Heads Up Play Begins Heads up play has begun with the players almost equal in chips.
Vu Fires First Salvo Michael Chu raises to $200,000 and Vu reraises to $700,000. Chu makes the call and the flop comes Q74. Both players check and the turn is the 10. Again both players check and the river is the 7. Vu bets $800,000 and Chu mucks. Vu then tables 8-2, showing his bluff.
Huge Pot Tommy Vu limps and Michael Chu raises to $200,000. Vu makes the call and the flop is 983. Chu bets $375,000 and Vu moves all in. Chu quickly makes the call and tables J10 while Vu shows down 86. The turn is the 5 and Vu is still in the lead, but the river comes 7 making Chu's straight. He was all in for a total of $1,830,000 and scores a huge double up. Chu now has $4,420,000 and Vu 1,080,000.
Michael Chu Wins Event #8 $1,000 NHLE with Rebuys ($585,774) Tommy Vu open pushes with K8 and Chu calls with A3. The board comes 65364, Chu fades the flush draw and takes down the pot and the title. He is surrounded by his spectators and gets on his cell phone to pass along the news. He wins $585,774 and a gold Wsop bracelet. Second place finisher Tommy Vu takes home $364,761 for his efforts.
Play Resumes Blinds are now $40,000-$80,000 with a $10,000 ante.
Barry Cales Eliminated 3rd ($235,575) Barry Cales limps and Michael Chu raises to $330,000. Cales moves all in and Chu insta-calls with QQ. Cales tables J7 and flop comes A32. The turn is the 5 and Cales could split the pot with a 4. The river comes K, Cales doesn't improve and is sent home in 3rd place for $235,575.
Heads Up Play Begins Heads up play begins between Tommy Vu and Michael Chu. The heads up chip counts are:
Can We Get Some More People In Here? The final table of this event is easily the least attended event so far. There are many empty seats, prompting the ESPN and Harrah's staff to corral people to fill their set.
Tommy Vu Tommy Vu has raised every pot of four handed play so far. Look for his unbridled aggression to continue as he accumulates more chips.
Folding Fun Here is a quick recap of the last two levels. Player A raises to three times the big blind....everyone folds. Flops have been few and far between and with the passive play seen so far this final table may go deep into the night.
Tommy Vu Doubles Up Micheal Chu raises to $185,000 and Tommy Vu moves all in for $840,000. Chu makes the call with A10 but is dominated by Vu's AQ. The flop comes 943 and Vu retains the lead. The turn is the 10 and Chu hits a pair, but Vu picks up a backdoor flush draw. The river comes 8, Vu hits the nut flush and doubles up. After the hand a member of Vu's support section stepped down and tipped the dealer. The media couldn't see the amount of the bill, but given the high stakes consensus is it was most likely $100.
Barry Cales Doubles Up With an already large pot the flop comes J105. Barry Cales moves all in for his last $630,000 with AJ and is called by Dolph Arnold with KQ. The next two cards come 104 and Cales doubles up.
Dolph Arnold Eliminated 4th ($157,050) Dolph Arnold is all in for his last $75,000 with 85 against Tommy Vu's Q9. The board comes Q6377, Arnold can't improve and is sent home in 4th place for $157,050.
Who's Running This Thing? Apparently Tommy Vu, he has taken an unscheduled bathroom break . Instead of starting play without him, tournament staff had decided to wait. This is clearly frustrating the ESPN crew as well as the spectators.
Play has resumed after the dinner break. The blinds are now $30,000-$60,000 with a $5,000 ante.
Here are the updated chip counts:
Michael Chu -- $ 2,250,000
Tommy Vu -- $950,000
Dolph Arnold -- $1,640,000
Barry Cales -- $540,000
The next update will come at 10pm. Stay tuned to Cardplayer.com for updates for the remainder of the event.
Dinner Break
Posted: Thu, Jun 07, 07, 12:31 PM
Players are on dinner break until 9pm.
Hour Four Update
Posted: Thu, Jun 07, 07, 12:00 PM
Don't You Want To Play? Play has been repeatedly delayed due to players arriving late from break. Play started around 6:30.
Blinds Raised The blinds have been raised to $20,000-$40,000 with a $5,000 ante.
Best Hand Taking a Beating There has been another case of the best hand not holding up on showdown. Barry Cales moves all in for his last $350,000 and Shane Schleger pushes over the top. No one else calls, Cales tables A8 and Schleger A10. The board comes J9488 and Cales doubles up. Schleger only has $165,000 left.
Shane Schleger Eliminated 5th ($111,455) Shorly after losing an all in pot to Barry Cales, Schleger moves all in for his last $165,000. Michael Chu calls with K10 and Schleger tables AQ. The board comes 105397, Schleger's hand doesn't hold up and he is eliminated 5th for a $111,455 payday.
