Posts Tagged ‘bellagio’
Robert Croak of DeepStacks Live Interview
Robert Croak recently announced that he’s joining DeepStacks Live as a partner. Croak has gained huge acclaim as the creator and CEO of SillyBandz. He brings his expertise as a master marketer and brand manager to take the DeepStacks brand to the next level.
In this exclusive interview with Poker News Daily, Croak explains first how he got involved with DeepStacks and how the relationship first developed.
“Well I think it all comes back to a hand in poker I had against Mike Matusow about three years ago. We were playing against each other in a cash game at the Bellagio. He was trying to bully the table and I don’t get bullied very well. He raised pretty big pre-flop, I called in the dark, the story goes he bet on the flop and I then looked to see I flopped the boat. I just shipped it all in and he called, and got runner runner for a royal flush. It was a sick, sick hand that nobody believed and some guys from Full Tilt where there too and took some pictures. From that, a gentleman that works with Mike that’s a good friend of mine … he introduced Chris (Torina) and I and the rest is history. I have a long history in business development, marketing and brand building and poker so I thought it was a good marriage.”
When asked to comment about leveraging some of the big name pros that are associated with the DeepStacks brands, such as Michael Mizrachi, Adam “Roothless” Levy and Mike “The Mouth” Matusow, Croak explained, “They are definitely paramount to the growth of this thing … but what we’re going to be able to do is create a better product … and try to pick up on key markets throughout the country that are looking for more of a marquee tournament.”
Croak also discusses in the interview what his role will be and confirms that he will have day-to-day responsibilities as part of his new role with DeepStacks Live and their other entities. His final comments talk about how the 2011 schedule is shaping up.
Prahlad Friedman Joins Team UB.com
Following last week’s overhaul at Team UB.com that saw Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth depart on the same day, the USA-friendly CEREUS Network site has picked up its newest pro. On Thursday, site officials announced that Prahlad Friedman had joined Team UB.com.
Friedman seemingly hinted at joining an online poker site back in November. The 32 year old California native Tweeted, “I said I would never sign with a poker site. Should I ever reconsider? What y’all think? I would have to get over the fact that I’m ‘selling out.’ I’m the only player in the world that hasn’t wanted a deal that I know of.” UB.com promoted Friedman as “one of the world’s greatest cash game players, online and off, with millions in winnings earned since 1999.”
Friedman’s first major live cash came eight years ago in the Main Event of the Five Diamond World Poker Classic at the Bellagio, where he booked $101,000 for his runner-up finish to Full Tilt Poker’s Erick Lindgren. One year later, he notched his first (and so far only) World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet in a $1,500 Pot Limit Hold’em tournament and banked $109,000 in the process.
In 2005, Friedman played second fiddle to Chris Ferguson in the WSOP Circuit Championship at Harrah’s Rincon to earn another $363,000. One year later, this author remembers being at the Rio in Las Vegas and following Friedman through the WSOP Main Event. There, he turned in a 20th place finish for nearly a half-million dollars and fell just short of the coveted Main Event bracelet.
He’d make amends in August 2009, when Friedman took down the Legends of Poker, a stop on the World Poker Tour (WPT). His victory in the California poker tournament was worth a colossal $1 million and saw Friedman outlast a final table that included November Niner Kevin Schaffel, Todd Terry, Toto Leonidas, and Sam Stein.
Friedman was a victim of the superuser scandal that rocked UB.com and drew the ire of PokerStars pro Daniel Negreanu for signing with the site that had wronged him. “Kid Poker” responded to a variety of Tweets last weekend, among them one sent to fellow poker player Alex Outhred that read, “Like you, I’ve known him for years, which makes it all the more shocking. I’ve defended Prahlad on many occasions. Can’t here.”
Negreanu added to Outhred, “UB will always have to offer more than face value [for a sponsorship] because given a choice that’s close, no one would choose UB. Or shouldn’t… UB has to offer more money obv. He used to say it wasn’t about the money. I don’t believe that anymore… He used to speak out against all corporations, claiming he stood for something. Then, the money was right and his tune changed… I get it happens. I’m disappointed it did happen. I’ve always liked Prahlad and still do despite his decision. Just shocking.”
Nevertheless, Friedman will join UB.com just in time for the sixth UB.com Online Championship, or UBOC, which gets underway on January 16th. The 29-event series will stretch all the way until January 30th, when a $1,050 buy-in Main Event will kick off. The $1 million guaranteed feature tournament will deal No Limit Hold’em and be played as a Monster Stack.
Running alongside the sixth UBOC schedule is a MiniUBOC series, which features the same 29 tournaments, but with buy-ins that are generally one-tenth as large. The MiniUBOC slate ends with a $55 buy-in Monster Stack Championship Event that comes with a $50,000 guaranteed purse.
Following the departures of Hellmuth and Duke, UB.com’s stock of pros now includes Friedman, Joe Sebok, Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin, Brandon Cantu, Tiffany Michelle, and Maria Ho. The site happily accepts players from the United States and joins Absolute Poker on the CEREUS Network.
Play with Prahlad Friedman today only by visiting UB.com.
Inside Gaming: Bellagio Discontinues $25k Chip, Casinos Coming to Ohio, and More
WPT Qualifiers at Full Tilt Poker
Full Tilt are inviting their players, new and old, to the World Poker Tour (WPT for short) being hosted at the Bay 101 Casino, San Jose, California, USA this coming March 14th - 18th.
The top player will win the 1st prize which is estimated to be $1,000,000+, but that’s not all, the winner will take away a $25,000 seat at the WPT Championship Bellagio as part of the prize! Shoot down (eliminate) one of the stars in the field and claim your $5,000 bounty bonus. This is a top prize package to a top WPT Event, surely not to be missed.
With Full Tilt Poker you can win a $12,000 WPT Prize package which will include
- $10,000 seat to the main Event
- $2,000 for your expenses
Interested in playing in this mega live event? Here’s how with Full Tilt Poker’s WPT Qualifiers!
There are satellites running from now until Sunday February 27th, from just $10.65, all feeding to the Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays WPT Qualifiers where the $12,000 WPT Prize Packages are won. You can also buy in direct to the WPT Qualifiers:-
- Wednesdays at 2.00am UK (Tuesdays at 9.00pm New York) $322 buy-in direct
- Fridays at 2.00am UK (Thursdays at 9.00pm New York) $1,060 buy-in direct
- Sundays at 8.30pm UK (3.30pm New York) $640 buy-in direct
If you are new to Full Tilt Poker, established in 2004, you can rest assured when you sign up you will be in illustrious company as Full Tilt Poker has a very impressive rollcall of poker pros playing exclusively on their site. Take a look at our Full Tilt Poker Review for an unbiased, overall look at what this top site has to offer you. Use the Full Tilt Referral Code FTPGOLD for a sign up bonus of 100% up to $600 when you set up your account and you will be amongst the many loyal band of Full Tilt poker players.
Sorel Mizzi Wins 2010 Bluff Player of the Year Title
Titan Poker pro Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi is the 2010 Bluff Magazine Player of the Year, officials announced on Friday. Mizzi entered the top spot in the Player of the Year rankings in March and never relinquished his lead.
The 2010 CardPlayer Player of the Year, Tom Marchese, finished in second place in the Bluff standings. Mizzi ended the 2010 calendar year with a whopping 1,777 points, the highest score ever turned in, while Marchese racked up just 1,257 during the stanza. Others in the top 10 included PokerStars pro Vanessa Selbst, recent World Poker Tour (WPT) event winner Dwyte Pilgrim, and UB.com pro and former CardPlayer Player of the Year winner Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin.
Mizzi got the 2010 calendar year started off on the right foot by taking third place in the Aussie Millions Main Event for $659,000. Tyron Krost took down the marquee poker tournament and Mizzi quickly ratcheted his first six-figure score of 2010. Mizzi then won two preliminary events during the PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Snowfest stop in March for nearly $150,000 total.
In April, Mizzi’s victory parade stopped off in Atlantic City, where he won the East Coast Championship Event during the Borgata Spring Poker Open for $170,000. That tournament drew 62 players and featured a top nine that included Chris “SLOPPYKLOD” Klodnicki, David “Davidp18” Peters, and former Full Tilt Poker pro Lee Markholt.
