The Nightly Turbo: Failed Bellagio Heist, Online Gambling Licenses in Germany, and More
2012 World Series of Poker Rookie Roundup: James Obst
Martin “phasE89“ Balaz to Tackle 40,000 SNG Challenge
Nick “GripDsNutz” Grippo Wins 2012 PokerStars SCOOP $10,300 Main Event
The Main Event of the PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) wrapped up early this week and taking the title in the headlining “high” buy-in portion of the event was Nick “GripDsNutz” Grippo. A total of 517 players entered the $10,300 No-Limit Hold’em event, with 63 making the money. For his win, Grippo banked just shy of $800,000.
The money bubble burst with the final elimination of Day 1, so all 63 of the remaining players entering Day 2 had the chance to relax somewhat, knowing that they were at least making a profit over the two day tournament. When the final table arrived, Grippo was in good shape, sitting in 3rd place out of the final nine and with a stack that was plenty deep for the blind level.
Here is what the chip stacks looked like at the start of the final table:
Seat 1: hotmark777 (Lebanon) — 680,210
Seat 2: r4st4f4ri (Germany) — 877,267
Seat 3: sosickPL (Poland) — 908,306
Seat 4: UrMySponsor (Germany) — 1,269,454
Seat 5: wizowizo (Germany) — 1,128,786
Seat 6: B4d3m3!st3r (Germany) — 768,006
Seat 7: römpsä (Germany) — 726,146
Seat 8: sp00led (Canada) — 456,020
Seat 9: GripDsNutz (Costa Rica) — 940,805
About half an hour in, sosickPL limped pre-flop for 16,000 and B4d3m3!st3r, whose stack had decreased dramatically, shoved for 286,312. sosickPL made the call, showing T?-T?, up against the K?-J? of B4d3m3!st3r. The flop of A?-T?-4? gave B4d3m3!st3r a gutshot, but the straight never came to be and he was eliminated in 9th place.
Shortly thereafter, UrMySponsor raised to 40,000 pre-flop and römpsä went all-in for 456,646. When GripDsNutz shoved over the top for about 1.6 million, UrMySponsor folded and it was just Grippo and his A?-A? against römpsä’s K?-Q?. römpsä also had a chance at a gutshot, this time on the turn, but the Aces held, römpsä bowed out in 8th, and Grippo maintained his chip lead, growing his stack to 2.15 million.
Grippo proceeded to eliminate the next two players, r4st4f4ri and hotmark777, the former on a bit of a lucky runner-runner straight.
UrMySponsor achieved the next knockout, getting his A?-T? to suck out on the flop against wizowizo’s A?-Q?. But just six hands later, UrMySponsor ran his 5?-5? and 1.3 million chip stack into sosickPL’s 9?-9? and exited the tournament in 4th place.
Going into three-handed play, GripDsNutz had a small lead, 3.26 million to sosickPL’s 3.12 million, while sp00led held on to 1.36 million chips. sp00led quickly doubled through GripDsNutz, though, reversing their positions at the table. A few minutes later, the three competitors took some time to discuss a deal, sp00led leading with 3.2 million chips, sosickPL in second with 2.4 million, and GripDsNutz in third with 2.2 million. Grippo didn’t want to split up the money based on chip counts, typing, “Before we look at numbers ill [sic] take an even chop and nothing else.”
Perhaps surprisingly, the other two almost agreed to this, but there was still some hesitation. A deal got closer when it was suggested that they each take $728,675 and play for the remaining $50,000 and the special SCOOP watch. sp00led wanted to leave $100,000 on the table, but Grippo balked at that idea. They finally all agreed to leave $80,000 on the table and guarantee themselves $718,675.
When play resumed, Grippo saw his tournament saved on the river. He got it all in with A?-6? against the T?-T? of sp00led. The 5?-J?-3?-7? through the turn did nothing for him, but the A? on the river doubled him up to over 4.1 million.
Not long after that, Grippo and sosickPL got into a pre-flop raising war, eventually getting all of their chips into the middle. Grippo’s 9?-9? held up against sosickPL’s 8?-8? (Grippo actually flopped a set) and the SCOOP Main Event was down to two.
GripDsNutz had a big chip lead going into heads-up play, 6,134,353 against sp00led’s 1,620,647. After 20 minutes, though, it was almost even, and a little while later sp00led took the lead. It was back and forth after that, with Grippo regaining a 2-to-1 lead twice and sp00led coming back to essentially tie both times.
