Level 25 Update: Dom Denotaristefani Out 6th, Todd Witteles Out 5th, Brian Aleska Out 4th
Jun 22, '13
Level: 25
Blinds: 25,000-50,000
Players Remaining: 3 out of 170
Average Chip Count: 850,000
Chip Counts:
Seat 6: Ronnie Bardah – 820,000
Seat 7: Gabriel Nassif – 1,090,000
Seat 9: Michael Moore – 690,000
Players Eliminated:
6th: Dom Denotaristefani – $40,205
5th: Todd Witteles – $52,582
4th: Brian Aleska – $69,968
Live Updates:
Dom Denotaristefani Eliminated in Sixth Place ($40,205)
Dom Denotaristefani moved all in for 48,000 and Ronnie Bardah called with the flop reading 1083. The two players then flipped up their cards.
Bardah: 88
Dom: A9
Turn and River: 24
Dom was eliminated in sixth place and Bardah was up close to a million thanks to a set of eights.
Todd Witteles Eliminated in Fifth Place ($52,582)
Brian Aleska raised preflop on the cutoff and Todd Witteles reraised on the button. Aleska then reraised and Witteles five-bet all in. Aleska called and the two players tabled their hands.
Aleska: KQ
Witteles: 77
Board: J84Q3
Witteles was eliminated in fifth place and Aleska grew his stack to 350,000 thanks to a pair of queens.
Brian Aleska Eliminated in Fourth Place ($69,968)
Brian Aleska raised all in preflop and Ronnie Bardah called. Gabriel Nassif also called and the two active players checked down a board reading K10542.
Aleska held J8 and Bardah was behind with 9-7, but Nassif was ahead with Q3. Aleska was eliminated on the hand and Nassif won the pot to grow his stack to a chip-leading 1,090,000.
Seat 1: Brian Aleska – 347,000
Seat 3: Todd Witteles – 182,000
Seat 5: Dom Denotaristefani – 297,000
Seat 6: Ronnie Bardah – 770,000
Seat 7: Gabriel Nassif – 498,000
Seat 9: Michael Moore – 455,000
Players Eliminated:
None
Live Updates:
Gabriel Nassif Doubles Up Again
Gabriel Nassif raised preflop and Todd Witteles reraised. Nassif then reraised all in for 49,000 and Witteles called before they turned up their hands.
Nassif: AQ
Witteles: A2
Board: 1075K9
Nassif doubled up with a queen-kicker and he held 500,000 by the time the dinner break hit. Witteles was a lot lower at 200,000.
Michael Moore Doubles Up Through Ronnie Bardah
Ronnie Bardah raised preflop and Michael Moore reraised all in. Bardah called and the two players tabled their cards.
Moore: A4
Bardah: AJ
Board: 542410
Moore won the hand with trip fours to double to 450,000 and Bardah was still cruising with the chip lead before dinner.
Official Final Table Begins for Event No. 37 ($5,000 Limit Hold'em)
Jun 22, '13
The final table of Event No. 37 ($5,000 Limit Hold’em) has begun, and Card Player will be posting level-by-level updates with all major hands, current chip counts, and prize payouts.
With the elimination of Steve Landfish in tenth place ($16,211), the nine-handed final table is now set. Play will begin in Level 20 with limits of 8,000-16,000, and action will continue until a winner is determined. Play may be extended an additional day if it takes more than 10 levels to reach a winner as noted on the official structure sheet. With cards now back in the air, here is a look at the final table and how these players stack up:
Seat 1: Brian Aleska – 325,000
Seat 2: Greg Mueller – 292,000
Seat 3: Todd Witteles – 316,000
Seat 4: Ben Yu – 149,000
Seat 5: Dom Denotaristefani – 399,000
Seat 6: Ronnie Bardah – 420,000
Seat 7: Gabriel Nassif – 75,000
Seat 8: Justin Bonomo – 185,000
Seat 9: Michael Moore – 363,000
While only 9 remain, this event attracted a field of 170 players, creating a total prize pool of $799,000, and the top 18 players made the money. Here is a look at the final table payouts:
Be sure to check back with Card Player at the conclusion of each level for regular updates with all major hands, current chip counts, and prize payouts.
1. Theo Jorgensen – 8,450,000
2. Michael Mizrachi – 7,725,000
3. John Racener – 7,250,000
4. Alexander Kostritsyn – 6,960,000
5. Jonathan Driscoll – 6,670,000
6. William Thorson – 6,200,000
7. Matt Affleck – 6,000,000
8. Joseph Cheong – 5,700,000
9. Edward Ochana – 5,500,000
10. Michal Wywrot – 5,300,000
It wasn’t quite a family pot, but seven players saw a flop of J92. Action was checked to Duy Le and he fired 125,000. Michael Mizrachi was the only caller and the two saw the 7 on the turn.
Both players checked and the river was the J. They checked again and Mizrachi tabled 66.
Le mucked and Mizrachi took down the pot. He was at 5.8 million after the hand.
Ochana Nails The Set
Gabriel Alarie raised to 115,000 from the cutoff and Edward Ochana made the call from the button. The flop came down QJ5 and Alarie checked. Ochana fired 140,000 and Alarie raised it up to 440,000.
Ochana then repopped to 1.4 million. Alarie had enough and mucked. Ochana then turned over 55 for a flopped set. He was up to 5.8 million.
Todd Witteles Out
Todd Witteles moved all in for his last 126,000 and Evan Lamprea tried to isolate by three-betting. But Niklas Toorell made the call to create a side pot and the flop came down J83.
Both players checked and the turn was the 3. They checked again and did the same when the 7 fell on the river. Witteles showed A9 for complete air. Lamprea showed AQ and it was good enough to take it down, sending Witteles out of the tournament.
Statz Flushes Jacobo
We caught up with this hand on the river. The board had run out J10982 and Benjamin Statz bet 500,000.
