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

Sean Jazayeri is the 2012 LAPC Champion!

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

This tournament is over and Sean Jazayeri is the newest WPT Champion! Jazayeri receives the title, $1.37 million and the opportunity to get his photo taken alongside dealers, staff, fans and Royal Flush Girls.

The match was more or less decided by the flip of a coin. Luckily for Jazayeri he was on the winning side.

He five-bet all-in with A-K and got called by Sands with pocket queens. An ace on the flop was all it took to ship Jazayeri the majority of the chips in play.

Left with about 2.5 million to Jazayeri's 14 million, Sands three-bet shoved K-Q from the big blind a few hands later. He was insta-called by Jazayeri who held A-5.

The flop brought a king and a five, putting Sands temporarily in front, but the river put another five on the felt, giving Jazayeri trips and making his victory official.

We're about to brave the media scrum to ask our champion a few questions so check back soon for photos and quotes of the new LAPC champ, Sean Jazayeri.

Here are the full final table payouts.

1st: Sean Jazayeri - $1,370,240 2nd: David Sands - $806,370 3rd: Dan Kelly - $521,770 4th: Noah Schwartz - $355,750 5th: Jason Burt - $252,980 6th: Jason Somerville - $202,910

Victory Pics!

Check out these photos of the winner and check back in a few hours for the winner story with quotes.

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Jazayeri Doubles Big, Takes Lead - LAPC Final Table

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

Doc Sands looked to be in control of this match, until just moments ago.

Sean Jazayeri just won a massive preflop all-in race to cut Sands down to size and take a big step towards the winner's circle.

It was a five-bet shove from Jazayeri with A-K and a call from Sands with pocket queens that got the money in. An ace hit the flop and Sands was unable to redraw on the turn or river.

Jazayeri doubles to roughly 14 million while Sands is knocked down to 2.5 million.

Expect fireworks in the next few minutes.

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Kelly Out, Heads-Up Begins at LAPC Final Table

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

It’s only been about three hours since this final table started but we’re already down to heads-up play.

Dan Kelly is the unlucky player out in third, thanks to losing a big preflop all-in race against Doc Sands.

And it was a good thing for Sands he was the one to send Kelly packing, since he’ll need every chip he can get his hands on to wage one-on-one war with chip leader Sean Jazayeri.

Thanks to that pot Sands will enter the heads-up match with a slight chip lead over Sean Jazayeri.

Doc Sands – 9.47 million

Sean Jazayeri – 7 million

Dan Kelly Out in Third ($521,770)

Kelly 3-bet shoved from the big blind on his last hand, after Doc Sands had opened to 200k from the button. Kelly’s shove was for roughly 1.4 million total.

Sands thought for a moment before making the call and putting Kelly at risk.

Kelly: K♠ J♥

Sands: 2♥ 2♦

The board rolled out 4♥ 4♠#74♣ 3♥ and just like that Dan Kelly is out in third.

Dan Kelly takes $521,770 for third place at the 2012 WPT LA Poker Classic.

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The Doc Orders a Double-Up and New Pics - LAPC Final Table

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

We're still three handed here at the LA Poker Classic final table but David "Doc" Sands has managed to gain some ground with a key double-up moments ago.

Dan Kelly opened from the small blind and Sands moved all-in from the big blind. Kelly insta-called with A-8 and saw he was out in front against K-9.

A king on the flop turned the tables and bricks on the turn and river made Doc's double official.

Here are the new counts after that hand:

Sean Jazayeri - 9,680,000 David Sands - 4,190,000 Dan Kelly - 2,600,000

LAPC Final Table Picture Gallery

Feast your eyes on the latest photos we've got from the LAPC final table.

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Schwartz Out in Fourth - LAPC Final Table

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

We’ve barely been here for more than an hour and we’ve already lost half of this final table.

Noah Schwartz is the most recent bust, sent packing by his nemesis de jour Sean Jazayeri.

The blinds had just been raised to 40k/80k with a 10k ante when Jazayeri opened to 210k from under the gun. He got a call from Dan Kelly on the button.

Schwartz was on the button and three-bet shoved all-in. Jazayeri then re-shoved and Kelly got out of the way.

Schwartz: A♣ J♥

Jazayeri: K♣ K♥

The board ran out with no improvement to either hand and Noah Schwartz is out in fourth for $355,750.

New Counts

Sean Jazayeri is now in a commanding position. Check out the updated chip counts.

Sean Jazayeri – 9,830,000 Dan Kelly – 4,640,000 David Sands – 2,000,000

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The Final Jason Falls Fifth - LAPC Final Table

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

It’s a bad day to be named Jason as Jason Burt and Jason Somerville hit the rail, the first two eliminations this afternoon.

It’s much better to be named Sean Jazayeri. The man from Iran has smashed his way into the chip lead, taking a big pot from Noah Schwartz moments ago.

We’ve got the details on the bust below, plus an updated leaderboard, as four-handed play continues.

New Chip Counts

Here’s the updated counts for our final four players.

Sean Jazayeri – 7,525,000 Dan Kelly – 4,710,000 David Sands – 2,630,000 Noah Schwartz – 1,605,000

Burt Drowns in River (Ernie Heartbroken)

Jason Burt is out in fifth after he made the right decision for all his chips, but was rewarded only with a one-way ticket to the exit.

Burt opened from the small blind to 160k and got a call from Dan Kelly in the big blind.

The flop came down K♦ 4♥ 3♥ and Kelly check-called 180,000. The turn is the Q♠ and Kelly checks again, prompting a 370,000 bet from Burt.

But this time Kelly did not call. He check-shoved all-in. Kelly had Burt covered by about 600k.

Burt thinks for a moment before calling with K♥ J♣ and we see he’s in great shape against Kelly’s J♥ T♣.

But the river was an ace, nailing Kelly’s open-ender and making Jason Burt our official 5th place finisher.

He receives $252,980.

All That Jazayeri

Sean Jazayeri is playing poker and he’s making hands when he needs to. He’s now sitting on over 7.5 million, thanks in part to this hand against Noah Schwartz.

Jazayeri opened to 150k from the button and Schwartz called from the big blind.

The flop came down A♣ T♣ 8♣ and Schwartz check-called 180,000. The turn was the 2♥ and Schwartz check-calls again, this time for 400k.

The river was the 6♥ and the routine repeats itself: Check from Schwartz, bet 500k from Jazayeri, call from Schwartz.

Jazayeri tables A-K with the king of clubs for top pair top kicker.

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Bummer-Ville - Jason Somerville Busts in 6th

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

The pace of this final table was set in the first few hands as Both Jason Burt and Jason Somerville found themselves all-in.

The only difference was that while Burt doubled up, Somerville was sent packing in 6th place. The good news is that Somerville will take $202,910 for his trouble.

Read on for the details on those hands and the new counts.

No Jasons Allowed (We're Allowed One)

Jason Somerville is out of this tournament, meaning Jason Burt no longer has to share a name with anyone at the table.

On just the second hand of play Jason Somerville open-shoved from under the gun for 820,000 and Sean Jazayeri makes the call from the button.

Somerville: 8♣ 8♦

Jazayeri: A♦ Q♦

The flop and turn were safe for Somerville, who was at risk of elimination, but the river brought a queen, giving Jazayeri the best hand and knocking Somerville out in 6th.

He takes just over $200k.

Last Remaining Jason Doubles Up

We were at risk of losing our only remaining Jason but fans of the name can take a breath and relax, Jason Burt has doubled up.

Burt open-shoved for a little less than a million from the button holding A-Q and got called by Noah Schwartz with K-Q.

The board ran out with no help for Schwartz and Burt doubles up to just over 2 million.

New Chip Counts

Here's a look at the chips after those two hands.

Seat 1: Sean Jazayeri - 5,170,000 Seat 2: Jason Burt - 2,025,000 Seat 3: Dan Kelly - 2,450,000 Seat 5: Noah Schwartz - 2,845,000 Seat 6: David Sands - 3,980,000

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The Final Playdown - LAPC Final Table

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

The final table of this year's WPT LA Poker Classic plays to a winner today and with two WSOP bracelet winners, a former WPT Champion and a player with over over $4.8 million in lifetime earnings.

It's safe to say this will be a hotly contested title.

We've still got a few hours before the cards hit the felt so we're taking that opportunity to introduce you to the players.

Before we leave tonight one of these players will walk away with a WPT title and over $1.37 million. Click here for the full LAPC payout structure.

Levels at the final table will be one hour and we’ll be starting at 30k/60k with a 10k ante.

So without further ado, meet the players:

Seat 1 - Sean Jazayeri - 4,380,000

Bellevue, Washington native Sean Jazayeri enters the final table as chip leader after eliminating David "The Dragon" Pham in 8th place with aces against kings.

And while Jazayeri has a solid list of live cashes totaling over $160k, he's already guaranteed to blow his previously biggest cash of $48k out of the water with today's payouts starting at over $202,000.

Jason Burt

Sean Jazayeri is first in chips with 73 big blinds.