The turning point finally came after around two hours of heads-up play. sp00led opened for 120,000, GripDsNutz raised to 298,765, and sp00led called. After the flop of A?-4?-8?, GripDsNutz bet 264,845 and sp00led called again. GripDsNutz changed it up on the turn of 3?, check-raising sp00led’s bet of 180,000 to 489,485. Upon the river Q?, GripDsNutz bet 812,345, sp00led called, and the computer revealed that GripDsNutz won with A?-2?. sp00led mucked his losing hand and saw his stack fall to 1.3 million.
Two hands later, the two got it all-in pre-flop, Grippo with 6?-6? and sp00led with A?-3?. The flop came down 2?-T?-5?, good for Grippo, but offering sp00led a gutshot straight draw to go along with his one overcard. The 8? did nothing and the river 5? clinched the victory for Grippo.
2012 PokerStars SCOOP Main Event High – Final Table Results
1. GripDsNutz (Costa Rica) — $798,675*
2. sp00led (Canada) — $718,675*
3. sosickPL (Poland) — $718,675*
4. UrMySponsor (Germany) — $403,260
5. wizowizo (Germany) — $284,350
6. hotmark777 (Lebanon) — $219,725
7. r4st4f4ri (Germany) — $168,025
8. römpsä (Germany) — $116,325
9. B4d3m3!st3r (Germany) — $85,822.00
* indicates deal-adjusted payout
Stay Stacked: Greens on the Go
WPT Championship Day Four: Hafiz Khan Charges Ahead, POY Race Tightens
There were likely several poker players at the Bellagio who didn’t get much sleep Tuesday night after Day 4 of the World Poker Tour (WPT) World Championship came to a close with just 19 players remaining. Since 18 players will get paid, those still in the mix got to dream restless dreams about the money bubble. Additionally, three players still have a chance to pass Will “The Thrill” Failla in the WPT Player of the Year (POY) race. When the cards are dealt Wednesday, Hafiz Khan will have the biggest stack in the tournament, just shy of 2,000,000 chips.
There is clear-cut divide between the “haves” and “have nots” in the tournament right now. The top 9 stacks are all above the 1,000,000 chip mark with the 10th just below. After that, only one stack is above 500,000, one is above 300,000, two are above 200,000, and the rest are below 200,000. With blinds and antes at 8,000/16,000/2,000, there’s a good chance we could see some quick eliminations Wednesday.
As previously mentioned, there are now just three individuals remaining with a shot to overtake Will Failla for the WPT Player of the Year (POY) crown. Joe Serock still looks to have the best chance, as he needs only to finish 15th or higher to pass Failla. He’s not in great shape to win the tournament with just 244,000 chips going into Day 5, but he only needs to wait out four eliminations to make the top 15. Moon Kim is amongst the chip leaders with 1,194,000, but must finish 5th or better to pass Failla. And Matt Juttelstad, in the middle of the pack with 935,000, needs to win the whole thing.
Currently, Failla has 2,050 POY points, while Serock is in 2nd with 1,800. According to the WPT POY point system, a 13th through 15th place finish for Serock would earn him 300 POY points, giving him 2,100 and the top spot on the leader board. Kim has 1,200 points; a 5th place finish would give him another 900, allowing him to pass Failla. Juttelstad, with 800 points, will need all 1,400 points awarded for first place to win POY.
Of course, things get more complicated if more than one of the three remaining POY contenders passes Failla. As 1,400 points go to the winner of the WPT World Championship, Moon Kim can max out at 2,600 points. Should he accomplish that, Serock would still be able to tie him with a 6th place finish (800 points) or take the POY title outright with a 5th place or higher finish. If Kim hits his minimum mark to pass Failla and end up with 2,100 points, Serock would just need to finish 15th to tie and 12th to pass him. Should Juttelstad win the tournament, he’s still not guaranteed to be Player of the Year. Kim would be able to tie him with a 4th place finish and beat him with a 3rd place finish, while Serock would only need 12th to tie and 9th to keep Juttelstad out of the top spot.
Day 5 will commence at noon PST as the 19 remaining players try not to be the “bubble boy.” Five more 90-minute levels will be played before wrapping up for the night.
