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$15,000 NLHE
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| Johnny Bax doesn't look happy. | |
Down to 11 at the WPT Festa al Lago Main EventThe fourth day of the Festa al Lago WPT $15,000 Championship
began with 37 players, just ten eliminations away from the money. Though action
was painfully slow at times, it hit break-neck speed before the end of the
night, leaving only 11 players standing heading into Day 5.
Dan Shak was one of the first players to bust, and Cliff
“Johnny Bax” Josephy followed soon after. Dee Friedman began the day fourth in
chips but ran Tens into Freddy Deeb’s Aces and then lost a race to hit the rail
several spots before the money. She was disappointed to be eliminated before
her husband, Prahlad Friedman, who snuck into the money despite starting the
day with one of the shortest stacks.
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| Brandon Cantu doesn't look any happier. | |
Brandon Cantu and Andy Bloch also busted out of the money.
Chau Giang lost a big race, earning him the unfortunate title of bubble boy and
guaranteeing everyone else at least $23,855. Action stalled for a long stretch
in the afternoon, then a flurry of bust outs cut the field from three tables to
two in record time.
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| Corwin Cole | |
Prahlad Friedman, Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, Mark Seif, Chad
“lilholdem” Batista, and Lee Markholt picked up min-cashes. Although Corwin
Cole and Jonas Entin began Day 4 as the two chip leaders, both were also
relegated to the rail with the minimum payout. Cole was more than happy to get
all of his money in pre-flop with pocket Aces against Jason Lavallee’s pair of
Jacks. Cole was less happy when Lavallee flopped a set, eliminating him from
the tournament. The hand gave Lavallee a chip lead that he never relinquished.
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| Chip leader Jason Lavallee | |
A cash game pro from Montreal, Lavallee’s only major
tournament cashes are in-the-money finishes in two previous WPT prelims. As the
night wore on, Lavallee continued to run over the remaining players, busting
Matt Glantz in 18th place. Glantz picked up his third WPT cash,
worth $31,805. Lavallee next eliminated WSOP bracelet winner Dutch Boyd in 16th
place and WPT winner Vivek Rajkumar in 15th. After busting Rajkumar,
Lavallee had built such a dominant lead that he actually had more chips than
everyone else at his table combined. Though his stack shrunk a little, he’s
still the end-of-day chip leader.
Matt “All In At 420” Stout finished in 13th
place, and Steve Brecher busted in 12th, leaving 11 players to
return on Sunday to battle it out for the six spots at the televised final
table. Lavallee will begin Day 5 as chip leader, followed by Freddy Deeb, Shawn
Cunix, and Kido Pham. Tommy Vedes, Aaron Jones, and Chris Bjorin are also still
fighting for the final table. Action will resume on Sunday at 12:00 pm PDT. Here are the end-of-day chip counts:
| 1 |
Jason Lavallee |
4,063,000 |
| 2 |
Freddy Deeb |
2,319,000 |
| 3 |
Shawn Cunix |
2,189,000 |
| 4 |
Kido Pham |
1,500,000 |
| 5 |
Tommy Vedes |
1,437,000 |
| 6 |
Jason Burt |
1,194,000 |
| 7 |
Chris Bjorin |
810,000 |
| 7 |
Larry Berg |
810,000 |
| 9 |
Richard Sciuto |
738,000 |
| 10 |
Aaron Jones |
679,000 |
| 11 |
Craig Crivello |
539,000 |
The following players finished in the money:
| Place |
Player |
Payout |
| 12 |
Steve Brecher |
$47,710 |
| 13 |
Matt Stout |
$39,760 |
| 14 |
Robert Tepper |
$39,760 |
| 15 |
Vivek Rajkumar |
$39,760 |
| 16 |
Dutch Boyd |
$31,805 |
| 17 |
Jeff Blenkarn |
$31,805 |
| 18 |
Matt Glantz |
$31,805 |
| 19 |
Terry Ryan |
$23,855 |
| 20 |
Jonas Entin |
$23,855 |
| 21 |
Corwin Cole |
$23,855 |
| 22 |
Lee Markholt |
$23,855 |
| 23 |
Chad Batista |
$23,855 |
| 24 |
Mark Seif |
$23,855 |
| 25 |
Chris Ferguson |
$23,855 |
| 26 |
Prahlad Friedman |
$23,855 |
| 27 |
Markus Gonsalves |
$23,855 |
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