With the
World Series of Poker looming in the background of everyone's mind, 33 players came to Mandalay Bay to make a play for the $768,775 first-place prize and a
World Poker Tour title. The attitude was surprisingly light for the final four tables of a
WPT event, perhaps due to the number of seasoned pros still standing in the field, or the anticipation of the summer poker season grind. Even with the laid-back atmosphere, there was still a prize pool of $2,211,600 to battle for, and the players pulled no punches to position themselves at the final table.
Jared Hamby had something more than just the money at stake, he had cashed in his previous two
WPT events and was within striking distance of his third in a row. The record is four in a row and was recently tied by Kirk Morrison. Hamby started the day 20th in chips, and made early headway when he raised to $8,200 from under the gun. James McCrink moved all in for his last $18,700 and Hamby pondered briefly before calling with Q
J
. McCrink tabled 6
6
, the board came K
J
10
5
A
, and McCrink was sent home. Hamby held over $110,000 after the hand.
That hand helped Hamby survive until the bubble was burst by Chau Giang. Eugene Todd moved all in for $51,500, which sent Chau Giang into the tank. Spectators gathered around the table as Giang contemplated his decision. He finally made the call with Q
Q
and Todd tabled 9
9
. The board came A
J
7
3
8
and Chaus's queens held up. The bubble was burst within an hour left in level 12. With the conclusion of that hand Hamby made his third consecutive cash, and will look to tie the record in his next
WPT event. He ended the day in equally impressive fashion. On the last hand of the night Hamby raised to $27,000 from early position and Chris Bell reraised all in for $186,000. Hamby insta-called with A
A
and Bell dejectedly tabled A
9
. The board was dealt 8
6
4
5
6
, Hamby's aces held and he took down the pot. This also gave him the chip lead with $698,000. Hamby's day was not the only impressive performance.
Danny Wong ended day one with just $12,075 in chips (98th place), and ran his stack to $126,800 on day two. His solid play continued on day three when he made a sick call against Tim Hebert. Hebert raised to $10,000 from the cut off and Danny Wong made the call from the button. The flop came 6
4
2
and both players checked. The turn was the 10
, Hebert bet $20,000 and Wong made the call. The river was the Q
and Herbert bet $50,000. Wong went into the tank, and as he thought players and spectators gathered around the table. Jared Hamby asked the crowd, "Is Danny going to make a sick call, or a bad one?" Wong called again and tabled A
7
, for ace high. Hebert tabled 8
5
for eight high and Wong took the pot. As the spectators left the table a chorus of praise was heard spreading through the poker room. Later in the day Wong took the chip lead against Ryan Daut. Wong got his $220,000 all in preflop with K
K
against Ryan Daut, who held A
K
. The board came J
10
3
10
9
, Wong's kings held and he won the pot for the chip lead. Wong rode that success and ended the day with $465,000 chips, good for fifth heading into the final table.
The young pros weren't the only players to have success in the tournament. Barry Greenstein quietly amassed chips in the far corner of the poker room and ended the day with $375,000. Chau, and David Levi also survived and ended with $318,000 and $158,000 respectively. The final 10 players will reconvene at Mandalay Bay at noon tomorrow (Friday). Stayed tuned to
CardPlayer.com for all your live updates, chip counts, photos and videos.
