Minh Nguyen Poker Tournament Updates

$10,000 Main Event - On the Bubble

Jul 10, '08

Note: The players are now playing hand-for-hand as we play down to the 666 players who will make the money.

Blinds/Antes: 1,500-3,000 with a 400 ante

Players Left: 674 of 6,844

Chip Leaders:

Jeremiah Smith: 1,000,000
Sigurd Eskeland: 950,000
Robert Georato: 760,000
Alberto Font: 700,000
Karle Wilson: 690,000
Jeff Kimber: 690,000
Sarkis Akopyan: 680,000
Owen Crowe: 645,000
Geert Jans: 625,000
Edward Roger: 590,000

CP Counts:

Mike Matusow: 465,000
Matt Matros: 448,000
Johnny Chan: 336,000
Phil Hellmuth: 310,000
Gus Hansen: 307,000
Thomas Keller: 205,000

Average Stack: 203,086

Eliminations: Ryan Daut, Minh Nguyen, Nenad Medic

Big Hands:

Ryan Daut Eliminated

Action folded around to the player on the button who raised to 7,500 before the fop. Ryan Daut reraised to 27,000 from the small blind and after a minute in the tank, the player on the button made the call. The flop came Q107, and Daut led out with a 50,000 bet. The button raised all in and Daut called. Daut was outchipped and facing elimination when he turned over AA for the overpair, his opponent showed 1010 for middle set. The turn was the K, giving Daut four more outs, but the the river was the K, putting an end to Ryan Daut's WSOP run, sending him home early with less than 50 or so players until the money.

Minh Nguyen Gone

Sarkis Akopyan raised to 35,000 from middle position before the flop and Minh Nguyen repopped for over 100,000. His opponent reraised all in and Nguyen called, being covered by Akopyan. Nguyen showed KK, but Akopyan against his opponent's AA. The flop came A96, giving Akopyan top set and leaving Nguyen drawing slim. The J came on the turn and Nguyen was drawing dead. The K came on the river, as if to laugh in Nguyen's face by giving him a losing set, and Nguyen made heartbreaking exit.

Crowds Form For Hellmuth's All In

RIght now if there are crowds swarmed around a table, it means one of two things. It's either Phil Hellmuth's table and he's up to his usual "Poker Brat" ways. Or it's the current chip leader, Jeremiah Smith, as he knocks out yet another opponent and approaches the one million mark in chips.

The most recent crowd formed for Hellmuth. He made it 9,000 to go from under the gun and a player in late position reraised to 24,000. Action folded to Hellmuth, who made it a whopping 84,000 to go. His opponent called and the the flop came Q52. Hellmuth checked and his opponent bet 60,000. Hellmuth check-raised all in and the camera crews and surrounding crowd thickened. Hellmuth began to tell Mike Matusow at a distant table about how he was all in and Matusow came over to try and see the action. After several minutes Hellmuth's opponent wiped his eyes, let out a sigh and mucked his cards. A smiling Hellmuth sat back down and collected the big pot, chipping up to 470,000.

Friedberg Gets Healthy Quick

Jon Friedberg got all in preflop with Christopher Olson and one other player. The third player showed JJ. Olson one-upped that player and showed QQ, but Friedberg led both of his opponents with KK. The board came A8774 and Friedberg took down a huge pot worth nearly 450,000.

Flopped Straight Doubles Meeker

Anthony Meeker raised to 8,500 preflop and the button re-raised 15,500 on top of that. Meeker called and the flop ran 654. Meeker led out with a bet of 17,000 and the button re-raised to 38,000. Meeker just called and then checked the 10 on the turn. The button bet enough to put Meeker all in and was insta-called. Meeker quickly turned over 78 for the flopped nut straight and the button held only KJ and was drawing dead. A meaningless 10 fell on the river and Meeker doubled up to around 330,000.

Player Pays a Toll For Riding The Orient Express

Johnny Chan check-called his opponent's bet of 10,500 with the board showing A72. The K showed up on the turn and Chan again check-called his opponent's bet of 23,000. The river brought the 5 and Chan checked one more time. His opponent fired 58,000 and Chan made the call, showing AQ for top pair. His opponent turned over 88 for the losing hand. Chan was at 336,000 after the hand.

