Today is the final day of the World Series of Poker Circuit's $5,000 Main Event at Caesars, Las Vegas
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| Cory Carroll - Champion! | |
Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 08:21 PM
Cory Carroll is our champion, winning a WSOP Circuit ring, $505,176 in prize money, and bragging rights knowing that he bested 335 other players. Congratulations Cory!
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| Justin Pechie - 2nd Place | |
Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 08:17 PM
On the next hand, Cory moved in with A J and Justin made the "what are you going to do?" call with 7 5 . The board dropped 3 Q T 9 Q . Justin Pechie is eliminated in 2nd place, earning $260,736.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 08:12 PM
We just had our titanic confrontation. It went down like this: Justin raised to 60K, then Cory raised to 200K, then Justin moved it up to 800K, and finally Cory went all-in. Justin didn't like it, but he made the call. Cory had 9 9 and Justin had K J . The board came T 8 2 4 3 . Cory Carroll wins the mammoth pot with his pair of nines, leaving Justin with just a little stub of chips, perhaps 100K or so.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 08:03 PM
Justin raised to 60K and Cory called. On the K T 9 flop, Cory checked, Justin bet 85K, and Cory popped it all the way up to 485K. Justin moved all-in and Cory called. Cory had J-8 for the open-end straight draw and Justin had A-K for top pair top kicker. Cory was looking for a queen or an eight, but the turn-river came 3 T . Justin doubles up and they are nearly even in chips.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 07:54 PM
Justin just lost more than half his chips in the biggest pot of the tournament. Cory raised preflop to 60K and Justin called. Flop was 6 5 8 . Justin checked, Cory bet 85K, Justin called. The turn was T . Justin checked, Cory bet 180K, and Justin came back over the top with 550K. Cory, after just a minute or so, went all-in. Justin folded relatively quickly.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 07:45 PM
Blinds have just gone up to 10K/20K with a 3K ante.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 07:44 PM
Cory won a small pot, then Justin won a medium-sized pot on showdown with an ace high.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 07:39 PM
On the first hand of heads-up play, Justin won a small pot when his river bet went uncalled.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 07:34 PM
Cory will have a 2.1M to 1.2M chip advantage.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 07:30 PM
We are awaiting the money presentation before we can commence heads-up play.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 07:16 PM
After that last hand, Eric Davis ordered his second double-Jack and Coke. But will he have time to enjoy it? On a flop of T 6 3 , Cory checked, Eric bet 65K, Cory moved all-in, and Eric called. Cory had A 2 for the nut flush draw, and Eric had A T for top pair top kicker. Out came the 7 turn and Eric was drawing dead. No need to wait for the 3 river. Eric Davis is out in 3rd place, making a respectable $130,368.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 07:10 PM
Justin Pechie raised to 45K from the button and Eric Davis, with a great big cigar in his mouth, called from the big blind. On the "action" flop of 2 8 3 , Eric checked, Justin bet 55K, Eric check-raised to 195K, and Justin moved all-in. "You're killing me, kid!", said Eric and folded.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 07:01 PM
With that elimination, Eric Davis becomes the new short stack, but is in no way desperate, with about 700K.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 06:57 PM
Cory raised to 51K and Vasile called from the small blind. Both players checked the 7 5 9 flop. On the 6 turn, Vasile moved all-in and Cory called right away. Vasile had T 9 for top pair and the gutshot but Cory had A 8 for the turned straight. No miracle in the 6 river. Vasile Buboi has been eliminated in fourth place, earning $114,072.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 06:43 PM
Cory raised to 51K and Vasile moved all-in from the big blind. Cory couldn't stand the heat and folded.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 06:39 PM
Eric limped in the small blind and Vasile Buboi raised all-in from the big blind. Eric folded and Vasile flipped over pocket aces.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 06:37 PM
Eric Davis won a small pot and his father, in the front row, yells, "That's my boy!"Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 06:35 PM
J.C. Alvarado is here, sweating his friend Justin Pechie.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 06:33 PM
That makes five hands in a row in which a raise preflop resulted in all folds. It reminds me of my high school dating life: no action.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 06:31 PM
Vasile has moved in again and Justin went into the tank to think about it, but eventually folded.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 06:25 PM
Vasile Buboi moved all-in preflop but no one called.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 06:20 PM
Cory raised to 51K and Eric raised to 153K, which Cory called. The flop was 6 T 6 . Cory checked, Eric bet 253K, and Cory folded. Eric makes some back.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 06:15 PM
Justin won another pot when Eric bet 50K on the river and Justin called him with a low pair.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 06:13 PM
Vasile Buboi is now our short stack, with about 400K.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 06:12 PM
Justin raised and Eric called. Flop was 3 9 5 . Eric bet 120K and Justin came along. Both checked the 6 turn. On the 8 river, Eric bet 110K and Justin made the call, showing A-5 for a lowly pair of fives. They were good! Justin picks up the 500K pot and he is on a roll!Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 06:05 PM
Vasile Buboi raised to 50K and Justin Pechie moved all-in, which Vasile called immediately. Justin had A J and Vasile had him in tough shape, with J J . But the flop came A Q 2 and paired Justin's ace. The 6 turn and T river meant that Justin has doubled up again and now has about 700K in front of him.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 06:01 PM
Justin wasted no time putting those new chips to use. He raised two of the next three hands and won the blinds and antes uncontested.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 05:59 PM
When it folded to him in the small blind, Justin Pechie moved all-in for 154K. Cory Carroll called from the big blind. Justin had K T and Cory had K 4 . The board came K 3 2 K A and Justin's ten played. Justin doubles through Cory.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 05:49 PM
Play is resuming now at 8K/16K blinds and a 2K ante.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 05:47 PM
After that hand in which Cory Carroll knocked out Paul Kitsos, Carroll has the clear chip lead, nearing 1.5M.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 05:34 PM
Justin Pechie moved all-in and got no customers. We are now on a 15-minute break.
