Kosta 'Gus' Sengos - Winner!

Complete in-the-money results for this event:

	Paul Kraus - 2nd place

It took 5 hands: Gus moved all in and Paul called. Gus held J8 off and was behind Paul's QT suited. Board came 7 A 3 9 8 and Gus made the pair of 8s on the river to win the hand and (finally) take the last of Paul's chips.

Kosta 'Gus' Sengos finished in 1^st place, earning $219,576, the $10,000 entry to the 2007 WSOP Main Event, $1,000 in travel money, and the gold WSOP Circuit Championship Ring.

Paul Kraus finished in 2^nd place, earning $115,209.

Level 16: Blinds 10K/20K with 3K antes. Play has resumed.

It turns out that Paul had more chips than Gus, so Gus has doubled up, leaving Paul with 110K. Since the level is over, they have decided on a 20 minute break.

On the last hand of the level, Paul raised from the button and Gus re-raised to 110K. Paul called. Flop was 4 9 K . Gus fired 130K. After a few seconds, Paul accounced "all-in". Gus called immediately, showing AK off for top pair. Paul held KT off and was trailing. Last two cards were Q 5 and Gus won the pot. The chip counts were very close and the stacks had to be counted down...

Because these two are checking down most of the boards, they end up playing the board and have split many pots because they are both playing the board (or share an overcard). I've never seen so many split pots.

On the river with the board showing 8 T Q J Q , Paul bet 140K and Gus called after a few seconds. Paul showed K9 off for the King-high straight and Gus mucked. Paul picked up some more chips.

I just heard someone say "I've never seen so much checking in a heads-up match". I must agree, however, that this has been the most unusual heads-up game I've ever witnessed. Apparently these two guys need to learn to use the word "raise".

For the first time, they got all-in pre-flop. Gus held A9 offsuit and was ahead of Paul's KJ suited, but the board came 8 J 3 5 K and once again, Paul doubled up to about 550K.

The final two just took a quick unscheduled potty break, but are now back in action.

Gus has again been chipping away at Paul and has him back down to about 400K (out of the 1.42 million chips in play). This means Gus has about 1 million.

Gus has been chipping away at Paul's stack. Then they got all-in on a flop of Q 9 A. Paul was ahead with A3 for a pair of Aces. Gus held pocket Jacks. Last two cards were running Tens and Paul doubled up to almost 600K.

These two guys have been trading antes and blinds back and forth for a while, keeping the pots small. Then this happened:

With 3 8 A 3 on the board, Paul bet 150K and Gus moved all in. I think the pair of 3s on board scared Paul (memories of the quad 3s Gus had earlier) as he folded after a few seconds, showing pocket Jacks. Gus did not show his hand, but said Paul was ahead.

With that pot, Gus has re-taken the chip lead.

Level 15: Blinds 8K/16K with 2K antes. Play has resumed.

Paul has officially taken the chip lead:

End of level 15 and the players have declined a dinner break, but they will take 15 and then get back to it.

About 17 hands into heads-up action, we finally got some! Paul raised and Gus moved in over the top. Paul called, showing AK off. Gus was behind with KQ off. Board came4 7 2 A 5 and Paul doubled up.

Play has now resumed.

	Sam Von Duhn - 3rd place

Hand 105: Sam put his chips all in and was called by both Paul and Gus. Flop was 7 A Q and both checked. Turn was a 4 and Paul checked, Gus bet 40K and Paul folded. Gus showed pocket 4s for the set. Sam showed AK off and was drawing dead.

San Von Duhn finished in 3rd place, earning $67,770.

The clock has been paused as they prepare for heads-up play.

Hand 102: Sam raised from the small and Paul moved all in from the big. Sam called, showing pocket 4s. Paul held AT off and needed help. Board came Q 3 2 2 T and the river gave Paul the bigger pair and the double-up through Sam, leaving Sam in cirtical condition.

On the next hand, Sam put the last of his chips in and was called by Gus. Sam's Q4 suited was ahead of Gus' J7 off. Board came 2 6 A 4 T and Sam doubled up to about 50K.

Hand 95: Sam raised from the button and Gus called from the big. Flop was 3 5 3 . Sam fired and Gus check-raised him. Sam called. Turn was the K and Gus fired 65K. Sam raised another 110K and Gus called. River was 3 and Gus bet 120K. Sam moved all in and after struggling for a few minutes, Gus called all-in. Sam said "good call" and showed J9 off for Jack-high. Gus showed A5 off for 3s full of 5s and he doubled up, dragging a monster pot and taking the chip lead away from Sam.

