Melissa Hayden Poker Tournament Updates

No Limit Holdem - Day 1B Hour 2

Jun 01, '08

Note: Players are now on a 20 minute break

Blinds: 50-100, moving up to 100-200

Eliminations: Victor Ramdin, Scotty Nguyen, Doug Lee

Big Hands:

Lindgren Takes a Nice Pot

With 6 players in a limped pot, seat 7 bet out 300 on a Q63 flop. Erick Lindgren raised to 850 and action folded around to VIctor Ramdin. Ramdin thought for a while and folded along with everyone else. Lindgren saw his stack grow to around 3,800.

Singer Eliminates Ramdin on the River

Two hands later, on a KQ10 flop, Ramdin got all in with his final 1,600. David Singer thought briefly before calling and showing AA only to see that he trailed Ramdin's KQ. The 5 didn't help Singer, but the J fell on the river, giving Singer the broadway straight and eliminating Ramdin early in level 2. Singer now sits around 5,500 in chips.

Doug Lee Gone

Doug Lee busted out after his opponent's ace paired on the turn. Lee didn't show his cards.

Pfeiffer Folds After Turn Raise

In a five way limped pot, Mekhi Phifer led out in late position for 350 on a board of 755. The small blind called and the rest of the players folded. The small blind checked the K on the turn and Phifer again bet out, 800 this time. The small blind considered briefly before moving all in for his last 1300, and Phifer folded. The actor is down to only a little more than 2,000 in chips.

Hayden Takes a Hit

Melissa Hayden raised to 300 preflop. Amateur Christian Dunn repopped it to 1,200 and Hayden called. The flop came AJ9 was checked by both players. The 2 came on the turn and Hayden bet 1,300 and Dunn called. The river brought the 3 and both players checked. Dunn showed KK and Hayden mucked.

Watkinson Mucks

The board showed A45 and was checked. The Q came on the turn and Lee Watkinson bet 300 into a pot of 650 and was called by Ray Muzyka. The river was the Q. Muzyka bet 300 and Watkinson mucked and Muzyka showed QJ. Watkinson now sits around 2,800.

"Easy Kid!" - Scotty Nguyen Gets Crippled Then Busts

Nguyen raised to 325 and was called by one player. The flop came JJ3 and Nguyen checked. His opponent bet 600 and Nguyen checkraised all in for a little over 2,000. His opponent called all in and showed JK and Nguyen was behind with the QQ. The turn brought 9 and the river was the 7 and Nguyen was left with around 600.

Nguyen limped under the gun for 100. Seat 10 called in late position, seat 1 called from the cutoff, the small blind completed the bet and the big blind checked. The flop came J97, seat 1 bet 200 and Nguyen yelled, "easy kid!" The small blind called, the big blind folded and Nguyen raised all in to 225 total. Both seat 1 and the small blind called. The turn was the K and seat 1 bet 500. The small blind called. Both players checked the 9 on the river and seat 1 turned over K8 for the flopped flush and the small blind showed the 108 for the flopped straight. Nguyen mucked A-A face up and was eliminated as the flush took the entire pot.

Andrew Black Eliminates a Player

Black limped under the gun and the button raised to 300. Black called and the flop came K97. Black checked and the button bet 600. Black check-raised the player all in and the player called with JQ and was behind Black's 1010. The board didn't improve and Black eliminated the player.

Gaspard Chippin' Up

Jean Gaspard raised to 375 preflop and had one caller. The flop brought the 649 and his opponent checked. Gaspard bet 550 and his opponent folded. Gaspard's stack is now around 5,000.

Story Lines:

Eli Elezra fresh off his bustout in the PLH championship arrived halfway through level 2 of the tournament and was seated next to Toto Leonidas.

Player Tags: Lee Watkinson,   Scotty Nguyen,   Erick Lindgren,   Victor Ramdin,   David Singer,   Melissa Hayden,   Doug Lee,   Andy Black,   Jean Gaspard,   European Report

Hour Five Recap

Jul 08, '07

Official Numbers

The tournament officials just made the announcement that there were 1743 players registered for Day 1C.  This is the largest “Day 1” so far this year, and with more than 1400 already signed up for the last “Day 1” there will be more than 6,000 players at this year’s Main Event.

