Back From Dinner; 100 To Go
Jul 10, '07
350 or Bust
The official announcement is that we will play five levels today or down to 350 players. There are currently 450 at 50 tables, and the cries of "All in and called" are ringing through the air regularly.
Here Goes...Eliminations
Jeff Madsen, "Miami John" Cernuto, Tom McEvoy, James Van Alstyne, and David Einhorn have all been eliminated in the last level. Madsen pushed his last $27,000 in with A
9
, but he couldn't outrace his opponent's pocket fives and headed for the door.
Cernuto's elimination was witnessed on the feature table, Cernuto was all in preflop with 10
10
against his opponent's Q
9
. Cernuto was safe through the turn as the board read 7
5
3
5
, but the river was a cruel Q
, and Cernuto received a nice hand from the spectator's as he left.
Van Alstyne lost a huge pot to one of the chip leaders Avi Cohen, when his flopped two pair was out run by Cohen's nut flush on the turn. With only a few chips Van Alstyne was eliminated a few hands later.
David Einhorn, who last year donated all of his 18th place prize money to Parkinson's research, was the darling of the ESPN crews all day. He was invovled in a three-way all-in hand that went to Steven O'Dwyer, who flopped a full house to bust Einhorn, and double through another player.
McEvoy butted heads with
Old School visionary Todd Phillips, and had the worst of it the whole way. McEvoy's K-Q couldn't catch up to Phllips's A-K and the field is now light one more Main Event Champion.
Lester Bounces Back
Jason Lester started the level in ominous fashion, losing a race with A-Q against pocket Jacks after his opponent ended up with quads. Then Lester got a repreive. Lester raised to $7,000 from middle position, the player in Seat 4 reraised to $17,000 from the button, and Lester called. The flop was Q
7
2
, Lester pushed all in for his last $19,400, and Seat 4 called. Seat 4 had J
J
and Lester held A
9
. The turn 5
was no help, but the river 3
completed Lester's flush, and he breathed a sigh of relief. A few hands later Lester continued his punishment of seat 4 when he got him to pay off a $15,000 value bet on the river when Lester flopped a set of nines.
Duthie Breaks One
PokerStars representative John Duthie raised preflop to $6,000 from the cutoff and the player in Seat 8 called from the small blind. On the A
10
8
flop Duthie made a large bet that sent Seat 8 into the tank. After a clock was called Seat 8 made the call. The turn was the Q
, and Seat 8 moved all in quickly, and Duthie called just as swiftly. Duthie showed A
K
while Seat 8 was way behind with A
3
. The river was an innocuous 5
, and Duthie collected the chips.
Euro Roundup
There is probably an average of one European per table, the majority English, as play moves towards conclusion for the day.
Hendon Mobster Joe Beevers took a hit from $113,000 to $52,000 in chips, Donnacha O'Dea has edged up slightly to $42,600, former Main Event finalist George McKeever is struggling but sitting patiently on $23,400 in chips sharing a table with Adam Noone and Bo Sehlstedt, Wille Tann jumped from $282,000 to $320,000 in chips, Conor Tate has $130,000 in chips and Julian Gardner has $87,000.
The ever colourful Jac Arama is enjoying plenty of laughs with his table and is sitting on $228,000 in chips.
Maguire Doubles Up
Tobey Maguire managed to double up in one of those dream situations. With the board reading K
9
3
2
, Maguire checked, his opponent in Seat 8 bet $13,000 and after a few minutes Maguire called. The A
fell on the river, and Maguire checked again. Seat 8 moved all in and Maguire called for less. Seat 8 held 9
9
for a set, but Maguire had a better set with K
K
, and he took the pot.
Notable Chip Counts
| Kenny Tran |
495,000 |
| Minh Ly |
212,000 |
| Berry Johnston |
191,000 |
| Robert Mizrachi |
159,000 |
| Scotty Nguyen |
74,000 |
| Joe Tehan |
74,000 |
| Nam Le |
57,100 |
| David "The Dragon" Pham |
49,000 |
| John Hennigan |
36,100 |
Player Tags: John Cernuto, Tom McEvoy, David Einhorn, Jason Lester, John Duthie, James Van Alstyne, Tobey Maguire, Todd Phillips, Jeff Madsen, Avi Cohen
Day Five Ends
Jul 14, '07
Hevad "Rain" Khan Does A Little Dance
"Rain" Khan and Avi Cohen get it all in preflop. Cohen has A-8 but Khan has him dominated with A-K. Cohen gets no help on the board and he finishes in 43rd place. After the hand, Khan puts on a show for ESPN. Khan shouts at the top of his lungs once the pot starts moving in his direction and then yells, "I'm good at basketball!" Once the cameras pick up on this, Khan begins to dance around the room pretending to dribble a basketball while maintaining a constant barrage of yelps and shouts. Some of the rail loves it, and some of the rail does not. Regardless, ESPN has officially found its bad guy for the broadcast. The question remains whether or not Khan can live up to his counterparts in Josh Arieh, Shawn Sheikhan and Eric Molina.
