World Poker Tour Season 9 - All the live action from WPT

Esfandiari Wins! Robl Runner-Up!

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

This heads-up battle took us all the way to 3:15am and it's Antonio Esfandiari standing in the winner's circle, along with thirty or forty drunken supporters.

Things got rowdy here in the Fontana Room with drinks flowing and energy high. The action on the felt heads-up, however, was restrained, until the final hand.

The Magician opened to 800k and Andrew Robl moved all-in. Esfandiari called and saw his K♣ J♦ was leading Robl's Q♦ T♣. The flop gave both players a sick sweat, coming A♦ K♦ 6♦ and giving Robl a gutshot and a flush draw.

The turn and river failed to deliver any of Robl's outs and he's out in second place.

Andrew Robl takes $549,003 while Antonio Esfandiari pockets $870,124 and his second WPT title!

Check out the winner interview we did with Antonio moments after the win!

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Rousso Out in 3rd; Robl and Esfandiari Heads-Up

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

After a long period of three-handed play we've got our heads-up match! Vanessa Rousso fought valiantly but she'll have to content herself with 3rd place and $358,964.

She was short and open-shoved Q-2 from the button. Antonio Esfandiari was in the big blind and made and easy call with A-Q. The board improved neither hand and Rousso is eliminated.

Esfandiari will be going heads-up with fellow Victory Poker pro Andrew Robl. Check out the chip counts and stay tuned to see who takes this thing down.

Seat 1. Antonio Esfandiari - 8,155,000Seat 6. Andrew Robl - 9,500,000

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Esfandiari Doubles; Three-Handed Play Continues

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

We are still three-handed and chances are we'll be staying that way for a little longer given that Antonio Esfandiari just doubled up.

He open-shoved his small blind with K♥ 9♥ and Vanessa Rousso made a thin call in the big blind with K♣ 8♣. The flop was terrible for Esfandiari, rolling out K♦ 6♣ 2♣. Another deuce on the turn gave her a long list of chop outs.

The river was the 3♦ and Esfandiari doubles to a little over 5 million.

Seat 1. Antonio Esfandiari - 5,155,000 Seat 2. Vanessa Rousso - 5,060,000 Seat 6. Andrew Robl - 7,340,000

Blinds are 80,000/160,000 with a 15,000 ante.

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Rousso Doubles ... Again!

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

Vanessa Rousso isn't giving up without and fight and she just picked up a lot more chips with which to wage war.

It started with Andrew Robl opening from the button to 300k and Rousso defending in the big blind. The flop came down T-9-2 with two hearts and and Rousso check-called 300k.

The turn is the 7♦ and Rousso quickly moves in. Robl goes into the tank, as we've seen him do on a regular basis today, and eventually came up with a call.

Q-T for Rousso was in great shape against Robl's T-5 and the Q♦ on the river made it official.

Seat 1. Antonio Esfandiari - 4,625,000 Seat 2. Vanessa Rousso - 7,355,000 Seat 6. Andrew Robl - 5,675,000

Blinds are 80,000/160,000 with a 15,000 ante.

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Dramatic Double for Rousso!

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

Vanessa Rousso just doubled up in a hand tailor-made for television. Rousso was all-in preflop with A-Q to Andrew Robl's A-K and things were looking bleak.

Rousso's cheering section is seated directly in front of us and they went absolutely mad when a queen hit the flop. Robl's fans outdid them when a king hit the turn.

Rousso was down to two outs to win the pot and she nailed it with another queen on the river!

Seat 1. Antonio Esfandiari - 6,105,000 Seat 2. Vanessa Rousso - 3,565,000 Seat 6. Andrew Robl - 7,985,000

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Racener Out in 4th; Three-Handed Play Begins

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

John Racener has been eliminated and it was Antonio Esfandiari who did the deed.

Racener was short and we knew it was only a matter of time before he made a stand. He open-shoved from under the gun with Q♣ 8♣ and Esfandiari called in the small blind with K♣ Q♥.

A king hit the flop and after the turn bricked Racener was drawing dead. He takes $232,271.

New Counts

Seat 1. Antonio Esfandiari - 5,660,000 Seat 2. Vanessa Rousso - 2,790,000 Seat 6. Andrew Robl - 9,205,000

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Morrison Out in 5th: WPT Five Diamond

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

We have another elimination and it's Kirk Morrison headed out the door in 5th. Andrew Robl was the one to deal him the death blow, moving himself into a commanding chip lead four-handed.