Seat 2 – Jason Burt – 835,000

This isn’t the first time Jason Burt has made it to a WPT final table.

He finished fifth at Festa al Lago in 2009 for over $208,000, meaning if he makes it to fifth or better he’ll have a new personal record for biggest cash.

Burt also made a final table at a $10,000 buy-in WSOP Circuit regional championship back in 2010.

Burt is last in chips with 835,000, roughly 13 big blinds.

Seat 3 – Dan Kelly – 2,570,000

Dan Kelly was a legend online before his breakout performance at the 2010 WSOP.

Kelly had small live results stretching back as far as 2007 but people really took notice when he won the $25k Heads-Up championship at the Series in Las Vegas.

Kelly took $1.31 million for that win and since then he’s racked up another few hundred thousand dollars in results.

Online Kelly plays as djk123 and has earned over $5.1 million playing tournaments, including three WCOOP titles.

Kelly enters the final table fourth in chips with roughly 42 big blinds.

Jason Somerville

Seat 4 – Jason Somerville – 840,000

Jason Somerville has a slew of live tournament results totaling over $1.7 million, including a WSOP bracelet in 2011.

Somerville also has a storied career playing online tournaments under the screenname JCarver, with over $2.1 million in winnings.

Somerville has had a very unique couple of weeks and is looking for his biggest live cash here today. And if he does win he’ll be one step closer to winning poker’s Triple Crown.

Somerville enters the table second last in chips with 14 big blinds.

Seat 5 – Noah Schwartz – 3,835,000

Noah Schwartz has been a fixture on the live tournament circuit for the last few years and with this final table he’s broken the $1 million mark in WPT earnings.

Currently ranked 28th on the Global Poker Index, Schwartz has over $1.9 million in live tournament winnings.

Originally from Miami, Schwartz played online as fouruhaters and has won over $780,000 playing tournaments on the internet.

Schwartz heads into the final table third in chips with 63 big blinds.

Seat 6 – David “Doc” Sands – 4,010,000

David “Doc” Sands has been crushing tournament poker for years and has to be the odds-on favorite to walk away with this title.

Over $2.8 million in online tournament winnings and $1.95 million in live earnings, Sands is most recently known for making a deep run in the WSOP Main Event alongside girlfriend Erika Moutinho.

The couple went out in 29th and 30th, both earning $242,000 and change.

Sands went on a massive heater late last night, getting lucky with pocket sevens against tens and queens all-in preflop to survive the final table bubble.

He went on to knock out Allen Carter, who had the queens in the above hand, to finish second in chips with roughly 66 big blinds.

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LAPC Final Set - Sands, Kelly, Somerville, Schwartz Headline

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

The final table of this year’s WPT LA Poker Classic is set and while Sean Jazayeri is in the lead, the limelight is shining on four big names.

East Coast rounder Noah Schwartz, WSOP bracelet winners Jason Somerville and Dan Kelly, plus online tournament crusher David “Doc” Sands represent the star power at the table while Jason Burt fills up the sixth seat.

Sands has had the swingiest day we’ve seen in a long time, going from the brink of bubbling the final table to second in chips in just a few short hands. Keep reading for the rest of that story.

And even though tomorrow’s roster is strong, we had to say goodbye to a few players we would have loved to see in the final six.

2005 world champion Joe Hachem went out in 12th, and seven-time WPT final tablist David Pham went out in 8th.

For the full rundown of the day’s action simply scroll down the page, but you’ll be able to find the details on the final elimination of the day in this update, plus the official chip counts.

Action begins tomorrow at 4pm and PokerListings.com will be there to ship you updates until we have a winner.

Jason Somerville is gunning for his first WPT title.

Official Final Table Chip Counts

Sean Jazayeri – 4,380,000 David Sands – 4,010,000 Noah Schwartz – 3,850,000 Dan Kelly – 2,570,000 Jason Somerville – 840,000 Jason Burt – 835,000

Carter Gets Got (7th)

Former WPT champion Allen Carter is out on the bubble, and he got unlucky to go out.

The deciding hand was the same one that put David Sands back in this tournament, and it was a sight to behold.

It was a massive three-way all-in with queens for Carter, pocket tens for Dan Kelly and pocket sevens for Sands. It looked like Sands would be our final-table bubble boy but the deck had other plans.

A seven was all it took to triple up Sands and knock Carter down to about 1.2 million.

A few hands later Sands opened from the button with pocket jacks and Carter shoved from the big blind with pocket eights. Sands called and the board ran out with no improvement to either hand.

Allen Carter is out in 7th place, taking $155,480.

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Pham Exit Starts Final Table Bubble - LAPC

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

With seven players left we are on the final table bubble, and sadly it was David “The Dragon” Pham that went out in 8th to make it possible.

Since we last checked in we’ve lost four players and we’ve got the details on two of them below.

Pham’s exit was nothing extraordinary, just a case of running kings into aces preflop for all his chips, pretty standard really.

The other bustications have a little more depth.

Sean Jazayeri was the benefactor of the Dragon’s bust and thanks to those pocket aces he’s now the chip leader with roughly 6 million. Sitting in second is WSOP bracelet winner Dan Kelly with just over 3 million.

The rest of the pack is sitting below the 2 million mark but we’ve got full chip counts below, along with the aforementioned eliminations.

The New Counts

Sean Jazayeri – 4,635,000 Dan Kelly – 4,200,000 Noah Schwartz – 3,850,000 Jason Somerville – 1,250,000 David Sands – 1,050,000 Allen Carter – 735,000 James Burt – 695,000

Two Kings Slay Dragon

Some hands just play themselves but judging by how much thought David Pham put into this hand, there might be a chance he was actually thinking of folding.

Sean Jazayeri opened to 100k and Pham re-popped to 350k from the big blind. Jazayeri was in middle position and put in a fourth bet to 950,000. Pham tanked for a few minutes before shipping it in for around 2.1 million.

Jazayeri insta-called and it was obvious he had aces. Pham had kings. The board offered zero sweat and Pham is gone in 8th for $110,680.

Stephen Chidwick Busts in 9th

Stephen Chidwick was the first one to hit the exit after the final table of nine was seated, getting it in bad with pocket nines against James Burt’s pocket jacks.

Burt open-shoved for roughly 850,000 and Chidwick called off for just a little less. The board touched neither hand and Chidwich takes $79,060 for 9th.

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As the Chips Turn: Somerville Takes Lead! - LAPC

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

The pace of eliminations may have slowed but one thing they're not doing at the LAPC is playing it safe.

A big pot just developed between former chip leader David Sands and new chip leader Jason Somerville.

You might be able to guess who came out on the right end.

Jason Dewitt opened the action with a raise and Somerville reraised in the small blind.

Sands shoved right over the top from the big and got a fold from Dewitt but Somerville called.

Sands's tens were in trouble against Somerville's kings and the board changed nothing.

Somerville's tweet report:

Doubled kk thru docsands tt. Got like 3.5m. 16.5m in play. 12 left

Somerville rocketed up to 3.5 million while Sands shrunk to 500k.

With just 12 big blinds left, Sands could be moving through the hourglass and on the rail shortly.

Hachem Hits the Bricks

Beating Sands to the rail is former WSOP Main Event champ Joe Hachem who open-shoved his last 700k from the button with eights.

Sean Jazayeri coincidentally found nines in the big blind and made the call.

The board ran out with no help for Hachem and his LAPC is over.

As Hachem tweeted:

Finished 12th, ran 88 into 99. For 15 bbs :( will talk more later

Hach marked for 12th.

He'll hit the cage and collect $60,610 for his solid 12th-place finish.

Top 6 Gets Shuffled

The huge pot between Somerville and Sands has had the most effect on the top 6 but the power has shifted over the last hour for a few players.

Here's the current top six as per the WPT with five more eliminations to go before it becomes official:

1. Jason Somerville 3,445,000

2. Sean Jazayeri 2,650,000

3. David Pham 2,585,000

4. Dan Kelly 2,020,000

5. Allen Carter 1,770,000

6. Noah Schwartz 1,350,000

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Sands Asserts Control - LAPC

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

The eliminations slowed over the last hour but it certainly wasn’t for lack of trying as numerous players managed the pivotal double up.

Dan “djk123” Kelly’s grasp on the chip lead only lasted one level as David “Doc” Sands rocketed to the top with just over three million chips.

A lot of players have essentially traded chip stacks as Joe Hachem managed a big double up through Sean Jazayeri and Jason Somerville did the same against Jason Dewitt.

Somerville had sevens to Dewitt’s fours. The sevens held and Somerville doubled up to 1.1 million chips.

As Somerville tweeted:

Dbld! Won 77 vs 44 aipf. Got 1.08m now. Still 13 left

Meanwhile Hachem had the fortune of picking up pocket aces to Jazayeri’s pocket kings. After a dry board Hachem doubled up to 1.4 million chips.

Jazayeri was not the most well known player in the final 18 but he’s certainly shown no fear of gambling as the final table approaches.

The last level was limited to just one bustout as Elvis Huynh hit the rail in 13th place.

