Raymond Rahme Poker Tournament Updates

Level One Update: Day 1A Kicks Off

Jul 07, '11

NOTE: Levels are two hours in length and players are starting with 30,000 in chips.

Blinds: 50-100

Notables in Field:

Brian Hastings
TJ Cloutier
Doyle Brunson
Matt Affleck
Greg Raymer
Jerry Yang
Filippo Candio
Matt Glantz
Adam Levy
Faraz Jaka
Tatjana Pasalic
Jason Alexander

Card Player Chip Counts:

Barry Shulman — 30,000
Josh Brikis — 30,000

Notable Eliminations:

None

Hands:

Raymond Rahme Doubles

2007 main event final tablist Raymond Rahme was all in with A-Q on a A Q 4 7 A board. His opponent remarkably only had A-K, and Rahme doubled to about 55,000 with the nuts.

Evelyn Ng Loses Nearly Half Her Stack

On a board of 9 7 5 10 7 Evelyn Ng checked from the small blind and a player on the button bet 7,000. Ng called and folded when she was shown pocket fives for a full house. She was down to about 18,000 after the hand.

Sebastian Ruthenberg Also Drops Down to Under 20K to a Flopped Set of Fives

With a large pot of 15,000 for 50-100 blinds the board read Q 7 5 8 9, and Sebastian Ruthenberg checked. His opponent checked behind despite holding a set of fives. Ruthenberg mucked his king high and dropped to about 18,000.

Ari Engel Almost Felted

Ari Engel was in a pot against two other players after a flop of K 5 7. The big blind checked and Engel bet. The bet was called and then raised. Both players made the call and the 9 fell on the turn. The big blind bet out 2,500, and Engel called, while the other player in the hand mucked. The 4 fell on the river, and the big blind bet 10,000. Engel made the call, and his opponent showed him the A A. Engel mucked and was down to just 4,000.

Player Tags: Evelyn Ng,   Sebastian Ruthenberg,   Raymond Rahme

Raymond Rahme Eliminated in 36th Place ($30,000 AUD)

Jan 21, '09

Raymond Rahme checked a board of K1037 and Christopher Chronis bet 100,000. Rahme raised all in for 320,000 and Chronis called him down. Their cards:

Rahme: A10
Chronis: QJ

River: 8

Rahme was eliminated on the hand in 36th place, and he will take home $30,000 AUD in prize money.







 

Player Tags: Raymond Rahme

Raymond Rahme Doubles Up

Apr 14, '08

Raymond Rahme made a set of threes against Cyril Bensoussan on a flop of Q93. Bensoussan held K-Q and made two pair when a king fell on the turn, but it wasn't enough to prevail. Both players hold 90,000 after the hand.

 

 

 

Player Tags: Cyril Bensoussan,   Raymond Rahme

Raymond Rahme Eliminated in 27th Place ($66,564)

Apr 15, '08

Team PokerStars Por Raymond Rahme has busted out of the tournament in 27th place, and he will take home $66,564 in prize money.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Player Tags: Raymond Rahme

Raymond Rahme Doubles Up

Apr 14, '08

Raymond Rahme made a set of threes against Cyril Bensoussan on a flop of Q93. Bensoussan held K-Q and made two pair when a king fell on the turn, but it wasn't enough to prevail. Both players hold 90,000 after the hand.

 

 

 

Player Tags: Cyril Bensoussan,   Raymond Rahme

Raymond Rahme Eliminated in 27th Place ($66,564)

Apr 15, '08

Team PokerStars Por Raymond Rahme has busted out of the tournament in 27th place, and he will take home $66,564 in prize money.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Player Tags: Raymond Rahme

Night Train

Jul 15, '07

Raymond Rahme Takes Huge Pot
It is folded to Philip Hilm in the small blind, he calls and Raymond Rahme checks in the big blind.  The flop comes 633, Hilm bets $120,000 and Rahme makes the call.  The turn is the 2. Hilm checks and Rahme bets out $250,000.  Hilm check-raises to $750,000 and Rahme goes into the tank.  He finally makes the call, and the river brings the 4.  Hilm bets $1,200,000 and Rahme calls almost instantly.  Hilm tables K3 for trip threes, but Rahme roll over 65 for the straight.  He rakes a massive pot, worth over $5,000,000.

Tuan Lam
Tuan Lam, who qualified for the main event online at www.pokerstars.com has some added help on his side, sweating him in the stands is fellow Canadian Anh Van Nguyen.  Nguyen won a Bellagio preliminary event earlier in the year, and attributed some of his success to coaching from J.C. Tran.  Whomever has helped Lam has clearly done an amazing job. 

David Tran Eliminated 14th ($429,114)
Tuan Lam raises in early position and it is folded to David Tran.  He looks down at his cards, them moves all in for $2,605,000. It is folded back to Lam and he goes into the tank.  He thinks for several minutes, then simply says, "Call."  He tables AK, and Tran shows 66.  The flop comes K103, and Lam lets out a rare show of emotion.  The next two cards come 42, and Tran is send from the main event in 14th place for a payday of $429,114.  There are now just 13 players remaining.

William Spadea Eliminated 13th ($429,114)

William Spadea was all in with Big Slick, but he was covered by Jon Kalmer, who held pocket aces. The board rolled out A 8 8 2 5. Spadea was eliminated in 13th place and he took home $429,114 in prize money. Kalmer jumped into the chip lead after the hand.

Make it Rain

Hevad Kahn picked up a large pot off of Kalmer right before the break. He overbet the river, which induced Kalmer to call on a board of K 10 J 4 K. Kahn flipped over K 10 and went into his standard operating procedure victory celebration.

