WSOP 2008
Catastrophic Day Ends for Mikkelsen
by Brett on 07.11.08, 9:24 pm
Dag Martin “dmmikkel” Mikelssen began Day 4 with nearly 1 million chips, ranking him fourth among the 474 going into the day. Those chips are now scattered across the Amazon Room, as Mikelsson was eliminated on the final hand of Level 17. He got his last 280K in preflop with K
K
and found himself against the pocket aces of another player. The board of 843
T6 left Mikkelsen with a payday of $35,383 and, like last year, a question of what could have been after losing a big stack in the later stages of the Main Event.
Paul “ComeOnPhish” Lieu has also been on a downward spiral in the past level. First, Lieu reraised an opponent on a board of K
97A and his opponent called off the last of his chips with AK. Lieu’s K8 was drawing dead and a sizable portion of his stack had been diminished. Then we caught up with Paul checking a board of KTQJ4. His opponent bet 50K, sending Lieu into the tank. He eventually called and flew out of his seat when his opponent flipped over A6 for a straight. Lieu is down to 225K.
Two-hundred seventy nine players remain and the average stack in 490K. Here’s a look at some notable chip counts as Level 17 came to a close:
David “Raptor517″ Benefield (right)- 1.2 Million
Keith “damurdera3″ Ferrera - 1.1 Million
Peter “number1pen” Neff - 970K
Owen “ocrowe” Crowe - 860K
Adam “Roothlus” Levy - 780K
Garrett “GBecks” Beckman - 700K
Steve “MrSmokey1″ Billirakis - 660K
Andrew “tufat23″ Teng - 700K
Joe “LatestLines2″ Ward - 490K
Cort “the cortster” Kibler-Melby - 450K
Edward “zaner1″ Zane - 230K
David “Bakes” Baker - 180K
Tracey “xtrACEy” Nguyen - 100K
People Don’t You Know It’s About Time?
by Jill on 07.11.08, 2:38 am
As hand-for-hand play continued well past the end of Level 14, players were either anxiously awaiting the money bubble or falling asleep at their tables. Play was frenetic as camera crews ran up and down the aisles, trying to capture players’ best and worst moments. However, cheers recently erupted in the Amazon room, signifying that 666 remain and everyone has made the money and are now guaranteed $21,230. Congratulations to all! As soon as hand-for-hand completes, players will take a 30-minute break to color up and take a breather.
Some players, like Senovio “DorsalFin” Ramirez (pictured at right) were trying to take advantage of the bubble to semi-bluff players off their chips and getting burned in the process. Senovio reported that he managed to lose 100K in chips over the last two levels, but spoke to his daughters for good luck once again at dinner and hopes it would charm his play going into the bubble.
Paul “comeonphish” Lieu decided to put his big stack to use bullying other players at the table while hand-for-hand play was underway. With the blinds at 1.5K/3K ante 400 it folded around to Lieu who raised to 10K from the hijack. The player on the button then reraised to 35K and Paul eyed his stack before making the call. The flop was A76 and Paul led for 20K. The other player thought for moment before making the call. As soon as the 2 hit on the turn, Lieu grabbed a stack of orange 5K chips large enough to put his opponent all-in. The other player thought briefly before announcing, “Well, you better get a camera over here.” Another player asked if he was calling and he paused before verbally announcing his call. The player then turned over AA while Lieu showed 28. Paul needed a diamond on the river, but instead he got the 6 and he paid off the other player’s remaining 64.4K.
Other players were making extremely solid moves and chipping up. Jeff “jpapola” Papola has been on a rush approaching the money bubble, doubling up twice. He went from 50K to 100K when his A-J held up against K-J and later went from 100k to 230k when his kings held up against A-Q. Thayer “THAY3R” Rasmussen also chipped up when he won a 400k pot off of Hunter “THE_HUNT_D” Frey (pictured at left) when his A-K beat Frey’s jacks in an all-in preflop hand. The hand left Rasmussen with 420k and Frey with 60k.
Other players were making strong plays and getting completely flattened. As we reported earlier, the table where Jeremiah Smith sits with Jon “PearlJammer” Turner was incredibly dangerous. Jeremiah built his stack up to more than 1.2M in the last level and was apparently still on his heater.
