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Speidel Aces 2012 Aussie Millions Final Table

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Oliver Speidel added a storybook finish to his magical run at the 2012 Aussie Millions on Sunday in Melbourne.

In the final hand of the tournament Speidel, as he’s been doing for the entire final table, opened the betting for 160,000 from the button.

Ken Wong raised to 485,0000 but Speidel wasn’t going anywhere. He re-raised 900,000. Wong replied by re-raising to 1,900,000.

At this point Speidel 6-bet shoved all-in, easily covering Wong. Wong called and the cards were on their backs:

Oliver Speidel: A♣ A♠

Ken Wong: 9♣ 9♥

Incredibly Speidel had picked up the best starting hand in Hold’em and Wong looked slightly shocked when the cards were turned over.

Of course, as any poker pro knows, aces don’t always hold and Speidel was likely still sweating with a $600,000 pay jump on the line.

The flop came K♠ T♠ 8♥, which gave Wong some backdoor straight draw outs.

The turn was the 4♣, however, which quickly ended those hopes.

Finally the 7♥ ended the tournament and secured Speidel the title.

Wong still picks up $1 million (AUD) as a consolation prize for coming in second place.

From the start of the final table Speidel appeared destined to win this tournament and the Melbourne local ended up eliminating five of his six opponents at the final table.

Speidel is the fourth consecutive Australian to win the Aussie Millions and he will keep the title here in Melbourne.

That’s going to do it for us at the 2012 Aussie Millions and we’ve got to put in a special thank you to the Crown Casino for hosting us and running an amazing series of poker tournaments. They do poker right in Melbourne.

We’ll see you at the next one!

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Aussie Millions Day 6: Speidel Punishes Krstanoski (Third)

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Oliver Speidel has sucked out on Mile Krstanoski to usher in heads-up play at the 2012 Aussie Millions final table.

In the hand Speidel open-shoved from the small blind and Krstanoski decided to call.

The players immediately flipped over their hands:

Speidel: 9♠ 8♣

Krstanoski: K♥ 8♥

It’s one of the first times at this final table that Speidel has actually been behind his opponent. The way Speidel has been crushing this final table it almost seemed like he was due for a suckout, however.

That’s exactly what happened when the flop came A♥ 9♣ 6♦ giving Speidel the commanding lead with his pair of nines.

Krstanoski was left praying for a king as the turn fell 4♥. That gave him more outs to a flush but those hopes were rudely crushed with the 7♣ on the river.

Krstanoski finishes in third place and picks up $610,000 (AUD) for his efforts in this tournament.

With Krstanoski’s departure we are now officially heads-up with the Aussie Millions title on the line.

The chip counts going into heads-up are as follows:

Oliver Speidel – 15.2 million Ken Wong – 4.6 million

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Aussie Millions Day 6: Speidel Terrorizes Kowssarie (Fourth)

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Oliver Speidel is rampaging his way through the remaining players in the 2012 Aussie Millions final table.

His latest victim is none other than Swedish pro Mohamad Kowssarie, who you may know as Fast_Freddie or TerrorOfSweden online.

Speidel opened for 160,000, Kowssarie shoved and Speidel insta-called with pocket kings. Kowssarie could only shake his head, as he revealed A-2 off suit

The flop didn’t help matters for Kowssarie as it came down K-8-5 bringing a thunderous applause from the Speidel fans.

Kowssarie was dead to runner-runner trip aces and his tournament was over when the turn instead peeled off the deck 9♥.

The Swede picks up $405,000 (AUD) for his efforts in Australia. It’s his biggest live tournament cash ever.

Here’s a look at the chip counts after the dust has settled:

Oliver Speidel – 14.4 millionKen Wong – 4.2 millionMile Krstanoski – 1.1 million

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Aussie Millions Day 6: Speidel Wins Massive Pot Off Krstanoski

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Oliver Speidel just took a stranglehold on the final table of the 2012 Aussie Millions Main Event.

The Melbourne-native is now up to nearly 14 million chips thanks to a huge pot against Mile Krstanoski.

In the hand Speidel bet the button and Krstanoski called from the big blind to see a T♥ T♦ 7♦ flop.

The turn came 5♣ and Krastanoski checked but Speidel threw 500,000 chips into the pot.

The river finished with the 4♣ and Krastanoski fired a one million-chip be into the pot.

Speidel immediately raised to 2.7 million and Krastanoski eventually made the call but Speidel immediately showed pocket sevens for the flopped boat.

Considering there are only are only 19.7 million chips in play, this tournament is pretty much Speidel’s to lose at this point.

Oliver Speidel – 13.5 million Kenneth Wong – 3.7 million Mohamad Kowssarie – 1.6 million Mile Krstanoski – 1.1 million

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Aussie Millions Day 6: Speidel Smashes Healy (Fifth)

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Patrick Healy is out of the 2012 Aussie Millions Main Event and Oliver Speidel is looking downright unbeatable right now.

Healy was fighting from the short stack for the last level and knew he needed to snag a double-up to continue in this event.

Healy opened for 160,000, which was enough to chase everyone except chip leader Oliver Speidel who made the call.

The dealer threw down a 9-8-4 flop and that’s when the real fireworks began.

Healy led out for 100,000, Speidel raised to 350,000 and Healy immediately moved all-in for his last 1.8 million.

Unfortunately for Healy, Speidel snap-called and tabled 9♥ 8♥ for top two-pair. Healy could only muster A-K, which put him in a very bad spot.

The board finished with the 5♦ and then the K♣ to give Healy his walking papers.

The Perth-native picks up $300,000 for finishing in fifth place in this tournament.

Meanwhile Speidel is simply running over the final table at the moment. Here are the updated chip counts:

Oliver Seidel – 10.2 millionMile Krstanoski – 4.7 millionKen Wong – 3.7 millionMohamad Kowssarie – 1.6 million

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Aussie Millions Day 6: Bjorn to Bust (Sixth)

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Our chip leader at the start of the day is now nothing more than a memory at this final table.

Bjorn Li doubled up a couple of short stacks early on and then became the shortest stack in the last level thanks to losing a big pot against Ken Wong.

In his final hand Li open-shoved for 600,000 with A♣ Q♦ and Mohamad Kowssarie opted to make the call with 3♦ 3♣.

The board ran out K-7-2-2-9 and that was more than enough to give Li his walking papers.

The Hong Kong-born Li was one of the most experienced players at the final table and must be disappointed with finishing in sixth place.

Li picks up $230,000 (AUD) for his sixth-place effort here at the 2012 Aussie Millions.

In other news Oliver Speidel is crushing. Here are the updated chip counts:

Oliver Speidel – 7 million Mile Krstanoski – 5.4 million Patrick Healy – 2.6 million Ken Wong – 2.2 million Mohamad Kowssarie – 2.1 million

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Aussie Millions Day 6: Yann Banned (Seventh)

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Canadian Yann Dion is the first casualty of the 2012 Aussie Millions final table.

Dion, who plays online as yadio, entered the final table with 2.3 million in chips but never really got anything going.

He fell from fifth in chips to last in a hurry and at the start of Level 25 he made his move.

Oliver Speidel opened for 155,000 and fellow Aussie Mile Krstanoski called, but Dion immediately moved all-in.

Speidel re-shoved to isolate and that was enough to get Krstanoski to lay down his hand.

Dion flipped over pocket sevens and would need some help as Speidel had him crushed with pocket queens.

The board ran out A-J-3-2-T and that spelled doom for Dion.

The Canadian picks up $170,000 (AUD) for his efforts in this contest.

We are now six-handed in the 2012 Aussie Millions Main Event.

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Aussie Millions Day 6: Kowssarie Doubles Through Li

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Bjorn Li was dominant in the initial stages of the final table here at the Crown Casino but Mohamad Kowssarie just hit a big double against the Chinese-born pro.

Li made a standard pre-flop bet and both Ken Wong and Mohamad Kowssarie decided to come along for the ride.

The flop came K♥ Q♥ 7♥ and Kowssarie checked but Li fired 200,000 into the pot. Both Wong and Kowssarie made the call and that brought the A♦ turn.

Once again Kowssarie started with a check but Li kept the pressure on with a 430,000 bet. That was enough to chase Wong but Kowssarie wasn’t going anywhere.

The player formerly known as the Terror of Sweden moved all-in for 1.3 million more.

Li tanked for a few minutes as he weighed his options.

Finally he decided to call only to have Kowssarie flip J♥ T♣ for the broadway straight and a flush draw. Li could only muster pocket sevens for a set leaving him drawing pretty thin on the river.

The river was a meaningless 4♣ and that was enough to secure Kowssarie the pot and move him into the chip lead.

Here’s a look at the chip counts after the first break:

Mohamad Kowssarie – 4.4 million Oliver Speidel – 4.1 million Bjorn Li – 2.7 million Patrick Healy – 2.6 million Mile Krstanoski – 2.1 million Kenneth Wong – 1.9 million Yann Dion – 1.8 million

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Aussie Millions Day 6: The Final Chapter Begins

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

It’s been one hell of a journey getting here but today the last seven players in the 2012 Aussie Millions will be reduced to just one.

That player will walk away with $1.6 million and the title of Australian poker champion.

At this point it almost feels like an afterthought thanks to Phil Ivey busting out of the Main Event in 12th yesterday and then storming back to win the $250k Challenge for $2 million early this morning.

There’s still a life-changing amount of money to be won today and that fact likely hasn’t escaped chip-leader Bjorn Li.

The University of Chicago grad will attempt to parlay his 4.7 million chips into the $1.6 million first place prize. Li is actually one of the most experienced players at the final table with a high roller win in Macau and a deep run in the Main Event this summer.

Li isn’t the only notable player at the final table as Yann Dion is a known online crusher. The French Canadian plays as yadio online and has over $1 million in lifetime earnings.

This event has been won by an Australian for three years running and the three remaining Aussies have a chance to keep that streak alive.

Oliver Speidel likely has the best chance with 3.4 million chips, good enough for second place. The Melbourne local also has over $200k in lifetime tournament earnings, which more than anyone else at the final table.

Perth’s Patrick Healy is right behind Speidel with 2.9 million chips. Speidel is a bit of a wild card entering this event and made some very unusual moves, such as opening for a massive amount and then folding, with just eight players left.

Also from Perth is Mile Krstanoski who stealthed his way into the final table with very little fanfare. Krstanoski is second to last in chips with 2.2 million.

Fill out the final table is Canadian Kenneth Wong who will enter the final table with 2.3 million chips.

Last in chips is Swedish online cash game player Mohamad Kowssarie. Kowsarrie is the short stack at the final table with 1.7 million chips but used to inspire fear online as Fast_Freddie and TerrorOfPoker.

The dealer just announced the shuffle up and deal so here are the chip counts to start the day:

1. Bjorn Li – 4,775,000 2. Oliver Speidel – 3,415,000 3. Patrick Healy – 2,995,000 4. Kenneth Wong – 2,330,000 5. Yann Dion – 2,325,000 6. Mile Krstanoski – 2,295,000 7. Mohamad Kowssarie – 1,750,000

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Aussie Millions Day 5: Bjorn Li Leads Final Table

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Bjorn Li will take the chip-lead into a Phil Ivey-less final table at the 2012 Aussie Millions.

Li, a former University of Chicago student, has made deep runs in big tournaments before and finished 329th in the 2011 WSOP Main Event.

The Hong Kong-born Li finally won a major tournament this summer when he took down a high roller event for $61k at the Macau Poker Cup.

After an impressive four-day run, Ivey was the first player to hit the rail today when he shoved got all his chips in the middle with A-Q against Yann Dion’s A-K.

Although the final table is missing the celebrity draw of Phil Ivey there are still several compelling stories in the lineup.

Yann Dion plays online as yadio and has earned over $1.5 million. The French Canadian has limited live tournament experience but has cashed for just over $80k. He will enter the final table 2.3 million chips.

Mohamad Kowsarrie is a formidable online player who used to be known as Fast_Freddie and TerrorOfSweden.

He was also accused of cheating by Johnny Lodden and Patrik Antonius on separate occasions - allegations he vehemently denied - so this will be his chance to prove that he can actually play.

Local Oliver Speidel has perhaps the best chance to keep the title in Australia.

The young pro has over $200k in live tournament winnings including a first place finish in the $1k No-Limit Hold’em event at the Aussie Millions last year.

The entire final table has under $1 million in lifetime tournament earnings so it’s safe to say there are also some slightly lesser-known players at the final table.

Mile Krstanoski, Kenneth Wong and Patrick Healy fill out a final table that is lacking a heavy hitter.

The final table will begin at 12:30 p.m. tomorrow and one player will walk away with $1.6 million and the 2012 Aussie Millions title.

Here are the complete chip counts heading into the final day of the 2012 Aussie Millions Main Event:

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Aussie Millions Day 5: Ivey Ousted in 12th

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Phil Ivey put on an amazing show here at the 2012 Aussie Millions but the magical ride has come to an end.

Ivey entered Day 5 as the shortest stack in the room with only 699,000 to his name. Ivey is obviously playing to win the tournament not fold into the higher payouts so he was active early.

In Ivey’s final hand online pro Yann Dion opened for 40,000, Ivey raised to 140,000, Dion shoved, easily covering Ivey.

Ivey called and the players tabled their cards:

Ivey: A♦ Q♣

Dion: A♠ K♦

Ivey has an interesting relationship with ace-queen.

He busted out of the 2009 WSOP Main Event final table when his ace-king failed him against Darvin Moon’s ace-queen. He also busted 10th in the 2003 Main Event when his pocket nines were cracked by Chris Moneymaker’s ace-queen.

Ivey’s also crashed out of several WPT events with ace-queen when he was the favorite to double up.

His luck with ace-queen didn’t change this tournament either as the board ran out:

2♦ 2♣ 2♠ 8♣ 9♠

No luck for Ivey as Dion’s A-K easily holds up.

It’s not all bad for Ivey as the pro outlasted 646 players and will take home $100k (AUD) for finishing in 12th. Hey that’s a good chunk of the $250,000 Challenge buy-in if he plays!

Meanwhile Dion is now up to 3.1 million chips and looking incredible dangerous as we draw ever closer to the final table.

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Aussie Millions Day 5: Can Ivey Hold On?

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

It’s Day 5 of the 2012 Aussie Millions and the final table is just a handful of eliminations away.

We’re coming back with only 12 players and with the final table starting at seven players there’s a chance we won’t be here for long.

The railbirds have already congregated around Phil Ivey’s table. The former Full Tilt pro enters the day last in chips with 699,000 and everyone is wondering if he can pull off a minor miracle and make the final table.

The first level should be interesting as it’s getting pretty close to shove/fold time for Ivey.

Canadian Yann Dion enters the penultimate day as the chip leader with 2.6 million chips. A skilled online player Dion is a safe bet to make the final table.

With just 12 players left Lee Nelson is in position to do something no other Aussie Millions champ has done before: repeat as champion.

The New Zealander is stacked with 1.6 million chips.

Other notables still in the field include recent WSOP bracelet winner Dan Idema with 1.8 million chips and Swede Mohamad Kowssarie, formerly known as TerrorOfSweden online, who has 2.2 million.

Here’s a look at the complete chip stacks as play begins:

Yann Dionn – 2,670,000 Bjorn Li – 2,471,000 Mohamad Kowssarie – 2,300,000 Karim Jomeen – 2,063,000 Dan Idema – 1,840,000 Lee Nelson – 1,651,000 Patrick Healy – 1,565,000 Janis Lesinkskis – 1,501,000 Kenneth Wong – 1,498,000 Oliver Speidel – 809,000 Mile Krstanoski – 755,000 Phil Ivey – 699,000

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Aussie Millions Day 4: Ivey Short as Day Concludes

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Phil Ivey will live to see another day at the 2012 Aussie Millions but he is no longer among the chip leaders.

In just over four hours of play a total of 14 players were sent to the rail as online pro Yann Dion amassed a tournament-leading stack of 2,670,000 chips.

It was not Ivey’s best day as the former Full Tilt Pro dropped from 1.1 million chips all the way down to 699,000, which will make him the shortest stack entering Day 5.

It didn’t help that Ivey lost a million-chip pot with set over set to Karim Jomeen. Ivey continued to bleed chips for the rest of the day and will likely have to get some luck to make the final table. Then again, it's Phil Ivey we’re talking about so all bets are off.

A number of pros were eliminated on Day 4 including high roller specialist David Steicke who had the misfortune of running pocket kings into Patrick Healy’s pocket aces.

Former APPT winner Grant Levy also succumbed to the rail when he lost a coin flip against Janis Lesinski.

Matt Turk, who you might remember as the player that busted Jason Koon to win a massive 2.6 million pot yesterday, was one of the last eliminations of the day as he shoved pocket tens into Yann Dion’s pocket kings.

Australian Danny Chevalier was the final player to hit the rail on Day 4 as he got all-in with K♦ J♠ for his last 270,000 and Dion snapped him off with A♥ Q♦.

The Big Chick held up for Dion and busted Chevalier in 13th place for a payout of $75,000 (AUD).

There are still several interesting stories left in this tournament, however.

New Zealand pro Lee Nelson finished with 1.6 million chips. He won this tournament in 2006 and could become the first player to repeat as champion. That might be tough for Australian poker fans to swallow.

Also Canada’s Dan Idema, who won a WSOP bracelet this summer, has a good shot at making the final table with 1.8 million.

Tomorrow we’re likely going to need 5 eliminations to set a final table of seven. In years past, however, organizers have changed the final table to eight players to accommodate star players such as Patrik Antonius and Barny Boatman, who were both short stacks.

We have a feeling if Ivey is the shortest stack with eight players left they might just call play early.

Either way here are the complete chip counts of the final 12 players at the end of Day 4:

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Aussie Millions Day 4: Ivey Falters as End Approaches

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

We’re down to 14 players here on the dinner break of the 2012 Aussie Million’s fourth day and Phil Ivey suddenly finds himself amongst the short stacks.

Ivey was slow and steady in the early part of the day but as the dinner break approached he started bleeding chips.

Things started to go badly for Ivey when he had the misfortune of flopping bottom set to Karim Jomeen’s middle-set. Suffice to say all the money went in the middle and Jommen won the 1.1 million-chip pot.

Ivey would get most of those chips back when he rivered an ace-high flush against Oliver Speidel but then Ivey started to dropping a number of small pots.

Those pots began to add up and by the dinner break Ivey had fallen down to 645,000.