At the end of April, Mizzi final tabled the High Roller Event during the EPT’s Monte Carlo Grand Final for $190,000. Two weeks later, he ran deep in another High Roller Event, this time at WPT Paris. Just footsteps from the Eiffel Tower, Mizzi played second fiddle to Absolute Poker pro Freddy Deeb and walked away with $159,000.
In August, Mizzi placed second in the EPT Tallinn High Roller Event for $98,000. He concluded 2010 by bubbling a pair of WPT final tables, taking seventh in the Foxwoods World Poker Finals for $88,000 and grabbing ninth in the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic at the Bellagio for $59,000. Remember, televised WPT final tables are played six-handed.
All told, Mizzi racked up nearly $1.9 million in earnings from live tournaments tracked by the Hendon Mob database last year. Along the way, he provided poker coaching to November Niner Matt Jarvis, a fellow Canadian. Jarvis ultimately bowed out in eighth place in the $10,000 buy-in tournament in Las Vegas for over $1 million.
Mizzi, who has been linked to several incidents on online poker sites in the past, has nevertheless remained a central figurehead in the industry. He told Poker News Daily in an interview in November that surrounding himself with talented poker friends has been critical: “I think it’s one of the most important things… That is how I got my start. I found players and tried to pick their brains. You know, it’s like anything in life, that’s the best way of learning, you find mentors. At least, for me, [it’s been] finding people where you want to be and trying to pick their brains as much as possible.”
Here were the top 10 players in the 2010 Bluff Player of the Year standings:
1. Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi – 1,777.77 points
2. Tom “Kingsofcards” Marchese – 1,257.30 points
3. Fernando Brito – 1,060.53 points
4. David Peters – 1,009.26 points
5. Vanessa Selbst – 986.77 points
6. Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin – 943.92 points
7. Dwyte Pilgrim – 896.23 points
8. Chris Bjorin – 889.25 points
9. Jason Mercier – 882.40 points
10. Chris Bell – 879.63 points
Jason Mercier took down the 2009 Bluff Player of the Year title. Other past winners have included John “The Razor” Phan (2008), Bill Edler (2007), Chad Brown (2006), and Phil Ivey (2005).
Tags: 2008, 2009, 2010, absolute poker, aced, bellagio, canadian, Doyle Brunson, european, full tilt poker, interview, Online Poker, Phil Ivey, poker player, pokerstars, titan poker, tournament, Tyron Krost, vegas, WSOP
Bellagio Removing $25,000 Denomination Chips Following Robbery
The thief who stole $1.5 million in casino chips from the Bellagio has been given a deadline to try to redeem the $25,000 denomination ones he took from a craps table on December 14th. MGM Resorts International, which owns the Bellagio, gave public notice that it will be discontinuing the large denomination chip and called for all gamblers to cash them in by April 22nd.
MGM Resorts first posted notice of the redemption last week in the classifieds of the Las Vegas Review-Journal newspaper. The ad came one week after a man wearing a black jumpsuit and full-faced motorcycle helmet walked into the Bellagio, pulled a gun on a croupier, and escaped with around $1.5 million in chips ranging from $100 to $25,000. The incident took less than three minutes and the robber fled the casino on his motorcycle that he left parked outside the valet. He remains at large.
Las Vegas police and casino officials have been working diligently to find the robber, reviewing surveillance videos and camera images to get an idea of who carried out the heist. Investigators have also been keeping an eye on any unusual chip redemptions since the robbery took place.
“Obviously, anyone walking with one of the old series (chips) is going to be subject to a certain amount of questioning as to how they obtained them – assuming it isn’t someone we know,” MGM Resorts spokesman Alan Feldman told the Associated Press. “It’s pretty unusual for someone we don’t know to come strolling up with a handful of $25,000 chips.”
Feldman also told the Associated Press that the chips were switched out at the tables within an hour of the robbery and the Bellagio immediately filed to discontinue them. The $25,000 chip, which is red with a gray inlay, will be worthless after the April 22nd deadline. The question then becomes whether it will be replaced with a new chip of the same denomination or if the casino will produce a new chip of a different denomination.
By law, a casino must give public notice that it is discontinuing specific chips to allow gamblers enough time to redeem them – in this case four months. The deadline could have a major effect on high-stakes poker players who leave large denomination chips at the Bellagio to use as a bankroll. Although the Nevada Gaming Control Board has stated that poker chips aren’t money, many poker players treat chips as currency when trading for other casino chips or paying off debts. It’s assumed that several $25,000 chips are currently being stored in the lock boxes of poker players at the Bellagio, which houses the famous “Big Game” in Bobby’s Room.
While it’s unknown exactly how many $25,000 denomination chips were stolen on December 14th, the redemption notice tactic could be very effective once the regular high-stakes gamblers begin cashing them in. If the casino spots a person who wouldn’t normally be in possession of the chip, it will raise a red flag.
“If they have people that they know are players redeem the ones that they know they have, pretty much it’s process of elimination. You’re left with people who aren’t supposed to have the chips,” said David Schwartz, a former casino security guard and Director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Authorities are suggesting that the same man from the Bellagio robbery may have been behind an earlier theft on December 9th at the Suncoast Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. In that heist, the robber managed to take around $20,000 in cash from a poker room cashier.
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily as more information on this story unfolds.
Biggest Poker Surprises of 2010
Last week, Poker News Daily ran an article recapping the top poker news stories of 2010. This, we were charged with the task of coming up with the top ten surprises of the past year. As fate would have it, the biggest shocker of 2010 came on December 30th, making the top surprise a no-brainer. Read on to find out.
10) Hip-Hop Hellmuth – Normally, I wouldn’t put an attention grab by Phil Hellmuth on a list of the year’s biggest surprises, but this one was phenomenal. The “Poker Brat” made a cameo appearance in a hip-hop music video by Ludacris donned in UB.net garb and raking in UB.net chips. Filmed at the Palms in Las Vegas, the video’s plot was supposed to be similar to that of the hit movie “The Hangover.” The song is called “Sex Room.” I’ll just leave it at that.
9) No Rest for the Weary – A crazy record not many people knew about before this year was broken not once, but twice. In June, Phil Laak set the poker endurance record by playing $10/$20 Hold’em at the Bellagio for a staggering 115 consecutive hours, breaking Paul Zimbler’s 72-hour mark from late 2009. Nobody would ever be silly enough to try to top Laak, would they? Of course they would. In November, Christie Teki-Reu and man who goes by the nickname “Chopper” played for 117 hours in the casino at the Grand Hotel in New Zealand as part of an organized effort to set the record in a special charity tournament. Afterwards, Teki-Reu slept for five hours, was up for two hours, then slept for another ten hours. Well deserved.
Kessler Max-Cashes – Well, almost. Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler is a very good poker player, but he is known to play to make the money in tournaments. He has definitely gone deep in tournaments and made a couple of WPT televised final tables, but for the most part, the poker community jokes about Kessler taking the conservative route and always looking to “min-cash.”
At the 2010 WSOP, poker players and fans lived vicariously through “Chainsaw” as he not only made the money in the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo event, but also continued to move up in the standings, making the final table and then finally reaching heads-up. He eventually lost, but the $276,485 payday was far from a min-cash. He finished with eight cashes, tied for most at this year’s WSOP. Sure, some were min-cashes, but his second place run was one of the most memorable and surprising moments of the 2010 WSOP.
7) Security Fail – In May, it was discovered that the CEREUS Network had a major security hole. The network did not have SSL encryption implemented, resulting in a vulnerability that made it possible to intercept network traffic and see an opponent’s hole cards. In July, the same flaw was found on the Cake Poker Network. It is unbelievable enough that one poker network could fail so miserably at something that should be so basic, but two networks dropping the ball? Sad.
6) WSOP is Healthy – With the down economy and the struggles of online poker in the United States, it would have been reasonable to expect WSOP attendance figures to decline. Not so. 2010 saw 72,966 players participate, the most in WSOP history by a wide margin and besting last year’s record by 20%. The total prize money was the highest of all-time as well, reaching $187,109,850 and beating 2008′s high mark by 3.5%. The Main Event was the second largest of all-time with 7,319 players, second only to 2006, which was the last WSOP Main Event before the UIGEA was passed.