One of his latest victims is David “davidp18″ Peters (pictured at left), who has been struck by lightning. After Peters opened under-the-gun to 8k, tournament chip leader and former poker reporter Jeremiah Smith put him all-in for his last 160k after he stuck out two orange 100K stacks. Peters called with the QQ and was way ahead of Smith’s 96. Or at least he thought. Smith apologized in advance and jokingly referred to it as a standard race situation before the flop dropped. Smith’s optimism was understood when the flop came T87, flopping Smith a straight with a flush draw. Peter’s dire situation caught a ray of hope when the T peeled on the turn but the A on the river capped off what has been a Jamie Gold-like run of cards for Smith, who was awestruck in the aftermath of an incredible scene which captured in its entirety by the ESPN crew.
Here are some more unofficial chip counts at the bubble:
Keith “damurdera3″ Ferrera - 600K
Owen “ocrowe” Crowe - 530K
Andy “tufat23″ Teng - 500K
Adam “Roothlus” Levy - 485K
Matthew “Burton1080″ Jensen - 480K
Paul “comeonphish” Lieu - 480K
Cort “thecortster” Kibler-Melby - 440K
Thayer Rasmussen - 420K
Jamie “TheChronic420″ Rosen - 370K
Jonathan “therookieqq9″ Plens - 330K
Aaron “NDGrinder” Steury - 260K
Aditya “Intervention” Agarwal - 260K
Devin “TranquilChaos” Porter - 245K
Tracey “XtrACEy” Nguyen - 235K
Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier - 217K
Zelong “freeman” Dong - 193K
Leo “Superfluous Man” Wolpert - 160K
Garrett “GBecks” Beckman - 160K
Clayton “clayton27″ Newman - 145K
Hunter “THE_HUNT_D” Frey - 145K
Frank “Round42″ Rusnack - 140K
Cliff “JohnnyBax” - 110K
Jason Gray - 100K
Ben “astrolux85″ Roberts - 95K
Tim “tmay420″ West - 80K
Jan “Erdnase” Heitmann - 80K
Brian “Like7″ Lamanna - 80K
Darren “DABADESTCHIC” Nelson - 63K
Justin “truesyalose” Truesdell - 62K
Senovio “DorsalFin” Ramirez - 46K
Short Day for Ferguson
by Brett on 07.08.08, 4:14 pm
Andrew “fergwrx” Ferguson was the victim of a tough beat just five minutes into play on Day 2a and has been eliminated from the Main Event. Ferguson (pictured right), who started the day with 13.5K, got all of his chips in the middle with JJ on a flop of T43. His opponent held QT and was able to come from behind by hitting the T on the river to send Ferguson home.
Paul “ComeonPhish” Lieu, seated a few tables over in the Blue section of the Amazon Room, has climbed to over 100K with pocket jacks in Level 6. We missed the preflop action, but a player moved all in and Lieu and another player called. The flop brought 743 and Lieu led out for 5K. His opponent called to build a sidepot. Lieu bet 10K when the 7 came on the turn and the other player folded. Lieu flipped up JJ while the short stack showed AK. The 2 fell on the river, shipping the entire pot to Lieu and increasing his stack to 115K.
Jeff “YoungSupremacy” Hakim is also seated in the Blue section and has done some moving early today. He added 10K to his stack when his opponent called a 3,300 bet from Hakim on a board of K3636. Hakim showed QQ and the other player mucked. Then Jeff eliminated two players at his table when he got involved in a three-way all in preflop. His KK needed a lot of help as the other two held AA and 33, but the K spiked on the flop and his set held to increase his stack to over 140K.
Peter “number1pen” Neff was sharing a table with Stu “thedonator” Paterson. We caught Neff raising to 1350 in middle position with the blinds at 250/500 ante 50. The player to his immediate left then reraised 2,150 on top. It folded back around to Peter who put in a third raise to 20K, more than enough to put his opponent all-in for his last 14K or so. The other player made the call with TT, which was behind Neff’s JJ. The board ran out 927JT and the other player was eliminated. After the hand, Peter was up to 70K after starting the day with 48K. Paterson was eliminated shortly after when he ran his AT into QQ preflop and was unable to improve.
