Nam Le Poker Tournament Updates

Level 27 Update: Pedro Rios Out 8th, Nam Le Out 7th, Mark Teltscher Out 6th

Jun 26, '13

Level: 27

Blinds: 20,000-40,000 with a 5,000 ante

Players Remaining: 5 out of 1,072

Average Chip Count: 1,929,600

Chip Counts:

Seat 3: Niall Farrell – 2,300,000
Seat 6: Zo Karim – 600,000
Seat 7: Martin Hanowski – 2,700,000
Seat 8: Michael Rocco – 2,600,000
Seat 9: Sandeep Pulusani – 650,000

Players Eliminated:

8th: Pedro Rios – $54,053
7th: Nam Le – $70,120
6th: Mark Teltscher – $92,816

Live Updates:

Pedro Rios Eliminated in Eighth Place ($54,053)

Pedro Rios raised all in preflop for 510,000 and Martin Hanowski called. The two players then tabled their hands.

Hanowski: 88
Rios: J10

Board: AK4A9

Rios was eliminated in eighth place and Hanowski grew his stack to 2.8 million after the hand.

Nam Le Eliminated in Seventh Place ($70,120)

Nam Le raised to 90,000 preflop on the small blind and Niall Farrell reraised all in on the big blind. Nam called and the two players flipped over their cards.

Farrell: AA
Nam: KK

Board: J9467

Nam was eliminated in seventh place and Farrell grew his stack to 500,000 thanks to an ace-high flush.

Mark Teltscher Eliminated in Sixth Place ($92,816)

Mark Teltscher raised all in and Niall Farrell reraised all in over the top of him. Everyone else folded and the two players revealed their hands.

Farrell: 55
Teltscher: AQ

Board: J63102

Teltscher was out in sixth place and Farrell took his stack above 2 million thanks to a pair of fives.

Player Tags: Nam Le,   Mark Teltscher,   Pedro Rios

Official Final Table Begins for Event No. 44 ($3,000 No-Limit Hold'em)

Jun 26, '13

The final table of Event No. 44 ($3,000 No-Limit Hold’em) has begun, and Card Player will be posting level-by-level updates with all major hands, current chip counts, and prize payouts.

With the elimination of Jacob Schindler in tenth place ($33,421), the nine-handed final table is now set. Play will begin in Level 25 with blinds of 12,000-24,000 with a 4,000 ante, and action will continue until a winner is determined. Play may be extended an additional day if it takes more than 10 levels to reach a winner as noted on the official structure sheet. With cards now back in the air, here is a look at the final table and how these players stack up:

Seat 1: Mark Teltscher – 873,000
Seat 2: Nam Le – 883,000
Seat 3: Niall Farrell – 504,000
Seat 4: Phillippe Vert – 955,000
Seat 5: Pedro Rios – 944,000
Seat 6: Zo Karim – 881,000
Seat 7: Martin Hanowski – 1,004,000
Seat 8: Michael Rocco – 2,868,000
Seat 9: Sandeep Pulusani – 740,000

While only 9 remain, this event attracted a field of 1,072 players, creating a total prize pool of $2,926,560, and the top 117 players made the money. Here is a look at the final table payouts:

1st Place: $592,684
2nd Place: $366,815
3rd Place: $229,500
4th Place: $166,579
5th Place: $122,974
6th Place: $92,186
7th Place: $70,120
8th Place: $54,053
9th Place: $42,230

Be sure to check back with Card Player at the conclusion of each level for regular updates with all major hands, current chip counts, and prize payouts.

Player Tags: Nam Le,   Mark Teltscher,   Zohair Karim

Level 13 Update: Marching to 27

Sep 26, '10

Blinds: 1,200-2,400 with a 300 ante

Players Remaining: 53 of 346

Chip Counts:

1. Phil Ivey — 510,000
2. Andrew Pantling — 480,000
3. Bojan Gledovic — 455,000
4. Viktor Blom — 440,000
5. Arnaud Mattern — 400,000
6. Darren Woods — 372,500
7. Rob Akery — 345,000
8. Thomas Bichon — 320,000
9. David Peters — 309,300
10. Dan Fleyshman — 269,000

Average Chip Count: 195,849

Notable Eliminations:

Nick Schulman
Matt Stout
Nam Le
J.P. Kelly
Dan Shak
John Dolan
Andy Frankenberger
Steven van Zadelhoff
Remy Biechel

Big Hands:

Phil Ivey Eliminates Nick Schulman

Nick Schulman moved all in for 160,000 preflop and Phil Ivey made the call. Their cards:

Ivey: A K
Schulman: A K

Board: Q 9 2 3

Schulman was drawing dead after the turn and he was eliminated after the hand. Ivey held 430,000 after scoring the early elimination.

Ivey Eliminates Matt Stout to take the Chip Lead

Phil Ivey raised to 6,000 preflop and Matt Stout reraised all in for 80,000. Ivey made the call and they flipped over their cards:

Ivey: 10 10
Stout: A K

Board: 10 4 3 Q 5

Stout was eliminated and Ivey grew his stack to 510,000 to take back the chip lead.