5) Isildur1 is a Star – Isildur1, the nameless online nosebleed-stakes phenom, signed with PokerStars in December. His signing with an online poker room isn’t all that surprising, considering that whenever he plays, he attracts scores of railbirds who love watching his million-dollar swings. The shocker is that all of his high-stakes play has been at Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars’ closest rival. Stars must have given him a sweet deal.
4) Resurgence of “The Grinder“ – While Michael Mizrachi had a few strong performances on the live tournament circuit in 2008 and 2009, his cachet had appeared to have worn off since he made his mark on the WPT in 2005 and 2006. He also ran into major financial troubles this year. But then the 2010 WSOP came along and he exploded back onto the poker map.
“The Grinder” won the $50,000 Player’s Championship for over $1.5 million, placed fifth in the Main Event for more than $2.3 million, and along the way became one of the biggest rooting interests of the summer. To top it off, his three brothers – Daniel, Robert, and Eric – all cashed in the Main Event. Robert also placed fifth in the Player’s Championship and made two other final tables.
3) Partying Has its Limits – In February, PartyPoker suddenly placed a cap on the number of play money chips members could have in their accounts. Overnight, players with millions of chips had their accounts reset to the 250,000-chip maximum. Party cited the sale of play chips as the main reason for the decision as well as instances of players with overwhelming numbers of chips making enormous bets and disrupting games. The reaction was one of almost unanimous outrage by play money customers, many of whom had taken great pride in building up their accounts over several years.
2) Peter Eastgate Takes a Break – Nowadays, we have come to expect WSOP champions to serve as faces of the game and continue playing live tournaments around the world. Not so with the 2008 champ Peter Eastgate. Eastgate, who just turned 25, announced this year that he was taking an indefinite break from live tournament poker. So far, it appears that it has been a break from poker in general. His WSOP win set him up financially, which was enough for him. To top it off, he auctioned off his WSOP bracelet in November and donated the proceeds to charity.
1) Duke and Hellmuth Leave UB – Annie Duke leaving UB, to me, was easily the most surprising moment in poker this year… until Phil Hellmuth did the same a few hours later. Two of the biggest names in poker, the faces of UB since it was founded in 2001, left their online home on the same day. Through all of UB’s controversy over the last few years, Duke and Hellmuth stood by the poker room and took tons of heat within the online poker community. For better or for worse, they seemed like they were going to be with UB for life.
Tags: 2008, 2009, 2010, aced, Annie Duke, bellagio, cake poker, charity, full tilt poker, Online Poker, Phil Hellmuth, poker player, pokerstars, tournament, vegas, WSOP
PokerNews Op-Ed: How Hard Will It Be to Cash Stolen Bellagio Chips?
Tags: bellagio
Jonathan Duhamel and Scotty Nguyen have their debut on High Stakes Poker
There has been lots of talk about the lineup for High Stakes Poker Season 7 and now the players are slowly revealed as the filming is underway.
The filming will end today and after going through some players who use twitter, it is clear who have been playing:
Barry Greenstein: “Getting ready to film High Stakes Poker at Bellagio. They gave me old chips from the cage due to a recent robbery!”
Antonio Esfandiari: “Today is High Stakes Poker. Oatmeal. Protein shake. Feeeeling good. One (moore) time!”
Jonathan Duhamel (WSOP 2010 Main Event winner): “@TheGrinder44 Some shooting for PStars and then high stakes poker!”
Andrew Robl: “On set for high stakes poker. Going to be quite a season!”
Jason Mercier: “Off to Vegas today … Goin to try my luck again at season 7 of high stakes poker”
And also Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond, Doyle “Texas dolly” Brunson, David “Viffer” Peat, Phil “The Unabomber” Laak and Scotty “Scotty baby” Nguyen are going to play.
Full Tilt Poker haven’t changed their politics, they won’t allow their Team players to play on HSP. Also Daniel Negreanu told that he is busy doing other things, so he is not able to play.
Let’s hope that the new players will bring some life to HSP as the Season 6 was a bit of a letdown.
Source: Pokerista.net, PokerKingBlog
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Jonathan Duhamel and Scotty Nguyen have their debut on High Stakes Poker
Tags: 2009, 2010, Barry Greenstein, bellagio, Daniel Negreanu, full tilt poker, high stakes, vegas, WSOP
High Stakes Poker Season 7 Taping at Bellagio This Week
This week, the seventh season of the GSN cash game franchise “High Stakes Poker” will begin taping at the Bellagio on the Las Vegas Strip. Last year, the action emanated from the Golden Nugget in Downtown Las Vegas and a source close to GSN told Poker News Daily that the change in venue was due to a “production decision.”
No members of the media are allowed inside the “High Stakes Poker” suite for Season 7. Instead, what happens in the small makeshift poker room will remain a closely guarded secret until the seventh cycle of the show airs beginning in February on GSN. “High Stakes Poker” will return to its Sunday night time slot and feature with the same faces as last year: PartyPoker pro Kara Scott conducting interviews from tableside and former “Welcome Back, Kotter” star Gabe Kaplan flying solo in the booth.
The constantly-changing list of pros scheduled to turn out over the next three days includes Barry Greenstein, Doyle Brunson, recent World Poker Tour (WPT) Five Diamond World Poker Classic winner Antonio Esfandiari, David “Viffer” Peat, Phil Laak, Jason Mercier, Phil Galfond, and former World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champ Scotty Nguyen, who will be making his “High Stakes Poker” debut. The same source also relayed that several amateurs will join the fray.
One player who won’t be gracing the “High Stakes Poker” felts this year is Daniel Negreanu, one of only a handful of players who have competed in every season to this point. Negreanu explained via Twitter why he wouldn’t be able to make it to Las Vegas in time: “Sad news: At airport headed home, which means the trip is over. Have a commercial shoot when I land, which means no HSP for me this year.” Negreanu had been in Sydney for the PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour Grand Final, where he made the final table and finished ninth.
Lex Veldhuis will also be a no-show for “High Stakes Poker” at the Bellagio. Veldhuis Tweeted earlier today, “Crazy busy week. Leaving for Vegas on Monday. Have to get all my shit done. Had to cancel for High Stakes Poker.”
Also potentially absent from the “High Stakes Poker” felts this season will be Full Tilt pros, although our source could not confirm or deny their attendance. Greenstein, a PokerStars pro, explained the dilemma on TwoPlusTwo: “Full Tilt has two major concerns. First is they don’t like their players playing when PokerStars is the sponsor of the show… Secondly, they were unhappy that PokerStars bought the HSP archives. In the early seasons of HSP, the players didn’t wear logos, so FTP is concerned that viewers will be able to go to PokerStars.tv and see the FTP players without logos and be confused by their affiliation.”
In previous years, the press was invited for interviews prior to the action. In fact, when the filming of Season 7 was scheduled to take place last month, Poker News Daily was invited to watch the action unfold. However, due to the change in location to the Bellagio this month, a source close to GSN told Poker News Daily, “We have all of these new players, a new venue, and new elements. It’s a small space. It’s super tight and we just want to focus on the game play.”
“High Stakes Poker” will once again boast a $200,000 buy-in for Season 7 and, unlike NBC’s “Poker After Dark,” no change to Pot Limit Omaha is expected. Instead, the GSN series will continue spreading high-stakes No Limit Hold’em. One-hour episodes will once again grace the small screen next year, as has been the case in years’ past.
PokerNews Podcast: Boom! Kristy is a MiniFTOPS Champion! Feat. DeucesCracked’s Jay Rosenkrantz
Tags: bellagio
Bellagio robbed for over $1.5m in casino chips yesterday
Tags: bellagio
Bellagio got robbed! Robber took down $1,5 million
One of the most famous casinos in Las Vegas is Bellagio. It got robbed yesterday and the robber got a $1,5 million haul worth of Bellagio’s chips.
