2008 Wynn Classic Championship from the Wynn in Las Vegas - Day 2 Coverage
Tuesday, 18th of March 2008 11:14 PM What was once a field of 183 is now just 27. Only three full tables will return Tuesday for Day 3 of the Wynn Classic Championship, where they will play until they carve out a final table of nine.
Day 2 saw some surprising eliminations, such as an early departure by one of the Day 1 chip leaders, Roy "the Oracle" Winston. Winston started the day as #2 on the leaderboard, only to find himself on the receiving end of Vivek "Psyduck" Rajkumar and Scotty Nguyen beat downs, eventually leading to his elimination. Scotty did his best to survive on Winston's chips, only to find himself short stacked and then busted by Rajkumar.
Vegas' own Ricky Chow will enter Day 3 as the chip leader. Chow was able to chip up on a tough table that included the likes of David Singer and Kathy Liebert. Right behind Chow is Mike Matusow. Matusow entered Day 2 as the big stack, only to find himself short at the hands of some online pros. Matusow would get his revenge, thanks mainly to a rivered flush that cracked the top two of bracelet winner James "mig.com" Mackey.
Here's a look at the remaining stacks:
| Place | NAME | HOMETOWN | Chip Count | | 1 | Ricky Chow | Las Vegas, NV | 432,600 | | 2 | Ryan Young | Torrance, CA | 328,700 | | 3 | Mike Matusow | Las Vegas, NV | 218,900 | | 4 | Allen Kessler | Las Vegas, NV | 212,000 | | 5 | Eugene Todd | Brooklyn, NY | 210,800 | | 6 | Jonathan Little | Pensicola, FL | 203,000 | | 7 | Andrew Robl | Las Vegas, NV | 179,300 | | 8 | Larry Wright | McQueeney, TX | 173,800 | | 9 | Blake Cahail | Colombia, MO | 161,700 | | 10 | Toto Leonidas | Los Angeles, CA | 150,100 | | 11 | Ardavan Yazdi | Los Angeles, CA | 137,200 | | 12 | Jace Markgraf | Lubbock, TX | 118,700 | | 13 | Corwin Cole | San Diego, CA | 118,200 | | 14 | Alemu Tesema | Las Vegas, NV | 108,600 | | 15 | Darren Elias | Los Angeles, CA | 101,000 | | 16 | Ted McCollom | Seabrook, TX | 100,700 | | 17 | Matt Graham | New Orleans, LA | 97,400 | | 18 | Amit Makhija | Brookfield, WI | 93,000 | | 19 | Kathy Liebert | Las Vegas, NV | 83,300 | | 20 | Armando Pagliari | Toronto, Canada | 78,300 | | 21 | Chris Moore | Chicago, IL | 77,300 | | 22 | Ghoi Luong | Westminister, CA | 77,100 | | 23 | James Mackey | Columbia, MO | 71,700 | | 24 | David Singer | Las Vegas, NV | 43,600 | | 25 | Matt Beisner | Las Vegas, NV | 39,200 | | 26 | Cody Crouch | Amarillo, TX | 35,700 | | 27 | Steve Simmons | Syracuse, NY | 16,200 |
The 27 remaining players will return to the Wynn poker room Tuesday at 12 p.m. PST where they will set the final table. Only the top 18 will make the money, so expect players to be on their A-game as the money bubble approaches and the top prize of nearly $700,000 comes within reach. Make your way to PokerPages.com as we continue live coverage of the Wynn Classic Championship in Las Vegas.Monday, 17th of March 2008 10:13 PM
"That's it boys, we're done," said Matusow. A little redemption for Matusow, busting the player on his left, who earlier in the day forced "the Mouth" to make a big (maybe bad) laydown. There's a lot of bagging and tagging going on. Day 3 play starts tomorrow at noon PST and won't conclude until a final table is set.
I will post chip counts as soon as they are made available.
Monday, 17th of March 2008 10:01 PM
Ryan Young has busted another player, pushing his stack over the 300K mark. After a player in middle position made it 9K, Young watched from the BB as the SB made it 20K to roll. Young then popped it to 55K, forcing MP into the tank. He would eventually muck and SB would instantly announce all in. Young would call the extra 40K, turning over A K . SB turned over Q Q and the player in MP said he folded K-K. Good thing he folded. Young found the A on the river to take down the 200K pot. We lost an additional player, putting us at 28. One more and we'll be done for the day.
