1:32pm: Dang out, ElkY in

Di Dang has been eliminated by Jennifer Tilly over on Table 5. Meanwhile, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier just survived an all in against Chau Giang thanks to a well-timed heart flush.

We’re on our first break of the day now. We’ll get you updated chip counts on all remaining players at the start of the next level.

1:29pm: Hellmuth hangs on

As we near the end of Level 3 and the first break, a short-stacked Phil Hellmuth was just all in versus Hoyt Corkins. Hellmuth had opened for a raise from the button, Corkins shoved from the big blind, and Hellmuth instacalled, tabling [Ah][Kd] to Corkins’s humble [6d][4s].

“Against Hoyt, I’d like to end this early,” said Hellmuth, alluding to Corkins’s track record of good fortune against the Poker Brat. The flop appeared to do just that, coming [Kh][9h][3d]. But the [5s] brought an “ooh” from the crowd.

The river [6c] paired Corkins but meant Hellmuth had survived. Hellmuth moves up to 27,500 on that one.

1:19pm: Seiver steamrolling

Plenty of action going on over at table six. This time Sorel Mizzi opened the pot to 1,400 from the button. Team Pokerstars Pro Barry Greenstein reraised to 9,300 from the small blind. The big blind Scott Seiver thought for a moment before he announced a raise of 50,600. Mizzi folded and Greenstein committed the rest of his chips.

Seiver tabled [Qs][Qd], Greenstein held [As][Kd] and we’re off to the races.

The board ran out [3s][10h][Js][4d][6c] and Seiver is awarded the first $5,000 bounty.

Seiver would also knock out Antonio Esfandiari the very next hand when he flopped two pair against Esfandiari’s queen high. Seiver is now in command with just under 100,000 in chips.

1:12pm The Magician crippled

We picked up the action on the turn over at table six. With the board reading [Ac][7d][6h][Qs], Antonio Esfandiari and Scott Seiver got all of their chips in the middle after a few raises back and forth.

Esfandiari showed [As][Qc] for top two pair, but Seiver had him in bad shape with [7s][7c] for a set of sevens. The river was the [3c] and Esfandiari was left with just 1,800 in chips.

1:06pm: Raymer doubles

On Table 7, Greg Raymer just survived an all in after getting his stack in the middle with [7s][7c] on a flop of [7h][Kh][2d] against Adam Richardson’s [Ah][Js]. The turn was the [Jh], bringing a sweat, but the [3s] river meant Raymer had survived.

12:59pm: Tilly turning it on

Jennifer Tilly opened for a raise from middle position, and it folded to Joe Hachem who called from the big blind. The flop came [Js][Qh][6c]. Hachem checked, Tilly continued with a bet, and Hachem called. The turn was the [9h] and this time Hachem led out for 6,500. Tilly thought a moment, then called. The pot had grown to about 18,000.

12:49pm: Dang Doubles

Over at table five, we found Di Dang opening the action to 1,000 from the button. J.C. Tran made the call from the small blind as did Joe Hachem from the big blind.

The flop came [Qs][5d][4s]. Tran led out 1,500, Hachem folded. Dang thought for a while and announced a raise of 3,500. After a few moments of thought Tran reraised to 16,500 which was enough to put Dang all in. Dang made the call.

Tran: [Js][9s] for a flush draw

Dang: [Qh][5h] top two pair

“You run so good against me online, I don’t think you can fade this. You owe me one” said Tran.

The turn was the [Ah], and the river was the [2d]. Dang’s hand held and he avoided elimination. He is now up to 33,000 while Tran slips to 18,000.

12:43pm: Mens sana in corpore sano for Hellmuth

“I have 14k… I should be frustrated. But I’m feeling great!”

So says Phil Hellmuth. Despite the tough start, Hellmuth says he’s feeling good. He’s mentioned his workout regimen a couple of times. And is demonstrating that he’s eating healthy, too, having ordered a salad.

We’ll see if he can make that chip stack start looking healthier here soon enough.

