,200

Eliminations: Kevin "BeLOWaBOVe" Saul

Big Hands:

Razz

The Dutchman Cripples BeLOWaBOVe

Facing bets from Kevin "BeLOWaBOVe" Saul on every street, Marcel Luske called him down and as soon as he heard Saul say, "Jack," Luske stood up and threw down his hand face up - 10-low. He then yelled, "Heya! How do I know!?" as he scooped the pot. Their cards were:
Luske: A-8-A-8 (10-6-3)
Saul: 5-A-2-Q ( J X X)
The pot crippled Saul and his final hand was soon to come.

Saul Makes Full House... Unfortunately it was in Razz and he was Eliminated

WIth only a few thousand in chips remaining, Kevin Saul made a final stand against the player in seat 1. When all the cards were dealt, the players showed:
Saul: 10-10-6-7-7-Q-10
Seat 1: 4-3-9-4-7-8-8-6
"I made a full house," Saul said sarcastically. Seat 1's 8-low took the pot and sent Saul packing in 21st place.

Omaha

The Bald Eagle Splits One

Heads up, both Steve Zolotow Mickey Appleman checked the flop of AK8. Appleman bet 10,000 on the 7 turn and Zolotow called. The river brought the 5 and Appleman bet again. Zolotow called and showed A-9-4-2 for the 7-low and Appleman showed A-10-9-6 for the straight, taking the high. Zolotow had around 132,000 at the end of the level and Appleman had just over 30,000.

 

Player Tags: Mickey Appleman,   Steve Zolotow,   Marcel Luske,   Kevin Saul,   European Report

$3,000 H.O.R.S.E. - Players Dropping Quick

Jun 13, '08

Players Left: 12

Eliminations: J.J. Hazan, David Levi, Mallory Smith, Mickey Appleman

Big Hands and Storylines:

J.J. Hazan Eliminated in 16th Place ($10,283) - Hold'em

J.J. Hazan raised and Hoyt Corkins reraised. Hazan moved in and Corkins made the call with pocket jacks. Hazan was behind with pocket threes and the board offered no help when it came 992J9. Hazan was eliminated in 16th place.

David Levi Eliminated in 15th Place ($10,283) - Omaha Hi-Lo

The action was unclear, but David Levi was unable to double up on the extremely short stack to survive. He was eliminated in 15th place.

Mallory Smith Eliminated in 14th Place ($13,711) - Omaha Hi-Lo

Mallory Smith was all in preflop against Jared Davis. Smith held J-J-8-5 but was up against the A-A-10-4 of Davis. The flop came Q85 and Smith took the lead with bottom two pair. The turn was the Q and all of a sudden Smith was counterfeited by Davis and his aces up. The river was the K and Smith was eliminated in 14th place.

Mickey Appleman Eliminated in 13th Place ($13,711) - Razz

Short stacked and desperate, Mickey Appleman was all in drawing to a 10 low, but it didn't matter if he made his hand or not, becaues Jennifer Harman had already made her 9 low. Appleman was eliminated in 13th place.

Player Tags: Hoyt Corkins,   David Levi,   Mickey Appleman,   Jared Davis,   Jennifer Harman,   Mallory Smith,   J.J. Hazan

$3,000 H.O.R.S.E - Level 17

Jun 12, '08

Limits:
Hold'em/Omaha: 5,000-10,000, 2,500-5,000 blinds
Razz/Stud/Stud8b: 5,000-10,000, 1,000 ante, 2,000 bring-in

Players Left: 20 of 414

Chip Counts:

Jared Davis: 260,000
Jennifer Harman-Traniello: 191,000
Blair Rodman: 180,000
Farzad Rouhani: 161,000
Alexander Jung: 146,000
Marcel Luske: 140,000
Ross Tsodikov: 135,000
J.J. Hazan: 135,000
Steve Zolotow: 132,000
Hoyt Corkins: 124,000

Average Chip Stack: 124,200

Eliminations: Kevin "BeLOWaBOVe" Saul

Big Hands:

Razz

The Dutchman Cripples BeLOWaBOVe

Facing bets from Kevin "BeLOWaBOVe" Saul on every street, Marcel Luske called him down and as soon as he heard Saul say, "Jack," Luske stood up and threw down his hand face up - 10-low. He then yelled, "Heya! How do I know!?" as he scooped the pot. Their cards were:
Luske: A-8-A-8 (10-6-3)
Saul: 5-A-2-Q ( J X X)
The pot crippled Saul and his final hand was soon to come.

