Level 15 Update: Day 3 Ends
Dec 16, '09
NOTE: Day 3 has come to an end and the remaining field will return tomorrow at noon PST to play down to the final 10 players. The money bubble will burst when 27 players remain tomorrow.
Blinds: 4,000-8,000 with a 500 ante
Players Remaining: 36 out of 329
Chip Counts:
1.Daniel Alaei — 1,664,000
2. Steven Landfish — 1,172,500
3. Josh Areh — 1,112,000
4. Scotty Nguyen — 981,500
5. Matt Waxman — 951,500
6. Joe Elpayaa — 921,000
7. Jamie Rosen — 803,000
8. Mike Sowers — 801,000
9. Matt Stout — 705,000
10. Joe Cassidy — 689,500
Average Chip Count: 548,333
Notable Eliminations:
Soheil Shamseddin
Kristy Gazes
Adam Junglen
Andy Bloch
Sorel Mizzi
Big Hands:
Daniel Alaei is Crushing
Daniel Alaei (pictured right) raised to 20,000 from middle position and Yegor Tsurikov reraised to 60,000 from the button. Alaei made the call and the flop was dealt K
88
. Alaei checked and Tsurikov bet. Alaei check-called and the pot had grown close to 200,000 before the 2
fell on the turn. Alaei checked and Tsurikov bet 185,000. Alaei made the call and the river fell 9
.
Tsurikov moved all in for a little more than 400,000 and Alaei quickly called. Alaei flipped over 98 for a full house and Tsurikov mucked his cards. He was eliminated from the tournament and Alaei grew his chip lead to a huge stack of 1.7 million.
Soheil Shamseddin Eliminated
Soheil Shamseddin moved all in for 102,000 under the gun preflop and Antonio Esfandiari made the call. Their cards:
Shamseddin: A4
Esfandiari: AJ
Board: K-K-2-A-5
Shamseddin was eliminated on the hand. He ends the year in fifth place in the Card Player POY standings with 4,283 points.
Scotty Nguyen Doubles Up and then Receives a Penalty
The cutoff raised to 24,000 preflop and Scotty Nguyen (pictured right) reraised to 50,000 from the button. The cutoff reraised to 150,000, Nguyen called, and the flop was dealt K73. The cutoff moved all in and Nguyen made the call. Their cards:
Nguyen: 74
Cutoff: AA
Turn and River: 5 and 7
Nguyen won the hand and he went into a rant of celebration that included some choice swear words. He was given a 10-minute penalty for the profanity and his chip stack grew to 1 million after the hand.
Battle of the Big Stacks
A board of 9651010 sat on the table along with a six-figure pot when Matt Waxman checked in the small blind. Steven Landfish bet 100,000 from middle position and Waxman tanked for a bit before making the call. Landfish said, “You’re good. I have king-high.” Waxman turned over pocket twos and he won the hand to grow his stack to 1,370,000. Landfish held 1,185,000 after the hand.
Player Tags: Scotty Nguyen, Steven Landfish, Antonio Esfandiari, Daniel Alaei, Soheil Shamseddin, Matthew Waxman
Level 11 Update: A Flurry of Early Eliminations
Dec 16, '09
Blinds: 1,200-2,400 with a 300 ante
Players Remaining: 107 out of 329
Chip Counts:
1. Steven Landfish — 610,000
2. Brent Hanks — 470,000
3. Matt Stout — 398,000
4. Sorel Mizzi — 380,000
5. Matt Waxman — 377,500
6. Toto Leonidas — 373,000
7. Chad Batista — 355,000
8. Faraz Jaka — 340,000
9. Eric Hershler — 330,000
10. Antonio Esfandiari — 310,000
Average Chip Count: 184,486
Notable Eliminations:
Steve Zolotow
Noah Boeken
Tim West
Todd Brunson
Glen Chorny
Brian Rast
Big Hands:
Steve Zolotow Eliminated
Steve Zolotow (pictured right) moved all in preflop with pocket fives and Bill Kontaratos had him covered with pocket kings. The board was dealt 97348 and Zolotow was eliminated from the tournament. Kontaratos grew his stack to 275,000 after the hand.
Alex Keating Doubles Up Through Doyle Brunson with Quads
Alex Keating raised from early position preflop and Doyle Brunson made the call from the small blind. The flop was dealt 842 and Brunson checked. Keating bet 15,000 and Brunson raised enought o put Keating all in. Keating made the all-in call for 84,400 and they flipped over their cards:
Keating: 1010
Brunson: 99
Turn and River: 1010
Keating makes quad tens on the hand to double up to 188,000 and Brunson takes a hit and now holds 170,000.
Brent Hanks Knocks Out Tim West and Noah Boeken
Noah Boeken raised all in under the gun preflop for 8,500 and Vivek Rajkumar min-raised 14,600. Tim West reraised all in for 56,300 and Brent Hanks (pictured left) made the call. Rajkumar mucked A-J and the three remaining players flipped over their cards:
Boeken: J10
Hanks: QQ
West: KK
Board: A962Q
Hanks hit a set on the river and he knocked out both West and Boeken in one full swoop. Hanks now holds 470,000 in chips.
Steven Landfish Increases his Lead
Steven Landfish showed down 65 on a board of 8437Q for an eight-high straight against Dutch Boyd. Landfish grew his stack to 600,000 after the pot while Boyd watched his holdings shrink to less than 100,000.
POY Watch
Three players from the POY top 10 still remain in the tournament. Cornel Cimpan can pass Eric Baldwin for the lead with a third-place finish or better. Yevgeniy Timoshenko can claim the top spot with a second-place finish or better. Soheil Shamseddin can’t catch Baldwin, even with a win but he can improve his final standing in the POY race with a cash here at Bellagio. Here is a look at their current chip counts:
Soheil Shamseddin: 280,000
Yevgeniy Timoshenko: 180,000
Cornel Cimpan: 90,000
Player Tags: Steven Landfish, Steve Zolotow, Doyle Brunson, Noah Boeken, Dutch Boyd, Bill Kontaratos, Tim West, Brent Hanks, Alex Keating
Steven Landfish Eliminated in 21st Place ($28,569)
Dec 17, '09
Steven Landfish was all in for his tournament life with pocket eights against the pocket kings of Eric Hershler. The board affected nothing and Landfish was eliminated from the tournament. Hershler held 565,000 after the hand.
Player Tags: Steven Landfish, Eric Hershler
Matt Stout Value Bets Worst Hand
Dec 17, '09
Matt Stout raised to 27,000 and was called by Steven Landfish in the big blind. The flop came down AK7 and both players checked.
The turn was the 5 and Stout bet 42,000, which Landfish called. The river was the 10 and Stout decided on a bet of 68,000. Landfish called and Stout revealed A4 for top pair.
Landfish then showed A9 for top pair with a better kicker and he scooped the pot. Stout is now down to 600,000. Landfish is approaching 1.3 million.
Player Tags: Steven Landfish, Matt Stout
Mark Teltscher Runs Into Aces
Dan O'Brien Eliminated