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World Poker Tour - The Bellagio Cup III - Day 2 |
| by 2007 World Poker Tour Coverage | |
| Friday, 13 July 2007 |
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$10,000 No Limit Hold'em
Saturday, 14th of July 2007 01:40 AM That ends action for today. Tune in tomorrow at noon for more head banging WPT action! Here are the unofficial chip counts: Kevin Saul - 445k Konstantin Puchkov - 380k Burt Boutin - 340k Steve Buchner - 300k Haralabos Voulgaris - 288k David Benyamine - 280k Nam Le - 270k
Saturday, 14th of July 2007 01:18 AM The board showed K  3 5 7 A. Erica Schoenberg, with David Benyamine rubbing her shoulders, pushed almost her entire stack in, about 45k. Kevin Saul sat up straight as the song "Radar Love" descended on the room. Kevin stood and sang along, "I got to . . run away!" Then he said, "I think this is a sign telling me to fold." After more debate he put his options on the table. "I'm either going to let you off the hook or pay you off like a donkey." Matusow said, "it's one of the two." And so Saul called. As Erica turned over her cards Mike said, "three Kings." Sure enough, she had two Kings in the hole.
Saturday, 14th of July 2007 01:02 AM The crazy table has settled down and settled in and Saul is taking advantage. He raised pre-flop and was called by his nemesis Steve Buchner. The flop materialized K 7 9. Saul bet 16k. Buchner looked reluctant, but the rivalry out weighed anything rational so he called.The turn came with a 3 and again Kevin led off with a bet, this time 3200 and again Buchner hesitantly called. The river washed up a 2.Saul looked over his opponent's stack. "What? We're about even," Buchner said. Saul disagreed, "No, I got ya. I bet a hundred thousand." Buchner folded the hand with a sly remark. "I'm not lucky like you." Saturday, 14th of July 2007 12:29 AM Steve Buchner has made an incredible run. He has severely cut at Saul's stack, just as he said he would, and has climbed into fourth. Where'd this guy come from? Saturday, 14th of July 2007 12:15 AM The last level of the night is set to begin with 500 antes and 2k/4k blinds. Friday, 13th of July 2007 11:59 PM Level eleven concludes. After a fifteen minute break we'll play the last level of the night. Friday, 13th of July 2007 11:38 PM Mike Matusow has put on earphones to block out the noise. "I'll never talk at a poker table again." Friday, 13th of July 2007 11:27 PM David Benyamine and Erica Schoenberg have some kind of a relationship going on. They went off together during dinner and recently he has been walking over to her table and rubbing her neck. She accepts it with calm, comfortable pleasure and familiarity. Is there something going on here? Who's jealous? Friday, 13th of July 2007 11:11 PM The saga continues. Saul put in 6k before the flop. The rookie came over the top with 21k. "Why do I get the feeling that you're coming after me?" Saul asked. The rookie replied eagerly. "Come to papa!" Saul folded. Matusow got up and told the room, "I'm completely convinced these are the sickest people I've ever played with!" Friday, 13th of July 2007 11:00 PM The rookie has become flagrantly rude and hostile to Saul who uses his wits to defend himself He's getting out of control and keeps insisting that fate has pre dettermined that he will take Saul's wealth over the course of the night.
Friday, 13th of July 2007 10:56 PM The loud table is getting worse. Mike Matusow, Kevin Saul and Steve Buchner who calls himself "the rookie" have been going at it. Buchner, the loudest of them all, accused Saul of accumilating his stack through luck not good play. Matusow said that he heard about a number of lucky breaks Saul had over the course of the day from an unidentified person who played against him, but didn't go as far as to accuse him of playing bad, in fact he acknowledged Saul's consistant skill. Matusow called it the Jerry Springer show at a poker table. He went on to say away from the table but loud enough for the room to hear, "this guy won't shut up! Three more hours of this I might commit suicide!" Friday, 13th of July 2007 10:45 PM At a table so loud that the tournament director had to shush them over the mic, Kristy Gazes pushed her 40k all in and found a caller. He flipped over Jacks, she Tens. The flop was cruel. J-3-T. The turn and river were no help, but Gazes goes home in the money. Friday, 13th of July 2007 10:31 PM Dinner is over, play resumes, The room is lagging a bit here in the late hours. We'll play two more levels or until 27 players remain, 82 are still alive, but that number should fall fast in the next hour. Level eleven brings with it 400 antes and 1500/3000 blinds. Friday, 13th of July 2007 09:06 PM Dinner break. Play resumes at 10:30 Friday, 13th of July 2007 09:06 PM Kevin Saul landed the best flop that he could imagine. With T-9 in the hole the flop gave him 8 J 7. He slow played it. The player in seat five called and seat seven raised it 15k. "How much do you have?" he asked before pushing his 90k all in. Seat five called too and flipped over the same hand T-9. Seat seven had bullets. Saul and seat five split the pot.