Saul Makes Full House... Unfortunately it was in Razz and he was Eliminated

WIth only a few thousand in chips remaining, Kevin Saul made a final stand against the player in seat 1. When all the cards were dealt, the players showed:
Saul: 10-10-6-7-7-Q-10
Seat 1: 4-3-9-4-7-8-8-6
"I made a full house," Saul said sarcastically. Seat 1's 8-low took the pot and sent Saul packing in 21st place.

Omaha

The Bald Eagle Splits One

Heads up, both Steve Zolotow Mickey Appleman checked the flop of AK8. Appleman bet 10,000 on the 7 turn and Zolotow called. The river brought the 5 and Appleman bet again. Zolotow called and showed A-9-4-2 for the 7-low and Appleman showed A-10-9-6 for the straight, taking the high. Zolotow had around 132,000 at the end of the level and Appleman had just over 30,000.

 

Player Tags: Mickey Appleman,   Steve Zolotow,   Marcel Luske,   Kevin Saul,   European Report

$3,000 H.O.R.S.E. - Players Dropping Quick

Jun 13, '08

Players Left: 12

Eliminations: J.J. Hazan, David Levi, Mallory Smith, Mickey Appleman

Big Hands and Storylines:

J.J. Hazan Eliminated in 16th Place ($10,283) - Hold'em

J.J. Hazan raised and Hoyt Corkins reraised. Hazan moved in and Corkins made the call with pocket jacks. Hazan was behind with pocket threes and the board offered no help when it came 992J9. Hazan was eliminated in 16th place.

David Levi Eliminated in 15th Place ($10,283) - Omaha Hi-Lo

The action was unclear, but David Levi was unable to double up on the extremely short stack to survive. He was eliminated in 15th place.

Mallory Smith Eliminated in 14th Place ($13,711) - Omaha Hi-Lo

Mallory Smith was all in preflop against Jared Davis. Smith held J-J-8-5 but was up against the A-A-10-4 of Davis. The flop came Q85 and Smith took the lead with bottom two pair. The turn was the Q and all of a sudden Smith was counterfeited by Davis and his aces up. The river was the K and Smith was eliminated in 14th place.

Mickey Appleman Eliminated in 13th Place ($13,711) - Razz

Short stacked and desperate, Mickey Appleman was all in drawing to a 10 low, but it didn't matter if he made his hand or not, becaues Jennifer Harman had already made her 9 low. Appleman was eliminated in 13th place.

Player Tags: Hoyt Corkins,   David Levi,   Mickey Appleman,   Jared Davis,   Jennifer Harman,   Mallory Smith,   J.J. Hazan

Event 18 - $5,000 2-7 lowball w/ rebuys - End of Day

Jun 09, '08

Blinds: 800-1,600 (400 Ante)

Players Remaining: 39

Chip Leaders:
Tom Dwan: 230,000
Mike Matusow: 179,000
Michael Binger: 162,000
Tom Schneider: 149,000
Stephen Wolff: 145,000
Erick Lindgren: 135,000
Phil Ivey: 130,000
Michael Mizrachi: 125,000
Chad Brown: 120,000
Nick Schulman: 117,000

Eliminations: Gus Hansen, Andy Black

Stories:

Tom Dwan received a one round penalty for exposing his cards before action had completed in front of him. Although several players at the table thought the ruling was unnecessary, the floor maintained that the scenario warranted an indisputable penalty.

Notable Hands:

Michael Mizrachi raised to around 4,000 from under the gun, and Jon "PearlJammer" Turner called from the button. The Grinder drew 2 cards while Turner only took 1. Mizrachi checked after the draw, and PearlJammer went into the tank for half a minute before betting 11,000. Mizrachi quickly pushed out two stacks of twenty 1,000 chips for a total of 40,000. Turner went into the tank again before making the laydown. Mizrachi showed 7-6 and raked in the pot.