Security camera cought the robber in act
The robber who was wearing a motorcycle helmet and jacket went tstraight to the Craps table cashier and demanded the money. In just a few minutes he got 1,5 million dollars worth of chips, and the hopped on his motorcycle and rode towards Flamingo Road. The robber got some chips which are worth $25K and they’re really rarely used, so he will have hard time exhanching them into cash.
No one got hurt during the heist and the situation was over really quick. It was the 10th casino robbery in Vegas this year.
Source: Pokerista.net, Las Vegas Review Journal
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Antonio Esfandiari Wins WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic
Nearly leading the tournament wire-to-wire, Antonio Esfandiari took down the Five Diamond World Poker Classic, a stop on the World Poker Tour (WPT). Esfandiari, a Victory Poker pro, banked $870,000 for his efforts. The tournament can be seen as part of Season 9 of the WPT on Fox Sports Net next year.
After entering the six-handed final table with just over 10 big blinds, Ted Lawson was eliminated on the second hand. Lawson 3bet all-in pre-flop with pocket nines and PokerStars pro Vanessa Rousso, who entered the final table as chip leader, woke up with pocket queens. Lawson flopped a nine to make a set, but Rousso hit a queen on the turn for a better set. The river was a king and Lawson earned $126,000 after the wild hand.
On the 47th hand of final table play, Kirk Morrison bit the dust in fifth place. Andrew “good2cu” Robl shoved all-in on a board of A-10-5-9 and Morrison called for his tournament life, flipping over A-J for top pair. Robl, however, held pocket fives for a set and Morrison was drawing dead to the river. Morrison picked up $168,000 for his fifth place finish in the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic.
2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) November Nine member John Racener was the next to go. A short-stacked Racener shoved all-in under-the-gun with Q-8 of clubs and received a call from Esfandiari, who tabled K-Q. Esfandiari flopped a king to take a commanding lead and no help came for Racener, who earned $232,000. His runner-up finish to Jonathan Duhamel in the Main Event last month was worth $5.5 million, or 23 times his payday at the Bellagio WPT event.
On the 89th hand of final table play, Esfandiari was crippled to just 10 big blinds. However, he mounted the comeback of the century, ultimately doubling up through Rousso and then scooping a pot worth 3.2 million to become the tournament’s chip leader. Rousso ultimately hit the rail in third place after pushing pre-flop with Q-2 of hearts and running into Esfandiari’s A-Q. The board came 7-6-5-3-8 and Rousso, a GoDaddy Girl, earned $358,000.
Robl entered heads-up play against Esfandiari with a slight chip lead, 9.5 million to 8.1 million, with each player having over 40 big blinds to work with. On the last hand, the 181st of final table play, Robl open-shoved all-in with Q-10 and Esfandiari made the call with K-J. The A-K-6 all diamond flop gave Esfandiari a pair, but also gave Robl a flush draw. The six of clubs and five of spades filled out the final community cards and Esfandiari earned his second WPT title.
On the final table, which ended with two Victory Poker pros battling it out, Esfandiari told WPT hostess Kimberly Lansing, “It was legendary. It was tough. It was fun. It was exciting. It was all of the above and I’m so glad to come out ahead. You have no idea. I don’t think it’s sunk in.”
Here’s how the final table cashed out in the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic:
1. Antonio Esfandiari – $870,124
2. Andrew “good2cu” Robl – $549,003
3. Vanessa Rousso – $358,964
4. John Racener – $232,271
5. Kirk Morrison – $168,924
6. Ted Lawson – $126,693
The WPT will now take a six-week break for the holidays, reconvening on January 23rd for the Southern Poker Championship at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Mississippi. The $10,000 buy-in poker tournament will crown a winner on January 27th.
Esfandiari Makes Magic at WPT Five Diamond
Esfandiari led from Day 2 down to the final 15 players, but lost that lead to Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso following an ill-timed bluff on the tournament's penultimate day.
He held on to make the final six, came back from the short stack to take the lead three-handed before busting Rousso and boooked his second WPT title win beating good friend and online star Andrew "Good2cu" Robl heads-up.
"I can't tell you how good it feels to be back," he said. "It's just amazing."
While Esfandiari had $3.6 million in career tournament earnings coming into the event, this was his first WPT final table since his L.A. Poker Classic win in 2004.
Although a deep run in the 2009 WSOP Main Event and a final table appearance at the 2008 EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo marked big scores, a major title win had eluded Esfandiari the past few years, until now.
"It doesn't feel good not to make a final table for seven years, but to make it and come back and win after the rollercoaster ride I had to go through tonight, feels pretty damn good," he said.
No longer the hot-shot young gun he was in 2004, Esfandiari said he counted on a little veteran saavy to weather the storm and persevere this time around.
"You have to rely on your experience and I've got a lot of experience playing in these big tournaments," he said.
The final table was a star-studded affair that also included veteran pros Ted Lawson, Kirk Morrison and, coming off a $5.5 million runner-up finish in the 2010 WSOP Main Event just weeks ago, John Racener.
A total of 438 players entered the 2010 WPT Five Diamond main event at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino creating a $4,248,600 prize pool.
Here's how the final table finished up:
1 Antonio Esfandiari $870,124
2 Andrew Robl $549,003
3 Vanessa Rousso $358,964
4 John Racener $232,271
5 Kirk Morrison $168,924
6 Ted Lawson $126,693
Visit www.pokerlistings.com
Vanessa Rousso Leads WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic Final Table
At 4:00pm today, the final six players will take to the felt to determine a winner of the Five Diamond World Poker Classic, a stop on the World Poker Tour (WPT). PokerStars pro and GoDaddy Girl Vanessa Rousso leads the way with a stack of 5.8 million headed into the six-handed televised finale.
Among those railing Rousso on the play down day of the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic was UB.com pro Maria Ho, who Tweeted late Tuesday night, “Congrats to @VanessaRousso for making the final table of the @WorldPokerTour event as the chip leader! Flying back to Vegas to sweat her!”
Also enthused about Rousso’s final table appearance was her better half, Chad Brown, who Tweeted, “Congrats to my girl making the final table and she is the chip leader. Back tomorrow at 4pm for the grand finale. My money is on the lady.” Brown is fresh off hip replacement surgery, but played in the Five Diamond just days after the operation.
Tuesday’s action saw the field play down from 15 runners to six and the final elimination of the evening went to Kia Mohajeri, who took seventh place for $97,000. Mohajeri ran A-Q into the A-K belonging to World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event November Niner John Racener on his final hand. The board ran out an uneventful 6-6-2-9-10 and Racener padded his stack to 3.2 million, good for second place on the leaderboard behind Rousso.
Andrew “luckychewy” Lichtenberger, a Full Tilt Poker pro, met his demise after calling all-in with A-Q on a flop of A-10-6 for top pair. However, Rousso flipped up A-6 for top and bottom pair and a running 9-4 didn’t improve Lichtenberger’s holdings. He bowed out in eighth place for $67,000 from the $10,000 buy-in tournament, his deepest run ever in a WPT event.
Titan Poker pro Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi bit the dust in ninth place in the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic. Mizzi exited in especially brutal fashion after running pocket queens into Rousso’s pocket kings on his final hand. Mizzi now has back-to-back top 10 finishes in WPT tournaments, but has yet to make a final table. He was the Final Table Bubble Boy last month at Foxwoods, finishing seventh in the World Poker Finals for $88,000.
DoylesRoom Brunson 10 member Amit “amak316” Makhija exited in 13th place on Tuesday, banking $42,000 for his five-day run in the Bellagio poker tournament. After Rousso moved all-in on a board of 9-6-2-10, Makhija called for his stack and showed 9-8 for a pair of nines and a gutshot straight draw. Rousso tabled ducks for a set and a river six gave the PokerStars pro a full house.
The WPT could not have asked for a more star-studded final table:
1. Vanessa Rousso – 5,830,000
2. John Racener – 3,235,000
3. Andrew “good2cu” Robl – 3,210,000
4. Kirk Morrison – 2,650,000
5. Antonio Esfandiari – 2,105,000
6. Ted Lawson – 635,000
When play resumes, the blinds will be 25,000-50,000 with an ante of 5,000. After 12 minutes, the price of poker will increase to 30,000-60,000 with an ante of 5,000. Here’s what’s on the line for the six survivors:
1st Place: $870,124
2nd Place: $549,003
3rd Place: $358,964
4th Place: $232,271
5th Place: $168,924
6th Place: $126,693
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest WPT coverage.