Break
Players are on a 20 minute break, there are 12 remaining.
Notable Chip Counts

Lee Watkinson	9,845,000
Scotty Nguyen	7,495,000

Poker Stars Online Qualifiers
    Tuan Lam                 20300000
    Hevad Khan             12740000
www.pokerstars.com

Player Tags: David Tran,   Tuan Lam,   Philip Hilm,   Raymond Rahme

Players On Break

Jul 15, '07

There are currently 22 players left following the completion of the 26th level.

Roy Winston Eliminated in 26th Place

In a previous hand Bill Edler raised to $240,000, John Armbrust called from the cutoff, Roy Winston reraised to $750,000, Edler folded, and after several minutes Armbrust moved all in over the top. Winston then tanked for quite a while. The player in seat No. 9 called the clock on Winston, and he ended up not making a decision, and his hand was declared dead.  Winston's business partner Mark, who was faithfully sweating his friend, became very agitated, reminding the player in seat No. 9, that these aren't big decision's, "You're only playing for $8.2 million."

Winston raised from middle position a few hands later, and Jerry Yang asked for a count on Winston's chips. Yang then proceeded to move all in, and Winston shrugged his shoulders and called. Yang showed A K and Winston held a slight lead with Q Q.  That all changed as the board ran out A 10 2 8 6, and Winston was eliminated in 26th place.

Alaei Can't Find His Kicker This Time

Daniel Alaei had faced elimination twice previously late in the tournament holding an Ace and an inferior kicker to his caller.  Both times he paired his other card on the river to stay alive.  Finally these situations caught up with him as he moved in preflop with A K, and was called by Jon Kalmer holding A Q.  The board ran out 7 5 4 5 9, and Alaei was elminated in 25th place.

Edler Elminated Before Break

On a downward slope for most of this level, Bill Edler managed to double up short-stack Alex Kravchenko, just before committing all of his chips in tough spot.  After Raymond Rahme raised preflop, Edler reraised to $1.5 million, Rahme folded, but Kravchenko called for his last $695,000.  Edler said, "Happy Birthday" as he tabled 4 4.   Kravchenko showed 10 10, and when the board ran out K Q 7 10 A, Edler  shipped a decent amount of chips to Kravchenko.

A few hands later, Edler pushed all in for his last $1.95 million from early position. Action folded around to Jerry Yang in the big blind, who eventually made the call. Edler commended him for the call and showed 10 9, which proved to be live cards to Yang's A K. The flop closed some doors as it fell Q 4 2.  The turn was the A, leaving the meaningless 7 to fall on the river.  Edler was given a hearty round of applause for his 23rd place finish.

Recent Eliminations

Each of these players earned $333,490

27. Jeff Bryan
26. Roy Winston
25. Daniel Alaei
24. Ryan Elston
23. Bill Edler

Notables

Lee Watkinson	4360000
Scotty Nguyen	4150000
Alex Kravchenko	1540000

Pokerstars Online Qualifier

Hevad Kahn  5300000

pokerstars.com

Player Tags: Daniel Alaei,   Bill Edler,   Jerry Yang,   Roy Winston,   Raymond Rahme

Final Three Tables

Jul 15, '07

With the elimination of Paulo Loureiro in 28th place, the remaining 27 players were shuffled to all new seats in a redraw. The final three tables have been established and following a short break cards were back in the air.

A new chip leader has emerged in the early hours of day six. Lee Childs has been able to build his stack up to $11,300,000. Billy Spadea is in a close second with $10,400,000 in chips.

All In, All the Time
Ryan Elson had gotten into the habit of making several large preflop raises in the last few hours and usually it would provoke the desired outcome from his opponents, a fold. Elson raised to $375,000 from the button before the flop and Scotty Nguyen, seated directly to his left, reraised all in for $1,525,000. Elson went into the tank and Nguyen stood up from the table smiling. Nguyen looked over his shoulder at Johnny Chan on the rail and said, "This All-In drink made me do it baby!", referring to the energy drink that Johnny Chan is the spokesman for. Nguyen sipped on his energy drink and finally Elson asked Nguyen, "You wanna party? I call!" Nguyen turned over A Q and Elson was ahead with 10 10. The dealer laid out A J 8 on the flop and Nguyen jumped into the driver's seat. The turn was the 5 and Nguyen needed to only dodge one of two tens left in the deck. The river brought the 6 and Nguyen doubled up to more than $4,000,000 in chips. After the hand, the always happy Elson and Nguyen got into a conversation that attracted attention and laughter from both the rail and ESPN camera crews.

Elson: I've gotta call my wife now and tell her that Scotty took all my chips!
Nguyen: Call your wife baby, she come out here I buy her dinner.
Elson: She's eight months pregnant Scotty!
Nguyen: Ok, then you, your wife and the newborn come out here I buy you all dinner.
Elson: It better be at a nice restaurant, I only eat nice food.
Nguyen: Don't worry baby. I fly you to Paris for dinner and fly you right back.
Elson: I'm gonna hold you to that, It's on camera now.
Nguyen: If I win this whole thing, you come back and I promise I fly you all to Paris for dinner baby.

Nguyen continued to ham it up for the ESPN cameras for the better part of the last hour and tried to get almost everyone at his table involved in some way. "What about you! (seat nine) You from Manchester right?" asked Nguyen. "Uh, I'm from New York Scotty." answered Kevin Farry. "Oh, I got you confused with someone else. All white people look alike" joked Nguyen with a huge smile on his face. This brought laughter from everyone within earshot and Nguyen cleared things up by saying, "You guys know I'm kidding. I love white people!"

Just a few hands later Nguyen added to his chip stack again, this time at the expense of Tuan Lam. Nguyen raised to $280,000 before the flop and Lam was the only caller from the button. The flop came K 4 2 and Nguyen checked.  Lam bet out $350,000 and Nguyen smooth called. The turn was the 10 and Nguyen fired out a bet of $470,000. "If you call this you don't like money man" said Nguyen. Lam apparently does like money and folded his hand.

