Bed Time
Jun 09, '07
Day one of event number 15, $1,500 No Limit Hold 'Em has come to an end. There are approximately 170 players remaining and they are all in the money. Play will resume tomorrow at 2 p.m. and will continue until the final table is established.
Joe Bartholdi was able to collect a nice pot right before tournament officials announced that the day would end. The player in seat five pushed all in from middle postion for about $10,000 and Bartholdi called from the big blind. Bartholdi had Q
Q
and his opponent had A
K
. "You're not supposed to have that!" said Bartholdi, expressing his uneasiness about the strength of his hand. His fears were calmed a little on the flop when it came Q
J
9
. Not wanting to see that ten, Bartholdi tensed a bit in his chair. The turn was the K
and the river brought the 5
. Bartholdi took down the nice sized pot and eliminated another player.
Phil Hellmuth continues to add to his recored of
World Series of Poker cashes, this cash today sets the record again at 59.
Scott Kowalske, whom we all learned about earlier as having a terminal illness and being bought in by the members of his hometown, has been eliminated from today's event.
Come back tomorrow to watch all the action unfold at
CardPlayer.com.
Player Tags: Phil Hellmuth, Joe Bartholdi, Scott Kowalske
Big Stacks Get Bigger
Jun 09, '07
The players have returned from dinner and play has resumed. Not even ten minutes into the level, this $1,500 No Limit Hold 'Em event quickly became the Phil Hellmuth show. Having already built a very healthy stack before the dinner break, Hellmuth was on a roll and noticeably intimidated the players at his table. Hellmuth bet $2,400 before the flop and was called by the player in the big blind. The flop came 8
7
5
and both players check. The turn was the 10
and the player in the big blind checks. Hellmuth looks down at his cards again and then bets $2,800. His opponent in the big blind called and the river was the 2
. The big blind checks again and Hellmuth checks as well. The player in the big blind turned over Q
7
for the queen high flush. Hellmuth almost can't believe it as he mucked his cards. As the dealer scrambled the cards and pushed the chips towards the player in seat 6, Hellmuth dug through the cards to make sure his eyes didn't decieve him. Hellmuth pulled out the Q
7
and then slammed them back down on the table in disgust. Hellmuth looked at the media and said, "Make sure you write that down. He called me with Q-7! They always have an excuse, (using finger quotes) "I raised his blind too much." Still steaming as the next hand was dealt Hellmuth added, "see what happens the next time. He'll do it again and I'll bust him. It's because it is a $1,500 event. There are still alot of bad players left." After having vented out his frustrations, Hellmuth told his opponent, "nice hand, nice catch sir."
Daniel Alaei was able to nearly double up and add to his growing stack as well. Alaei was all in with 9
8
and caught a queen high heart flush to nearly double up and eliminate his opponent.
The two unofficial biggest stacks heading into the dinner break were Phil Hellmuth and Joe Bartholdi. Bartholdi, with a much quieter and calmer table presence, is enjoying better fortune than Mr. Hellmuth. The player in seat one at Bartholdi's table bet out and the player in seat two responded by pushing all in. Bartholdi asked for a count but before his opponent could finish counting said, "Oh, I'm calling. I just wanted to know how much for." This announcement brought about the immediate fold from the player in seat one and the two remaining players turned over their cards. The player in seat two had A
Q
and Bartholdi turned over A
A
. The case ace hit on the flop and it was all over. Bartholdi picked up the nice pot and looked eager for a color up as his chip stack is starting to spread out in front of the players seated next to him.
Player Tags: Phil Hellmuth, Joe Bartholdi, Daniel Alaei
1600 Down, Many To Go
Jun 09, '07
Tables have been breaking all over the Amazon Room. There are approximately 100 tables remaining going into the second break, meaning after only four levels over two-thirds of the field have been eliminated.
Two notable pros managed to triple up right before the break. Former WPT Championship winner Joe Bartholdi had what was termed the “livest card in the deck” when he was all in preflop with KQ versus his two opponents’ AK and AK. The flop offered no help to Bartholdi coming J55, but the turn and river came Q and Q, to help him come from behind. Everyone’s favorite poker brat Phil Hellmuth was all-in with two callers on a flop of KQ9. After the turn and river came 4 and 6, Phil flipped over Q9, and both his opponents mucked.
Joe Tehan who has emerged as one of the chip leaders eliminated one opponent calling his over-the-top all raise on a board of 96210. Tehan showed 87 while his opponent showed 62. The river J offered his opponent no help and Tehan stacked his chips.