Where Ivey faltered, Bjorn Li has soared. The former University of Chicago student is up to 2.4 million chips and looking particularly dangerous. So is WSOP bracelet winner Dan Idema as he’s got 2.2 million.

2006 Aussie Millions winner Lee Nelson has fallen considerably but he’s still sitting on 1.1 million as he attempts to become the first repeat champion at the Aussie Millions.

Former APPT Sydney winner Grant Levy hit the rail midway through Level 20 when his pocket sixes failed him against Janis Lasinski’s A-Q.

He finished in 15th place and picked up $75,000 (AUD) for his efforts in Melbourne.

We need just two more eliminations to wrap it up here at 2012 Aussie Millions so stay tuned for what should be a thrilling finish to Day 4.

Here’s a look at the top 10 chip counts as play resumes:

Bjorn Li – 2.4 million chips Dan Idema – 2.2 million chips Mohamad Kowssarie – 2.2 million Karim Jomeen – 2.1 million Yann Dion – 1.8 million Patrik Healy – 1.5 million Oliver Speidel – 1.4 million Kenneth Wong – 1.3 million Lee Nelson – 1.1 million Janis Lesinskis – 940,000

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Aussie Millions Day 4: Ivey Eyes Final Table

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

It’s Day 4 of the 2012 Aussie Milions and with 26 players left the final table is starting to become more than just a glimmer in the distance.

No one knows that more than Phil Ivey who has been the story of this tournament and is sixth in chips with 1.1 million.

If Ivey is able to keep pace with the rest of the field today he could become almost unstoppable as we head into the final table.

The money bubble burst yesterday and every player left is guaranteed at least $35,000 (AUD) but we have a feeling Ivey is more concerned with the $1.6 million first place prize.

Ivey isn’t the only notable looking to crack the final table, however, as New Zealand’s Lee Nelson, who won this event in 2006 is still holding on with 878,000 chips. He could become the first player to repeat as champion.

Some of the other note-worthy players with chips include online grinder Yann Dion (1,156,000 chips), WSOP bracelet winner Daniel Idema (1,033,000), Oliver Speidel (614,000), Grant Levy (381,000) and David Steicke (183,000).

Everyone is still chasing Matt Turk who amassed 2,675,000 chips yesterday and is the overwhelming chip leader.

Strangely organizers have decided to play down to just 12 players today and then suspend play. That means we’ll likely return tomorrow to find just four eliminations before calling it a day. We’ll see what players think about that.

Play begins today in Level 18 with blinds of 5,000/10,000 and a 1,000 ante.

Shuffle up and deal.

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Aussie Millions Day 3: Short Day Ends, Ivey Still Rocking

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Day 3 may very well be remembered as the shortest day in the 2012 Aussie Millions.

In just three levels we saw the money bubble burst, nearly 50 players hit the rail and play called early.

Of course all eyes were on Phil Ivey as the former Full Tilt pro continued his exceptional run at the Crown Casino.

The day started with a bang as Ivey managed to get Stuart Kerr to fold pocket kings on the first hand.

Just two players away from the cash, Kerr had already invested 115,000 in the pot but simply couldn’t bring himself to call for his last 123,000.

Kerr pleaded with Ivey to see his hand after he folded but Ivey apologized and said he didn’t like to show his cards in tournaments. Kerr did end up making a min-cash for $15,000 (AUD) but that hand will likely torment him for years to come.

Ivey continued to be aggressive on the bubble and eventually built his stack up to over one million chips.

After the bubble burst Ivey was somewhat more subdued and he managed to steadily build his stack to 1,107,000 million by the end of play without playing any huge pots.

Ivey wasn’t the only player going on Day 3 of the Aussie Millions, however, and the last hand of the day was an absolute blockbuster for Matt Turk.

Jason "NovaSky" Koon

The surging Jason Koon got into a pre-flop raising war with Matt Turk where Turk finally shipped the last of his chips in the middle with T♣ T♥ and Koon decided to call him down with A♦ K♣.

“Let’s flip for all the chips,” quipped Koon at the time.

The flip didn’t go Koon’s way as the board ran out K♥ T♠ 9♠ 4♣ A♥ to give Turk the checkmark and the biggest pot of the tournament – worth over 2 million.

When the final chip was counted Turk ended up having 2.6 million chips in front of him for the overwhelming chip lead.

Meanwhile a couple poker pros were relegated to the rail on Day 3 as both Michael Tureniec, Billy “The Croc” Argyros busted in the money.

There are still a number of notable players in the hunt, however, with David Steicke, Grant Levy, Oliver Speidel, Daniel Idema and Yann Dion all in the final 26.

Lee Nelson is one of the most compelling stories as he is the only former champ still in the mix and could become the first player to repeat as champion. Nelson finished with 878,000 chips.

Near the end of the day tournament organizers announced a somewhat surprising change to the Aussie Millions Main Event schedule.

With the $250,000 Challenge rumored to be pushed back to Saturday due to the request of several interested players, the final table of the Main Event, which was originally scheduled for Saturday, will shift to Sunday.

With only 26 players left and three available days left to play we could be in for some very short days at the Crown Casino.

Day 4 begins at 12:30 p.m. tomorrow and we’ll be on hand as the players make what could be the last push to the final table.

Here are the top 10 chip counts as the last level expired:

Matt Turk – 2,675,000 Tim O’Shea – 1,376,000 Patrick Healy – 1,353,000 Bjorn Li – 1,222,000 Yann Dion – 1,156,000 Phil Ivey – 1,107,000 Daniel Idema – 1,033,000 Minh Nguyen – 992,000 Borge Dypvik – 882,000 Lee Nelson – 878,000

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Aussie Millions Day 3: Who Wants to Get Paid?

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

It’s Day 3 of the 2012 Aussie Millions and we’re all but guaranteed to see the money bubble burst today.

There are only 74 players left in the tournament and every player that makes it into the final 72 is walking away with at least $15,000 (AUD).

One player the bubble means very little too, however, is Phil Ivey.

Ivey is stacked with 778,000 chips and has looked nearly unbeatable at times in this tournament. Ivey has only played a few tournaments since Black Friday but he’s showing no rust as he continues to give his opponents fits.

There several other known poker pros still in the field, however, with David Steicke (453,000), Lee Nelson (432,000), Michael Tureniec (289,000), Matt Wakeman (170,000) and Grant Levy (80,000) looking to do some damage.

They’re all chasing a $1.6 million first place prize and the title of Aussie Millions champ.

It could be a short day here at the Crown Casino considering we’ll likely try to get down to around 36 players. It’s a welcome respite considering we’ve been going for over 13 hours every day.

We just heard the shuffle up and deal so we are once again live from the Aussie Millions. Here’s a look at the top 10 chip counts as play begins:

Tim O’Shea – 921,000 Phil Ivey – 778,500 Jason Koon – 667,500 Oliver Speidel – 540,000 Patrick Healy – 521,000 Yann Dion – 495,000 Mohammed Kowloon – 477,000 Rob Angood – 470,000 Janis Lesiwski – 463,000 David Steicke – 453,000

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Aussie Millions Day 2: Money on Hold Till Tomorrow

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

The action virtually never stopped on Day 2 of the 2012 Aussie Millions and by the end of play only 74 players were still standing.

That’s an impressive number considering just over 300 players entered the day with hopes of achieving poker glory Down Under.

Indeed the payouts were also announced on Day 2 and with a $6+ million prizepool the top 72 players will get paid.

The players got tantalizingly close as only two eliminations were needed to bust the bubble when the seventh level expired at just past 1:30 a.m. local time.

The pros took a huge hit on Day 2 as the majority of the well-known players were eliminated but certainly not Phil Ivey.

Ivey has been a wrecking ball in this tournament and despite some ups and downs on Day 2 he finished with 778,500.

Tim O’Shea was the only player to finish above Ivey as he picked up 921,000 chips on Day 2.

Day 2 of the 2012 Aussie Millions was anything but boring with over 200 eliminations including big name players Maria Ho, James Dempsey, Brian Roberts, Raymond Rahme, Gus Hansen, Annete Orestad, David Bach, Tom Dwan and Tony G.

It was slightly ironic when PartyPoker qualifier Diego Zeiter busted PartyPoker pro Tony G.

Perhaps is Tony G was worse at promoting PartyPoker, Zeiter would never have qualified for the Aussie Millions and he’d still have chips.

Jason Mercier and Tom Dwan

Tom Dwan and Aussie Tom Grigg had a massive battle on Day 2 that ended with Grigg getting the majority of Dwan’s chips.

In one of the notable hands they played against each other Grigg did everything in his power to get a read on the one they call durrrr.

Dwan shoved on the river of a K♠ K♦ 4♥ A♥ 9♣ board and Grigg went deep into the tank contemplating his decision. Grigg went into the tank for over 10 minutes and asked Dwan countless times what he had and resorted to waving his hand in front of the stone-faced pro’s eyes to get a reaction.

Finally Dwan had enough and called the clock on the Australian. Grigg ended up folding and Tom scooped the 180,000 pot.

It was Grigg who would have the last laugh, however, as he flopped a straight against Dwan. Even worse Dwan hit a set on the turn and that was enough to get all the chips in the middle.

Dwan lost the hand, was crippled, and busted shortly after.

Ivey is easily the biggest name left in this tournament but David Steicke (453,000), Lee Nelson (432,000), Michael Tureniec (289,000), Matt Wakeman (170,000) and Grant Levy (80,000) all have chips.

Play resumes at 12:30 p.m. tomorrow with the money bubble virtually guaranteed to explode in the early stages of the Day 3.

We’ll leave you with the top 10 end-of-day chip counts:

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Aussie Millions Day 2: The Magic Number is 659

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

We’ve made it to the dinner break of Day 2 of the 2012 Aussie Millions and we have the final registration numbers for you.

This year’s Aussie Millions drew a total of 659 players creating a prizepool of $6.5 million. First place will take home a whopping $1.6 million (AUD).

We’ll update the payout tab momentarily so you can see the complete payouts for this year’s Aussie Millions.

In other news Phil Ivey continues to be the story of the tournament and has amassed 334,000 chips. He’s still chasing Bjorn Li who has over 500,000 but everyone’s eyes are on Ivey.

English pro James Dempsey is also looking dangerous with 335,000 chips.

Jason Mercier has Tom Dwan have been seated next to each other, which is bad for them, but fantastic for railbirds.

The two pros have been trading tips on betting tennis, restaurants in Melbourne and stacking donks. OK, maybe not that last one.

Gus Hansen was one of the handful of players who signed up for the tournament in the very last level of registration but he didn’t last long. You’ll find the details of his exit below.

Feature Hand: Tony G Sends Gus Hasen Packing

It’s never fun busting out of a tournament but it’s gotta be significantly worse when you have a loud Lithuanian needling you with phrases like, “On your bike! On your bike!”

Gus Hansen experienced that first hand when he lost all his chips in a big pot against Tony G.

Aage Ravn led out for 2,500 from middle position and Tony G called with A♥ K♦ in the small blind.

Hansen looked down to see A♦ Q♦ and got frisky with a 10,000 bet. That chased Ravn but Tony G wasn’t going anywhere as he re-raised all-in.

The Great Dane called, the board blanked, and the former Aussie Millions champ was eliminated from this year’s contest.

Elimination Station

We’re nowhere near the money here at the 2012 Aussie Millions and players have had no qualms with shipping it all in here on Day 5.

We’re already down to 131 players as JP Kelly, Sebastian Ruthenberg, David Vamplew, Chris Brammer, Annette Obrestad, Tyron Krost, Vitaly Lunkin and Van Marcus have all been eliminated.

Big Stack City

Here’s a look at the notable players with monster stacks through the first four levels of play:

James Dempsey – 335,000 Phil Ivey – 334,000 Brett Watson – 308,000 Lee Nelson – 220,000 Isaac Baron – 220,000 Kenna James – 208,000 Tom Dwan – 175,000

Tweet of the Day

“No political speeches on TV here in Australia. Just two hot Russian chicks sweating and grunting a lot. And I think tennis is on as well.”

-Terrence Chan (@tchanpoker)

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Aussie Millions Day 2: Last Chance for Glory

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

It’s Day 2 of the 2012 Aussie Millions and for the first time every player still in the tournament is in the Crown Poker room.

That means that all 305 players left in the tournament are currently looking for their seat in the tournament.

We could have a few more, however, as Crown has decided to leave registration open for one more level in a slightly unusual move.

One such player who is rumored to join the field today is Tony G who was apparently too busy with unicycle prop bets yesterday to actually take a seat in the tournament.

On the bright side Tony G has already outlasted 50% of the field but on the other hand he’ll have to contend with players like Brett Watson (250,000 chips), James Dempsey (189,000) Phil Ivey (184,000), Tom Dwan (107,000) who all amassed massive stacks.

The G will also be looking up to unicycle rival Melanie Weisner as she picked up 118,000 chips yesterday. Perhaps it’s just as well he didn’t pay her buy in.

Currently there are 650 players registered for the 2011 Aussie Millions so the Crown is no doubt hoping that a few players will wander through the door this afternoon.

Hey if you’ve got $10,000 you won’t find a bigger tournament in the southern hemisphere.

We’re scheduled to play seven more levels today, which means we should be wrapping up at about 1:30 a.m. local time every night.

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Aussie Millions Day 1c: Highlight Reel Finish for Ivey

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Phil Ivey crippled former Australian cricketer Shane Warne in a massive hand to finish Day 1c with a bang.

Ivey, who’s been gambling all day, got into trouble during the last few levels of play and dropped down to below 80,000 chips for the first time in hours.

Fortunately for Ivey he made up for it in a big way in this huge hand against Warne.

Ivey, Warne and George Moussa saw a downright scary flop of A♥ Q♥ J♥. Ivey quickly chased Moussa with a big bet but Warne wasn’t going anywhere and shipped in 84,000, which was enough to cover Ivey.

Ivey made the call and peeled 8♥ 6♥ to Warne’s A♦ A♦. The board bricked out with the 3♦ and finally the 5♥.

Ivey scooped the pot and rocketed up the chip counts to finish with 184,000. Warne was left with only 300 chips and busted on the next hand.

It was a dramatic end to a day that saw 317 players cram their way into the Crown Poker room including poker pros Daniel Negreanu, Joe Hachem, Jason Mercier, Erik Seidel, Sorel Mizzi, JC Tran, Nam Le, Dan Smith, Melanie Weisner and numerous others.

Weisner had a particularly interesting day as she nearly made her buy-in back by winning a unicycle-riding prop bet against Tony G.

She may not have been able to win the prop bet but she made up for it by being an absolute force at the poker table and finished with over 100,000 chips.

There were 168 eliminations on the day with Daniel Negreanu, Erik Seidel, Sorel Mizzi, Tony Hachem, Nam Le, Brandon Adams and Chris Moorman all hitting the rail in relatively short order.

Tomorrow promises to be an intriguing one as Ivey will get some company at the top of the leaderboards from fellow online crusher Tom Dwan who finished Day 1b with over 100,00 chips.

Everyone will still be chasing local Brett Watson who finished with 257,000 chips on Day 1a.

Interestingly registration will remain open for one level tomorrow, which means we could see couple more famous faces join this tournament.

It all begins at 12:30 p.m. local time so be sure to check in with PokerListings.com.

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Aussie Millions Day 1c: Phil Ivey Crushing

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Phil Ivey has been called the best poker player in the world and it’s days like today when that seems like a fitting title.

Ivey seemed to be playing on another level as he absolutely ran over his table through the first five levels of play.

The former Full Tilt pro appeared unstoppable as he played an incredibly high percentage of hands and always seemed to have the best hand, or get his opponent to fold the best hand.

It helps when you’re also getting good cards and Ivey had the fortune of picking up pocket aces to Mike Watson’s pocket queens to bust pro Mike Watson.

By the dinner break Ivey had amassed 178,750 chips and looks to be the overwhelming chip leader.

Although Ivey is taking all the attention right now it’s also worth mentioning that Day 1c is the biggest day of the tournament by far.

We won’t have exact registration numbers for a few more hours but we would estimate there are more than 300 players in the field today.

Here's a look at a few notable incidents from the last four levels of play:

Who’s Playing

It’s a shooting gallery of poker pros out there today with Daniel Negreanu, Erik Seidel, Jason Mercier, Melanie Weisner, Michael Pedley, Jason Koon, James Obst, Isaac Baron, Joe Cheong, Jason Mercier, Shane Warne, David Gorr, Brandon Adams, Joe Elpayaa, Jay Kinkade, Sam Trickett, JC Tran, Mark Teltscher, Angel Guillen, Joe Hache, Tobias Reinkemeier, Dan Smith, Nam Le, Mike Sowers, Dan Shak, Chris Moorman, Sorel Mizzi and Mike Watson in the thick of the action today.

Melanie Weisner

Feature Hand: Weisner Winning

Melanie Weisner may not have won her seat into the Main Event from Tony G but she might be on her way to a cash anyways.

Weisner is off to a hot start here on Day 1c of the Main Event and is already up to 58,000 chips.

In the biggest hand for her thus far Weisner opened to 500 from UTG and had her opponent raise to 1,500.

Weisner called to see a flop of T♦ 7♦ 4♥. Weisner checked but her opponent threw 3,000 into the pot.

Once again Weisner called and dealer peeled the 5♠ turn. Again Weisner check-called, this time for 5,500.

The board finished with the K♦ and Weisner’s opponent fired a final bet of 5,000 into the pot. Weisner thought for a minute but then re-raised to 15,000.

Her opponent called and flipped over A♦ A♥ but Weisner had rivered him with K♥ K♠.

Weisner was up to 58,000 after the hand.

Elimination Station

Victor Ramdin, Mike Watson, Roberto Romanello, Tony Hachem, Chris Moorman, Sorel Mizzi and Tony Bloom have all been eliminated.

Big Stack City

It’s still early but there are a collection of players who have managed to put some distance between themselves and the rest of the field.

Here’s a look at that group of players:

Phil Ivey – 178,750 Michael Pedley – 104,000 Brandon Wong – 76,000 Jason Koon – 76,000 Azusa Maeda – 62,000 James Obst – 61,000

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Aussie Millions Day 1c: One More Time With Feeling!

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

It’s the final starting day of the 2012 Aussie Millions and we’re expecting a blockbuster.

Day 1a and Day 1b have been slightly underwhelming attendance-wise drawing a combined total of 340 players but fortunately Day 1c stands a good chance of being the biggest day yet.

With the $100k Challenge out of the way we’re expecting a high percentage of big name pros with heavy-hitters like Joe Hachem, Daniel Negreanu, Jason Mercier, Gus Hansen and Erik Seidel likely to hit the felt.

