2007 WPT World Poker Open - Day 4Poker Player Young Cho Reclaims Lead |
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The final table is set for the World Poker Tour's World Poker Open at the Gold Strike Casino Resort in Tunica, and six players will return on Thursday to compete for the nearly $1 million first-place prize money and a seat into the 2007 WPT Championship at the Bellagio in the Spring.
It didn't take long for two tables to reach the final one, with top professionals Daniel Negreanu, Kido Pham, Young Cho, J.C. Tran, and local favorite James "Catfish" Bullard making the cut. Today's play began with 18 competitors, but only six of them will return tomorrow for the televised event. Here's how today's action played out.
At 12:11 p.m. the cards went in the air with the blinds at $4,000-$8,000 with a $1,000 ante, and three minutes later the last woman standing was eliminated. Jolyne Thompson raised $28,000 preflop and Kido Pham moved all in. Thompson called, showing A
Q, and Pham turned over J
J. The board of 8 7 6 7
5 missed Thompson's overcards, sending her to the rail in 18th place with $22,850.
Pham came right back at Mullis, who went all in preflop with A 7
. Pham had 5 5. Someone mentioned that Thompson suffered flop-lag that would have saved her from early elimination. Mullis missed the board of 6 4 2 J 3, awarding another pot to Pham. Mullis finished in 17th place with $22,850.
Amir Vahedi bet $35,000 after 8 6 3 came on the flop, and Robert Thompson raised him $70,000 more. Vahedi called and the turn was a 3. Thompson moved all in and after a few moments, Vahedi put his tournament life on the line. He turned over 10 9 for top pair, but Thompson had A 9 for a better kicker. The river was a K and Vahedi went out in 16th place
with $22,850.
Only halfway through the first round, a fourth player was eliminated. It would be Pham's third victim, as Adeeb Harb moved all in before the flop with K Q and ran into Pham's Q Q. Pham had the hand practically locked up on the flop of Q 8 8 for the full house, and Harb was drawing dead to the river when the 7 hit the board. Harb went out in 15th place with $28,562.
Gary Kainer doubled up through Edson Putrus right before the break, putting a substantial dent in Putrus's stack, while ending the hand with around $240,000. Fifteen minutes later, the blinds went up to $5,000-$10,000 with a $1,000 ante.
Kido Pham raised to $35,000 and Gary Kainer called. Justin Marsh moved all in for $81,000 total. Young Cho came
over the top, making it $198,000 to go. Pham and Kainer got out of the way and Marsh turned over 7 7. Cho had A K. Marsh looked good going into the flop, 10 8 2, but Cho paired with a K on the turn, and then sealed the win by pairing with the A on the river. Marsh went out in 14th place with $28,562.
Edson Putrus called a $27,000 raise by John Racener from the small blind. Kainer called from the big blind. The flop came K Q J. It was checked to the turn of 4, and then Putrus moved all in. Racener came over the top and Racener folded. Putrus had Q J for two pair, but Kainer's 10 9 gave him a straight. The river was the 10 and Putrus was eliminated in 13th place with $28,562.
Negreanu avoided a land mine when, during three-way action, he folded A-Q before the flop. He watched as a board showing an ace and a queen appeared, believing he would have tripled up had he played the hand. When it was over, Negreanu watched in horror as Pham turned over pocket aces. "I almost played that hand," exclaimed Negreanu. "The deck went cold and I slid away from that one." Pointing to Pham he explained, "He's got more chips than me."
The deck eventually warmed up to Negreanu when Brian Gabrielle and he called a raise by Jeremy Tinsley. With a flop of K 9 6
, the action was checked to Negreanu, who bet $36,000. Only Gabrielle called to see a 4 on the turn. Gabrielle called another $50,000 bet by Negreanu to see the Q fall on the river. Gabrielle had paired kings, but Negreanu made his flush on the river with 8 7, crippling Gabrielle and awarding Negreanu a huge pot.
John Racener pushed with pocket eights, but Young Cho had flopped quad aces to send Racener home in 12th place with $34,274. Gabrielle couldn't fade the blinds and antes too much longer and pushed with pocket jacks. But Matt Russel woke up with pocket kings that held up and sent Gabrielle home in 11th place with $34,274.
It was time for the final table draw. These were their seat positions and chip counts going in:
Seat No. 1: Matt Russell: $123,000
Seat No. 2: Gary Kainer: $216,000
Seat No. 3: J.C: Tran: $428,000
Seat No. 4: Brian Sumner: $363,000
Seat No. 5: Robert Thompson: $867,000
Seat No. 6: James "Catfish" Bullard: $750,000
Seat No. 7: Kido Pham: $653,000
Seat No. 8: Jeremy Tinsley: $258,000
Seat No. 9: Young Cho: $1,455,000
Seat No. 10: Daniel Negreanu: $679,000
It didn't take long for Negreanu to move up the leader board, as he doubled through Tinsley to sit with nearly $800,000 just before the break. Tinsley was crippled with less than $40,000 going into the next level.
Ten minutes later, with the blinds at $8,000-$16,000 and a $2,000 ante, Tinsley made his move from the button.
Negreanu and Cho called him, but when Negreanu folded after the flop of A Q 7, Tinsley turned over K J for a straight draw. He was behind Cho with A 8, and the turn and river didn't improve Tinsley's hand. He exited the event in 10th place with $34,274.
James "Catfish" Bullard was steadily losing ground throughout the day. Eventually down to his last $80,000. He pushed it in from the small blind with K 10, running into Robert Thompson's K J. Bullard missed the board, while Thompson paired his jack on the turn. Bullard went out in ninth place with $57,124, but he was going home with a lot more than a final table appearance and championship prize money. Earlier in the week he'd won a preliminary tournament, taking with him $113,956, a gold bracelet, and winning a seat into the main event. With an initial investment of only $500, "Catfish" was going home with around $170,000. Not a bad catch.
Matt Russell ran into Gary Kainer's pocket aces right before the break, pushing all in before the flop. Negreanu had already invested $40,000, but got out of the way. Kainer's aces held up and Russell went out in eighth place with $85,686.
The blinds went up to $10,000-$20,000 with a $3,000 ante and Young Cho delivered J.C. Tran a "stinger" when Tran tried to bluff him out of a
pot with bottom pair. Tran made a second attempt and Cho folded. Tran flashed him a valueless hand. Thompson pulled in a monster pot, and Sumner doubled up before the next break. The blinds went up to $12,000-$24,000 with a $3,000 ante, and 40 minutes later the lineup for the feature final table was established.
Robert Thompson had taken some hits, down to less than the small blind. Forced to make a move, Thompson went all in with A 8, but Cho had A 10. Thompson paired his kicker on the flop with A 8 3, but Cho paired his on the turn, 10. The river was the 6 and Thompson went out in seventh place with $114,248.
Thompson's elimination marked the end of play for the day. Tomorrow's final table coverage starts at 5 p.m.
Here is the lineup going into the feature table:
Young Cho: $2,571,000 - Seat No. 6
Daniel Negreanu: $1,296,000 - Seat No. 5
Kido Pham: $731,000 - Seat No. 4
Brian Sumner: $596,000 - Seat No. 3
Gary Kainer: $514,000 - Seat No. 1
J.C. Tran: $181,000 - Seat No. 2
Stay tuned to CardPlayer.com on Thursday at 5 p.m. for final table coverage of the 2007 WPT World Poker Open in Tunica. We'll bring you live updates, photos, chip counts, video clips, and the nightly Circuit show.
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