12:40pm: Table 7 counts

And here’s what we’re seeing over the shoulders of the camera crew on the feature table:

John Duthie – 33,000

Hoyt Corkins – 31,000

Adam Richardson – 30,000

Hevad Khan – 26,000

Steven Paul – 24,000

Greg Raymer – 17,000

Phil Hellmuth – 14,000

12:33pm: Table 5 counts

Looks as though Jennifer Tilly has taken the lead from Hachem. Again, these are approximate:

Jennifer Tilly – 41,000

Joe Hachem – 33,000

J.C. Tran – 27,000

Annie Duke – 23,000

Faraz Jaka – 22,000

Di Dang – 17,000

Vanessa Rousso – 12,000

12:24pm: Table 6 counts

We’ll have exact chip counts at the first break (after Level 3), but here’s an idea of what Table 6 looks like midway through Level 2:

Sorel Mizzi – 36,000

Antonio Esfandiari – 28,000

Bertrand Grospellier – 25,000

Scott Sevier – 26,000

Chau Giang – 24,000

Brian Rast – 22,000

Barry Greenstein – 12,000

12:16pm: Hachem leading the way

We picked up the action on the turn over at table five. With approximately 2,200 in the pot and the board reading [7h][7d][Qh] [9s], Team Pokerstars Pro Joe Hachem led out with a bet of 1,200. Fellow team pro Vanessa Rousso made the call. The river brought the [Qc] and both players checked.

Hachem tabled [Ad][7s] for a full house, Rousso mucked.

“I’m such an idiot for not betting the river” claimed Hachem. His neighbor J.C. Tran noted “What if you bet and she raises? Then you’re still an idiot”. “Well I guess I’m an idiot either way” joked Hachem as he raked in his pot.

He is currently the chipleader at his table with approximately 39,000.

12:05pm: Level 2 begins

Blinds 200-400 now, with a 50 ante. All 21 of our players still with chips.

12:02pm: Tilly active early on

Jennifer Tilly is continuing to be active on Table 5 as we near the end of Level 1. Just now she opened for 600 from early position, then Di Dang raised behind to 2,000. Faraz Jaka then repopped it to 5,000 from the button, prompting both players to fold.

Undeterred, Tilly raised again the next hand — to 550 from UTG. Vanessa Rousso called, and it folded around to J.C. Tran who reraised to 2,050 from the button. The blinds got out, then Tilly pushed it to 6,550 total. Rousso folded, and Tran quickly relinquished his hand as well.

11:57am: Chau gets some magic

Over at table 5, Antonio “The Magician” Esfandiari opened the action to 525 from middle position. Folded around to Chau Giang in the big blind, who then reraised to a meager 925. Esfandiari must have sensed some weakness, he four bet to a total 3,025. Giang made the call.

The flop fell [Qc][4d][Qd]. Giang check called a bet of 3,600. The action slowed down when the [3d] fell on the turn, both players would check. The river was the [9c] and again both players checked.

Giang tabled [Js][Jh] and The Magician mucked his hand. With that pot Giang is now just above 30,000 in chips.

11:51am: Hand in the cookie jar

Back to Table 7. With the board reading [2h][9c][3h][2c][5h], Hoyt Corkins bet and Greg Raymer responded with a quick raise to 5,000. Corkins looked over at his opponent from underneath the brim of his characteristic cowboy hat and made the call.

“Ten high,” said the captured Fossilman. Corkins showed a pair of eights to claim the pot.

11:42am: Two pair for Paul

Action from Table 7. With the board showing [Qc][4c][Jd][2h], Steven Paul bet, John Duthie raised to 3,025, and Paul called. The then river brought the [3s]. Paul checked, Duthie bet 3,100, and Paul made the call.

Paul showed [Qs][Jd] for top two and Duthie mucked. Paul chips up above 30,000, while Duthie slips to 18,500.

11:39am: Better than average Joe

Over at Table 5, three players saw a flop come [7h][4s][7c]. Preflop raiser Vanessa Rousso continued with a bet, Joe Hachem called, and Jen Tilly folded. The turn was the [9c], and both Rousso and Hachem checked.

The river brought the [Ah]. Rousso checked, and Hachem bet 3,750. Rousso thought a moment, then made the call. Hachem showed [Kc][7d], prompting a “Wow” from Rousso. “Ace cost you?” asked Hachem. Rousso nodded in confirmation.

Hachem is up to 30,000 now, while Rousso slips down below 20,000.

11:32am: Mizzi takes early chip lead

Kicking off the action over at Table 6, we found Sorel Mizzi opening to a raise of 550 from early position. Team Pokerstars Pro Barry Greenstein reraised to a total of 1,700. Action folded back around to Mizzi, “Every time eh Barry?, ok I’ll look you up” call.