Jacobo Fernandez looked him up and Statz showed K4 for the king-high flush. Fernandez tabled 75 for a lower flush and he slipped to 900,000. Statz was at 3.1 million.
Jorgensen Takes One
Theo Jorgensen limped in from the small blind and Duy Le checked from the big blind. The two saw a flop of AK6 and they both checked.
The turn was the 3 and Jorgensen bet 50,000. Le made the call and the river was the Q. Jorgensen bet another 100,000 and Le mucked.
Jorgensen took down the pot and was at 8.45 million.
Jimmy Tran was all in preflop against Todd Witteles. Tran tabled QJ while Witteles was dominating with AJ.
The flop fell A97 and Witteles jumped further ahead. The board finished off J and 7 and Tran was eliminated.
Witteles took the pot and he was at 1 million in chips.
Jarvis Busts Nadal
Jose Nadal moved all in preflop against Matthew Jarvis. Nadal tabled AQ but was dominated by Jarvis’ AK.
The flop fell K87 and Jarvis expanded his lead. The turn was the 9 and Nadal was left drawing dead. The river was meaningless and Jarvis scored the knockout. He was at 5.05 million.
Theo Tran Triples Up, Busts Later
Theo Tran and Benjamin Straate were both all in preflop and Robert Pisano decided to put them both at risk. Here were the hands:
Tran: AJ
Straate: 99
Pisano: 87
Straate was ahead but Tran was racing against him. The flop was 643 and the nines stayed in the lead. But the turn was the A and Tran took the lead. The 8 fell on the river and Tran tripled up to 1.13 million. Pisano fell to 4.02 million and Straate made his way to the payout desk.
Tran would bust out later in the level.
Bardah Takes One Down
Ronnie Bardah raised to 80,000 preflop and Gabriel Alarie made the call from the small blind. The two players saw the flop come down K97 and they both checked.
The turn was the 7 and Bardah bet 105,000. It was enough to take it down as Alarie mucked and Bardah was up to 1.27 million.
Beckman Out
Picking up the action on the turn, the board read Q928 and Garrett Beckman moved all in for 550,000. Evgeny Shnayder quickly snapped him off.
Beckman: 82
Shnayder: J10
Beckman hit two pair but Schnayder turned the straight. The river was the 6 and Beckman was eliminated. Shnayder was around 4 million.
Kenney Gets Caught
Picking up the action on the flop of 532, Mattew Berkey bet 95,000 and Bryn Kenney made the call.
The turn was the J and both players checked. The river was the 10 and Kenney took a stab with 350,000. Berkey made the call and Kenney just tapped the table as Berkey tabled AQ.
Mizrachi Knocks Out Schreiber
Michael Mizrachi raised to 80,000 from the hijack and Matthew Schreiber moved in for 374,000 from the big blind. Mizrachi made the call and Schreiber was officially at risk.
Schreiber: A7
Mizrachi: J10
Mizrachi had two live cards and the flop gave him the lead when it fell 1076. The turn was the 5 and the river was the 5 and Mizrachi chipped up to 5.6 million with the knockout.
Raul Paez: 60,500
John Robbins: 54,400
Helge Stjernvang: 52,400
Giles Smadia: 52,000
Steve Brecher: 50,000
Stephen Ladowsky: 50,000
Aliaksandr Yalouskikh: 47,000
Paul Vogel: 46,000
Dustin Dorrance-Bowman: 46,000
Anders Berg: 44,000
Card Player Counts:
Patrik Antonius: 34,000
Vicky Coren: 32,000
Alex Kravchenko 28,900
Marc Goodwin 28,625
Tomas Brolin 28,400
Sverre Sundbo: 24,600
Sylvester Geoghegan 20,000
George McKeever 19,975
Markus Golser 19,100
Bruno Fitoussi: 12,900
Ross Boatman: 16,000
Steve Zolotow: 15,000
Ram Vaswani 9,000
Lee Watkinson: 8,000
Eliminations: Dewey Tomko, Tuan Le, Kenny Tran, Scott Fischman
Big Hands and Storylines: River Saves Rousso From Drowning
Vanessa Rousso had just about 18,000 before the player in seat 6 raised to 500 from late position. Vanessa Rousso called from the cutoff and the small blind repopped to 1,700. Both seat 6 and Rousso called the raise. The flop was 864 and the small blind bet 5,000. Seat 6 got out of the way and Rousso thought for a moment before shoving in for 17,000. The small blind quickly called and both players turned their hands.
Rousso: A10
Small Blind: QQ
Rousso needed an ace or a heart to keep her hopes alive. The turn was the J, no help, but the river was the A giving Rousso top pair and the hand. She doubled up to around 37,000.
Dewey Tomko Busts
On a board showing J8710A, Dewey Tomko was all in against one opponent. Tomko showed Q-9 for a straight to the queen, but his opponent one-upped him as he turned over KQ for a broadway straight and Tomko was sent to the rail.
Flashing a Bluff?
Robert Mizrachi raised preflop from early position to 550. One player called from late position and then the small blind reraised to 2,200. Mizrachi made the call and the late position caller folded. The flop was J47. The button bet 4,500 and Mizrachi called. The turn was the 3 and Mizrachi fired 6,200. He only had 7,000 behind after the bet. His opponent thought for a while before mucking his cards and Mizrachi flashed the K and took the pot. He was up to 31,500 after the hand.
Double the "Dan Druff"
Todd "Dan Druff" Witteles was all in on a board that showed 5328. He was called by one opponent who turned over a couple of Johnnie's, JJ. Witteles showed a couple of ladies with QQ for a dominating grasp on the hand. The river was the A and Witteles doubled up to around 31,000.
