Buy-In: | $1,365 + $135 |
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Prize Pool: | $1,249,500 |
Entrants: | 833 |
Through sheer aggression, Thang Luu took a 3-1 chip lead on Spencer Lawrence. Lawrence wasn't catching anything on any flop, and as a result was forced to commit the rest of his stack with a marginal holding. On the final hand, Luu raised preflop and Lawrence made the call. The flop came down K87 and Luu bet once again. After Lawrence raised, Luu put him all in and Lawrence made the call showing 9655 for a diamond and wrap draw. Unfortunately, his diamonds were dead when Luu showed K743. The turn and river came 8K and Luu made a full house to take the pot, the title, the bracelet and $243,356. Lawrence receives $156,343 for his second place effort.
Players Left: 2
Big Hands:
Chris Falconer Eliminated in Fifth Place ($64,243)
Chris Falconer raised all in for his last 80,000 in the cutoff and was called by both Thang Luu and George Guzman in the blinds. Both players checked down a board of 1095A5 and Luu turned over J762 for a flush, which scooped the pot. Falconer mucked his cards and was eliminated.
James Pritchard Eliminated in Fourth Place ($78,456)
James Pritchard was getting short and had to make his move. He got the rest of his chips in the middle holding 10654 against Thang Luu's KQ92. The board ran out JJ4K7 and Luu's turned king sent Pritchard home in fourth place.
George Guzman Eliminated in Third Place ($93,806)
George Guzman moved all in preflop holding KQ97 and was up against Spencer Lawrence's AAQ9. The board came 433A6 and Lawrence's turned aces full was enough to send Guzman home and begin heads up play.
NOTE: Heads up play has begun.
Players Left: 5
Big Hands
:
Craig Sabel Eliminated in Seventh Place ($39,228)
Craig Sabel had the rest of his chips in the pot in the big blind. The flop came K54 and Spencer Lawrence and George Guzman checked. The turn was the Q and Lawrence bet. Guzman folded and the two remaining players turned up their hands.
Lawrence - QQ64
Sabel - AJQ6
Lawrence was in the lead with a set of queens and Sabel needed a low card to split or a ten to scoop. The river was the 4 and Sabel was eliminated in seventh place.
Greg Jamison Eliminated in Sixth Place ($50,598)
Greg Jamison was all-in in the big blind for his last 25,000 and had to deal with three unfortunate limpers. All three limpers checked down a board of A6310Q and everyone revealed their hands.
George Guzman turned over 8-4 which was good enough for the low and Spencer Lawrence's set of tens took the high. Jamison mucked his hand and was eliminated from the tournament.
NOTE: CardPlayer TV – Erik Seidel Talks About Omaha Hi-Lo
Blinds: 15,000-30,000
Players Left: 7
Big Hands:
Spencer Lawrence Hits a Four-Outer to Survive
On a board of Q9810, Spencer Lawrence is all in against Mark Wilds. Both players turn over their hands:
Lawrence - A982
Wilds - AJQ5
Lawrence is drawing to the four remaining nines and eights to stay alive and the river is the... 8. Lawrence makes his full house and doubles up to over 300,000.
Mark Wilds Eliminated in Eighth Place ($30,700)
Mark Wilds was all in for his last 10,000 in the small blind. Thang Luu and George Guzman were also in the hand and checked a flop of Q107. The turn was the 7 and Guzman bet 60,000. Luu folded and Guzman revealed AJ97. Wilds showed J942 and needed an an eight or a king to survive with a straight. The river was the A and Guzman improved to a full house, sending Wilds to the rail in eighth place.
NOTE: The players are now on a 20-minute break.
Blinds: 10,000-20,000
Players Left: 8
Big Hands:
James Pritchard Chips Up With 3/4 of the Pot
On a flop of J53, James Pritchard bets and is called by Craig Sabel. The turn is the 10 and once again Sabel calls Pritchards bet. The river is the 6 and Pritchard is all in. Sabel calls and the players turn up their hands.
Sabel - AK92
Pritchard - AJ102
Sagel rivered the nut low, but so did Pritchard. In addition, Pritchard has the high with jacks and tens. He takes 3/4 of the pot and chips up to 170,000.
Spencer Lawrence Doubles Up
Spencer Lawrence is all in for his tournament life and is called by Greg Jamison. Lawrence turns over AK72 and Jamison shows JJ42. The flop comes J76 and Jamison takes a big lead in the hand, but the turn and river come 10Q giving Lawrence a broadway straight and the whole pot. After the hand, Lawrence is sitting with 75,000 in chips.
George Guzman Won't Go Quietely
After getting crippled to next to nothing, George Guzman has refused to bust, chopping and scooping his way to a stack of 180,000 courtesy of several double ups from the rest of the table.