Rousso Leads Star-Filled Final at WPT Five Diamond
After helping Antonio "The Magician" Esfandiari make his chip lead dissapear in the early part of the day with a huge call for her tournament life, Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso seemed to have the best of it all day on the way to building a healthy chip lead heading into Wednesday's final.
Rousso, who made $1,342,590 in her best year as a pro in 2009, will be looking to turn around a less than exciting 2010 by booking the $870,124 win and looks like a good bet to do so with 2.6 million more chips than her nearest opponent.
However, that opponent is no less than 2010 WSOP Main Event runner-up John Racener, just weeks off his $5.5 million Main Event payday.
High-Stakes cash pro Andrew Robl just booked his career best live tournament score at October's EPT London High Roller event and has a shot at improving upon that coming into his first WPT final table third in chips.
Meanwhile, veteran pro Kirk Morrision, as famous for a string of disappearing acts as big scores like his $2 million second-place finish in the 2007 WPT Championship, sits fourth.
Esfandiari avoided a total meltdown and will bring around two million chips and more than an outside shot at adding to the WPT and WSOP titles on his resume in the final, while the venerable Ted Lawson, who hasn't booked a six-figure score since 2008, will come in as the short stack.
All six players are guaranteed at least $126,693.
The final table will go off in front of the WPT cameras at Bellagio beginning at 4 p.m. PT Wednesday.
To follow all the action from start to finish, click through to PokerListings' WPT Live Updates.
Here's the chip counts coming in:
1 Vanessa Rousso 5,830,000
2 John Racener 3,235,000
3 Andrew Robl 3,210,000
4 Kirk Morrison 2,650,000
5 Antonio Esfandiari 2,105,000
6 Ted Lawson 635,000
Visit www.pokerlistings.com
Antonio Esfandiari Leads WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic with 15 Left
For the third straight day, Victory Poker pro Antonio Esfandiari leads the way in the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Five Diamond World Poker Classic. There are 15 players remaining and, as was the case after Days 2 and 3, Esfandiari owns a stranglehold on the rest of the field.
Esfandiari owns 2.6 million in chips and is the only player above two million. Hot on is heels is World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event runner-up John Racener, who owns a stack of 1.9 million. Racener, who entered heads-up play in this year’s Main Event as a 6:1 underdog in chips against Jonathan Duhamel, is in search of his first WPT final table. He bubbled the six-handed finale of the Season 5 Borgata Poker Classic, bowing out in eighth place for $166,000.
Legends of Poker champ Andy Frankenberger was the final casualty of the day on Monday at the Bellagio, the site of the Five Diamond. Frankenberger pushed all-in on a flop of Q-7-4 with two clubs and showed K-10 of the suit for a flush draw. He received a call from Kirk Morrison, who tabled 7-4 for two pair and dodged the draw on the river when the nine of spades hit. Morrison, the runner-up in the Season 5 WPT Championship, holds the fifth largest chip stack at 1.5 million.
Doyle Brunson, the face of DoylesRoom and the Five Diamond, was bumped in 18th place after an impressive run. Brunson ran A-J into the A-K belonging to Kia Mohajeri on his final hand and the board came 9-6-6-5-4. Coverage found on the official website of the WPT detailed Brunson’s exit: “The Fontana Lounge gives Brunson a hearty round of applause as he exits the tournament area.” Brunson has recorded three WPT final tables.
Eugene Katchalov, who won the 2007 running of this tournament, was eliminated on Monday in 19th place. Katchalov committed his stack with A-K and found himself in a race against Racener’s pocket queens. The board ran out five cards jack or lower and Katchalov headed to the rails with $33,000 in tow. Three years ago, Katchalov’s Five Diamond win was good for $2.4 million. Due to a lower buy-in and smaller prize pool, this year’s champ will take home just one-third of that total.
Also ousted yesterday was Absolute Poker pro Freddy Deeb. DoylesRoom Brunson 10 member Amit “amak316” Makhija made a boat with pocket jacks to send Deeb home in 24th place for $25,000. Makhija owns the 12th largest stack after four days of play in the WPT tournament at 756,000. He’s in search of his second WPT final table after finishing as the runner-up in the Season 7 Legends of Poker for $563,000.
Here are the 15 players remaining in the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic:
1. Antonio Esfandiari – 2,680,000
2. John Racener – 1,900,000
3. Andrew “good2cu” Robl – 1,750,000
4. Kia Mohajeri – 1,694,000
5. Kirk Morrison – 1,545,000
6. Luis Velador – 1,423,000
7. Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi – 1,380,000
8. Ray Dehkharghani – 1,148,000
9. Andrew “luckychewy” Lichtenberger – 915,000
10. Vanessa Rousso – 888,000
11. Chris DeMaci – 801,000
12. Amit “amak316” Makhija – 756,000
13. Ted Lawson – 400,000
14. Danny Fuhs – 247,000
15. Charles Caris – 125,000
The tournament’s play down day will occur this afternoon and a winner will be crowned on Wednesday. If you’re at the Bellagio and want to rail the action on Tuesday, the tournament will be held in the poker room while the television set is being constructed in the Fontana Lounge. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest.
Just 15 left at WPT Five Diamond – Esfandiari still leads
Esfandiari Dominating WPT Five Diamond
The Magician, as he's known to legions of poker fans across the globe, took the lead on Day 2 and has not looked back, moving up from a little over one million in chips to more than 2.5 million as they played down from 54 to the final two tables at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino Monday.
Esfandiari's closest opponent is 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event runner-up John Racener, who appears to be on the hottest streak of his young career after starting the day with under 200k and ending with close to two million, just weeks after winning $5,545,955 at the Main Event final table.
The rest of the final 15 is chocked full of notable names including Andrew Robl, Kirk Morrison, Luis Velador, Sorel Mizzi, Andrew Lichtenberger, Vanessa Rousso, Amit Makhija, Ted Lawson and Chris DeMaci, who burst onto the live poker scene with a final table appearance at the PokerStars NAPT Los Angeles main event last month.
Doyle Brunson, for whom the tournament is named, finished 18th.
Also among those who cashed, but failed to advance to Day 5 were Season IX WPT Player of the Year points leader Andrew Frankenberger, the godfather of Norwegian poker Thor Hansen, WPT Season VI POY Jonathan Little and two-time WPT and WSOP title winner Freddy Deeb.
They will play down to a final table of six inside the storied Bellagio poker room Tuesday as the Fontana Lounge is prepared to host Wednesday's televised final table.
A total of 438 players entered the 2010 WPT Five Diamond main event at the creating a $4,248,600 prize pool with $870,124 set aside for first.
Play will resume on Day 5 Tuesday at 12 p.m. PT. To follow all the action, tune in to PokerListings' WPT Live Updates.
Here's how the final 15 stand:
1 Antonio Esfandiari 2,680,000
2 John Racener 1,900,000
3 Andrew Robl 1750,000
4 Kia Mohajeri 1,694,000
5 Kirk Morrison 1,545,000
6 Luis Velador 1,423,000
7 Sorel Mizzi 1,380,000
8 Ray Dehkharghani 1,148,000
9 Andrew Lichtenberger 915,000
10 Vanessa Rousso 888,000
11 Chris DeMaci 801,000
12 Amit Makhija 756,000
13 Ted Lawson 400,000
14 Danny Fuhs 247,000
15 Charles Caris 125,000
Visit www.pokerlistings.com
LeBron James Returns to Cleveland from Poker in Twitter
While they were camped out at the Bellagio in Las Vegas for the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Five Diamond World Poker Classic, players were also keeping their eyes on the sporting world. One of the big events that drew their attention in recent days was LeBron James’ return to Cleveland as a member of the Miami Heat.