Morrison managed to get his stack in drawing dead. It was on the turn with an ace-high board. Morrison had A-J and Robl had a set of fives, and the check mark.

Morrison takes $168,924 for the finish, adding to his already massive record here a the Bellagio.

Andrew Robl had edged out a small lead before this hand occurred and now he's the dominant chip leader with 8 million, more than twice his nearest competition.

Brand New Counts

Seat 1. Antonio Esfandiari - 2,915,000 Seat 2. Vanessa Rousso - 3,745,000 Seat 4. John Racener - 2,985,000 Seat 6. Andrew Robl - 8,010,000

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Robl Doubles; Rousso Still Stacked

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

Up until a few minutes ago this was the Vanessa Rousso show but Andrew Robl just succeeded in doubling through her. Rousso's still the chip leader but by not nearly as large a margin.

Robl opened from the cut-off to 180k and Rousso re-popped to 440,000 from the small blind. Robl called and the flop came T♣ 6♦ 4♦.

Rousso moved all-in and Robl made a quick call. A♦ 8♦ for Robl wasn't a huge dog against Rousso's pocket nines but he'd have to improve to stay alive.

The sweat lasted all of five seconds as the K♦ hit the turn, leaving Rousso drawing dead on the river. Check out the new counts below.

Seat 1. Antonio Esfandiari - 2,390,000 Seat 2. Vanessa Rousso - 5,385,000 Seat 4. John Racener - 3,715,000 Seat 5. Kirk Morrison - 2,115,000 Seat 6. Andrew Robl - 4,050,000

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Five-Handed at WPT Bellagio Five Diamond Finale

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

The five remaining players have settled in nicely but so far we haven't seen a ton of action. Things slowed down considerably after Ted Lawson's early exit and there have been only a few hands of note in the interim.

Antonio Esfandiari's cheering section is by far the most vocal, and they're sitting directly in front of media row. Phil Laak is sneaking trays of beers disguised as coffees in and if they keep it up things could get a lot more lively in here.

Vanessa Rousso is still killing it and she's increased her stack to over 7 million. She took a big pot from Andrew Robl, checking her big blind after Robl limped.

The flop came 9-9-5 and Rousso checked. Robl bet 60k and Rousso min-check-raised to 120k. Robl called and Rousso bet 200k on the jack turn. Rob called that, and another 500k on the river.

Rousso turned over Q-9 and scooped the pot.

John Racener also took a small bite out of Robl's stack, cold-four-bet shoving from the big blind over a Kirk Morrison raise and a Robl re-raise.

New Counts Seat 1. Antonio Esfandiari - 2,225,000 Seat 2. Vanessa Rousso - 7,250,000 Seat 4. John Racener - 3,240,000 Seat 5. Kirk Morrison - 2,540,000 Seat 6. Andrew Robl - 2,400,000

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Two Hands In and First Man Out

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

Ted Lawson was the shortstack at this final table and he wasted no time putting his 650,000 into play.

Vanessa Rousso opened from under the gun and Lawson shoved from middle position. Rousso called when it got back to her and turned over pocket queens. Lawson needed help with pocket nines.

The dealer threw the flop down on the felt with a nine in the door and a gasp went up from the assembly. Just as quickly a queen hit the river, reversing Lawson's fortune once again.

The river was a brick and Lawson is forced to get up and go just two hands into the day. He takes $126,693.

Blinds are 25,000/50,000 with a 5,000 ante.

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The Final Table Starts Now!

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

The players are being introduced and we're moments away from getting going at this WPT main event! We've got an unbelievable line-up, one of the best we've seen in a long time.

Antonio Esfandiari is a household name in the poker world but he's by no means the only talented player at the table.

Andrew Robl has had success live, with over $800k in earnings, but he's better known for his online accomplishments where he plays under the screen name Good2cu.

Vanessa Rousso is one of the best female tournament players in the world and she's got a chance to add almost $900,000 to her career total of $2.6 million!

John Racener has had an unbelievable year, taking second in the WSOP Main Event for $5.5 million and final tabling the £5k PLO event at the WSOPE.

Kirk Morrison is no stranger to final tables here at Bellagio, having finished second in the 2007 WPT Championship for over $2 million.