NOTE: CardPlayer TV – Erik Seidel Talks About Omaha Hi-Lo
Blinds: 8,000 - 15,000 switching to 10,000 - 20,000
Players Left: 8
Big Hands:
Scott Clements Eliminated in Ninth Place ($22,172)
After being crippled on an earlier hand, Scott Clements is all in for his last 12,000. James Pritchard calls in the small blind and Thang Luu checks his option in the big blind. The flop comes JJ9 and both players check it down. The turn and river come 28 and Pritchard shows KJQ2 to take the pot with jacks full. Clements claims to have aces, and he is eliminated from the tournament.
Don't worry, for posterity, we will continue to cover this tournament. After all, there is a gold bracelet on the line.
George Guzman Picks Up A Big Pot
Greg "Fargo" Jamison limps, as does Chris Falconer and Geogre Guzman. Spencer Lawrence checks his option in the big blind. The flop comes J107 and Jamison bets 15,000. Guzman is the only caller and the turn is the 8. Both players check and the river is the J. Jamison bets 30,000 and Guzman makes the call. Jamison can only turn over pocket deuces and Guzman's AKQQ is enough to take it down.
NOTE: The blinds then went up to 10,000-20,000 and the 1,000 denomination chips were raced off the table.
The players then went on a 20-minute break.
Blinds: 6,000 - 12,000 switching to 8,000 - 15,000
Players Left: 9
Eliminations: None
Big Hands:
Thang Luu and Spencer Lawrence Chop One
Thang Luu raises preflop, as he has done 60 percent of the time, and Spencer Lawrence calls in the big blind. The flop comes J53 and Luu continues with a bet of 12,000. Lawrence raises to 24,000 and Luu calls. The turn is the 9 and Lawrence leads out for 24,000. Luu calls. The river is the A and Lawrence thinks for a while before deciding to bet once again. Luu beats him into the pot and both players turn over their hands.
Thang Luu - A622
Spencer Lawrence - A9J10
Lawrence takes the high with Aces up and Luu claims the low with his 6-2.
Chris Falconer Takes It All
Chris Falconer raises under the gun and James Pritchard makes the call. The flop comes Q107 and Falconer checks. Pritchard bets and Falconer calls. The turn is the 10 and both players check. The river is the J and Falconer bets 24,000. Pritchard calls and sees the bad news when Falconer turns over AK42 for the second nut flush.
NOTE: At this point, the blinds increase to 8,000 - 15,000
Thang Luu Takes 3/4
Spencer Lawrence raises and Thang Luu calls in the big blind. The flop comes 986 and both players check. The turn is the A and Luu bets. Lawrence calls and the river is the J. Luu bets again and Lawrence makes the call as the players reveal their hole cards.
Thang Luu - 9643
Spencer Lawrence - AQ43
Luu wins the high with his nines and sixes and both players share the same 4-3 low. As a result, Luu wins 3/4 of the pot.
Scott Clements Going Backwards
Craig Sabel calls under the gun and both George Guzman and Scott Clements come along in the blinds. The flop comes A53 and Clements bets 15,000. Both of his opponents call and the turn is the 4. Everyone checks and Guzman leads the 3 on the river for 30,000. Both Clements and Sabel fold.
After the hand, Clements is down to about 100,000.
It's official, just 5 minutes past the hour the cards are in the air. With the blinds at $6,000-$12,000, this tournament shouldn't run all night long. After all, it already did.
Despite the high tension of a bracelet on the line, the final nine players seemed very upbeat and jovial. Many were making jokes and ribbing on Scott Clements during his introduction.
As the tournament director went around the table introducing the players, it was clear that most were not very experienced. One player jokingly put on his bio that his highest poker accomplishment was finishing third in a $100 satellite. When Clements name came up, along with his two braclets in Omaha, his two WPT championships and his WSOP circuit ring, the rest of the table feigned boredom and George Guzman even went so far as to give up and push his chips toward Clements.
Clements, Thang Luu and Greg Jamison seem to be the clear favorites, as each has significant experience not only in big tournaments, but most importantly Omaha 8/b.
Due to the extremely late finish (6:30 a.m.) of last night's play down day, the final table of the $2,500 Omaha eight-or-better event will begin at 4:00 p.m.
Leading the way is Las Vegas resident Thang Luu with a monster chip lead. But all eyes will be on Scott Clements as he tries to win his third bracelet in as many years.
Here are the chip counts heading into today's action:
Thang Luu - 640,000
Chris Falconer - 331,000
Greg Jamison - 275,000
Mark Wilds - 225,000
Spencer Lawrence - 220,000
Scott Clements - 220,000
George Guzman - 195,000
Craig Sabel - 160,000
James Pritchard - 155,000