Hand 86: Paul and Gus take a flop of K 3 2 . Paul bet 24K which Gus called. Turn was the J and Paul checked, Gus bet 50K, and Paul called. River was 3 and Paul checked, Gus bet 125K. Paul went into the tank for several minutes, counted out the call, which would be about two-thirds of his remaining chips, seemed to want to call, then pulled back, stood up, sat down, and finally folded, saying "I think you're bluffing". Gus rolled over pocket 3s for Quads, so I guess Paul had to change his mind. Good laydown, Paul!

Hand 84: Sam raised from the button and Gus called from the big. Flop was 5 7 6 and Gus checked, Sam bet 30K, and Gus popped him back for another 80K. Sam called and the flop was 2 . Gus checked and Sam moved all in. Gus surrendered and Sam got some of his chips back.

Hand 83: On a board of J K 6 7 , Sam moved all in and Gus called. Sam's A 7 for a pair of 7s was behind Gus' J 9 for a pair of Jacks. River was the K and Gus doubled through Sam.

Level 15: Blinds 6K/12K with 2K antes. Play has resumed.

End of level and the final 3 are on break for about 15 minutes. They've played 73 hands today to get to this point.

	Jeff 'Mr. Rain' Banghart - 4th place

Hand 62: Gus limped, Paul completed the small and Jeff checked his option. Flop was 9 J 7 -- all three checked. Turn was K . Paul checked, Jeff moved all in, Gus folded, and Paul called. Jeff held K2 for a pair of Kings, but Paul held KJ for two pair and Jeff was drawing dead.

Jeff 'Mr. Rain' Banghart finished in 4th place, earning $54,216.

Hand 56: Sam raised to 30K and was called by Jeff in the small blind. Flop was 2 T Q . Jeff bet 30K and Sam jacked it up another 50K, which Jeff called. Turn was T and Jeff bet 200K. Sam moved all in and Jeff called instantly, showing 5 4 for the flush. Unfortunately, Sam held 9 8 for the higher flush and Jeff was drawing dead. After doubling up Sam, Jeff was left with about 60K.

	Doug 'Rico' Carli - 5th place

Hand 35: Sam raised from the cutoff and both blinds called. Flop was 8 3 3 and Doug (small blind) checked, as did Jeff (big blind). Sam fired 30K at the pot and then Doug moved all in. Jeff folded and Sam called immediately, showing T 3 for trip threes (I don't make this stuff up, folks.). Doug held pocket 4s and needed help. Last two cards were A 9 and Doug was busted.

Doug 'Rico' Carli finished in 5th place, earning $40,662.

	Larry Vance - 6th place

Hand 33: Larry moved his last 45K all in and was called by Gus. Larry's 98 off was trailing Gus' KQ off. Board came Q 2 A 6 3 and Gus took the pot with the pair of Queens.

Larry Vance finished in 6h place, earning $33,885.

	John 'Johnny K' Kincaid - 7th place

Hand 30: Johnny K moved all in for 34K, then Doug Carli moved in from the button for 55K. Jeff was in the big blind and he made the call, showing pocket 9s. Doug was behind with AK off and Johnny K was trailing with J5 offsuit. Board came A Q 7 T T and Doug took the pot with Aces up, sending Johnny K home.

John 'Johnny K' Kincaid finished in 7th place, earning $27,108.

Level 14: Blinds 4K/8K with 1K antes. Play has resumed.

End of level and players are on a 15 minute break.

	Thadd Wolff - 8th place

Hand 27: Thadd moved his last chips all in up front and was called by Gus. Thadd's A7 offsuit was dominated by Gus' AK off. Board came A T 6 9 4 and that's alll she wrote for Thadd.

Thadd Wolff finished in 8th place, earning $20,331.

Hand 19: After all folded to him, Johnny K put his last 16,500 all in from the small blind. Paul called from the big, showing J 8 . He was dominated by JohnnyK's K J . Board came K 9 8 4 A and although both made a pair, Johnny's was bigger and he doubled up.

