Pamela Brunson Poker Tournament Updates

Level 9 Hour 2 Update: Dewey Tomko Eliminated

Jul 08, '09

Blinds: 500-100 with a 100 ante

Players Remaining: 630 out of 1476

Chip Counts:

1. Eric Cloutier – 384,000
2. Greg Mueller – 311,000
3. Andy Black – 220,000
4. Mike Sexton – 170,000
5. Sorel Mizzi – 160,000
6. Chris Ferguson – 155,000
7. Jimmy Fricke – 150,000
8. Thor Hansen – 141,000
9. Pamela Brunson – 135,000
10. Vitaly Lunkin – 132,000

CardPlayer Chip Counts:

Ciaran O’Leary – 48,500
Andrew Brokos – 78,000

Average Chip Count Day 2A: 97,650

Notable Eliminations:

Dewey Tomko
Juha Helppi
Craig Gray
Eli Elezra
Grant Levy

Big Hands:

Dewey Tomko Eliminated

Dewey Tomko looked down at the AJ and open-shoved for 17,000. A player in the small blind called with the 99 and the two players were off to a race. They were not even close to racing anymore as the flop came 963, putting Tomko drawing dead with no runner-runner draws. The board completed with the meaning less J and 8.

Juha Helppi Eliminated

Juha Helppi and the big stack of Eric Cloutier got all the money in preflop with Helppi tabling pocket kings. Cloutier exposed pocket aces and Helppi failed to improve, exiting the tournament right before the day ended. Eric Cloutier is the tournament chip leader with 384,000 to end the day.

Luca Pagano Moves All In

A player in late position bet 2,400 and Andrew Brokos made the call from the button. Action was one Luca Pagano in the small blind. He elected to move all in for 33,800 over the small preflop bet of 2,400. The initial raiser folded and Andrew Brokos went into the tank. He eventually mucked and Pagano took down the pot.

Jim Bechtel Doubles Up

Jim Bechtel moved all in for 10,700 on a flop of 942 and was called by the 97 of an opponent. Bechtel exposed the way in front Q9. The 3 hit the turn, giving Bechtel’s opponent a flush draw. However, none of those outs came as the Q fell on the river. Bechtel is now at 26,000.

Craig Gray Eliminated

Craig Gray checked to his opponent on a board of 653J. His opponent threw out a bet and Gray check-raised all in. His opponent contemplated briefly before making the call with the QJ. Gray was disgusted as he tabled the 77 for a bad misstep. Gray was drawing very thin and the 9 on the river ended his 2009 main event.

Pamela Brunson Wins Big Double Up

Pamela Brunson and her opponent got all the chips into the middle preflop. Brunson exposed kings but was up against the aces of an unknown player. However, Brunson caught up as she flopped a king. The turn and river were safe for her and she doubled to 135,000.

Left in the Deck:

Players have just finished playing hand for hand and day 2A is now complete.

Player Tags: Juha Helppi,   Dewey Tomko,   James Bechtel Sr.,   Luca Pagano,   Eric Cloutier,   Craig Gray,   Andrew Brokos,   Pamela Brunson

Players on Dinner Break

Jul 11, '07

The remaining 666 players are going on dinner break; they will return at 8:30.

Yeah I Won This Tournament Once

Often lost in the shuffle of larger-than-life personalities is the quiet, unassuming Robert Varkonyi.  Many may attack his skills on the felt, but it should not be forgotten that this man caused Phil Hellmuth to have to shave his head.

One player at his table certainly underestimated him.  On a board of Q 9 8 5 Varkoni bet $10,000 into a sizable pot, leaving himself only $34,900 behind, The player in seat 7 then moved all in for about $40,000.  Varkonyi then went into the tank, and the ESPN cameras moved in for the kill.  Varkonyi asked his opponent, “What do you want me to do?” and was met with stone-cold silence.  After several minutes, Varkonyi made the call, Seat 7 slowly turned over A J, and Varkonyi showed his Q10 (virtually identical to the hole cards with which he won the Main Event in 2002, save for the suits being reversed).  The river was the 5, and Varkonyi more than doubled up.

Big Pot For Amsterdam

Rolf Slotboom got a whole lot healthier chipwise in the last level, when he found himself on the nicer side of a cooler.  Slotboom made a reraise to the action from the player in Seat 1 at his table, and was then tapped by Seat 1 in response.  Slotboom made the call for his last $54,300, and went through the roof when Seat 1 flipped J J to his Q Q.  The board ran out 7 5 4 5 10, and Slotboom raked in the huge pot while fellow Hollander, Team Pokerstars member Noah Boeken looked on (somehow he’s found himself a media pass).  Slotboom now has plenty of building blocks for his creative chip-stacking tendencies.

Keep It In The Family For Now

Todd Brunson is still surviving today, but one of his clan that seems to be receiving very little fanfare is his sister Pamela Brunson.  Pamela is currently sitting at about $103,000 in chips.  Some of her good fortune could be contributed to one of her card protectors., her father’s Zippo, with a Ghostbuster’s Logo, Casper.  In the World Series coverage in the past, much has been made about this protector, as Howard Lederer has famously paid a large sum of money, to be guaranteed to receive this good luck charm at the time of Doyle’s passing.  However Doyle shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon, and today his daughter Pam gets the satisfaction of using Casper.

They Never Believe Me

In the last hand before the break, the player in seat 3 at Bill Edler’s table announced before the deal that this was the hand to steal, as he was in the big blind, and had barely more than $20,000 in chips.  The table folded around to Edler on the button, who raised to $6,000, Seat 3 then moved all in, and Edler called.  Seat 3 showed K Q, but Edler had him in bad shape with A Q.  The flop all but sealed it, coming A 6 5, and the 2 and 6 on the river couldn’t save Seat 3.  Gavin Smith, seated just one table over, peered over as his table left, and commented, “Geez, Bill, do you always bust somebody before the dinner break?”  And Edler simply replied, “They never believe that I have it.”  Smith then implored Edler to stack his winnings quickly so they could get to dinner.

Player Tags: Howard Lederer,   Todd Brunson,   Doyle Brunson,   Gavin Smith,   Bill Edler,   Robert Varkonyi,   Pamela Brunson,   Rolf Slotboom