Friday, 13th of July 2007 08:48 PM The reserved lethargy that was seeping into the room was quickly replaced by irritability. Several spats between players broke out. One player became furious at the dealer for calling over a floor manager. He was kicked out for twenty minutes for swearing. Mike Matusow spoke across the room to a friend about it. "Nobody cares if we bust out or not. All we gotta do is go home, play some internet poker, go to the bathroom, beat up on our girlfriends, what else is there to do?" He went on to lament the coming dinner break preferring instead to just get it done. Friday, 13th of July 2007 08:28 PM Lots of folding going down. The mood is quiet, reserved and patient. The large stacks aren't giving away a thing while aggressively attacking their weak opponents. The top five have exchanged the chip lead a number of times, but have succeed in keeping the rest of the field down. Here's how it shapes up more than halfway through level ten.
Konstantin Puchkov - 369k Ofer Stern - 349k David Benyamine - 297k Kevin Saul - 295k Shane Schleger - 270k Friday, 13th of July 2007 07:57 PM The bubble has burst! Everyone left will come home with cash in their pocket. Friday, 13th of July 2007 07:48 PM With 101 players remaining, we're going hand for hand until the bubble bursts. If two players go out at the same time they will split the prize money for 100th place. Friday, 13th of July 2007 07:34 PM Level ten begins with blinds at 1k/2k. Friday, 13th of July 2007 07:15 PM Players go on break. Friday, 13th of July 2007 07:09 PM The approaching bubble has tightened play. The impending night has turned some players sluggish. Five hours to go. Whomever can endure the race while making the least mistakes will come out of the day on top. David Benyamine has surged ahead of the field. He holds the chip lead and consistantly pushes his opponents around with his stack. After losing to quads and being suspended for twenty minutes for bad language, Robert McLaughlin has fallen victim to a cancerous tilt that has him on the edge of destruction.
Friday, 13th of July 2007 06:38 PM Robert McLaughlin just lost a huge hand and yelled the F word twice. He'll be sitting out the next twenty minutes while his antes and blinds are taken from his severely crippled stack. 111 players are still alive. The bubble is at 100. Those finishing 51-100 go home with $15,490. Friday, 13th of July 2007 06:28 PM Mike Matusow says, "I never watch poker. Ever. Not unless it's the main event final table live, and I'm not in it. I have no interest in watching a bunch of people who don't know what they're doing. Everyone wants to be a super star." Friday, 13th of July 2007 06:14 PM Erica Schoenberg put in 6k before the flop with pocket Aces. When the man in seat five pushed his small stack all in she immediately called and flipped over her cards. Seat five resigned himself to defeat and showed A-K suited. The board offered no relief. Erica takes anoither one.
Friday, 13th of July 2007 05:57 PM Victor Ramdin continues growing his stack. He went up against a short stack with pocket Kings. The board showed 5-T-6-6-T. After several rounds of betting his opponent turned over pocket Jacks and fed Ramdin another win. On the very next hand, the same player pushed 10k in before the flop. Ramdin studied him quizically. "Are you on tilt?" he asked. His opponent said nothing. Finally Ramdin folded. Friday, 13th of July 2007 05:45 PM Level 9 begins. 200 ante 800/1600 blinds. Friday, 13th of July 2007 05:31 PM Players go on break. Friday, 13th of July 2007 05:30 PM Kevin Saul takes down another man. While debating the all in call, Saul said, "everyone expects me to turn over King-Queen, but that's not what I have." After implying that his cards were weak he called and turned over pocket Nines. His opponent showed K Q. The board coughed up blanks. 6-7-J-A-8. Saul continues piling up the wealth.Friday, 13th of July 2007 05:22 PM All of a sudden beer has entered the room en masse. With seven hours left to play, it's easy to imagine where the drinkers will end up.
Friday, 13th of July 2007 05:11 PM Another pro bites the dust. This time it's Greg Mueller and Ryan Daut. The field is shrinking fast. Friday, 13th of July 2007 04:51 PM Greg Mueller raised 3500 before the flop. Seat seven came over the top and went all in with an additional 15k. Mueller had about twice that. While enjoying a massage, he festered in the tank. "Will you show me what you have if I fold?" he asked. Seat seven said, "I'll tell you during a break in private." After a long breath Greg called. Seat seven turned over pocket Nines. Mueller showed K-Q. Another player said, "good call." Then the flop gave seat seven a Nine for the set which prevailed. Mueller is working with a short stack and heavy blinds.
Friday, 13th of July 2007 04:37 PM Here are the current chip leaders: Konstantin Puchkov - 291k Kevin Saul - 250k Ofer Stern - 202k Robert McLaughlin - 190k Erik Friberg - 186k William Thorson - 178k Ralph Perry - 171k Burt Boutin - 147k Johni Hennigan - 147k Music update: "Girls just want to have fun!" Still no player has complained about the horrible sounds descending from the ceiling. Maybe they can drown it out by shuffling chips. Friday, 13th of July 2007 04:01 PM Level eight is underway with 200 ante and 600/1200 blinds. Friday, 13th of July 2007 03:40 PM Players take their second break. Play resumes at 4pm. Vanessa Rousso has busted out.