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| Paul Kitsos - 5th Place | |
Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 05:29 PM
Cory Carroll raised to 38K, Eric Davis called, and then Paul Kitsos went over the top all-in. Cory called and Eric folded. Paul had Q J and Cory had A 4 . The board double-paired with 7 7 3 3 2 , but Cory's ace kicker won the pot. Paul Kitsos is our 5th place finisher, earning $97,776.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 05:24 PM
Paul Kitsos moved all-in and got no callers.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 05:21 PM
Eric Davis and Cory Carroll share the chip lead, each with about one million. Justin Pechie is our shortest stack, with about 200K, followed by Paul Kitsos, with a little more than 325K. Vasil Buboi has a healthy stack, about 800K.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 05:18 PM
Eric Davis raised and Paul Kitsos moved all-in, which Eric called. Paul showed 6 6 and Eric had A 7 . Unbelievably, the board came 4 2 8 Q 6 and they both played the board and chopped the pot.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 05:03 PM
With David Pham, Chad Brown, and Steve Wong busted, our three most well-known faces are out, assuring that a relative unknown will take down this tournament and the half million dollars.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 05:00 PM
Just as I was thinking to myself that this is the quietest final table I'd ever seen, Eric Davis said, "This is the quietest final table I've ever seen."Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 04:52 PM
Mostly small pots recently. 40 minutes remain in this level.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 04:39 PM
Cory Carroll raised to 38K and Eric Davis called. Flop came 6 9 5 and Cory led out with 67K. Davis wasted no time raising to 267K. Cory folded.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 04:37 PM
We just had a hand that took ten minutes to play and resulted in a chop pot between Justin Pechie and Vasile Buboi when they both had A-T on a A-5-K-2-K board.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 04:29 PM
Justin Pechie raised preflop and Eric Davis called. The flop came 2 T 5 , Eric moved all-in, and Justin folded.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 04:28 PM
On the next hand, Justin Pechie raised to 35K, Cory Carroll called, and David Pham called the 25K, which was exactly what he had left. The flop came 2 J 9 . Pechie moved all-in for his remaining 147K and Carroll folded. Pechie showed K K and Pham had A 2 . Dragon needed an ace or another deuce, but the 4 K turn-river extinguished his flame. David Pham is eliminated in 6th place, taking home $81,840.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 04:19 PM
Big hand. David Pham raised to 34K and Eric Davis called from the small blind. On the 8 2 J , both players checked. On the 4 turn, Davis bet 95K and Pham called. On the 9 river, Eric bet 200K and Pham went into the tank again, this time deciding to call. Davis turned over J J for top set and when Pham didn't turn up his cards to show a winner, Davis jumped up from the table and did some hooting and hollering. His relatives in the front row of the audience yelled out a lot of attaboys. David Pham was left crippled with a microstack of just 37K.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 04:03 PM
We are playing again now at 6K/12K blinds with a 2K ante.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 03:49 PM
The level has expired and we are on a 15-minute break.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 03:47 PM
Paul Kitsos raised to 32K and David Pham, to his left, reraised. Kitsos shoved the rest of his stack across the betting line and Pham went into the tank. Finally, Pham folded.