The flop fell [Kc][3h][7d]. Mizzi checked, Greenstein bet 2,000, call. The turn brought the [7h] and both players checked. The river was the [4d], this time Mizzi led out 4,050 and Greenstein quickly called.

Mizzi tabled [Kh][Qh] for two pair, Greenstein mucked. Sorel takes the early chiplead for his table and is up to 33,000.

11:28am: Setting in

Small steps here in the early going. Over on Table 5, Jen Tilly opened for a raise to 600 from UTG and got one caller in Di Dang. The flop came [3c][6d][6h], Tilly continued with a bet of 1,000, and Dang folded. Incidentally, our three women in the Shootout all just happened to draw seats next to one another, with Tilly sitting between Annie Duke and Vanessa Rousso.

On Table 7 (the “feature table” of our three), the table folded around to Phil Hellmuth who opened for 600 from the button. Then Adam Richardson reraised to 1,700 from the small blind, prompting both Hoyt Corkins (BB) and Hellmuth to fold.

Everyone is still more or less near the starting stacks of 25,000.

11:23am: Shuffle up and deal

The first hands of the NAPT Venetian $25,000 Bounty Shootout are being dealt.

11:12am: Getting there

Players are starting to settle into their seats around the three tables that will be played here during the first flight of the day. Here is where they are being directed:

Table 5

1. J.C Tran

2. Joe Hachem

3. Annie Duke

4. Jennifer Tilly

5. Vanessa Rousso

6. Di Dang

7. Faraz Jaka

Table 6

1. Scott Seiver

2. Brian Rast

3. Chau Giang

4. Bertrand Grospellier

5. Antonio Esfandiari

6. Sorel Mizzi

7. Barry Greenstein

Table 7

1. Phil Hellmuth

2. Adam Richardson

3. Hoyt Corkins

4. Greg Raymer

5. John Duthie

6. Hevad Khan

7. Steven Paul (a.k.a. Steve Paul-Ambrose)

And here is the schedule of blinds/antes for today’s Round 1:

Starting stack: 25,000

Time of level: 40 minutes; breaks after every 3 levels

Level 1: 100-200 blinds, 25 ante

Level 2: 200-400, 50

Level 3: 300-600, 75

Level 4: 400-800, 100

Level 5: 600-1,200, 100

Level 6: 800-1,600, 200

Level 7: 1,000-2,000, 200

Level 8: 1,200-2,400, 300

Level 9: 1,500-3,000, 300

Level 10: 2,000-4,000, 400

Level 11: 2,500-5,000, 500

Level 12: “Tournament Director Discretion”

We’ll be letting you know of level changes and chip counts as we go here in the blog. Still a few minutes away. Stay tuned!

10:44am: High rolling in

Players are beginning to gather for interviews. The scheduled start is 11:00am, but with the television crews setting up it looks like we’ll probably be some time after that before we get under way.

Winners of round 1 will be receiving $75,000. (The original plan had been $50,000 for getting through the first table, but that was changed.) Also up for grabs today will be those $5,000 bounties for each knockout, with the player eliminating the most of his or her opponents earning an extra $100,000.

Back in a few with table draws for Flight 1 and the first hands of the day.

NAPT Venetian $25,000 Bounty Shootout reporting comes courtesy of bloggers Martin Harris and Marc Hodge and photographer Joe Giron.

This NAPT is brought to you by PokerStars, the official sponsor of the North American Poker Tour. Win your way into the biggest events North America has to offer at North America.

Welcome back to beautiful Las Vegas and the luxurious Venetian.

Inside, the poker room is buzzing with excitement already. Players will trickle in shortly. Fans will gather outside the ropes.

We have some important poker to play today.

The 24 players that start Day 4 have proven themselves to be quite the skilled poker players. They started in a field of 872 and worked their way through three days of grueling, intense play to take their seats on the fourth day of the NAPT Venetian. That, most certainly, was no easy feat.

Luck can only take a player so far, but to accumulate hundreds of thousands of chips over the course of several days, never once losing a do-or-die race or succumbing to the pressure of putting chips at risk carelessly. Skill and discipline must come into play there, along with mental and physical strength and stamina.

So to say that Day 4 will result in determining the best players in the field is a bit of a narrow statement. All 24 players that take their seats today are names to be noted.

The noted player to keep an eye on going into today’s action will be Eric Blair, who sits atop the leaderboard with 3,700,000 chips. He was a consistent climber on Day 3 and will be a force on Day 4.