Kenny Tran Takes A Small One, Then Gets A Big Boot Out the Door
Action folded around to the player on the button who raised to 600. Kenny Tran made the call from the small blind and the big blind got out of the way. The flop was Q53. Tran checked and the button bet 1,500. Tran check-raised to 3,500 total and his opponent tucked his tail between his legs and ran out of the pot. Tran took the pot and was around 13,000.
Later, Tran lost all of those chips when he led out for 2,500 on a board of KJ3, only to have the player in seat 1 raise another 5,500 to 8,000 total. Kenny Tran called all in, showing K10 for top pair while seat 1 showed 64 for a flush draw. The turn was the Q, making seat 1's flush. The river was the 2 and Sick Call Kenny made his main event exit.
The Story of a Man Named Brady
Starting the hand with 13,600, Matt Brady raised to 575 from early position. The player on the button repopped to 1,500 and Brady made the call. The flop was 1067 and both player checked. The turn was the 8 and Brady fired 1,500 in the pot and the button raised to 5,000. Brady tanked for several minutes, then asked his opponent how much she had left (9,600). He then moved all in for 10,600 total. She took her turn in the tank before saying, "I can't beat a set of tens," and she folded. Brady smiled as he raked in the pot and was at 17,800.
Tuan Le Busts
Tuan Le had just under 5,000 in chips when he moved all in on the turn with an eight-high board. He had a top pair of eights, but he ran into his opponent's overpair with pocket jacks. The river failed to help him and Le made his exit early in Day 1B of the 2008 WSOP Main Event.
Hand-to-hand action lasted far longer than anyone could have liked, but at last it is over. Bob Lauria, down to just a few hundred chips, moved all in and Nam Le made a raise to go heads up against Lauria. Le held A-Q while Lauria held J-9. Unfortunately for Lauria he never had a chance. Le flopped two pair and rivered a full house and Lauria headed home without any more money to stuff in his wallet.
Witteles moves in, survives, but doesn't double
Todd Witteles has twice been all in only to chop the pot. Both times he was a significant favorite preflop, and the board was a straight one time and a flush the other time. So while he was unable to double up, he did survived the bubble and squeak into the money.
Le doubles up with set
Playing limit hold'em, Nam Le got all his chips in the middle against David Levy on a Q-10-7 flop. Le held a set of sevens and was way ahead of Levy's pocket kings. The turn and river were blanks and Le doubled up again to move up to about an average chip stack of 30,000 chips.
$10,000 World Championship Limit Hold'em - Day 1 - Level 5 Recap
Jun 15, '08
Blinds: 300-600
Players Left: 184 of 218
Chip Leaders: Michael Binger - 60,000
Liz Lieu - 55,000
David Oppenheim - 55,000
Minh Ly - 42,000
Justin Bonomo - 40,000
Todd Witteles - 40,000
Mickey Appleman - 39,000
J.C. Tran - 38,000
Andy Bloch - 38,000
Richard Brodie - 37,000
Average Stack: 23,700
Eliminations: Anna Wroblewski
Doyle Brunson
Marcel Luske
Patrik Antonius
Thor Hansen
Vivek Rajkumar
Big Hands and Storylines:
Kicker Problems for Boeken
Noah Boeken and Bill Edler tangled again, with Edler claiming his revenge on this occasion. Boeken raised from middle position and Edler re-raised him. The table folded around and Boeken made the call. The board came Q55T8 and Boeken check-called Edler on every street. Edler tabled AQ and Boeken rapped the table, flashed a queen, and mucked his cards. With that pot Edler is up to 28,500.
Duck Tales
With only four big blinds left, Vivek “psyduck” Rajkumar got all of his chips into the middle with AJ against his opponent’s A2. When the board ran out KT3K5, Rajkumar was up to 5,000 chips. Unfortunately his day would not last much longer and he busted 15 minutes later.
So That’s Why He Wears a Suit
We here at Card Player never tire of Marcel Luske’s antics. While many players’ shenanigans can be cruel and tragic (which makes them not really shenanigans at all) Marcel’s are always good-natured and amusing. After rivering a straight against Matt Hawrilenko to stay alive in the tournament, Luske leaned close to the table, laid his necktie flat on the felt, and made a very simple request to the dealer: “Gimme da money.” The dealer – like all of the players at the table – was entertained by this turn of events and obliged the Dutchman, placing the chips on his tie. As Luske dragged the pot in a most unusual manner, Terrence Chan asked Hawrilenko, “Now wasn’t it worth it to lose that small pot?” Unfortunately for lovers of fanciful fun and dapperly-dressed Dutchman, Luske would be eliminated later in the level.
Traniello a Thorn in Arieh’s Side
Marco Traniello has just taken two pots off of Josh Arieh and increased his stack to 28,000.
In the first pot Traniello raised from the button and Arieh called in the big blind. The two checked a AJ2 flop, and Traniello took it down on the turn (4) when Arieh check-folded.
The next hand was a bit bigger: Marco raised in early position and Arieh 3-bet him in late position. Theo Tran called in the big blind, and Traniello called. The flop was 992. Tran checked, Traniello bet, Arieh called, and Tran folded. Traniello and Arieh both checked the 6c turn. The 2 seemed to be a harmless river card, so when Traniello checked, Arieh fired 1,200. Traniello called and the two showed their cards:
Arieh: 8-8
Traniello T-T
Traniello’s recent run has propelled him up into the upper-third of today’s players. Arieh is down to 18,500, and Theo Tran is lingering at 13,000.