Once again the cupcake patrol is on full alert handing out delicious Aussie Millions-themed cupcakes to every player in attendance as part of a special promotion the Crown is running.

Of course the cake that everyone really wants is the cash at the end of this tournament. A good day 1c won’t guarantee that but it can certainly help.

Yesterday English pro James Dempsey built a stack of 187k in his bid for a deep run at the 2012 Aussie Millions.

The biggest stack thus far, however, belongs to local Brett Watson who amassed 250k on Day 1a.

We just found out from social media master Kevin “Kevmath” Mathers that the Crown Casino is kicking in some extra motivation for players as the 350th person to register today will receive a fancy dinner with the Crown’s own Natasha Stipanov.

In our opinion that’s pretty much worth the $10,000 alone but we’re pretty big fans of Stipanov.

The cards just hit the air so stay tuned for updates on the biggest tournament in the southern hemisphere.

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Aussie Millions Day 1b: It’s Bag and Tag Time!

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Another seven-level starting day is complete here at the 2012 Aussie Millions and we’ve got several compelling poker players finishing with massive stacks.

James Dempsey, Kenna James and wildcard Tom “durrrr” Dwan all finished in the top 10 chip counts.

Day 1b started with 187 players all looking to grab some Australian poker glory. It was a noted increase from Day 1a where only 153 players took to the felt.

Tristan Wade, Grant Levy, Jared Graham, Jonathan Karamalikis, Stewart Scott, Grant Levy, David Bach, JP Kelly, Simon Watt, Mel Judah, Tyron Krost, Vitaly Lunkin, Marvin Rettenmaier, Max Weinberg, Kenna James, Casey Kastle, James Dempsey, Shawn Buchanan, Andrew Scott and Annette Obrestad were amongst the numerous known poker pros who hit the tables.

Dwan played his usual wacky game that frustrated opponents all day long and he finally bagged up an impressive 107,400. There’s no telling if he’ll dust that stack in the first level of Day 2 or build a real monster.

James Dempsey, David Bach, Grant Levy, Billy Argyros, JP Kelly, Stewart Scott, Annette Obrestad and Jonathan Karamalikis will all join Dwan on Day 2.

Recent WSOP bracelet winner Tristan Wade seemed to be well on his way to joining that crew as he had nearly 70,000 chips in the last level of play but lost two huge pots and busted right out of the tournament.

Wade wasn't alone as Mel Judah, Simon Watt, Shawn Buchanan and Andrew Scott all hit the rail on Day 1b.

In total 80 players busted on Day 1b, which means 104 punched their ticket to join the survivors from Day 1a (and eventually Day 1c) on Day 2.

Tomorrow is the final starting day of the 2012 Aussie Millions and we’re expecting a huge field as Daniel Negreanu, Jason Mercier and Gus Hansen have yet to play the Main Event.

Could we also see living poker legend Phil Ivey?

You’ll have to tune in at 12:30 p.m. local time tomorrow to find out.

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Aussie Millions Day 1b: Wade, Obrestad Making Noise

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Despite Chinese Poker tournaments and $100k Challenge final tables we’ve made it to the dinner break of the Main Event.

We don’t have the final registration numbers for the day but the field looks about the same size as yesterday, which means we could be in for a significantly smaller tournament this year unless we have an absolutely massive turnout for tomorrow.

Tristan Wade, Annette Obrestad and Grant Levy have been doing quite well over the first part of the day but Australian Dennis Huntly is absolutely crushing.

Here’s a look at the latest news from the Main Event:

Who You Got?

There’s a wave of recognizable poker players in the Crown poker room today with Annette Obrestad, Tristan Wade, Jonathan Karamalikis, Stewart Scott, Grant Levy, David Bach, JP Kelly, Simon Watt, Mel Judah, Tom Dwan, Tyron Krost, Vitaly Lunkin, Marvin Rettenmaier, Max Weinberg, Kenna James, Casey Kastle, James Dempsey, Shawn Buchanan and Andrew Scott all paying their $10,000 to get in on the action today.

Feature Hand: Huntly’s Hundred

Melbourne resident Dennis Huntly won a massive pot mid-way through the third level when he turned a flush against an opponent with pocket aces.

Huntly had a modest 9♣ 7♣ but decided to call his opponent’s pre-flop bet to see a flop of J-8-4 with two clubs.

Huntly’s opponent bet about 1,000, Huntly raised to 2,400 and his opponent re-raised to 11,000. Huntly thought for a long while but eventually made the call.

The turn brought the K♣ and the initial raiser kept the pressure on with a 15,000 bet. Huntly moved the last of his stack into the middle (he started the hand with about 50,000).

Huntly immediately flipped over his flush and the player with aces broke into tirade about the way Huntly played the hand.

Through it all Huntly calmly stacked his chips into a pile worth 103,000. He’s the first player crack the 100k mark and looks to be the early chip leader.

Elimination Station

It’s been pretty slow out there today but Jamie Pickering, Xin Zhao, Andrew Scott and Justin Cohen have all been eliminated.

Big Stack City

It’s still a wee bit early to crown a winner in this tournament quite yet but we did a quick inventory of the notable stacks out there right now:

Dennis Huntly – 103,000 Annette Obrestad – 68,000 Tristan Wade – 60,000 Jonathan Karamalikis – 53,500 Grant Levy – 44,000 Steward Scott – 44,000

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Aussie Millions Day 1b: Let’s Take Two!

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

It’s another starting day at the 2012 Aussie Millions and we’re going to see another room full of new players looking to build a big stack.

Yesterday 153 payers bought into the massive tournament but Day 1b has the potential to be even bigger as the poker pros have started to descend on Melbourne en masse.

We noticed a few pros as we fought our way to the media room including recent WSOP bracelet winner Tristan Wade, Chris O’Donell, Shawn Buchanan, Andrew Scott and Australian fixture Mel “The Silver Fox” Judah.

For the second straight day players were hit by a barrage of cupcakes as the Crown Casino has provided every player with a special Aussie Millions-branded cupcake. At least you’re guaranteed something for your $10k right?

Of course the Aussie Millions is no one-trick pony and the final day of the massive $100k Challenge will also take place today starting at 2:30 p.m. In addition the $5,300 buy-in Chinese Poker tournament begins at 4 p.m. today and we’re honestly pretty thrilled to see how that one turns out.

We’ll provide coverage of both events in the news and blog sections of the site.

Meanwhile in the Main Event players begin 30,000 chips, blinds start at 50/100 and we’ll be playing a total of seven 90-minute levels. That means we should finish up around 1:30 a.m. local time.

Will anyone be able to top the 257,000 chips that Brett Watson ended with yesterday? You’ll have to wait and see.

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Aussie Millions Day 1a: Watson Finishes on Top

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

And so the first day of the 2012 Aussie Millions comes to an end with 72 players booking a seat in Day 2.

Day 1a began with 153 players, which means the starting field has essentially been cut in half.

Tim O’Shea, Michael Egan, Maria Ho, Lee Nelson, Ramzi Jelassi, Sebastian Ruthenberg and Jamie Rosen are all in the upper echelon of chip counts.

Hometown hero Brett Watson finished with the overall chip lead with well over 250,000 chips.

McLean Karr had an up-and-down day that saw him nearly bluff off his entire stack, recover, get red hot, implode and finally bust on the last hand of the evening.

Day 1a was obviously not kind to everyone and Jeffrey Lisandro, Barry Greenstein, Matt Jarvis, Randy Dorfman, George Youssif, Anton Wigg, Richard Ashby, Tyler Bonkowski and Eoghan O’Dea were among the many pros who hit the rail.

Patrik Antonius had a very interesting Day 1a that saw him enter late, build a big stack, implode and then bust in the span of a couple levels.

Recent PCA final table finisher Faraz Jaka was feeling the wrath of the poker gods as an opponent hit a two-outer against him to win a 250+ bb pot.

Day 1b of the 2012 Aussie Millions begins tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. local time and there’s a good chance it will be much more pro-heavy with busted players from the $100k Challenge looking to make their money back.

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Aussie Millions Day 1a: The Thunder Down Under

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

We’ve made it to the dinner break here on the first day of the 2012 Aussie Millions Main Event and the action hasn’t disappointed.

Although getting some serious competition from the $100k Challenge, which is taking place upstairs, the first five levels offered several surprisingly massive pots with big-name players making moves.

So far a total of 153 players have bought into the tournament, although only 118 of that number are still standing.

Here’s a summary of the action over the last few levels:

Star Power

Are there any notable players out in the field today?

Only if you count Barry Greenstein, Maria Ho, Patrik Antonius, Sebastian Ruthenberg, Sam Holden, Jeffrey Lisandro, Matt Jarvis, Tyler Bonkowski, Terrence Chan, Ramzi Jelassi, Dan “djk123” Kelly, Raymond Rahme, McLean Karr, Rupert Elder, Leo Boxell, Richard Ashby, Faraz Jaka, Lee Nelson and Jamie Rosen.

It’s also worth noting that a good portion of the world’s most well-known poker players are preoccupied with the $100k Challenge that is currently taking place upstairs including Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey and Erik Seidel.

We’ll see those players either tomorrow or the next day on Day 1b and Day 1c respectively.

Oops.

Feature Hand: Karr Stalls

McLean Karr was off to a flying start here at the 2012 Aussie Millions but just hit a brick wall.

An unidentified player opened for a standard 3X bet UTG but Karr raised to 2,050 from late position.

The UTG player called and the flop came 9♠ 8♠ 4♥. That brought about a quick check but Karr fired for 2,700.

Karr’s opponent check-raised to 6,300 and Karr thought for a minute but then eventually called.

That brought the 5♣ and the UTG player recklessly threw 10,000 chips into the pot. Karr wasn’t going anywhere, however, and re-raised him all in for about 27,000 more.

The player snap-called and showed 4♣ 4♦ for the set.

“I’m an idiot,” sighed Karr as he flipped over A♠ J♣ for the naked ace.

The river was a meaningless 7♦ and that was enough to clip Karr’s wings and send him tumbling all the way down to 11,000 chips.

Elimination Station

Patrik Antonius, Eoghan O’Dea, Dan Kelly, Faraz Jaka and Florian Langmann have all busted from the 2012 Aussie Millions Main Event.

It was an interesting day for Antonius who arrived late, built a big stack, lost half that stack when his pocket aces were cracked by pocket queens and then bluffed the rest of his stack off with Q-3 against an opponent who hit top-pair top-kicker with A-K.

That’s how you do it like a pro, kids.

Meanwhile former November Niners Matt Jarvis and Eoghan O’Dea played a big pot where Jarvis made a huge call with A-Q pre-flop to send O’Dea and his K-Q packing.

Finally recent hot-hand Faraz Jaka was cooled completely when an opponent hit a two-outer to cripple the Californian pro to 7,000 chips.

Several hands later Maria Ho dispatched Jaka with A-5 > K-Q.

Big Stack City

It’s still early but we did a quick round of the floor at the end of Level 4 and took note of some of several notable big stacks. This is by no means comprehensive but will give you an idea of the early movers and shakers here on Day 1a of the 2012 Aussie Millions Main Event.

Michael Egan – 93,000 Ramzi Jelassi – 69,0000 Lee Nelson – 47,000 Jason Gray – 42,000 Raymond Rahme – 32,000

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Aussie Millions Day 1a: Game On!

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Break out the vegemite sandwiches and grab a couple Fosters because the 2012 Aussie Millions has officially begun.

After a brief 30-minute delay the cards are officially in the air and the Crown Casino spared no expense on the shuffle up and deal ceremony.

The ceremony included a special video preview of the tournament as well as showgirls and an explosion of confetti. A number of former Aussie champs were also on hand and hometown hero Joe Hachem provided the official shuffle up and deal.

In Australia, much like Texas, they go big.

We took a quick look around the floor as we were heading back to the media room and we already spotted a number of pros at the tables including Terrence Chan, Faraz Jaka and David Vamplew although we’re sure there are hordes more.

This tournament has produced notable champions in the past with Gus Hansen, Lee Nelson and Peter Costa all holding Australian titles but it’s also had some near misses over the years with superstars Erik Seidel, Sorel Mizzi, Peter Jetten, Andy Black and Annette Obrestad all getting some final table experience Down Under.

Before you get in our face about update volume you’ll notice that this tournament we’ll be taking an abbreviated approach to coverage with about three summaries posted a day (not including the final table).

This is because we’ll be concentrating on breaking some news stories while we’re down here (we hear you guys like those) as well as blogs and photos about the biggest tournament in the Southern Hemisphere.

Players get 30,000 chips and blinds begin at 50/100. Let's see who can bust that stack first.

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2012 Aussie Millions Main Event Begins Saturday!

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Every 12 months the live tournament calendar kicks off with two giant events, the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure and the Aussie Millions.

And now with the PCA is out of the way PokerListings.com is heading to Melbourne for the 2012 Aussie Millions main event.

Action at the Crown Casino is already ramping up with a slew of preliminary events but the real fun starts this weekend with the $10,000 buy-in main event.

In 2011 we saw Melbourne local David Gorr defeat a field of 721 to earn $2 million AUD.

He waded through an absolutely stacked final table including James Keys, Randy Dorfman, Chris Moorman, Patrik Antonius and Sorel Mizzi.

Also spicing up our trip down under was some amazing live nosebleed action with Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan, Patrik Antonius and a group of mega-rich Malaysian businessmen.

We're going to be on location for the entire main event shipping you news, photos and three-times a day live coverage from the felt.

Join us starting Saturday (that's Sunday in Australia!) to follow along as we crown the newest Aussie Millions champion.

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Pius Heinz Wins the 2011 WSOP Main Event!

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

In the very late stages of Nov. 8, 2011, 22-year-old Pius Heinz became the first German to claim poker’s ultimate prize.

The Cologne resident outlasted 6,856 players and then beat a final table that included Sam Holden, Anton Makiievskyi, Bob Bounahra, Eoghan O’Dea, Phil Collins, Matt Giannetti, Ben Lamb and Martin Staszko to win the 2011 WSOP Main Event.

In addition to a world championship gold bracelet, Heinz also took down $8.7 million – one of the biggest payouts in the history of poker.

Heinz entered the final table with the third shortest stack but started winning early and, after winning a huge pot against Eoghan O’Dea, never really looked back.

One of the most aggressive players at the final table, Heinz won pot after pot without having to show his cards and he quickly became a contender as play went from nine-handed to three.

Heinz was the first player to break the 100 million-chip mark and by the time play got down to the last three players he was the chip leader with 107 million.

After nearly four months of waiting, players took one-day break after they reached three-handed, putting even more pressure on Ben Lamb, Martin Staszko and Heinz.

The final day didn’t go exactly as Heinz would have planned as Staszko knocked out Lamb very early and then took over the chip lead but the German was as resilient as a Panzer tank and refused to give up.

Finally Staszko made the mistake of shoving with T♣ 7♣ and Heinz called with A♠ K♣. Heinz successfully faded all of Staszko’s outs and his Big Slick became the winning hand of the tournament.

Heinz rockets up poker’s all-time winning list by taking down the $8,711,000 prize and all of Germany can take pride in his accomplishment.

Thanks for tuning into PokerListings coverage of the 2011 WSOP and be sure to check back for interviews and stories with the winner and runner-up.

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2011 Main Event: Staszko Falls Short! (Second)

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Martin Staszko came into the 2011 WSOP Main Event as the chip leader and put in a performance that nearly won him a world championship.

Nearly.

After the stunning hand that saw Staszko and Pius Heinz essentially trade stacks, Staszko was playing from the short stack.

With about 40 million chips to his name, Staszko looked down at T♣ 7♣ and decided to ship it all in the middle.

Unfortunately for Staszko, Heinz woke up with a veritable monster in A♠ K♣ and made the quick call.

Staszko shook his head as he saw Heinz’ hand and knew that he would need some luck from the board if he wanted to swap stacks with the German at least one more time.

By this point the entire Penn and Teller amphitheater was rocking as fans realized this could be the final hand of the tournament.

The flop came 9♠ 5♣ 2♦ and the Heinz’ supporters went crazy as their hero was still ahead.

With tension so thick you could cut it with a knife the dealer flipped over a J♥ turn. That changed nothing and Heinz was officially within one card of winning the 2011 WSOP Main Event.

The river came… 4♦!

The Penn and Teller amphitheater literally exploded with confetti as Heinz ran to his friends and family and embraced them.

Staszko, who was the first player from the Czech Republic to make the final table, finishes in second place and will receive $5.4 million for his efforts.

Stay tuned for a complete final table recap.

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2011 Main Event: Heinz Stuns Staszko with Double

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

It took more than five hours but we just had our first all-in and call of the heads-up match between Martin Staszko and Pius Heinz.

On the first hand of Level 43 Staszko completed and Heinz popped it up to 7.9 million pre-flop. Staszko called and the flop went down K♠ T♣ 7♣.

The German did not let up and moved 8.2 million in the pot. Staszko responded by pushing 17.5 million into the middle.

Heinz thought for a minute and announced quietly to the dealer that he was all-in. Staszko has acted fast for the majority of the final table and made a quick call.

The players revealed their hands and it turned out they were both drawing.

Pius Heinz: A♥ Q♥

Martin Staszko: Q♣ 9♣

The room was buzzing as Heinz’ tournament life was on the line and he definitely didn’t want to see any clubs.

The turn came 3♥ and then the river fell… 6♠!

Heinz successfully faded all of Staszko’s outs and is suddenly in command of the match with a huge chip lead.

Here’s how the chips looked after the gigantic hand played out:

Pius Heinz – 161,500,000

Martin Staszko – 44,400,000

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2011 Main Event: Staszko Slips

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Once again Martin Staszko has been unable to deal the killing blow to opponent Pius Heinz.

Heinz opened to 4 million and Staszko called. The flop came J♦ 5♥ 4♥ and Heinz immediately led out for 4.5 million.

Staszko thought he sensed weakness and threw 10.2 million into the pot. Instead Heinz re-raised all-in for his last 44.1 million.

Staszko carefully weighed his options for a few minutes but eventually decided he couldn’t make that call.

Heinz raked in that pot and, after adding a few more small pots, is gaining on Staszko. We've been heads-up now for close to five hours.

Here are the updated chip counts:

Martin Staszko – 126,000,000

Pius Heinz – 76,000,000

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2011 Main Event: Trouble for Heinz

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Martin Staszko has put together a nice string of wins and Pius Heinz is starting to dip into danger territory.