Peter Jetten probably had the best plan for watching the Heat/Cavaliers game when he Tweeted on Thursday, “Going to have a fun relaxing day today. Massage this afternoon then going to watch the Heat/Cavs and TNF, The 10k Bellagio is tomorrow.” When he actually journeyed to the Bellagio sports book to check out the game, Kevin “BeL0WaB0Ve” Saul amusingly observed, “Lol @ Bellagio sportsbook… they have audio for Eagles game over Cavs/Heat.”
Firmly on the side of James and the Heat were Floridians Robert Mizrachi and Eric Mizrachi. As the Heat were demolishing the Cavaliers, the former Tweeted, “That’s what all you LeBron haters get for all the ‘booing.’ Miami just opened a can of ‘ass whooping’ on Cleveland, lol. Go @KingJames.” Robert chirped a simple, “Let’s go LeBron.”
On the other side were Alex Outhred and 2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP) final tablist Doug Kim. Kim gave James some props when he chirped, “OK, LeBron is damn ridiculous.” Outhred, though, still held some animosity: “Miami crushing Cleveland doesn’t mean #LeBron is no longer an asshole.” In the end, the Heat destroyed the Cavaliers 118-90.
As poker players dropped from the Five Diamond, NFL football took center stage. On opposite sides of the chase for the NFC North championship race were DoylesRoom Brunson 10 member Amit “amak316” Makhija and Saul. The latter showed his true colors when he Tweeted, “And that’s another victory formation! #bears.” Makhija showed his allegiance to Green Bay: “The Packers won and I’m up to 130k the only way the first level Coulda been sweeter is with a Bears loss, still a great start!”
In another big game on Sunday featuring the Indianapolis Colts and Dallas Cowboys, tournament director Matt Savage was unflinchingly honest in his assessment of the performance of Colts’ quarterback Peyton Manning: “Favre is out of the game so we need a new Interception King. Introducing Peyton Manning as the next Hall of Famer falling apart!” Jetten wryly noted across the Twitterverse, “This game would be so much more exciting if my big Cowboys must win Super Bowl bet was still live.”
Absolute Poker pro Trishelle Cannatella was in New York for the games on Sunday, but couldn’t hold back her rooting interest in the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints after the team’s come-from-behind victory against the Cincinnati Bengals: “Payton is such a badass!!!! Love it. Watching the game in NYC. Geaux @Official_Saints.”
There were some top players paying attention on the cards in the Bellagio over the weekend. As action came to a close on Sunday, Allen Kessler (“Made day 4 of #wpt #Poker 10k Bellagio event. 54 left now of 438 starters. I have 90500. Avg probably 300k.”) and Vanessa Rousso (“Done for the day. I have 694k after a late surge. 54 left. Day four at noon tomorrow.”) were ready to come back on Monday.
Players out with a min-cash for their efforts included Full Tilt pros John Juanda (“Min cash WPT Bellagio. Last hand I had AKs, ran into both QQ & KK. Turned a flush draw, but missed.”) and Jon “PearlJammer” Turner (“Out 60thish, reshoved 18bbs w T9s from c/o over h/j’s raise, btn woke up w JJ, I hit 2 pair, but he hit J”).
For the top Tweets of the weekend, we’ll start with UB.com pro “Hollywood” Dave Stann, who became a movie critic: “Oscar noms for best actress Natalie Portman, director Darren Aronofsky & film Black Swan. Twisted look into the self-torture of true artists.” Scott Ian offered his critique of the latest effort from the Black Eyed Peas, Tweeting, “The Black Eyed Peas cover of Time Of My Life = the lamest piece of music I have ever had the unfortunate experience of accidentally hearing.”
Having a problem with coyotes at her home, Erica Schoenberg found a unique cure: “I just spent 100 bucks on wolf urine to sprinkle in the backyard to repel the coyotes. Guess I need to get into the predator pee market.” On the work front, Joe Reitman explained the audition process in Hollywood: “At commercial auditions, they now ask for your barcode. If I didn’t feel like cattle, I sure as hell do now.”
Finally, Joe Sebok offered a gem from PokerRoad’s Court Harrington when he Tweeted, “Me ‘Sometimes I forget to breathe when I’m typing.’ @courtharrington ‘Don’t become a novelist.’ As usual, solid Southern logic from the hick.”
Antonio Esfandiari Leads WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic After Day 3
It’s magic! Antonio Esfandiari, known as “The Magician,” leads the way after Day 3 of the Five Diamond World Poker Classic, a stop on the World Poker Tour (WPT). Esfandiari was also the chip leader after Day 2 and now stands as the only player above one million in chips. A top prize of $870,000 is on the line in the WPT event, which is being housed at the Bellagio in Las Vegas.
Fifty-four players remain out of a starting grid of 439 and the entire field is in the money. Ali Eslami was the Bubble Boy on Sunday after being ousted from the Five Diamond in 101st place. Eslami committed his chips in a race with A-K against the pocket tens belonging to Scott Vener. There was very little drama when the board ran out Q-7-4-7-J and Eslami departed the Bellagio empty-handed save three days’ worth of memories. The minimum payout in the $10,000 buy-in poker tournament was just over $12,000.
DoylesRoom Brunson 10 member Amit “amak316” Makhija sent former WPT Championship winner David Chiu to the rail late in the day. Chiu was all-in before the flop with K-Q of hearts and ran into Makhija’s A-K. The flop came king-high, giving both players a pair, but Makhija remained out in front with an ace kicker. No help came on the turn or river for Chiu, who was ousted in 63rd place for $13,000.
Phil Ivey and Jason Mercier, the top two players on ESPN’s poker rankings dubbed “The Nuts,” were eliminated nearly back-to-back on Sunday from the Bellagio. Mercier was sent packing as part of a double elimination with K-8 against pocket fours and Doug Lee’s pocket nines. Lee flopped a set and never looked back, sending two players to the rail to vault up the leaderboard. He ended the day with a stack of 702,000, which is good for second place overall. However, Lee is still 300,000 behind Esfandiari.
Eliminated shortly after the money bubble popped was former World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe Main Event champ John Juanda. The Full Tilt Poker pro was all-in pre-flop with A-K of spades and up against Will Failla’s pocket kings and Freddy Deeb’s pocket queens. Failla’s superior pocket pair held for the win and Juanda banked $12,000 for his 92nd place finish.
Here are the top 10 chip stacks entering Day 3 of the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic:
1. Antonio Esfandiari – 1,082,500
2. Doug Lee – 702,500
3. Vanessa Rousso – 694,000
4. Freddy Deeb – 654,000
5. Nick Phillips – 559,000
6. Jerry Young – 550,000
7. Ray Dehkharghani – 522,000
8. Charles Caris – 512,000
9. Bryn Kenney – 458,000
10. Kianoosh Mohajeri – 452,000
Other top-flight poker pros who remain in the hunt for the WPT title include:
12. Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little – 449,000
13. Doyle Brunson – 446,000
14. Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi – 436,500
15. Andrew “luckychewy” Lichtenberger – 434,000
20. Eugene Katchalov – 365,000
22. Will Failla – 345,000
26. Marco Traniello – 315,000
31. Amit “amak316” Makhija – 287,000
37. Andrew “good2cu” Robl – 237,000
38. Andy Frankenberger – 233,000
39. David “Bakes” Baker – 225,500
45. Tim “tmay420” West – 113,500
53. Allen Kessler – 90,500
54. Jeff Shulman – 56,500
There are 15 minutes remaining in Level 15, where the blinds are 2,500-5,000 with an ante of 500. For those who have busted out of the WPT contest, the Bellagio will be holding a $5,000 buy-in tournament today at 2:00pm local time in the Fontana Lounge. Registration will remain open until 6:30pm. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest WPT coverage.
Antonio Esfandiari leads WPT Five Diamond
Esfandiari Widens Lead at WPT Five Diamond
The WSOP bracelet winner and WPT title holder became the first player past the one million chip mark and ended the day with a more than 300,000 chip lead over his closest opponent - Canadian WSOPC ring winner Doug Lee.
Also holding onto spots in the top ten are names like Vanessa Rousso, Freddy Deeb and Bryn Kenney.
The legendary Doyle Brunson, for whom the tournament was named, currently sits 13th.