Tom Dwan opened the pot with a raise of 5,500. Howard Lederer moved all in behind him for a total of 48,800. Dwan tanked briefly after receiving the count, eventually folding and showing a made J-10 low. Lederer examined the hand before saying "You would have been drawing live."

Gus Hansen moved all in only to have Mickey Appleman put in a substantial reraise behind him. Appleman's bet pushed the remaining players out of the hand, and Gus was in bad shape, drawing 2 cards. Appleman stood pat and showed an 8-6 low. Hansen drew to a King high and was eliminated from the tournament, packing it up and moving to a vacant table near the tournament area to continue his massage.

Seat 7 raised to 5,000, and was called by Phil Galfond from late position and Chris Ferguson on the button. All players drew one card. Seat 7 bet 7,600, Galfond went into the tank before making the call, only to have Jesus raise an additional 22,000. Seat 7 folded, and Galfond tanked for another 3 minutes before laying it down. Ferguson picked up a nice pot worth over 30,000.


Play has ended for the evening. Players will reconvene to continue the tournament at 3 pm tomorrow, until the final table has been reached.

Player Tags: Chris Ferguson,   Mickey Appleman,   Gus Hansen,   Howard Lederer,   Michael Mizrachi,   Jon Turner,   Tom Dwan,   European Report

Event 18 - $5,000 2-7 lowball w/ rebuys - Level 4

Jun 09, '08

Blinds: 300-600 (150 Ante), moving up to 400-800 (200 Ante)

Players Remaining: 69

Eliminations: Steve Zolotow

Chip Leaders:
Todd Brunson: 166,000
Shawn Sheikhan:110,000
Jeff Lisandro: 87,000
Phil Ivey: 86,000
Nick Schulman: 67,000
Gus Hansen: 67,000
Lyle Berman: 56,000
Tom Dwan: 55,000
Johnny Chan: 55,000
David Benyamine: 54,000

Average Stack: 12,319

Note: The 85 entrants in this event generated a total of 272 rebuys and add-ons, generating a prize pool of $1,735,020. 14 players will make the money, with the winner guaranteed a payday of $537,862.

Poker Royalty

Although the half hour dinner break did not technically begin until the end of level 4, several players have begun dining early, having their meals delivered to them at the table. While Eli Elezra sat snacking on some edamame he had acquired during the previous break, Patrik Antonius had a full meal brought to his seat, complete with a glass of white wine. Eric Lindgren had the same meal brought to his table, making the smell of clam chowder as pervasive as the sound of shuffling chips. When Scotty Nguyen had a plate of eel sushi delivered, Phil Hellmuth was quick to request two orders of the same dish, along with a California hand roll.

It also seems that the rules regarding the use of cell phones at the tables have been suspended for this star-studded event, as many of the players have been actively texting and chatting while tossing their hands into the muck.

It's good to be poker royalty.

Notable Hands:

Action has become slightly more subdued following the end of the rebuy period. Players have generally started making smaller sized bets and showing a bit more caution now that the threat of elimination looms large.

Appleman Doubles

Mickey Appleman moved all in before the draw and received one caller. Appleman stood pat, and his opponent drew one card. Appleman showed 10-9-8-6-3, which was enough to win him the pot and keep him in the running.

How do you fold three high?

After the draw, Jennifer Harman moved all-in for 75,000. Gus Hansen went into the tank for some time, softly murmuring his thought process out loud as he mentally ran through Harman's different possible holdings. He eventually folded, and as he mucked his hand the 3 was exposed, prompting David Grey to jokingly exclaim "You folded three high?!"


The Grinder and The Matador

Carlos Mortensen made a standard opening raise to 1,800 and received one caller before Michael Mizrachi moved all-in. Mortensen eventually made the call, prompting a fold from the other opponent. Mizrachi traded out one card, while Mortensen stood his ground, showing 10-7-3-4-2. Mizrachi took some time to squeeze his last card out, finally flipping over 9-8-7-6-4 triumphantly, taking down the pot and gorging the Matador's stack.

Players have gone on a 30 minute dinner break.

Player Tags: Mickey Appleman,   Gus Hansen,   Carlos Mortensen,   Michael Mizrachi,   Jennifer Harman