Player Tags: Minh Nguyen,   Phil Hellmuth,   Jon Friedberg,   Johnny Chan,   Ryan Daut,   Anthony Meeker

2,000 NLHE - Day 1 - Level 2

Jun 04, '08

Note: Players are now on a 20 minute break. When they return, the blinds will be 100-200

Blinds/Antes: 50-100

Players: Approx. 1,593

Eliminations: Jennifer Tilly, Bill Edler, Chad "lilholdem954" Batista, Layne Flack, Vanessa Rousso, Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi

Big Hands:

Mortensen Crushing His Table

Carlos Mortensen has the chips to be aggressive and he hasn't been letting his opponent's breathe. On a Q10K flop, Mortensen bet 300 and was called by one player. On the K turn he bet 600 and was called again. The river brought the 2 and Mortensen's 1,000 bet was instantly called. But when Mortensen turned over K-J, his opponent mucked and "The Matador" added to his creatively stacked chip stacks.

Jason Potter Busts Jennifer Tilly

Tilly moved her very short stack into the pot and was called by Potter. Potter showed A-Q, dominating Tilly's A-7. The board ran out 6-8-Q-4-7. Potter hit top pair and Tilly could not hit her gutshot straight draw on the river as she was sent to the rail.

"Miami" John Busts Opponent

On a flop of K96, "Miami" John Cernuto bet 1,500. His opponent went all in and Cernuto called, turning over AK. His opponent showed QQ. The board did not improve and Cernuto improved his stack to around 8,000.

Vahedi Building Up His Stack

Amir Vahedi raised to 250 preflop and it was enough to steal the blinds. His stack is around 13,000 in the early going.

Minh Nguyen Getting Low

With a board showing 55948, the player in seat 1 bet 550. Nguyen made the call only to see his opponent show AJ for a turned flush. Nguyen dropped down to just under 1,700 in chips.

Noah Boeken Eliminates a Player

On a flop 1032, Boeken bet 500 and the short stack at the table pushed all in for just 75 more. Boeken called and showed 53 and his opponent showed AK. The board did not improve his opponents hand and Boeken improved to around 8,000.

Spades For "Psyduck"

Vivek "psyduck" Rajkumar open limped for 100 from seat 1. Seat 8 moved all in and Rajkumar reraised all in, causing all other challengers to fold before he tabled A10. His opponent showed AQ and the board ran out J47Q5 and the other player was eliminated thanks to Rajkumar's flopped flush. His stack improved to around 5,650.
Shorr Thing

Shannon Shorr and one opponent both checked a board reading AdQc3c3s. the river brought the Ah and Shorr checked. His opponent bet 500 and Shorr min-raised to 1,000. The player folded and Shorr had about 8,500.

Batista Out

Chad Batista, a.k.a lilholdem954, got the remainder of his short stack into the pot with A6 and was up against AJ. The board came 832710 and he was sent to the rail.

Mark Newhouse Eliminates Opponent

On a flop of AA3, the button bet 300 and Newhouse called. The turn was the 10 and the button bet 500. Newhouse called again. The river was the A, putting three aces on the board. This time, Newhouse led out with a 2,000 bet. The button moved all in and Newhouse quickly called. Newhouse turned KK for second nuts, while the button showed 1010 for a lesser full house. Newhouse improved his stack to 6,625 after the hand.

Schwartz Flops a Set of Bullets and Eliminates Opponent

Noah "fourUhaters" Schwartz raised to 275 and the short stack reraised all in to 650 total. Schwartz called and said, "you're in good shape," flipping over Ac2s. His opponent showed 10s10h. The flop was AdA5. The K on the turn and the 4 on the river did not help his opponent and Schwartz eliminated the player. His stack is sitting around 3,000.

 

Player Tags: Amir Vahedi,   John Cernuto,   Minh Nguyen,   Carlos Mortensen,   Jennifer Tilly,   Shannon Shorr,   Mark Newhouse,   Noah Schwartz,   V R,   Chad Batista,   European Report

$1,500 No Limit Hold'em - Day 2 - Level 18

Jun 02, '08

Note: There was an unscheduled 10-minute break during this level for reasons that will be explained later in this update...