Huynh received $47,430 for his efforts.

Here’s a look at the top 10 chip counts courtesy of WPT.com as we enter the next level of play:

David Sands – 3.1 million Dan Kelly – 2.2 million David Pham – 1.7 million Sorel Mizzi – 1.5 million Jason Somerville – 1.4 million Jason Burt – 1.3 million Noah Schwartz – 1.1 million Jason Dewitt – 960,000 Joe Hachem – 865,000 Sean Jazayeri – 840,000

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Dan Kelly Cracks Three Million - LAPC

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

The man they call djk123 became the first player to crack the three million-chip mark in the last level of play at the LAPC.

Dan Kelly has since fallen down to 2.7 million chips but he’s more than 600,000 ahead of his David Sands, his closest competitor.

Meanwhile serial qualifier Stephen Chidwick is making a serious drive to reach the top of the chip counts as he’s up to 1.7 million.

It’s been going the other way for Noah Schwartz, who’s down to 1.6 million.

The final table is getting dangerously close with just seven more eliminations to set the final six. Who wants it more?

Here’s a look at the latest action from the tournament floor.

A.J. Jejelowo Busts with A-J

Was A.J. Jejelowo named after Ace-Jack?

He better hope not because it was that hand that led to his ultimate demise here at the LAPC.

Jejelowo opened for 55,000, David Sands moved in for 1.6 million and Jejelowo made the call. It wasn’t the worst call as Sands flipped over 8♣ 8♠ for a coin flip.

Unfortunately the flip didn’t go Jejelowo’s way.

Sands is up to 1.9 million after the hand while Jejelowo picks up $47,430 for finishing in 14th place.

Wilson Skips Out

Skip Wilson just hit the end of the line in his tournament. The savvy veteran was playing from the short stack and got it all-in with a less-than-ideal 9-6 off.

Sean Jazayeri, who’s had some incredible swings today, called with A♥ 3♥.

It was the right call as there were no surprises the rest of the way.

Wilson is the first player to benefit from a pay jump today as he’ll receive $47,430 for coming in 15th place.

Leaderboard

Here are the top 10 chip counts according to WPT.com:

Dan Kelly – 2,750,000 David Sands – 2,100,000 Noah Schwartz – 1,630,000 Stephen Chidwick – 1,510,000 David Pham – 1,340,000 Jason Dewitt – 1,300,000 Sorel Mizzi – 1,220,000 Jason Burt – 1,100,000 Sean Jazayeri – 1,000,000 Jason Somerville – 670,000

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Mizzi Rising, Idema and Binger Out - LAPC

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

Dan Kelly has overtaken the chip in the first level on Day 5 of the LAPC but he better watch out because Sorel Mizzi is surging.

The Toronto-native, who was down to just 700 chips on Day 3, has doubled up and knocked two players out all in the first level of play. He’s up to 1.8 million and looking like a serious threat to make the final table.

Noah Schwartz hasn’t made any huge mistakes yet, however, and is now sitting on about 2 million chips.

In other news were down to 15 players as the final table is now nine players away. Hold on tight as the action refuses to let up at the Commerce.

Here’s a look at the notable incidents from the last hour:

Idema Goes Down

The penultimate day of the 2012 LAPC just got a lot less Canadian with the fall of Vancouverite Dan Idema.

It was once again Sorel Mizzi who did the damage as Idema got his short stack all in with J♠ 3♠ to Mizzi’s Q♥ Q♦.

The board didn't help and Idema was gone.

Idema has come painfully close to making the final table of two major events this year as he finished in eighth place at the 2012 Aussie Millions Main Event. The Aussie Millions final table is played out seven-handed.

He receives $39,530 for coming in 16th place.

The better Binger?

Binger Banged

Sorel Mizzi is a one-man wrecking crew here at the LAPC.

His latest casualty is recent WSOP bracelet winner Nick Binger who decided to call off his stack with AK to Mizzi’s nines.

It was a classic race situation and this time the pair proved faster as Mizzi dodged any aces or kings.

Binger didn't seem too busted up by it however per his tweet:

Busted 17th in LAPC Main. AK<99 with 35bb vs Sorel. First tourny back after 3 months off, happy with my play & had fun playing the pokers

Nick, who’s brother is 2006 WSOP Main Event third place finisher Michael Binger, ends up finishing in 17th place for $39,530.

Mizzi was up to 1.8 million chips after the hand.

Martirosian Falls First

The lesser-known Shahen Martirosian is the first casualty here on Day 5.

Martirosian was extremely short and 3-bet shoved for 127,000 against Dan Kelly in his final hand.

Martirosian had 9♣ 8♣ and couldn't beat Kelly's K♠ 7♣.

He picked up $39,530 for his efforts while Dan Kelly is simply flying in the early stages of Day 5 with 2.3 million.

Mizzi Strikes Early

Online superstar Sorel Mizzi wasted no time getting started here on Day 5 of the LAPC.

In one of the first hands of the day Sean Jazayeri opened a pot for 55,000 from early position and Mizzi 3-bet to 112,000.

Jazayeri re-raised to 200,000 and that was enough to prompt a 700,000-chip shove from Mizzi. Jazayeri called but likely regretted it when Mizzi showed his hand.

Mizzi: K♥ K♠

Jazayeri: 9♣ 9♥

Things went from bad to worse for Jazayeri when a king hit on the flop. There were no miracles for Jazayeri on the turn or the river and that was enough to give Mizzi the checkmark.

You could almost hear the field groan as Mizzi, arguably one of the best players left in the tournament, is suddenly amongst the chip leaders with 1.4 million chips.

Leaderboard

Here are the top 10 chip counts courtesy of WPT.com:

Dan Kelly – 2,370,000 Noah Schwartz – 2,030,000 Sorel Mizzi – 1,800,000 Jason Dewitt – 1,480,000 A.J. Jejelowo – 1,300,000 Stephen Chidwick – 1,290,000 David Pham – 1,120,000 Jason Somerville – 880,000 Sean Jazayeri – 770,000 Elvis Huynh – 710,000

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Schwartz, Hachem, Kelly Look for Final Table as Day 5 Begins - LAPC

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

It’s Day 5 of the 2012 WPT LAPC and the final 18 players all have a shot at making it into the final six.

One thing is all but guaranteed: We’re going to have a good final table.

The final 18 players are headlined by an elite group of grinders including Noah Schwartz, Dan Kelly, Jason Dewitt, Jason Somerville, David Pham, David “Doc” Sands, Joe Hachem and Sorel Mizzi.

That’s not even including other notable players like Nick Binger, Dan Idema and Stephen Chidwick.

It’s one of the most talented groups of players we’ve ever seen on Day 5 of a major tournament and the play down to the final table should be riveting.

Noah Schwartz has the chip lead with 1.77 million but online superstar Dan “djk123” Kelly is right behind him with 1.74 million.

Stephen Chidwick, Jason Dewitt, Jason Somerville, David Pham, David “Doc” Sands and Joe Hachem are all in the top 10 so they have a great chance to make the final table.

Here's how the chip stacks look at the start of the day:

1. Noah Schwartz 1,770,000

2. Dan Kelly 1,749,000

3. A.J. Jejelowo 1,573,000

4. Stephen Chidwick 1,450,000

5. Jason Dewitt 1,182,000

6. Sean Jazayeri 1,125,000

7. Jason Somerville 1,025,000

8. David Pham 855,000

9. David "Doc" Sands 819,000

10. Joe Hachem 700,000

11. Elvis Huynh 675,000

12. Skip Wilson 625,000

13. Jason Burt 609,000

14. Sorel Mizzi 600,000

15. Allen Carter 580,000

16. Nick Binger 565,000

17. Daniel Idema 433,000

18. Shahen Martirosian 226,000

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Schwartz Holds On for Day 4 Chip Lead - LAPC

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

A great day for Noah Schwartz has been capped off with a slight slip but a hold on the chip lead as the final 18 players have been set.

Schwartz lost a small chunk of his stack in the last level of the night when he doubled up David "Doc" Sands but with 1,770,000 he'll start the day tomorrow on top.

He'll have only a smalle edge on second-place Dan "djk123" kelly, who built most of his big stack early in the day and cruised to the finish with 1,749,000.

Seven Players up Over a Million in Chips

Five other players will join Schwartz and Kelly with 1 million+ chips to start the day and one of them is A.J Jejelowo.

Jumping up over the magic number in a big hand against Jason Somerville earlier, Jejelowo lost some of that back to Schwartz but gained it all back and then some by the end of the night.

Jejelowo will start tomorrow in third with 1,573,000.

Brit Stephen Chidwick, Jason Dewitt, Sean Jazayeri and Somerville are the others over a million.

Roller coaster for Mizzi.

Mizzi Slides Back, Sands Slides Up, Hachem Steady On

Despite hitting the million mark today, Sorel Mizzi won't start there tomorrow.

He duffed off a few hundred thousand in pots versus Elvis Huynh and Chidwick to settle back down to below average in chips at 600,000.

After having just 700 chips at one point yesterday, he'll surely take it.