The 100-person money bubble popped midway through the day Sunday with stars like Phil Ivey, Isaac Baron, David Chui, Johnny Chan, and Jason Mercier cashing, but failing to advance to Day 4.
A total of 438 players entered the 2010 WPT Five Diamond main event at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, creating a $4,248,600 prize pool with $870,124 set aside for first.
The event will play down to a winner Wednesday, Dec. 8, which also happens to be Esfandiari's 32nd birthday.
Play will resume on Day 4 Monday at 12 p.m. PT.
To follow all the action, tune in to PokerListings' WPT Live Updates.
Below are the current top ten chip counts:
1 Antonio Esfansiari 1,082,500
2 Doug Lee 702,500
3 Vanessa Rousso 694,000
4 Freddy Deeb 654,000
5 Nicholas Phillips 559,000
6 Jerry Young 550,000
7 Ray Dehkharghani 522,000
8 Charles Caris 512,000
9 Bryn Kenney 458,000
10 Kianoosh Mohajeri 452,000
Visit www.pokerlistings.com
Antonio Esfandiari Leads WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic After Day 2
With two days of play in the books at the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Five Diamond World Poker Classic, Antonio Esfandiari leads the way with a stack of 485,600. He’s the only player left standing to cross the 400,000-chip plateau.
The final field numbered 438, meaning that attendance grew by 33% year-over-year. However, this year’s installment sported a $10,000 buy-in – down from $15,000 – resulting in a smaller prize pool. In 2009, $4.7 million prize pool was up for grabs and Daniel Alaei captured a top prize of $1.4 million. This year’s champion will pocket a considerably smaller $870,000, although 100 players will finish in the money instead of last year’s 27.
Former WPT champ Allen “AawwNutz” Carter hit the rail on Saturday courtesy of Andrew “luckychewy” Lichtenberger. Carter ran pocket tens into pocket aces on his final hand, which boosted Lichtenberger’s chip stack to 185,000. Lichtenberger ended the day by bagging up 170,600 in chips, good for the 32nd spot on the leaderboard. His company at Table 56 on Sunday will include Doyle Brunson, Jon “PearlJammer” Turner, Bryn Kenney, Peter Jetten, and Marco Traniello. Good luck.
Also departing on Saturday was RPM Poker pro Brent “Astrolux85” Roberts. Rather than write out the details of Roberts’ final hand, I’ll let his Twitter feed do the talking: “Out 55<88. Shoved 20 bb in the hj and Phil Hellmuth folded AQ in the cutoff. Basebaldy called from the sb and Phil berated me after I lost.” Hellmuth recorded a pair of top seven finishes during Season 9 of the WPT.
Online poker icon Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy, once the top-ranked player in the PocketFives.com Rankings, hit the skids on Saturday at the hands of Phil Ivey. Josephy 3bet all-in pre-flop in an apparent squeeze play and received calls from Ivey and Albert Kim. Ivey led out on a flop of K-6-3, Kim folded, and Ivey tabled A-K for top pair, top kicker. Josephy showed A-J for ace-high and no help came on the turn or river. Ivey, who held a top 10 stack after Day 1, continued his strong showing yesterday and now owns the eighth spot in the standings with 308,100.
The top 10 on the leaderboard at the Five Diamond World Poker Classic is littered with multiple bracelet winners and former WPT champs:
1. Antonio Esfandiari – 485,600
2. Daniel Fuhs – 397,500
3. Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka – 364,400
4. Doug Lee – 355,000
5. Vanessa Rousso – 334,100
6. Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi – 332,400
7. Keith Gipson – 325,100
8. Phil Ivey – 308,100
9. Doyle Brunson – 295,400
10. Nick “agriffrod” Mitchell – 290,100
Other top pros remaining that hold chip stacks in the top 50 include:
18. Jon “apestyles” Van Fleet – 246,200
22. Hafiz Khan – 213,700
28. McLean Karr – 181,200
32. Andrew “luckychewy” Lichtenberger – 170,600
33. John Juanda – 167,900
34. Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin – 167,000
38. David “Bakes” Baker – 159,600
41. Dan Shak – 156,800
46. David Singer – 139,400
50. Jon “PearlJammer” Turner – 132,200
Complicating matters today will be the Las Vegas Marathon, which kicks off at Noon PT and will close Las Vegas Boulevard. Players heading to the Bellagio, which is located on the Strip, should leave plenty of time to arrive in time for the “Shuffle up and deal” command. Day 3 of the WPT Five Diamond also begins at Noon.
Esfandiari Leads, Ivey, Brunson Threaten at WPT Five Diamond
A total of 391 players entered the $10k event throughout the first day, but another 47 jumped in on the action on Day 2 by the time registration closed and the event's ninth level began.
A grand total of 438 players created a $4,248,600 prize pool that will pay 100 spots with $870,124 set aside for first.
As the day wore on the field was whittled down to just 137 with big names like Phil Ivey, Doyle Brunson, Sorel Mizzi, Vanessa Rousso and Faraz Jaka among the leaders.
But it was Antonio Esfandiari who grabbed the overnight lead heading into Day 3 at Bellagio Sunday.
The 2010 WPT Five Diamond will play down to a winner Dec. 8.
PokerListings will continue its unprecedented look at the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic from Phil Ivey's perspective on our WPT Live Updates page beginning at 12 p.m. PT Sunday.
Here is a look at the current top ten chip leaders:
1 Antonio Esfandiari 485,600
2 Daniel Fuhs 397,500
3 Faraz Jaka 364,400
4 Doug Lee 355,000
5 Vanessa Rousso 334,100
6 Sorel Mizzi 332,400
7 Keith Gibson 325,100
8 Phil Ivey 308,100
9 Doyle Brunson 295,400
10 Nicholas Mitchell 290,100
Visit www.pokerlistings.com
Ryan D’Angelo Leads WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic After Day 1
One day of play is in the books in the Five Diamond World Poker Classic, a stop on the World Poker Tour (WPT). Ryan “g0lfa” D’Angelo, who took fifth in the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event, leads the pack after Day 1 in Las Vegas with a chip stack of 192,500. The field numbered 391 when all $10,000 buy-ins were accepted on Day 1, with registration remaining open until 5:00pm local time on Saturday for Day 2. Last year, 329 players coughed up $15,000 apiece.
We really can’t believe we’re writing this, but Joseph “subiime” Cheong was bounced from the WPT Five Diamond after 6betting all-in before the flop with A-J and running into D’Angelo’s pocket jacks. If this seems eerily familiar to a hand that occurred at the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event final table, it is. In that tournament, Cheong crippled his stack after 6betting all-in pre-flop with A-7 three-handed and running into eventual winner Jonathan Duhamel’s pocket queens. The wired pair held each time.
North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Mohegan Sun champ Vanessa Selbst, a PokerStars pro, also met her demise on Friday at the Bellagio. Selbst got her money in good, holding pocket nines on a board of 8-6-6-3 for nines-up. Her opponent tabled 10-8 for eights-up and watched with glee as the river came another eight, giving him a full house and the win. On dropping the massive pot, Selbst proclaimed to the world via Twitter, “Oh yeah, now I’m busto instead of being the chip leader.”
Trending in the right direction on the first day of play was former Bodog pro and “Survivor: China” castaway Jean-Robert Bellande, who committed his stack with J-8 on a flop of 8-8-6 for trips. His opponent showed pocket nines, which added an open-ended straight draw when a seven hit on the turn. However, Bellande faded his opponent’s outs on the river and doubled through to 48,000. He finished the day at 65,050, good for 88th overall out of the 287 survivors.
2010 WSOP November Nine Bubble Boy Brandon Steven made his presence felt at the WPT Five Diamond on Friday. Steven sent formidable pro Scott Seiver packing during Level 3 to move to 52,000 in chips. Steven, however, failed to survive to Day 2.
Also finding the rail was Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, who Tweeted the details of his untimely exit: “Bluffed every hand to get to 60k Level 1. Level 2 I made real hands and got sucked out on to get to 40k. Lost rest KK vs AA. Not fun.” Others joining Bonomo on the rail on Day 1 included Chino Rheem, UB.com pro Joe Sebok, and Shawn Cunix.