Blinds/Antes: 6,000/12,000 – 1,000 ante

Players Left: 31 of 3929

Chip Leaders:
Theo Tran - 1,345,000
Aaron Coulthard - 1,150,000
Joshua Engerdahl - 1,080,000
Joe Rutledge - 860,000
Pia Jeppesen - 750,000
Matthew Kearney - 650,000
Melvin Jones - 590,000
Chris Ferguson - 506,000
James Akenhead - 502,000
Perry Friedman - 404,000

Average Stack: 380,000

Eliminations:
Nadim Shabou
Cesar Flores
David Robertson
Scott Montgomery

Big Hands and Storylines:

Raise, Raise, All-In, All-In

Maybe the late hour is starting to make players antsy: Perry Friedman opened the pot to 35,000, and Frank Sinopoli raised behind him to 90,000. The player to Sinopoli’s left, David Robertson, then moved his stack of about 75,000 into the pot, and after that Elia Ahmadian, one seat to Robertson’s left, shipped his last 100,000 into the middle. Friedman folded, but Sinopoli made the call and the players showed:

Ahmadian: AA
Robertson: AQ
Sinopoli: TT

The board came ragged: 76428 and Ahmadian’s rockets boosted him to 300,000. Sinopoli took a hit and is down to 200,000, and Robertson can finally get some sleep.

Engerdahl Takes Off

Josh Engerdahl raised three times the blinds from late position and Cesar Flores made a massive raise to 400,000. Action folded back around to Engerdahl who look dismayed as he called and turned over AK. He was in tremendous shape, however, as Flores was caught making a move with AJ. The board, Q88T4, didn’t change a thing and Engerdahl’s stack grew to 900,000. After the hand Flores told Engerdahl, “I put you on a steal.”

The very next hand Engerdahl continued his winning ways, tangling with fellow chip leader Pia Jeppesen. Engerdahl again raised from late position to 36,000 and was met by a raise to 105,000 from Jeppesen in the small blind. Undeterred, Engerdahl put in another raise to 300,000 total. Jeppesen did not think too long before folding her hand, conceding the pot. Engerdahl now sits near the chip lead with over a million.

Slow and Steady Nguyen Wins Race (Okay, Not Quite a Race)

Minh Nguyen tossed his final 150,000 chips into the middle from late position and was called by Evan McNiff. Nguyen’s A2 was in bad shape against McNiff’s JJ. The flop KQT left Nguyen drawing to only two outs. The 2 was about the best card McNiff could have hoped for on the turn, but the river was a killer: J. Minh Nguyen, despite not showing down very many hands today, is now up to 300,000.

Tran Busts Montgomery

Theo Tran got caught stealing against Scott Montgomery. Tran's T9 was in dire straits against Montgomery's pocket aces. The flop came with three hearts, however, and Montgomery, without the ace of hearts, was drawing close to dead. The turn and river gave Montgomery no aid, and he was eliminated in 30th place. Tran is now the clear chipleader with close to 1,400,000 chips.

Wiedenhoeft Wins More Than He Bargained For

Steve Chu raised under-the-gun to 50,000 and Jeff Wiedenhoeft made it 100,000 to go from the button. Chu took the bait and re-raised all-in for 10,000 more. He was immediately called by Wiedenhoeft who flipped over AA, crushing Chu’s AQ. Wiedenhoeft’s aces held up on a board of KJ456, but the action was only beginning. While raking in his chips indiscriminately, Wiedenhoeft somehow managed to confuse the pot with neighbor Thomas Fuller’s chips. By the time Fuller returned from his seat, his stack was about 250,000 chips lighter. To remedy the situation, the powers-that-be decided to take a short break and sort the situation out. Everything was eventually settled, but as a result of this stoppage the next break will only last 10 minutes.

Player Tags: Frank Sinopoli,   Minh Nguyen,   Perry Friedman,   Elia Ahmadian,   Theo Tran,   Scott Montgomery,   Evan McNiff,   Joshua Engerdahl,   European Report

Event 2 - $1,500 NLH - Day 2 - Hour 1

Jun 02, '08

Blinds: 500-1,000 with a 100 ante (Moving to 600-1,200 with a 100 ante)

Players Left: 414 of 3,929

Chip Counts:

David Bach: 120,000
Allan Puzontyan: 111,400
Ryan D'Angelo: 105,800
Frank Sinopoli: 103,900
Pat White: 92,300
Shane Schleger: 89,000
Henry Tran: 80,300
John Carlson: 80,200
Grant Hinkle: 77,800

Average Chip Stack: 28,300

Big Hands:

Gaspard Takes Out Another One

Jean Gaspard raised to 4,000 and Ylon Schwartz called all in. Schwartz showed AJ, Gaspard turned over AK. The board ran 8321010 and Schwartz was eliminated.

