The battle for a seat at Canada's first-ever
World Poker Tour televised final table continued with day three of the
North American Poker Championship. For the field of 45 who returned to the Fallsview Casino Hotel's Grand Hall, the goal for the
NAPC's third stage was simple - play until the final six.
Day three action began at 12:10 p.m. ET with $3,000-$6,000 blinds and $500 antes. Sixteen minutes later, Stephen Ladowsky made
WPT history by becoming the first player to ever cash in a $10,000
World Poker Tour event on Canadian soil. Not exactly the game's greatest achievement, but worth $19,317 nonetheless.
While Ladowsky's post-money bubble elimination came with the slight consolation of distinction, one would be hard pressed to put a positive spin on "Yukon" Brad Booth's bustout in early action.
After serving as an overwhelming fan favorite for the local crowds, Booth started day three by losing nearly half of his stack to a John Lam full house. The Canadian-born pro then made an unexpected 38th place ($19,317) exit from the
NAPC, when, after moving all in preflop, his K
J
failed to improve against Mark Newhouse's A
K
.
A rapid succession of eliminations led to a redraw that displayed the pro players', and in particular
Team Full Tilt's, dominance at the
NAPC. Table 26 featured three-time
WSOP bracelet winner Farzad Bonyadi (
Full Tilt), four-time
WSOP bracelet winner Allen Cunningham (
Full Tilt), multiple
WPT final table finisher John D'Agostino (
Full Tilt), and 2006
Bay 101 Shooting Stars champion Nam Le.
The four stars survived to the next table redraw, at which point another pro,
Ultimate Bet's James "KrazyKanuck" Worth, made Cunningham the day's second high-profile elimination.
Eleven spots later, Melissa Hayden became the last female player to exit the
North American Poker Championship (and the only one to cash), when her all-in move with A-10 collided with Marc Karam's A-K. Hayden finished the
NAPC in 21st place ($48,293).
The ensuing eliminations of Farzad Bonyadi (20th - $48,293) and Kyle Bowker (19th - $48,293) brought the field to 18 and tournament officials redrew for the final two tables. Jason Sagle quickly found success at his new seat. The day one chip boss enjoyed a run of cards that saw him double up with pocket aces, crack Isaac Baron's pocket queens with A-K (eliminating Isaac in 18th - $62,781), and take a huge pot off John D'Agostino with another pair of pocket aces. The win pushed Sable over the $1.6 million mark.
Sable followed up the victory over D'Agostino by eliminating 2006
Borgata Poker Open first place finisher Mark Newhouse (17th - $62,781).
After doubling up through Steven Black when his pocket nines cracked Black's pocket aces, Nam Le's 2006
NAPC run ended in a heads-up hand against D'Agostino. Le called an all-in raise by D'Agostino and took a big lead over the
Full Tilt pro when he showed the A
K
to D'Agostino's A
Q
. But the K
J
10
flop gave D'Agostino the Broadway straight, and Le finished in 12th place ($62,781).
At 11:34 p.m., ET Soren Turkewitsch eliminated Peter Valente via a flopped two pair with the A
Q
against Valente's pocket jacks and the
North American Poker Championship consolidated to one table.
The chip counts were as follows:
1. Jason Sagle - $1,900,000 (seat No. 6)
1. Marc Karam - $1,900,000 (seat No. 4)
2. John Lam - $1,580,000 (seat No. 7)
3. Soren Turkewitsch - $1,200,000 (seat No. 8)
4. James "KrazyKanuck" Worth - $740,000 (seat No. 3)
5. Steve Black - $640,000 (seat No. 5)
6. John D'Agostino - $610,000 (seat No. 9)
7. Eric Cajelais - $530,000 (seat No. 2)
8. Adam Donkle - $440,000 (seat No. 1)
9. John Juanda - $400,000 (seat No. 10)
With action sequestered to an isolated corner of the room, and fans packed along the rail, seven Canadian-born players and three Americans took their seats at the
NAPC's final table.
The first big hand occurred when John Juanda reraised all in on a Marc Karam $270,000 raise. Juanda warned his opponent not to call, but Karam tossed in the extra $76,000. Karam immediately turned over the K
K
, only to have Juanda show the A
A
. The aces held, and Juanda doubled up to over $700,000.
Over an hour into play, Eric Cajelais became the first participant to exit the
NAPC's final table when he moved all in with A
K
and John Lam, holding 9
9
, called. The J
6
3
3
2
board offered Calejais no help, making him the 10th-place finisher ($62,781).
Pocket nines turned up again in the final table's second elimination. After a $72,000 preflop bet by John D'Agostino, which was called by James Worth and Marc Karam, Steve Black made an all-in raise for his last $339,000. D'Agostino repopped for his remaining $475,000. With Worth and Karam out of the way, Black flipped over 9
9
, and D'Agostino showed A
K
. D'Agostino, looking defeated, stood when the board brought the 7
6
2
2
. Before the river, John Juanda turned to his
Full Tilt counterpart and said "Don't worry, it's coming, John." The A
river fulfilled the Juanda prophecy and Black exited tournament play as the ninth-place finisher ($77,269).
Less than 10 minutes later, D'Agostino followed Black to the rail after pushing all in on the J
8
2
flop with K
Q
. Jason Sagle, holding K
K
, called. D'Agostino missed his draws with the 4
turn and J
river, and his tournament run ended with an eighth-place finish ($96,587).
The final elimination of the day, and the hand that burst the
WPT television bubble, featured…pocket nines. Down to his last $400,000, Adam Dunkle pushed all in from the button, and, after several minutes in the tank, James Worth made the call. His 9
9
gave him the lead over Dunkle's 5
5
. The J
10
8
4
3
board brought Dunkle no miracles, and his seventh-place finish ($120,733) put a close to day three of the
North American Poker Championship.
Five Canadian-born players advanced to the
NAPC's last day, with poker superstar John Juanda being the only non-native participant.
The chip counts going into the final table were:
1. Jason Sagle - $2,970,000
2. John Lam - $2,285,000
3. Soren Turkewitsch - $1,690,000
4. James "KrazyKanuck" Worth - $1,305,000
5. Marc Karam - $1,290,000
6. John Juanda - $425,000
Players return at 5 p.m. ET for the
World Poker Tour televised final table, and to battle for the $1.3 million first place cash prize.
Stay tuned to
CardPlayer.com for all your live updates, chip counts, photos and daily recaps.
Quote of the Day: "It's only $76,000 more, but you need a lot of help" - John Juanda during his aces-versus-kings hand with Marc Karam.