Paulo Loureiro Eliminated in 28th Place ($285,678)
Loureiro limped into the pot from late position and was called by Raymond Rahme in the small blind. Billy Spadea raised to $150,000 from the big blind and Loureiro came back over the top all in. Rahme got out of the way and Spadea called. Loureiro showed K K and Spadea woke up in the big blind with A A. The board came 10 10 2 5 3 and Loureiro was eliminated in 28th place, causing the table redraw.

Edler Got Caught
Edler raises to $220,000 preflop and was called by Raymond Rahme. The flop came K 5 3 and both players checked. The turn was the 3 and again both players checked. The river brought the 6 and Rahme bet out $200,000. Edler raised to $650,000 and Rahme didn't hesitate to call. Rahme showed A 6 and Edler mucked his hand saying only "ace high."

Player Tags: Scotty Nguyen,   Bill Edler,   Paulo Loureiro,   Raymond Rahme,   William Spadea

Hour Two Recap

Jul 15, '07

Edler Spikes River

Peter Darvil raised to $180,000 from the button, Bill Edler reraised to $380,000 from the small blind, and Darvil called. The flop was 5 3 2, and Edler moved all in.  Darvil stood up immediately and began to pace. Darvil confirmed that he and Edler were about even in chips, with Edler having slightly more. Darvil then asked his friends on the rail to get him his bobblehead. They then produced a brand-new Phil Hellmuth bobblehead doll, that Darvil promptly placed on the felt to help him with his decision. Darvil made the call for his last $1.7 million, and was immediately commended by Edler for making a great call. Darvil showed 7 7, and Edler flipped up J 9. The turn was the Ad, maintaining Darvil's lead, but the river was the 9, and Darvil headed to the rail in stunned silence. He finished in 31st place. Edler further padded his stack past the $5 million mark, limping with an A 5 on the next hand, flopping an Ace, and getting paid off to the tune of $300,000

Either Way I Win Baby

Scotty Nguyen has been enjoying chatting with his tablemates. At one point he started a dialogue with a mother who is cheering her son from the rail. Nguyen is convinced that if her son wins the tournament that she will adopt him.  Also if Raymond Rhame, seated two players over from him in the No. 9 seat wins, he will adopt Nguyen also.  Nguyen also received a quick visit from two-time main event champion Johnny Chan, who came by to offer words of encouragement, and an endorsement logo.  No word yet on whether or not Chan is mentoring anyone currently in the field.

Chip Confusion

Much has been made of the three current chip denominations currently on all four tables. Two shades of orange and pink don't make for easily definable differences, and most players, cameramen, dealers, and reporters have issue with the similarity of each of the chips.  Hypotheses on which shade of orange the $100,000 chips will be when they are introduced is a hot topic of discussion.

Recent Eliminatiions

Each of these players will receive $285,678

31. Pete Darvil
30. Jason Koshi
29. Ron Kluber

Players are on break for twenty minutes.

There are currently 28 players left, when one more is eliminated they will redraw for the final three tables.

Player Tags: Scotty Nguyen,   Bill Edler,   Raymond Rahme,   Peter Darvill

Hour One Recap

Jul 15, '07

The first hour of play on day six is over and already the field has narrowed to 31 players. ESPN film crews are swarming the tournament area in an effort to catch every piece of action and the shuffling of personnel has given the tournament area the feel of a madhouse. A player can't so much as raise the blinds without a camera directly in his face watching every moment.

Tran Donates a Little
David Tran came into day six as the official chip leader by only $30,000 but has taken a few hits in the first hour and has slipped down the leaderboard. Tran got involved in a pot with Jeff Bryan and both players saw a flop of A Q 4. Tran led out with a bet of $285,000 and Bryan called. The turn was the 6 and this time Tran turned up the heat with a $625,000 bet. Bryan thought for a moment and declared that he was all in for $1,215,000 more. Tran eyed his opponent and mucked his hand. Bryan picked up almost a $1,000,000 in chips without ever having to show his hand.

Movin' On Up
Shortly before being moved to the ESPN featured table, Daniel Alaei raised to $165,000 under the gun. David Tran, Philip Hilm and Jeff Bryan all made the call. "This would be a good time to get aces" joked Ryan Elson who was in the big blind. Elson looked at his cards and said "I raise." Elson counted out the $165,000 he owed and then said "I'm all in." The raise was for $1,540,000. Alaei folded, as did Tran. Hilm called from the four seat and Bryan got out of the way. Elson turned over 10 10 and Hilm was holding 6 6. The flop came 8 5 4 and Elson stood out of his seat and started yelling to his fans on the rail. The turn was the 9 and Elson started yelling for paint on the river. The river brought the Q and Elson doubled to over $3,000,000. While Elson stacked his newly acquired chips, he was so happy after doubling up that he folded his small blind without ever looking at his cards.

Freeman Takes a Hit
Scott "SCTrojans" Freeman took a $3,000,000 hit in the first hour courtesy of Raymone Rahme. Freeman and Rahme were all in before the flop with Freeman showing pocket kings and Rahme holding pocket aces. The board bricked out for both players and Rahme's aces held up, giving him the almost $6,000,000 pot.

Kevin Kim Eliminated in 32nd Place ($285,678)
Paulo Loureiro raised to $200,000 from the button and Kevin Kim reraises all in from the small blind for $380,000 more. Louriero thought for a moment and called. Kim showed A K and Loureiro was holding A 9. The flop came J 9 8 and Louriero jumped into the lead. The turn was the Q and Kim picked up a few more outs. Any spade, ten or king would give Kim the pot and keep him alive. The river proved unkind for Kim when it brought the 6. Louriero took down the pot and Kim was eliminated in 32nd place.