Quad Fours Beats Two Queens

Charles Ambrogi hit quad 4s on the flop against Parimal Parmar's Q-Q. Ambrogi doubled up to over 28,000 while Parmar still had well over 40,000.

Nguyen Takes a Pot

Minh Nguyen won an early three-way pot when the board showed Q63J and he bet 2,000 into the pot and he got no callers.

Erica Schoenberg and Ryan Daut Tangle

Schoenberg called Daut's preflop raise and the flop came AQ3. Schoenberg led out with 4,000 and Daut thought for a moment then folded. 

Player Tags: Minh Nguyen,   Ylon Schwartz,   Parimal Parmar,   Erica Schoenberg,   Charles Ambrogi,   Ryan Daut,   Jean Gaspard,   European Report

NLHE - Final Two Tables - Hour One

Jun 03, '08

 

Note: The dinner break should take place around 8 p.m. this evening (depending upon the speed of the play down)

Blinds/Antes: 10,000-20,000 with a 3,000

Players Left: 15 of 3,929

Chip Counts:

Eliminations:

Big Hands and Storylines:

Brandon Blake Eliminated in 17th Place ($30,569)

Brandon Blake and Mike Ngo got all of their chips into the middle on a board of J653 and the crowd gasped as they flipped pocket sixes (Ngo) and pocket fives (Blake). The river rolled out the Q and Ngo had Blake covered by a hare to send him off to the rail in 17th place.

Frank Sinopoli Eliminated in 16th Place ($30,569)

The flop read K105 when Aaron Coulthard and Frank Sinopoli got all of their chips into the middle. Coulthard turned up 42 for a flopped flush and Sinopoli showed down Q3. The turn and river hit 610 and Sinopoli hit the rail in 16th place.

Round 1: Jesus vs. David Bach Round 2: Jesus vs. Minh Nguyen

David Bach raised 120,000 preflop and Chris Ferguson went into the tank. He asked for a count of Bach's remaining chips and he revealed that he had 132,000 left behind. Ferguson thought for a moment longer and mucked. On the very next hand Minh Bguyen made a reraise for 120,000 preflop and Ferguson went into the tank again. He mucked once more and his stack was looking quite low in chips with a stack under 300,000.

Jesus Doubles Up

A few hands later Ferguson moved the last of his chips (286,000) all in preflop on the button against Perry Friedman. They turned up their hands and Ferguson held AJ to Friedman's A10. The board rolled out K936K and Ferguson resurrected his stack to survive.

Theo Wins a Big Hand

Theo Tran raised to 65,000 on the button and Joe Rutledge made the call from the small blind. The flop rolled out AA5 and Tran fired out 65,000. Rutledge made the call and the turn fell 3. Both players checked and the river brought the 2. Rutledge bet 100,000 and Tran raised to 350,000. Rutledge called and they turned up their hands. Tran held A5 for a full house and Rutledge showed down pocket fours to lose with a straight.

Kearny's Wild Ride - Eliminated in 15th Place ($41,296)

In the last couple of minutes Matthew Kearny has supplied chips to support Mike Ngo doubling up, and then Kearny doubled up himself through Jeff Wiedenhoeft. That all led up to this monster hand:

Kearny raised to 60,000, Wiedenhoeft moved all in for 130,000, and Aaron Coulthard re-popped all in behind him to cover both players. Kearny made the all-in call they then turned up their hands:

Board: K102Q10

Wiedenhoeft took the lead on the flop with kings and tens, lost it on the turn to Kearny's kings and queens and Blake's ace-high straightt, and then regained the lead on the river with a full house. Wiedenhoeft tripled up on the hand to survive, while Coulthard remained in the tournament, but with considerably less chips. Kearny was eliminated in 15th place. He is the first player to receive $41,296 in prize money.