Hand 14: Jeff made it 20K to go up front and Gus called. Flop was 2 T K . Jeff fired 35K, Gus popped him back for another 35K and Jeff called. Turn was 2 and both checked. River was Q and Jeff fired 100K. Gus surrendered and Jeff dragged the big pot.

	Everett Carlton - 9th place

Hand 12: Jeff raised to 20K from the middle and Everett moved his last 27K all-in. Back to Jeff who called, showing A 3 . Everett was ahead with A 9 , but the flop was 6 T 4 giving Jeff the flush draw. Turn was T giving more outs for a split pot, but the river was the 8 completing the flush for Jeff and ending Everett's tournament.

Everett Carlton finished in 9th place, earning $13,554.

The first 10 hands have been played and they've only seen one flop. That hand ended with a bet on the flop. All the rest were taken down with a single pre-flop raise. Kosta (Gus) has taken down 3, including the one that saw the flop. Sam got 2, Doug got 2, Jeff got 2 and Paul got one.

There is a bit over an hour remaining in Level 13 with blinds of 3K/6K with 500 antes. Cards are in the air.

Final Table action will begin shortly after 2pm once the player introductions have been completed.

Starting in the 1 seat today, Everett Carlton of St. Paul MN.  He's 52 years old, single and enjoys golf when not playing poker.  He's cashed a couple of times at the WSOP and finished 3rd in Event #6 at this Circuit Event, for $19,206 (buy-in was $1500 + $70).  He paid full fare to enter this event ($5,000 + $150) and is guaranteed to earn at least $13,554 today.  That's not bad for a week's work!  He's got his work cut out for him today as he begins the day dead last in chips with 42,000.

In the two seat is Kosta 'Gus' Sengos of Sioux Falls, SD.  He's only 23 and has been playing poker for four years now.  He won his entry to this event in a Canton, SD bar league, so it's all gravy for him.  This is the highlight and first major cash of his poker career so far, but I'm sure it will not be the last!  He begins today third in chips with 210,000.

In seat three is the chip leader, San Von Duhn, of Chicago, IL.  He's 35 and calls himself a professional poker player for the last two years, although he admits that his move busting the player in 10th place was a  "true donkey play". He's got 444,500 chips and too many nicknames to list here.

John 'Johnny K' Kincaid of Omaha, NE, resides in seat 4.  He's starting the day next-to-last in chips with 56,000.  He's a 27 year old college drop-out who plays poker now. 

Paul Kraus is from Los Angeles, CA and is 35 years old.  By day, he's a commercial aircraft broker who is single and enjoys deep sea fishing (does this sound like a personal ad?) .  He paid full-fare to ride this ride, and he's already quadrupled his money.  That sounds like a good deal to me.  He comes to the final table in seat 5 with 104,000 chips.

Starting in the 6 seat today is Thadd Wolff, a 35-year-old self-employed accountant from Omaha, NE.  He also paid full fare to ride this ride, so has made a good return on his investment, regardless of what happens today.  He begins the day in 7th chip position with 70,000.

Doug 'Rico' Carli will be seated in the 7 seat today.  Doug is a retired stockbroker turned professional poker player and is probably the best kept secret on the tournament circuit.  He cashes in about 40% of the tournaments that he enters, which is extremely high for a tournament pro.  He's got one circuit event win under his belt and too many cashes to mention.  I see Doug and his wife Karen quite a bit on the circuit and they are two of the nicest people you will ever meet.  Doug comes to the final table today with 80,000 chips in 6th chip position.

In the 8 seat today is Larry Vance with 81,000 chips.  Larry is retired and living in Torrance, CA, where he enjoys Tennis, Ballroom and Latin Dance.  Larry has over a quarter-million dollars in lifetime tournament earnings reported, so never count him out.

Last but not least, in the 9 seat is Jeff 'Mr. Rain' Banghart, who held the chip lead most of day 2.  He owns a lawn sprinkler company, hence the nickname.  He has taken down the PokerStars Sunday Million to the tune of $136K and finished 3rd in the $500 WCOOP event for $115K, so Jeff is no stranger to big finishes.  He has a degree in finance, so I imagine he knows what to do with all that money and the dough he will pick up here today.

	Kaelaine with her winning hand and bracelet

Kaelaine Minton Reporting

Kaelaine won the 2007 World Poker Open Media Tournament at the Goldstrike in Tunica, besting a field of 50 to win the event and the WPO gold bracelet!

Contact Kaelaine