Nam Le Eliminated

Matt Waxman raised to 5,600 under the gun and Nam Le reraised all in for 50,000. Waxman made the call and they flipped over their cards:

Waxman: A K
Le: Q Q

Board: 10 9 8 7 A

Le was eliminated and Waxman grew his stack to 120,000.

Dan Shak Eliminated

On a Q 7 6 2 board Dan Shak checked from the big blind and Bojan Gledovic bet 30,000. Shak raised for 115,000 and Gledovic reraised all in. Shak made the all-in call and they flipped over their cards:

Gledovic: 6 6
Shak: Q 9

River: 4

Shak was eliminated after the hand.

John Dolan Eliminated — No More November Nine

Magnus Persson raised to 5,200 preflop and November Niner John Dolan reraised all in for 50,000. Persson made the call and they flipped over their cards:

Dolan: Q J
Persson: 10 10

Board: 5 4 2 9 4

Dolan was eliminated on the hand but he has bright prospects in his immediate future. He will enter the WSOP main event final table in Las Vegas this November in second chip-position.

Player Tags: Nam Le,   Phil Ivey,   Dan Shak,   Nick Schulman,   Matt Stout,   John Dolan,   Matthew Waxman

Level 12 Update: Yevgeniy Timoshenko Eliminated

Jun 29, '10

Blinds: 800-1,600

Players Remaining: 90 out 460

Average Chip Count: 76,666

Tournament Leaderboard:

1. Javed Abrahams — 175,000
2. Kevin Boudreau — 170,000
3. Jose Nacho Barbero — 165,000
4. Alex Freiberg — 155,000
5. Mark Eddleman — 145,000
6. Matt Glantz — 132,000
7. Alan Reyf — 127,000
8. Samuel Golbuff — 125,000
9. Daniel Makowsky — 120,000
10. Men Nguyen — 115,000

Notable Eliminations:

Yevgeniy Timoshenko

Player Twitter Accounts:

Annette Obrestad
Matt Glantz
Mike Watson
Jonathan Little
Phil Hellmuth
Eugene Todd
Justin Smith

Big Hands:

Nam Le Slipping

Daniel Makowsky bet 9,000 on a Q42 flop. Nam Le called. Makowsky bet the pot when the J fell on the turn. Nam Le would have to call all in for his tournament life. Le tanked before finally folding. Le was down to 34,000 after the hand.

Christian Harder Drops a Pot

Christian Harder potted from the button and Benny Spindler repotted from the big blind. Harder called and the flop came K98 and Spindler bet pot. Harder folded and was down to 32,000. Spindler was at 60,000 after the hand.

Yevgeniy Timoshenko Eliminated

Joe Beevers and Yevgeniy Timoshenko got it all in preflop. Timoshenko tabled the AK84 and was at risk against the AA82 of Beavers.
The board ran out KQ939 and Beevers eliminated Timoshenko. Beevers was up to 55,000 after the hand.

Player Tags: Nam Le,   Yevgeniy Timoshenko,   Christian Harder

Level 10: David Baker Doubles Up

Jun 21, '10

Blinds: 800-1,600

Players Remaining: 99 out of 268

Average Chip Count: 81,212

Tournament Leaderboard:

1. Thomas Marchese – 330,000
2. Daniel Smith – 258,000
3. Nikolai Yakovenko – 236,300
4. Martin Kabrhel – 227,000
5. Sirous Jamshidi – 220,000
6. Dani Stern – 187,000
7. John Duthie – 180,000
8. Burt Boutin – 179,000
9. Ashton Griffin – 157,000
10. John Dwyer – 145,000

Notable Eliminations:

Shaun Deeb
Annie Duke
Joe Hachem
Phil Ivey

Big Hands:

David Baker Doubles Through Shawn Keller

David Baker moved all in preflop for 13,200. Shawn Keller made the call and turned over 22. Baker tabled A6 and the race was on.

The flop came down AK9, giving Baker the lead. The turn was the A, giving Baker trips and the Q on the river secured the double up for Baker.

He was up to 27,000.

Nam Le Takes A Pot

Nam Le raised to 4,500 from early position and action folded around to Mikael Thuritz in the big blind. After a few moments of thought, Thuritz made the call and the flop came down 953.

Thuritz checked and Le counted out some chips. He then bet 7,000 and Thuritz quickly released his hand.

Le took the pot and was at 20,000.

Lunkin Muscles Out Marchese

Picking up the action on the turn, Vitaly Lunkin was involved in a hand with Thomas Marchese.

Lunkin checked to Marchese with the board showing Q742. Marchese fired 18,800 and before the chips hit the middle, Lunkin announced he was all in.

Marchese looked disgusted and mucked his hand, surrendering the pot to Lunkin. Lunkin was at 61,000 while Marchese still held his chip lead at 330,000.