None of the pots were particularly big over the last 20 minutes but Staszko has been hammering the young German with a number of re-raises.

In perhaps the biggest pot of the last while both players checked their way to the turn of a K♠ J♣ 9♣ 7♣ board.

Heinz bet 3 million and Staszko made the call, which brought the A♥ river. Heinz fired again, this time for 6.5 million but Staszko wasn’t going anywhere and made the call.

Heinz immediately mucked and Staszko showed K♦ 8♥ to take the pot.

The German lost a few pots after that hand and these are the updated chip counts:

Martin Staszko – 161,000,000

Pius Heinz – 44,900,000

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2011 Main Event: Heinz Begins Slow Road to Recovery

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Don’t look now but Pius Heinz is once again on his way to evening up the chip stacks.

There hasn’t been a ton of action over the last 10 minutes but Heinz has been consistently winning.

After winning three hands in a row, Heinz added this slightly more significant pot.

Heinz opened for 4 million pre-flop and Martin Staszko called bringing a A♠ A♦ J♦ flop.

Staszko checked but Heinz threw 4 million more into the pot. Staszko flat-called and the turn came 9♠.

This time Staszko bet, putting 6 million into the pot. Heinz called and the board finished with the 4♦. Both players checked and Heinz showed 9-5, which was enough to win the pot.

So far neither player has shown the ability to close out an opponent and there’s no telling how long we could be here if Heinz re-takes the chip lead.

Here are the updated chip counts:

Martin Staszko – 129,000,000

Pius Heinz – 76,900,000

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2011 Main Event: Staszko Takes Heinz to the Brink

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

The pressure is suddenly on Pius Heinz.

Martin Staszko called and Heinz checked his option to see a flop of J♥ T♣ 3♥. Both players checked and that brought the Q♥ turn.

That’s when the fireworks began and Heinz threw 3 million into the pot. Staszko raised to 7.5 million and Heinz went into the tank, pondering his next move.

Finally Heinz called and that brought the 6♠ river. This time Heinz checked but Staszko chucked 10 million into the pot.

Heinz spent several minutes planning his next move but eventually decided to call. Staszko immediately showed K♦ 9♣ for the king-high straight and that was enough to give Staszko the pot.

The Czech player now has a huge lead over Heinz. Here are the current chip counts:

Martin Staszko – 143,300,000

Pius Heinz – 62,600,000

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2011 Main Event: Staszko Strikes Back

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

It seems like an understatement to call these two players evenly matched.

For the umpteenth time this heads-up match the chip lead has switched hands and Staszko is once again on top.

On the very first hand of Level 42, Heinz opened for 4.2 million and Staszko responded by raising to 11.5 million.

Heinz stared down his opponent but eventually opted to re-raise to 20.6 million. Staszko immediately moved all-in and the entire room was nervous as they waited for Heinz to make his choice.

In the end Heinz laid it down and the Staszko supporters went crazy. The Czech player once again has the chip lead and this how the chips currently look:

Martin Staszko – 109,900,000

Pius Heinz – 96,000,000

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2011 Main Event: Heinz Overtakes Staszko

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Apparently you can’t keep a resilient German down and Heinz has once again taken the chip lead here at the 2011 WSOP Main Event.

Heinz has had all the momentum in the last 10 minutes and finally won a big enough pot to give him the chip lead.

The Cologne resident bet 2.7 million pre-flop and Staszko responded with a 9.5 million raise.

Heinz thought for a minute and then fired 19.9 million into the pot. Staszko thought for a couple minutes but, after some visible frustration, decided to lay his hand down. Heinz picks up a 20+ million pot without ever seeing a flop and he now has the chip lead.

We have yet to experience an all in and call in heads-up play.

Here how the stacks currently look at the final table:

Pius Heinz – 115,000,000

Martin Staszko – 92,800,000

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2011 Main Event: Heinz Wakes Up

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Pius Heinz seems to have survived the recent barrage of big Martin Staszko pots and just took down a big one of his own.

Staszko finally opened a pot for a standard bet and Heinz raised to 5.1 million. Staszko thought for a minute but then called.

The flop ran out 9♠ 4♣ 2♥ and Heinz bet 5.1 million. Staszko called and the turn came 3♥.

This time Heinz checked but Staszko bet 7.5 million. Heinz opted to make the call and the river fell 5♣.

Both players apparently lost their will to bet at this point and checked it down.

Heinz showed T♠ 9♦ and that was enough to prompt Staszko to throw his hand in the muck. The German won a few minor pots after that and is now closing in on Staszko’s chip lead. Staszko and Heinz have now been heads-up for nearly three hours.

Here are the latest counts:

Martin Staszko – 114,500,000

Pius Heinz – 91,400,000

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2011 Main Event: Staszko Drags Monster Pot

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

We’ve been waiting for the next big hand for a while now and it feels like we just witnessed it.

The potentially tournament-defining hand began with Pius Heinz opening for 3.4 million and Staszko calling.

The flop came A♦ 9♠ 3♦ and Staszko checked but Heinz threw 3.8 million into the pot.

Staszko called and the turn brought the A♠. Once again Staszko checked but Heinz bet 8.4 million.

As he’s been doing all night, Staszko suddenly shifted gears and check-raised to 18.5 million.

Heinz called and the dealer flipped over a 6♦ river.

This time Staszko was the aggressor and he bet 20 million, leaving Heinz with a critical decision.

Finally Heinz shook his head and threw his hand into the muck. Staszko takes a 2-1 chip lead over the young German. Here are the updated chip counts:

Martin Staszko – 141,340,000

Pius Heinz – 65,750,000

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2011 Main Event: Heinz Up Then Down

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

It’s turning into all-out war here at the 2011 WSOP Main Event.

Pius Heinz successfully battled back and re-took the chip lead when he forced a huge fold from Staszko on a Q♦ 5♦ 2♣ A♥ 3♦ board after a 16 million bet.

Shortly after that hand, however, Staszko won a monster pot to take the chip lead back.

Staszko opened for 3.5 million pre-flop and Heinz made it 10 million to play. Staszko called and the flop came T♠ 7♦ 2♥.

Heinz continued to pile on the pressure with a 9.8 million bet. Staszko immediately called and that brought the A♣ river.

Yet again Heinz bet and this time he poured 21.3 million chips into the pot. Staszko thought for a minute but then announced he was all in.

It didn’t take long for Heinz to fold and once again Staszko has the chip lead. The Czech player has won several pots after that hand and the chip counts are now:

Martin Staszko – 124,800,000

Pius Heinz – 81,100,000

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2011 Main Event: Staszko Fights Back

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Martin Staszko has successfully turned the heads-up match around and now holds the chip lead.

Heinz never let up in his pressure but Staszko found a couple good spots to fire back at the young German.

In one of the bigger hands Heinz, as usual, made an opening bet of 3.3 million and Staszko called.

The flop came Q♥ Q♣ 9♥ and both players checked. The turn came 3♥ and Staszko checked again but this time Heinz threw a 3.7 million bet into the pot.

The board finished with the 9♣ on the river and Heinz finally checked. Staszko followed suit and showed K♥ 8♣ for king-high, which was enough to win the pot as Heinz threw his hand into the muck.

About 10 hands later, Staszko successfully reclaimed the chip lead after the following monster hand.

Staszko had the button and completed while Heinz checked his option to see a flop of Q♠ 9♥ 2♣.

Heinz led out for 2 million and Staszko called. The dealer peeled a K♠ turn and Heinz fired for 4.5 million.

Once again Staszko called and the board finished with the 7♠. Heinz went for the triple barrel and threw 14 million in the pot.

Staszko pondered his decision for about two minutes but then called and showed Q♥ 7♣, which was enough to beat Heinz’ 7♦ 2♥.

After the hand the stacks looked like this:

Martin Staszko – 110,650,000

Pius Heinz – 95,250,000

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2011 Main Event: Heinz Takes the Lead

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Pius Heinz and Martin Staszko have only been heads-up for about 30 minutes but the German is causing all sorts of problems for Staszko.

Heinz, who we’ve been calling the German Raising Machine for the last couple days, has been putting an extraordinary amount of pressure on Staszko and has won several huge pots without showdown.

The biggest hand so far saw Heinz bet 3.7 million pre-flop and Staszko made the call to see a flop of 9♦ 8♦ 5♣.

Heinz made a continuation bet of 4.3 million and Staszko immediately called. That brought the Q♦ and Heinz kept the pressure on by betting 8.8 million.

Staszko called and the river came T♣. Heinz finally checked but Staszko had no intention of following suit and bet 14.5 million.

With nearly 50 million in the pot, Heinz thought for a few minutes before announcing he was all-in.

Staszko looked tormented by the play and carefully weighed his options. Finally he decided to throw his hand in the muck.

Heinz took the chip lead in the hand and has since added to his stack. Here’s how it looks at the moment:

Pius Heinz – 135,250,000

Martin Staszko – 70,650,000

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2011 Main Event: Lamb Sacrificed! (Third)

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

There’s a good chance the last 15 minutes are going to haunt Ben Lamb for a very long time.

In less than five hands of three-handed play the Tulsa, Oklahoma, native went from second in chips to the rail paving the way for a heads-up match between Martin Staszko and Pius Heinz.

In his final hand Lamb open-shoved for his last 10 million with Q♠ 6♥ and Staszko woke up with J♦ J♣.

Lamb looked sick as the dealer prepared to put out the board.

The flop came 5♣ 5♥ 2♠ and that didn’t offer a whole lot for Lamb. The turn also changed very little when it came 2♣.

Lamb was left hoping for one of the three remaining queens in the deck. Considering the incredible WSOP Lamb's had, it wouldn’t have been a complete shock to see a queen peel off the deck on the river.

Instead the river came 7♠ and the pro-Staszko crowd thundered with approval.

Lamb is out in third place and will take home $4 million for his incredible performance here at the 2011 WSOP Main Event.

The crowd seems stunned here at the Main Event final table, as there was a huge contingent of Lamb supporters that have been silenced.

Our advice? Don’t blink! This event could be over in a matter of minutes.

Here are the stacks as Heinz and Staszko enter heads-up play:

Martin Staszko – 117,000,000

Pius Heinz – 88,600,000

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2011 Main Event: Boom! Staszko Doubles on First Hand

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Apparently the three remaining players have no intention of messing around. We just had a double up on the very first hand of three-handed play.

Pius Heinz, Ben Lamb and Martin Staszko had just received their official introductions and UFC announcer Bruce Buffer had just finished the official shuffle up and deal when Staszko and Lamb got into a pre-flop raising war.

Lamb opened for 3 million chips and Staszko raised to 7 million. Lamb thought for a minute and then shoved. It didn’t take long for Staszko to call as he flipped over 7♣ 7♠.

It turned out that we were in for one heck of a coin flip as Lamb had K♥ J♦. The entire crowd was on their feet as there was a chance of an elimination on the very first hand of the session.

The dealer quickly threw down a 9♠ 3♥ 2♦ flop, which gave nothing to Lamb. The turn came 3♠ and Lamb was down to six outs to win the hand.

Instead the river finished with the T♣ to give Staszko the pot and cripple Lamb. Here’s how the stacks look after the hand:

Pius Heinz – 107 million Martin Staszko – 85 million Ben Lamb – 12 million

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2011 Main Event: The Final Lap

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

It’s November 8th and after nearly four months of waiting we will have finally have a new world champion either tonight or early tomorrow.

Pius Heinz, Ben Lamb and Martin Staszko have already outlasted 6,862 players but will have to bring their A-game one more time if they want to claim the title and the $8.7 million that goes along with it.

Heinz will carry the chip lead into the final three with 107 million and is looking to become the first German Main Event winner in the history of poker.

Lamb is second in chips with 55 million and has the chance to top off a WSOP where he won Player of the Year with a championship title.

Finally Staszko enters third in chips with 42 million but has been a formidable opponent throughout the final table. He has a shot at becoming the first Main Event winner from the Czech Republic.

Barry Greenstein and Linda Johnson have just been inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame after rousing speeches by Mike Sexton and Doyle Brunson.

We’re now just 30 minutes from getting the final shuffle up and deal and fans are getting downright antsy as they prepare for the conclusion to one of the biggest poker tournaments ever held.

All we can say is get ready. It should be one hell of a night.

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2011 Main Event: Lamb Ends Giannetti, Final Three Set

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

In the end it could happen no other way.

Ben Lamb, the 2011 WSOP POY and one of the hottest players in recent memory, simply would be not be denied a seat in the final three here at the Main Event.

Matt Giannetti, who played well at this final table but got unlucky against Lamb, finally made an ill-timed shove with A♦ 3♠ and smacked right into Lamb’s monster K♦ K♠.

The air in the Penn and Teller amphitheater was electric, as it’s been for most of the night, and it truly seemed something momentous was about to happen.

That feeling was justified when the flop came a stunning K♠ K♦ Q♠ to end Giannetti’s tournament in dramatic fashion. The board finished with a meaningless 4♥ and then the Q♦.

Giannetti crashes out in fourth place but on the plus side picks up $3 million for his efforts in the tournament.

The Texan’s elimination leaves just three players – Pius Heinz, Ben Lamb and Martin Staszko – still chasing poker’s ultimate prize.

It’s been an interesting day down here at the Rio as action shifted gears more times than the average Formula 1 driver.

The day started very tentatively as no player wanted to end their Main Event run with the minimum payout. Finally Sam Holden, the short stack to enter the final table, crashed in ninth place.

Holden’s elimination heralded a rapid succession of bustouts. Anton Makiievskyi (8th), Bob Bounahra (7th) and the aforementioned Holden all hit the rail in the same level.

Eoghan O’Dea (6th) and Phil Collins (5th) weren’t far behind and both bowed out just before dinner at 6:45 p.m.

That’s when action slowed and it took several hours to find the final elimination of the evening. Giannetti got unlucky against Lamb and then ended up on the rail in fourth place.

The final table will now go on break for one entire day as the ESPN production crews scramble to edit their footage for the final broadcast.

Action resumes on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. Las Vegas time so be sure to check back for the exciting conclusion to one of the biggest tournaments in the history of poker. In the meantime be sure to check our news section for interviews with eliminated players and a preview of the final three.

Here’s a look at the chip counts of the final three players heading into action on Tuesday:

Pius Heinz – 107,800,000 Ben Lamb – 55,400,000 Martin Staszko – 42,700,000Matt Giannetti Phil Collins Eoghan O’Dea Bob Bounahra Anton Makiievskyi Sam Holden

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2011 Main Event: Lamb Scores Massive Double Against Giannetti

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

The Ben Lamb heater lasted an entire summer, so what's a couple more days?

Matt Giannetti opened for a standard bet and Ben Lamb, who had been the shortest stack at the final table for the last while, decided to ship it all-in.

Giannetti thought for a minute but then called and tabled J♣ J♦ while Lamb showed A♥ 7♥.

Lamb was in a scary place, with his tournament life on the line, but the poker gods have been extraordinarily kind to the Las Vegas resident and you had to wonder if what the board would bring.

The dealer flipped over a K♥ 9♦ 5♥ and suddenly Lamb had picked up a massive draw. The crowd was thrilled and went into an absolute frenzy when the turn came 4♥, completing Lamb’s flush.

Yet again, Lamb dodged a bullet and in the process crippled the popular Giannetti down to 6.7 million.

Shortly after the hand Giannetti doubled up with Q-T suited against Staszko’s Q-2 but he is still on life support with 14 million.

Stay tuned.

Here are the latest chip counts:

Pius Heinz – 93,400,000Ben Lamb – 54,200,000Martin Staszko – 43,950,000Matt Giannetti – 14,400,000Phil Collins Eoghan O’Dea Bob Bounahra Anton Makiievskyi Sam Holden

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2011 Main Event: Staszko Doubles through Heinz

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Short stack Martin Staszko finally found the double-up he’d been looking for in Pius Heinz.

Staszko open-shoved for the third time in the last hour and Pius Heinz finally decided to see what the Czech was messing around with.

It wasn’t a bad call as Staszko flipped over A♠ 8♣ to Heinz’ 6♠ 6♥. Staszko was in for approximately 20 million and in danger of becoming our final elimination of the evening.

The dealer flopped 8♥ 8♠ 5♠, which put Staszko firmly in the lead. The turn brought the 4♦ and Heinz had picked up an inside straight draw.

Fortunately for Staszko the river was a safe Q♣ to give him the checkmark. Ben Lamb is now the short stack at the final table.

Here are the latest chip counts:

Pius Heinz – 73,800,000 Matt Giannetti – 56,000,000 Martin Staszko – 44,550,000 Ben Lamb – 31,600,000

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2011 Main Event: Who Will Blink First?

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Outside of a couple uncalled Staszko shoves, action has gotten downright tentative over the last 30 minutes of play.

It’s understandable as the stacks have gotten significantly deeper compared to the previous three hours of play and the final three players are no slouches when it comes to final table strategy.

Every remaining player seems focused intently on making it to the final day of the 2011 WSOP Main Event and considering every player that makes it to Tuesday will receive at least $4 million its easy to see why everyone wants to hang on.

Pius Heinz has done a fantastic job as the chip leader over the half our and is a serious threat to break the 100 million chip mark soon.

Here’s the latest chip counts:

Pius Heinz – 96,625,000 Matt Giannetti – 55,775,000 Ben Lamb – 29,750,000 Martin Staszko – 23,775,000

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2011 Main Event: One Must Fall!

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

We’re once again live from the 2011 WSOP Main Event and the four remaining players now set about ousting one of their own to set the three-player final day of the event.

Pius Heinz, Ben Lamb, Matt Giannetti and Martin Staszko all of chips now but by the time the evening is complete one of them will hit the zero mark.

Interestingly Guy Laliberte, the founder of the One Drop foundation and, co-creator of the $1 million buy-in Big One tournament at the WSOP this summer, stopped by to share some information on the upcoming event.

According to Laliberte 24 players have already expressed their interest in playing the event and he’s planning taking a trip to Russian and Macau to recruit more businessmen who enjoy high stakes poker.

Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier and Jonathan Duhamel both confirmed they would play the tournament.

Finally Laliberte wished the remaining November Nine players luck and gave the official shuffle up and deal.

We're officially in Level 40 and blinds are 600,000/1,200,000 with a 200,000 ante. Here are the chip counts as we head into what should be the final portion of the evening:

Pius Heinz – 85,500,000 Matt Giannetti – 50,325,000 Ben Lamb – 46,300,000 Martin Staszko – 23,900,000Phil Collins Eoghan O’Dea Bob Bounahra Anton Makiievskyi Sam Holden

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2011 Main Event: Dinner for Four

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Another level is down here at the 2011 WSOP Main Event and the action simply refuses to let up.