TJ “Doubles00ted” Slifka is also making moves early. Slifka is seated at a table with Darrell “Gigabet” Dicken and eight-time WSOP bracelet winner Erik Seidel. We caught up with Slifka and Seidel heads up on a flop of AQ2. Seidel had checked in the big blind on the flop and Slifka bet out 2K from the button. Seidel then reraised to 5.5K total and TJ made the call. Both checked the 9 on the turn. The river came 7 and Seidel checked again. Slifka moved all-in for his remaining 15K and Erik thought for at least a minute before laying down the hand and conceding the pot to TJ, increasing his stack to 30K.
Viva Las Main Event
by Jill on 07.05.08, 4:19 am
The end of Level 5 for Day 1B of the Main Event started off in bizarre territory; as PocketFives caught up with play in the Amazon Room, Kenna James belted out a country ballad to all those within earshot. Meanwhile, Todd “nsxt2″ Arnold was doing Jerry Yang impersonations to the amusement of his table. And finally, at Paul “ComeOnPhish” Lieu’s table in the Blue section, his dealer was *definitely* an Elvis impersonator.
At Bobby “Gettin Deep” Hodson’s table, he spun a true tale of nearly doubling up after winning a clutch 20K pot. Ironically enough, it was with everyone’s favorite hand - pocket fives! He reported that a player in the hijack open-shoved and Bobby was in the big blind. Whether compelled by a tell or the power of the fives, Bobby called and his hand held against the other player’s A-K. He took down the pot and his stack rose to 30K.
Other players strengthening their stacks in the level included Paul “ComeOnPhish” Lieu who managed to take down plenty of small pots and work his way up to 85K at the end of the day. Mike “SirWatts” Watson also continued to dominate his table and walked away tonight with more than 100K. Another stellar performance was by Derek “arodss3″ Buonano (pictured at left), who worked his way up to 82K after a highly-televised table and subsequent media crew invaded his space for most of the evening. Apparently, there was a heckler at the table who was openly insulting Tom McEvoy who sat a table away.
Shaun Deeb had been sitting on a short stack for awhile and he and two other players saw a flop of KJ3. Shaun pushed all in on the flop and was called by one player whose QT open-ended straight draw was behind Shaun’s J5 pair of jacks. The turn was the 3 and the river brought the 6 and Shaun managed to double his stack.
Steve “gboro780″ Gross was one of the players that experienced a chip slide in the last level. When we caught up to him midway through the level, he guarded a 38K stack and was in a pot on a TQ6 board. He had bet out and was called; the 9 fell on the turn and he checked to his opponent, who bet out 3.4K. Steve called and the K fell on the river. He checked to his opponent, who made a river bet of 6K. Steve thought for quite awhile before folding AQ face up. He was down to 31K after the hand. Shortly after, he managed to swing up the chip counts to 42K when his KQ held on a queen-high board.
However, it seemed that the chip swings were beginning to tilt Gross, who later raised on the button in a hand. Both the big blind and a limper in early position called. When the flop came 332, one of his opponents bet 3.5K and Steve raised to 8K; his opponent called and the 3 came on the turn. Both players checked and the J fell on the river. His opponent bet out 8K and Steve folded after thinking quite awhile. After a series of downswing hands, Steve was was down to 17K.
Here is a collection of unofficial chip counts prior to the end of Day 1B. Congratulations to all players on a great day and good luck to them as they advance in the Main Event!
Mike “SirWatts” Watson - 106K
Paul “ComeOnPhish” Lieu - 85K
Derek “arodss3″ Buonano - 82K
Mark “sideshowgil” Gilbert - 42K
Jeff “YoungSupremacy” Hakim - 48.5K (pictured at right)
Steve “gboro780″ Gross - 15K
Stuart “zpaceman” Taylor - 26K
Bobby “Gettin Deep” Hodson - 30K
Greg “okstate345″ Cox - 21K
Marco “KILL-BILL” Liesy - 28K
Brian “Wing-n-prayer” Reingold - 27K
Stu “thedonator” Paterson - 18K
Jeff “jeffboski” Sluzinski - 17K
Shaun Deeb - 16K
Matt “SamENole” Smith - 8.5K
Zpaceman Lifts Off
by Jill on 07.04.08, 9:21 pm
On Orange Table 10, PocketFives caught up with Marco “KILL-BILL” Liesy (pictured at right) heads-up in a hand with Todd “nsxt2″ Arnold. On a board that read A433, Marco bet out 3,450 as he was first to act, leaving 23K behind. Todd reraised him to 9K and Marco went to the tank for a long time before finally deciding to fold with a bemused look on his face. Todd increased his stack to 36K while Marco fell to 24K.