$10,000 World Championship Limit Hold'em - Day 1 - Level 4 Recap
Jun 15, '08
Note: Players are now on a 30-minute break
Blinds: 300-500, 500-1,000 limit
Players Left: 192 of 218
Chip Leaders: David Oppenheim - 54,000
Liz Lieu - 37,000
J.C. Tran - 35,200
Justin Bonomo - 35,000
Todd Witteles - 35,000
Greg Mueller - 35,000
Andy Bloch - 32,000
Brock Parker – 32,000
Michael Mizrachi - 31,000
Howard Lederer - 29,000
Average Stack: 22,700
Eliminations: Jeff Shulman
Big Hands and Storylines:
And The Crowd Goes Wild
Despite this being a world championship event with a $10,000 buy-in, all eyes during the last level seemed to be focused on the televisions airing the Lakers-Celtics game. As the game was drawing to a close and the Lakers were trying to maintain a 6-point lead, players debated which was the more effective method of closing out a game: fouling or allowing a 3-pointer. Other tables, meanwhile, were discussing point spreads and prop bets.
Without a doubt, the biggest roar of the entire day came courtesy of the NBA Finals. Eddie House’s twisting, turning, fadeaway 3-pointer to cut the Lakers’ lead to 3 was accompanied by a raucous volley of noise from the field here. Now that the game is over and the televisions have reverted back to a tangerine tournament information screen, things should be back to normal during level 5.
Shortstack Ninja
Bryan “badbeatninja” Devonshire raised pre-flop and called a three-bet from a late-position player. Devonshire then check-folded on a jack-high flop, conserving the remainder of his stack for a later battle. Devonshire has about 5,000 left in chips, only about 8 big blinds going into the next level.
Deep-Sixed
Brock “t soprano” Parker made it 1,000 from the cutoff and was called by the big blind. The big blind check-called Parker’s bet on the 982 flop. On the turn both players checked upon seeing the 2. The big blind bet the 6 river and Parker tossed in an orange chip for the call. The big blind showed A-6 for a rivered pair and took down the pot. Despite this hit, Parker still has 32,000 in chips.
Small Blind Special
Action folded around to Erik Cajelais in the small blind. Cajelais limped and was promptly raised by the big blind sitting in seat 1. Cajelais called and the pair a flop. J88 was the board and Cajelais called a 500 chip bet. The 7 came on the turn and Cajelais checked, seat 1 bet, and Cajelais raised. Seat 1 called and they saw the river: 5. Cajelais bet and seat 1 called. Cajelais tabled 87 for a full house, good enough to take down the pot. The hand boosted him up to 13,000, a far cry from his earlier 30,000 but still enough to get by.
$10,000 World Championship Limit Hold'em - Day 1 - Level 3 Recap
Jun 15, '08
Blinds: 200-400
Players Left: 218
Chip Leaders: David Oppenheim - 50,000 Terrence Chan - 39,000 Todd Witteles - 36,000 Michael Mizrachi - 31,000 Erik Cajelais - 30,000 Robert Mizrachi - 28,000 Liz Lieu - 28,000 Huck Seed - 25,000 Greg Mueller - 24,000 John Hennigan - 24,000
Michael Binger – 24,000
Eliminations: Phil Ivey
Big Hands and Storylines:
Michael Binger: Serious Business
Darrell “Gigabet” Dicken raised from early position and was called by Michael Binger two seats to his left. Dicken bet the Q75 flop and Binger called. The turn was the 4 and Dicken bet again. Binger tossed in a raise and Dicken, smiling, asked, “Whaddya got?” Binger slowly and seriously counted down the chips in front of him and gave Dicken an answer. Of course, this information wasn’t quite what “Gigabet” was looking for: “I meant the cards in your hands,” Dicken quipped, before folding his hand. We don’t know what cards Binger had, but we do know that he currently has about 24,000 in chips, a couple thousand more than Dicken’s 22,000.
Harman Hanging On
Erik Cajelais raised preflop from middle position and Harman called from the small blind. Harman checked raised him on the Q107 flop and Cajelais called. The turn was the 2 and Harman bet, Cajelais raised, Harman 3-bet, and Cajelais made another raise, putting Harman all in. Harman called and the two both showed down A-Q, splitting the pot and allowing Harman to live for another hand. Harman has only about 5,000 chips left, but Cajelais is sitting pretty with 30,000.
“Waco” Standoffish
Upon losing another pot, Jared “TheWacoKidd” Hamby tossed down his hand in frustration and started shuffling his chips -- all four of them. The quartet of remaining 1,000-denomination chips leaves him with a mere 4,000 from his starting stack of 20,000. Hamby will need a bit of luck to dig himself out of this hole.
Boeken Re-building
Noah Boeken raised from the hijack and Bill Edler called from the cutoff. The two saw a flop of A72 and both players checked. On the A turn, Boeken bet out and Edler called him. Boeken bet the river 9, and Edler quickly folded. This hand brought Boeken back up to 10,000 in chips while Edler slipped to 19,500.
$10,000 World Championship Limit Hold'em - Day 2 - Level 16 Recap
Jun 16, '08
Note: The players are now on a 20-minute break
Blinds: 4,000-8,000
Players Left: 18 of 218
Chip Leaders: Aaron Katz - 530,000
Andy Bloch - 395,000
Brock Parker - 380,000
Michael Mizrachi - 325,000
Tam "Tommy" Hang - 270,000
Rich Chase - 260,000
Chris Vitch - 260,000
Eric Froehlich - 250,000
Rob Hollink - 250,000
Matt Woodward -240,000
Average Stack: 242,200
Eliminations:
19th place – Todd “Dan Druff” Witteles
20th place – Thomas Johnston
21st place – Hoyt Corkins
22nd place – Spencer Lawrence
Big Hands and Storylines:
Corkins Eliminated in 21st Place
Apparently Aaron Katz doesn’t have premium hands all the time. Hoyt Corkins found this out the hard way when his QQ was cracked by Katz’s 65 on a JT63K board. Katz, who won a $1,500 limit hold’em event in 2004, is on an excellent track to claim his second bracelet. He is currently the chip leader with 530,000.