Over the last level we’ve seen Eoghan O’Dea and Phil Collins hit the rail as Pius Heinz continues to build his massive stack.

The resurgent Ben Lamb also looks very dangerous as we get ever closer to crowning a champion.

Once we hit one more elimination, however, the entire final table will go on break for one day to give the ESPN production crews some time to catch up.

Right now the shortest stack is Martin Staszko with 23 million as Ben Lamb snapped him off just before the level ended. Staszko still has some room to wiggle so he doesn’t need to get too crazy just yet.

As we mentioned above, players are officially on their dinner break. Check back here at the 8 p.m. local time for more red-hot poker action live from the Rio.

Here are the updated chip counts at the dinner break:

Pius Heinz – 85,500,000Matt Giannetti – 50,325,000Ben Lamb – 46,300,000Martin Staszko – 23,900,000Phil CollinsEoghan O’Dea Bob Bounahra Anton Makiievskyi Sam Holden

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2011 Main Event: Heinz Denies Collins One More Night (Fifth)

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

They certainly haven’t wasted much time here at the 2011 WSOP Main Event final table.

With Eoghan O’Dea’s seat still warm Phil Collins decided to make his big move.

Pius Heinz initially opened for 2.1 million but Collins decided to shove for 18 million. Heinz eventually decided to make the call with 9♣ 9♥ while Collins could only muster A♦ 7♦.

The flop came 6♠ 5♣ 4♦ and, although Heinz was still in the lead, Collins had picked up a ton of outs with his up-and-down straight draw and backdoor flush draw.

The turn came 9♦, which gave Heinz a set but more importantly gave Collins even more outs with the flush draw in play. The dealer finally flipped… 7♠!

Collins missed his outs and Heinz knocks out yet another player.

On the bright side Collins does pick up $2.2 million for coming in fifth place and his crew seemed to understand this as they broke into “In the Air Tonight” for one more time in the Penn and Teller amphitheater.

Just one more player must fall before this final table goes on a one-day recess.

Here are the updated chip counts:

Pius Heinz – 82,350,000Matt Giannetti – 53,175,000Ben Lamb – 39,650,000Martin Staszko – 30,850,000Phil CollinsEoghan O’DeaBob Bounahra Anton MakiievskyiSam Holden

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2011 Main Event: Staszko Sends O’Dea Packing (Sixth)

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Irish pro Eoghan O’Dea was in a very unique position at the 2011 WSOP Main Event final table.

He was the only player that had a relative who also made the Main Event who also made the final table.

Way back in 1983, Eoghan’s father - Donnacha O’Dea - made the WSOP Main and eventually finished in sixth place. In 1991 Donnacha made the final table again, this time finishing in ninth place.

As luck would have it, O’Dea finished in the exact same spot his father did, in 1983.

O’Dea was crippled in an earlier hand against Lamb and decided to ship it with Q♥ 6♣ and Martin Staszko called with 8♥ 8♦.

The board came T♥ 9♣ 5♥ J♦ 2♥ and that was enough to end O’Dea’s run here at the 2011 WSOP Main Event.

Fortunately for O’Dea he’s taking home a lot more than his father did (Donnacha took $43k in 1983) as he’ll earn $1.7 million for finishing sixth.

Here are the latest chip counts after the huge hand:

Pius Heinz – 67,500,000Matt Giannetti – 49,875,000Martin Staszko – 40,750,000Ben Lamb – 28,700,000Phil Collins – 18,150,000Eoghan O’DeaBob Bounahra Anton MakiievskyiSam Holden

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2011 Main Event: Lamb Cripples O’Dea

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Ben Lamb has been a shell of his former self since getting unlucky against Phil Collins but the poker gods finally shined on the pro in a recent hand against Eoghan O’Dea.

O’Dea opened for 1.6 million from the cutoff and Lamb decided to just ship his last 14 million in the middle.

The play seemed to torment O’Dea and the Irish pro was unsure of his next move. Having about 16 million, O’Dea barely covered Lamb and was essentially making the decision for his tournament life. After carefully calculating his decision, O’Dea finally decided to make the call with A♣ 9♦.

On paper it looked like the right call as Lamb flipped over a miserly Q♦ 8♦. The poker gods, as we mentioned earlier, had other ideas.

It was a quite a sweat as the board came J♠ J♦ 6♦ 4♣… 8♥! The rivered pair of eights were enough for Lamb to take the pot.

It’s been awhile since we’ve seen much emotion from Lamb but this time he ran to his fans and enthusiastic high-fived them. After the hand Lamb moved up to 29 million while O’Dea moved all the way down to 2.6 million and is in serious danger of going out in sixth.

Players just went on a 15-minute break but you’ll see the updated chip counts below. When they return they’ll have to deal with Level 39 and blinds of 500,000/1,000,000 and a 150,000 ante.

Pius Heinz – 65,200,000Matt Giannetti – 51,675,000Martin Staszko – 38,250,000Ben Lamb – 29,450,000Phil Collins – 18,750,000 Eoghan O’Dea – 2,600,000Bob Bounahra Anton MakiievskyiSam Holden

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2011 Main Event: Against All Odds Collins Doubles Up

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Phil “USCPhildo” Collins just survived a heart-wrenching close call.

Collins had been getting short over the last 30 minutes and with 13.5 million chips left finally looked down at Q♥ J♦ and decided it was go time. Collins open-shoved and everyone folded… except for Ben Lamb.

Lamb decided to call and it was easy to see why. The 2011 WSOP POY flipped over A♣ Q♣ and Collins was in a very rough spot.

The flop came K♦ 5♦ 3♠, which meant Lamb was still in the lead but Collins picked up a backdoor flush draw. The turn was an intriguing T♦. The card gave Collins a metric ton of outs as he had straight and flush draws.

With the entire room on it’s feet the dealer finally flipped over the hand-defining Q♦! Collins takes the pot with a queen-high flush.

All the Collins fans immediately broke into a delirious rendition of “In the Air Tonight” as he raked in the pot.

Here’s how the stacks looked after the hand:

Pius Heinz – 53,500,000Matt Giannetti – 49,875,000Martin Staszko – 45,750,000Phil Collins – 28,150,000Ben Lamb – 15,325,000Eoghan O’Dea – 13,325,000Bob BounahraAnton MakiievskyiSam Holden

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2011 Main Event: Staszko Strikes Bounahra (Seventh)

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Bob Bounahra may have been the most beloved player at the final table today but even that couldn’t save him from hitting the rail in seventh place.

Bounahra was extremely short-stacked for the last 10 minutes and, after a 1.7 million bet from Martin Staszko, he moved all-in with A♥ 5♣.

Unfortunately for him Staszko called with A♠ 9♦ and all of Belize was suddenly gasping for air.

The flop came 7♣ 6♥ 2♣ and that changed nothing. The turn was an eventful K♥ and all Bounahra could do was pray for one of the three remaining fives in the deck.

Finally the dealer peeled off… the 6♦! It gave Staszko fans a scare but it wasn’t good enough to give Bounahra the checkmark.

Bounahra is out and we’re assuming he’s going to take his small army of Belizean fans with him. He picks up $1.3 million for his efforts in the 2011 WSOP Main Event.

Here’s a look at the updated chip counts:

Pius Heinz – 52,300,000 Matt Giannetti – 47,175,000 Martin Staszko – 39,875,000 Ben Lamb – 32,900,000 Phil Collins – 15,375,000 Eoghan O’Dea – 11,625,000Bob BounahraAnton MakiievskyiSam Holden

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2011 Main Event: Heinz Hits Makiievskyi (Eighth)

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

When it rains, it pours.

Just a handful of hands after Holden became our first elimination from the final table, Ukrainian Anton Makiievskyi followed him to the rail.

In the end Makiievskyi open-shoved for around 10 million chips. Heinz thought for a minute but then made the call, having Makiievskyi easily covered. Both players flipped over their hands:

Makiievskyi: K♣ Q♣

Heinz: 9♦ 9♥

The Ukrainian contingent of the crowd was on their feet as their horse’s tournament life was in dire straights.

They had to like the flop when it came K♠ J♥ J♠ giving Makiievskyi a pair of kings and the lead.

Unfortunately what the poker gods giveth they can also taketh away and that’s just what happened when the 9♣ spiked on the turn. Suddenly Heinz had a stranglehold on the hand with a set of nines.

Makiievskyi needed a minor miracle on the river and it didn’t come as the dealer flipped over the 7♥.

Makiievskyi’s dream of becoming the first Ukrainian Main Event winner is over. He does pick up $1.01 million for coming in eighth place.

Here are the updated chip counts:

Pius Heinz – 61,150,000Martin Staszko – 43,075,000Matt Giannetti – 34,625,000Ben Lamb – 34,400,000Eoghan O'Dea – 13,325,000 Phil Collins – 12,875,000Badih Bounahra – 6,475,000Anton MakiievskyiSamuel Holden

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2011 Main Event: Lamb Hooks Holden (Ninth)

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Sam Holden entered the final table as the shortest stack and despite a valiant effort has officially been relegated to the rail in ninth place.

After several shoves without getting any action, Holden finally picked up A♠ J♠ and decided to move the last of his 11 million stack in the middle while facing a 1.7 million-chip Ben Lamb bet.

Unfortunately for Holden, Lamb had A♥ K♣ and was not willing to make that laydown.

To make matters worse the flop came A♣ 9♣ 8♣ which gave Lamb a pair of aces and the nut-flush draw.

As luck would have it the turn spelled disaster for the U.K. pro when it came K♣, giving Lamb the flush and eliminating Holden.

Holden is the first player to bust at the final table but does pick up $782,115 for his efforts. Expect play to loosen up somewhat as the remaining players have the relief of knowing they won’t go out first.

Here’s a look at the updated chip counts:

Pius Heinz – 49,050,000Martin Staszko – 43,425,000Ben Lamb – 34,400,000Matt Giannetti – 26,425,000Phil Collins – 15,675,000Badih Bounahra – 13,925,000Eoghan O'Dea – 12,925,000Anton Makiievskyi – 10,100,000Samuel Holden

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2011 Main Event: Heinz Takes Charge

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

We just finished Level 37 and what a level it was for German Pius Heinz.

Heinz went from zero to hero as he climbed from the bottom of the chip counts to the overall chip lead.

The German stunned Eoghan O’Dea in the biggest hand of the tournament and then went on to win significant hands against Phil Collins, Bob Bounahra and numerous others.

Although he gave up the chip lead, Martin Staszko still has 43 million and might be the only serious competition for Heinz at the moment.

Meanwhile Anton Makiievskyi, Sam Holden, Eoghan O’Dea and Bob Bounahra are all picking up the rear and just one big hand away from going home. After about three hours of play we’re still waiting for our first elimination.

Updated blinds are 400,000/800,000 with a 100,000 ante.

Here’s a look at the most recent chip counts:

Pius Heinz – 49,950,000Martin Staszko – 43,525,000Matt Giannetti – 26,525,000Ben Lamb – 21,675,000Phil Collins – 15,775,000Badih Bounahra – 14,025,000Eoghan O'Dea – 13,025,000Samuel Holden – 11,225,000Anton Makiievskyi – 10,200,000

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2011 Main Event: Heinz on Fire

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Pius Heinz just went into beast mode.

The aggressive German won a big hand against Phil Collins pre-flop and then played what turned out to be the biggest hand of the tournament thus far against Eoghan O’Dea.

Heinz opened for a standard bet from middle position and Lamb called from late position.

O’Dea raised to 4.1 million from the big blind and Heinz called while Lamb immediately got out the way.

The flop came 8♣ 8♦ 4♣ and O’Dea kept the pressure on by throwing 4.6 million into the pot. Heinz thought for a minute but then called, which brought the 2♣ turn.

O’Dea made a huge bet of 8.2 million. This sent Heinz deep into the tank. The German carefully weighed his options but after what felt like an eternity he moved all-in for the last of his chips.

O’Dea snap-folded and all of a sudden Heinz is near the top of the chip counts with 44 million while O’Dea stumbles into the danger zone with 11 million.

We've since learned from the ESPN live stream that O'Dea folded A♦ Q♦ while Heinz held Q♣ Q♠.

Here are the updated chip counts:

Martin Staszko – 47,850,000Pius Heinz – 44,175,000Matt Giannetti – 26,675,000Ben Lamb – 21,075,000Phil Collins – 16,975,000Badih Bounahra – 15,750,000Anton Makiievskyi – 12,825,000Eoghan O'Dea – 11,500,000 Samuel Holden – 9,100,000

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2011 Main Event: Bounahra Bounces Back

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Losing that big hand against Martin Staszko seems to have woken the beast in Bob Bounahra.

The Belize-native has been involved in almost every pot over the 10 minutes and has been climbing back up the leaderboard.

He won a massive pot with pocket sevens against Staszco who had A♣ 5♣ on a K♠ K♦ 9♥ 5♠ 3♥ board.

Shortly after that hand Bounahra won big hands off Phil Collins and Sam Holden. He’s out of the danger zone and back up to around 18 million chips.

In other news both Sam Holden and Anton Makiievskyi have open-shoved but everyone else got out of the way.

Here’s a look at the updated chip counts:

Martin Staszko – 42,200,000Eoghan O'Dea – 34,250,000Matt Giannetti – 25,175,000Pius Heinz – 21,575,000Phil Collins – 20,850,000Ben Lamb – 19,250,000 Badih Bounahra – 17,400,000 Anton Makiievskyi – 14,475,000Samuel Holden – 10,750,000

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2011 Main Event: Staszko vs. Bounahra

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Martin Staszko and Bob Bounahra just can’t seem to avoid each other at this final table.

The two international players just played what appears to be the biggest hand of the final table thus far.

Bounahra bet 1.3 million from early position and Staszko called from the big blind.

The flop came J♥ 5♦ 3♠ and Staszko checked but Bounahra c-bet to 1.85 million. Staszko called and the turn came 8♥. Both players checked and that brought the 9♣ river.

Suddenly Staszko became the aggressor as he threw 2.35 million into the pot. Bounahra spent a couple minutes pondering his decision but eventually folded, much to the delight of the Staszko fans.

The Czech player is showing no signs of giving up the chip lead any time soon. Here are the updated chip counts:

Martin Staszko – 44,425,000Eoghan O'Dea – 37,350,000 Matt Giannetti – 26,300,000Phil Collins – 24,550,000Ben Lamb – 19,475,000 Pius Heinz – 16,650,000Badih Bounahra – 13,675,000 Anton Makiievskyi – 12,525,000 Samuel Holden – 10,975,000

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2011 Main Event: Giannetti, Collins Make Moves

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

It hasn’t taken long for the final table contestants to start testing each other. Matt Giannetti and Phil Collins have been the two most active players in the early stages

Giannetti won a minor pot off Collins when he led out for 1.3 million on a Q♦ 7♥ 2♣ 8♠ board while Collins won a decent pot off German Pius Heinz with Ace-high on a T♥ 6♣ 6♦ K♠ K♦ board.

It hasn’t changed the chip counts significantly but Heinz did drop down to 14,850,000 and is in danger of becoming the shortest stack at the table.

We just hit level 37, which means blinds are cranked up to 300,000/600,000 with a 75,000 ante.

Here are the updated chip counts:

Martin Staszko – 39,875,000Eoghan O'Dea – 35,120,000 Matt Giannetti – 26,455,000Phil Collins – 24,175,000Ben Lamb – 20,675,000 Badih Bounahra – 17,750,000 Pius Heinz – 14,425,000 Anton Makiievskyi – 13,375,000 Samuel Holden – 13,125,000

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2011 Main Event: Here. We. Go.

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

The biggest final table of the year has officially begun.

Players just made their official entrances to the 2011 WSOP Main Event and fans were literally on their feet screaming for their heroes.

The shouting continued for a good five minutes after the final table began and organizers finally had to try and calm the frenzied crowd down.

Play begins in Level 36 with blinds of 250,000/500,000. We’ll play down to the last three players and then take a one-day break. We’ll find the new world champion on Tuesday.

ESPN Poker’s Norman Chad provided the shuffle up and deal, although it was difficult to hear the TV presenter through the all the fans, and we are once again live at the 2011 WSOP Main Event.

If you're looking for even more coverage be sure to check our @PokerListings Twitter account.

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2011 Main Event: The Beginning of the End!

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

It’s been 111 days since the last hand was played in the 2011 World Series of Poker but at long last cards will once again be in the air in little more than an hour.

For nearly four months Martin Straszko, Eoghan O’Dea, Matt Giannetti, Phil Collins, Ben Lamb, Badih Bounahra, Pius Heinz, Anton Makiievskyi and Sam Holden have been dreaming about this moment and it’s finally here.

The PokerListings crew has set up in the orchestra section of the Penn and Teller amphitheater and, as expected, the air is positively electric in the room.

There are a huge number of poker fans in the room but the support for Badih Bounahra is incredible. There looks to be over 100 Belizean poker fans in the room and they’re already chanting Bounahra’s name.

There’s no final table like the November Nine and that’s certainly true this year with music blaring over the PA, hundreds of poker fans filing into the theater, a 6’5 Jack Links Sasquatch mascot wandering around, attractive girls with t-shirt guns and one of the shiniest poker tables we’ve ever seen.

It’s going to be one hell of a day so be sure to keep checking this page for non-stop action from the 2011 WSOP Main Event final table.

The plan is to play down to three players today and then take a one-day recess and crown a champion on Tuesday.

Here’s a look at the player’s chip counts to start the day:

Seat 1 – Eoghan O'Dea – 33,925,000 Seat 2 – Martin Staszko – 40,175,000 Seat 3 – Ben Lamb – 20,875,000 Seat 4 – Phil Collins – 23,875,000 Seat 5 – Pius Heinz – 16,425,000 Seat 6 – Anton Makiievskyi – 13,825,000 Seat 7 – Samuel Holden – 12,375,000 Seat 8 – Badih Bounahra – 19,700,000 Seat 9 – Matt Giannetti – 24,750,000

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Elio Fox Edges Chris Moorman to Win 2011 WSOPE Main Event

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Elio Fox was the least known player at the 2011 WSOPE Main Event final table but that didn’t stop him from putting on a spectacular performance going wire-to-wire to win the European title.

Chris Moorman is one of the best online poker players in the world but even he didn’t last long against the surging Fox heads-up.

Moorman was also at a disadvantage as he entered heads-up play with a nearly 2-1 chip deficit.