Recent Eliminations
36th Place - Robin Bergren ($285,678)
35th Place - Allan King ($285,678)
34th Place - Hoa Nguyen ($285,678)
33rd Place - Christian Togsverd ($285,678)
32nd Place - Kevin Kim ($285,678)

Notables

Lee Watkinson	3,650,000
Daniel Alaei	2,900,000
Alex Kravchenko	1,430,000
Scotty Nguyen	1,400,000

Pokerstars Online Qualifiers

Hevad Khan	7,100,000
Jason Welch	1,525,000

pokerstars.com

Player Tags: Hoa Nguyen,   David Tran,   Robin Bergren,   Paulo Loureiro,   Kevin Kim,   Philip Hilm,   Jeff Bryan,   Christian Togsverd,   Allan King,   Raymond Rahme,   Ryan Elson,   Scott Freeman

Raymond Rahme Eliminated 3rd ($3,048,025)

Jul 17, '07

Play resumes
Play has restarted after a 20 minute break.  Blinds will go up in one hour.

Raymond Rahme Eliminated 3rd (3,048,025)
Jerry Yang raises to $2,500,000 and is reraised by Pokerstars qualifier Raymond Rahme to $8,600,000.  Yang makes the call, and the flop comes A J 8.  Rahme checks and Yang fires out a $10,000,000 bet.  Rahme moves all in, and Yang is faced with his biggest decision of the tournament.  Rahme looks calm as he pushes all of his chips into the middle, and Yang looks unsure of his decision.  He goes into the tank for several minutes, and the ESPN arena is silent.   Yang looks up then says, "I call."  Rahme says, "nice call" and turns over K K.  Yang does his patented double fist pump and rolls over A 5.  The next two cards brick for Rahme when they come 3 2, and he is sent home with over three million dollars.

Heads Up Chip Counts
Here are the chip counts going into heads up play:

Jerry Yang -- $104,450,000
Tuan Lam -- $23,025,000

Player Tags: Tuan Lam,   Jerry Yang,   Raymond Rahme

Hour Eleven

Jul 17, '07

Tuan Lam Doubles Up
Jerry Yang raises to $2,500,000, and www.pokerstars.com online qualifier Tuan Lam moves all in.  Raymond Rahme moves in over the top and Yang folds. Rahme tables QQ, and Lam A5.  The flop comes A1010, and again the Canadians burst into applause.  But Lam still has to dodge two cards.  The turn brings the 2, and Lam us just one card away from doubling up.  The river is the A, Lam fills up and again is mobbed by his supporters.  They break out into the national anthem, but it fades after a few lines.  After the players are reseated Lam now has $26,000,000 and Rahme just $17,100,000.

Updated Chip Counts
Here are the latest chip counts

Jerry Yang -- $51,225,000
Tuan Lam -- $32,050,000
Raymond Rahme -- $21,100,000
Alex Kravchenko -- $21,100,000

Blinds raised
The blinds are now $300,000-$600,000 with a $75,000 ante.

Player Tags: Alexander Kravchenko,   Tuan Lam,   Jerry Yang,   Raymond Rahme

Hour Twelve

Jul 17, '07

Raymond Rahme Doubles Up

Alex Kravchenko bet $1,500,000 and Jerry Yang raised to $6 million. PokerStars online qualifier, Raymond Rahme then moved all in. Rahme flipped over A Q and Yang turned up pocket queens. But, the trend of the tournament continued, and one of the three aces in the deck emerged on a flop of A 9 4. The South African contingent went wild at this point and they continued to do so as the 3 was peeled off on the turn, and the 5 was turned over on the river.   

The Never-Ending Tournament

The mood of lady luck seems determined to keep this tournament running as long as possible. Ever since things got down to fourhanded the brakes have been applied to that action, even more so after the dinner break. Each and every single time that Jerry Yang has had an opponent covered all in, he has lost the hand, and his opponent has doubled up. All three players have done this, so technically, the tournament could be over at this point if all those hands had gone the other way. But hey, that’s poker.

Leader Board

Raymond Rahme: $36,600,000
Alex Kravchenko: $20,325,000
Jerry Yang: $41,625,000
Tuan Lam: $28,925,000

Alex Kravchenko Eliminated in Fourth Place ($1,852,721)

A turning point hand at the final table just occurred. Jerry Yang moves all in preflop and Alex Kravchenko makes the call. Kravchenko flips over his initials, in the form of A K. Yang turns up pocket eights. The flop rolls out Q 9 8 and the crowd goes wild. Yang, Raymond Rahme, and Tuan Lam spring to their prospective corners to celebrate, because the likely elimination of Kravchenko would mean at least a $3,048,025 payday for all three. Things take a moment to calm down, and then the turn and river bring 4 3. Kravchenko is eliminated in fourth place, and he takes home $1,852,721 in prize money.

Break Time

The players then went on another 20 minute break.

Player Tags: Alexander Kravchenko,   Tuan Lam,   Jerry Yang,   Raymond Rahme

Hour Ten

Jul 17, '07

Two Year Penalty

Mike Matusow and Shawn Sheikhan have appeared on the rail to sweat the action, which induced Jack Effel to introduce the infamous two players. After which, he said, “Guys, I only gave you ten minutes, not two years,” in reference to their penalties at the 2005 main event.

Leader Board

Seat No. 1: Raymond Rhame - $30,500,000
Seat No. 2: Alex Kravchenko - $13,500,000
Seat No. 3: Jerry Yang - $61,220,000
Seat No. 4: Tuan Lam - $22,450,000

The Mad Russian Double up Machine

Alex Kravchenko moved all in preflop and Jerry Yang made the call after an intense stare down. Kravchneko has the face of the most angry person to ever sit at a main event final table, according to his piercing gaze. Yang eventually made the call and flipped over A 10. Kravchenko flipped over pocket aces without any change in emotion. The board rolled out 8 6 6 3 2 and Kravchenko doubled. Yang once again failed to eliminate an opponent he had covered all in.