Tough Draw

Melissa Hayden is seated at the table adjacent to her boyfriend, five-time bracelet winner Allen Cunningham, however that can be the only good thing about her table draw as it contains two past Main Event Champions Chris Ferguson (‘00) and Robert Varkonyi (’02).  Ferguson has been busy reminding his table he is a World Champion. In one hand, Ferguson raised to $900 and was called by the small blind.  The flop was Q 7 5, the small blind bet $1,100, and Ferguson called.  The turn was the J, and both players checked.  The river was the 5, the small blind bet $2,250, and Ferguson called.  Ferguson showed A Q to take the pot.  Allen Cunningham has been busy himself.  He eliminated an opponent by getting him to call off the rest of his chips on the river with a Broadway straight, while Cunningham held a full boat, Jacks over tens.

One More Time

Its happened again, Mike Matusow has officially blown up.  Matusow moved all in against his opponent’s preflop $1,100 raise for his last $10,000, only to have his pocket threes run into pocket Jacks.  Matusow exited the tournament, much to the disappointment of many adoring railbirds.

Danneman Giving Information

On a K 5 5, Dannenman bet $800 and his opponent called.  Both players checked the 9d on the turn.  The 7 hit on the river, Dannenman bet $2,000, his opponent folded, and Danneman lamented his bad luck, showing the 7 7, getting no action on his boat.  Dannemnan is up above $40,000 on the day.

Thater Receives Recognition

Nolan Dalla took time to recognize the larger number of female players doing well at this year’s tournament.  He singled out the first female player to win an open event since Annie Duke in 2004, PokerStars team member Katja Thater, 2007 Razz Champion.  She gets a nice round of applause from the tournament field.

Notable Chip Counts

David Mitchell-Lolis	78,000
Gavin Griffin	70,000
Allen Cunningham	66,500
Warren Karp	66,000
Chad Brown	65,000
Shannon Shorr	56,000
Danny Alaei	55,000
Chris "Jesus" Ferguson	47,500
Amir Vahedi	45,000
Steve Dannenmann	41,000
Todd Brunson	40,000
Vanessa Rousso	39,000
Amnon Filippi	36,000
Lee Watkinson	33,000
David Sklansky	32,000
Jason Alexander	29,000
T.J. Cloutier	28,700
Men "The Master" Nguyen	28,000
Joe Cassidy	26,000
Tony Hachem	25,000
Kristy Gazes	22,000
Katja Thater	22,000
Nick Schulman	21,000
Hasan Habib	19,000
Chris Moneymaker	19,000
Bill Gazes	18,200
Chau Giang	18,000
Phil Gordon	17,300
Rene Angelil	17,000
Melissa Hayden	17,000
Darrell "Gigabet" Dicken	17,000
Eric Cajelais	15,900
Kenna James	14,000
Humberto Brenes	14,000
Jennifer Tilly	12,500
Toto Leonidas	11,000
Clonie Gowen	11,000
Tex Barch	9,000
JC Alvarado	5,000
JC Tran	4,500

Player Tags: Chris Ferguson,   Mike Matusow,   Robert Varkonyi,   Melissa Hayden,   Steve Dannenmann,   Katja Thater

Hour One Recap

Jul 11, '07

The cards hit the felt and almost immediately players starting pushing all in. The field started today 1,303 strong and already 100 of those have hit the rail. "All in and a call!" can be heard in almost every corner of the Amazon room as the short stacks look to get lucky or look to go home.

Gordon Makes an Early Exit
Phil Gordon was one of those short stacks and pushed all in early in the first hour and put his opponent in a difficult decision. The player in seat four, and english fellow, stewed over his decision while Gordon sat calm. Gordon's opponent finally called and reluctantly turned over K J, still not sure of his call. Gordon showed 6 5 and said, "put a small five out there dealer." The dealer wasn't listening and laid out K 7 7 on the flop. The player in seat four cried out in joy and then quickly apologized to Phil for his outburst. The turn was the 10 and Gordon knew his tournament was over. The J came on the river and Phil Gordon made an early day two exit.

Ladies Hold Up
Sparks were flying on table 22 and no they weren't between poker sweethearts Allen Cunningham and Melissa Hayden who are sharing the felt there. Will Turner, online qualifier on PokerStars , just doubled up to $70,000. The player in seat one pushed all in and the action folded to Turner in the nine seat. Turner didn't hesitate to call and showed Q Q. The player in seat one flipped up pocket tens and knew he was in trouble. The board came 9 7 6 9 A and Turner's queens held up. A player at the table commented that Turner was lucky that an eight didn't hit on the river. Hayden, who hand't been paying attention to the hand, commented that it was unlikely because she had folded pocket eights.