Fox was absolutely relentless during the heads-up match and never gave Moorman a chance to breath. Fox rivered a flush early to win a massive pot and was firmly in the driver’s seat from that point on.

Finally Moorman was down to 2.1 million and needed to make a stand.

In the final hand of the tournament Fox bet 200,000, Moorman bet 430,000 and Fox jammed, easily covering Moorman.

Moorman made the call and both players revealed their hands:

Fox: A♦ T♠

Moorman: A♥ 7♠

The dealer prepared to put down a potentially tournament-ending board. The flop came 6♠ 4♠ 3♥, which kept Fox in the lead but gave Moorman a gut-shot straight draw.

The turn came 6♦ and Moorman now had a shot at chopping as well as winning the hand.

The river… 8♥!

Fox successfully faded all of Moorman’s outs and won the pot, the title and €1.4 million. Meanwhile Moorman will have to go another day without a major title but he does pick up €800,000.

In total Fox outlasted a field of 593 players and a final table that included Moorman, Jake Cody and Brian Roberts to win the biggest poker tournament in French history.

We had to laugh when we overheard his short answer to an ESPN reporter asking if he enjoyed the tournament.

“I always do. It’s a lot of fun.”

It is a lot of fun. Especially when you win €1.4 million.

That’s it for us in Cannes. Thanks for checking out our coverage and stay tuned for a news wrap of the event.

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WSOPE Main Event Day 4: Kranich Krushed (3rd)

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

German pro Moritz Kranich has officially busted from the 2011 WSOPE final table leaving Chris Moorman to face Elio Fox for the title.

Fox opened for 140,000 and Kranich shoved for his last 1.6 million. Moorman laid it down but Fox decided to make the call.

The players revealed their hands:

Fox: 9♦ 9♠

Kranich: 5♥ 4♥

Fox has been lucky a few times this tournament but this time he had his opponent crushed.

The dealer quickly ran out a 7♠ 6♦ 2♥ A♣ 4♠ board and the Kranich was sent packing. Kranich, who was chasing poker’s Triple Crown in this event as he already has EPT and WPT titles, ended up falling just short in third place. He picks up €550,000 for his efforts.

Meanwhile we’re down to heads-up with Moorman taking on Fox for the most prestigious poker title in Europe. Here are the chip counts as we enter heads-up:

Fox – 11 million Moorman – 6.7 million

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WSOPE Main Event Day 4: Roberts Robbed (4th)

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Suddenly players are falling faster than the U.S. dollar.

Former 2 Months, $2 Million reality star Brian “flawless_victory” Roberts is the latest player to hit the rail as he got involved in a massive hand against Chris Moorman.

Moorman open-shoved from the small blind and Roberts, who had been severely beaten down in the last 30 minutes of play, decided to make the call with a lowly J♣ 8♥.

The English pro flipped Q♥ 4♥ and had a slight edge on Roberts. The dealer prepared to put out a potentially player-busting board.

The board came 8♠ 6♦ 7♦ and that gave Roberts the lead with a pair of eights. The 2♥ peeled off the deck as the turn. It appeared Roberts would double but instead the river fell 5♦ giving Moorman a straight and busting Roberts right out of the tournament.

Roberts picks up €400,000 for busting in fourth place, which is more than his entire team made in two months in the reality show he starred in. Not bad for five days work.

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WSOPE Main Event Day 4: Blain Busts (5th)

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Even the luck of the Irish couldn’t keep Dermot Blain from busting out of this tournament in fifth place.

In his final hand Blain opened for 175,000 from under the gun and action folded to Brian Roberts.

Roberts, who’s been the biggest mover over the last two hours, asked for a count (Blain had about 1.7 million at this point) and then decided to raise to 350,000.

Everyone else folded and Blain put all his chips in the middle. Roberts thought for a minute but than called with A♥ J♦. Blain flipped in K♠ Q♥ and was in a serious amount of trouble.

The board ran out A♣ Q♣ 2♦ 9♥ 2♣ and that was enough to send Blain back to Ireland. He picks up €275,000 for hitting the rail in fifth place.

Here are the updated chip counts:

Elio Fox – 7 million Brian Roberts – 5.3 million Chris Moorman – 3.2 million Mortiz Kranich – 2.1 million

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WSOPE Main Event Day 4: It’s a Marathon Not a Sprint

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

We’ll say this about players at the 2011 WSOPE: They are a patient group.

For the last couple hours Elio Fox, Chris Moorman, Brian Roberts, Mortiz Kranich and Dermot Blain have been circling each other with none of them wanting to make a huge gaff.

Brian Roberts is the latest hot hand at the table and has done a great job of stealing blinds over the last hour chipping up to 3.6 million, good enough for second behind Fox’s 7 million.

The WSOPE Main Event has traditionally been a long affair and the 2008 edition featuring John Juanda was a beast of a tournament that ended up lasting 22-hours before Juanda finally scored the knockout blow in the early afternoon of the next day.

We’re hoping it doesn’t come to that but we’re fueled up on French coffee and Red Bulls so we’ll be with you every step of the way.

Here are the latest chip counts:

Elio Fox – 7 million Brian Roberts – 3.6 million Chris Moorman – 3.2 million Mortiz Kranich – 2.1 million Dermot Blain – 1.7 million

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WSOPE Main Event Day 4: Shawn Bombs (Sixth)

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Shawn Buchanan was arguably the most experienced player at the final table today but that hasn’t saved him from hitting the rail in sixth place.

Elio Fox opened a pot for 120,000 and Dermot Blain moved all-in. Buchanan, who was just covered by Blain, decided to make the call and Fox, for once, got out of the way.

Buchanan had to like his odds as he flipped T♥ T♣ to Blain’s A♦ 4♣.

The flop came Q♦ 3♦ 2♦ and Buchanan was still ahead but Blain had about, oh, one million outs with diamonds, aces and fives all providing a way for him to take the lead.

Buchanan managed to fade Blain’s outs on the turn when it came 7♣ but the river brought the dreaded A♣.

Blain busts Buchanan in sixth place. The Canadian pro picks up €200,000, which will go quite well with the €207,624 he picked up for coming in second place in the 10k Split Event.

Here are the updated chip counts for the final table:

Elio Fox - 7.5 millionChris Moorman - 3.7 millionMortiz Kranich - 2.5 millionDermot Blain - 2.4 millionBrian Roberts - 1.8 million

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WSOPE Main Event Day 4: The Final Push

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

All six players are back from dinner and it’s time to play this one out – short-handed style.

New York’s Elio Fox has been kicking the crap out of everyone at the final table tonight and we’ll see if his good fortune continues against the more established grinders like Shawn Buchanan and Chris Moorman.

Meanwhile Dermot Blain is in the hot seat with just one million chips left in his arsenal.

The blinds are getting cranked up to 30,000/60,000 with a 10,000 ante so things could get very interesting over the next hour.

Here’s a look at the stacks as action recommences:

Elio Fox – 6.9 million Chris Moorman – 3 million Mortiz Kranich – 3 million Shawn Buchanan – 1.9 million Brian Roberts – 1.8 million Dermot Blain – 1 million

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WSOPE Main Event Day 4: Table for Six!

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

We’ve made it through a few levels here at the final table of the 2011 WSOPE final table and players have just been given a 60-minute dinner break.

Surprisingly we’ve lost two of the players we expected to go very far at this final table in Jake Cody and Max Silver.

The relatively unknown Elio Fox, besides that whole Bellagio Cup VII business this summer, is absolutely pounding the table and now has nearly half the chips in play.

He can’t afford to slow down, however, as legendry online grinder Chris Moorman is second in chips with 3.08 million.

Check back in 60 minutes for more action from the Hotel Majestic in Cannes.

Here’s a look at the chip counts as we head for dinner:

Elio Fox – 6.9 million Chris Moorman – 3 million Moritz Kranich – 3 million Shawn Buchanan – 1.9 million Brian Roberts – 1.8 million Dermot Blain – 1 million

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WSOPE Main Event Day 4: Cody Crashes (7th)

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Jake Cody is the unexpected seventh place finisher here at the 2011 WSOPE Final Table.

Cody, who was one of the bigger stacks at the start of the last level, but lost two huge pots to bounce right out of the tournament.

First Cody doubled up Dermot Blain when the short-stacked Irish pro jammed with A♥ A♦. Cody called with K♣ Q♦ and never got any help from the board to lose a substantial portion of his stack.

Maybe 15 minutes later Fox opened for 110,000 and Cody three-bet to 260,000.

Fox re-raised to 600,000 and that sent Cody into the tank for a couple minutes pondering his decision.

Eventually Cody moved all-in and Fox snap-called with T♥ T♣. Unfortunately it was a snap bad decision for Fox as Cody tabled J♥ J♦.

The Rochdale native was still nervous, however, as his tournament life was on the line.

The flop came 8♦ 7♣ 6♥ and Cody was still safe but Fox had picked up a straight draw. Things went from bad to worse when the 9♥ peeled off the turn.

Cody needed to hit one of the two remaining tens to spike the bigger straight and double up. It didn’t happen as the river was a meaningless 6♠.

No stranger to success Cody already has poker’s illustrious Triple Crown, which includes a WPT, WSOP and EPT victory. He won't be adding another WSOP bracelet in this one, however.

Cody picks up €150,000 for busting out in seventh place and now has nearly $3 million in lifetime tournament earnings.

Here are the stacks after Cody busted:

Elio Fox - 6.9 millionChris Moorman - 3 millionMortiz Kranich - 3 millionShawn Buchanan - 1.9 millionBrian Roberts - 1.8 millionDermot Blain - 1 million

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WSOPE Main Event Day 4: Action Slows

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

It seems that at every final table there is a period where action slows and very few flops are seen.

We’ve apparently hit that portion of the evening as the last hour has been bereft of flops, bustouts, double ups and even interesting table talk.

Elio Fox continues to maintain his chip lead and currently has just over 4 million chips. Jake Cody is the latest player to take a run at the chip leader and is currently stacked with 3.09 mllion.

Mortiz Kranich and Chris Moorman are right in line with Cody, however, as they both have three million.

Meanwhile Irish pro Dermot Blain is in the danger zone with 550,000. The rest of the stacks are fairly even so it could be awhile before the chips start to fly.

You can’t really blame the players for being cautious right now as the blinds are 25,000/50,000 and the average stack has about 50 big blinds.

Here’s a look at the latest chip counts:

Elio Fox – 4 million Jake Cody – 3.09 million Chris Moorman – 3.08 million Mortiz Kranich – 3.01 million Brian Roberts – 2.3 million Shawn Buchanan – 1.6 million Dermot Blain – 550,000

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WSOPE Main Event Day 4: The Plot Thickens

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

We’ve made it through another hour at the final table and the short stacks are holding on to their stacks like their life depended on it.

Two players managed to double up in the last hour and Elio Fox is still the man to beat with nearly 5 million chips.

German Mortiz Kranich has also been cranking up his play in the last while and is climbing the chip counts with over 3 million.

Here’s a look at the big hands over the last hour:

Buchanan Bucks Up

Shawn Buchanan entered play about 15 minutes late today because, according to him, his elevator was broken.

As a result it was understandable that he felt a bit behind the rest of the players today. Well, he just got lucky to catch up in a big way.

Dermot Blain opened for 90,000 and Buchanan simply shoved for 835,000. Blain thought for a minute but then called with J♥ J♦. It was the right choice as he was ahead of Buchanan’s A♣ 8♦.

The board came 8♥ 5♠ 4♥ 5♦… A♥!

The ace on the river gave Buchanan two-pair, which was enough to give the Canadian the double up.

Roberts Finds Flawless Double Through Moorman

Brian “flawless_victory” Roberts just picked up a much-needed double up from Chris Moorman.

Moorman opened for 85,000 and Roberts flatted. Fox, who seems to love being in almost every hand, popped it up to 260,000.

Action folded to Moorman who made a huge raise to 585,000. Roberts wasn’t going anywhere, however, and he shoved for 1.2 million. Fox immediately got the hell out of the hand and that sent Moorman into the tank.

Eventually the English pro called, only to find out he was crushed.

Roberts: A♥ A♠

Moorman: K♠ 9♥

The came board up blanks and Roberts doubled to 2.9 million while Moorman fell back down to 2 million.

Leaderboard

Here are the latest chip counts:

Elio Fox – 4.8 million Mortiz Kranich – 3 million Jake Cody – 2.8 million Brian Roberts – 2.5 million Chris Moorman – 1.7 million Shawn Buchanan – 1.7 million Dermot Blain – 1.7 million

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WSOPE Main Event Day 4: Silver Tarnished (8th)

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Max Silver has not shown any reluctance to play big pots over the course of this tournament and it’s that style that just saw him go out in eighth place.

Chris Moorman bet 60,000 and Max Silver popped it up to 165,000 from the button. Moorman asked for a count and found out at that Silver had 356,000 behind and then moved in.

Silver called for his tournament life and threw down A♠ K♥. Moorman flipped J♣ J♥ and we had a classic race on our hands.

The board came Q♣ 9♦ 5♣ 3♥ 9♥ and that’s it for Silver. He finishes in eighth place and picks up €115,000.

Silver has had exceptional run here at the 2011 WSOPE and placed fourth in the Shootout event to take down €63,151.

Here’s how the chips looked after Silver’s elimination:

Elio Fox – 4.3 million Chris Moorman – 3.9 million Jake Cody – 2.6 million Dermot Blain – 2.4 million Brian Roberts – 2 million Moritz Kranich – 1.6 million Shawn Buchanan – 1 million

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WSOPE Main Event Day 4: The Final Showdown

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Nearly 600 players, six marathon days, thousands of devastating bad beats and it all comes down to this.

Eight players enter but only one will walk away with €1.4 million and the title of World Series of Poker Europe Champion.

It’s one of the best final tables we’ve seen all year long with established pros Jake Cody, Chris Moorman, Moritz Kranich, Brian Roberts and Shawn Buchanan all looking to solidify their reputations as elite players.

Moorman, in particular, has been playing and running extremely well over the last few days and it just might be his time to shine. Moorman has millions of dollars in online and live tournament winnings but he’s yet to win a major title. He might change that today.

The other players may not be as well known but are compelling stories in their own right.

The chip leader, Elio Fox, is perhaps most well known for winning the non-WPT Bellagio Cup VII this summer for $669,692. The New Yorker has a chance to win more than twice that amount at this final table.

English poker pro Max Silver has been especially dominant over the last couple days and despite not having a major title is serious threat to take this thing down.

Jack Effel just announced the final shuffle and deal of this tournament and we are officially live from the WSOPE Main Event final table.

Here are the chip stacks entering the final table:

Elio Fox – 3.9 million Jake Cody – 2.6 million Dermot Blain – 2.4 million Chris Moorman – 2.2 million Brian Roberts – 2 million Max Silver – 1.8 million Mortiz Kranich – 1.6 million Shawn Buchanan – 1 million

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WSOPE Main Event Day 4: Moorman, Buchanan Highlight Final Table

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Day 4 at the 2011 WSOPE Main Event was one for the books.

The day began with 25 players all chasing the European poker dream including Erik Seidel, Shawn Buchanan, Jake Cody, John Duthie, Tony G and Arnaud Mattern.

Tony G, Duthie and Seidel hit the rail early but action seriously clogged up when we hit the final two tables.

It took over one hour to see the first elimination as there were multiple double ups.

Towards the end of the day, however, there were a flurry of eliminations and one massive hand between Patrik Antonius and online superstar Chris Moorman.

Antonius and Moorman got it all-in with the Finnish pro holding A-Q to Moorman’s A-7. Moorman hit a seven on the river to cripple Antonius.

Less than 10 minutes later Antonius hit the rail as he smashed A-T into Moorman’s AA.

Despite Antonius’ elimination, we’re left with a compelling final table that includes online grinder Chris Moorman, Triple Crown winner Jake Cody, Canadian poker giant Shawn Buchanan and former reality TV star Brian Roberts.

Tomorrow the final table begins at 13:45 CET and it should be a thrilling conclusion to the biggest tournament in WSOPE history.

Here’s a look at all eight players at the final table:

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WSOPE Main Event Day 4: Antonius Busts to Set Final Table

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

This might be a new record.

Four players busted in less than 15 minutes to set a final table here at the 2011 WSOPE Main Event.

Unfortunately the last player to bust was none other than Patrik Antonius, who was crippled in that huge hand versus Chris Moorman.

Patrik shoved his last 80,000 into the middle pre-flop and both Shawn Buchanan and Chris Moorman called.

The flop came Q♥ 7♥ 4♠ and Buchanan checked. Moorman bet 100,000 and Buchanan called, which brought around the J♣.

Once again Buchanan checked and this time Moorman bet 225,000. Buchanan finally folded and Antonius flipped over A♥ T♠ but was crushed by Moorman’s A♠ A♣. Antonius did have an inside straight draw the river finished with the 9♣ to eliminate the Finnish pro. Antonius did pick up €90,000 for coming in ninth.

Of course the reason Antonius was the ninth place finisher was because Elio Fox knocked out two players in the previous hand.

In the hand Arnaud Mattern opened for 60,000 pre-flop and Alex Dovzhenko shoved for his last 450,000. Action folded to recent hot-hand Elio Fox, who decided to re-shove.

Mattern immediately moved in as well and we had three players all-in with Fox covering both players. With over 1.4 million chips on the line the players revealed their cards:

Mattern: A♦ A♠Fox: T♠ T♣ Dovzhenko: A♥ K♠

Mattern, the only French player left in the tournament, had to like his odds with the pocket rockets.

That changed when the flop came T♦ 9♠ 6♦ giving Fox a set of tens. The turn came K♦ and the river finished with the 7♠ to knock both players out of the tournament and give Fox a massive pot. Dovzehnko finishes in 11th for €67,500 while Mattern takes €90,000 for coming in 10th thanks to his chip advantage.

We’re officially down to a final table of eight players so stay tuned for the last post and final table chip counts.

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WSOPE Main Event Day 4: Sick Beat Cripples Patrik Antonius

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Oh wow.

Sometimes it’s not fun being a poker pro and Patrik Antonius just experienced that first hand.

Chris Moorman opened the pot for 50,000 and Antonius popped it up to 165,000.

Moorman shoved for 930,000. Antonius snap-called, much to Moorman’s surprise, as the U.K. pro tabled A♠ 7♣.

Antonius peeled over a superior A♥ Q♦ and stood a very good chance of knocking Moorman right out of the tournament.

The entire room was on their feet as the dealer prepared to put out the board.