Holding on For a Hero

The play at this final table has hit a wall. As the chip stacks continue to even out more and more, the players tighten up more and more.

Seat No.1: PokerStars online qualifier, Raymond Rahme - $30,400,000
Seat No. 2: Alex Kravchenko - $27,100,000
Seat No. 3: Jerry Yang - $56,675,000
Seat No. 4: PokerStars online qualifier, Tuan Lam - $13,300,000

Break Time

The players then went on a 20 minute break.

Player Tags: Mike Matusow,   Alexander Kravchenko,   Tuan Lam,   Jerry Yang,   Raymond Rahme

Hour Six

Jul 17, '07

Kravchenko Doubled Up Again

Alex Kravchenko moved all in for $7,550,000 and Jerry Yang made the call. Kravchenko showed down pocket threes and Yang flipped up K Q. The flop hit the felt 8 3 2 and the crowd went wild. Most notably Kravchenko’s Moscow buddies up in the ‘No Limit Lounge’. The turn and river brought the 5 and the K. Kravchenko doubled up yet again and he now has over $17 million.

Power Moves

Jerry Yang made his standard operating procedure raise of $1.5 million and www.pokerstars.com online qualifier Raymond Rahme reraised an additional $5 million. Yang tanked fo a second, but mucked his hand.

The Slow Down

Due to the insistent double ups by the short stacks as of late, the pace of play has slowed as everyone has a lot of chips to play with now. The players will head to dinner break a 7 p.m., which could also have an adverse effect on the speed of play.

Player Tags: Alexander Kravchenko,   Jerry Yang,   Raymond Rahme

Night Train

Jul 15, '07

Raymond Rahme Takes Huge Pot
It is folded to Philip Hilm in the small blind, he calls and Raymond Rahme checks in the big blind.  The flop comes 633, Hilm bets $120,000 and Rahme makes the call.  The turn is the 2. Hilm checks and Rahme bets out $250,000.  Hilm check-raises to $750,000 and Rahme goes into the tank.  He finally makes the call, and the river brings the 4.  Hilm bets $1,200,000 and Rahme calls almost instantly.  Hilm tables K3 for trip threes, but Rahme roll over 65 for the straight.  He rakes a massive pot, worth over $5,000,000.

Tuan Lam
Tuan Lam, who qualified for the main event online at www.pokerstars.com has some added help on his side, sweating him in the stands is fellow Canadian Anh Van Nguyen.  Nguyen won a Bellagio preliminary event earlier in the year, and attributed some of his success to coaching from J.C. Tran.  Whomever has helped Lam has clearly done an amazing job. 

David Tran Eliminated 14th ($429,114)
Tuan Lam raises in early position and it is folded to David Tran.  He looks down at his cards, them moves all in for $2,605,000. It is folded back to Lam and he goes into the tank.  He thinks for several minutes, then simply says, "Call."  He tables AK, and Tran shows 66.  The flop comes K103, and Lam lets out a rare show of emotion.  The next two cards come 42, and Tran is send from the main event in 14th place for a payday of $429,114.  There are now just 13 players remaining.

William Spadea Eliminated 13th ($429,114)

William Spadea was all in with Big Slick, but he was covered by Jon Kalmer, who held pocket aces. The board rolled out A 8 8 2 5. Spadea was eliminated in 13th place and he took home $429,114 in prize money. Kalmer jumped into the chip lead after the hand.

Make it Rain

Hevad Kahn picked up a large pot off of Kalmer right before the break. He overbet the river, which induced Kalmer to call on a board of K 10 J 4 K. Kahn flipped over K 10 and went into his standard operating procedure victory celebration.

Break
Players are on a 20 minute break, there are 12 remaining.
Notable Chip Counts

Lee Watkinson	9,845,000
Scotty Nguyen	7,495,000

Poker Stars Online Qualifiers
    Tuan Lam                 20300000
    Hevad Khan             12740000
www.pokerstars.com

Player Tags: David Tran,   Tuan Lam,   Philip Hilm,   Raymond Rahme

Players On Break

Jul 15, '07

There are currently 22 players left following the completion of the 26th level.

Roy Winston Eliminated in 26th Place

In a previous hand Bill Edler raised to $240,000, John Armbrust called from the cutoff, Roy Winston reraised to $750,000, Edler folded, and after several minutes Armbrust moved all in over the top. Winston then tanked for quite a while. The player in seat No. 9 called the clock on Winston, and he ended up not making a decision, and his hand was declared dead.  Winston's business partner Mark, who was faithfully sweating his friend, became very agitated, reminding the player in seat No. 9, that these aren't big decision's, "You're only playing for $8.2 million."

Winston raised from middle position a few hands later, and Jerry Yang asked for a count on Winston's chips. Yang then proceeded to move all in, and Winston shrugged his shoulders and called. Yang showed A K and Winston held a slight lead with Q Q.  That all changed as the board ran out A 10 2 8 6, and Winston was eliminated in 26th place.

Alaei Can't Find His Kicker This Time

Daniel Alaei had faced elimination twice previously late in the tournament holding an Ace and an inferior kicker to his caller.  Both times he paired his other card on the river to stay alive.  Finally these situations caught up with him as he moved in preflop with A K, and was called by Jon Kalmer holding A Q.  The board ran out 7 5 4 5 9, and Alaei was elminated in 25th place.