WPT World Championship – End of Day 4 Chip Counts
1. Hafiz Khan – 1,966,000
2. Marvin Rettenmaier – 1,870,000
3. Nick Schulman - 1,315,000
4. Trevor Pope – 1,300,000
5. Wil Wilkinson – 1,197,000
6. Moon Kim – 1,194,000
7. Michael Mizrachi – 1,168,000
8. John Esposito – 1,080,000
9. Steve O’Dwyer – 1,079,000
10. Matt Juttelstad – 935,000
11. Guillaume Darcourt – 571,000
12. Barry Shulman – 353,000
13. Rinat Bogdanov – 278,000
14. Joe Serock – 244,000
15. Tom McCormick – 186,000
16. Farzad Bonyadi – 182,000
17. Ron Coury – 135,000
18. Josh Arieh – 127,000
19. Philippe Ktorza – 86,000
Richard Evans wins UKIPT Dublin
There’s Still a $4,500 WSOP Package Up for Grabs at PKR!
Big names alive on the bubble at WPT Championship
Nick “GripDsNutz” Grippo wins SCOOP $10,300 Main Event
bwin.party pays €32 million back tax to Spanish government
2012 World Poker Tour World Championship Day 4: Hafiz Khan Leads; Money Bubble Looms
£3,000 guaranteed at Western Club tonight
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Five Thoughts: Grippo’s Great Deal, and Enright’s Defense
WPT Championship Day Three: Curt Kohlberg Leads as Registration Finally Closes
Three days and thirteen levels and there is still so much more poker to be played. The WPT World Championship isn’t even halfway to the finish, but with just 44 players remaining, it already feels like it’s getting down to the nitty gritty. Leading the way is Curt Kohlberg with 918,300 chips, a full 150,000 ahead of his next closest competitor, Nick Schulman.
As tournament officials allowed late entrants all the way until the end of level 12, another 17 players entered the fray Monday, increasing the field from 135 to a final total of 152. With the $25,000 buy-in (plus $500 fee), the total prize pool stands at $3,660,500. A total of 18 players will end up making the money, with the winner receiving $1,196,858. Here is a look at the entire payout structure:
1. $1,196,858
2. $805,310
3. $424,618
4. $256,235
5. $192,176
6. $155,571
7. $118,966
8. $82,361
9. $58,568
10 – 12. $47,587
13 – 15. $43,926
16 – 18. $40,266
Though he doesn’t have a recorded live tournament cash in over a year, Curt Kohlberg is familiar with success on the World Poker Tour. He has made three final tables, including a 5th place finish at the 2005 WPT Rendez Vous a Paris ($107,704), another 5th place at the 2009 WPT World Poker Finals ($199,283), and a runner-up at the 2011 Seminole Hard Rock Showdown ($586,109). He also has a fourth top ten finish, just missing out on another televised final table. In his career, Kohlberg has won almost $2.2 million in live poker tournaments.
With current WPT Player of Year leader Will Failla out of the tournament, there are a number of players remaining who could overtake him in this final tourney of the season. Joe Serock looks to be in the best shape to pull it off, needing “just” a top 15 finish to jump up into the top spot while currently sitting in 17th place with 400,800 chips. Other players still with a chance at the WPT POY title include:
Moon Kim – must finish 5th or better (currently with 388,500 chips)
Matthew Waxman – 5th or better (165,400)
David Sands – 5th or better (87,100)
Byron Kaverman – 4th or better (227,000 chips)
Noah Schwartz – 4th to tie, 3rd or better to win (169,000 chips)
Tony Ruberto – 3rd or better (581,400)
Mohamed Ali Houssam – 3rd or better (141,400)
Antonio Esfandiari – 1st place (630,100)
Matt Juttelstad – 1st place (225,400)
Miha Travnik – 1st place (104,500)
Day 4 will pick up on Monday at noon PST. The players will go through another five 90-minute levels before calling it a night.
WPT World Championship – End of Day 3 Chip Leaders
1. Curt Kohlberg – 918,300
2. Nick Schulman – 768,000
3. Guillaume Darcourt – 641,000
4. Antonio Esfandiari – 630,100
5. Rinat Bogdanov – 624,100
6. David Steicke – 589,700
7. Tony Ruberto – 581,400
8. Viacheslav Igin – 567,000
9. Farzad Bonyadi – 519,900
10. Nicolas Fraioli – 501,600