Player Tags: Nam Le,   Shawn Keller,   Mikael Thuritz,   Vitaly Lunkin,   David Baker,   Tom Marchese

Level 3 Update: Jon Luu at 100,000

Feb 26, '10

Blinds: 50-100

Players Remaining: 648 out of 736

Chip Counts:

1. Jon Luu — 100,000 (pictured right)
2. Christopher Klodnicki — 55,000
3. Carlos Mortensen — 55,000
4. Daniel Negreanu — 52,000
5. Vanessa Rousso — 40,000
6. Lisa Hamilton — 49,000
7. Michael Mizrachi — 44,000
8. Jon Turner — 38,000
9. Steve Billirakis — 36,000
10. Shawn Buchanan — 36,000

Average Chip Count: 22,716

Notable Eliminations:

Andy Bloch
Steven Begleiter
Scott Seiver
Kevin Schaffel
Cornel Cimpan
Liz Lieu
Raymond Davis
Scott Fischman
Dwyte Pilgrim
Scotty Nguyen
Joe Sebok
Jonathan Plens
Soheil Shamseddin
Chino Rheem
Lee Markholt
Erick Lindgren
Matt Marafioti

Big Hands:

Andy Bloch Busts

Andy Bloch was all in along with two other opponents. Here is a look at their cards:

Bloch: 77
Seat 5: 44
Seat 2: 32

Board: 654K10

Bloch was eliminated on the hand along with seat 5. Seat 2 scored the double knockout with the straight.

Vanessa Rousso Scores a Nice Pot

On a board of 875J Vanessa Rousso bet 5,000 from late position and seat 4 made the call on the hi-jack. The 10 fell on the river and Rousso bet 5,000 again. Her opponent made the call and Rousso flipped over KK. Seat 4 mucked and Rousso grew her stack to 40,000.

Brett Richey vs. Nam Le

On a board of K6474 Brett Richey bet 4,000 into a pot worth 5,000 and Nam Le made the call. Richey flipped over 64 and Le mucked.

Hellmuth Arrives at the Mouth’s Table

The loudest table in the room is now table 18. Defending runner-up Cornel Cimpan busted out of the tournament and Phil Hellmuth filled his seat. He joins a table with Mike “The Mouth” Matusow, Matt Glantz, and Chris Bigler.

Player Tags: Andy Bloch,   Nam Le,   Brett Richey,   Vanessa Rousso

End of Day 1: Michael Brummelhuis Secures Late-Night Chiplead

Jun 24, '09

Day 1 of Event no. 45 – $10,000 World Championship of Pot-Limit Hold’em is in the books and Michael Brummelhuis of the Netherlands leads the way with 330,200 in chips, followed not so closely by such notable players as Toto Leonidas, Luke Staudenmaier, David Pham, Eric Bladwin, Mike Kamran, Kirill Gerasimov, Chris Moore, Justin Young, Erik Seidel, Issac Haxton, Marco Johnson, Florian Langmaan and Burt Boutin, all of whom have more than 100,00 in chips the last time we checked. Defending Champion, Nenad Medic is still in the field as well, and with a healthy chip stack of just under 100,000.

Notable players that would not be so lucky to advance beyond Day 1 include Chris Ferguson, Daniel Negreanu, Johnny Chan, Barry Greenstein and Peter Eastgage, to name a few.

With 275 total entrants in this event, just 85 players made it through the night, and they will return to the Rio at 2:00pm PDT to begin Day 2, so be sure to check back with CardPlayer.com for all of the action from this marquee event.

Blinds: 1,000-2,000

Players Remaining: 85 out of 275

Chip Counts:

1. Michael Brummelhuis — 330,200
2. Toto Leonidas — 241,100
3. Kirill Gerasimov — 213,200
4. Darryll Fish — 209,100
5. Masaaki Kagawa — 194,900
6. David Pham — 187,500
7. Kwang Lee — 182,400
8. Michael Kamran — 180,000
9. Tim Kahlmeyer — 178,300
10. John Kabbaj — 176,800

Average Chip Count: 97,058

Notable Eliminations:

David Singer
Scott Seiver
Mike Sowers
Yevginiy Timoshenko
Adam Geyer
Barny Boatman
Pat Bueno
Ivan Demidov
Hoyt Corkins

Big Hands:

David Singer Eliminated by Mike Kamran

Singer started this hand with 79,000; Kamran with 81,000.

David Singer raises to 4,400 from middle position and Mike Kamran raises to 11,500 from the button. Singer reraises the size of the pot (41,300) and Kamran moves all in; he barley has Singer covered. Singer calls and both players turn over their cards.

Singer: AK
Kamran: AA

Board: QQ397

Singer fails to improve as Kamran’s aces hold up. Mike Kamran eliminates David Singer from the tournament and brings his stack up to 160,000 this hand.

Vanessa Rousso Quadruples Up

Lee Markholt raises to 4,000 from the cutoff and gets three callers; Nam Le (button), Vanessa Rousso (small blind) and Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier (big blind).

The flop comes J98, and action folds around to Nam Le who bets 12,500. Rousso moves all in in for 16,500, Elky calls, Markholt folds and Nam Le calls.