So Close, Yet So Far
It's always nice to have someone bet into you when you're holding a monster, just ask Mimi Tran. Tran bet out before the flop and the player two seats to her left reraised all in for $30,000. The action folded back to Tran who called and showed A A. Her opponent in the six seat turned over A J and looked utterly disapponted. The dealer put out K Q 8 on the flop and the player in seat six perked up with a sense of new life. "Come on" he muttered under his breath. The turn was the 7. "I heard you get a free massage for a royal," commented a player at the table. The river was the 5 and Tran's opponent was sent to the rail without his free rub down. Tran doubled up to a little over $60,000 after the hand.

Gus Misses the Re-Steal
Everyone knows that when you sit at a table with Gus Hansen, you're sitting with one of the most aggressive players in the game. Hansen bet out $2,800 before the flop and got two callers, the four seat and the player in the big blind. The flop came K 4 2 and the player in the big blind checked. Hansen fired out $6,100 and the player in seat four couldn't get out of the way fast enough. The player in the big blind calmly counted out the appropriate amount of chips and called. The turn was the 5 and both players checked. The Q hit on the river and the player in the big blind checked to Hansen. Hansen looked at his chips and then back at his opponent. This happened two or three more times before Hansen eventually checked himself. The player in the big blind turned over K 3 for top pair and Hansen nodded and mucked his hand.

PearlJammer Doesn't Back Down
Jon Turner, no relation to Will Turner mentioned above, is known by many as a great online player. Bringing his aggressive online style to live play has worked well for turner and his chip stack usually reflects that. With the board showing Q 9 7, Turner led out with a $4,100 bet. His opponent in the hand immediately popped him to $10,500. Turner stared down his opponent and must have sensed weakness. Turner brought in his original bet with his right hand and replaced it with a bet of $30,500 with his left. Turner's opponent angrily folded his hand and Turner scooped up his newly aqcuired chips.


Notable Chip Counts

Chad Brown	240000
Bill Edler	225000
Carlos Mortensen	195000
Chip Jett	195000
J.C. Tran	185000
Ted Forrest	174000
Dan Heimiller	152900
Daniel Negreanu	145000
Daniel Alaei	131000
Darrell Dicken	123000
Warren Karp	120000
Thor Hansen	118000
Maria Ho	114200
Sorel Mizzi	113400
Gus Hansen	100100
Jason Alexander	99400
Andreas Krause	98500
Chris Grigorian	94700
Hasan Habib	89500
Paul Magriel	88200
Chris Moneymaker	87000
Jon "Pearljammer" Turner	80000
Michael Binger	67000
Prahlad Friedman	66000
Mimi Tran	60000
Issac Haxton	57800
Leif Force	56400
Chris Ferguson	55000
Amnon Filippi	54000
Ralph Perry	54000
Todd Brunson	51600
Humberto Brenes	48400
Dario Minieri	36100
Tony Hachem	29100
Gavin Smith	23500
Melissa Hayden	22000

 

Player Tags: Allen Cunningham,   Gus Hansen,   Phil Gordon,   Melissa Hayden,   Jon Turner,   William Turner

Hour Five Recap

Jul 08, '07

Official Numbers

The tournament officials just made the announcement that there were 1743 players registered for Day 1C.  This is the largest “Day 1” so far this year, and with more than 1400 already signed up for the last “Day 1” there will be more than 6,000 players at this year’s Main Event.

Tough Draw

Melissa Hayden is seated at the table adjacent to her boyfriend, five-time bracelet winner Allen Cunningham, however that can be the only good thing about her table draw as it contains two past Main Event Champions Chris Ferguson (‘00) and Robert Varkonyi (’02).  Ferguson has been busy reminding his table he is a World Champion. In one hand, Ferguson raised to $900 and was called by the small blind.  The flop was Q 7 5, the small blind bet $1,100, and Ferguson called.  The turn was the J, and both players checked.  The river was the 5, the small blind bet $2,250, and Ferguson called.  Ferguson showed A Q to take the pot.  Allen Cunningham has been busy himself.  He eliminated an opponent by getting him to call off the rest of his chips on the river with a Broadway straight, while Cunningham held a full boat, Jacks over tens.