Thomas Johnston Eliminated in 20th Place
Thomas Johnston declared his “pot-committedness” before the hand as almost his entire stack would be consumed by the big blind. He was still in good spirits as he saw Jerrod Ankenman and Tex Barch cap the betting pre-flop. The flop was AJ5 and both Barch and Ankenman checked. Barch bet the J turn and Ankenman folded. The river was the 5c. When Barch showed AA Johnston, having not looked at his cards claimed, “I could have pocket jacks.” He flipped his cards one at a time. The first was the 5, eliciting a roar from the table. Unfortunately for Johnston, his second card was the 10 and he had to go, eliminated in 20th place.
Hollink Continues to Straighten Out
Eric Froehlich raised from middle position and the only caller was Rob Hollink in the big blind. The flop was 1087 and Hollink check-called a bet from Froehlich. The turn was a 6 and Hollink checked. “EFro” bet and the man from Groningen put out a raise. Froehlich called and the pair saw the 4 river. Hollink bet and Froehlich called.The two showed:
Hollink: A9
Froehlich: AA
Hollink’s second straight in as many levels has him up to 250,000, coincidentally, the same amount as Froehlich.
$10,000 World Championship Limit Hold'em - Day 1 - Level 5 Recap
Jun 15, '08
Blinds: 300-600
Players Left: 184 of 218
Chip Leaders: Michael Binger - 60,000
Liz Lieu - 55,000
David Oppenheim - 55,000
Minh Ly - 42,000
Justin Bonomo - 40,000
Todd Witteles - 40,000
Mickey Appleman - 39,000
J.C. Tran - 38,000
Andy Bloch - 38,000
Richard Brodie - 37,000
Average Stack: 23,700
Eliminations: Anna Wroblewski
Doyle Brunson
Marcel Luske
Patrik Antonius
Thor Hansen
Vivek Rajkumar
Big Hands and Storylines:
Kicker Problems for Boeken
Noah Boeken and Bill Edler tangled again, with Edler claiming his revenge on this occasion. Boeken raised from middle position and Edler re-raised him. The table folded around and Boeken made the call. The board came Q55T8 and Boeken check-called Edler on every street. Edler tabled AQ and Boeken rapped the table, flashed a queen, and mucked his cards. With that pot Edler is up to 28,500.
Duck Tales
With only four big blinds left, Vivek “psyduck” Rajkumar got all of his chips into the middle with AJ against his opponent’s A2. When the board ran out KT3K5, Rajkumar was up to 5,000 chips. Unfortunately his day would not last much longer and he busted 15 minutes later.
So That’s Why He Wears a Suit
We here at Card Player never tire of Marcel Luske’s antics. While many players’ shenanigans can be cruel and tragic (which makes them not really shenanigans at all) Marcel’s are always good-natured and amusing. After rivering a straight against Matt Hawrilenko to stay alive in the tournament, Luske leaned close to the table, laid his necktie flat on the felt, and made a very simple request to the dealer: “Gimme da money.” The dealer – like all of the players at the table – was entertained by this turn of events and obliged the Dutchman, placing the chips on his tie. As Luske dragged the pot in a most unusual manner, Terrence Chan asked Hawrilenko, “Now wasn’t it worth it to lose that small pot?” Unfortunately for lovers of fanciful fun and dapperly-dressed Dutchman, Luske would be eliminated later in the level.
Traniello a Thorn in Arieh’s Side
Marco Traniello has just taken two pots off of Josh Arieh and increased his stack to 28,000.
In the first pot Traniello raised from the button and Arieh called in the big blind. The two checked a AJ2 flop, and Traniello took it down on the turn (4) when Arieh check-folded.
The next hand was a bit bigger: Marco raised in early position and Arieh 3-bet him in late position. Theo Tran called in the big blind, and Traniello called. The flop was 992. Tran checked, Traniello bet, Arieh called, and Tran folded. Traniello and Arieh both checked the 6c turn. The 2 seemed to be a harmless river card, so when Traniello checked, Arieh fired 1,200. Traniello called and the two showed their cards:
Arieh: 8-8
Traniello T-T
Traniello’s recent run has propelled him up into the upper-third of today’s players. Arieh is down to 18,500, and Theo Tran is lingering at 13,000.
$10,000 World Championship Limit Hold'em - Day 1 - Level 4 Recap
Jun 15, '08
Note: Players are now on a 30-minute break
Blinds: 300-500, 500-1,000 limit
Players Left: 192 of 218
Chip Leaders: David Oppenheim - 54,000
Liz Lieu - 37,000
J.C. Tran - 35,200
Justin Bonomo - 35,000
Todd Witteles - 35,000
Greg Mueller - 35,000
Andy Bloch - 32,000
Brock Parker – 32,000
Michael Mizrachi - 31,000
Howard Lederer - 29,000
Average Stack: 22,700
Eliminations: Jeff Shulman
Big Hands and Storylines:
And The Crowd Goes Wild
Despite this being a world championship event with a $10,000 buy-in, all eyes during the last level seemed to be focused on the televisions airing the Lakers-Celtics game. As the game was drawing to a close and the Lakers were trying to maintain a 6-point lead, players debated which was the more effective method of closing out a game: fouling or allowing a 3-pointer. Other tables, meanwhile, were discussing point spreads and prop bets.
Without a doubt, the biggest roar of the entire day came courtesy of the NBA Finals. Eddie House’s twisting, turning, fadeaway 3-pointer to cut the Lakers’ lead to 3 was accompanied by a raucous volley of noise from the field here. Now that the game is over and the televisions have reverted back to a tangerine tournament information screen, things should be back to normal during level 5.
Shortstack Ninja
Bryan “badbeatninja” Devonshire raised pre-flop and called a three-bet from a late-position player. Devonshire then check-folded on a jack-high flop, conserving the remainder of his stack for a later battle. Devonshire has about 5,000 left in chips, only about 8 big blinds going into the next level.