Monday, 17th of March 2008 09:53 PM
Players have returned from break.
Monday, 17th of March 2008 09:37 PM
Andrew Robl has doubled through Ardavan Yazdi, his 3 3 holding up against Yazdi's A J . Robl is up over 60K. Level eleven has come to a close. We're three bust outs away from our target of 27 players. The 30 remaining players will be back in 15 minutes to 1,200/2,400 blinds, plus a 300 ante.
Monday, 17th of March 2008 09:29 PM
Hassan Habib has just busted. After doubling through, Young was able to finish Hassan off. Monday, 17th of March 2008 09:26 PM
Ryan Young has doubled up through Hassan Habib, his Q-Q holding up against Habib's A-K. Young is up to 180K, while Hassan is now on life support. Monday, 17th of March 2008 09:17 PM
Blair Hinkle found himself all in holding 10 10 after the 5 7 6 flop. He was called by chip leader Ricky Chow, who saw his 5 6 catch bottom two. The dealer ran out the 4 and K , ending Hinkle's day. Vanessa Rousso was seen exiting the poker room. Her stay at the Wynn Classic is over.Monday, 17th of March 2008 09:11 PM Vivek Rajkumar has busted from the tournament. Monday, 17th of March 2008 08:58 PM
Here's are the big stacks: Ricky Chow -- 275K Blake Cahail -- 220K Allen Kessler -- 200K Mike Matusow -- 175K
Monday, 17th of March 2008 08:51 PM
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| Gioi Liu | |
Andrew Robl and Gioi Luong lock horns once again with a different outcome. With the board reading 7 3 3 9 Luong checks the action to Robl who bets 10k. Luong doesn't hesitate for even a moment and announces he is all in. After requesting a count, Robl makes the call for another 24,600. Gioi flips over the 10 10 and Robl the 5 5 . The river is the 8 and Luong doubles up.Monday, 17th of March 2008 08:41 PM
Jonathan little has doubled up. You might have thought Little had busted out a while ago. Nope, he's just been quiet. After sitting around 30K for most of the day, Little's A K was good enough for a double up on the K 10 8 3 Q board. Little looks to be up over 75K. We now have 35 players on four tables.
Monday, 17th of March 2008 08:31 PM Andrew Robl has increased the size of his stack at the expense of Gioi Luong in the five seat. With a flop of 2 9 6 Luong checks to him and Robl makes a bet of 8k. With little hesitation Luong makes the call. The turn brings the 9 and this time Gioi bets out 12k. Robl makes the call and the river sees the K fall. Luong checks and Robl quickly cuts 15k from his stack and makes the bet. His opponent ponders the decision for a short while, finally deciding to fold. Robl is now up to 105k in chips. Monday, 17th of March 2008 08:11 PM James Mackey has doubled his stack. His Q 4 hit the favorable board of Q 2 Q J 6 , which was good enough to boost his stack to 45k. Monday, 17th of March 2008 08:08 PM
Players have returned. Level 11; ante of 200 with blinds of 1K/2K.
Monday, 17th of March 2008 07:55 PM
The 38 remaining players are on another 15 minute break.
Monday, 17th of March 2008 07:51 PM
Vivek Rajkumar informed us that he took a 90K hit when his J-J came up short in a race with A-K.
Rajkumar would get some of those chips back, this time at the expense of Scotty Nguyen. Both players checked the K 10 9 flop. The K turn garnered a check-call of 5,000 by Scotty. The 6 on the river earned another check from Scotty, but this time Vivek put "the Prince of Poker" all in. Scotty would make the call. Vivek again tabled J-J. Scotty mucked, saying he had 10-9. The 1998 WSOP Main Event champ is done.