A few tables over at Orange 8, action was getting more exciting as it filled up with PocketFivers. Stuart “zpaceman” Taylor was quite active over the last level, apparently wanting to mix things up a bit since his last level was slow. He sat at the table with another PocketFiver, Greg “okstate345″ Cox, who guarded a 26K stack.
When we caught up with the table, Stuart was involved in a hand with two other players on a flop of J76. Stuart bet out 750 after, but was reraised to 2K by the player on his left. Stuart called and the 8 dropped on the turn. He checked, his opponent bet out 3K, and Stuart took a long time to rake his opponent over the coals while he made his decision. Eventually, Stuart folded the hand with a face-up jack and his opponent also showed a jack. Stuart was left with 34K to question what other card was in the muck as Steve “gboro780″ Gross sat down at the table two seats away.
Shortly afterward, Stuart (pictured at left) led out with a preflop bet of 950, which Steve called. The rest of the table folded the action back around and the flop came AAK. Again, Stuart began the action with a 1,250 bet. After thinking awhile, Steve folded TT face up and was left with a short stack of 14K.
The next hand, Stuart limped in early position with one other player and the small blind completed. The big blind checked his option and the flop came AQ7. The blinds checked and Stuart bet out 600, which was immediately flat-called by the player on his left. The small blind called, the big blind folded and the 2 fell on the turn. The small blind checked, Stuart bet out 1,200 and the limper flat-called. Action returned to the small blind, who tossed his cards in the muck before a 4 came on the river. After shaking his head and musing to himself, Stuart bet out 3,250, taunting his opponent, “If I bet, you will pay me!” Sure enough, after thinking quite awhile, his opponent called and Stuart flipped over pocket sevens for a flopped set. He took down the pot and increased his stack to 42K.
Steve managed to get a few chips back soon after when he saw a flop of KT5. He bet out 1,300 against the button, who called; the 2 hit the turn and both Steve and his opponent checked. The 9 on the river inspired a bet of 2,250 from Steve and his opponent insta-called him, but mucked his hand against Steve’s KT for top two pair. Steve took down the pot and increased his to nearly 20K.
Jeff “jeffboski” Sluzinski made a move in the past hour but couldn’t get paid off on what looked to be a big hand. With the blinds at 150/300, a player raised under the gun to 900 and Sluzinski called in the cutoff. The flop was A86 and the other player led out for 1,100. Sluzinski raised all in for 7,425 more. His opponent contemplated a call before letting it go and Sluzinski is now at 11K.
Paul “ComeOnPhish” Lieu’s (pictured below) game has apparently not changed on the live circuit. His hyper-aggressive style helped him chip up to 35K through Level 3 but he just took a small hit to his stack. In a blind vs. blind confrontation, Lieu bet 600 on a T73 board and the big blind called. The 8 fell on the turn and Lieu bet 2,500 only to get reraised to 7,000 by his opponent. Lieu thought for close to five minutes, swirling a green chip with his right hand before folding a leaving himself with 30K.
Here are some updated unofficial chip counts:
Mike “SirWatts” Watson - 66K
Jeff “YoungSupremacy” Hakim - 45K
Todd “nsxt2″ Arnold - 37.5K
Paul “ComeOnPhish” Lieu - 31.5K
Mike “Schneids” Schneider - 30K
Blair Rodman - 29.5K
Mark “sideshowgil” Gilbert - 28K
Greg “okstate345″ Cox - 26K
Shaun Deeb - 25.5K
Marco “KILL-BILL” Liesy - 24K
Theo “pitrounder” Tran - 23K
Matt “SameENole” Smith - 21K
Steve “gboro780″ Gross - 20K
Derek “arodss3″ Buonano - 19K
Stu “thedonator” Paterson - 17K
Todd “DanDruff” Witteles - 16K
Brian “Wing-n-prayer” Reingold - 13.5K
Peter “Nordberg” Feldman - 12K
Tim “EightLarge” Vansant - 11K