Player Tags: Minh Nguyen,   Chris Ferguson,   David Bach,   Perry Friedman

$1,500 No Limit Hold'em - Day 2 - Level 18

Jun 02, '08

Note: There was an unscheduled 10-minute break during this level for reasons that will be explained later in this update...

Blinds/Antes: 6,000/12,000 – 1,000 ante

Players Left: 31 of 3929

Chip Leaders:
Theo Tran - 1,345,000
Aaron Coulthard - 1,150,000
Joshua Engerdahl - 1,080,000
Joe Rutledge - 860,000
Pia Jeppesen - 750,000
Matthew Kearney - 650,000
Melvin Jones - 590,000
Chris Ferguson - 506,000
James Akenhead - 502,000
Perry Friedman - 404,000

Average Stack: 380,000

Eliminations:
Nadim Shabou
Cesar Flores
David Robertson
Scott Montgomery

Big Hands and Storylines:

Raise, Raise, All-In, All-In

Maybe the late hour is starting to make players antsy: Perry Friedman opened the pot to 35,000, and Frank Sinopoli raised behind him to 90,000. The player to Sinopoli’s left, David Robertson, then moved his stack of about 75,000 into the pot, and after that Elia Ahmadian, one seat to Robertson’s left, shipped his last 100,000 into the middle. Friedman folded, but Sinopoli made the call and the players showed:

Ahmadian: AA
Robertson: AQ
Sinopoli: TT

The board came ragged: 76428 and Ahmadian’s rockets boosted him to 300,000. Sinopoli took a hit and is down to 200,000, and Robertson can finally get some sleep.

Engerdahl Takes Off

Josh Engerdahl raised three times the blinds from late position and Cesar Flores made a massive raise to 400,000. Action folded back around to Engerdahl who look dismayed as he called and turned over AK. He was in tremendous shape, however, as Flores was caught making a move with AJ. The board, Q88T4, didn’t change a thing and Engerdahl’s stack grew to 900,000. After the hand Flores told Engerdahl, “I put you on a steal.”

The very next hand Engerdahl continued his winning ways, tangling with fellow chip leader Pia Jeppesen. Engerdahl again raised from late position to 36,000 and was met by a raise to 105,000 from Jeppesen in the small blind. Undeterred, Engerdahl put in another raise to 300,000 total. Jeppesen did not think too long before folding her hand, conceding the pot. Engerdahl now sits near the chip lead with over a million.

Slow and Steady Nguyen Wins Race (Okay, Not Quite a Race)

Minh Nguyen tossed his final 150,000 chips into the middle from late position and was called by Evan McNiff. Nguyen’s A2 was in bad shape against McNiff’s JJ. The flop KQT left Nguyen drawing to only two outs. The 2 was about the best card McNiff could have hoped for on the turn, but the river was a killer: J. Minh Nguyen, despite not showing down very many hands today, is now up to 300,000.

Tran Busts Montgomery

Theo Tran got caught stealing against Scott Montgomery. Tran's T9 was in dire straits against Montgomery's pocket aces. The flop came with three hearts, however, and Montgomery, without the ace of hearts, was drawing close to dead. The turn and river gave Montgomery no aid, and he was eliminated in 30th place. Tran is now the clear chipleader with close to 1,400,000 chips.

Wiedenhoeft Wins More Than He Bargained For

Steve Chu raised under-the-gun to 50,000 and Jeff Wiedenhoeft made it 100,000 to go from the button. Chu took the bait and re-raised all-in for 10,000 more. He was immediately called by Wiedenhoeft who flipped over AA, crushing Chu’s AQ. Wiedenhoeft’s aces held up on a board of KJ456, but the action was only beginning. While raking in his chips indiscriminately, Wiedenhoeft somehow managed to confuse the pot with neighbor Thomas Fuller’s chips. By the time Fuller returned from his seat, his stack was about 250,000 chips lighter. To remedy the situation, the powers-that-be decided to take a short break and sort the situation out. Everything was eventually settled, but as a result of this stoppage the next break will only last 10 minutes.