Eric Blair contemplating Day 3 chip leader status

Not to be discounted are others who made their mark at the end of Day 3, including Sam Stein with 3,409,000 chips and Steve Billirakis who survived a roller coaster of a day to end with 2,372,000.

And of course, it is necessary to note the obvious, that any of the players in the field are a double-up or two away from joining the ranks of the chip-millionaires. One player who will need to do that but returns proudly to the Venetian Poker Room as the last woman standing is Christina Lindley, who looks to make the most of her 130,000 chips.

Christina Lindley

We will be heading to the tournament area shortly so as not to miss the excitement. There will be double-ups. There will be eliminations and disappointment. But we look to end the day with eight very excited players who will have secured their spots at the NAPT Venetian final table.

As you take a few moments to get comfortable in front of your laptops, check out this video from PokerStars.TV to bring you up to date on the last day’s action:

All photography © Joe Giron

This NAPT is brought to you by PokerStars, the official sponsor of the North American Poker Tour. Win your way into the biggest events North America has to offer at North America.

1:12am: Day 3 concludes

With that last flurry of eliminations, Day 3 swiftly comes to a close. The remaining 24 players are starting to bag up their earnings thus far, but all well know there’s still a long way to go to that $827,648 first prize.

1:06am: Rousso hits rail in 25th

Down to 205,000, the table folded around to Vanessa Rousso who shoved all in, and Tom Marchese called from the big blind. Rousso showed K-6, which Marchese had pocket sevens. The board went [10s][3h][Jd][Ac][Jc], and Rousso — the last Team PokerStars Pro alive — has been eliminated in 25th place.

12:55am: Buffington bounced in 27th; Seth served in 26th

Blake Buffington was just all in with [Qd][Qh] and up against Jonathan Aguiar’s [Ks][9h]. The flop came [7c][Kd][2c], putting Aguiar ahead. The turn was the [Js] and the river the [8h], and Buffington hit the rail. That hand put Aguiar up around 610,000.

Andy Seth followed Buffington shortly thereafter, having fallen victim to the chip-accumulator Eric Blair. Blair is up to about 3.5 million at present.

12:45am: O’Dwyer o-out in 28th place

It happened on the first hand of the return from break, as Steve O’Dwyer pushed all-in with [Js] [Jd], but Eric Blair couldn’t help but call with [Ah] [Ac]. The board delivered [Td] [Kc] [9c] [Th] [2h], and O’Dwyer took his leave of the tournament.

From chip leader at dinner to cashier cage before 1am

12:44am: Binger busto in 29th place

A person can only be in one place at a time…so we just missed the quiet bustout of Michael Binger, who was eliminated by Daniel Cossette in 28th place.

Binger not having a good day

12:28am: Smoke ‘em if you got ’em

It’s been a long day. What say we take ourselves one more break? 29 players will return either to play one more level or until the field reaches 24.

12:25am: Sinistaj out in 30th, Clemente climbs

Tom Sinistaj was all in for almost 350,000 with [10c][10d] and was racing against Daniel Clemente’s [Ah][Jd]. Clemente — who had Sinistaj covered by just 50,000 — liked the flop [5s][Js][Ac]. And his hand held through the [5c] turn and [Qs] river. Sinistaj is out in 30th place, while Clemente moves up to about 800,000.

12:20am: Sam Stein, the new NAPT Venetian chip leader

Andrew “LuckyChewy” Lichtenberger isn’t always lucky. He just sent a substantial portion of his substantial stack two seats to his right and into the possession of one Sam Stein. While we’re unsure of what Lichtenberger held, we know it was no good against the rivered Broadway straight on the [8s][jd][7c][ts][kd] board. After betting 335,000 on the river, Lichtenberger called 1,136,000 more from Stein to see Stein’s ace-queen. Lichtenberger is now down to half a million chips, while Stein is up over the three million mark.

12:05am: The pain prolonged…Sindelar out in 31st place

It started with David Paredes moving all-in with [Qc] [Js], and Daniel Sindelar coming over the top with pocket nines. John Franciosi took a long time to consider the options but eventually folded. The dealer revealed a [6d] [7d] [Jd] [Kc] [Ts] board, which gave Paredes the double-up but left Sindelar crippled.

Sindelar was ready to make his exit but had to await the deal of the next hand. With [Jc] [8c] on the button, he made the all-in push, but Mark Ketteringham woke up with pocket queens in the big blind. The board only brought another queen for Ketteringham, and Sindelar was eliminated in 31st place.

