PokerStars Sunday Million
The
PokerStars Sunday Million was sporting some huge numbers this weekend when 6,786 entrants bought in to vie for a prize pool of $1,357,200. While neither the entry numbers nor the prize pool were record breaking, the numbers were nevertheless impressive given recent events regarding the payment processors and the fact that Full Tilt was running its
Full Tilt Online Poker Series III simultaneously with the
Sunday Million.
When the tournament field was whittled down to the final table, killygonza had the chip lead with $14.6 million in chips. Jonnyboy38 was right behind with $12.4 million and Runnerspleas was the short stack at $3.4 million. Vera15 was in eighth place in chips, but doubled up shortly into the final-table action when xTheCreamx pushed all in preflop and she called all in and showed pocket kings. xTheCreamx was behind with A
J
and only managed to pair his jack with the community cards. Vera15 took down the pot and left xTheCreamx crippled.
XTheCreamx was all in four minutes later with J
10
against oregon with A
3
. The board ran out 10
4
3
A
6
and oregon turned two pair, aces up, to take the hand and eliminate xTheCreamx in ninth ($8,007).
LuckyLady519 was next to go when he pushed all in preflop against a raise from oregon and a call by Vera15. Oregon folded to the all-in, but Vera15 called and showed pocket kings. LuckyLady519 was behind with A
5
as the board ran out 7
4
2
2
5
. Both players now had two pair, but Vera15's kings gave her a better two pair to win the hand. LuckyLady519 collected $12,215 for eighth place.
Three minutes later, after limped preflop action between the blinds, Runnerspleas bet $420,000 on a flop of 10
7
5
. Killygonza raised all in over the top, having Runnerspleas well covered. Runnerspleas called for his remaining $1.6 million and showed 10
8
for top pair while killygonza held 3
2
for a flush draw. The turn put out the 4
, completing killygonza's flush, and the river was a blank. Runnerspleas cashed out for $21,037 for his seventh-place finish.
My03hd had $4.1 million when the big blinds were at $320,000, meaning the blinds were worth a good portion of his stack. In what would be his final hand, killygonza limped from early position and my03hd checked his option in the big blind. The flop came A
K
3
and my03hd pushed all in for $3.8 million. Killygonza called and showed A
10
for top pair versus my03hd's K
6
for a pair of kings. The turn was the 3
and the river the J
and my03hd was eliminated in sixth place ($29,858).
A huge hand would determine the tournament life of one of the two biggest stacks at the table. Vera15 ($19.2 million in chips) raised to $960,000 preflop, with the blinds still at $320,000. W Snipes ($14.8 million) called from mid-position and killygonza ($14.7 million) called from the small blind. The flop came 4
4
3
and killygonza checked. Vera15 continued her aggression with a bet of $2.5 million and W Snipes called. Killygonza folded and the turn came A
. Vera15 bet out again, this time for $4.5 million, and W Snipes again called. The river brought the 7
and Vera15 pushed all in for $11.3 million. W Snipes thought for a long while, breaking into his time bank, before finally calling and showing A
10
for two pair, aces and fours. Vera15 showed a bluff with K
J
for just the board pair and was crippled by W Snipes' call.
Vera15 was out just three minutes later when she pushed all in preflop with K
6
and was called by Jonnyboy38 with A
9
. The board paired, but otherwise improved neither players' hand, and Vera15, the chip leader just three minutes earlier, was eliminated in fifth ($40,716).
The final four players eventually decided to pause and discuss a possible chop deal. W Snipes had a significant lead at the time and told the other players that he was a "steamroller" and a simple by-the-chips chop wouldn't suffice; he wanted an extra $1,000 from each player. Oregon, the short stack, held out for a bit and W Snipes commented that oregon was going to be the next player eliminated and should strongly consider a deal that would guarantee him more money than fourth place. Oregon said he was convinced that he could still take the chip lead and win, but finally acquiesced and the deal was set. The deal guaranteed W Snipes $134,356, Jonnyboy38 $94,890, killygonza $85,756, and oregon $65,871 while leaving $30,000 on the table for the eventual winner.
Despite the prediction, oregon was not the next player eliminated. Jonnyboy38's stack was whittled down until he was left with just $6.8 million with the big blind at $400,000. He pushed all in preflop and was called by killygonza, who showed A
K
. Jonnyboy38 held a dominated K
J
. The board ran out K
10
3
3
9
, giving both players two pair, but killygonza's kicker played to eliminate Jonnyboy38 in fourth.