Ted Lawson is the live grinder's grinder. He plays everything and he's won over $2.4 million since he started playing live events back in 2000.

Counts

Seat 1. Antonio Esfandiari - 2,105,000 Seat 2. Vanessa Rousso - 5,830,000 Seat 3. Ted Lawson - 635,000 Seat 4. John Racener - 3,235,000 Seat 5. Kirk Morrison - 2,650,000 Seat 6. Andrew Robl - 3,210,000

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Final Table Set To Go Off (Tick, Tick, Tick, BOOM!)

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

This day is over! We all thought it was going to be Ted Lawson out on the bubble but as it turns out Mr. Lawson's steely resolve and iron constitution have secured him a spot at tomorrow's finale!

It was Kia Mohajeri all-in with A-Q to John Racener's A-K that finished things. Mohajeri is out in 7th for just under $100k and Racener grabs a few more chips to take to the final table.

Vanessa Rousso is still on the boss stack but things have evened up considerably for most of the other players. The aforementioned Ted Lawson is bringing up the rear with 650,000.

We've got the final seating arrangement and chip counts for you right here and we'll be back in action tomorrow at noon to play down to a winner. If you're curious about how we got here, or want to see video interviews with some of the final table players, just scroll down this page.

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Final Table Bubble Time

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

The bubble is upon us. One of these seven players will not be joining us tomorrow in front of the television cameras. One of these players will be out of the running for the almost $900,000 first-place prize.

Our money was on Ted Lawson but, as you’ll soon learn, he managed to double up for a second chance at tomorrow’s finale.

Andrew Lichtenberger is the latest casualty, out in 8th. Read on for the details, the new chip counts and a video interview with chip leader Vanessa Rousso from the last break.

Chip Counts Make the World Go 'Round

Seat 1: Antonio Esfandiari –2,005,000 Seat 2: Vanessa Rousso – 5,320,000 Seat 3: Ted Lawson – 980,000 Seat 4: Kia Mohajeri – 1,245,000 Seat 5: empty Seat 6 : empty Seat 7: John Racener – 1,680,000 Seat 8: Kirk Morrison – 3,950,000 Seat 9: Andrew Robl – 3,440,000

Very Chewy; Not So Lucky (8th - $67,570)

Andrew Lichtenberger has been deep in a ton of tournaments but here today he has to settle for eighth.

Vanessa Rousso opened from late position to 110,000 and Lichtenberger re-popped to 285,000 from the small blind. Rousso called and the flop fell A-T-6 with two spades.

Chewy led out for 300,000 and Rousso moved in, having her opponent covered by a wide margin. Lichtenberger called with A-Q but saw he had been out-flopped by Rousso’s A-6. The board bricked and the man they call Lucky Chewy is out.

Lawson Paitently Awaits Flip; Doubles

Ted Lawson’s stack had taken some damage was sitting right around 425,000 when he open-shoved from up front. John Racener obliged him a call from the cut-off and after the rest of the table bailed we saw it was a race.

It’s K♠ Q♠ for Racener against Lawson’s pocket treys. The pair holds and Lawson doubles to 950,000. Racener’s down to 1.2 million.

On the Break with Vanessa Rousso

She's got a huge stack and she knows how to use it.

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Rousso In Control with 8 Left

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

After busting Sorel Mizzi last level Vanessa Rousso has been putting in work and is now the decisive chip leader with eight players remaining.

We've got two more eliminations to go and these eight players are fighting tooth and nail for a spot at tomorrow's final table. We've got details on all the key hands of the last hour, the updates chip counts and a video interview with Andrew Robl. Read on to see it all.

Updated Counts

Seat 1: Antonio Esfandiari – 1,380,000 Seat 2: Vanessa Rousso – 5,125,000 Seat 3: Ted Lawson – 650,000 Seat 4: Kia Mohajeri – 1,500,000 Seat 5: Andrew Lichtenberger – 1,320,000 Seat 6 : empty Seat 7: John Racener 1,955,000 Seat 8: Kirk Morrison – 3,760,000 Seat 9: Andrew Robl – 1,200,000

Magician Doubles Through Robl

Andrew Robl's last few levels have been pretty brutal and this hand didn't improve things one bit. Robl opened to 100k from the cut-off and Antonio Esfandiari moved in for 634,000 total.

Robl made the call with A-8 and saw he was in a bad spot against A-Q. The board changed nothing and Esfandiari is up to 1.35 million.