Edler Elminated Before Break

On a downward slope for most of this level, Bill Edler managed to double up short-stack Alex Kravchenko, just before committing all of his chips in tough spot.  After Raymond Rahme raised preflop, Edler reraised to $1.5 million, Rahme folded, but Kravchenko called for his last $695,000.  Edler said, "Happy Birthday" as he tabled 4 4.   Kravchenko showed 10 10, and when the board ran out K Q 7 10 A, Edler  shipped a decent amount of chips to Kravchenko.

A few hands later, Edler pushed all in for his last $1.95 million from early position. Action folded around to Jerry Yang in the big blind, who eventually made the call. Edler commended him for the call and showed 10 9, which proved to be live cards to Yang's A K. The flop closed some doors as it fell Q 4 2.  The turn was the A, leaving the meaningless 7 to fall on the river.  Edler was given a hearty round of applause for his 23rd place finish.

Recent Eliminations

Each of these players earned $333,490

27. Jeff Bryan
26. Roy Winston
25. Daniel Alaei
24. Ryan Elston
23. Bill Edler

Notables

Lee Watkinson	4360000
Scotty Nguyen	4150000
Alex Kravchenko	1540000

Pokerstars Online Qualifier

Hevad Kahn  5300000

pokerstars.com

Player Tags: Daniel Alaei,   Bill Edler,   Jerry Yang,   Roy Winston,   Raymond Rahme

Final Three Tables

Jul 15, '07

With the elimination of Paulo Loureiro in 28th place, the remaining 27 players were shuffled to all new seats in a redraw. The final three tables have been established and following a short break cards were back in the air.

A new chip leader has emerged in the early hours of day six. Lee Childs has been able to build his stack up to $11,300,000. Billy Spadea is in a close second with $10,400,000 in chips.

All In, All the Time
Ryan Elson had gotten into the habit of making several large preflop raises in the last few hours and usually it would provoke the desired outcome from his opponents, a fold. Elson raised to $375,000 from the button before the flop and Scotty Nguyen, seated directly to his left, reraised all in for $1,525,000. Elson went into the tank and Nguyen stood up from the table smiling. Nguyen looked over his shoulder at Johnny Chan on the rail and said, "This All-In drink made me do it baby!", referring to the energy drink that Johnny Chan is the spokesman for. Nguyen sipped on his energy drink and finally Elson asked Nguyen, "You wanna party? I call!" Nguyen turned over A Q and Elson was ahead with 10 10. The dealer laid out A J 8 on the flop and Nguyen jumped into the driver's seat. The turn was the 5 and Nguyen needed to only dodge one of two tens left in the deck. The river brought the 6 and Nguyen doubled up to more than $4,000,000 in chips. After the hand, the always happy Elson and Nguyen got into a conversation that attracted attention and laughter from both the rail and ESPN camera crews.

Elson: I've gotta call my wife now and tell her that Scotty took all my chips!
Nguyen: Call your wife baby, she come out here I buy her dinner.
Elson: She's eight months pregnant Scotty!
Nguyen: Ok, then you, your wife and the newborn come out here I buy you all dinner.
Elson: It better be at a nice restaurant, I only eat nice food.
Nguyen: Don't worry baby. I fly you to Paris for dinner and fly you right back.
Elson: I'm gonna hold you to that, It's on camera now.
Nguyen: If I win this whole thing, you come back and I promise I fly you all to Paris for dinner baby.

Nguyen continued to ham it up for the ESPN cameras for the better part of the last hour and tried to get almost everyone at his table involved in some way. "What about you! (seat nine) You from Manchester right?" asked Nguyen. "Uh, I'm from New York Scotty." answered Kevin Farry. "Oh, I got you confused with someone else. All white people look alike" joked Nguyen with a huge smile on his face. This brought laughter from everyone within earshot and Nguyen cleared things up by saying, "You guys know I'm kidding. I love white people!"

Just a few hands later Nguyen added to his chip stack again, this time at the expense of Tuan Lam. Nguyen raised to $280,000 before the flop and Lam was the only caller from the button. The flop came K 4 2 and Nguyen checked.  Lam bet out $350,000 and Nguyen smooth called. The turn was the 10 and Nguyen fired out a bet of $470,000. "If you call this you don't like money man" said Nguyen. Lam apparently does like money and folded his hand.

Paulo Loureiro Eliminated in 28th Place ($285,678)
Loureiro limped into the pot from late position and was called by Raymond Rahme in the small blind. Billy Spadea raised to $150,000 from the big blind and Loureiro came back over the top all in. Rahme got out of the way and Spadea called. Loureiro showed K K and Spadea woke up in the big blind with A A. The board came 10 10 2 5 3 and Loureiro was eliminated in 28th place, causing the table redraw.

Edler Got Caught
Edler raises to $220,000 preflop and was called by Raymond Rahme. The flop came K 5 3 and both players checked. The turn was the 3 and again both players checked. The river brought the 6 and Rahme bet out $200,000. Edler raised to $650,000 and Rahme didn't hesitate to call. Rahme showed A 6 and Edler mucked his hand saying only "ace high."

Player Tags: Scotty Nguyen,   Bill Edler,   Paulo Loureiro,   Raymond Rahme,   William Spadea

Hour Two Recap

Jul 15, '07

Edler Spikes River

Peter Darvil raised to $180,000 from the button, Bill Edler reraised to $380,000 from the small blind, and Darvil called. The flop was 5 3 2, and Edler moved all in.  Darvil stood up immediately and began to pace. Darvil confirmed that he and Edler were about even in chips, with Edler having slightly more. Darvil then asked his friends on the rail to get him his bobblehead. They then produced a brand-new Phil Hellmuth bobblehead doll, that Darvil promptly placed on the felt to help him with his decision. Darvil made the call for his last $1.7 million, and was immediately commended by Edler for making a great call. Darvil showed 7 7, and Edler flipped up J 9. The turn was the Ad, maintaining Darvil's lead, but the river was the 9, and Darvil headed to the rail in stunned silence. He finished in 31st place. Edler further padded his stack past the $5 million mark, limping with an A 5 on the next hand, flopping an Ace, and getting paid off to the tune of $300,000

Either Way I Win Baby

Scotty Nguyen has been enjoying chatting with his tablemates. At one point he started a dialogue with a mother who is cheering her son from the rail. Nguyen is convinced that if her son wins the tournament that she will adopt him.  Also if Raymond Rhame, seated two players over from him in the No. 9 seat wins, he will adopt Nguyen also.  Nguyen also received a quick visit from two-time main event champion Johnny Chan, who came by to offer words of encouragement, and an endorsement logo.  No word yet on whether or not Chan is mentoring anyone currently in the field.

