Re: The Poker Thread - The Main Event!
Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2009 11:34 am
by Drumstick
Here are your updates from Day 3 of the Main Event.
Two Australian Heavyweights Seated Together
We've spotted an interesting starting table to kick off Day 3 of the Main Event, featuring arguably the two highest profile Australians -- 2005 World Champion Joe Hachem and 2009 triple-bracelet winner Jeff Lisandro. Both are Australian Poker Hall of Fame members and start the day well placed with Hachem sitting with 138,900 and Lisandro a commanding 229,300. This table was originally slotted for the red section but due to its star-power has been moved to the ESPN feature table.
Seidel Says Goodbye
First in from the button, Erik Seidel came in with a raise. The small blind folded, but Aaron Coulthard reraised from the big blind. Seidel moved all in for just less than 50,000, and Coulthard instantly called.
Showdown
Seidel: Coulthard: Seidel was in bad shape, and the board would give him no stay of execution.
De Wolfe Eliminated
Roland de Wolfe was all in preflop against an opponent holding pocket sixes. De Wolfe had two overs with . The ESPN cameras rushed over to capture the action as the board ran out . De Wolfe was eliminated on the hand.
A Long Hand for Hellmuth's Tournament Life
Phil Hellmuth is known for doing things on a grand scale. He proved that again today in what may be the single longest hand we've ever watched. Things started out normally enough as Hellmuth check-called his opponent's 6,000 chip bet on a board of . Hellmuth checked the on the turn and his opponent led for 6,000 more. Hellmuth raised to 16,000, and his opponent called. When Hellmuth led for 15,000 at the on the river, his opponent took just over a second before moving all in for an additional 104,900, completely confusing Hellmuth. "What is this? What in the world? Where did you find that card?" Hellmuth asked before falling deep into the tank. As he sat trying to work things through, the table attracted a huge crowd of camera people, reporters and eager spectators. Hellmuth appeared not to notice as he continued to puzzle things together. "You bluffing? You got it?" he asked. His opponent sat quietly listening to his iPod and doing his best to ignore Hellmuth's questions. "Wow, this is like my whole world series," Hellmuth added. "I don't think you'd move in with aces. I feel like I have you," he continued. A few minutes later, Hellmuth continued on. "I'm sorry I'm thinking so long guys, but this is my whole world series. My instincts say I have you buddy," Hellmuth said finally before making the call. Hellmuth: Opponent: "Yes! My tournament life on the line baby. Every time I tried to fold, my instincts wouldn't let me," Hellmuth exclaimed when he saw his winning straight. The 15-minute hand ended right at the break and took Hellmuth's stack to 320,000.
Player of the Year: Who Else?
A boisterous ovation just erupted from the featured table, and we could see Jeff Lisandro standing up and shaking hands with Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack as some quick words were exchanged. The rest of the featured table stood to shake Lisandro's hand as well as the roaring applause continued. A moment later, Media Director Nolan Dalla confirmed our suspicions over the PA system. Jeff Lisandro has just locked up Player of the Year honors for 2009! Ville Wahlbeck was the only man within striking distance of Lisandro's lofty 355 point total, and it appears the Finn has just been knocked out. It truly was a remarkable and historic Series for Lisandro, picking up three bracelets over the course of the seven weeks. And he's still in the running for number four, we might add. What's even more remarkable is how he did it, absolutely running over three final tables to win the Stud Triple Crown -- one bracelet in each of Stud, Stud Hi/Lo, and Razz. Congratulations to Jeff Lisandro for his amazing run and on capturing one of the most significant titles here at the WSOP, Player of the Year!
Ivey Meets ElkY
As a few more tables are broken in the red section of the Amazon Room to open the way for a few more cash games to get underway, we've just seen a very interesting table break. Phil Ivey's table was broken and he needed five racks to transport his chips, but he didn't have to move far. His new table was only a few short steps away as he now finds himself seated two to the right of Bertrand 'ElkY' Grospellier! Expect some fireworks!
Bill Edler Eliminated
Bill Edler is the latest player to hit the rail in a rapidly shrinking Brasilia Room. Preflop he called a raise to 4,400 with position on the raiser. Jamie Brown also called from the big blind. All three players checked the flop. The turn came . Brown had first action and opened for 11,800. That bet folded the preflop raiser before Edler raised to 29,800. Brown moved all in, having Edler's 90,000 well-covered. Edler called with , having turned a set of threes. Brown showed , a flopped set of tens. There was no miracle for Edler on the river. After the hand, Edler stood up, shook hands with everyone at the table (particularly giving Brown a firm shake and a "Well played") and then departed the Brasilia Room.
Hellmuth Hammers
On a board of a player in the small blind checked over to Phil Hellmuth who fired 14,000 into the pot. His opponent made a quick call. "Kings with a ten," said Hellmuth, but his opponent tabled for two pair to take it down. While we watched on in eager anticipation of a Hellmuth implosion as he started muttering away to his opponent, Hellmuth was involved in another interesting hand soon after. Hellmuth three-bet preflop from the big blind to 12,000 and John Hammer made the call in position in the cutoff. The flop landed and Hellmuth led for 14,000. Hammer made the call. The turn was the and Hellmuth checked to Hammer who bet 23,000. Hellmuth then went into the tank with a series of theatrics that involved him removing his iPod and then his jacket. After cutting out chips on several occasions he finally gave it the "raise it up" and added 63,000 to Hammer's bet. "Must have more than one pair..." sighed Hammer and quickly released as Hellmuth raked in the chips. He's now up to nearly 350,000 chips.