The flop came 8♥ 6♠ 6♣ and Antonius was still in the lead with his better ace-high. The turn changed everything, however, as it was the 8♦ and that meant they were looking at a chop.

Poker is a game for sick people however and the river? Well that was the 7♣.

With two cards, Antonius went from winning a massive pot to losing almost everything. Antonius was left with only 80,000 and, barring a minor miracle, will be out of the tournament momentarily.

The action is fast and furious out there folks and we also had two eliminations in the last 10 minutes. Check them out here:

Fox Eliminates Guenegou (12th)

Elio Fox is on fire!

Shortly after eliminating Andy Moseley, Fox turned his attention to French player Thibaud Guenegou.

Guenegou shoved with Q♥ 8♦ and Fox called with pocket eights. The eights held and suddenly we’re down to just one French player in the tournament.

Guenegou picks up €67,500 for coming in 12th place.

Andy Attacked (13th)

Andrew Moseley lost a huge pot against Elio Fox with pocket deuces against K-Q and then several hands later busted to the same player.

Moseley shoved with A♠ 7♣ and had the misfortune of Fox calling him down with A♣ J♦

The board came up blanks and that was enough to relegate Moseley to the rail.

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WSOPE Main Event Day 4: Down to 13

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

The pace has picked up over the last hour on the penultimate day of the 2011 WSOPE Main Event.

We’ve seen three players hit the rail as Max Silver, Brian Roberts, Moritz Kranich and Jake Cody continue to battle at the top of the chip counts.

Silver is still the man to beat and has yet to give up the chip lead since he’s been at the final two tables.

Here’s a look at the three bustouts over the last hour:

Drummond Thumped by Roberts (16th)

We have our first casualty at the final two tables.

Michael Drummond moved in with a pair of sixes and Brian Roberts called him down with K♦ Q♦.

Unfortunately for Drummond there was a king and queen on the flop and that was more than enough to send him to the rail in 16th place. Drummond picks up €43,000 for his efforts.

Steve Moreau Leaves the Island (14th)

The French are down to just two players in the 2011 WSOPE Main Event

Shawn Buchanan opened for 50,000 and Steve Moreau shoved.

Action folded around to Buchanan who snap-called with A♣ K♦. He was in for a race as Moreau had 3♠ 3♥.

The board ran out A♠ Q♠ 4♥ T♠ T♦ and the flopped pair of aces were enough to give Buchanan the pot and eliminate Moreau. The French man picks up €53,000 for coming in 14th place.

Lehavot Falls in Three-Way Battle (15th)

Amir Lehavot, who took a pounding in the last level, open-shoved for his last 105,000 and Andrew Moseley re-shipped it for 256,000 more.

Brian Roberts had both players covered and decided to make the call. The players flipped over their cards:

Lehavot: 5-5

Moseley: A♣ J♠

Brian Roberts: QQ

Roberts had a chance to bust two players and move way up the chip counts.

As luck would have it Moseley would take the pot when the board came A♥ K♦ 8♥ T♥ Q♥.

Lehavot is out in 15th after a fantastic run here at the 2011 WSOPE.

Leaderboard

Here are the top 10 chip counts courtesy of www.wsop.com:

Max Silver - 3 millionBrian Roberts - 2 millionMoritz Kranich - 2 millionJake Cody - 1.6 millionShawn Buchanan - 1.6 millionDermot Blain - 1.3 millionPatrik Antonius - 1.2 millionChris Moorman - 1 millionThibaud Guenegou - 1 million

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WSOPE Main Event Day 4: Double Up Central

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

We may be here for a while.

Just after switching to the special TV room for the final two tables play slowed down and players began to get very tentative.

Players finally began to warm-up mid-way through the level but that’s when the double ups started coming.

Over the last hour we’ve seen Thibaud Guenegou, Arnaud Mattern, Elio Fox and Jake Cody all double up or even triple up in Cody’s case.

Here’s a look at some of the key hands.

Jade Cody Triples

Rochdale’s Jake Cody has been one of the most active players at the table over the last hour of play and was rewarded with a triple up.

Patrik Antonius opened for 40,000 and Cody raised all-in for 272,000. Silver called and that sent Antonius deep into the tank.

After a few minutes Antonius called. Antonius and Silver ended up checking all the way down a board of J♦ T♥ 4♥ 8♥ J♠ board.

Cody was thrilled to throw down T♦ 8♦ and see both opponents muck. After the hand he moved up to over 800,000 chips. Meanwhile Antonius fell down to 850,000 while Silver is still flying high with just over 3.2 million chips.

Antonius Wins Big Pot off Buchanan

Patrik Antonius made up some of the chips he lost against Jake Cody by winning a sizable pot off Shawn Buchanan.

Both players completed to a flop of Q♠ 4♠ 2♣ and Antonius bet 50,000.

Buchanan called and the turn came 9♠. Once again Buchanan checked but Antonius fired 130k. “Buck” called and the river came 5♥.

For a final time Buchanan checked and Antonius threw 450k into the pot, which was enough to finally scare off Buchanan.

Mattern Doubles Through Lehavot

Arnaud Mattern is one of three French players with a shot at winning the first WSOPE Main Event and he just got a much-needed double up from Amir Lehavot.

Mattern got all-in with A♦ A♠ and unfortunately for Amir Lehavot he had K♣ K♥ and had to make the call.

The aces held up just fine and Team PokerStars Pro doubles up to just past 238,000.

Leaderboard

Here are the latest top 10 chip counts courtesy of www.wsop.com:

Max Silver – 3.2 million Chris Moorman – 2.4 million Brian Roberts – 1.4 million Patrik Antonius – 1.2 million Dermot Blain – 1.2 million Amir Lehavot – 1.1 million Mortiz Kranich – 1.1 million Elio Fox – 910,000 Thibaud Guenegou – 795,000 Alex Dovzhenko – 790,000

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WSOPE Main Event Day 4: The Final Two Tables

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

We’re once again live from the Majestic Hotel, although our surroundings have changed considerably.

The final two tables of eight players each have moved to the prestigious Martha Room in the Majestic, which is currently being used as a hushed TV set for the ESPN crews.

The tension is high as seven players still need to bust for the final table to be set. With €1.4 million on the line, absolutely no one wants to go home at this point.

As Jack Effel announces the players, here are the final two table draws of the tournament:

Table 1:

Shawn Buchanan Steven Moreau Elio Fox Dermot Blain Chris Moorman Patrik Antonius Jake Cody Max Silver

Table 2:

Brian Roberts Andy Moseley Thibaud Guenegou Amir Lehavot Arnaud Mattern Moritz Kranich Alex Dovzhenko Michael Drummond

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WSOPE Main Event Day 4: Short Stack Slaughter

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

The short stacks continue to fall in rapid succession here on Day 4 of the 2011 WSOPE Main Event.

John Duthie, John Eames and Jeremy Kottler have all been eliminated as Max Silver continues to pull away from the rest of the pack. Even former big stack Giussepe Sammartino has busted.

We’re officially down to 16 players and need just seven more before we have our final table of nine players.

Right now we wouldn’t bet against Max Silver, Chris Moorman, Amir Lehavot, Shawn Buchanan or Patrik Antonius as they’re all cruising.

Players were just given their 90-minute dinner break so check back in an hour and a half for more updates from the Hotel Majestic.

Here’s a look at the latest action:

Silver Stacking, Eames Leaving

John Eames started the day with 210,000 chips and made a valiant effort to stick around but finally fell at the hands of Max Silver.

Eames got in with K-T but Silver had him crushed with pocket queens. There were no surprises and busts out in 20thth place. After the hand Silver was up to 1.7 million chips and not done yet.

Welcome Back Kottler, Now Go Away

Jeremy Kottler entered the day with a decent stack but is one of the early casualties here on Day 4.

Kottler got it in with J-T against Shawn Buchanan’s A-9.

The board was a great sweat for both players as it came T-J-9 giving Kottler two-pair and Buchanan a pair of nines. The turn was an inconsequential seven while the river, well, you all know the title to Barry Greenstein’s book.

Indeed the A♠ fell on the river to eliminate Kottler in 19th place.

Max Silver

Silver Strikes Giuseppe for Massive Pot

Max Silver is taking no prisoners here on Day 4. He just won a massive pot off Italian Guiseppe Sammartino.

We joined the action on a K♠ T♠ 5♣ flop and Sammartino had just thrown 40,000 into the pot. Silver called and that brought the 7♣ turn. This time Sammartino checked but Silver bet 88,000. Sammartino check-raised to 241,000.

Silver eventually called and the river came 3♠. Both players checked and Sammartino said, “Queen-high.” Silver didn’t believe him and requested he show his hand. Sammartino flipped over Q♥ J♥ for queen-high. Silver had him beat with K♦ J♣.

Silver was up to 2.2 million after the hand.

Duthie Dusted

EPT founder John Duthie has had some deep runs in WSOP events over the years but he has yet to take down a bracelet.

He won’t be winning one in the event as he was just busted by Amir Lehavot.

Duthie was short-stacked to start the day and after shoving a few times with no callers, finally had to get it in with Q♣ 9♣.

Unfortunately that was the time that Amir Lehavot called with A♠ Q♠. As luck would have it Lehavot would flop the nut flush to bust Duthie without even needing to see the turn or the river.

Duthie falls in 18th place for €37,000

Sammartino Crashes Out in Epic Fashion

Not every elimination over the last hour was a short-stack and this hand between Max Silver and Italian Giuseppe Sammartino was downright nutty.

Silver and Sammartino got into a raising war pre-flop and ended up getting all the chips in the middle for a monster 2+ million pot.

The real surprise came when the players tabled their cards:

Sammartino: A♣ K♠

Silver: 2♥ 2♦

The board came J♥ 7♠ 6♦ 8♥ 3♥ and Silver amazingly busts Sammartino in 17th place with a lowly pair of ducks. After the hand Silver was up to 3.6 million and looks to be downright unstoppable in this tournament.

Leaderboard

Here’s a look at the top 10 chip leaders courtesy of www.wsop.com after the five bustouts:

Max Silver – 3.4 million Chris Moorman – 2 million Amir Lehavot – 1.8 million Shawn Buchanan – 1.4 million Patrik Antonius – 1.4 million Brian Roberts – 1.3 million Dermot Blain – 1.2 million Mortiz Kranich – 1.03 million Dario Sammartino – 1 million Alex Dovzhenko – 850,000

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WSOPE Main Event Day 4: Seidel Slides Out

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Erik Seidel has been having such an exceptional year that it truly seems shocking when he busts out of a tournament.

Shocking or not, Seidel is out of the 2011 WSOPE Main Event.

Seidel was fairly short entering Day 4 and finally made his move with K-J unfortunately Alexander Dovzhenko called him down with A-J.

The board came up bricks and Seidel was sent packing. The all-time tournament winnings leader picks up €37,000 for coming in 21st place. Considering he's up over $6.4 million playing tournaments this year he'll probably be just fine.

In other news play is going incredibly fast in the early stages of the day and we’ve already have five eliminations. Chris Moorman looks to be the chip leader as we prepare to play through another level.

Here’s a look at the biggest action from the last hour:

Ktorza Gets Rolled

Philippe Ktorza came in as the shortest stack of the day so it’s not a giant surprise that he’s the first player to hit the rail.

Ktorza got it in with A-J against Jake Cody’s 7-7 and found neither an ace or a jack on the board.

After some early struggles, Jake Cody is up back up to nearly 500,000 after the hand.

Tony G

Eames Busts Tony G

The loudest player left in the tournament has been silenced.

Tony G was one of the first players to bust today as he lost a race with 5-5 against John Eame’s A-8.

It was no doubt a disappointment for the G to fall early here but considering he bet $20,000 on a 5-1 bet on even cashing in the tournament he’s got to be somewhat happy.

He picks up €37,000 for dropping in 24th place and an extra $100k for his bet.

Schafer Can Blame Blain

James Schafer entered the day as one of the middle stacks and he simply never got anything going on Day 4.

Schafter ended up shoving K-Q into Dermot Blaine’s A-J. No surprises on the board meant that Schafer was out of the tournament.

Tavares Tumbles

Brazilian poker pro Ricardo Tavares has hit the rail after getting into a bad spot against chip leader Max Silver.

We picked up the action on the turn of a Q♠ Q♣ 8♠ A♦ board. Tavares bet, Silver shoved, having him easily covered, and Tavares called in short order.

The cards:

Taveres: A♥ T♥

Silver: K♦ Q♥

Tavares shook his head as he realized how much trouble he was in. The river was a meaningless J♠ and it’s back to Brazil for Tavares. Silver meanwhile is turning into a monster in this tournament and he’s up to 2.3 million chips.

Leaderboard

Here’s a look at the top 10 chip counts courtesy of www.wsop.com after an intense first level:

Chris Moorman – 1.7 million Dario Sammartino – 1.7 million Amir Lehavot – 1.47 million Dermot Blain – 1.4 million Max Silver – 1.39 million Patrik Antonius – 1.3 million Mortiz Kranich – 1.1 million Steven Moreau – 842,000 Alex Dovzhenko – 800,000

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WSOPE Main Event Day 4: The Battle for the Final Table Begins

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Make it through today and you have a seat at the most prestigious final table in Europe.

That’s likely what many of the 25 remaining players are thinking as play begins on Day 4 of the 2011 WSOPE.

Yesterday was an action-packed blast that saw a field of 115 players reduced to 25 players in seven levels. Numerous players traded the chip lead back and forth and Barry Greenstein finally burst the money bubble in dramatic fashion.

The stakes are even higher today as busting now could mean the difference between €32,000 and €1.4 million.

Max Silver has the chip lead with 1.78 million but Chris Moorman has been an absolute beast in this event and is hot on his Silver’s heels with 1.76 million.

If you’re a poker fan the field is looking pretty great, actually, with Shawn Buchanan, Patrik Antonius, Jake Cody, John Duthie, Erik Seidel, Tony G and Arnaud Mattern all looking to take a seat at the final table.

Hope you’re ready for some red-hot European action because we just heard Jack Effel give the shuffle up and deal.

Here’s a look at the top 10 chip counts as we enter play:

Max Silver - 1.78 million Chris Moorman - 1.76 million Amir Lehavot - 1.39 million Shawn Buchanan - 1.2 million Dermot Blain - 1.2 million Jeremy Kottler - 943,000 Brian Roberts - 901,000 Elio Fox - 889,000 Andrew Moseley - 863,000 Giuseppe Sammartino - 838,000

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WSOPE Main Event Day 3: Moorman, Silver Top the Day

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

It was a hell of a day at the Hotel Majestic in beautiful Cannes on Tuesday.

The day began with 115 players, led by Constant Rijkenberg and Hoyt Corkins, all looking to smash the money bubble, which started at 64 players left.

No one was playing slow, however, and Lari Sihvo, Robert Mizrachi, James Bord and Hans Winzeler all hit the rail early.

As expected action almost grinded to a halt during the bubble. For over an hour players clung to their chips in desperation.

Finally it was none other than Team PokerStars Pro Barry Greenstein who would go out on the bubble. Greenstein got dirtied when he went all-in with A-J against Brian Roberts' K♥ J♥.

Roberts hit the flush and sent Greenstein packing without a cent. Despite the bad beat, Greenstein, as usual, signed a copy of his book for Roberts.

After the bubble burst the floodgates opened and Pierre Neuville, JC Alverado, Joao Barbosa and Rebecca Mordoff all busted in short order.

Former chip leaders Constant Rijkenberg and Hoyt Corkins also busted early in the money.

Interestingly we had three women in the final 40 players. Liv Boeree, Melanie Weisner and Maria Ho all looked primed for a deep run.

Unfortunately all three busted but Maria Ho replicated her feat from the 2007 WSOP Main Event and became the Last Woman Standing. She was one of the last eliminations of the night when she finished in 29th place.

She’s the first female player to earn the accolade on two continents.

When play finally wrapped at around 02:00 CET there were still 25 players with a shot at the ultimate European poker title.

Leading the way is Max Silver with 1.78 million but the always-dangerous Chris Moorman is right behind him with 1.76 million chips.

The field is full of sharks with Shawn Buchanan, Patrik Antonius, Moritz Kranich, Jake Cody, Erik Seidel, John Duthie and Erik Seidel all still holding chips.

Join us tomorrow at 14:00 CET as we go from 25 players to a final table of nine.

Before we go here's a look at the top 10 chip leaders:

Max Silver - 1.78 millionChris Moorman - 1.76 millionAmir Lehavot - 1.39 millionShawn Buchanan - 1.2 millionDermot Blain - 1.2 millionJeremy Kottler - 943,000Brian Roberts - 901,000Elio Fox - 889,000Andrew Moseley - 863,000Giuseppe Sammartino - 838,000

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WSOPE Main Event Day 3: Tony G Hit by Penalty

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Where ever Tony G goes it seems that controversy follows him and that was definitely the case in the last level.

The G got it all-in with red jacks against an opponent's A♠ Q♣.

The board came 8♠ 6♠ 3♠ 3♣… J♠.

Tony G gave a huge cheer at his rivered boat but the dealer apparently didn’t see it and mucked Tony G’s hand.

The PartyPoker Pro slammed his first on the table and started shouting at the dealer for mucking the winning hand.

By now the floor was on the case and half the spectators were surrounding the table.

The rest of the players at the table told Tony G not to sweat it as they had seen the winning hand.

WSOP TD Jack Effel came over at this point and gave Tony G the pot and a one-hand penalty for his behavior.

“I’m not going to let you be disruptive,” said Effel.

“I don’t deserve a one-hand penalty,” pleaded Tony G.

“Would you rather a one-round penalty?” responded Effel.

At this point Tony G headed to the rail and told everyone this was the first penalty he’d ever received at the WSOP.

First but not last?

Meanwhile Chris Moorman, Matt Waxman and Jake Cody continue to pound the rest of the field. Here are some of the most interesting hands from the last level:

Deeb Leaves

Freddy Deeb is the first big-name pro to fall at the feature table.

Deeb got it all-in with pocket fours on the turn of an 8-7-5-8-2 board only to have Chris Moorman snap him off with pocket kings.

The river bricked and the former WSOP $50k H.O.R.S.E. winner is out of the tournament. Meanwhile Chris Moorman is looking downright scary with nearly two million chips.

Hoyt Renfrew'ed

Corkins Crashes

If not for his name, appearance and overall manner, it would be possible to mistake Hoyt Corkins for a Scandinavian.

Despite his image, Corkins is one of the most aggressive players in all of poker and he’s been known to build a huge stack and dust it off in record time.