Deep-Sixed
Brock “t soprano” Parker made it 1,000 from the cutoff and was called by the big blind. The big blind check-called Parker’s bet on the 982 flop. On the turn both players checked upon seeing the 2. The big blind bet the 6 river and Parker tossed in an orange chip for the call. The big blind showed A-6 for a rivered pair and took down the pot. Despite this hit, Parker still has 32,000 in chips.
Small Blind Special
Action folded around to Erik Cajelais in the small blind. Cajelais limped and was promptly raised by the big blind sitting in seat 1. Cajelais called and the pair a flop. J88 was the board and Cajelais called a 500 chip bet. The 7 came on the turn and Cajelais checked, seat 1 bet, and Cajelais raised. Seat 1 called and they saw the river: 5. Cajelais bet and seat 1 called. Cajelais tabled 87 for a full house, good enough to take down the pot. The hand boosted him up to 13,000, a far cry from his earlier 30,000 but still enough to get by.
$10,000 World Championship Limit Hold'em - Day 1 - Level 3 Recap
Jun 15, '08
Blinds: 200-400
Players Left: 218
Chip Leaders: David Oppenheim - 50,000 Terrence Chan - 39,000 Todd Witteles - 36,000 Michael Mizrachi - 31,000 Erik Cajelais - 30,000 Robert Mizrachi - 28,000 Liz Lieu - 28,000 Huck Seed - 25,000 Greg Mueller - 24,000 John Hennigan - 24,000
Michael Binger – 24,000
Eliminations: Phil Ivey
Big Hands and Storylines:
Michael Binger: Serious Business
Darrell “Gigabet” Dicken raised from early position and was called by Michael Binger two seats to his left. Dicken bet the Q75 flop and Binger called. The turn was the 4 and Dicken bet again. Binger tossed in a raise and Dicken, smiling, asked, “Whaddya got?” Binger slowly and seriously counted down the chips in front of him and gave Dicken an answer. Of course, this information wasn’t quite what “Gigabet” was looking for: “I meant the cards in your hands,” Dicken quipped, before folding his hand. We don’t know what cards Binger had, but we do know that he currently has about 24,000 in chips, a couple thousand more than Dicken’s 22,000.
Harman Hanging On
Erik Cajelais raised preflop from middle position and Harman called from the small blind. Harman checked raised him on the Q107 flop and Cajelais called. The turn was the 2 and Harman bet, Cajelais raised, Harman 3-bet, and Cajelais made another raise, putting Harman all in. Harman called and the two both showed down A-Q, splitting the pot and allowing Harman to live for another hand. Harman has only about 5,000 chips left, but Cajelais is sitting pretty with 30,000.
“Waco” Standoffish
Upon losing another pot, Jared “TheWacoKidd” Hamby tossed down his hand in frustration and started shuffling his chips -- all four of them. The quartet of remaining 1,000-denomination chips leaves him with a mere 4,000 from his starting stack of 20,000. Hamby will need a bit of luck to dig himself out of this hole.
Boeken Re-building
Noah Boeken raised from the hijack and Bill Edler called from the cutoff. The two saw a flop of A72 and both players checked. On the A turn, Boeken bet out and Edler called him. Boeken bet the river 9, and Edler quickly folded. This hand brought Boeken back up to 10,000 in chips while Edler slipped to 19,500.
$10,000 World Championship Limit Hold'em - Day 2 - Level 16 Recap
Jun 16, '08
Note: The players are now on a 20-minute break
Blinds: 4,000-8,000
Players Left: 18 of 218
Chip Leaders: Aaron Katz - 530,000
Andy Bloch - 395,000
Brock Parker - 380,000
Michael Mizrachi - 325,000
Tam "Tommy" Hang - 270,000
Rich Chase - 260,000
Chris Vitch - 260,000
Eric Froehlich - 250,000
Rob Hollink - 250,000
Matt Woodward -240,000
Average Stack: 242,200
Eliminations:
19th place – Todd “Dan Druff” Witteles
20th place – Thomas Johnston
21st place – Hoyt Corkins
22nd place – Spencer Lawrence
Big Hands and Storylines:
Corkins Eliminated in 21st Place
Apparently Aaron Katz doesn’t have premium hands all the time. Hoyt Corkins found this out the hard way when his QQ was cracked by Katz’s 65 on a JT63K board. Katz, who won a $1,500 limit hold’em event in 2004, is on an excellent track to claim his second bracelet. He is currently the chip leader with 530,000.
Thomas Johnston Eliminated in 20th Place
Thomas Johnston declared his “pot-committedness” before the hand as almost his entire stack would be consumed by the big blind. He was still in good spirits as he saw Jerrod Ankenman and Tex Barch cap the betting pre-flop. The flop was AJ5 and both Barch and Ankenman checked. Barch bet the J turn and Ankenman folded. The river was the 5c. When Barch showed AA Johnston, having not looked at his cards claimed, “I could have pocket jacks.” He flipped his cards one at a time. The first was the 5, eliciting a roar from the table. Unfortunately for Johnston, his second card was the 10 and he had to go, eliminated in 20th place.
Hollink Continues to Straighten Out
Eric Froehlich raised from middle position and the only caller was Rob Hollink in the big blind. The flop was 1087 and Hollink check-called a bet from Froehlich. The turn was a 6 and Hollink checked. “EFro” bet and the man from Groningen put out a raise. Froehlich called and the pair saw the 4 river. Hollink bet and Froehlich called.The two showed:
Hollink: A9
Froehlich: AA
Hollink’s second straight in as many levels has him up to 250,000, coincidentally, the same amount as Froehlich.