Raymer Speaks
Greg Raymer's table is the next table to break. As they prepare to move to the Amazon Room, Raymer has been taking one last look around the Brasilia Room for this 2009 WSOP -- specifically, at all of the international flags that hang from the rafters here. "Down the end of this row," Raymer said, pointing towards the front of the Brasilia Room, "has got to be the most messed-up looking flag I've ever seen. It's three disembodied legs that have been joined together at the hip. How messed up is that?" Raymer was referring to the flag of a nation well-known to many in the poker industry -- the Isle of Man.
Greg Raymer Eliminated
Facing a single pre-flop raise, Greg Raymer moved all in for about 80,000 and his opponent made the call. Raymer's needed some serious help against his opponent's , but he couldn't find it. Before departing the table, however, Raymer took the shiny fossil he'd been using as a card capper and graciously signed it for the player who busted him.
Welcome Back from Dinner, Mr. Hellmuth
We got to the table on the turn with the board reading . Phil Hellmuth was facing a bet of 20,000 from his opponent. It appeared as if Hellmuth checked over to his opponent on the turn. There was also nearly 50,000 chips in the pot. Hellmuth asked for a count after a few moments and the player responded, "About 140,000 left." Hellmuth then wanted an exact count and the dealer took over. "142,000." said the dealer. "Okay, I'm all in." announced Hellmuth. "I call." announced his opponent. Hellmuth tabled pocket kings, and his opponent showed . The set-over-set cooler had Hellmuth looking to move upwards of 600,000 if he could dodge the one out his opponent had. The river was the and Hellmuth's opponent got up and exited the tournament. With that pot, Hellmuth is now at 595,000 chips.
Juanda Slips Out the Door on the Montana Banana
Action folded to John Juanda who pushed all in from the cutoff for 19,000. The small blind called and we saw the hands. Juanda: Opponent: The board missed Juanda completely, and his Main Event run came to an abrupt halt.
A MillY for ElkY
We just caught the tail end of a sleeper pot that developed over on Table 150. With the board already spread in the middle of the table, the community cards showed and there were about 40,000 chips in the pot. It was heads up with Jerry Wong first to speak, and he bet 33,000. His opponent, Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, came back with a raise to 133,300. After taking some time to consider, Wong moved all in for an additional ~250,000 on top. ElkY was clearly pained by the decision he faced. After carefully considering his predicament though, he did indeed make the call, having Wong slightly covered. ElkY tabled for middle set. Wong had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, sheepishly turning over for just second pair. After spending most of the day riding a huge stack, Jerry Wong has been snapped off by Grospellier, headed out the door here toward the latter stages of Day 3. ElkY, on the other hand, has become the second player to cross the million-chip mark. He's right around 1,100,000 now, though it'll be nearly impossible to get a perfect count until the floor colors up the Great Wall of Chips sitting in front of him.
Phillips Gifted
Dennis Phillips raised his small blind to 7,000, only for the gent in the big blind to make an unlikely shove for 86,100. Call. Phillips: Unnecessary Shover: The board came full of blanks. The big blind is bust, and Phillips is up to 430,000.
Phil Hellmuth: Chip Counter
Two players were tangled up in an all-in pot over at Table Hellmuth, pocket kings against pocket eights. The kings held up and the shorter of the two players doubled up. The dealer counted down the stacks and announced, "One hundred forty-three thousand, two hundred." Hellmuth was watching with a keen eye. "One forty-three one? Or one forty-three two?" he asked. "Two," said the dealer confidently. "Show it to me then," said Hellmuth. The dealer broke down the stacks again, and sure enough, Hellmuth was right. "People are gonna get paid the right amount when I'm at the table," he said to nobody in particular. Hellmuth is scowling and a bit grumpy right now. Better stick close by his table.
Phil Hellmuth: Tournament Director
The tournament is running just a bit differently tonight than in previous nights. Where we would normally stop at the ten-minute mark and draw a card so that all tables played the same number of hands, tonight the last level is being played all the way down to zero. That's causing some ripples of confusion and disdain around the room, with Ground Zero being located right smack in the middle of Table Hellmuth. When he realized what was going on, Hellmuth shot out of his chair and scoured the room for a listening ear. Unfortunately for Media Director Nolan Dalla, Hellmuth's gaze landed on him. "Nolan... Nolan... Nolan..." he repeated as he walked across the floor to interrupt a conversation. "This is terrible, Nolan. Everyone's going to stall. They don't want to take the big blind, so they stall." Dalla was nodding and clearly looking for a good spot to stick in a reply. "I don't wanna play that stall game," finished Hellmuth. Dalla politely told Phil that it was not his decision to make, sending him storming back to his table. Just a few seconds later, we overheard the table talk between Phil and his neighbor Chris Bjorin. Hellmuth was still going on about the schedule. "I don't know what to do. They're just going to stall. I think I'm supposed to stall. I think we have to stall. We may not play another hand here." To everyone's content, the last few hands were finished up without incident over there.