12:01am: Cody’s roller coaster ride over – 32nd place

Cody Slaubaugh risked it all with [As] [9c] preflop, but Tom Marchese called relatively quickly with [Kc] [Qc]. The board produced [7d] [Td] [3c] [2h] [Qh], and Slaubaugh was sent packing in 32nd place.

11:59pm: Twice as nice

A few double-ups caused a little excitement as play resumed after the redraw. John Franciosi and his pocket fives doubled through Joseph Cutler. And Yunus Jamal took his pocket aces into battle against Daniel Clemente and won, doubling to stay alive.

11:54pm: Change of plans

The plan at the beginning of the day was to play down to 24 players tonight, quoting here, “no matter what.” Normally, the 24-player mandate is a function of television production logistics. However, because the TV crews will be otherwise occupied with the $25,000 Bounty Shootout on Tuesday, cooler heads have prevailed in the Main Event. So…the tournament directors have decided the players will continue to battle until the end of the next level or when we hit 24 players (bet the former, even if you have to give odds). Either way, we’re not getting an early night.

11:37pm: Redraw!

With only 32 players remaining, players are redrawing to be seated at the final four tables.

11:36pm: Ravi to the rail in 33rd place

The hand happened quickly, but Ravi Raghavan was eliminated in 33rd place by Steve Billirakis.

11:34pm: Chop-chop

Jonathan Aguiar decided to put his tournament at risk preflop with [As] [9h] but began to regret that decision as soon as Eric Blair called and showed [Ac] [Js]. Aguiar was preparing to leave.

But the dealer produced a board of [Ks] [Jh] [Kh] [Ad] [Td] to split the pot, and Aguiar returned to his seat, satisfied to continue play.

Aguiar awaiting his fate

11:27pm: Albourkrek all done in 35th; Klaus canned in 34th place

Jose Albourkrek was recently eliminated in 35th. And now Klaus Pautrot, the last Frenchman left in the field, has left the chalet.

Pautrot pushed all-in with [Qd] [Jh], but Kyle Zartman made the call holding [Kc] [Qs]. And Zartman solidified his lead in the hand when the flop came [Kh] [4d] [Tc], and finished the job with a [6c] turn and [4h] river. Pautrot headed to the cashier cage for his 34th place reward.

11:21pm: How many beats does she have to take?

This title is an homage to a recent quote from Vanessa Rousso in which she asked, “How many beats do I have to take?” The most recent beat nearly resulted in this blogger nearly catching a swinging fist to the jaw. Rousso got pocket queens all-in against [As][9s]. The flop? [ac][4c][9c]. Though she had the club and queen outs, she didn’t catch. She is, speaking quite honestly, fairly furious, and now down below 500,000 in chips.

11:04pm: Binger in the tank

Michael Binger started the hand with a raise to 50K, and Klaus Pautrot reraised from the small blind all-in, which was about 120K more. Binger went into the tank. Seriously. He talked to himself quietly, seemingly running physics problems in his mind, until finally Joseph Cutler called the clock.

Binger joked about it, knowing that he was taking an extraordinary amount of time with the decision. “Can I phone a friend?” he asked the floor person. The answer was no, so Binger continued to think, in a somewhat animated manner, before letting the clock run out and mucking his cards.

10:59pm: Double-up central

in the first of several double-ups, David Paredes pushed all-in with pocket jacks, but Steve Billirakis called with [Qh] [Th], and the queen fell on the flop. The entire board read [Kh] [Qd] [4s] [5c] [Kc], and Billirakis scored the double.

Daniel Clemente was all-in with [Ad] [7c], but Michael De Gilio called all-in with [9d] [8d], which scored a pair of nines on the [2d] [7s] [9s] flop. The board completed with [4c] on the turn and [3s] on the river, and De Gilio doubled to stay alive.

10:57pm: Joseph Cheong eliminated

On one of the first hands back from break Andy Seth four-flushed Joseph Cheong with pocket-sevens. Cheong is out in 36th place. We’re eleven eliminations from the end of the day.

10:51pm: Back in business

Players are back in their seats. 36 of them. And they’ll keep fighting until they get down to 24 tonight.

NAPT Venetian reporting comes courtesy of bloggers Martin Harris, Jennifer Newell, Brad Willis and photographer Joe Giron.

This NAPT is brought to you by PokerStars, the official sponsor of the North American Poker Tour. Win your way into the biggest events North America has to offer at North America.