One More Time

Its happened again, Mike Matusow has officially blown up.  Matusow moved all in against his opponent’s preflop $1,100 raise for his last $10,000, only to have his pocket threes run into pocket Jacks.  Matusow exited the tournament, much to the disappointment of many adoring railbirds.

Danneman Giving Information

On a K 5 5, Dannenman bet $800 and his opponent called.  Both players checked the 9d on the turn.  The 7 hit on the river, Dannenman bet $2,000, his opponent folded, and Danneman lamented his bad luck, showing the 7 7, getting no action on his boat.  Dannemnan is up above $40,000 on the day.

Thater Receives Recognition

Nolan Dalla took time to recognize the larger number of female players doing well at this year’s tournament.  He singled out the first female player to win an open event since Annie Duke in 2004, PokerStars team member Katja Thater, 2007 Razz Champion.  She gets a nice round of applause from the tournament field.

Notable Chip Counts

David Mitchell-Lolis	78,000
Gavin Griffin	70,000
Allen Cunningham	66,500
Warren Karp	66,000
Chad Brown	65,000
Shannon Shorr	56,000
Danny Alaei	55,000
Chris "Jesus" Ferguson	47,500
Amir Vahedi	45,000
Steve Dannenmann	41,000
Todd Brunson	40,000
Vanessa Rousso	39,000
Amnon Filippi	36,000
Lee Watkinson	33,000
David Sklansky	32,000
Jason Alexander	29,000
T.J. Cloutier	28,700
Men "The Master" Nguyen	28,000
Joe Cassidy	26,000
Tony Hachem	25,000
Kristy Gazes	22,000
Katja Thater	22,000
Nick Schulman	21,000
Hasan Habib	19,000
Chris Moneymaker	19,000
Bill Gazes	18,200
Chau Giang	18,000
Phil Gordon	17,300
Rene Angelil	17,000
Melissa Hayden	17,000
Darrell "Gigabet" Dicken	17,000
Eric Cajelais	15,900
Kenna James	14,000
Humberto Brenes	14,000
Jennifer Tilly	12,500
Toto Leonidas	11,000
Clonie Gowen	11,000
Tex Barch	9,000
JC Alvarado	5,000
JC Tran	4,500

Player Tags: Chris Ferguson,   Mike Matusow,   Robert Varkonyi,   Melissa Hayden,   Steve Dannenmann,   Katja Thater

Hour One Recap

Jul 11, '07

The cards hit the felt and almost immediately players starting pushing all in. The field started today 1,303 strong and already 100 of those have hit the rail. "All in and a call!" can be heard in almost every corner of the Amazon room as the short stacks look to get lucky or look to go home.

Gordon Makes an Early Exit
Phil Gordon was one of those short stacks and pushed all in early in the first hour and put his opponent in a difficult decision. The player in seat four, and english fellow, stewed over his decision while Gordon sat calm. Gordon's opponent finally called and reluctantly turned over K J, still not sure of his call. Gordon showed 6 5 and said, "put a small five out there dealer." The dealer wasn't listening and laid out K 7 7 on the flop. The player in seat four cried out in joy and then quickly apologized to Phil for his outburst. The turn was the 10 and Gordon knew his tournament was over. The J came on the river and Phil Gordon made an early day two exit.

Ladies Hold Up
Sparks were flying on table 22 and no they weren't between poker sweethearts Allen Cunningham and Melissa Hayden who are sharing the felt there. Will Turner, online qualifier on PokerStars , just doubled up to $70,000. The player in seat one pushed all in and the action folded to Turner in the nine seat. Turner didn't hesitate to call and showed Q Q. The player in seat one flipped up pocket tens and knew he was in trouble. The board came 9 7 6 9 A and Turner's queens held up. A player at the table commented that Turner was lucky that an eight didn't hit on the river. Hayden, who hand't been paying attention to the hand, commented that it was unlikely because she had folded pocket eights.

