One And Done
Jun 16, '07
Once the final ten players were consolidated into the final table, it took only one hand to stop play for the night.
Praz Banzi pushed all of his chips into the middle against Travis Rice with the board reading 8-6-4-K. Banzi flipped up his A-3, he and received the very unfortunate news that he was drawing dead when Rice showed 6-6 for the set. The river King filled Rice’s boat, and Banzi was eliminated in 10th place earning $26,667.
Rice was very active in the last level. He doubled up against then-chipleader Ken Einiger in a huge hand. Facing a $160,000 bet from Einiger on the flop of Q
10
6
, Rice moved all in over the top for $232,000 more. Einiger made the call and showed A
6, but Rice was way ahead with the A10. The 9 and Q rolled off on the turn and river, and Rice doubled up.
The final nine going into tomorrow’s final table are as follows.
Seat 1. Evan Schwartz - $792,000
Seat 2. Justin Rollo - $772,000
Seat 3. Adam Ross - $662,000
Seat 4. Darryl Ronconi - $346,000
Seat 5. Ben Ponzio - $415,000
Seat 6. Danny Noam - $563,000
Seat 7. David Hewitt- $600,000
Seat 8. Ken Einiger - $1,039,000
Seat 9. Travis Rice - $1,284,000
The final table will begin at 2pm PST
Player Tags: Ken Einiger, Travis Rice, Praz Bansi
Einiger Hits Blackjack
Jun 16, '07
Only 13 players remain on the final two tables. With the bottom three chip stacks at or below $200,000 in chips and the blinds at $15,000 and $30,000, The final table should be decided in the next hour.
Ken Einger must have though he was at the blackjack tables when he eliminated Kazuki Ikeuchi. Ikeuchi pushed all in from early position with A6, and Einiger flat called with A10. David Daneshgar who folded from the big blind, announced when the hands were flipped that he folded A-10. The board ran out K-5-3-K-4, and Ikeuchi was eliminated in 16th place. Einiger now has over $900,000 in chips and is a force to be reckoned with.
An interesting story up until now in this tournament has been the run of friends Travis Rice and Eric Baldwin. Buddies of Player of the Year contender Jared Hamby, these two both recently made the final table of Event #2 at this year’s Bellagio Cup III. However that feat won’t be duplicated in this event as Baldwin lost a race for all of his chips to Evan Schwartz, A-K vs. J-J, busting in 15th place. Rice has worked his way among the chip leaders with over $700,000, so Hamby and Baldwin will have to cheer him from the rail.
Daneshgar was the most recent elimination, his 14th place finish netting him $23,720.
Player Tags: David Daneshgar, Evan Schwartz, Ken Einiger, Eric Baldwin, Travis Rice, Kazuki Ikeuchi
Two Tables
Jun 16, '07
Play has slowed to a crawl in this event in the last hour.
The average stack has about $280,000, and with the blinds at $8,000 and $16,000, the need to take risks is greatly diminished.
Ken Einiger has been able to increase his fortunes greatly. The blackjack champion, at one point down to his last $21,000, now sits at $750,000, which makes him the current chip leader. Einiger caught Ross Boatman with his hand in the cookie jar and eliminated him in 20th place.
Justin Pechie was the victim of the cruel poker gods when David Daneshgar rivered two pair two eliminate him in 19th place.
Now down to 18 they final two tables will be redrawn.
Player Tags: Ross Boatman, David Daneshgar, Ken Einiger, Justin Pechie
Not So Lucky
Jun 16, '07
There are currently 28 players remaining on the final four tables, with one more elimination to go until the final three tables are redrawn.
David Daneshgar and Ken Einiger got their chips in preflop in a huge hand. Einiger had A-Q and Daneshgar had pocket sevens. Einiger never improved, and was crippled down to less than $30,000. Daneshgar failed to finish the job on the next hand doubling Einiger up with A-7 against his pocket nines, and Jordan Morgan doubled Einiger up again losing with A-3 when Einiger paired a seven on the flop with his 7-6.
Morgan lost a good number of chips in another pot against the player in seat one at his table in a battle of the blinds. On a board of A K 7 K, Morgan lead out with $11,000, his opponent raised to $25,000, Morgan reraised to $45,000, and his opponent called. The river was the 5, Morgan checked, and his opponent bet $35,000, and Morgan quickly folded.
Kevin Saul was elminated in 38th place. Play will continue until 9pm when the players will go on dinner break.
Player Tags: David Daneshgar, Kevin Saul, Jordan Morgan, Ken Einiger
Hour One Recap
Jun 16, '07
Play got underway around 3 p.m. with around half of level 11 left to play. With around 120 players remaining in the hunt for the bracelet and the $594,467 first place prize, everyone is at least guaranteed to make $4,125.
Amnon Filippi was close to elimination after his nut flush draw failed to materialize against his opponent's A
10
. He held A
8
and the board came 5
3
2
J
J
. His opponent's ten played and Filippi was left on life support until he doubled up off of Jordan Morgan with 4
2
. Morgan is on a heater, with approximately $200,000. He eliminated one opponent who flopped top pair with A-7 with jacks.
Kevin "BelowAbove" Saul is now one of the chip leaders, and is sitting with Steve Dannenmann and Ken Einiger at Table 62. Jeff Shulman and a short stacked Liz Lieu were sat together, but as tables broke they split up. Lieu doubled up early in level 12.
Make sure to check back for hourly updates and the Pro Blog of Jeff Shulman here at
Cardplayer.com.
Player Tags: Amnon Filippi, Kevin Saul, Jordan Morgan, Steve Dannenmann, Ken Einiger
Hour One
Jun 17, '07
Darryl Ronconi Eliminated in Ninth Place ($34,770)
Darryl Ronconi made it $100,000 to go and Travis Rice reraised from the big blind to $560,000. Ronconi moved all in and Rice called with K Q. Ronconi showed pocket jacks. Start your engines gentleman, we have a race. The board hits the table Q 8 2 6 7, and Rice paired up his queen to take down the pot. Ronconi was eliminated in ninth place, and took home $34,770.
Break Time
The players then went on a 20 minute break and will color up the chips when they return. Rice remained in the chip lead after the break with over $1.8 million. Blinds were kicked up to $20,000-$40,000 with a $5,000 ante.
The Thinker
Many players at the table were still passive at this point and many of them appeared to be deep in though, or bored. They looked like a modern lineup of Rodin’s famous sculpture, “The Thinker,” with their fists or hands on their chin, cheeks, or face.
Ken Einiger Eliminated in Eighth Place ($45,672)
Ken Einiger raised under the gun, and Evan Schwartz reraised to $235,000. Einiger called. The flop hit the board Q 6 6. Einiger bet $300,000 and Schwartz went into the tank for a minute or two before he moved all in. Einiger immediately called with A Q. Schwartz showed down A K. The turn card was dealt 4, and the river brought the K. Einiger was eliminated in eighth place, and he took home $45,672.
Player Tags: Evan Schwartz, Ken Einiger, Darryl Ronconi, Travis Rice
Grospellier Cashes In