PokerStars North American Poker Tour -- Los Angeles Final Table Set

It isn’t often that one hand of poker sets the entire tone for a tournament day. When one hand takes place between the two largest stacks left in an event it can send the tournament on two drastically different trajectories. If the stack that is second in command doubles up it can set up a long, slow battle for the day, but if the big stack vanquishes his main competitor then the rest of the day will be riding on fast forward. The latter was what happened here today at the PokerStars North American Poker Tour Los Angeles $5,000 no-limit hold’em main event.

Shortly after play began at 1 p.m. PDT a late-arriving Micah Raskin raised preflop and Christopher DeMaci reraised. Raskin made the call and the two biggest chip stacks in the tournament saw a J 10 10 flop. Raskin checked and DeMaci bet 181,000. Raskin raised to 400,000 and DeMaci reraised to 725,000. Raskin made the call and the turn fell A. Raskin quickly moved all in — for 1,366,000!

DeMaci went into the tank for several minutes to ponder the huge call. He eventually made the call after a large crowd had gathered and they moved even closer when the two opponents flipped over their cards:

Raskin: 6 6
DeMaci: A 10

River: 3

DeMaci had turned a full house but he had the two pair of Raskin beat on the flop. Raskin was eliminated in 19th place and he took home $18,000 in prize money. DeMaci held a dominant chip lead with 6 million after the hand and he ends the night with a chip lead worth 6,283,000.

It took a little over five hours for the final 19 to shrink to the final eight thanks to the kick start provided by the Raskin-DeMaci showdown. Big names that will be joining DeMaci at the final table include Team PokerStars pros Jason Mercier and Anh Van Nguyen, Michael Binger, and Ray Henson. The final table will begin at 2 p.m. PDT tomorrow at the Crystal Casino in Compton, California. That wraps things up here from the Bicycle Casino. We will see you tomorrow at a new L.A. poker room location.

Here is a look at the chip counts heading into tomorrow’s final table:

Seat 1: [[p: Jake Toole]] — 1,975,000
Seat 2: Joe Tehan — 1,907,000
Seat 3: Michael Binger — 1,670,000
Seat 4: Anh Van Nguyen — 1,058,000
Seat 5: Jason Mercier — 3,800,000
Seat 6: Al Grimes — 982,000
Seat 7: Ray Henson — 3,268,000
Seat 8: Chris DeMaci — 6,283,000

Here is what they will be playing for at the final table tomorrow:

1: $725,000
2: $440,000
3: $250,000
4: $195,000
5: $145,000
6: $114,000
7: $84,857
8: $60,000

Day 4 Results:

9: Alan Myerson — $47,000
10: Jimmie Guinther — $47,000
11: Joseph Melancon — $37,000
12: George Lind — $37,000
13: Matt Affleck — $27,000
14: Anthony Nardi — $27,000
15: Carlos Watanabe — $21,000
16: Thomas Young — $21,000
17: Carl Beliveau — $18,000
18: Jonathan Gagnon Villenueve — $18,000
19: Micah Raskin — $18,000

Here is a look at the other elimination hands from the day that took place after the game changer that kicked things off this afternoon as featured in CardPlayer.com’s live coverage from Los Angeles:

Jonathan Gagnon-Villenueve Eliminated in 18th Place ($18,000)

Jimmie Guinther raised preflop and Anh Van Nguyen made the call from the small blind. Jonathan Gagnon-Villenueve reraised all in from the big blind for an additional 600,000 and Guinther made the call. Nguyen mucked and the final two players flipped over their cards:

Guinther: A-Q
Jonathan: 9 9

The board paired an overcard for Guinther and Jonathan was eliminated in 18th place. He will take home $18,000 in prize money.

Carl Beliveau Eliminated in 17th Place ($18,000)

We have another elimination early on day 4, which has taken the tournament down to the final two tables. The most recent victim is Carl Beliveau. He moved all in for 272,000 and George Lind made the call. Their cards:

Lind: A 9
Beliveau: 8 7

Board: 7 5 4 9 4

Beliveau busted in 17th place and will take home $18,000 in prize money.

Thomas Young Eliminated in 16th Place ($21,000)

Thomas Young got the last of his chips into the middle preflop and Ray Henson had him covered. Their cards:

Young: A J
Henson: 10 10

Board: 8 5 4 2 8

Henson grew his stack to seven figures after securing the pot and Young was eliminated in 16th place. He will take home $21,000 in prize money.

Carlos Watanabe Eliminated in 15th Place ($21,000)

Michael Binger raised to 60,000 preflop from late position and Carlos Watanabe reraised all in for 311,000 from the small blind. Binger made the call after some thought and they flipped over their cards:

Watanabe: 6 6
Binger: A J

Board: Q J 5 10 A

Binger won the hand to grow his stack to 2 million and Watanabe was eliminated in 15th place. He will take home $21,000 in prize money.

Anthony Nardi Eliminated in 14th Place ($27,000)

Ray Henson opened a pot with a raise and Anthony Nardi reraised all in. Henson made the call and they revealed their cards. Henson held pocket jacks and Nardi could only must pocket eights. The board changed nothing and Nardi was eliminated in 14th place ($27,000) and Henson continues to climb the leader board. He now holds close to 2 million.

Matt Affleck Eliminated in 13th Place ($27,000)

Matt Affleck moved all in for 318,000 preflop and Chris DeMaci made the call. Their cards:

Affleck: A 2
DeMaci: A 10

Board: A Q 3 J 6

DeMaci increased his chip lead and Affleck was eliminated from the tournament in 13th place. He will take home $27,000 in prize money.

George Lind Eliminated in 12th Place ($37,000)

Joe Tehan raised preflop to 80,000 and Team PokerStars Online pro George Lind reraised all in. Tehan made the call and they flipped over their cards:

Tehan: A K
Lind: A 5

Board: 10 8 4 9 A

Lind was eliminated in 12th place and he will take home $37,000 in prize money.

Joseph Melancon Eliminated in 11th Place ($37,000)

Chris DeMaci raised to 70,000 on the button and Joseph Melancon reraised all in for 575,000 from the small blind. Ray Henson made the call from the big blind and DeMaci mucked. Their cards:

Henson: K K
Melancon: A Q

Board: J 8 8 10 4

Melancon was eliminated 11th place and he will take home $37,000 in prize money.

Jimmie Guinther Eliminated in 10th Place ($47,000)

Team PokerStars pro Jason Mercier raised to 80,000 under the gun Jimmie Guinther reraised all in for 1.2 million. Mercier quickly made the call and they flipped over their cards:

Mercier: A K
Guinther: 8 8

Board: 10 7 4 A 7

Guinther was eliminated in 10th place and he will take home $47,000 in prize money. Mercier grew his stack to 3.9 million.

Alan Myerson Eliminated in Ninth Place ($47,000)

Alan Myerson moved all in from the cutoff preflop for about 600,000 and action folded around to Ray Henson on the big blind. He checked his cards and quickly made the call. Their cards:

Henson: A A
Myerson: A 3

Board: 5 4 2 7 6

Myerson made a straight but Henson made a flush to win the hand and eliminate his opponent in ninth place. Myerson will takes $47,000 in prize money.

Related Articles

Stephen Song Wins NAPT High Roller At Resorts World

Resorts World Las Vegas NAPT Stop Now Underway

NAPT Returns To Resorts World Las Vegas This Fall

Most Viewed Articles