Player Tags: Frank Sinopoli,   Minh Nguyen,   Perry Friedman,   Elia Ahmadian,   Theo Tran,   Scott Montgomery,   Evan McNiff,   Joshua Engerdahl,   European Report

Event 2 - $1,500 NLH - Day 2 - Hour 1

Jun 02, '08

Blinds: 500-1,000 with a 100 ante (Moving to 600-1,200 with a 100 ante)

Players Left: 414 of 3,929

Chip Counts:

David Bach: 120,000
Allan Puzontyan: 111,400
Ryan D'Angelo: 105,800
Frank Sinopoli: 103,900
Pat White: 92,300
Shane Schleger: 89,000
Henry Tran: 80,300
John Carlson: 80,200
Grant Hinkle: 77,800

Average Chip Stack: 28,300

Big Hands:

Gaspard Takes Out Another One

Jean Gaspard raised to 4,000 and Ylon Schwartz called all in. Schwartz showed AJ, Gaspard turned over AK. The board ran 8321010 and Schwartz was eliminated.

Quad Fours Beats Two Queens

Charles Ambrogi hit quad 4s on the flop against Parimal Parmar's Q-Q. Ambrogi doubled up to over 28,000 while Parmar still had well over 40,000.

Nguyen Takes a Pot

Minh Nguyen won an early three-way pot when the board showed Q63J and he bet 2,000 into the pot and he got no callers.

Erica Schoenberg and Ryan Daut Tangle

Schoenberg called Daut's preflop raise and the flop came AQ3. Schoenberg led out with 4,000 and Daut thought for a moment then folded. 

Player Tags: Minh Nguyen,   Ylon Schwartz,   Parimal Parmar,   Erica Schoenberg,   Charles Ambrogi,   Ryan Daut,   Jean Gaspard,   European Report

NLHE - Final Two Tables - Hour One

Jun 03, '08

 

Note: The dinner break should take place around 8 p.m. this evening (depending upon the speed of the play down)

Blinds/Antes: 10,000-20,000 with a 3,000

Players Left: 15 of 3,929

Chip Counts:

Eliminations:

Big Hands and Storylines:

Brandon Blake Eliminated in 17th Place ($30,569)

Brandon Blake and Mike Ngo got all of their chips into the middle on a board of J653 and the crowd gasped as they flipped pocket sixes (Ngo) and pocket fives (Blake). The river rolled out the Q and Ngo had Blake covered by a hare to send him off to the rail in 17th place.

Frank Sinopoli Eliminated in 16th Place ($30,569)

The flop read K105 when Aaron Coulthard and Frank Sinopoli got all of their chips into the middle. Coulthard turned up 42 for a flopped flush and Sinopoli showed down Q3. The turn and river hit 610 and Sinopoli hit the rail in 16th place.

Round 1: Jesus vs. David Bach Round 2: Jesus vs. Minh Nguyen

David Bach raised 120,000 preflop and Chris Ferguson went into the tank. He asked for a count of Bach's remaining chips and he revealed that he had 132,000 left behind. Ferguson thought for a moment longer and mucked. On the very next hand Minh Bguyen made a reraise for 120,000 preflop and Ferguson went into the tank again. He mucked once more and his stack was looking quite low in chips with a stack under 300,000.

Jesus Doubles Up

A few hands later Ferguson moved the last of his chips (286,000) all in preflop on the button against Perry Friedman. They turned up their hands and Ferguson held AJ to Friedman's A10. The board rolled out K936K and Ferguson resurrected his stack to survive.

Theo Wins a Big Hand

Theo Tran raised to 65,000 on the button and Joe Rutledge made the call from the small blind. The flop rolled out AA5 and Tran fired out 65,000. Rutledge made the call and the turn fell 3. Both players checked and the river brought the 2. Rutledge bet 100,000 and Tran raised to 350,000. Rutledge called and they turned up their hands. Tran held A5 for a full house and Rutledge showed down pocket fours to lose with a straight.

Kearny's Wild Ride - Eliminated in 15th Place ($41,296)

In the last couple of minutes Matthew Kearny has supplied chips to support Mike Ngo doubling up, and then Kearny doubled up himself through Jeff Wiedenhoeft. That all led up to this monster hand:

Kearny raised to 60,000, Wiedenhoeft moved all in for 130,000, and Aaron Coulthard re-popped all in behind him to cover both players. Kearny made the all-in call they then turned up their hands:

Board: K102Q10

Wiedenhoeft took the lead on the flop with kings and tens, lost it on the turn to Kearny's kings and queens and Blake's ace-high straightt, and then regained the lead on the river with a full house. Wiedenhoeft tripled up on the hand to survive, while Coulthard remained in the tournament, but with considerably less chips. Kearny was eliminated in 15th place. He is the first player to receive $41,296 in prize money.