Robl Doubles Through Mohajeri

After that hand with Antonio Andrew Robl was the shortstack and he looked like the best candidate for one of the final table bubble spots. That all changed moments ago.

Kia Mohajeri opened to 100k and Kirk Morrison called in the cut-off. Robl was on the button and shipped all-in for 534,000. Mohajeri made the call and Morrison quickly folded.

K-J for Mohajeri needed help against Robl's pocket queens but got none. Robl jumps to 1.2 million and Mohajeri slips to 1.5 million.

Rousso Doing Work

Adding to her already monstrous stack, Vanessa Rousso pushes John Racener out of a big pot on the river.

It started with Andrew Lichtenberger opening to 100k and Racener calling. Rousso was in the small blind and raised to 420,000. Only Racener called and the flop came K-7-2 with two hearts. They both check and another king hits the turn. Rousso check-calls 595,000 and the J♠ hits the river.

Rousso cuts out chips and makes it 1 million straight. Racener begins to talk, telling Rousso she's got pocket jacks. He opts to fold, painfully, and Rousso scoops a very big pot.

On the Break with Andrew Robl

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Ray D Done Dirty (10th), Sorel Cooled (9th)

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

Sorel Mizzi sucked out huge on Ray Dehkharghani to jump back into contention and send Dehkharghani home tenth.

The hand began with a Mizzi open to 66k and Dehkharghani defending his big blind.

Dehkharghani checked the A♣ J♠ 9♣ flop, but went deep into the tank when Mizzi bet 70k.

After Kirk Morrison stood up joking about only playing one hand a level with all the tanking, Dehkharghani shoved his last almost-500k in the middle and it was Mizzi's turn to tank.

After five minutes deep in thought, he called the clock on himself and with 30 seconds left before his hand would be declared dead, Mizzi made the call with K♠ J♥.

Dehkharghani turned over A♠ T♣ and looked like a lock to double up and leave Mizzi crippled.

The turn brought the 4♠, but the J♣ river made the difference, giving Mizzi trips and a newly formed one-million-plus chip stack.

Dehkharghani was left with nothing but a bad beat story, a tenth place finish and $50,677.

But Karma reared its ugly head just a few minutes later, cooling off Mizzi and sending him home ninth.

He picked up queens and ran them into Vanessa Rousso's kings all in pre and is headed to the cage as we speak to pick up $59,123.

With Level 23 now drawing to a close, just eight players remain with blinds increasing to 20,000/40,000 and a 4,000 chip ante.

Vanessa Rousso is back in the lead with Kirk Morrison close.

Here's how their stacks, and the rest of the table, look now:

Seat 1: Antonio Esfandiari 710,000

Seat 2: Vanessa Rousso 4,200,000

Seat 3: Ted Lawson 1,150,000

Seat 4: Kia Mohajeri 2,200,000

Seat 5: Andrew Lichtenberger 2,100,000

Seat 6: John Racener 1,890,000

Seat 7: EMPTY

Seat 8: Kirk Morrison 3,500,000

Seat 9: EMPTY

Seat 10: Andrew Robl 2,200,000

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Morrison and Rousso Lead with 10 Left

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

We’re down to ten here at Bellagio and all of them are now playing on the same patch of felt. While this is technically the final table there are only six spots up for grabs on the televised finale, meaning four more players must exit before we call it a day.

Luis Velador and Chris DeMaci were two casualties since we checked in last and we’ve got the details on their busts for you below.

Read on for that, a look at the new counts and seats, plus a video interview with Sorel Mizzi.

Seats and Counts

Seat 1: Antonio Esfandiari - 875,000 Seat 2: Vanessa Rousso - 3,020,000 Seat 3: Ted Lawson - 710,000 Seat 4: Kia Mohajeri - 1,650,000 2,200,000 Seat 5: Andrew Lichtenberger - 2,430,000 Seat 6: John Racener - 1,410,000 Seat 7: Ray Dehkharghani - 403,000 Seat 8: Kirk Morrison - 3,206,000 Seat 9: Sorel Mizzi - 594,000 Seat 10: Andrew Robl - 2,830,000

Vaya Con Velador (11th - $42,213)

Luis Velador lost the vast majority of his stack to Andrew Robl in the hand we reported last update and it didn’t take long for him to put the rest of his chips in play.