Corkins got all-in with pocket queens against Chris Moorman (who else?) with pocket jacks.

The American was in the lead all the way up to the river when the dealer threw down a tournament ending J♠.

Corkins is out of the tournament but comes away with €24,000 more than he had prior to today.

Leaderboard

Here are the top 10 chip leaders courtesy of www.wsop.com as we draw ever closer to the end of Day 3:

Chris Moorman – 1,650,000 Amir Lehavot – 1,505,000 Max Silver – 1,115,000 Michael Drummond – 940,000 Jake Cody – 825,000 Jeremy Kottler – 795,000 Brian Roberts – 790,000 Giuseppe Sammartino – 765,000 Matt Waxman – 735,000 Patrik Antonius – 650,000

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WSOPE Main Event Day 3: Lehavot Continues to Dominate

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

WSOP bracelet winner Amir Lehavot is having his way with the field right now and is currently up to 1.4 million chips.

Chris Moorman is doing his best to catch Lehavot but he’s now stuck with just one million.

With just 47 players left that final table is starting to seem more and more like a legitimate possibility.

Here’s a look at the latest action:

Waxman Hits the Double

Matt Waxman just survived a scary moment.

The WPT Grand Prix winner opened for 12,000 UTG and the player directly on his left called.

The player on the button popped it up to 31,000 and Waxman, who didn’t have a lot left behind, decided to call.

Surprisingly the player on Waxman’s left check-shoved. The player on the button folded and Waxman was forced to make a decision for his tournament life.

Eventually Waxman called and tabled J♥ J♦. His opponent showed A♣ Q♠. This was one race that Waxman had to win.

The board came K♣ 6♥ 5♦ 9♥ 2♦ and that was enough to double Waxman up to 159,000.

Now That’s a Coin Flip!

We just saw Russian Artem Litvinov get into a literal coin flip situation.

Litvinov bet pre-flop and Canadian Mike Leah open shoved for his last 41,000 chips. Litvinov didn’t know what to so he turned to his card protector, which appears to be a gold coin.

“This is a coin flip for me,” he explained. “So I’m going to flip a coin.”

And then he did.

We’re not sure if it was heads or tails but it prompted Litvinov to fold his hand. Leah could only laugh as he raked the pot in.

Shortly after that hand Leah got lucky with Q♠ 6♠ vs. Patrik Antonius’ A♦ 4♠ and doubled up to 91,000.

If Only This Was the Final Table

The feature table here at the WSOPE Main Event is currently the best we’ve seen it yet. Every single player is an established pro. Now seated are:

Chris Moorman Hoyt Corkins Freddy Deeb John Eames Jake Cody Melanie Weisner Maria Ho Giuseppe Sammartino

Leaderboard

Here are the top 10 chip leaders courtesy of www.wsop.com:

Amir Lehavot – 1,405,000 Michael Drummond – 1,100,000 Chris Moorman – 1,075,000 Giuseppe Sammartino – 705,000 Andrew Moseley – 705,000 Max Silver – 655,000 Patrik Antonius – 645,000 Brian Roberts – 580,000 Jake Cody – 490,000 Jeremy Kottler – 480,000

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WSOPE Main Event Day 3: The Real Game Begins

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Dinner is finished. The bubble has burst. There are 58 players left.

It’s time get serious in the 2011 WSOPE Main Event.

Amir Lehavot holds the chip lead with 990,000 chips but he’s got to be concerned by a surging Chris Moorman who is up to 810,000 and looking especially dangerous.

Any player who busts now picks up €20,000 but we’re about to hit another payout jump at 56 players left. Anyone who busts from that point on will receive a modest increase in payment to €21,475.

Of course first place is paying out €1.4 million so we’d suggest going for that if at all possible.

Here’s a look at the top 10 chip counts courtesy of www.wsop.com as we return from dinner break:

Amir Lehavot - 990,000Chris Moorman - 810,000Rifat Palevic - 800,000Max Silver - 710,000Melanie Weisner - 610,000Brian Roberts - 565,000Stephen Chidwick - 540,000Thibaud Guenegou - 480,000Michael Drummond - 445,000Tom Bedell - 418,000

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Greenstein is Bubble Boy at 2011 WSOPE Main Event

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

After a drawn out period of hand for hand battle we have our bubble boy and it’s none other than American legend Barry Greenstein.

During the almost hour-long bubble period we saw some serious movement on the leaderboard. We’ve got the details on said action, plus info on the Bear’s bubble hand below.

For now rest easy knowing that Patrik Antonius is among those who made it through to the money. Not that we ever doubted his ability.

In a related story the 60-odd remaining players are heading out on a 90-minute dinner break. Join us for more action when they return.

Bear Beat By Bubble

Barry Greenstein put up quite a fight and in the end got unlucky to out on the bubble.

The Bear open-shoved his last 25k or so with AJ and got looked up by Brian Roberts in the big blind with K♥ J♥.

The board ran out with three hearts and eliminated Greenstein one spot off the money.

Leaderboard

1 - Amir Lehavot - 990,000 2 - Chris Moorman - 810,000 3 - Rifat Palevic - 800,000 4 - Max Silver - 710,000 5 - Melanie Weisner - 610,000 6 - Brian Roberts - 565,000 7 - Stephen Chidwick - 540,000 8 - Thibaud Guenegou - 480,000 9 - Michael Drummond - 445,000 10 - Tom Bedell - 418,000

Monster Pot: Rijkenberg vs. Moorman

In the biggest hand of the tournament so far Chris Moorman has laid waste to the once glorious stack of Constant Rijkenberg.

With blinds of 2,500/5,000 Moorman opened to 12k from the hijack and Rijkenberg three-bet to 31k from the big blind. Moorman called and the flop came down J♠ 4♠ 4♦.

Chris Moorman now sits among the chip leaders headed into the dinner break.

Rijkenberg fired 25k and Moorman popped it to 56k. Rijkenberg called and the turn was the 5♦.

Rijlkenberg check-called 114,000 from Moorman and the river brought the 9♥. Rijkenberg checked one final time and Moorman took a few long minutes before pushing the rest of his stack barely an inch across the betting line.

Rijkenberg thought things over for some time before finally making the call.

Moorman turned over QQ and Rijkenberg mucked. With that hand Moorman is up over 800k while Rijkenberg is down under 200k.

Tavares with the Bubble Double

Ricardo Tavares was on the shortstack and doing his best to coast into the money before picking up pocket aces and scoring a much-needed double.

He got it in against former EPT winner Arnaud Mattern’s A-J and made his bullets hold up to stay alive and double his stack.

Mattern is still healthy.

Buchanan Working That Bubble

On one of the tougher tables in the room Triple Crown winner Jake Cody opened the action and got a call from recent WSOPE €10k Split Format runner-up Shawn Buchanan.

Freddy Deeb, still to act, cold-three-bet to 43,500 and Cody ducked out.

Buchanan sized up the stacks and announced all-in for roughly 180k. Deeb was on about 270k and decided to fold after a few moment’s thought.

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WSOPE Main Event Day 3: The Money Looms

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

We’ve made it through two levels here at the 2011 WSOPE and with 66 players left the money bubble is looming larger than ever.

Play has tightened up considerably over the last hour, as the next two players who bust from the event will receive absolutely nothing while everyone else is guaranteed at least twice the buy-in.

As soon as the next player busts we will switch to hand-for-hand play, which should crank up the tension even higher.

In the meantime WSOP bracelet winner Amir Lehavot has come out of nowhere to takeover the chip lead with 990,000 chips.

Here’s a look at the biggest action from the last hour:

James Dempsey

Deeb Dusts Dempsey

The always-talkative Freddy Deeb just busted WSOP bracelet winner James Dempsey.

Dempsey got it in with K♠ Q♠ and Deeb called him down with 8-8.

The board came up blanks and Dempsey is off to the beaches while Deeb is up to just over 300,000.

Tony G Gets AA

Tony G hasn’t even made the money and he’s having an incredible 2011 WSOPE Main Event.

The Lithuanian-born poker player placed a $20,000 bet on himself at 5-1 to make the money here in Cannes.

That means that even if Tony G takes a min-cash here, he will be taking down an extra $100k.

Things just got better for the loudest man in poker as he scored a huge double up on a A♠ 9♥ 8♥ 4♠ board. It seemed strange that Tony G was willing his tournament life just two spots from the money but it was easy to see why when Tom Bedell called.

Tony G: AA

Bedell: AK

Tony G had the stone-cold nuts and after a meaningless 3♠ river he was up to over 300,000 chips. It sure looks like Tony G is going to make the biggest min-cash in WSOPE history.

Antonius Wins Huge Pot

Poker geeks around the world must be getting excited because their man Patrik Antonius is primed for a deep run in this event.

Antonius just won a huge pot without having to show his hand.

We joined the action on the river of 7♥ 6♦ 5♦ J♦ T♥ board and Antonius had just thrown out a massive 150,000 stack that easily had Kunimaro Kojo covered.

Leaderboard

Here’s a look at the top 10 chip counts courtesy of www.wsop.com:

Amir Lehavot – 990,000 Rifat Palevic – 800,000 Max Silver – 710,000 Constant Rijkenberg – 650,000 Melanie Weisner – 610,000 Brian Roberts – 530,000 Thibaud Guenegou – 480,000 Michael Drummond – 445,000 Stephen Chidwick – 430,000 Elio Fox – 410,000

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WSOPE Main Event Day 3: Rifat’s Back!

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Sweden’s Rifat Palevic has been the runaway success story three days into the 2011 WSPOE Main Event and simply refuses to go away.

Over the last level Palevic fought back and once again took the chip lead from Dutch pro Constant Rijkenberg.

Despite having just a handful of major cashes over the last few years. Palevic is up to 770,000 chips and continues to be the dominant force in this tournament. The Swede simply refuses to slow his game down and could very well be the first player to cross the one million-chip mark.

Here’s a look at a few of the biggest hands from the last hour:

Greenstein Doubles

Barry Greenstein has been very quiet today as he entered play with a very short stack.

He just scored a double but his stack was already so small it remains to be seen if it will have a lasting impact.

Greenstein got all-in with A♠ T♦ against an opponent’s A♣ 4♠ and managed to have the hand hold up. He was up to just over 80,000 after the hand and looking for another quick double.

Weisner Watch

Melanie Weisner is kicking some serious ass out there today.

Weisner, who is known online as Callisto 5, has worked her way up to over 500,000 chips and is amongst today’s chip leaders.

While we were watching the action over the last hour we couldn’t help seeing her look at some baller watches on her iPhone.

Something tells us if she wins this thing she might have an expensive new timepiece on her wrist in no time.

From the Felt

“Don’t make me sweat like that buddy.”

-Freddy Deeb after pulling a massive bluff on Shawn Buchanan

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WSOPE Main Event Day 3: Field Slips Below 100

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

A total of 85 players remain in the race for European poker supremacy here at the Hotel Majestic in sunny Cannes.

Constant Rijkenberg made a nice recovery in the last hour but Andy Moseley, Elio Fox, Shawn Buchanan and Chris Moorman are surging.

Here’s the latest from the tournament floor:

Finnish Delight

Patrik Antonius is making a deep run in this tournament and a recent hand may very well help extend his appearance here.

We joined the action on the turn of a T♠ T♥ 4♠ 5♦ board and Patrik Antonius had just shoved his last 50,000 into the pot.

It was already a massive pot and his opponent went into the tank pondering his decision. Finally the player felt he had to call and tabled K♦ 4♦. Unfortunately for him Antonius threw down J♦ T♣ a monster trip tens.

The board finished with a meaningless 3♦ and Antonius boosted his stack up to 313,000.

Krakow Plowed

Israeli 888poker pro Matan Krakow has fallen to the rail after getting all-in with A♠ 7♦ and failing to out-race Constant Rijkenberg’s K♦ 2♦.

Krakow hits the rail well before the money while Rijkenberg appears to be making a quick recovery here in Cannes. He’s back up to nearly 500,000 chips after a disastrous start.

Robert Mizrachi

Mizrachi Robbed

Robert Mizrachi is the latest well-known pro to hit the rail here on Day 3.

Mizrachi got all-in with pocket eights but had the misfortune of slamming them into pocket aces.

Considering Robert’s brother Michael won €336k and a bracelet in the €10k Split Event it’s still been a pretty good WSOPE for the Mizrachi brothers.

Duthie Survives… For Now

EPT founder John Duthie just dodged an early exit from Day 3 of the 2011 WSOPE.

Duthie got all-in with pocket tens and was racing against an opponent’s A-Q. Duthie successfully faded any of his opponent’s outs and doubled up to approximately 134,000.

The Leeds-native will likely need to make another move soon as he’s still one of the smallest stacks at his table.

From the Felt

“Tony G is like an uncle but he’s kinda the last resort to look after your kids.”

-Mclean Karr joking about tablemate Tony G

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WSOPE Main Event Day 3: Rijkenberg Falters

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

It’s been one level and Constant Rijkenberg has already nearly given up the chip lead.

The Dutch pro is certainly willing to play big pots and that willingness sometimes gets him into trouble. After losing several key pots early he’s down to approximately 398,000.

Meanwhile Erik Seidel, Melanie Weisner and Hans Winzeler have been moving up the chip counts rapidly. Weisner scored a massive double up when she hit a straight draw on the river to rake in a huge pot from Dmitry Motorov.

She’s up to 255,000 and suddenly looks very dangerous in this event.

Here’s a look at some of the other interesting action from the last level:

Rijkenberg Doubles Opponent in Weird Hand

Constant Rijkenberg just doubled up an opponent in a very unusual hand.

We joined the action on the turn of a J♣ 6♥ 4♣ T♥ board with about 40,000 chips in the pot.

Rijkenberg’s opponent bet 27,500 and the Dutch pro opted to make the call.

The river brought the 4♠ and that prompted an 114k all-in shove from Rijkenberg’s opponent.

This is where the hand got interesting. Rijkenberg asked “how much?” The other player apparently misheard Rijkenberg, thinking he said “call,” and began to flip over his hand.

The dealer shouted “NO!” at the player to warn him and the player quickly turned his hand back over.

No one said a word, but from where we were standing we thought we saw an ace. We’re not sure if Rijkenberg saw the same thing but eventually he decided to make the call.

The player showed A♠ J♠ and that was enough to scoop the pot. Rijkenberg is off to a poor start here on Day 3 and down to under 400k.

Sam Holden

November Nine MIA

In the past the WSOPE has been a tremendous asset for November Niners to practice up and even make some extra cash before their big showdown in Las Vegas.

It hasn’t really worked out that way this year as there isn’t even a single member of the WSOP Main Event final table still in the tournament today.

Sam Holden, Matt Gianetti, Phil Collins, Eoghan O’Dea, Anton Makiievskyi and Ben Lamb all busted in the event while we haven’t even seen Martin Staszko, Pius Heinz or Badih Bounahra at the WSOPE.

November Niners have traditionally done very well at the WSOPE Main Event. In 2008 Ivan Demidov made the final table while in 2009 both James Akenhead and Antoine Saout made an appearance at the final table.

Can I Sit Somewhere Else?

The WSOPE Main Event has always been a favorite of international poker pros and this year is no exception. The high percentage of professional poker players helps create some interesting table draws and there are some good ones out there today.

These are the ones that caught our eyes:

Table 2

Hoyt Corkins Chris Moorman Antony Lellouche Melanie Weisner John Eames Dmitry Motorov

Table 8

Freddy Deeb John Duthie Dan Smith Ramzi Jelassi Matan Krakow

Table 11

Shawn Buchanan Constant Rijkenberg Barry Greenstein Pierre Neuville

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WSOPE Main Event Day 3: The Money Day Begins

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

It’s Day 3 of the 2011 WSOPE and to many players it’s the most important one of the entire tournament.

That’s right folks, it’s the money day. With 115 players entering play the money bubble is looming and 64 remaining. The bubble is all but guaranteed to burst today and a few good hands in the early stages could mean the difference between taking home nothing or €20,000.

We’ve just been given word that we’re in for the long haul tonight, as WSOP TD Jack Effel wants to get the field down to a more manageable size.

Players will go for seven levels today, which should take us to around 2:45 CET. Alternatively players will bag up their chips early if they can get down to 16 players, which seems unlikely.

Former EPT winner Constant Rijkenberg made a late charge to the top of the chip counts last night and finished as the supreme commander with 462,000.

There are quite a few interesting characters still in the mix, however, with Liv Boeree, Tony G, Chris Moorman, Robert Mizrachi and Freddy Deeb looking to prove their European poker chops.

Settle in kids, this one could go long.

You can find complete Day 2 chip counts in the tab aove but here are your top 10 chip counts to start the day:

Constant Rijkenberg – 462,800 Hoyt Corkins – 429,900 Rifat Palevic – 353,500 Jake Cody – 323,500 Giuseppe Sammartino – 305,900 Tom Bedell – 301,900 Andy Moseley – 301,400 Hyacinthe Bonnin – 296,000 Erik Seidel – 291,900 Shawn Buchanan – 291,400

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WSOPE Main Event Day 2: Rijkenberg Finishes on Top

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Former EPT winner Constant Rijkenberg made a last minute dash to the top of the chip counts on Day 2 of the 2011 WSOPE.

Rijkenberg blazed passed former chip leaders Rifat Palevic and Hoyt Corkins to finish with 462,800.

The day ended with 115 players still chasing the European World Series of Poker crown.

There are plenty of notable pros still in the field with Jake Cody, Shawn Buchanan, Mustapha Kanit, Victor Ramdin, Patrik Antonius, Brian Roberts, Chris Moorman, Liv Boeree, Tony G, Ramzi Jelassi, Juha Helppi, Robert Mizrachi, Freddy Deeb and Bryan Devonshire booking a seat in Day 3.

One of the biggest stories on Day 2 was the implosion of former top 10 chip leaders Tommy Vedes and Jamie Rosen. Both of the American pros found a way to burn through their 100,000+ in less than five levels.

Of course Vedes and Rosen were far from the only players to bust on Day 2 as 213 players hit the rail including Jennifer Harman, Jon Turner, Vanessa Rousso, Tristan Wade, Ben Lamb, Nick Binger, Chad Brown, Olivier Busquet, Emil Patel, Xuan Liu, Sandra Naujoks, John Racener and Yevgeniy Timoshenko.

We’ll go down to 8-handed tables tomorrow so there should be even more action than the last two days.

Play resumes at 12:00 CET tomorrow and we’ll be with you every step of the way as we draw ever closer to the richest final table in French history.

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