Chip Confusion

Much has been made of the three current chip denominations currently on all four tables. Two shades of orange and pink don't make for easily definable differences, and most players, cameramen, dealers, and reporters have issue with the similarity of each of the chips.  Hypotheses on which shade of orange the $100,000 chips will be when they are introduced is a hot topic of discussion.

Recent Eliminatiions

Each of these players will receive $285,678

31. Pete Darvil
30. Jason Koshi
29. Ron Kluber

Players are on break for twenty minutes.

There are currently 28 players left, when one more is eliminated they will redraw for the final three tables.

Player Tags: Scotty Nguyen,   Bill Edler,   Raymond Rahme,   Peter Darvill

Hour One Recap

Jul 15, '07

The first hour of play on day six is over and already the field has narrowed to 31 players. ESPN film crews are swarming the tournament area in an effort to catch every piece of action and the shuffling of personnel has given the tournament area the feel of a madhouse. A player can't so much as raise the blinds without a camera directly in his face watching every moment.

Tran Donates a Little
David Tran came into day six as the official chip leader by only $30,000 but has taken a few hits in the first hour and has slipped down the leaderboard. Tran got involved in a pot with Jeff Bryan and both players saw a flop of A Q 4. Tran led out with a bet of $285,000 and Bryan called. The turn was the 6 and this time Tran turned up the heat with a $625,000 bet. Bryan thought for a moment and declared that he was all in for $1,215,000 more. Tran eyed his opponent and mucked his hand. Bryan picked up almost a $1,000,000 in chips without ever having to show his hand.

Movin' On Up
Shortly before being moved to the ESPN featured table, Daniel Alaei raised to $165,000 under the gun. David Tran, Philip Hilm and Jeff Bryan all made the call. "This would be a good time to get aces" joked Ryan Elson who was in the big blind. Elson looked at his cards and said "I raise." Elson counted out the $165,000 he owed and then said "I'm all in." The raise was for $1,540,000. Alaei folded, as did Tran. Hilm called from the four seat and Bryan got out of the way. Elson turned over 10 10 and Hilm was holding 6 6. The flop came 8 5 4 and Elson stood out of his seat and started yelling to his fans on the rail. The turn was the 9 and Elson started yelling for paint on the river. The river brought the Q and Elson doubled to over $3,000,000. While Elson stacked his newly acquired chips, he was so happy after doubling up that he folded his small blind without ever looking at his cards.

Freeman Takes a Hit
Scott "SCTrojans" Freeman took a $3,000,000 hit in the first hour courtesy of Raymone Rahme. Freeman and Rahme were all in before the flop with Freeman showing pocket kings and Rahme holding pocket aces. The board bricked out for both players and Rahme's aces held up, giving him the almost $6,000,000 pot.

Kevin Kim Eliminated in 32nd Place ($285,678)
Paulo Loureiro raised to $200,000 from the button and Kevin Kim reraises all in from the small blind for $380,000 more. Louriero thought for a moment and called. Kim showed A K and Loureiro was holding A 9. The flop came J 9 8 and Louriero jumped into the lead. The turn was the Q and Kim picked up a few more outs. Any spade, ten or king would give Kim the pot and keep him alive. The river proved unkind for Kim when it brought the 6. Louriero took down the pot and Kim was eliminated in 32nd place.

Recent Eliminations
36th Place - Robin Bergren ($285,678)
35th Place - Allan King ($285,678)
34th Place - Hoa Nguyen ($285,678)
33rd Place - Christian Togsverd ($285,678)
32nd Place - Kevin Kim ($285,678)

Notables

Lee Watkinson	3,650,000
Daniel Alaei	2,900,000
Alex Kravchenko	1,430,000
Scotty Nguyen	1,400,000

Pokerstars Online Qualifiers

Hevad Khan	7,100,000
Jason Welch	1,525,000

pokerstars.com

Player Tags: Hoa Nguyen,   David Tran,   Robin Bergren,   Paulo Loureiro,   Kevin Kim,   Philip Hilm,   Jeff Bryan,   Christian Togsverd,   Allan King,   Raymond Rahme,   Ryan Elson,   Scott Freeman

Raymond Rahme Eliminated 3rd ($3,048,025)

Jul 17, '07

Play resumes
Play has restarted after a 20 minute break.  Blinds will go up in one hour.

Raymond Rahme Eliminated 3rd (3,048,025)
Jerry Yang raises to $2,500,000 and is reraised by Pokerstars qualifier Raymond Rahme to $8,600,000.  Yang makes the call, and the flop comes A J 8.  Rahme checks and Yang fires out a $10,000,000 bet.  Rahme moves all in, and Yang is faced with his biggest decision of the tournament.  Rahme looks calm as he pushes all of his chips into the middle, and Yang looks unsure of his decision.  He goes into the tank for several minutes, and the ESPN arena is silent.   Yang looks up then says, "I call."  Rahme says, "nice call" and turns over K K.  Yang does his patented double fist pump and rolls over A 5.  The next two cards brick for Rahme when they come 3 2, and he is sent home with over three million dollars.