No Limit Hold 'Em Level 8 - Well That Didn't Take Long
May 31, '08
Blinds: 400-800-100
Players Remaining: 250
Average Stack: 23,600
Chip Leaders:
Shane Schleger - 105,000
Ryan D'Angelo - 75,000
Eric Hicks - 71,000
Henry Tran - 67,000
David Robertson - 63,000
Jeremiah Smith - 63,000
Cesar Flores - 60,000
Asher Derei - 60,000
Mark Ketteringham - 45,000
Paul Lee - 40,000
Eliminations:
Matt "Plattsburgh" Vengrin
John Cernuto
Shannon Shorr
Big Hands:
Schleger and Griffin waste no time
With a short stack all in and over 20,000 in the pot preflop, Gavin Griffin calls a bet of 7,500 made by Shane Schleger after a T95 flop. After the T comes on the turn, Schleger checks and Griffin bets just under 20,000 and then calls when Schleger moves all in for only 14,000 more. Both show surprisingly mediocre holdings: pocket eights for Schleger and QJ for Griffin. The river created a brief stir, though. It was the 8, giving Schleger a full house and Griffin a straight. The double-up gave Schleger roughly 110,000 chips and dropped Griffin to under 10,000.
Henry Tran takes step back
Some of the confidence Tran was showing earlier in the last level went away after a bad beat to a player with just over 10,000 chips. With pocket tens against J-9, Tran was in great shape until a jack came on the turn. The loss dropped Tran to a little over 50,000 chips.
Cernuto Busto
With 10 big blinds, John Cernuto moved his stack into the middle from early position. The big blind looked down to see A-K and called immediately. Cernuto turned over A-Q and found himself eliminated after the board brought no help.
Dan Druff doubles up
Todd "Dan Druff" Witteles got some much-needed breathing room with a double up to end the level. He got his chips all in preflop with pocket kings and saw them hold up against an opponents A-Q. With the pot he know has roughly 35,000 chips.
The remaining players are now on a 20-minute break as the tournament staff races off the $25 chips.
Note: The players are now on a 60-minute dinner break.
Blinds/Antes: 1000-2000, 300 ante
Players Left: 152 of 3,932
Chip Leaders:
David Bach - 288,000
Ryan D'Angelo - 237,000
Johannes Strassmann – 185,000
John Carlson - 184,000
Pat White - 175,000
Evan McNiff - 175,000
Sean Ferrer - 166,000
Josh Engerdahl – 160,000
Michael Ium - 152,000
John Phan - 150,000
Allan Puzontyan - 145,000
Brian Haas – 140,000
Average Stack: 56,942
Big hands and Storylines:
Strassmann’s Queens Hold
After a barrage of raising pre-flop, Johannes Strassmann found his QQ all-in pre-flop against his opponents’ 88and AK. The board rolled out J7J39 and the young German raked in a massive 185,000 chip pot.
Kanter Granted a Reprieve
Aaron Kanter put his last 28,000 chips into the pot and found himself racing:
Kanter: AQ JL Velador: 99
The flop of J77 put Velador at ease, as did the J on the turn. The A on the river, however, brought Velador back down to earth, and his stack down to 16,000. Kanter now has 61,000 chips at his disposal.
Engerdahl Makes Himself Known
An early position player raised to 2,600 and Todd “Dan Druff” Witteles called from the cutoff. Josh Engerdahl, sitting on a big stack, raised it up to 20,000 from the button, eliciting folds from both the initial raiser and Witteles. The young Canadian Engerdahl now sits at around 160,000 chips.
No Limit Hold 'Em Level 8 - Well That Didn't Take Long
May 31, '08
Blinds: 400-800-100
Players Remaining: 250
Average Stack: 23,600
Chip Leaders:
Shane Schleger - 105,000
Ryan D'Angelo - 75,000
Eric Hicks - 71,000
Henry Tran - 67,000
David Robertson - 63,000
Jeremiah Smith - 63,000
Cesar Flores - 60,000
Asher Derei - 60,000
Mark Ketteringham - 45,000
Paul Lee - 40,000
Eliminations:
Matt "Plattsburgh" Vengrin
John Cernuto
Shannon Shorr
Big Hands:
Schleger and Griffin waste no time
With a short stack all in and over 20,000 in the pot preflop, Gavin Griffin calls a bet of 7,500 made by Shane Schleger after a T95 flop. After the T comes on the turn, Schleger checks and Griffin bets just under 20,000 and then calls when Schleger moves all in for only 14,000 more. Both show surprisingly mediocre holdings: pocket eights for Schleger and QJ for Griffin. The river created a brief stir, though. It was the 8, giving Schleger a full house and Griffin a straight. The double-up gave Schleger roughly 110,000 chips and dropped Griffin to under 10,000.
Henry Tran takes step back
Some of the confidence Tran was showing earlier in the last level went away after a bad beat to a player with just over 10,000 chips. With pocket tens against J-9, Tran was in great shape until a jack came on the turn. The loss dropped Tran to a little over 50,000 chips.
Cernuto Busto
With 10 big blinds, John Cernuto moved his stack into the middle from early position. The big blind looked down to see A-K and called immediately. Cernuto turned over A-Q and found himself eliminated after the board brought no help.
Dan Druff doubles up
Todd "Dan Druff" Witteles got some much-needed breathing room with a double up to end the level. He got his chips all in preflop with pocket kings and saw them hold up against an opponents A-Q. With the pot he know has roughly 35,000 chips.
The remaining players are now on a 20-minute break as the tournament staff races off the $25 chips.
Note: The players are now on a 60-minute dinner break.
Blinds/Antes: 1000-2000, 300 ante
Players Left: 152 of 3,932
Chip Leaders:
David Bach - 288,000
Ryan D'Angelo - 237,000
Johannes Strassmann – 185,000
John Carlson - 184,000
Pat White - 175,000
Evan McNiff - 175,000
Sean Ferrer - 166,000
Josh Engerdahl – 160,000
Michael Ium - 152,000
John Phan - 150,000
Allan Puzontyan - 145,000
Brian Haas – 140,000
Average Stack: 56,942
Big hands and Storylines:
Strassmann’s Queens Hold
After a barrage of raising pre-flop, Johannes Strassmann found his QQ all-in pre-flop against his opponents’ 88and AK. The board rolled out J7J39 and the young German raked in a massive 185,000 chip pot.