Rousso: 108
Nam Le: 99
Elky: X – X

Rousso flops the nut straight while Nam Le flops middle set. The turn is the 7 and the river is the 4 as Vanessa Rousso all but quadruples up to 64,000 this hand.

Corkins Eliminated by Langmaan

With just about 30,000 already in the pot on a board of 10923, Hoyt Corkins moves all in for 30,000 on the turn.

Florian Langmaan tanks for several minutes before the clock is called. Langmaan ultimately makes the call with top pair (J10) as Corkins turns over pocket aces (AA).

The river is the 10, giving Langmaan trips and the pot. Hoyt Corkins is eliminated from the tournament with just minutes to go before the end of the night.

Player Tags: Hoyt Corkins,   Lee Markholt,   Nam Le,   David Singer,   Vanessa Rousso,   Bertrand Grospellier,   Michael Kamran,   Florian Langmann,   Michiel Brummelhuis

Level 4 Update: Shaun Deeb Eliminated, Filippi Takes Bad Beat

Jun 23, '09

Blinds: 250-500

Players Remaining: 243 out of 276

Notable Eliminations:

Shaun Deeb, Eric Froelich, Chau Giang

Big Hands:

Elky Takes a Chunk From Nam

On a board of 4926, Nam Le checked and called 3300 from Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier. The river was the 6 and Le checked again.

This time Grospellier fired 7700, which was about half of Le’s remaining stack. Le tanked for a long while before mucking his hand. Le is now left with 15,300.

Cousineau Shows Hand for Food Comp

On a board reading JJ2K Tony Cousineau bet 10,000 which was just a little less than what his opponent had left. His opponent tanked for about a minute before finally deciding he wasn’t going to risk his tournament life on this hand.

“Do you have a food comp?” said Cousineau after his opponent folded. “You get to see this hand if you give me a food comp.”

His opponent immediately went into his pocket and found one. Cousineau, a man of his word, showed the J8 and now gets a discounted dinner.

Filippi Can’t Dodge a Gutshot

After a flop of A106, Amnon Filippi checked and his opponent bet almost all of his remaining chips. Filippi check-raised him all in and his opponent, although visibly disgusted, tossed in his chips.

Filippi turned up the A7 and his opponent tabled the QJ, needing a K to fill a straight. Unfortunately for Filippi, the turn was the K, filling the straight and giving his opponent the pot.

Filippi is now left with 20,000.

Player Tags: Tony Cousineau,   Nam Le,   Amnon Filippi,   Bertrand Grospellier

End of Day 2: Noah Schwartz Out In Front

Jun 22, '09

Day 2 has come to an end and the remaining 25 players will return at 1:00 pm PDT and play down to a winner. Be sure to check back with CardPlayer.com for all of the action.

Players Remaining: 25 out of 295

Chip Counts:

Noah Schwartz — 1,220,000
Marcus Golser — 621,000
Robin Keston — 606,000
Matt Graham — 586,000
Natha Doudney — 585,000
Freit Gabreillson — 547,000
Steffan Mattsson — 484,000
Barry Greenstein — 467,000
Matt Vengrin — 389,000
Josh Arieh — 356,000
Richard Austin — 331,000
Howard Lederer — 326,000
David Podgurski — 261,000
Padraig Parkinson — 259,000
James Taylor — 254,000
Van Marcus — 246,000
Vitaly Lunkin — 220,000
Rodrigo dos Santos — 204,000
David Williams — 198,000
Nate Lindsay — 171,000
Chau Giang — 129,000
Nenad Medic — 128,000
Henri Kettunen — 100,000
Tony Cousineau — 100,000
Todd Barlow — 97,000
Average Chip Count: 354,000

Notable Eliminations:

28. Nam Le — $0.00
27. Erick Lindgren — $25,817
26. Jonas Entin — $25,817

Big Hands

Nam Le Bubbles

Stefan Mattsson raises to 25,000 before the flop and Nam Le moves all in from the big blind.

Nam Le: K1096
Mattsson: AA84

Board: JJ5710

Mattsson’s aces hold up and Nam Le is eliminated on the bubble. The remaing 27 players are all in the money and guaranteed to cash for at least $25,817.

Erick Lindgren Eliminated in 27th place ($25,817)

On a flop of AQ8, Erick Lindgren gets it all in against Josh Arieh.

Lindgren: QJ108
Arieh: AAJ8

Lindgren got it in with two pair and a straight draw while Arieh flopped top set. The turn and river are 9 and the Q, filling Arieh and eliminating Erick Lindgren in 27th place ($25,817).