So Close, Yet So Far
It's always nice to have someone bet into you when you're holding a monster, just ask Mimi Tran. Tran bet out before the flop and the player two seats to her left reraised all in for $30,000. The action folded back to Tran who called and showed A A. Her opponent in the six seat turned over A J and looked utterly disapponted. The dealer put out K Q 8 on the flop and the player in seat six perked up with a sense of new life. "Come on" he muttered under his breath. The turn was the 7. "I heard you get a free massage for a royal," commented a player at the table. The river was the 5 and Tran's opponent was sent to the rail without his free rub down. Tran doubled up to a little over $60,000 after the hand.

Gus Misses the Re-Steal
Everyone knows that when you sit at a table with Gus Hansen, you're sitting with one of the most aggressive players in the game. Hansen bet out $2,800 before the flop and got two callers, the four seat and the player in the big blind. The flop came K 4 2 and the player in the big blind checked. Hansen fired out $6,100 and the player in seat four couldn't get out of the way fast enough. The player in the big blind calmly counted out the appropriate amount of chips and called. The turn was the 5 and both players checked. The Q hit on the river and the player in the big blind checked to Hansen. Hansen looked at his chips and then back at his opponent. This happened two or three more times before Hansen eventually checked himself. The player in the big blind turned over K 3 for top pair and Hansen nodded and mucked his hand.

PearlJammer Doesn't Back Down
Jon Turner, no relation to Will Turner mentioned above, is known by many as a great online player. Bringing his aggressive online style to live play has worked well for turner and his chip stack usually reflects that. With the board showing Q 9 7, Turner led out with a $4,100 bet. His opponent in the hand immediately popped him to $10,500. Turner stared down his opponent and must have sensed weakness. Turner brought in his original bet with his right hand and replaced it with a bet of $30,500 with his left. Turner's opponent angrily folded his hand and Turner scooped up his newly aqcuired chips.


Notable Chip Counts

Chad Brown	240000
Bill Edler	225000
Carlos Mortensen	195000
Chip Jett	195000
J.C. Tran	185000
Ted Forrest	174000
Dan Heimiller	152900
Daniel Negreanu	145000
Daniel Alaei	131000
Darrell Dicken	123000
Warren Karp	120000
Thor Hansen	118000
Maria Ho	114200
Sorel Mizzi	113400
Gus Hansen	100100
Jason Alexander	99400
Andreas Krause	98500
Chris Grigorian	94700
Hasan Habib	89500
Paul Magriel	88200
Chris Moneymaker	87000
Jon "Pearljammer" Turner	80000
Michael Binger	67000
Prahlad Friedman	66000
Mimi Tran	60000
Issac Haxton	57800
Leif Force	56400
Chris Ferguson	55000
Amnon Filippi	54000
Ralph Perry	54000
Todd Brunson	51600
Humberto Brenes	48400
Dario Minieri	36100
Tony Hachem	29100
Gavin Smith	23500
Melissa Hayden	22000

 

Player Tags: Allen Cunningham,   Gus Hansen,   Phil Gordon,   Melissa Hayden,   Jon Turner,   William Turner

Hour Four Update

Jun 23, '07

There was a flurry of action just before the players went on their second 15 minute break of the day.

Shane "Shaniac" Schleger moved all in for his last $2,500 on a flop of 864, and was called by the player in Seat 10. Schleger showed AJ and his opponent showed 85.  The turn 5s left Schleger drawing dead, and the meaningless Q hit on the river.

Melissa Hayden took a hit to her chip stack as everyone was getting up for the break.  After he bet $1,000 on the 8 6 5flop, her opponent moved all in and she called.  Hayden showed 1010, and her opponent rapped the table and showed 108.  The 8 on the turn provided a reversal of fortunes, and the 7 hit on the river.  After its was counted, Hayden lost over $5,000 in that pot.

The last table playing in the room showed a hand involving Kathy Liebert and the player in seat 8. On a flop of J 10 6, Seat 8 moved all in, and Liebert made the call.  Liebert showed 9 9 and Seat 8 held AK.  The turn 4 and the river 8 missed her opponent and Liebert scooped the pot.

Bryan Devonshire, and Michael Mizrachi were recent eliminated, and J.C. Tran is steamrolling his table, climbing among the chip leaders.

Neil Channing from London took a player out when his AK butted heads with 55. A flop of 276 was of little help to Channing but two hearts on the turn and rive gave him a flush and he is now on $13,800 in chips.

Marcel Luske has $27,500 in chips while Vicky Coren has $3,000 and Padraig Parkinson has $4,800. Follow his Pro Blog at CardPlayer.com.