Sands, who began the day near the 250k mark and stayed there for most of it has flipped his own mizzi switch and rocketed back up the leaderboard.

He peaked at around 920,000 in chips with a double up from Schwartz late in the level.

In the hand Sands raised preflop, Schwartz reraised and Sands shoved for around 445k.

Schwartz tanked and called with 9♣ 9♦ but Sands had Q♠ Q♥ and held for the double.

He'll start tomorrow just under average at 819,000 - slightly ahead of Joe Hachem with 700,000.

The Top 18

Players have now guaranteed themselves at least $39,530 but will be looking for much more with $1.3 million on the table for first.

Action kicks off from Commerce Casino tomorrow and noon and they'll play down to a final table of six.

Here's how they'll start:

1. Noah Schwartz 1,770,000

2. Dan Kelly 1,749,000

3. A.J. Jejelowo 1,573,000

4. Stephen Chidwick 1,450,000

5. Jason Dewitt 1,182,000

6. Sean Jazayeri 1,125,000

7. Jason Somerville 1,025,000

8. David Pham 855,000

9. David "Doc" Sands 819,000

10. Joe Hachem 700,000

11. Elvis Huynh 675,000

12. Skip Wilson 625,000

13. Jason Burt 609,000

14. Sorel Mizzi 600,000

15. Allen Carter 580,000

16. Nick Binger 565,000

17. Daniel Idema 433,000

18. Shahen Martirosian 226,000

Final Bustouts of the Evening

19. Sergey Pevzner $34,260

20. Casey Stewart $34,260

21. Barry Woods $34,260

22. Bob Bounahra $34,260

23. Joe Tehan $34,260

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Huge Hand Gives Schwartz Chip Lead – LAPC

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

Noah Schwartz, known in some circles as McLovin for his resemblance to the Superbad character, has just taken the chip lead in a huge hand with Larry Lipman.

Schwartz raised from late position and Lipman 3-bet from the big blind to 102k.

Schwartz called. The flop came 5♣ 4♣ 3♠ and Lipman bet out for 130k.

Schwartz bumped it to 284k and Lipman reraised to 484k before Schwartz shoved for slightly under 1 million.

Lipman went into the tank for a bit before emerging with a call – and AK!

Schwartz showed Lipman how bad his situation looked when he flipped over threes for the flopped set.

A four on the turn improved Schwartz to a full house but it wasn’t needed.

Schwartz dragged the huge pot and becomes the first player to hit the 2 million mark.

Lipman has to settle for a 27th-place finish and $34,260.

Recent Bustouts

24. Tyson Marks $34,260

25. Tom Marchese $34,260

26. Paul Lieu $34,260

27. Larry Lipman $34,260

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Play On! No Dinner Break, Final Table Re-Draw - LAPC

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

With Michael Aron's bustout in 28th, the dinner break will be passed on tonight and they'll play right through until 18 are left.

The final 27 players have hit the redraw for the last three tbales and this is how they landed:

Table 1

1. Tom Marchese - 400,000

2. Noah Schwartz - 885,000

3. Jason Burt - 200,000

4. Paul Lieu - 180,000

5. Elvis Huynh - 280,000

6. Larry Lipman - 1,060,000

7. Sergey Pevzner - 340,000

8. Sorel Mizzi - 1,040,000

9. Nick Binger - 710,000

Table 2

1. Skip Wilson - 290,000

2. Joe Hachem - 485,000

3. Daniel Idema - 725,000

4. David Pham - 500,000

5. Barry Woods - 280,000

6. Sean Jazayeri - 1,040,000

7. Joe Tehan - 430,000

8. Shahen Martirosian - 180,000

9. Jason Dewitt - 715,000

Table 3

1. A.J. Jejelowo - 1,000,000

2. Dan Kelly - 1,600,000

3. David Sands - 255,000

4. Jason Somerville - 775,000

5. Badih Bounahra - 175,000

6. Tyson Marks - 270,000

7. Casey Stewart - 950,000

8. Allen Carter - 310,000

9. Stephen Chidwick - 815,000

To watch the action at the feature table with Schwartz, Marchese, Mizzi and Binger, visit LAPCLive.

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Mizzi Hits Million-Chip Mark - LAPC

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

Sorel Mizzi's LA story got even better last level.

Having at one time been down to just 1/3 of a blind, Mizzi made a rapid climb up the charts today to join the chip leaders and now he’s passed another milestone – the 1-million chip mark.

He used some of Joe Tehan’s chip to get there, getting Tehan to fold to a river bet with about 500k in the pot.

Mizzi is up to 1,040,000 in chips.

Mizzi seems to be enjoying the ride as well - at least based on his latest tweets including:

A milly, a milly! #mashedpotatoes #rice and #cornonthecob yumyum

Oh hi 850k. #mashedpotatoes #withasideofrice

He may not get a dinner break to enjoy the starch as they'll play straight down to 18 tonight if they reach 27 players by the end of the next level.

Right now they're at 28.

A.J likes the A-Q.

Jejelowo Joins Mizzi in Millionaireville

WSOP-C main event winner A.J Jejelowo also topped the million-chip mark by taking a big share of former chip leader Jason Somerville’s stack the last level.

In the tide-turning pot, Jejelowo bet 40k on a flop of A♦ Q♣ T♠ and Somerville raised to 95k. Jejelowo called to see the T♦ turn.

Both players checked and the river came Q♠.

Jejelowo bet 250k and Somerville called only to muck when A.J. showed A♥ Q♦ for the full house.

The medical researcher from Rice University moved up to 1,000,000 while Somerville dropped back to 320k

Kelly Keeps Lead

Dan "djk123" Kelly is still your chip leader.

According to his tweets, it involved some good fortune earlier:

Sucked out for a huge pot. Up to 1.3 mill with 36 left. 5k/10k blinds

Whatever does the trick we say.

Top 5 counts below:

1. Dan Kelly 1,600,0002. Larry Lipman 1,060,0003. Sorel Mizzi 1,040,0004. Sean Jazayeri 1,020,0005. A.J. Jejelowo 1,000,000

Bustifications

As always, some players had to go last level and these are them. On the upside, they will be paid for their four days of work.

30. Ognjen Sekularac - $28,990

31. Robert Nahorayan - $28,990

32. David Baker - $28,990

33. Brandon Meyers - $28,990

34. Xuan Nguyen - $28,990

35. Jamie Shaevel - $28,990

36. Mikhail Timoshin - $28,990

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The Great Tuan Phan Implosion – LAPC

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

Tuan Phan entered Day 4 of the 2012 as the chip leaders with 1.1 million chips.

Just under three hours later he’s exhausted every one of those chips and is now on the rail.

Phan got off to a very rough start by doubling both Jason Dewitt and Skip Wilson early. Phan was suddenly working with a very average stack and it didn’t take long for him to get it in the middle.

His final hand was indicative of his entire Day 4. Phan got it all-in for 500,000 pre-flop with A-K and Sean Jazayeri made the easy call with pocket aces.

Phan failed to improve and hit the rail in 43rd place. He picks up $23,720 for his efforts but that’s obviously well short of the $1.3 million dedicated to first place.

Meanwhile the player that busted him, Sean Jazayeri, is suddenly near the top of the chip counts with over a million.

In other news we’re down to 34 players. Here’s a look at several other notable happenings in the last level of playing including the amazing resurgence of Sorel Mizzi.

Sorel Mizzi

Mizzi Mystifies the Field

Sorel Mizzi is making an incredible comeback at the 2012 LAPC.

Down to just 700 chips at one point yesterday, Mizzi is one of the hottest players on Day 4 and has chipped his way up to 890,000 chips here on Day 4.

Mizzi recently busted Bryce Yockey when he got all-in with A♦ Q♣ to Yockey’s 8♣ 8♠.

A queen came in the window and the ladies are kind to Mizzi as his queens take the pot.

Chidwick Slows Hachem

Serial qualifier Stephen Chidwick just put the brakes on Joe Hachem’s current run.

Hachem and Chidwick got all the chips in the middle with Hachem holding A♣ T♣ to Chidwick’s pair of eights.

The board bricked and Chidwick’s doubled up to 250,000 chips while Hachem tumbled down to 370,000.

Elimination Station

Larry Greenberg, Andy Phan, Randy Gill, Seth Fischer, Kenny Shih and Ron Jenkins have all been eliminated.

Leaderboard

Here’s a look at the top 10 chip counts courtesy of WPT.com:

Dan Kelly – 1.4 million Sean Jazayeri – 1 million Stephen Chidwick – 990,000 Sorel Mizzi – 890,000 Jason Somerville – 787,000 Larry Lipman – 765,000 A.J. Jejelowo – 695,000 Noah Schwartz – 680,000 Dan Idema – 670,000 Casey Stewart – 665,000

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Hachem, Baker Making Moves – LAPC

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

With one level down here at the 2012 LAPC (two if you count the three-minutes that remained in Level 17) no one is pulling their punches.

Nine players have hit the rail including online studs Matt Marafioti, Christian Harder and Amit Makhija.