Player Tags: Josh Arieh,   Erick Lindgren,   Nam Le,   Noah Schwartz,   Stefan Mattsson

Level 14 Update: Noah Schwartz On Top

Jun 21, '09

Blinds: 2,000-4,000

Players Remaining: 45 out of 295

Chip Counts:

1. Noah Schwartz — 710,000
2. Ferit Gabriellson — 690,000
3. David Williams — 470,000
4. Jonas Entin — 370,000
5. Vitaly Lunkin — 340,000
6. Matt Graham — 330,000
7. Howard Lederer — 285,000
8. Piergiorgio D’Ancona — 280,000
9. David Podgurski — 270,000
10. Erick Lindgren — 270,000

Average Chip Count: 196,000

Notable Eliminations:

William Thorson
Surinder Sunar

Big Hands

Nam Le Doubles Up

Nam Le gets it all in before the flop against Henri Kettunen; Kettunen had him covered.

Nam Le: K1087
Kettunen: AAJ10

Board: 955QQ

Le got in in behind Kettunen’s pair of aces, but he made a club flush on the river to double up to 70,000 this hand.

William Thorson Eliminated by David Williams

On a flop of 843, David Williams moves all in for 117,000 and Thorson calls all in; Williams has him covered.

Williams: AA87
Torson: 10875

Williams is ahead with a pair of aces, but all in for his tournament life, Thorson has plenty of outs. The turn is the Q and the river is the 9, no help for Thorson who is eliminated from the tournament. Williams climbs up the leaderboard this hand with just under 500,000 in chips.

Noah Schwartz Takes Chiplead

The player on the button raises to 14,000 and Noah Schwartz calls from the big blind.

The flop comes 643, and Schwartz checks to the big blind who bets 30,000. Schwartz check-raises his opponent all in.

Schwartz: 9854
Button: 9653

The turn and river are the J and the 7, giving Schwartz two running hearts to make a flush. Schwartz eliminates another player and takes the chiplead this hand with just over 700,000.

Left in the Deck

Players will take a twenty-minute break at the completion of Level 14 and return at approximately 10:50 pm PDT to begin Level 15.

Player Tags: Nam Le,   David Williams,   William Thorson,   Noah Schwartz

Level 5 Update: Isaac Baron Wins Huge Pot

Jun 17, '09

Blinds: 250-500

Players Remaining: 225 out of 362

Chip Counts:

1. Isaac Baron – 80,000
2. David Ulliott – 65,000
3. Bruno Fitoussi – 60,000
4. Jeff Williams – 48,000
5. Hoyt Corkins – 32,000
6. Jeff Lisandro – 31,000
7. Ted Lawson – 30,000
8. Daniel Negreanu – 28,000
9. Barry Greenstein – 26,000
10. Michael Binger – 24,000

Average Chip Count: 24,200

Notable Eliminations:

Erik Seidel
J.C. Tran

Big Hands:

Isaac Baron Wins Huge Pot

On a board of J728, a player bet 8,000 into Isaac Baron on the button. Baron asked him for a count and then moved all-in for about 35,000 total. Baron’s opponent went into the tank and said, “I have eight outs.” He eventually called with his correct read on the situation and tabled the AK1010 for a pair of tens and flush draw. Baron turned over the nuts of Q1079 and needed to dodge a diamond to win a massive pot. The J hit the river and Baron is now up to 80,000 in chips.

Yevgeniy Timoshenko Eliminated

On a board of Q107, action was checked to Yevgeniy Timoshenko who bet 2,250. The big blind reraised to 8,500 and Nam Le folded from under-the-gun. Timoshenko went into the tank before finally committing the rest of his chips. The reigning WPT Championship winner tabled the AQ8J, while his opponent tabled the Q10A9. Timoshenko was behind against his opponents two pair but had outs for a straight. The turn was a disaster as the Q fell, eliminating all of Timoshenko’s straight draws. Timoshenko could only hope for a jack for the win or chop against his opponent’s full house with an ace. The 4 bricked on the river and Timoshenko was eliminated.

Player Tags: Nam Le,   Isaac Baron,   Yevgeniy Timoshenko

Level 12 Update: Nam Le, Chris Ferguson Eliminated

Jun 18, '09

Blinds: 1,200-2,400

Players Remaining: 45 out of 363

Chip Counts:

1. Rifat Palevic – 380,400
2. Jesper Hougaard – 330,000
3. Sorel Mizzi – 252,000
4. Isaac Baron – 230,000
5. Ralph Perry – 140,000
6. Michael Watson – 90,000
7. Tex Barch – 90,000
8. Justin Smith – 87,000
9. Jeff Lisandro – 81,000
10. David Ulliott – 75,000

Average Chip Count: 121,000

Notable Eliminations:

Nam Le
Padraig Parkinson
Chris Ferguson

Big Hands:

Nam Le Eliminated

On a flop of 542, Nam Le called all-in for 28,000 with the A8J9. He was behind against the two pair of Rifat Palevic with the QQ52. The board bricked out with no flush cards for Le and he was eliminated still seeking his first bracelet.

Padraig Parkinson Eliminated

After a flop of K54 Padraig Parkinson and Rifat Palevic got it all-in. Parkinson held top set with the KKQ8 but was up against the flush of Palevic with the 101098. The board failed to pair for Parkinson on the turn and river and he was elimianted.