Player Tags: Minh Nguyen,   Chris Ferguson,   David Bach,   Perry Friedman

Hand for Hand

Jun 28, '07

With the announcement that there are only 55 players remaining, hand for hand play has begun with 23 minutes left in level 12. Still in the field are Stuey Paterson, Marcel Luske, John Juanda, Kathy Liebert, Blair Rodman and Todd Brunson. Play is still scheduled to play down to the winner.

Robert Williamson III enjoyed a very rocky, and very short second day. Williamson was able to maintain his chip stack throughout the day, often splitting pots with opponents. With the limits set at $1,500-$3,000, Williamson threw out $3,000 preflop. Tony Cousineau and the player in seat one made the call and the flop came Q 8 5. Cousineau and the player in seat one checked and Williamson bet out $1,500. Both Cousineau and the player in seat one called and the turn was the 4. Action checked to Williamson again and he bet out $3,000. Both players again called and the river was the 8. Action checked to Williamson again and he bet out $3,000. Both players called and all three turned over their cards. The player in seat one showed A K 8 7 to take the high and Williamson turned over A Q 2 2 for the low. The players split the pot and Cousineau just mucked his hand. Williamson's good fortune didn't last long into the next level however, and he was eliminated. The limits rose to $2,000-$4,000 and Williamson was all in preflop for his last $4,500. Two callers saw the flop with Williamson and it was J 8 6. A $2,000 bet on the flop was called and the turn was the 4. The two remaining players bet and called for $4,000 more and the river was the 7. A bet of $2,000 was called and the player showed their hands. Williamson showed A K 5 3 and his opponent in seat six turned up A K 7 4 and scooped the pot. The other player in the hand mucked and Williamson was eliminated.

John Juanda was able to ward off elimination in this last level and has built his stack up to $28,000. With the board showing J 4 2 Juanda bet out $3,000 and his opponent in the ten seat called. The turn was the 2 and again Juanda led out with $3,000. The ten seat called and the river was the 8. Juanda put his last $2,000 into the middle and the player in seat ten called. Juanda exposed A K 8 2 for the full house and took down the pot, staying alive.

Minh Nguyen was eliminated this level as well, courtesy of chip leader Blair Rodman. At a table including Kathy Liebert, Todd Brunson and Blair Rodman, Minh Nguyen found himself amongst some tough competition. Liebert bet out $4,000 to start the hand and both Rodman and Nguyen called. The flop was A 9 8 and Rodman checked. Nguyen pushed in his last $1,500 and both Liebert and Rodman called. The turn was the A and Rodman and Liebert both checked. The river card brought the A and again both players checked. Rodman showed K K 6 4 and both Nguyen and Liebert mucked their cards.

Marcel Luske made his voice heard early in the day. Seems Luske had a problem with the dealer not leaving bets in front of the players and pulling them into the middle. The dealer and Luske got into it for a few moments until a tournament offcial came by to resolve the situation. Luske was adamant and not giving an inch. "I'm not gonna back down on this! I wanna play the way the game should be played! Put the money where it belongs, in front!" The floor person finally compromised with Luske and the dealer handled the chips the way Luske demanded.

The players are now on a 15 minute break and the money bubble has yet to burst. With several short stacks hanging on for dear life, expect the field to be in the money shortly into level 13.

Player Tags: Minh Nguyen,   Kathy Liebert,   John Juanda,   Blair Rodman,   Marcel Luske,   Robert Williamson III

Hour One Recap

Jun 12, '07

The beginning of Event 21was delayed half an hour, finally getting underway at 12:30 p.m.  900 players entered the event, garnering a $1,220,500 prize pool.  For winning their first table, players will receive $6,757.  If they go all the way to the end, first place pays $254,107. David Pham, who won the no-limit shootout last year did indeed return to defend his title, but with Joe Tehan seated at his table it certainly won't be a walk getting through even the first round.