Monday, 17th of March 2008 07:43 PM
Matusow fires 6000 on a 3 J 5 4 board. His opponent re-raises, making it 18,600 to the Mouth. Matusow makes the call. 10 on the river. Matusow tosses out 11K, only to see the price jump to 31K. Matusow tanks, before folding. His opponent lets out a "phew", showing his 6 6 . Immediately after, Matusow finds himself in another big pot, this time with James Mackey. There was just 30K in the pot when Matusow shoved in his last 66K on the 10 9 8 A board. Mackey doesn't wait long before making the call, turning over his A 10 for top two pair. Matusow showed K 8 and would need some help. The 6 on the river was the help he needed.
"I thought the ace was a good bluff card for me," said Matusow. "Thought he might have had jacks or queens. Didn't know it was going to be the best card in the deck for him."
The flush puts Matusow around 160K in chips.
Monday, 17th of March 2008 07:07 PM
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| Hasan Habib and Matt Graham | |
Shortly after the dinner break ended, Matt Graham found himself calling for all of his chips on a flop of 4 3 2 holding the 9 9 . With his opponent showing the A 5 Matt was going to need a lot of luck to catch up. He must be Irish as the turn brought the 9 and the river the 4 rescuing Matt's tournament chances.Monday, 17th of March 2008 07:01 PM
Ralph Perry and James "mig.com" Mackey may be at war. After a Mackey four-bet on a previous hand, Perry would slam his cards in the muck and the youngster scooped a big pot. Mackey would raise again shortly after, this time in Perry's big blind. Perry wasted no time pushing all in with K Q . Mackey made the call, his A K in dominant position. Mackey would dodge every card, but the river Q . Perry has doubled up to 80K.
Monday, 17th of March 2008 06:44 PM
Cards are the air. Play will resume with the same 200 ante and 800/1600 blinds. There is a little more than an hour left in level 10. Just 43 players remain.
Monday, 17th of March 2008 05:34 PM Having hit 5:30 local time, we are now on dinner break. Play will resume at 6:45 PDT. Monday, 17th of March 2008 05:30 PM Tom 'The Shamrock Kid' McCormik has just busted from the tournament on this St. Patrick's Day. With Cowboys in the hole, McCormik was looked up by an opponent holding aces. The flop strengthened his opponent's hand as it came ace-high for trips. The king on the river was no help, and the luck of the Irish ran out for McCormik. Monday, 17th of March 2008 05:15 PM
Another table has broken, now we're down to five. Toto has been seated with Matusow, Mackey and Little. Kathy Liebert will have to deal with youngster Blair Hinkle and David Singer's big stack.
Monday, 17th of March 2008 05:11 PM
New level, 200 ante, 800/1600 blinds. There will be no 15 minute break. Instead, play will continue until 5:30, then the tournament will take a 75 minute dinner break.
Monday, 17th of March 2008 04:59 PM
Matusow took a big hit earlier, having James Mackey call him down with middle pair. He recently found himself all in. Matusow made a re-raise pre-flop to 10K, his lone opponent would call. His opponent would lead out for 15K after the K Q 3 flop. Matusow would come over the top with his last 37K. After a five minute tank, the unknown would muck, showing his Q . Matusow turned over A Q . "I knew I had the best hand," said an excited Matusow. "I wanted you to call." The Mouth is back up to about 80K. Just 45 players remain.
Monday, 17th of March 2008 04:54 PM
Blair Hinkle bumped it to 3,200 from the button. SB re-raises to 9,200, getting the BB out of the way. Hinkle announces all in, pushing out about 23K more. His opponent would tank, as 23K more was about 2/3 his stack. He reluctantly called, tabling K Q , in a race with Hinkle's 4 4 . The 2 9 6 A 2 board meant Hinkle is up to over 70K. His opponent is now the short stack.
Monday, 17th of March 2008 04:36 PM
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| Andrew Robl | |
On an ace high board and facing a decision that might cost him his tournament life, Andrew Robl makes the call for all of his chips. His opponent tables Big Slick and has a decisive lead as Robl meekly turns over the A3. When the turn comes an unlikely 3, Robl's opponent claps his hands together, but otherwise remains stoic. Robl has doubled up to about 85k. Monday, 17th of March 2008 04:26 PM
Ryan Young got a little cocky and it may have cost him half his stack. Young put in a re-raise on Rajkumar, who made the laydown. Young showed the 2 . Young would then find himself in a pot with Allen Kessler. Young's J 5 caught top two on the J 5 3 flop. Kessler held Q J . The turn and river came and Kessler would double up, thanks to the four-flush. "Maybe I shouldn't have shown that deuce," said Young. "I asked for the action." Both Kessler and Young look to have around 50K. It also appears that Justin Bonomo and "ElKy" have both been bounced.