But in perhaps the biggest hand of the last level current chip leader Bertand “Elky” Grospellier raked in a pot of over $20,000 when he called his opponent’s all in semi bluff on the turn. Grospellier turned a set of twos, while his opponent merely had the nut flush draw with one card to come. The river bricked out and Grospellier now has over $50,000 in chips.
Stay tuned to CardPlayer.com for more live updates as the action continues.
Player Tags: Phil Hellmuth, Joe Bartholdi, Joe Tehan, Bertrand Grospellier
Tale of Two Brothers
Jun 10, '07
Players have been on an extended break, as the $500 chips were colored up. It will be interesting if the $25,000 chips will be confused at all with the $5,000 chips, as both are only different shades of orange.
Play is down to the final 6 tables with 54 players remaining. Not one but two players with professional poker playing brothers have made it deep in the event: Ut Nguyen, and Alan Le, brother to Nam. Le is on a severely short stack with $38,000, but not out yet.
Fabrice Souiler continues to plug along. While no longer the big stack in the field with only $350,000 to John Turner's $500,000, Souiler is still a force to be reckoned with.
Also still alive in the tournament are Joe Bartholdi, Scott Clements, Bertrand Grospelier, but all eyes will still be on Turner as looks to be a major hurdle for Phil Hellmuth to jump on his way to the final table.
Player Tags: Phil Hellmuth, John Turner, Joe Bartholdi, Ut Nguyen, Scott Clements, Bertrand Grospellier
Phil Quiet
Jun 10, '07
There are currently 61 players remaining on the final seven tables. The new chip leader John “PearlJammer” Turner has recently been moved to the ‘TV’ table with Phil Hellmuth. Turner has been showing no fear today, and has chipped up to nearly $500,000, winning a big race with Jacks. Hellmuth has been holding steady at about $160,000, but with the field shrinking, his stack is now among the middle of the pack. Turner has been running the table, which has lead Hellmuth to uncharacteristically say very little.
Joe Bartholdi has been on the short stack for the last hour, but he is holding strong, as is Ut Nguyen, who was visited by his brother Men “The Master” early in the day.
We are still following John Turner in our Pro Blogs, so keep track of his run to the final table here at CardPlayer.com
Player Tags: Phil Hellmuth, John Turner, Joe Bartholdi, Ut Nguyen
Hellmuth Busy Early
Jun 10, '07
Hopefully just making it to day 2 was satisfying enough, for many players today, because the bust outs are cropping up quickly so far.
Phil Hellmuth has vaulted himself among the chip leaders, despite being seated next to David Plastk and across from James Van Alstyne. Early on Hellmuth made his 9
9
stand up calling his opponents bluff on a board of 7
6
4
5
5
. He also called a short stack's all in from the button with A
K
, while his opponent tabled 7
6
. The flop came K
K
10
, and the turn and river came 5
6
. Soon after that Hellmuth crippled Van Alstyne when he rivered a flush to Van Alstyne's trip tens. Van Alstyne was all in soon after with K
Q
with two callers. One player pushed the other caller out on the turn with the board showing 10
9
8
7
. Now heads up the opponent showed J
J
, the Q
on the river was no help for Van Alstyne and he hit the rail in 122nd place.
John Turner and Joe Bartholdi also saw their fortunes grow. Turner put his opponent all in on a board of K
9
6
3
. When his opponent called quickly Turner thought he was behind with K
5
, but his opponent showed A
9
, and Turner was able to dodge the twelve outs when the 5
hit on the river. Bartholdi managed to win a race for his tournament life. The player in Seat 8 raised to $6,400 from the cutoff, and Seat 9 called from the button after lots of thought. Bartholdi then moved all in for $25,900 more from the big blind. After the cutoff folded, Seat 9 made the call. Bartholdi showed 6
6
, and his opponent showed A
Q
. The board came K
9
3
10
7
, and Bartholdi more than doubled up to $74,600.
There are currently 122 players remaining on 13 tables.
Player Tags: David Plastik, Phil Hellmuth, John Turner, Joe Bartholdi, James Van Alstyne
Cards Back In The Air
Jun 10, '07
Play has resumed in Event #15. All returning 170 players are in the money, but their sights are set on the bracelet. Fabrice Souiler returns as one of the chip leaders. Also with chips are Joe Bartholdi, Phil Hellmuth, and John "PearlJammer" Turner who will continue to relay his progress through our Pro Blogs. Keep your eyes on
CardPlayer.com for hourly updates on all the action.
Player Tags: Phil Hellmuth, John Turner, Joe Bartholdi
Q
in the hole from the big blind, and Bobby Poe held K
J