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| Steve Wong - 7th place | |
Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 03:42 PM
Vasile Buboi raised to 31K and Steve Wong reraised to 91K. Buboi, after asking how much Wong had left (172K), called. The flop came 7 6 J . Buboi check, Wong lunged all-in, and Buboi called without hesitation. Buboi turned over T T and Wong had A K . With the Q turn, Wong could still win the hand with any ace, king, or ten, but the 7 on the river finished his day. Steve Wong is out in 7th place, earning $65,184.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 03:30 PM
Michelle Law and Cory Carroll reraised each other until Michelle was all-in. They turned up their cards: Carroll had 9 9 and Michelle had A T . Unfortunately, Michelle could not pair either of her overcards when the 7 3 2 8 3 board came. Michelle Law has finished in 8th place, earning $48,888, her biggest cash ever.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 03:26 PM
Being generous, is it possible Steve thought he had a pair of kings or queens and didn't look back to double-check?Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 03:24 PM
OK, now we had a head-scratcher hand. Eric Davis limped in and Steve Wong, in the cutoff, raised to 32K, which Davis called. The flop was 8 3 T . Davis checked, Wong fired 68K, and then Davis check-raised to 140K (leaving just 53K behind), which Wong called. On the 8 turn, Davis shoved his remaining 53K in and Wong called. Davis showed 3 3 for the flopped set and turned full house. And what did Steve Wong have to show to take on this full house? Well, of course the mighty Q K for king high with not even a gutshot draw. Just to spike the ball in the endzone, Davis hit the case 3 on the river for quads. Eric Davis has doubled through Steve Wong.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 03:17 PM
Chad Brown raised to 25K, Vasile Buboi raised to 75K, and it folded back around to Chad, who, after several minutes moved all-in for about 170K. Buboi called right away. Brown had 8 8 but Buboi had 9 9 . The flop came 8 K 5 and Brown hit his set and looked to double up. But the 9 turn made Buboi's set. Now Brown was drawing to that case eight. But the A on the river spelled the end. Chad Brown is our 9th place finisher, earning $32,592.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 03:03 PM
Cory Carroll raised to 26K and David Pham called from the small blind. The flop came a scary 5 6 3 . Pham checked, Carroll bet 52K, and Pham called. On the 8 turn, Pham checked again, Carroll bet 87K, and Pham called. With the 9 river, Pham led out with 52K and Carroll called. Pham showed T T for the overpair but Carroll had the A 7 for the runner-runner straight.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 03:00 PM
David Pham is up to his usual aggression. Steve Wong raised to 25K from the cutoff and Pham popped it to 77K from the big blind. Wong folded.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 02:58 PM
OK, without permission, and without regard to the possibility of getting thrown out, I have managed to get close enough to the final table to actually see what the hell is going on. If I suddenly stop posting, I may need to borrow some bail money.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 02:48 PM
Well, this is looking to be a pretty tough assigment for me today, folks. The media has very restricted access to the final table, so it is not possible to view the action directly. And unlike most events, there is no announcer here providing information as to what is going on. I'll do my best to report what I can.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 02:40 PM
Cards are in the air! We have resumed last night's level of 4K/8K blinds with a 1K ante. Just over one hour remains in that level.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 02:36 PM
They are making player introductions for the crowd of 50 or so.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 02:33 PM
I may be jinxing it, but it looks like we are getting a little closer now. They have actually told the players to sit down.Wednesday, 02nd of May 2007 02:16 PM
They are still working out some of the technical issues of this final table, so we are running behind schedule.
After successful careers in the financial and high-tech industries, Michael Cheser became fascinated with poker in early 2006. Defying all probabilities, he managed to cash in the 2006 WSOP Main Event. When not tournament reporting for PokerPages, he can be seen at no-limit tables in Las Vegas, cheerfully calling down big river bets with second-best hands. Contact Michael.
Today is the final day of the second to last event of the World Series of Poker Circuit before the 2007 World Series of Poker kicks off. The final nine players will take their seats this afternoon, competing for a first place prize of more than half a million dollars.
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| Chad Brown at the 2006 WSOP | |
Seat One - Chad Brown - 176,000 in chips
Actor and TV presenter Chad is well-known in the US for his hosting of the Ultimate Poker Challenge television series. A prolific tournament player, Chad grew up in the Bronx and learned poker playing in the neighbourhood cafes. Chad has cashed at several WSOP events including 3rd in the 2002 $1,500 Omaha hi-lo split event, 2nd in the 2004 $1,500 7-card stud event and 2nd in the 2005 $2,000 seven-card stud hi-lo event. Brown made back-to-back final tables in two 2005 WSOP circuit events, including a third place finish behind Chris "Jesus" Ferguson and Prahlad Friedman.