Joe Tehan and Jason Somerville continue to rule the roost with 820,000 and 765,000 chips respectively but Joe Hachem and David Baker have been rapidly moving up the chip counts.

Amazingly Tuan Phan, who began with the chip lead, is down to a fraction of his stack after a very rough start.

We enter Level 19 with 45 players left. Here’s a look at some of the notable hands over the last hour:

Hachem Busts Patel, Looking Dangerous

Former World Champion Joe Hachem is building steam as we approach the end of the first level.

The Melbourne-native doubled through Bryce Yockey and then busted Kunal Patel to build his stack to over 500,000.

Patel shoved for 94,000 with A♥ J♥ and Hachem called with a dominating A♣ K♦.

There was a king on the flop and that was more than enough to give Patel his walking papers.

Patel picked up $21,080 for his efforts.

Christian Harder

Harder Goes Soft

There’s been a flurry of eliminations early and uber-talented online grinder Christian Harder busted to another extremely talented online player.

WSOP bracelet winner Dan “djk123” Kelly beat Harder with A-K over Harder’s A-J. Harder didn’t get any help from the board and ended up hitting the rail in 53rd place for $21,080.

Harder recently finished second at the World Poker Finals in Foxwoods for $248k but will have to wait another day for his first WPT title.

ADZ Counts to 1... 2… Busted

Matt “ADZ124” Marafioti always seems to play well at the LAPC with an eight place finish in 2009 and a 17th place finish last year but he won’t get a sniff of the final table this year.

Marafioti had the misfortune of flopping a set of eights against Bryce Yockey who turned a straight. Marafioti shoved the turn and Yockey made the easy call with the nuts.

There were no surprises on the rail and Marafioti recorded another cash at the LAPC, although this time it’s only for $21,080.

Eliminati

James Maltz, Amit Makhija, Gordon Vayo and Jordan Lewis have all been eliminated.

Leaderboard

Here’s a look at the top 10 chip leaders courtesy of our friends at WPT.com:

Joe Tehan – 820,000 Jason Somerville – 765,000 Casey Stewart – 700,000 Sean Jazayeri – 660,000 Sergey Pevzner – 650,000 Larry Lipman – 637,000 Larry Greenberg – 570,000 David Sands – 560,000 Noah Schwartz – 555,000 Joe Hachem – 555,000

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Phan, Somerville Lead as LAPC Day 4 Begins

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

The cards are minutes away from hitting the felt on Day 4 of the 2012 LA Poker Classic and Tuan Phan is in the lead.

Phan is the only player with over 1 million chips right now, but he's got a pack of hungry poker hounds hot on his heels.

Jason Somerville is in second with 860,000 and former WPT champion Joe Tehan is sitting in third.

Sadly last night ended with the elimination of Phil Ivey on the exact money bubble. The good news is that everyone who's still got a stack is guaranteed to get paid.

Also still in with a chance at Wednesday's final table are Noah Schwartz, Tom Marchese, David Sands, Nick Binger, Tyson Marks, Matt Marafioti, David Pham and Sorel Mizzi.

Click here for the official start of day LAPC chip counts.

PokerListings.com will be on scene all day shipping you live coverage so keep it locked right here to see who will make it through to the big money waiting at the final table.

The Leaderboard

Tuan Phan - 1,140,000 Jason Somerville - 860,000 Joe Tehan - 831,500 Casey Stewart - 791,000 Larry Greenberg - 707,000

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Ivey Out on Bubble as LAPC Day 3 Ends

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

The worst has happened. Phil Ivey has been eliminated, and on the bubble no less.

Ivey’s elimination ends Day 3, leaves the 54 remaining players in the money and forces PokerListings.com to abandon our latest installment of All Ivey All the Time.

On a more positive note, everyone who comes back tomorrow will be getting paid. The prizes start at $21,080 and go all the way up to the $1.37 million reserved for first.

Tuan Phan’s got the best chance at it if you go by chip counts. The WSOP Circuit ring winner is in the lead, and the only person above the 1 million mark.

He’s chased by a tough lineup. Jason Somerville is in second as former WPT winner Joe Tehan rounds out the top three.

Other big names on the list to keep an eye on include Noah Schwartz, Tom Marchese, David Sands, Nick Binger, Tyson Marks, Matt Marafioti, David Pham and Sorel Mizzi, among others.

Tomorrow we’ll fight our way further into the money and get a much clearer idea of what this final table might look like.

Keep reading for details on the day’s last two eliminations, and a rough guess at the leaderboard.

Official chip counts will be up soon so check back for that.

Jason Somerville is in second going into Day 4.

Top 5 Leaderboard

Here’s an estimate on the five biggest stacks, courtesy of WPT.com.

Tuan Phan – 1,140,000 Jason Somerville – 860,000 Joe Tehan – 831,500 Casey Stewart – 791,000 Larry Greenberg – 707,000

Ivey Last Person Not to Get Paid

With 55 players left, and action hand-for-hand, Ivey was crippled in a hand against AJ Jejelowo.

Jejelowo opened to 12k from the button and Ivey three-bet to 35k from the big blind. Jejelowo four-bet shoved and Ivey called off.

They were racing, A-T for Ivey against pocket sixes. The board was dry and the sixes came out on top.

Left with roughly 65,000, Ivey open-shoved shortly after with pocket sixes in late position. David Baker, directly to his left, snapped him off with pocket kings.

There was no sweat and Ivey’s tournament was pronounced dead on the spot.

Barnhart Out One Off Bubble

Sam Barnhart won a WSOP Circuit main event in Tunica and went on to win the WSOP’s National Championship, but he’s busted in this tournament.

Going out in 56th place, aka second bubble, Barnhart was sent packing by Joe Tehan.

Basically Tehan turned a straight, and Barnhart turned two pair. The money went in and the river bricked for the software analyst from Little Rock, Arkansas.

Tehan’s stack swelled to about 800k from that pot.

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Hellmuth Out, Phan in Command - LAPC

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

The last level went well for Tuan Phan. Very well.

He's currently tipping the scales at over 900k, over 150k more than Jason Somerville who looks to be sitting in second.

We’ve got a few new names on the leaderboard and a few less names in the field as just 67 players remain in the hunt.

Headlining the list of busted players is one Phil Hellmuth, who finally succumbed to the donkstrikery that had been plaguing him all day long.

Keep reading for the story on that, the new leaderboard and highlights from the last level.

Updated Leaderboard

Here’s a rundown of the ten biggest stacks in the room right now, courtesy of WPT.com.

Tuan Phan – 920,000 Jason Somerville – 775,000 Joe Tehan – 500,000 Sean Jazayeri – 475,000 Noah Schwartz – 435,000 Xuan Nguyen – 430,000 Larry Lipman – 410,000 Bryce Yockey – 395,000 Casey Stewart – 386,000 Tom Marchese – 384,000

Phan Busts O’Brien and Deeb to Take Lead

Tuan Phan is sitting on over 900,000 after busting Dan O’Brien and Shaun Deeb.

O’Brien had lost a massive pot flopping top set with pocket nines and getting run down by pocket aces that turned a set.

Dan O'Brien is out.

Left with 50k after that loss he managed to chip up to around 100k before this hand.

O’Brien opened to 8k from middle position and got a call from Tuan Phan on the button. The flop came J♣ 7♣ 2♥ and O’Brien check-shoved with A♣ 9♣.

Phan called with J♥ 9♦ and made it hold up knock O’Brien out of this event.

Hellmuth Can’t Believe It

It hasn’t been Phil Hellmuth’s day. He’s been fighting hard against two players in particular at his table but, even by his own admission, he was barely able to win a pot.

Danny Illingworth is the man who ended up dealing Hellmuth the death blow, and it wasn’t pretty.

Hellmuth had turned aces-up with A-T but the bulk of the money went in after Illingworth had rivered the gutshot wheel.

Hellmuth repeated the phrase we’ve heard from him so often today, “Is this a joke? Is this for real?”

Yes Phil, this is real life.

Picture Gallery

Check out a few pics we've snapped in the last few hours. Click here for the full gallery.

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Tuan Phan Leads Heading into Dinner - LAPC

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

We have a new leader and his name is Tuan Phan.

Phan won the biggest WSOP Circuit main event ever held in Atlantic City last December, pocketing over $188,000. It was his first major live tournament cash.

Phan is at it again here in LA and he’s got a big edge on his nearest competitor Joe Tehan.

Phan is sitting on roughly 480,000 to Tehan’s 410k.

Other big stacks include start-of-day chip leader Gordon Vayo who’s got 380,000, 2010 CardPlayer Magazine Player of the Year Tom Marchese with 370k and online tournament legend Shaun Deeb who’s sitting on close to 350k.

96 players remain and with the schedule calling to play to the money which kicks in at 54, we’ve got a long night ahead of us.

At the end of this level we’ll be heading out for a one-hour dinner break so keep reading for highlights and join us again at around 8pm PT.

Take Me to Your Leader(s)

Here’s a look at the top ten right now, courtesy of WPT.com.