Chris Ferguson Eliminated

The short stack of Chris Ferguson went all-in preflop and was called by Jeff Lisandro and Rifat Palevic. The flop came JJ7 and Lisandro checked. Palevic checked behind and both players saw a Q fall on the turn. Lisandro bet 15,000 and Palevic made the quick call. The K fell on the river and Lisandro quickly checked to Palevic, who promptly fired out a bet of 36,000. Lisandro mucked instantly and Palevic tabled QQK10 for queens full. Ferguson mucked showing the AK in his hand. Rifat Palevic has been on a tear and is up to 380,400 after eliminated six consecutive opponents at his table (including Nam Le, Padraig Parkinson and Ferguson).

After the hand there was some verbal taunting by the dealer. She said, as Rifat Palevic raked in the large pot and Jeff Lisandro was visibly disgruntled, “that was the perfect turn card I put out.” The comment elicited a reprimand from Lisandro.

Left In The Deck:

The players are currently on a 20 minute break.

Player Tags: Chris Ferguson,   Nam Le,   Padraig Parkinson,   Rifat Palevic

Level 5 Update: Isaac Baron Wins Huge Pot

Jun 17, '09

Blinds: 250-500

Players Remaining: 225 out of 362

Chip Counts:

1. Isaac Baron – 80,000
2. David Ulliott – 65,000
3. Bruno Fitoussi – 60,000
4. Jeff Williams – 48,000
5. Hoyt Corkins – 32,000
6. Jeff Lisandro – 31,000
7. Ted Lawson – 30,000
8. Daniel Negreanu – 28,000
9. Barry Greenstein – 26,000
10. Michael Binger – 24,000

Average Chip Count: 24,200

Notable Eliminations:

Erik Seidel
J.C. Tran

Big Hands:

Isaac Baron Wins Huge Pot

On a board of J728, a player bet 8,000 into Isaac Baron on the button. Baron asked him for a count and then moved all-in for about 35,000 total. Baron’s opponent went into the tank and said, “I have eight outs.” He eventually called with his correct read on the situation and tabled the AK1010 for a pair of tens and flush draw. Baron turned over the nuts of Q1079 and needed to dodge a diamond to win a massive pot. The J hit the river and Baron is now up to 80,000 in chips.

Yevgeniy Timoshenko Eliminated

On a board of Q107, action was checked to Yevgeniy Timoshenko who bet 2,250. The big blind reraised to 8,500 and Nam Le folded from under-the-gun. Timoshenko went into the tank before finally committing the rest of his chips. The reigning WPT Championship winner tabled the AQ8J, while his opponent tabled the Q10A9. Timoshenko was behind against his opponents two pair but had outs for a straight. The turn was a disaster as the Q fell, eliminating all of Timoshenko’s straight draws. Timoshenko could only hope for a jack for the win or chop against his opponent’s full house with an ace. The 4 bricked on the river and Timoshenko was eliminated.

Player Tags: Nam Le,   Isaac Baron,   Yevgeniy Timoshenko

Level 12 Update: Nam Le, Chris Ferguson Eliminated

Jun 18, '09

Blinds: 1,200-2,400

Players Remaining: 45 out of 363

Chip Counts:

1. Rifat Palevic – 380,400
2. Jesper Hougaard – 330,000
3. Sorel Mizzi – 252,000
4. Isaac Baron – 230,000
5. Ralph Perry – 140,000
6. Michael Watson – 90,000
7. Tex Barch – 90,000
8. Justin Smith – 87,000
9. Jeff Lisandro – 81,000
10. David Ulliott – 75,000

Average Chip Count: 121,000

Notable Eliminations:

Nam Le
Padraig Parkinson
Chris Ferguson

Big Hands:

Nam Le Eliminated

On a flop of 542, Nam Le called all-in for 28,000 with the A8J9. He was behind against the two pair of Rifat Palevic with the QQ52. The board bricked out with no flush cards for Le and he was eliminated still seeking his first bracelet.

Padraig Parkinson Eliminated

After a flop of K54 Padraig Parkinson and Rifat Palevic got it all-in. Parkinson held top set with the KKQ8 but was up against the flush of Palevic with the 101098. The board failed to pair for Parkinson on the turn and river and he was elimianted.

Chris Ferguson Eliminated

The short stack of Chris Ferguson went all-in preflop and was called by Jeff Lisandro and Rifat Palevic. The flop came JJ7 and Lisandro checked. Palevic checked behind and both players saw a Q fall on the turn. Lisandro bet 15,000 and Palevic made the quick call. The K fell on the river and Lisandro quickly checked to Palevic, who promptly fired out a bet of 36,000. Lisandro mucked instantly and Palevic tabled QQK10 for queens full. Ferguson mucked showing the AK in his hand. Rifat Palevic has been on a tear and is up to 380,400 after eliminated six consecutive opponents at his table (including Nam Le, Padraig Parkinson and Ferguson).