Notable Chip Counts

Men Nguyen	24000
Marcel Luske	21000
J.C. Tran	15000
Chris Ferguson	9500
John Cernuto	9000
Shannon Shorr	6500
Eric Lynch	6200
Scott Clements	6000
Theo Tran	6000
James Van Alstyne	900

Player Tags: J.C. Tran,   Kathy Liebert,   Michael Mizrachi,   Melissa Hayden,   Shane Schleger,   Bryan Devonshire

Action Begins

Jun 18, '07

Action in the $2,500 No-Limit Holdem 6-handed event  got underway at 12pm.

We will be following Sean McCabe, Melissa Hayden, and Allen Cunningham in our Pro Blogs.

We will also have an eye on last year's champion "Dutch" Boyd.  Keep your browser on CardPlayer.com for more tournament updates as the day goes by.

Player Tags: Allen Cunningham,   Melissa Hayden,   Sean McCabe,   Dutch Boyd

Bust Out Bonanza

Jun 11, '07

A veritable plethora of big name pros bit the dust during the past hour.  At the very end of level two Johnny Chan was all in with an open-ended straight draw, a flush draw and two over cards against Melissa Hayden's pocket sixes.  Hayden's hand held up, and Chan was eliminated.

Jeff Madsen took a big hit this level and was left with only $1,600 following this hand. From the cutoff, the player in seat three makes it $600 and Madsen calls from the small blind. The flop came KJ8. Madsen checked and the player in seat three bet out $1,500. Madsen raised to $9,500 and the player in seat three responded by calling, and pushing all in. Madsen turned over A9 and was on the flush draw. His opponent in seat three showed K7 for top pair. The turn was the 2 and the river (4) couldn't bring a club for Madsen either.

Kevin "BeLOWaBOVe" Saul took a crippling hit as well this level. With the board showing K107 Saul bet out $2,300. The player in seat six pushed all in for $3,075 more. Saul made the call and had K10 for top two. His opponent in the six seat showed 1010 for middle set. The turn was the 2 and the river was the A. Saul was left with less than $600 after the hand.

Michael Mizrachi was crippled after he pushed in preflop with the 8 8 and got called by a player with the A 10, which made broadway on the turn and left Mizrachi drawing dead.  Mizrachi busted soon after.

Other notables eliminated include Phil Laak, Sorel Mizzi, Freddy Deeb, Nick Cassavetes, Amnon Filippi, David Ulliot, and Erick Lindgren.

Make sure to check back every hour for more updates and Pro Blogs here at Cardplayer.com.

Player Tags: Erick Lindgren,   Phil Laak,   Michael Mizrachi,   Johnny Chan,   Amnon Filippi,   Melissa Hayden,   Kevin Saul,   Nick Cassavetes,   Jeff Madsen

First Hour Over

Jun 11, '07

Play began at noon in the $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em event.  If one were to judge the field based on the number of pros sitting at tables as play began, it would appear relatively lacking in pros. Of course, by the end of the first level, numerous tardy pros had strolled in to assume their seats. With the late influx of pros, a number of stacked tables emerged.

Table 7-
2. Bill Gazes
3. Phil Gordon
7. Isabelle Mercier
10. Chip Jett

Table 27 -
1. Steve Dannenmann
2. Lee Watkinson
5. Johnny Chan
6. Barney Boatman
8. Melissa Hayden

Table 45 -
2. Men Nguyen
3. Jamie Gold
7. Roland De Wolfe
10. Layne Flack

And there are many other tables with two or three notable pros.

Off to an early start, Elia Ahmadian was able to build his stack to over $9,000 in the first level. The player in seat 10 made it $175 to go and there were three callers, including Ahmadian. The flop came AJ5 and the player in the small blind checked. Seat 10 pumped out $600 and Ahmadian, the player on the button and the player in the small blind called. The turn was the A and the small blind checked. Seat 10 check as well and Ahmadian bet out $800. The button folded and so did the small blind. The player in seat 10 made the call and the river was the 4. Seat 10 checked and Ahmadian bet out $2,200 with a quick little smile. The player in seat 10 went into the tank and eventually folded. Ahmadian now sits as the chip leader at his table.

Player Tags: Melissa Hayden,   Elia Ahmadian,   Jamie Gold,   Steve Dannenmann