Tuan Phan – 484,000 Joe Tehan – 410,000 Tom Marchese – 390,000 Casey Stewart – 386,000 Shaun Deeb – 340,000 Xuan Nguyen – 335,000 Darren Elias – 310,000 Dan O’Brien – 310,000 Andrew Lichtenberger – 297,000 Behzad Teranie – 278,000

Mueller Kicked

Things went from bad to terribad this past level as the Canadian saw his stack cut down to size and ultimately removed entirely by Tom Marchese.

FBT doesn't like what he sees.

Mueller’s final hand began with Marchese opening to 6k from under the gun and two players calling before Greg Mueller came along in the small blind.

The flop came down K♣ 6♠ 2♠ and after a check from Mueller, Marchese fired 14,200. The other players get out of the way and Mueller check-raised to 39,200.

Marchese shoves and Mueller calls. Both players started the hand with roughly 185k.

Mueller: K♠ Q♠

Marchese 2♣ 2♦

Mueller needed a spade that didn’t pair the board but couldn’t get there as it came J♣ K♥.

Stewart Boats Baron

Casey Stewart doubled through Isaac Baron in a massive hand, knocking the man known as westmenloAA online down to about 50k and increasing his own stack to 385,000.

Playing into the last break the money went in on the river with the board showing T♣ 8♣ 4♣ 4♥ 8♥.

Boeree bricks to bust (booo).

Stewart was the one to shove, showing J♠ 8♠ for the rivered boat. According to WPT.com Baron said he had K♣ Q♣ for the flopped flush.

More Eliminations

Another handful of name-brand pros have gone broke, including Liv Boeree, John Racener, Will Failla and Matt Stout.

Stout lost a 120k pot with QQ against KK while John Racener is out thanks to a lost race with queens against A-K.

Liv Boeree raised two red kings and got two callers. She bet the T♦ 7♦ 6♥ flop and check-shoved the 9♦ turn. Too bad her opponent had pocket nines.

Boeree missed the flush redraw and was knocked out in 98th place.

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Hellmuth Gonna Hellmuth - LAPC

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

Phil Hellmuth is at the feature table, a fact of which he is all too aware judging by how much he’s talking.

A steady stream of F-Bombs and assorted expletives have been emanating from the Poker Brat, and after a bit of investigation we know the reason.

His name is Jeff Yarchever and he’s got a sparkly purple telephone receiver hooked up to his iPhone that he uses to talk at the table.

He’s also got a watch so jammed with diamonds it’s hard to tell if the hands are even turning.

He’s the kind of guy that, after talking to a Royal Flush Girl, points to his cheek and says he needs a little sugar. That’s not a joke. It happened while we were at the table.

We can’t imagine why Hellmuth is so bothered.

There aren’t enough ampersands and exclamation marks in the world to safely describe Hellmuth’s language, but the basic theme is that Yarchever is not only very lucky, he’s also going out of his way to get under Hellmuth’s skin.

“He’s flopped his kicker against me five times,” griped Hellmuth. "He's got no f*****g clue."

Does this annoy you Phil?

A hand developed while we were watching. Hellmuth opened in early-middle position and Yarchever called in the hijack. The flop came down 4♥ 4♠ 3♥ and Hellmuth checked.

Yarchever bet 13,300 and Hellmuth called instantly, checking the turn blind.

Yarchever fired 23,500 when the 2♣ landed and Hellmuth wasted no time calling. They both checked the T♣ river and Yarchever showed pocket sixes.

Hellmuth exploded, laying A♥ 8♥ down on the felt.

“Is this for real? The worst f******g player in the world, pissing his chips away with pocket sixes!” he said.

The very next hand Yarchever was a little late with his ante and Hellmuth demanded the floor be called to give Yarchever a warning. The floorman came over and gave the most perfunctory warning we’ve ever heard.

They don’t call him the Poker Brat for nothing.

Yarchever looked hurt, saying, “Phil you’re one of my favorite players for real bro.”

“I’m not trying to mess with you, honest,” he continued.

The very next hand Yarchever was first in with his ante, saying, “See Phil? First in!”

Matt Savage placates the Poker Brat.

Hellmuth exploded again, calling Tournament Director Matt Savage over and demanding something be done.

Joe Hachem, also at the table, burst out laughing and had to excuse himself.

“He’s acting like some sort of lunatic!” Hellmuth said. “I need some protection!”

The next hand Hellmuth came in for raise and Yarchever immediately three-bet in position.

Hellmuth had already told Yarchever he was going to bust him for sure, and it looked like he might take a shot here.

“Watch out Phil I’ve got a cracker,” Yarchever said, presumably referring to cards that could crack whatever premium hand Hellmuth was holding.

Hellmuth opted just to call and the flop rolled out 9♣ 8♣ 6♣. Hellmuth donked out for 6,000 and Yarchever immediately popped it to 25,000.

Hellmuth looked livid but eventually folded.

Yarchever tabled 5-7 for the flopped straight.

We don’t need to tell you that Hellmuth didn’t react well to seeing how good his nemesis was running.

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Greg Mueller in Front, Ivey Average - LAPC

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

The day’s first level is done and big things are happening in the Commerce Casino ballroom.

Canadian hockey enthusiast Greg Mueller has jumped out in front and is now sitting with close to 335,000. That’s about 20k more than his nearest competition Behzad Teranie who has retained second-place status.

Fairing much worse is a handful of big names that lost their shirts, figuratively, and their stacks, literally.

Keep reading for the highlights from Level 1, with photos and a look at the updated leaderboard.

The Top Ten

Here’s a look at the ten biggest stacks in the room, courtesy of WPT.com.

Greg Mueller – 380,000 Behzad Teranie – 315,000 Darren Elias – 290,000 Gordon Vayo – 280,000 Dan O’Brien – 265,000 Dan Kelly – 260,000 Vasile Buboi – 225,000 Keith Ferrara – 220,000 Shaun Deeb – 218.000 Sam Barnhart – 210,000

Rousso Riding High

Vanessa Rousso came into the day with just over 100k but she’s already chipped up to around 190,000.

A big part of that increase came by way of busting a player for a 65k pot.

Rousso three-bet with J♦ T♠ from the small blind and got called, seeing a 9-9-8 rainbow flop. Rousso led out for 3,500 and got called.

Rousso check-called 5,000 on the 5♦ turn and the Q♠ hit the river, completing her straight.

Will Reynolds is out.

Rousso checked again and her opponent shoved for just over 20k. Rousso called quickly, her straight miles ahead of the other player’s A-Q.

The Busted

The list of busted is swelling as an intermittent line of disheartened poker players shuffle out the door.

Here’s the blow-by-blow:

2011 November Niner Phil Collins is out, three-bet shoving A-K and getting called by pocket tens. An ace hit the flop but a ten was right behind it on the turn.

Will Reynolds has busted, losing an all-in preflop race with A-5 against Andrew Lichtenberger’s pocket fours. Lichtenberger now has around 70k.

Tony Hachem has also gone broke. He made a move with fourth pair and got called by Xuan Nguyen with top-pair top-kicker. Nguyen is now on around 200k.

The last player on our list of busted players is Jonathan Little. He ran A-K into pocket kings and paid the price.

Phan Phinished (Angle?)

John Phan is out of this tournament, and he went out in very John Phan-esque fashion.

With 100k in the middle and the board reading K♠ Q♠ 3♦ 5♠ Travis Carson shipped for 44k. Now Phan does what he does best, walk the line between angle-shooting and honest play.

He asks for the all-in button, but tells the dealer he isn’t all-in. He flips the button a few times on the table, perhaps trying to let a coin-toss decide the hand for him.

After a few flips Carson complains, saying he’s all-in. TD Matt Savage is called over and confirms this fact.

Carson has pocket queens and Phan has A-K no spade. The river’s a brick and Phan is out.

Ivey-Watch 2012 Continues

Beyond a few photos we don’t have much to report for Ivey-Watch. The most dangerous player in the room is still holding strong with around 100k.

Check out these photos while we keep watching Ivey.

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Ivey and 182 Others Alive at LAPC Day 3

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

183 players are still in it at the 2012 LA Poker Classic and Phil Ivey is among them.

Playing his first US live tournament since Black Friday, Ivey was among the chip leaders after Day 1, and is now sitting on an above-average stack heading into Day 3.

We're just moments away from putting the cards in the air as players begin to find their seats.

The plan calls to play down to the money before calling it quits, but we've also been told that we'll play a minimum of five levels.

That means we might make it a few spots into the cash before the night is over.

Right now Gordon Vayo is in the number one spot, trailed by Behzad Teranie and Greg Mueller, with plenty of other big names in the hunt.

Joe Tehan, Sorel Mizzi, Dan Kelly, Shaun Deeb, Sam Barnhardt and Jason Somerville are all near the top of the counts but the list goes on.

Click here to check out the full start of Day LAPC chip counts.

And make sure you're up to date by checking out our Day 1 and Day 2 coverage.

Phil Ivey is obviously going to get the lion's share of our attention today, but we'll also make time to keep you up to date on everything that's happening.