After the hand there was some verbal taunting by the dealer. She said, as Rifat Palevic raked in the large pot and Jeff Lisandro was visibly disgruntled, “that was the perfect turn card I put out.” The comment elicited a reprimand from Lisandro.

Left In The Deck:

The players are currently on a 20 minute break.

Player Tags: Chris Ferguson,   Nam Le,   Padraig Parkinson,   Rifat Palevic

Level 4 Update: Negreanu Busted

May 28, '09

Blinds:500-1,000 with a 100 ante

Players Remaining: 189 out of 201

Chip Counts:

1. Phil Laak — 280,00
2. Tony G — 255,000
3. Scott Seiver — 250,000
4. Justin Bonomo — 240,000
5. David Chiu — 240,000
6. Michael DeMichele — 230,000
7. Evan McNiff — 215,000
8. Markus Lehmann — 215,000
9. Kyle Wilson — 210,000
10. Nam Le — 205,000

Average Chip Count: 127,619

Notable Eliminations:

Florian Langmann
John Juanda
Jonathan Little
Daniel Negreanu

Big Hands:

Nam Le Flops a Set, Climbs Up the Leaderboard

On a board of J72K, Nam Le bets 15,000, the player in seat 6 raises to 34,000, Ryan Fair folds, and Nam Le calls the raise after a few minutes in the tank. The river is the 8, and seat 6 checks to Le who bets 25,000. Seat 6 calls and Le turns over 22 for bottom set. Seat 6 mucks his hand and Le rakes the pot. Le is up to 205,000 after this hand, securing himself a current spot on the leaderboard.

Phil Galfond doubles up

With AA, Phil Galfond moved all in and was called by seat 6 with AK. The flop was 99A, and Galfond was free rolling. Running nines did not come and Galfond doubled up to 218,000.

Markus Lehmann Wins Big Pot, Breaks 200K

Kathy Liebert raises to 2,300 from under the gun, David Benefield reraises to 8,2000 from middle position, Markus Lehmann calls from the button, Blake Cahail calls from the big blind, and Kathy Liebert calls the reraise. The flop comes K94, Benefield and bets 11,700. Lehmann calls while both Cahail and Liebert fold. The turn is the K, and both players check. The river is the 2, and both players check again. Bennefield turns over 88 while Lehmann shows JJ for the better two-pair. Lehmann climbs up the leaderboard to 215,000 this hand while Benefield falls to 110,000, follwed by Liebert with 80,000 and Cahail with 65,000.

Scott Seiver Takes a Hand against Phil Hellmuth

On a flop of AAA, Hellmuth bet out 8,000 and Seiver quickly called. Hellmuth checked dark and the turn was the 5 and Seiver checked behind. The river was the A, putting all four aces on the board and Hellmuth checked. Seiver made a big bet and Hellmuth said, “I don’t think I can call you with 6 high,” before showing pocket sixes and folding.

Andy Bloch Moves All-in

Four way action pre-flop had pros J.C. Tran, Alec Torelli, Yevgeniy Timoshenko and Andy Bloch see a flop of 994. Bloch checked and Timoshenko bet out 18,000. Tran quickly folded and Torelli, the pre-flop raiser, contemplated for awhile and called. Action was back to Bloch, who moved all in for 53,100 more and Timoshenko instantly folded. Torelli asked for a count before eventually folding.

Daniel Negreanu is Eliminated

The short stacked Negreanu raised pre-flop with ace queen and was set all in by Doug Lee for 35,000, who was holding pocket threes. The flop brought a queen and everything looked good for a double up, however a 3 on the turn gave Lee a set and had Negreanu drawing dead.

Left In The Deck:

Phil Hellmuth and Phil Ivey, both at the same table, have begun negotiating prop bets.

Player Tags: Kathy Liebert,   Andy Bloch,   Nam Le,   Phil Hellmuth,   Phil Ivey,   Markus Lehmann,   Phil Galfond,   Scott Seiver,   David Benefield,   Yevgeniy Timoshenko,   Blake Cahail

Level 17 Update: Getting Close to the Bubble

May 29, '09

Blinds: 9,000-18,000 with a 2,000 ante.

Players Remaining: 29 out of 201

Chip Counts:

1. Justin Bonomo — 2,200,000
2. Greg Raymer — 1,750,000
3. David Baker — 1,530,000
4. Lex Veldhuis — 1,450,000
5. Dani Stern — 1,250,000
6. Vitaly Lunkin — 1,150,000
7. Brian Townsend — 1,060,000
8. Doshi Suresh — 1,000,000
9. Noah Schwartz — 955,000
10. Sorel Mizzi — 940,000

Average Chip Count: 868,965

Notable Eliminations:

Ali Eslami
Alan Sass
Sami Kelopuro
Kirill Gerasimov
Evan McNiff
Marco Johnson
Nam Le

Big Hands:

David Chiu Doubles Through Greg Raymer

Just a few moments into the level, David Chiu was all in holding A-K against the A-9 of Greg Raymer. The board bricked for both players and Chiu doubled up to 260,000. Raymer is still far and away the chip leader with 2.5 million.