Kanter Granted a Reprieve
Aaron Kanter put his last 28,000 chips into the pot and found himself racing:
Kanter: AQ JL Velador: 99
The flop of J77 put Velador at ease, as did the J on the turn. The A on the river, however, brought Velador back down to earth, and his stack down to 16,000. Kanter now has 61,000 chips at his disposal.
Engerdahl Makes Himself Known
An early position player raised to 2,600 and Todd “Dan Druff” Witteles called from the cutoff. Josh Engerdahl, sitting on a big stack, raised it up to 20,000 from the button, eliciting folds from both the initial raiser and Witteles. The young Canadian Engerdahl now sits at around 160,000 chips.
The field has narrowed to 65 players and tournament officials have announced that hand for hand play will begin until the money bubble bursts at 63.
Shannon Shorr was eliminated early in the level after pushing all in with K-J. Shorr had only one caller who showed pocket jacks. Shorr never improved and was eliminated.
J.C. Tran is the chip leader with over $70,000 in chips. On a flop of K 10 6 Tran bet out $3,700 and his opponent in the two seat called. The turn was the 9 and both players carefully checked. The river was the 5 and Tran bet out $14,000. The player in seat two thought for a moment and mucked his cards. "Thought you might have had Q-J for a minute" said Tran as he raked in his chips.
"Miami" John Cernuto has been playing in the Seniors event and the Mixed Hold 'Em event throughout the course of the day. Cernuto's day just got a little easier when the two tournaments combined areas and Cernuto found himself sitting back to back with his seat in the Seniors event. Cernuto was able to play both hands with only a few feet of movement.
Todd Witteles had been having a rough day sitting on the right of one time chip leader Jeff Lisandro. Witteles finally pushed all in on a short stack with 8-4. Lisandro called with Q-2 and the flop came Q-8-4. The queen peeled off first and Witteles couldn't believe he was about to lost another pot to Lisandro. When he realized he flopped two pair, Witteles' spirits immediately changed. The turn was a jack and the river was a five and Witteles doubled up. Several hands later Witteles was all in again with Q-10 up against an opponent's pocket kings. A queen hit on the river but it was already too late. Todd Witteles has been eliminated.
Just like that play has ended in the $1,000 No Limt Hold 'Em with rebuys event. Nine players will return tomorrow at 3 p.m. to battle for a first place prize of $585,774 and the right to be called a World Series of Poker bracelet winner.
Todd Witteles was the final player eliminated today. Witteles finished in 10th place and will take home $23,811. With all the money in before the flop, Witteles was heads up against Barry Cales. Witteles had Q-Q and Cales had A-K. The board held strong for Witteles up until the river when the king hit and gave Cales the higher pair.
Amir Vahedi heads into the final the table as the clear chip leader with over $1,300,000. Accompanying him tomorrow are Mike Gracz, Dolph Arnold, Michael Chu, Barry Cales, Tommy Vu, Shane Schleger, Robert Aron and Jan Von Halle. CardPlayer.com will be back tomorrow with level updates and Pro Blogs.
Play began after the color up, 10 minutes earlier than the remaining players were told.Most returned to their seats in good time as several announcements were made about the early restart.Michael Binger, however, did not hear the annonuncements, and was livid when he returned to find he had missed 10 minutes of action.
This level of play saw the exit of many top pros.Jeff Shulman and Antonio Esfandiari could no longer survive on their short stacks and were knocked out.Amir Vahedi, took one back for the old guard when he was able to make his pocket Aces hold up against Eric “Sheets” Haber’s pocket Queens.Kristy Gazes rode quite a roller coaster.She was crippled down to her last $11,000 after her opponent cracked her pocket Queens with a A-4.She was all in on the next hand with J-10 suited against two callers holding A-6 and 7-7.She flopped a flush draw and managed to hit a Jack on the river to stay alive.A few hands later her luck ran out as she lost a race with 10-10 to Jason Strasser’s A-K.Brett Jungblut and Steve Paul Ambrose were also eliminated.
At the internet the table the attitude seems very upbeat, despite each of the players trying to ‘stack’ each other.Pokerstars superstar Dario Minieri, the first to win a Porsche Carrera by accumulating 3 million Frequent Player points, was involved in two big hands with online pros.First Dario lost a race to Josh Vanduyn with A-K versus 7-7.Then Dario moved all in after a Todd Witteles raise.Witteles made the call and both players flipped over A-K, and each ended up making two pair, and they chopped the pot.
Jason Strasser has quietly crept into the chip lead, continuing his fantastic showing so far at this year’s World Series
10
Tran bet out $3,700 and his opponent in the two seat called. The turn was the 9
and both players carefully checked. The river was the 5
and Tran bet out $14,000. The player in seat two thought for a moment and mucked his cards. "Thought you might have had Q-J for a minute" said Tran as he raked in his chips.
8
3
. The two players then flipped up their cards.
Todd Witteles Eliminated in Fifth Place ($52,582)
We Are Family
Todd Witteles Out
Jorgensen Takes One
Jimmy Tran Out
Theo Tran Triples Up, Busts Later
Beckman Out
Mizrachi Knocks Out Schreiber
River Saves Rousso From Drowning
Flashing a Bluff?
The Story of a Man Named Brady
Witteles moves in, survives, but doesn't double
So That’s Why He Wears a Suit
Deep-Sixed
Michael Binger: Serious Business
Chip Leaders: 
Dan Druff doubles up
Kanter Granted a Reprieve