Keep it locked right here as we play down to the money at the 2012 LA Poker Classic on the World Poker Tour.

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Ivey Still in Contention after LAPC Day 2

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

Day 2 has drawn to a close at the 2012 LA Poker Classic and Phil Ivey is still in.

He's not the chip leader, but he is Phil Ivey. And you know the rule, an Ivey with any chips always trumps a random guy with the chip lead.

It looks like roughly 183 players have made it through to Day 3, and our best guess puts Gordon Vayo out in front by a very narrow margin.

Trailing Vayo by just a few thousand is Behzad Teranie, with Canadian Greg Mueller in third.

Action will resume tomorrow at noon as we play down to the money, which kicks in when 54 players remain. We’ll be playing a minimum of five levels, however, which means we may make it a few spots into the cash before we’re done.

The official chip counts won't be in for a few hours so check back later for those, and keep reading for highlights from the last level and a look at the unofficial leaderboard.

Behzad Teranie is second in chips.

The Leaders … We Think

Here’s the top ten, courtesy of WPT.com.

Gordon Vayo – 284,000 Behzad Teranie – 280,000 Greg Mueller – 279,700 Darren Elias – 257,400 Keith Ferrara – 235,100 Eric Cloutier – 228,000 Joe Tehan – 223,200 Sorel Mizzi – 222,000 Kunal Patel – 215,000 Shaun Deeb – 197,400

Ivey Through With More Than Average

Even with an all-star roster of poker stars still in this event, Phil Ivey is commanding the most attention.

He started the day fifth in chips and despite seeing some ups and downs, he finished strong with over 100k.

This is the first event Ivey has played in the US since Black Friday and having won this thing a few years ago, hopes are high for a deep run.

Stay tuned tomorrow for plenty more Ivey-Watch 2012 coverage.

Busted, Dusted, Done

Almost 200 players were knocked out of the tournament today, and some of our favorite players are on that list.

Mike Leah, Mike Matusow, Nam Le, Kara Scott, Lauren Kling, Mark Newhouse, Maria Ho, Tony Dunst, Tim West, Ray Henson, Randall Flowers, Bryan Devonshire, Dan Shak, Ari Engel and Jason Mercier were among them.

Join us tomorrow at noon for continuing coverage of the 2012 WPT LA Poker Classic.

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Carson Takes Lead, Ivey Over 100k - LAPC

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

The chip lead has changed hands once again as Travis Carson jumps out in front of last level's leader, Ryan Welch.

In fact, Welch has been knocked a few rungs down the leaderboard since Sorel Mizzi, Eric Cloutier and Sam Barnhardt and Vanessa Rousso have all chipped up.

We've got the highlights, a new installment of Ivey-Watch 2012 and the top ten chip counts below.

Ivey Trips Up (In a Good Way)

Phil Ivey is back over 100k after making trips and getting paid off by Athanasios Poychronopoulos.

We’re not sure on the action but we know there was roughly 14k in the pot on the turn, with a king-high board on the felt between the two players.

Ivey bet 10,500 and got called. He continued driving the action with a 13k bet on the river when a second king landed.

Poychronopoulos called and Ivey tabled K♠ 9♠ to take down the pot.

Poychronopoulos has about 80k now.

Dylan Hortin is out.

Vedes Vetoed

Tommy Vedes won the WPT Festa al Lago back in Season 8 but he won’t be adding a second title to his record here in LA. He is out.

Vedes was the victim of a one-two punch in two consecutive hands.

The first was a lost race with Q-J against pocket nines for a pot over 30k. The next hand saw Vedes ship his last 4,300 in with A-9 and run into pocket jacks.

Hortin Can’t Heat Up

Dylan Hortin is a two-time PocketFives triple crown winner, and he was named a WPT “One to Watch” but neither of those honors could keep him in this event.

Hortin had been battling valiantly with the shortstack all day but finally succumbed in a hand against WSOP bracelet winner Keven Stammen.

Hortin open-shoved Q-J and Stammen raised with A-K to isolate. Hortin flopped a queen but Stammen rivered a king.

Tonight’s Top Ten List

Travis Carson

212000

Darren Elias

200000

Sorel Mizzi

195000

Sam Barnhardt

180000

Eric Cloutier

178000

Keith Ferrara

170000

Vanessa Rousso

155000

Ryan Welch

150000

Josh Arieh

150000

Tyler Patterson

142000

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Welch Leads, Ivey Still Strong - LAPC

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

We have a new leader and his name is Ryan Welch.

The Tennessee native won a WSOP bracelet in 2010 and has earned over $850,000 playing live tournaments, and over $3 million playing tournaments online where he plays as “gutshtallin”.

Welch is the only player to hit the 200k mark so far, and he’s eclipsed former chip leaders Keith Ferrara and Michael Rocco.

Phil Ivey is still going strong, despite losing a bit of ground in the last level and a half. He’s on just under 100k.

Keep reading to see how all that went down, along with a few other highlights from our last trip to the floor.

The Fall of Ferrara

Keith Ferrara, former big stack, has fallen a few spots from the lead but still controls one of the larger stacks in the room.

Andy Philachack had something to do with it, doubling through Ferrara to get to roughly 70k.

The two played a big hand to the river with the remainder of Philachak’s stack going in when he rivered the nut flush.

Ferrara is now on around 150k.

Mizzi Bitsy Spider Climbing Higher

Sorel Mizzi is up around the 110k mark after sending two notable names to the exit.

Sean Getzwiller and Ray Henson both had pocket queens, all-in before the flop against Mizzi’s pocket aces.

No miracle straights or flushes presented themselves and Mizzi takes the whole thing.

Obits

Among the players to lose their tournament lives this past level are Jonathan Aguiar, Allen Kessler, Men “The Master” Nguyen, Chance Kornuth, Lauren Kling, Kara Scott, Mike Sexton and last year’s LAPC champ Greg Brooks.

The defending champ got it in bad with pocket tens to Nick Schulman’s pocket jacks and suffered the consequences.

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Prize Pool Announced, $1.3M for Winner - LAPC

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

With a final tally of 549 players coughing up their $10k buy-ins for this event we're officially playing for $5,270,400, with $1.37 million going to first.

We'll have the full payout structure posted right here in a few minutes so feel free to click through for that.

Liv Boeree, pictured right, is among the happiest to hear the prize news, given that she just scored a big double up to over 90,000.

She got her stack in on a 9-3-3 flop with aces against pocket queens, and made them hold up to give herself a much better shot at making the money.

In other news, start-of-day chip leader Michael Rocco has hit a few bumps, his stack knocked down to about 100k.

He doubled up Dylan Hortin not long ago but only lost 7.5k in the process. Hortin is still short but he's got a fighting chance with 15k.

Keith Ferrara looks to be leading the pack now with just over 160,000.

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Going, Going, Gone - LAPC

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

The first level of the day isn't even over but a handful of big names have already hit the rail.

Michael Rocco still looks to be in the lead but he'll have a few less players to contend with after the following eliminations.

Hinkle Hung Out to Dry

WSOP bracelet winner Blair Hinkle is out, thanks to zero cooperation from the deck.

He lost the majority of his stack on a flopped flush draw that picked up a gutshot on the turn, then got unlucky with K-J versus J-T all-in preflop.

Hinkle has narrowly missed a few final tables on the WPT, having finished 8th, 11th and 24th over the past four years. He won't be besting those results this time around.

Sowers Patched

Mike "SowersUNCC" Sowers found a great spot to triple up but couldn't win a race to make it happen.

He was all-in preflop with jacks against tens and A-K. Dan Shak, the man with big slick, turned a gutshot and nailed it on the river to bust Sowers.

Former WPT Champ Von Kriegenbergh Out

Taylor Von Kriegenbergh, winner of last season's Seminole Hard Rock Showdown, has been eliminated.

He got it in with A-K against A-K and queens, but couldn't get there. And now he is gone.

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The Room is Filling Up; The Cards Are in the Air - LAPC

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

A few minutes have already elapsed on the clock as the first level of Day 2 gets underway, but players are still filing into the quickly-filling expanse of the Commerce Casino ballroom.

Registration was open until teh start of play today which means if you haven't bought in by now, you won't be playing this year's LA Poker Classic.

The board reads 545 entrants, which by our estimate puts the prize pool somewhere in the neighborhood of $5.23 million. Stay tuned for the official prize pool info which will be released soon.

We're getting ready to hit the floor but we snapped a few photos to get the day started.

And don't forget, Phil Ivey is in the top 5 and we're going to be giving him the preferential coverage he deserves, all day long.

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LAPC Day 2 Begins with Phil Ivey in Top 5

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

PokerListings.com is on the scene in Los Angeles for the 2012 LA Poker Classic and right now it's all about Phil Ivey.

We're eagerly awaiting the beginning of Day 2, starting at noon, so we can get back on the floor to bring you more Phil Ivey coverage.

Right now he's in fifth position with 116,300 and we'll be paying special attention to him all day as we continue Ivey-Watch 2012.