Antonio Esfandiari opened to 63,000 on the button and Velador shoved for 313,000 from the small blind. Vanessa Rousso was in the big blind and made the call, after which Antonio folded.

Pocket nines for Rousso were leading Velador’s A-2 and they held up all the way past the river.

DeMaci DeBusto (12th - $42,213)

Chris DeMaci lost about half his stack when he three-bet shoved K-J from the big blind, over an opening raise from Antonio Esfandiari. The Magican called with queens and doubled up, knocking DeMaci down to around 400k.

Shortly later he open-shoved when it folded to him in the small blind. Vanessa Rousso was in the big blind and made the call with A-T. DeMaci needed to improve with K-9 but got no help from the board.

On the Break with Sorel Mizzi

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Morrison Leads Final 12: WPT Bellagio Five Diamond

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

If things started out fast they’ve reached ludicrous speed in the last half-level. Two more players are out and the leaderboard has changed in a big way!

Kirk Morrison is now topping the charts, thanks to a cooler hand against Amit Makhija who was subsequently busted.

The last level was also particularly kind to Andrew Robl, who crippled Luis Velador in a monster hand in which he value-towned every street.

We’ve got the details on those key hands below plus updates counts. We’re also uploading a quick on-the-break interview we did with Kirk Morrison so keep your eyes open for that in a little while.

Seats and Counts

Table 1 Seat 1: empty Seat 2: Andrew Robl - 2,800,000 Seat 3: empty Seat 4: Luis Velador - 210,000 Seat 5: Ted Lawson - 855,000 Seat 6: John Racener - 1,550,000 Seat 7: Sorel Mizzi - 670,000 Seat 8: Ray Dehkharghani - 650,000 Seat 9: Andrew Lichtenberger - 2,450,000Table 2 Seat 1: Kia Mohajeri - 1,800,000 Seat 2: Antonio Esfandiari - 425,000 Seat 3: empty Seat 4: empty Seat 5: empty Seat 6; Chris DeMaci - 835,000 Seat 7: Vanessa Rousso - 2,400,000 Seat 8: Kirk Morrison - 2,400,000 Seat 9: Amit Makhija - 600,000

Makhija Massacred (13th - $42,231)

Amit Makhija was rocking and rolling for the first part of the day but it fell apart in a shockingly short amount of time.

Makhija lost the majority of his stack to Kirk Morrison, queens against kings all-in preflop.

The rest went to Vanessa Rousso not long after. Rousso had flopped a set and Makhija top pair. The money went in after Makhija turned a gutshot to go with his pair. The river was a brick and Rousso adds more chips to her stack.

Welcome to Value-Town: Population One

Andrew Robl opened from early position to 60k and Luis Velador called one seat to his left. The flop came out 7♣ 6♣ 4♣ and Robl fired 90,000.

Velador quickly called and Robl fired 210,000 on the 7♦ turn. Velador called again and another seven hit the river. Robl pushed 600,000 across the line and Velador announced call.

Robl tabled pocket aces and Velador quickly flashed pocket jacks as he threw them in the muck.

Robl is up to 2.7 million while Velador is knocked down to 240,000.

On the Break with Chip Leader Kirk Morrison

Video evidence that Kirk Morrison really does leave New Zealand from time to time.

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The Magic Is Gone

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

Antonio Esfandiari appears to be in the middle of a major meltdown here at the WPT Five Diamond.

The Magician raised to 53k under the gun, Vanessa Rousso called from the cutoff and Kia Mohajeri came along for the ride.

The 8♥ 8♣ 4♠ flop saw Mohajeri check, Esfandiari bet 111k and Rousso call.

Mohajeri tossed his cards in the muck and after the 8♦ turn fell, Esfandiari bet 260k.

This sent Rousso into the tank, but she came out calling. The 7♣ river then fell, prompting a shove from Antonio and an even longer tank from Rousso.

She talked it out over and over again, called the clock on herself and eventually made the call for her tournamwent life with pocket tens.

Esfandiari mucked, Rousso giddily jumped out of her chair and while the Magician had suddenly made half his stack dissapear, she sat back down in front of a now chip leading 2.5 million stack.

The very next hand, Antonio called with ace-ten when Amit Makhija shoved eights.

He lost that race and the day two through four chip leader is now among the shorter stacks in the room with 13 players remaining.

e middle of a major meltdown here at the Five Diamond.