In case you’re wondering, Sebok was ousted in particularly brutal fashion. His chips found the middle with pocket queens on a flop of 10-5-2. However, his opponent had spiked a set with pocket deuces and Sebok’s WPT woes continued. Sebok has a pair of seventh place finishes on the WPT, which runs its final tables six-handed.
Here are the top 10 chip stacks entering Day 2 at the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic:
1. Ryan “g0lfa” D’Angelo – 192,500
2. Amirouddine Alibay – 185,200
3. Albert Kim – 157,100
4. Antonio Esfandiari – 149,550
5. Niema Mostafavi – 145,800
6. Phil Ivey – 143,225
7. Maciek Gracz – 138,850
8. Matt Keikoan – 133,775
9. Justin Young – 131,200
10. Kirk Morrison – 130,075
Other brand name pros remaining in the top 50 include:
12. John Hennigan – 120,500
16. Chau Giang – 115,000
22. Peter Jetten – 104,175
41. Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka – 84,050
42. Yevgeniy “Jovial Gent” Timoshenko – 83,750
45. David Chiu – 82,950
Registration will close at 5:00pm local time at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Among those rumored to be buying into the $10,000 tournament on Day 2 is Kathy Liebert. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest WPT coverage.
Tags: 2010, bellagio, bodog, buy-ins, Justin Bonomo, Phil Ivey, poker player, pokerstars, tournament, trips, vegas, WSOP
Ivey among WPT Five Diamond leaders
Sebastian Homann Wins WPT Marrakech
Leading the tournament nearly wire-to-wire, Germany’s Sebastian Homann emerged as the champion of the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) stop at the Casino de Marrakech in Morocco.
WPT Marrakech, which was co-sponsored by the online poker room Chili Poker, drew a solid field of 221 runners. Each player paid €5,000 to participate and the prize pool nearly reached €1 million.
The all-time money leader on the WPT, former World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champion Carlos Mortensen, led a field of pros looking to take down the latest WPT title. Mortensen was joined by fellow industry staples like Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, Team PokerStars pro Alexandre Gomes, WPT champion Surinder Sunar, and 2009 WSOP November Niner Antoine Saout. French poker pros Nicolas Levi and Roger Hairabedian made deep runs and just missed the final table.
When the final table began on Tuesday, Homann held the edge as the chip leader over fellow countryman Dominik Nitsche. Homann had been at the helm of the leaderboard since Day 1, but, with Nitsche approximately 50,000 chips behind him, certainly felt the heat. The German duo vastly outpaced the third stack at the table, France’s Guillaume Cescut, when the cards hit the air.
Homann wasted little time in establishing himself as the table captain, using the power of his stack to chop approximately 100,000 in chips from Johan Williamsson. He continued to push his tablemates around and, by the first break, had built his chip stack to over three million. Nitsche had faltered by the first break, giving up the second rung on the leaderboard to Williamsson.
After the break, Homann and Williamson unexpectedly butted heads in a clash featuring the two largest stacks at the table. With the blinds at 12,000/24,000 and a 4,000 ante, Homann opened the action with a bet of 50,000. When the action reached Williamsson, he re-raised to 135,000, which was called – after a moment’s hesitation – by Homann.
The duo saw a 4-3-8 flop with two diamonds, at which point the fireworks between the chip leaders were ignited. Homann checked his option and, after a bet from Williamsson of 165,000, announced that he was all-in. Williamsson immediately called all-in and tabled A-K of diamonds for the nut flush draw. Homann turned up a pocket pair of sixes, good for the lead, but he had to fade 14 outs twice to win the hand. Homann did so and Williamsson was eliminated in seventh place.
Homann continued to steamroll the table as he reached heads-up play with Cescut. For his part, Cescut slowed down Homann and, at one point, wrestled the chip lead away. It seemed to be the German’s day, however, as Homann crippled Cescut the next hand after losing the lead.
Cescut continued to fight, doubling up on three consecutive hands, but he eventually succumbed to Homann. On the final hand, Cescut raised to 125,000 and Homann called. On a J-4-3 flop (two spades), the twosome entered into a betting war, with Cescut’s remaining chips entering the pot. When the cards were shown, Homann held the lead with J-9 against Cescut’s A-4. None of Cescut’s five outs came on the turn or the river, crowning Homann the champion of the WPT Marrakech:
1. Sebastian Homann (Germany) – €244,508
2. Guillaume Cescut (France) – €135,831
3. Sebastien Compte (France) – €90,554
4. Felix Oberauer (Austria) – €72,439
5. Guillaume de la Gorce (France) – €54,334
6. Dominik Nitsche (Germany) – €36,220
7. Johan Williamsson (Sweden) – €28,977
8. Julien Lousier (France) – €25,356
9. Patrick Muleta (France) – €19,920
Although he admitted he was a recreational player, Homann was looking forward to playing in the WPT Championship in April. “I definitely intend to play more live tournaments now and am thrilled to have earned my entry into the $25,000 WPT World Championship – this takes everything to a whole new level. I will have to play more to prepare for the standard of opposition I am going to get there.”
With Marrakech in the books, the WPT now focuses on the Five Diamond World Poker Classic, which starts tomorrow at the Bellagio in Las Vegas.
WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic Begins Friday
The World Poker Tour (WPT) is wrapping up the 2010 calendar year with the annual Five Diamond World Poker Classic at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. The $10,000 buy-in event kicks off on Friday.
One of the most prestigious tournaments on the WPT schedule, the Five Diamond will draw some of the biggest names in the game. There will be one change that should draw a larger field for this year’s version of the tournament, however. In the past, the WPT Five Diamond event had a $15,000 buy-in. Perhaps reflecting tighter bankrolls, this year’s Five Diamond event is a $10,000 buy-in tournament.
The Five Diamond started on November 28th with an abbreviated schedule in comparison to past years. This year’s schedule featured 12 tournaments, whereas in 2009 there were 16 on the schedule. Preliminary events completed on this year’s tournament roster have been sparsely attended, even with the buy-ins reduced.
To this point, six events have been completed: three No Limit Hold’em tournaments, a Pot Limit Omaha with rebuys tournament, an Omaha High/Low tournament, and the Seniors’ Event. Of these tournaments, none has cracked 250 players.
“Miami” John Cernuto made the final table of the first $500 No Limit Hold’em tournament, which was won by Zeferino Hernandez. James Van Alstyne and Mark Gregorich made the money in the Omaha High/Low tournament, which was won by poker veteran Ken Lennaard.
Earning more points towards his run at the CardPlayer Player of the Year title was North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Venetian champion Tom Marchese, who won the $1,000 No Limit Hold’em with rebuys tournament. Finally, in a tournament that featured three female combatants at the final table, Karen Munro took the title in the second $500 No Limit Hold’em event.
One of the final preliminary events on the Five Diamond schedule, a $5,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament, will take place today, with the remainder of Thursday dedicated to satellites. Ready to go for today’s $5,000 event is WPT “Raw Deal” host Tony “Bond_18” Dunst, who Tweeted to his followers, “Off to the Bellagio to the play the 5k today, let us go go go!”
The WPT Five Diamond has been a crowning achievement for several of poker’s most notable players. “The Great Dane” Gus Hansen won the first ever cycle back in 2002 and such notable poker pros as Paul Phillips, PokerStars front man Daniel Negreanu, Joe Hachem, Eugene Katchalov, and November Niner David “Chino” Rheem have captured the title in the past.
Last year’s tournament was won by Daniel Alaei, who is expected to be on hand at the Bellagio to defend his WPT title. In 2009, Alaei outlasted a field of 329 players who built a prize pool of over $4.7 million. Daniel defeated a stacked final table that included former World Champion Scotty Nguyen, Shawn Buchanan, Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka, and eventual runner-up Josh Arieh to take home a $1.4 million first prize.
Poker News Daily will keep you up to date on all of the action at the Bellagio as the WPT wraps up 2010 in style.
Tags: 2009, 2010, bellagio, buy-ins, Daniel Negreanu, Gus Hansen, poker player, pokerstars, tournament, vegas