But Phil Ivey isn't the only player we'll have our eye on this afternoon, and he's not the only big name starting the day stacked.

Michael Rocco is in the lead right now while 2010 WSOP bracelet winner Chance Kornuth is sitting in third. David "The Dragon" Pham is in 9th.

Amazingly, Pham has made seven final tables on the World Poker Tour, but he's yet to take one down.

Narrowly missing a spot in the top 10 is former world champion Jonathan Duhamel with 98,950. Duhamel was up around 115k at one point and held the chip lead for much of Day 1. He's heading into Day 2 in 13th.

Also through to Day 2 with above average stacks are Tom Marchese, Shaun Deeb, Tony Dunst, Joe Hachem, David Sands, Yevgeniy Timoshenko, Joe Tehan, Phil Hellmuth and many more.

Click here to see our coverage from Day 1 to get up to speed.

Click here for the full official LAPC chip counts as things get started today, and stay tuned for full live coverage all day long.

Here's the top 10.

MICHAEL ROCCO

156200

TUAN PHAN

141500

CHANCE KORNUTH

131275

TRAVIS CARSON

118950

PHIL IVEY

116300

BEHZAD TERANIE

110000

JESSE YAGINUMA

103550

ERIC CLOUTIER

103225

DAVID PHAM

103175

MICHAEL ARON

102300

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Ivey, Duhamel Headline LAPC Day 1

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

The first day of the 2012 LA Poker Classic has come to a close and according to the board 395 players have survived to return on Day 2.

The official chip counts have yet to arrive but our best guess puts California native Michael Rocco out in front with 156,200.

Joining Rocco near the top of the chip counts is Tuan Phan, Chance Kornuth and the 2010 world champion of poker Jonathan Duhamel.

Finishing fifth overall and gobbling up most of the attention today was Phil Ivey.

The man many believe to be the greatest poker player alive made his return to US tournament poker today, not having played an event since Black Friday.

Ivey has made nine final tables on the WPT and won this event back in 2008 for over $1.5 million.

By the end of the night Ivey had quietly stacked 116,300.

Jon Duhamel held the chip lead for much of the day but topped out right around the 100k mark headed in the second day of play.

Click here for the official end of day chip counts!

The field today was absolutely stacked with big names, as expected for one of the biggest stops on the World Poker Tour schedule.

523 players have bought in so far but with registration open until 12pm tomorrow, we should see that number go up.

Phil Ivey plays his first US tournament since Black Friday.

It’s very unlikely we’ll reach the 681 who played this event last year, but with $9,600 of every player’s buy-in going to the prize pool, we’ve already got over $5 million in the pot.

The Loser List

We lost 128 players today, among them some of the most successful players in the game.

Daniel Negreanu barely made it through the first level of the day, sitting at the feature table with Kathy Liebert, Jason Somerville and David “The Dragon” Pham.

Kid Poker went broke in a classic cooler situation, set-under-set to the Dragon.

Liebert made it much deeper but busted just a few minutes from the end of the night, losing a race with big slick against pocket queens all-in preflop.

Former WPT winner ElkY Grospellier also went broke, along with Canadian Xuan Liu in a double elimination by Amit Makhija.

Scott Clements, Vanessa Selbst, Luis Velador, McLean Karr and Olivier Busquet were also busted.

Action begins tomorrow at 12pm at the Commerce Casino and we’ll be on the scene all day long. Hit us back then for more live coverage and check back later for the official chip counts.

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Makhija Up, Liu and ElkY Out! - LAPC

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

We're approaching the end of Day 1 and the board is telling us that just under 400 players are still standing. That's down from the 522 that have bought in so far.

Xuan Liu and ElkY are among the over 100 players that have hit the rail so far, both sent packing in the same hand by Amit Makhija.

Liu was absolutely crippled in the previous hand, left with less than one big blind. Makhija had flopped top set with the money going in on the river. Liu just mucked when she saw the set.

The next hand was a multi-way pot that saw big action between Makhija and Grospellier.

ElkY was driving the action on a board of 7-4-2-4 and the money went in with the Frenchman holding 4-5, out-kicked by Makhija's A-4.

Liu was drawing dead with Q-3.

Makhija is now on roughly 50,000.

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Hellmuth in the House - LAPC

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

Phil Hellmuth has arrived, late as always.

And even though he didn't have much in the way of fanfare planned for his entrance, he got a little help from two Royal Flush Girls who walked him to his seat.

The former world champion and 11-time WSOP bracelet winner has never won a WPT event, despite making numerous final tables.

What we do know is that Hellmuth looks very pleased with himself (picture right).

Here are a few quick shots of his entrance. We love how unglamourous he looks waiting to buy in.

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Busts, Doubles, Counts and More - LAPC

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

The intensity level has been high since the first hand here at the LAPC but this past level it's been ratcheted up another couple of notches.

A handful of players have broken the 80k mark, Jon Duhamel and Shaun Deeb among them, while a growing number of big-name pros now find themselves on the rail.

We've got the essentials below.

Duhamel Can't Stop Winning

Jon Duhamel is on a major heater so far this year and currently sits in 7th on the 2012 live tournament money list.

He’s made over $1.2 million in the last month and a half, including a runner-up finish in the $5k event last night here at the LAPC.

Duhamel can’t seem to stop and is now leading the 450 or so players left in this tournament.

He’s got 85,000, edging out David Baker and Shaun Deeb for the lead.

The Bear Bites Back

Barry Greenstein made it to the last break on fumes but was rewarded with a key double-up moments ago.

We arrived to see Greenstein in the cut-off, embroiled in a pot with the player on the button.

The money went in on the turn with the board reading K-K-2-6. Greenstein flipped pocket deuces for the boat while his opponent tabled K-J for trips.

The river was a brick and Greenstein doubles to around 18k.

The Eliminati

While players like Jon Duhamel and Barry Greenstein are feeling the warm embrace of lady luck, others haven’t been so lucky.

Vanessa Selbst, who beat Duhamel heads-up last night to win the $5k event, is among the busted.

She got it in with top pair and a flush draw but couldn’t get there against an overpair.

Also out is Mohsin Charania, who got it in good with kings against queens but couldn’t dodge a queen on the flop.

Joining Selbst and Charania on their way out the door are Andy Frankenberger, Jason Koon, Alex Outhread, and actor Kirk Acevedo.

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Ivey-Watch 2012 Begins - LAPC

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

Making his first US tournament appearance since Black Friday, Phil Ivey is quietly making moves in one corner of the Commerce Casino tournament room.

The tables around Ivey are littered with big-name pros like Mike Matusow and David Williams, but they might as well be empty. Everyone's focus is on Ivey.

During our last trip to his table we were treated to an Ivey all-in that brought his chip count up to nearly 36,000.

We arrived as the preflop action was closing and it looked like Ivey three-bet from the button after a raise and call in front of him.

The flop rolled out A♣ 7♥ 5♠ and David Miscikowski led out for 1,500. The player in the hijack made it 3,600 and Ivey bumped it to 7,500.

Miscikowski folded but the hijack called, making way for the J♣ on the turn.

The hijack checked and Ivey immediately moved all-in for 13,825. His opponent went into the tank, deep, and eventually TD Matt Savage had to be called over to enforce a one-minute countdown.

Before the minute was up Ivey's opponent's cards went in the muck and he was free to scoop up the sizeable pot.

Check out these photos we shot during the countdown. Stay tuned for more installments in Ivey-Watch 2012!

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Pham Bam Thank You Ma'am (Kid Poker Busts) - LAPC

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

One of the toughest tables in the room just lost one of the biggest names in the room, Daniel Negreanu.

Kid Poker was all energy this afternoon, chirping away good-naturedly with table-mates Kathy Liebert and Jason Somerville, before being struck down by a classic cooler.

Negreanu had just shipped a sizeable pot to Jason Somerville when he saw a K-6-4 rainbow flop with David Pham and a third player.

It was checked around and the 7♣ hit the turn, putting two clubs on the board.

Pham fired from the small blind and got calls from both his opponents. The A♠ on the river brought another bet from Pham, and a raise from Negreanu.

After the third player cleared out Pham moved all-in.

Negreanu had roughly 5,200 behind, which he called off after a short deliberation.

Pocket sixes for Negreanu and pocket kings for Pham mean Kid Poker is off to an early exit.

Pham, meanwhile, has close to 60,000.

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The LAPC Starts Now!

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

PokerListings.com is up and running in Los Angeles at the Commerce Casino for this year's LA Poker Classic.

Always one of the most popular stops on the World Poker Tour, the LAPC has once again succeeded in attracting the biggest names in the business.

The tournament room is quickly filling up but players will have the opportunity to register all the way up until the start of play tomorrow.

There will only be one starting day for this event, and we'll be playing five 90 minute levels before calling it this evening.

PokerListings.com will be offering summary coverage of all the action three times a day for the duration of this event.

Past LAPC champions include names like Phil Ivey, Michael Mizrachi, Gus Hansen and Antonio Esfandiari so stay tuned to see who's name is will be added to that illustrious list!

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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.