The 20-minute Hand: Bill Edler vs. Jeff Banghart
Bill Edler raises to $150,000 and Jeff "Mr. Rain" Banghart makes the call, along with the big blind. The flop comes K
Q
8
and Banghart bets $300,000. The big blind folds and Edler thinks for awhile before making it $650,000 to go. Now Banghart goes into the tank, coming up after a few minutes to call. The turn is the 6
and Edler contemplates his next move for a few minutes between sips of coffee before betting out $600,000. Banghart now stands up and thinks out loud for awhile. Banghart announces that Edler must have a hand like A
J
. He then asks Edler if he feels like gambling. Throughout the questioning, Edler doesn't flinch. "I don't think I can fold," says Banghart, as he decides to push all in for $1,180,000 more. Edler asks for a count and then takes about eight minutes to count out his stack and make a decision. Edler would be left with about $2,100,000 if he folded. After finally making up his mind, Edler says, "Well it couldn't go to a nicer guy," and makes the call. Edler turns over 6
5
for bottom pair and a flush draw. Banghart is in the lead with K
J
. The rail is very vocal about how surprising it is that these two don't have bigger hands. The river brings the J
giving Banghart two pair he didn't want and Edler his flush. Edler and Banghart shake hands congratulating each other graciously before Edler goes to work on stacking his massive pot. Banghart is our 41st-place finisher.
Rep Porter Eliminated
Team PokerStars member Rep Porter has busted out of the tournament in 39th place, and he took home $237,865.
Last Woman Standing
Maria Ho was eliminated in 38th place. She was the final woman left in the tournament and took home $237,865. Her A-10 did not improve against her opponent’s pocket tens.
Rail Birds
Greg Mueller, Shawn Buchanan, and Justin Bonomo are all hanging out in the ‘No Limit Lounge.’ They are over by table two sweating Scott Freeman.
An Ohio Boy Doubled Up
Ryan Elson was all in with A Q against Mikkel Madsen, who held pocket eights. “Come on Casey,” pleaded Elson with the dealer as he threw down Q 7 4 K J. Elson doubled up and he screamed, “Wooooo,” along with his supporters on the rail. After surviving the hand he was so pumped up that he could hardly stay in his seat. At one point he folded his hand in the dark. “It’s not like we’re playing for $8 million,” said Ray Henson.
Henson vs. Nguyen Baby
On a board of 7 6 3 2 Scotty Nguyen bet $500,000 and Ray Henson made the call. The turn brought the 7 and Nguyen fired out $800,000. Henson took a moment and then called after he and Nguyen traded a flurry of statements punctuated by “…Baby!” Nguyen flashed A-8 as he said, “I missed my flush.” Henson turned over 6 5 and took down the pot.
Edler Takes a Tough Beat
Bill Edler had his opponent’s all-in bet with pocket queens. Unfortunately for Edler, his opponent held pocket aces. The board rolled out 8 4 4 5 J and Edler took a large hit. He now has a lot of work ahead of him to make the final table.
Ayaz Mahmood Eliminated in 37th Place and Play Ends on Day Five
Ayaz Mahmood was eliminated a few hands after the players went on a 20 minute break, and play ended on day five. The players are bagging up their chips right now and will return at noon tomorrow to play down from 36 players to a final table of nine players. Check back in to
CardPlayer.com to catch all the action.
Notable Chip Counts
David Tran 10,030,000
|
| Kenny Tran |
5,045,000 |
| Lee Watkinson |
3,550,000 |
| Scotty Nguyen |
1,750,000 |
Pokerstars Online Qualifiers
| Hevad "Rain" Khan |
6,900,000 |
| Jason Welch |
2,215,000 |
Player Tags: Ayaz Mahmood, Scotty Nguyen, Jeff Banghart, Bill Edler, Maria Ho, Hevad Khan, Mikkel Madsen, Ryan Elson, Avi Cohen