Killygonza now had $18.6 million compared to W Snipes in first with $36.2 million and oregon in third with $13.1 million. Oregon proved his prophecy true when he climbed into the chip lead with $30.9 million and W Snipes was knocked down to third with $14.1 million. In the next elimination hand, killygonza raised to $1.8 million preflop and oregon pushed all in over the top, having killygonza covered by $8.2 million. Killygonza called and showed A
7
while oregon revealed pocket eights for the lead. The board ran out 10
10
6
6
7
, leaving both players with two pair, but oregon's pocket eights played to take the hand and eliminate killygonza in third.
Oregon now had a massive chip lead with $53.8 million versus W Snipes with $14.1 million. W Snipes worked his way up to $29.2 million before a big hand that left oregon crippled. W Snipes raised preflop and oregon reraised almost enough to put W Snipes all in. W Snipes said, "Guess I can gamble," before pushing the rest of the way all in. Oregon called and showed A
5
and was dominated against W Snipes' A
J
. The board left neither players' hand improved and W Snipes took the hand and left oregon with just $9 million in chips.
Eight minutes later, the roles were reversed when W Snipes was left with just under $9 million after oregon's A-9 spiked a 9 against W Snipes' A-10. Both players made huge comebacks throughout the heads-up match and they spent the majority of the match virtually tied in the low $30 millions. After a relatively long 25-minute match, the final hand was played.
Oregon pushed all in preflop for $30.3 million and W Snipes called, having him covered by over $7 million. W Snipes showed pocket nines versus oregon's A
2
. The flop came 5
3
2
, giving oregon a pair of deuces and a straight draw with any 4. The turn was the 6
, meaning a 4 would now only tie the pot, but oregon could still stay alive with any deuce or ace. The river, however, was the 9
, giving W Snipes an unneeded set of nines to eliminate oregon in second. W Snipes won the tournament and earned the extra $30,000, putting his total winnings up to $164,356.
The final standings were:
*1) W Snipes - $164,356
*2) oregon - $65,871
*3) killygonza - $84,756
*4) Jonnyboy38 - $94,890
5) Vera15 - $40,716
6) my03hd - $29,858.40
7) Runnerspleas - $21,036.60
8) LuckyLady519 - $12,214.80
9) xTheCreamx - $8,007.48
* Payout reflects a slightly modified, four-way by-the-chips chop leaving $30,000 in the middle for the ultimate winner, per the PokerStars rules.
UltimateBet $200,000 Guarantee
The
UltimateBet $200,000-guaranteed tournament was back on its feet this weekend after having significant attendance drops coinciding with both the payment processor pullouts and the big NFL games aired on recent Sundays. The 924 entrants number in this Sunday's tournament was almost back on track with what the tournament could usually expect before even the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was passed. The number of entrants meant UltimateBet had to fork over $15,200 in overlay money to match the guarantee.
Internet pro Derek "DSnyder766" Snyder made the final table of the tournament and initially sat down in ninth place (out of 10) with $138,000. Anakinso was in first place with $444,000 and jmar2112 was in second with $338,000. DSnyder766 stuck it out and even outlasted jmar2112 (who eventually finished in eighth, earning $4,500). DSnyder766 met his end, however, when he pushed all in preflop after a raise and a reraise. The reraiser, anakinso, called and showed pocket tens and was up against the A
K
of DSnyder766. The board paired twice, but otherwise completely missed DSnyder766, and anakinso's pocket tens played to eliminate DSnyder766 in seventh place ($6,500).
Stevie444 accumulated a big chip lead when he eliminated two players in a row in back-to-back hands: EgonOlsen in sixth ($8,500) and JohnnyGstaks in fifth ($10,500). When it was down to three players, it seemed obvious who would be the next player eliminated, as dagny0513 had just $154,000 left in his stack compared to stevie444 with $1.5 million and anakinso with $647,000. However, looks can be deceiving, and dagny0513 pumped his stack up to $717,000 at the expense of both players.
Anakinso became the short stack with $380,000 before his final hand. Anakinso raised to $42,000 preflop, with the big blind at $16,000, and stevie444 called. The flop came J
7
4
and stevie444 bet $65,000. Anakinso pushed all in for his remaining $337,000 and stevie444 called and showed K
J
for top pair. Anakinso held pocket threes and was behind. The turn and river were blanks and anakinso was eliminated in third place ($18,000).