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| Vasile Buboi | |
Seat Two - Vasile Buboi - 349,000 in chipsVasile, an aerospace manufacturer owner and self-described workaholic, will start the day in the two seat with a 2-1 chip disadvantage to the leader, Cory Carroll. Up until now, Vasile's only tournament cash-outs were in 2005, the largest being a 4th place finish in a Big Poker October event worth just over $11,000. So, regardless of his finish today, he'll be getting his biggest payout yet!
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| Justin Pechie | |
Seat Three - Justin Pechie - 307,000 in chips
Justin is a professional poker player, all of 22 years old. A resident of Thompson, CT, Justin already has more than $350,000 in tournament cashesJustin finished in 9th place in a Super Satellite for the $25,000 WPT Championship this year, just eight days after taking 14th in an event at the Foxwoods Poker Classic, good for $44,834.
Perhaps most notably, Justin made his very first major tournament cash at the final table of the 13th event of the 2006 World Series of Poker. His 3rd place finish earned him more than $200,000, so he's more than familiar with final table action. And, given his chip stack, he's got more than enough to make a stand with.
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| Cory Carroll | |
Seat Four - Cory Carroll - Chip Leader w/713,000 in chips
From Halifax, Cory has just over $50,000 in tournament cashes in only three events. All of them have been World Poker Tour preliminary events, the latest being a final table - and 5th place finish - in March of this year. Like many today, he has a chance to cash out bigger than he ever has!
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| Eric Davis | |
Seat Five - Eric Davis - 272,000 in chips
Seems like there's a trend today. Eric also has five digits worth of major tournament cashes, with in-the-money finishes in two World Poker Tour preliminary events. Eric isn't the short stack, but he's close to it. He will have to make some serious moves to take this tournament down, but haven't we all heard it? "A chip and a chair!" Carlos Mortensen, just last week, took down the World Poker Tour Championship after overcoming a severe disadvantage. This is No-Limit Hold'em, and all it will take is one hand to vault Eric into serious contention!
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| Steve Wong | |
Seat Six - Steve Wong - 573,000 in chips
A 34-year-old professional poker player from Hoopdorf, Netherlands, Steve has quite the impressive list of statistics. With 17 major tournament cashes, including two 1st place finishes and numerous cashes in World Series of Poker and World Poker Tour events, Steve's most recent payday came just last week at the $25,000 buy-in World Poker Tour Championship. Steve finished in 67th place, earning more than $46,000 dollars. Given that Steve isn't far off the chip lead, he has more than enough ammunition to take this one down.
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| Michelle Law | |
Seat Seven - Michelle Law - 192,000
With just under 200k in chips, Michelle enters the final day as the short-stack. Most recently, Michelle finished in 6th place in the Ladies event at this year's L.A. Poker Classic, good for just under $4,000. That is her only major tournament cash to date, so she's sure to be quite excited as the day kicks off.
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| Paul Kitsos | |
Seat Eight - Paul Kitsos - 320,000
Paul had a great year in 2006, with three in-the-money finishes. Most notably, Paul finished in 488th place in the 2006 World Series of Poker main event. Now, while normally finishing nearly 500th in a tournament isn't anything to write home about, when you finish in the money in an event with nearly 9,000 players, you've got some bragging rights. Paul garnered over $26,000 for his WSOP finish last year, and will no doubt be looking to cash big today to grab first place and a seat in this year's WSOP main event.
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| David Pham | |
Seat Nine - David "Dragon" Pham - 491,000
David is on a hot streak! He finished Day 1 as the chip leader, and now heads to the final table with almost half a million in chips. Pham has more than $5,000,000 in career major tournament finishes, along with 2 World Series of Poker bracelets, and he's showing the world why as of late. Pham finished in 3rd place at the World Poker Tour's World Poker Challenge just this past May, a win worth another $200,000 added to his bankroll. He's already got 27 career 1st place finishes. Can he make today number 28?
Here are the chip counts according to seat position as we start the day: |
| 1 | Chad Brown | 176000 | | 2 | Vasile Buboi | 349000 | | 3 | Justin Pechie | 307000 | | 4 | Cory Carroll | 713000 | | 5 | Eric Davis | 272000 | | 6 | Steve Wong | 573000 | | 7 | Michelle Law | 192000 | | 8 | Paul Kitros | 327000 | | 9 | David Pham | 491000 |
And, not to forget, here's what they're playing for! |
| 1 | $505,176.00 | | 2 | $260,736.00 | | 3 | $130,368.00 | | 4 | $114,072.00 | | 5 | $97,776.00 | | 6 | $81,840.00 | | 7 | $65,184.00 | | 8 | $48,888.00 | | 9 | $32,592.00 |
Be here at 2pm PST today as PokerPages continues its LIVE coverage of this fantastic event, from start to finish, with your expert (and acerbically-witted reporter) Michael Cheser! |