Monday, 17th of March 2008 04:20 PM
Ralph Perry is currently in the chip lead and not stopping there. Perry put in a re-raise from the BB, his opponent would move all in with A J . Perry would call the extra 30K with A Q . "I can't believe you called me with A-Q," said the all in player. "It's hard to lay down the best hand," said Perry. The board missed both players, and Perry's A-Q high was good. Perry is now over 150K.
Monday, 17th of March 2008 04:03 PM Pre-flop Brian Wolfe pushes all-in for his last 37k. His A Q would need some help facing the J J of satelitte qualifier, and self proclaimed 'Best Player Nobody Knows', Bruce Russel. After the river, the board reads, A 4 A 7 6 and Wolfe doubles up. Monday, 17th of March 2008 04:01 PM
Roy Winston is busto. Joining him on the rail; Mike Sexton and Erick Lindgren.
Monday, 17th of March 2008 03:42 PM
Cards are back in the air. Blinds are at 600-1200 with a 100 ante.
Monday, 17th of March 2008 03:21 PM
Break time. Be back in 15.
Monday, 17th of March 2008 03:15 PM
With 6 5 7 on the board and about 10K in the pot, David Singer throws out 5K, but it re-raised by the button, who makes it 15K. Singer decides to move all in and is quickly called by the unknown button player, who has the Caesars Classic champ covered. Singer shows 7 8 , for top pair and a redraw at the straight. His opponent tabled a set of sixes. The turn was a harmless K , but the river was the 9 Singer was looking for. His 9-high straight was good for the double up and Singer is up over 130K. Singer has spent the better part of Day 2 with his face in his shirt. Singer explained to PokerListings that he was trying to hide from his neighbor's breath problems. I just thought it was a Michael Jackson impersonation. Singer doubled up through the player in need of listerine with the above pot for some redemption.
Monday, 17th of March 2008 03:10 PM
Winston and Rajkumar have some new faces at their table, in the form of Scotty Nguyen and Ryan Young. The new faces are making things tough for Winston, who first had to deal with Rajkumar. Vivek made it 2,400 and Winston made the call from the button. The 5 A 6 triggered a 4K bet from "Psyduck", who saw Winston bump it to 12K. Vivek would call to see the dealer turn the 3 . Vivek then check-raised all in. After a five minute tank job, Winston would lay down, leaving himself with 29K. Shortly after, Scotty would have his turn with "the Oracle". Roy made it 2,500, only to see Scotty make it 7,500. Roy would move all in. "If you got me, you got me," he said, tabling K J . Scotty held the smaller stack and made the call, showing A K . After the dealer through out five baby cards, Scotty would drag the pot, doubling up. Winston, who started the day second in chips, is now down to his last 6K.
Monday, 17th of March 2008 02:49 PM After getting moved to a new table, Vanessa Rousso has wasted no time getting in on the action, tangling with Hasan Habib for a pot. On a board of 7 2 Q K J Rousso, first to act, bet out 5k on the river, about a third of the pot size. Habib deliberated for a short while before tossing his cards to the muck. Rousso is now up to roughly 65k in chips. Monday, 17th of March 2008 02:43 PM
Julio from Cardplayer got to witness the blow up of the tournament, thus far. Randy Haddox was all in with sixes, only to have Toto Leonidas' A-K find an ace on the river. Haddox would get up quietly, only to slam his iPod to the floor and stomp on his sunglasses on his way to the rail.
Monday, 17th of March 2008 02:38 PM
Michael Binger's first major title will not be the 2008 Wynn Classic Championship. He couldn't get it in any better, his aces up against sevens. The seven on the flop changed that quickly and Binger has been bounced early in Day 2. John Racener's day has also ended.