Friday, 13th of July 2007 03:29 PM Lusky called a 3200 raise before the flop and gave birth to a monster. The flop turned over J 6 4. Seat four bet 7k and Lusky called.The turn brought a K . Kamron checked. Seat four bet 10k with quick confidence. Lusky called. The river dropped the third club, this one a Nine. "How much do have left? Lusky asked. Seat four laborously counted out 32.5k and Lusky shoved in the equivalent stack.Seat four fell into a tank of incredulity, self doubt and self examination. "if you have two pair I got you beat. I think I got you. Only if you have amazing luck can you beat me. I don't think you got me." Lusky responded. "If you got me you're lucky. I don't look for this hand, it just comes to me." The banter passed back and forth for some time as seat four tried to get a grasp on the situation. He had no choice, though. He had to call and so he did with K-J, two pair. Lusky turned over A-6 and said, "good call." Seat four raked in the pot. Friday, 13th of July 2007 03:03 PM Justin Young calls an all in bet with the board showing 7-A-4. His opponent flipped over A-J. Young showed A-K and held on for the win.
Friday, 13th of July 2007 02:53 PM Having earlier gone all in with no callers, Vanessa Rousso shoved all in with pocket Tens. "I really have to use the rest room so if you can decide either way that'd be great," she said to a contemplating opponent. Another player told him to take his time. That player folded but the next seat called and flipped over 7-8. The flop dropped J-9-Q-K-T. The board hits a straight and they split the pot. Vanessa then asked in disbelief, "how can you call that? I play tight for all of those who don't understand. I've played only two hands all day!" Vanessa stays alive.
Friday, 13th of July 2007 02:37 PM With a shrinking stack, David Greenberg found himself with pocket Kings. He moved all in and ran into Chip Reese who didn't bother counting the bet. "I'm all in," he said and flipped over bullets. The board offered nothing for either player. Reese's Aces hold up and win him a big pot. Friday, 13th of July 2007 02:12 PM Here we go, play resumes with 500/1000 blinds. Friday, 13th of July 2007 01:55 PM Players take their first break of the day. Friday, 13th of July 2007 01:38 PM So three players go all in, the first has 4-5, the second, 3-4 and the third 6-6. The flop comes down with A-J-K. Player one has junk. Player two has a bad odds straight draw. Player three still leads with sixes The turn comes up with a Ten. Is that a straight draw on the board? It sure is. Until the Queen drops and makes it a full straight. The three players by the grace of poker mercy alone stay alive and split the pot.
Friday, 13th of July 2007 01:12 PM With a King and a Queen, Beth Shak shoved her tiny stack forward and found one caller. He quickly turned over Aces. "Oh, my God, I knew it. Every time I go in with Kings and Queens I run into Aces." Beth got up in disgust as the board offered no repreve. "At least I can pack and go home now." The casualties contine. Dealers all over the room are calling out empty seats. Jennifer Tilly has also made an early exit. Music update: "We built this city on rock and roll!" Friday, 13th of July 2007 12:26 PM The voices thundering the room moments ago have become silent as play commences. In the ball room here there are speakers in the ceiling that are hooked into the main hotel system. A catchy and hellish array of soft pop songs are playing. "Bring me your higher love" is on right now. Not much of a poker anthem in theory, yet here we are. Friday, 13th of July 2007 12:22 PM Play begins. 100 ante 400/800 blinds. We'll be playing seven 90 minute levels today with a dinner break after the fifth level.
Friday, 13th of July 2007 12:12 PM Intensity overwhelms the air as players wait for the first deal. The much anticipated day 2 should see a lot of action quickly as the short stacks shove before the blinds can devour them and the big stacks hunt for victims shoving with desperate cards. Friday, 13th of July 2007 12:03 PM Players endure the anxious routine of finding their table and opening their bags of chips, counting them out and stacking them.
Friday, 13th of July 2007 11:58 AM Cards are seconds away from flying. Here's a look at the chip leaders: Kevin Saul - 262k Konstantin Puchkoy - 1800k Andreas Hagen - 141k Ofer Stern - 132k Gino Yonan - 118k Robert McLaughlin - 117k Arkadi Aminov - 115k Justin Young - 108k David Oppenheim - 100k Matthew Casterella - 100k Friday, 13th of July 2007 11:50 AM Welcome back to the Bellagio for Day 2 of the WPT championship. Today those who survived their respective day ones come together with the stakes raised and the $1,342,320 first place prize closer than ever. Over two hundred players are still alive. One hundred will cash out. Stay tuned for more. |
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