Hour Three Starts with A Bang Amir Vahedi raises to $90,000 and Dolph Arnold makes the call from the big blind. The flop comes J92, and Vahedi bets $140,000. Arnold moves all in for $437,000 total and Vahedi insta-calls. Vahedi only has $448,000 and if he loses this pot he will be crippled. Arnold shows down 107, and Vahedi QQ. The turn is the Q giving Vahedi a set of queens. The river is the 8 and Arnold hits his straight draw. Vahedi looks disgusted as he counts down the chips to ship to Arnold. Vahedi is left with just $11,000.
Amir Vahedi Eliminated 7th ($63,327) Amir Vahedi moves all in for his last $4,000 and Michael Chu raises to $125,000. Shane Schleger moved all in over the top for $94,000 more. Chu quickly made the call and the cards were turned up. Schleger tabled AK, Chu AJ, and Vahedi 65. A rowdy cheer when out when Vahedi's hand was announced, followed by some laughter. The board came A8344, Schleger double up and Vahedi was eliminated 7th for $63,327.
Shane Schleger Cracks Aces Barry Cales raises to $85,000 and Shane Schleger calls. The flop comes J97, Schleger checks and Cales bets $150,000. Schleger raises all in for $276,000 and Cales immediately calls with AA. Schleger tables QJ and needs some help. The turn is the 4, and Schleger has one foot out the door. However the river comes Q, Schleger spikes two pair and doubles up.
Michael Gracz Eliminated 6th ($84,858)
Michael Gracz moves all in for his last $200,000 with Q6 and is called by Tommy Vu with KK. The board comes A103A6, Gracz cannot beat Vu, and is eliminated in 6th place for $84,858.
Back From Break We are back from break and the blinds have been raised to $15,000-$30,000 with a $4,000 ante. We are seven handed, and remaining players are what is left from the original field of 844. There were 1,814 rebuys creating a prize pool of $2,533,062. With the blinds doubling this level, expect a lot of action.
Tommy Vu Comes Out Firing Tommy Vu has raised the first three hands to $90,000 and more. It was a good strategy until Amir Vahedi picked off $90,000 with a $200,000 reraise.
Barry Cales Doubles Up Barry Cales raises to $110,000 and Michael Gracz moves all in from the big blind. Cales only briefly thinks, then makes the call for his last $350,000 with K10. Gracz tables 99 and is a marginal favorite. The flop comes J94, Gracz spikes a set and takes a huge lead in the hand but Cales still can with with a queen or running diamonds. The turn is the Q, Cales hits his straight and is able to dodge Gracz's redraw to the full house when the river comes 3. Cales is just over $900,000.
Gracz Can't Catch a Break Shortly after spiking a set and losing to a gutshot, Michael Gracz calls Dolph Arnold's $261,000 all in. Arnold shows down KQ and Gracz AJ. The first four cards come 7632, and Gracz is still in the lead. But the river is the K, and Gracz again loses against an all in opponent. He is still alive and he has to believe his luck will return in the near future.
Blinds Raised
The blinds are now $10,000-$20,000 with a $3,000 ante.
Jan Von Halle Eliminated 9th ($34,196) Dolph Arnold calls and Jan Von Halle moves all in. Michael Chu makes the call and shows down AK. Von Halle tables 92. The board comes A55310, Von Halle fails to improve and is eliminated in 9th place for $34,196.
Michael Chu Takes Down Big Pot Amir Vahedi raises and Michael Chu reraises to $140,000. Vahedi makes the call and the flop comes 1083. Chu bets $150,000 and Vahedi quickly calls. The turn is the 9, Chu bets $250,000 and Vahedi calls. The river is the K, both players check and Chu shows QQ. Vahedi mucks and Chu drags a pot worth over $1,000,000 chips.
Chu Taking No Prisoners Michael Chu has come out of the gates firing. He has been consistently raising and reraising, and players have taken notice. That could be why he was able to get paid of by Vahedi a few hands ago when Chu held queens. We will have to wait for the hole cards to find out.
Barry Cales Doubles Up Dolph Arnold raises to $60,000 and Michael Gracz reraises to $180,000. Barry Cales moves all in for his last $225,000 with AJ and is called by Gracz with K10. The crowd begins to chant, "Barry, Barry, Barry" but its Gracz that takes the lead on the 1085 flop. His lead is shortlived because Cales turns the A to make the best hand. The river is the 9, and Cales wins a pot worth over $500,000 chips.
Robert Aron Eliminated 8th ($46,862) Tommy Vu raises to $70,000 and Robert Aron moves all in for his final $154,000. Vu makes the call and tables Q10, but is dominated by Aron's AQ. The first four cards come J549, and Vu can win by spiking a king, ten or eight. The river is the K, Vu makes the straight and sends Aron home with $46,862.
Break Hour one ends with the players on a 20 min break.
Here are the final table players of Event #8 $1,000 No Limit Hold'em with Rebuys:
Amir Vahedi -- $1,360,000
Mike Gracz, -- $730,000
Dolph Arnold -- $520,000
Michael Chu -- $480,000
Barry Cales -- $420,000
Tommy Vu -- $344,000
Shane Schleger -- $290,000
Robert Aron -- $285,000
Jan Von Halle -- $205,000
Stay tuned to Cardplayer.com for hourly updates throughout the tournament.