Monday, 17th of March 2008 02:24 PM
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| Scotty, entertaining the table | |
A slight power surge hit the Wynn. As the lights flickered, Scotty Nguyen jokingly made a dive towards his neighbors stack, spilling his bottle of water in the process. A member of the tournament staff began dabbing the water soaked felt witha towel. "This doesn't smell like Michelob Ultra," said the staff member. The table had some laughs and play quickly resumed.
Monday, 17th of March 2008 02:15 PM Kevin 'BeLOWaBOVe' Saul has busted from the tournament. Monday, 17th of March 2008 02:06 PM With a flop of 9 8 5 and four players in the hand, Vannesa 'Lady Maverick' Rousso fires out a pot sized bet. The next two players to act fold and action rests on Erick Lindgren, who makes the call. The turn brings the A and again Rouso fires a pot sized bet which Lindgren calls after little deliberation. The dealer tables the 5 as the river card, and again Rousso fires at the pot. Lindgren makes the call and Rousso flips over A Q . Rousso takes down about 11k in chips. In nearby action, Scotty Nguyen has doubled up to about 40k with pocket rockets. Monday, 17th of March 2008 01:51 PM
Play has resumed.
Monday, 17th of March 2008 01:33 PM With about one minute left in level 7, players are already making their way to the restroom and/or for a quick breath of fresh air out on the casino floor. When play resumes the blinds will be 400/800 with a 75 ante. We now have 78 players remaining. Monday, 17th of March 2008 01:17 PM
A few players have already hit the rail, including Rick Salomon and Tom "durrr" Dwan. One table has broken, with Mike Sexton moving to David Singer's table and Kevin "BeLOWaBOVe" Saul will share the felt with Vivek "Psyduck" Rajkumar, Eugene Todd and Roy Winston.
A few other tough tables. Seat three at table #9, Justin "ZeeJustin" Bonomo, has a tough lineup acting after him, with Alex Bolotin, Bertand "ElKy" Grospellier and Hassan Habib seated in the 4, 5 and 6 seats, respectively. Erick Lindgren will have to deal bracelet winner Ryan Young, Allen Kessler and Vanessa Rousoo to start the day.
Monday, 17th of March 2008 12:35 PM
Short stack George Caragiorgas was the first to be all in on the day. His tournament life was at risk holding A Q and he was looked up by a player holding 2 2 . The board fell 9 A 7 K 4 and Caragiorgas is still alive.
Monday, 17th of March 2008 12:09 PM
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| Roy "the Oracle" Winston | |
Shuffle up and deal!
We are in level seven; ante of 50, 300/600 blinds.
Monday, 17th of March 2008 11:50 AM
We are minutes away from the start of Day 2 from inside the Wynn poker room. The remaining 90 players are prepping themselves for the long day ahead, as they look to trim the field to 27.
Here are the big stacks:
| Place | NAME | HOMETOWN | Chip Count | | 1 | Mike Matusow | Las Vegas, NV | 107,700 | | 2 | Roy Winston | Brooklyn, NY | 104,550 | | 3 | Amit Makhija | Las Vegas, NV | 103,700 | | 4 | Ralph Perry | Las Vegas, NV | 99,850 | | 5 | Brian Wolfe | Raleigh, NC | 95,925 | | 6 | Tom McCormick | Fargo, ND | 95,625 | | 7 | Ricky Chow | Las Vegas, NV | 91,100 | | 8 | Ryan Young | Torrance, CA | 90,700 | | 9 | Roger McDow | Las Vegas, NV | 82,450 | | 10 | Gordon Mullens | Corona, CA | 82,175 | | 11 | Blair Hinkle | Colombia, MO | 80,675 | | 12 | Ted McCollom | Seabrook, TX | 76,525 | | 13 | James Mackey | Las Vegas, NV | 75,700 | | 14 | David Singer | Las Vegas, NV | 74,525 | | 15 | Justin Bonomo | Los Angeles, CA | 66,900 | | 16 | Vivek Rajkumar | Las Vegas, NV | 66,600 | | 17 | Matt Beisner | Las Vegas, NV | 63,975 | | 18 | Larry Wright | McQueeney, TX | 62,250 | | 19 | Kathy Liebert | Las Vegas, NV | 61,200 | | 20 | Eric Roussakis | Berwin, IL | 58,100
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We are minutes away from action. |