Sami Kelopuro Busts to Lex Veldhuis

Lex Vedlhuis raised to 45,000 and Sami Kelopuro moved all in for his last 300,000. Veldhuis made the call and showed AJ for a dominating hand against Kelopuro’s A9.

The board came KK7K8 and Veldhuis came out on top, sending Kelopuro to the rail out of the money. Veldhuis has closed the gap on the chip leaders with 1,405,000.

Alan Sass Hits the Rail

Alan Sass jammed it in preflop with A6 and David Pham made the call with AK. A king on the flop and a blank on the turn had Sass drawing dead. Pham now sits with a slightly healthier 420,000.

Double Elimination For David Baker

Kirill Gerasimov was short stacked and moved all in holding K5. Evan McNiff tried to isolate behind him holding A-8 offsuit. Unfortunately for both players, David Baker woke up with pocket queens behind them and made the call.

The flop came AJ2 giving McNiff the best hand with a pair of aces and Gerasimov the nut flush draw. Visably upset, Baker hit his slim outs on the turn when the Q hit. The river was a safe 7 and Baker took out both players.

Marco Johnson Busts to Justin Bonomo

Marco Johnson was all in holding K10 against the AQ of Justin Bonomo. The board didn’t help Johnson and he exited from the tournament floor. Bonomo now has 2.2 million.

Nam Le Busts In a Suck, Re-Suck Situation

Nam Le got it all in on a AK10 flop holding AJ against the K10 of Dani Stern. The turn was great for Le when the J hit, but the K on the river sent Le to the rail. Stern is now sitting with 1.25 million.

Player Tags: David Pham,   Nam Le,   Kirill Gerasimov,   Greg Raymer,   Justin Bonomo,   Alan Sass,   Marco Johnson,   David Baker,   Evan McNiff,   Dani Stern

Level 14 Update: Mike Matusow Eliminated

May 29, '09

Blinds: 5,000-10,000 with a 1,000 ante

Players Remaining: 44 out of 201

Chip Counts:

1. Brian Townsend – 1,470,000
2. Lex Veldhuis – 1,320,000
3. Greg Raymer – 1,300,000
4. Justin Bonomo – 1,270,000
5. Matthew Glantz – 1,058,000
6. Brian Rast – 1,020,000
7. Ted Forrest – 1,020,000
8. Chris Moneymaker – 920,000
9. Isaac Haxton — 785,000
10. Frank Kassela — 750,000

Average Chip Count: 548,181

Notable Eliminations:

Emil Patel
Huck Seed
Mike Matusow
Bruno Fitoussi

Big Hands:

Huck Seed is Eliminated

On a board of 75AQ, Huck Seed checked from the small blind to Alec Torelli on the button. Torelli fired out 37,000 and Seed called. The river was the J and the action went check-check. Torelli said, “I think you got me,” and Huck turned over the 107. To Torelli’s surprise he rivered Seed, and exposed J10 for a pair of jacks. Seed was severely short stacked and moved all-in the next hand with 76 from the button only to be called by Greg Raymer in the small blind with K9. Seed failed to hit and was knocked out of Event 2 of the World Series of Poker.

Nam Le Doubles Up

Nam Le and Sorel Mizzi got it all in on the flop with Le holding the 107 and Mizzi holding the KQ. The board read 89J, with Le holding a straight but leaving Mizzi with a lot of outs. Those outs failed to arrive on the turn and river, and Le doubled up to around 700,000.

Mike Matusow Eliminated

Mike Matusow raised to 25,000 preflop from the big blind and Keith Lehr reraised enough to put Matusow all in under the gun. Matusow made the call and they flipped up their cards:

Matusow: 77
Lehr: A10

Board: Q84KA

Matusow was eliminated on the hand and Lehr moved up to 600,000.

Matthew Glantz Flops a Set

On a board of J9AQ6, Matthew Glantz fired a big river bet into Evan McNiff. McNiff mulled it over before finally calling. Glantz turned over the 99 for a set of nines and raked in the 500,000 chip pot. Glantz is no over 1,000,000 in chips.

Brian Townsend Eliminates Emil Patel

Emil Patel and Brian Townsend got it all-in pre-flop with Patel holding AK and Townsend holding 1010. The flop of 7103 was perfect for Townsend, as Patel was drawing dead with no back door draws. Townsend is up to 1,500,000 in chips.

Left In The Deck:

Table 60 is a stacked table with pros Greg Raymer, Andrew Robl, Vanessa Rousso, Steve Zolotow, Brian Rast, Alec Torelli and formerly Bruno Fitoussi before he was eliminated and Andrew Black before he was moved.

The players are on a 60 minute dinner break. The action tonight will conclude when they have reached 18 players or have played four more levels.

Player Tags: Nam Le,   Huck Seed,   Steve Zolotow,   Mike Matusow,   Greg Raymer,   Matthew Glantz,   Emil Patel,   Brian Townsend,   Keith Lehr,   Alec Torelli,   Sorel Mizzi,   Evan McNiff