It was now heads up and dagny0513, as before, had some ground to make up. He had a stack of $700,000 compared to stevie444's $1.6 million. The two went at it for 27 minutes and the stacks only changed a little (dagny0513 lost $210,000 in the interim).
It would take just one more minute and three big hands to end the tournament.
In the first hand, dagny0513 pushed all in preflop and stevie444 called and showed pocket sevens. He was up against dagny0513's pocket jacks. A jack on the flop and running queens gave dagny0513 an unneeded full house to double up to $980,000.
In the second hand, two hands later, dagny0513 again pushed all in preflop and was called by stevie444. Dagny0513 held A
10
and stevie444 had a dominated A
4
. Both players remained unimproved after the board ran out and dagny0513 doubled up yet again, this time taking over the chip lead with $1.9 million versus stevie444's $378,000. The very next hand was stevie444's last.
Dagny0513 limped preflop from the small blind and stevie444 raised to $76,000, with the big blind at $24,000. Dagny0513 called and the flop came 10
7
5
. Stevie444 pushed all in for $300,000 and dagny0513 called and showed Q
5
for bottom pair. Stevie444 held K
9
for king high and needed to improve. The turn paired the board with the 10
and the river was a blank, the 3
, and stevie444 was eliminated after having held a good chip lead just one minute earlier. Stevie444 made $26,500 for second while dagny0513 pocketed $45,000 for his huge comeback.
The final standings were:
1) dagny0513 - $45,000
2) stevie444 - $26,500
3) anakinso - $18,000
4) ACERX - $13,100
5) JohnnyGstaks - $10,500
6) EgonOlsen - $8,500
7) DSnyder766 - $6,500
8) jmar2112 - $4,500
9) KwistzHadrach - $3,400
10) Beach Justice - $2,000
Bodog $100,000 Guarantee
The
Bodog $100,000-guaranteed tournament had 954 entrants yesterday, meaning the site had to put up $4,600 out of pocket to match its posted guarantee. This attendance number was on par with what Bodog was averaging before both the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) and the payment processor pullouts.
Gimiyostak was in the lead upon entering the final table, with more than $740,000 in chips. DeltaRaz was in second place with more than $480,000 and there was virtually a three-way tie for the shortest stack as pesto, BigGunX, and thecure19 all had around $100,000.
BigGunX and thecure19 dropped out in 10th and ninth, respectively. At that point, pesto's stack had grown to $338,000, which put him in third place. Both pesto and another player, SKEETnutzSKEET picked up steam until it was down to just three players (DeltaRaz having been knocked out in fourth, for $6,500). Pesto had accumulated enough chips to put him in first place, with $1.1 million. SKEETnutzSKEET was in second, at $896,000, and Gimiyostak's stack had dropped down to $387,000.
Gimiyostak was eliminated just two minutes into three-way play. SKEETnutzSKEET raised to $132,000 from the small blind, with the big blind at $40,000, and Gimiyostak reraised all in over the top for what was now $311,000. SKEETnutzSKEET called and showed 5
4
, while Gimiyostak was in the lead with A
7
. The board ran out Q
4
3
8
3
, giving SKEETnutzSKEET two pair, fours up, to win the hand. Gimiyostak received $9,000 for his third-place finish.
SKEETnutzSKEET now had $1.1 million in second versus pesto's $1.3 million stack. Pesto hacked away at SKEETnutzSKEET's stack until it was down to $683,000 just six minutes into heads-up play. Pesto called the $40,000 big blind preflop from the small blind and SKEETnutzSKEET checked his option. The flop came 10
9
7
and SKEETnutzSKEET bet $88,000. Pesto pushed all in and SKEETnutzSKEET instantly called and showed 10
8
for top pair. He was behind, however, when pesto revealed pocket aces for the lead. The turn was the 9
and the river the 4
and SKEETnutzSKEET was eliminated in second place ($14,000). Pesto raked in the pot to win the tournament, earning $25,000.
The final standings were:
1) pesto - $25,000
2) SKEETnutzSKEET - $14,000
3) Gimiyostak - $9,000
4) DeltaRaz - $6,500
5) xiankash - $5,400
6) simivalleykid - $4,400
7) PokerChris - $3,400
8) thecure19 - $2,400
9) BigGunX - $1,550
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