Stacked tables are always a factor in a players performance. If you get a bad draw and are stuck with tough pros, it obviously has an effect.  In this tournament that effect is especially large, however, because there is no balancing or breaking of tables. Also, you can't just avoid a pro because you have to take out everyone at you're table to win. For these reasons, the players who got stuck with the pros at the following stacked tables are especially unlucky.

Table 31
1.Phil Hellmuth
2.Matt Matros
3.Minh Nguyen
8.Marco Traniello

Table 93
1. Mark Vos
3.Erick Lindgren
5. Kirill Gerasimov
8. Mickey Appleman
10. Eugene Todd

Table 98
1.Brandon Adams
2. Michael Mizrachi
3. Mark Seif
5.Davidson Matthew
6. Mike Gracz
8. Vanessa Rousso

Some early eliminations include Max Pescatori, Joe Tehan, Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi and David "Devilfish" Ulliot.  Tehan was eliminated  when he  got all in heads up with last year's winner David "The Dragon " Pham.  Pham  bet out  $175 before the flop and Tehan raised it $550.  Pham  called and the flop came 9 5 2. Pham checked and Tehan bet out $625. Phan raised him to $1,725 and Tehan pushed all in. Pham called and showed 6 3 for the straight flush draw and Tehan turned over A A. The turn brought the 10 and the river was the 9.

Mizrachi wasted no time in the first level establishing himself as the most aggressive player at his very stacked table. Mizrachi raised every bet for the first half hour and the players at his table were waiting to catch him at the wrong moment. After consecutive raises, Mark Seif said to Mizrachi, "God, you gonna raise every pot?" The Grinder responded, "how else am I gonna bust you guys if I dont raise? I only got two hours to bust all you guys, I gotta play in the other tourney coming back at two." Mizrachi's aggressive play finally caught up to him when the player in seat four took a stand. Mizrachi limped into the pot and the player in seat four bet out $475. Mizrachi was the only caller and the flop came J 7 6. Mizrachi pushed all in for not many chips and the player in seat four instantly called. The Grinder turned over 8 6 and the player in seat four had Q Q. The 5 hit on the turn and gave Mizrachi a handful of more outs. The river was the A and Mizrachi was eliminated just in time to take his seat in the other tournament.

Chau Giang got involved in a rollercoaster of a pot. After a flop of K 5 5, Giang's opponent bet $1,200.  Giang raised all in, and after going into the tank for a minute, his opponent called.  Giang revealed the 8 5 for trips with an eight kicker.  His opponent also had trips with the 6 5, but with a smaller kicked he was trailing Giang. The 6 on the turn prompted a gasp from the table, as the three outer had filled up Giang's opponent and put him in the lead.  Giang needed an eight or a king on the river to survive. When the 8 hit the board, everyone at the table gasped again as Giang hit a higher full house to double up and survive. A player at the table then noted, "That would've been a great all-in moment."

Player Tags: Mark Seif,   Minh Nguyen,   Michael Gracz,   David Pham,   Erick Lindgren,   Mickey Appleman,   Max Pescatori,   Phil Hellmuth,   Michael Mizrachi,   Marco Traniello,   Chau Giang,   Kirill Gerasimov,   Eugene Todd,   Joe Tehan,   Vanessa Rousso,   Brandon Adams,   Mark Vos,   Davidson Matthew

In A Hurry To Leave

Jun 05, '07

Play started today at 2pm PST with 90 players remaining, all of them in the money.  The after the first hour, the field has already been whittled down to 62 players.  Thom Werthmann (86th), Thor Hansen (82nd), "Minneapolis Jim" Meehan (76th), and Mihn Nguyen (72nd).  all could not survive the first hour of Day Two.

Nguyen, despite sitting for almost an hour with about $4,500 in chips, while the average stack has closer to $45,000, was in great spirits, and celebrated with his tablemates including David Chiu when he squeaked past another pay bump.  Nguyen found himself all-in soon after with K-J against his opponent's 10-10.  The flop came K-Q-10, but Nguyen would not make his straight as was sent to the rail.

Others players still very much in the game include David Sklansky, Matt Hawrilenko (who was moved into Nguyen's seat), and Scott Keikoan.

They are down to 7 tables, looking to get down to the final nine players before the end of the day.

Player Tags: Thor Hansen,   Minh Nguyen,   Jim Meehan