Heads Up Chip Counts
Here are the chip counts going into heads up play:

Jerry Yang -- $104,450,000
Tuan Lam -- $23,025,000

Player Tags: Tuan Lam,   Jerry Yang,   Raymond Rahme

Hour Eleven

Jul 17, '07

Tuan Lam Doubles Up
Jerry Yang raises to $2,500,000, and www.pokerstars.com online qualifier Tuan Lam moves all in.  Raymond Rahme moves in over the top and Yang folds. Rahme tables QQ, and Lam A5.  The flop comes A1010, and again the Canadians burst into applause.  But Lam still has to dodge two cards.  The turn brings the 2, and Lam us just one card away from doubling up.  The river is the A, Lam fills up and again is mobbed by his supporters.  They break out into the national anthem, but it fades after a few lines.  After the players are reseated Lam now has $26,000,000 and Rahme just $17,100,000.

Updated Chip Counts
Here are the latest chip counts

Jerry Yang -- $51,225,000
Tuan Lam -- $32,050,000
Raymond Rahme -- $21,100,000
Alex Kravchenko -- $21,100,000

Blinds raised
The blinds are now $300,000-$600,000 with a $75,000 ante.

Player Tags: Alexander Kravchenko,   Tuan Lam,   Jerry Yang,   Raymond Rahme

Hour Twelve

Jul 17, '07

Raymond Rahme Doubles Up

Alex Kravchenko bet $1,500,000 and Jerry Yang raised to $6 million. PokerStars online qualifier, Raymond Rahme then moved all in. Rahme flipped over A Q and Yang turned up pocket queens. But, the trend of the tournament continued, and one of the three aces in the deck emerged on a flop of A 9 4. The South African contingent went wild at this point and they continued to do so as the 3 was peeled off on the turn, and the 5 was turned over on the river.   

The Never-Ending Tournament

The mood of lady luck seems determined to keep this tournament running as long as possible. Ever since things got down to fourhanded the brakes have been applied to that action, even more so after the dinner break. Each and every single time that Jerry Yang has had an opponent covered all in, he has lost the hand, and his opponent has doubled up. All three players have done this, so technically, the tournament could be over at this point if all those hands had gone the other way. But hey, that’s poker.

Leader Board

Raymond Rahme: $36,600,000
Alex Kravchenko: $20,325,000
Jerry Yang: $41,625,000
Tuan Lam: $28,925,000

Alex Kravchenko Eliminated in Fourth Place ($1,852,721)

A turning point hand at the final table just occurred. Jerry Yang moves all in preflop and Alex Kravchenko makes the call. Kravchenko flips over his initials, in the form of A K. Yang turns up pocket eights. The flop rolls out Q 9 8 and the crowd goes wild. Yang, Raymond Rahme, and Tuan Lam spring to their prospective corners to celebrate, because the likely elimination of Kravchenko would mean at least a $3,048,025 payday for all three. Things take a moment to calm down, and then the turn and river bring 4 3. Kravchenko is eliminated in fourth place, and he takes home $1,852,721 in prize money.

Break Time

The players then went on another 20 minute break.

Player Tags: Alexander Kravchenko,   Tuan Lam,   Jerry Yang,   Raymond Rahme

Hour Ten

Jul 17, '07

Two Year Penalty

Mike Matusow and Shawn Sheikhan have appeared on the rail to sweat the action, which induced Jack Effel to introduce the infamous two players. After which, he said, “Guys, I only gave you ten minutes, not two years,” in reference to their penalties at the 2005 main event.

Leader Board

Seat No. 1: Raymond Rhame - $30,500,000
Seat No. 2: Alex Kravchenko - $13,500,000
Seat No. 3: Jerry Yang - $61,220,000
Seat No. 4: Tuan Lam - $22,450,000

The Mad Russian Double up Machine

Alex Kravchenko moved all in preflop and Jerry Yang made the call after an intense stare down. Kravchneko has the face of the most angry person to ever sit at a main event final table, according to his piercing gaze. Yang eventually made the call and flipped over A 10. Kravchenko flipped over pocket aces without any change in emotion. The board rolled out 8 6 6 3 2 and Kravchenko doubled. Yang once again failed to eliminate an opponent he had covered all in.

Holding on For a Hero

The play at this final table has hit a wall. As the chip stacks continue to even out more and more, the players tighten up more and more.

Seat No.1: PokerStars online qualifier, Raymond Rahme - $30,400,000
Seat No. 2: Alex Kravchenko - $27,100,000
Seat No. 3: Jerry Yang - $56,675,000
Seat No. 4: PokerStars online qualifier, Tuan Lam - $13,300,000

Break Time

The players then went on a 20 minute break.

Player Tags: Mike Matusow,   Alexander Kravchenko,   Tuan Lam,   Jerry Yang,   Raymond Rahme

Hour Six

Jul 17, '07

Kravchenko Doubled Up Again

Alex Kravchenko moved all in for $7,550,000 and Jerry Yang made the call. Kravchenko showed down pocket threes and Yang flipped up K Q. The flop hit the felt 8 3 2 and the crowd went wild. Most notably Kravchenko’s Moscow buddies up in the ‘No Limit Lounge’. The turn and river brought the 5 and the K. Kravchenko doubled up yet again and he now has over $17 million.

Power Moves

Jerry Yang made his standard operating procedure raise of $1.5 million and www.pokerstars.com online qualifier Raymond Rahme reraised an additional $5 million. Yang tanked fo a second, but mucked his hand.

The Slow Down

Due to the insistent double ups by the short stacks as of late, the pace of play has slowed as everyone has a lot of chips to play with now. The players will head to dinner break a 7 p.m., which could also have an adverse effect on the speed of play.

Player Tags: Alexander Kravchenko,   Jerry Yang,   Raymond Rahme