Gulf Coast Poker Championship - Live Updates

Booyakasha!!!!1

Ship it to Bill Edler! In the biggest pot of the tournament Bill Edler has absolutely crippled his heads-up opponent, sending him to the rail on the very next hand. Edler raised from the button to $300,000 and got a call from Robbins. The flop came A♣ T♣ 2♣ and both players checked. The turn was the 6♦ and and after a check from Robbins, Edler led out for $500,000.

Robbins thinks for a long time before announcing all-in, getting an insta-call from Edler. A♠ T♠ for Wild Bill has the A♦ 7♦ of Robbins drawing dead going to the river. Fifth street is an inconsequential T♦, adding insult to injury and giving Edler the full house.

Left with only a handful of chips, Robbins was all-in and behind on the very next hand. A♥ 9♠ for Edler is out in front of the Q♦ 7♦ of Robbins and with no help to the underdog from the board this tournament is over!

Bill Edler is champion and will receive $747,615 while David Robbins takes $411,185 for his runner-up finish!

With the elimination of Hank Sitton we are ready for heads-up play. As is the custom here on the World Poker Tour the cash will be carried in by a bevy of nubile young women and laid on the table in front of our final two competitors.

Here's a look at how these two players stack up in the...er...stack department:

Seat 2	Bill Edler	$1,945,000
Seat 4	David Robbins	$3,285,000

Sitton Smashed (Third)

After an extended period of three-handed play we have finally had the second-last elimination of this tournament, paving the way to heads-up play. Hank Sitton is our third-place finisher after getting all-in behind against David Robbins and failing to suck out.

Robbins limps from the button and Sitton raises from the small blind, making it $200,000 to go. Robbins makes the call and the flop comes A♣ K♥ J♦. Sitton open-shoves for $710,000 and after a lot of time spent in the tank, repeatedly stacking and counting his chips, Robbins announces call. A♦ 9♥ for Robbins is in the lead against Sitton's A♠ 7♠ going to the turn.

There are plenty of outs for the chop and a couple for the win but after the dealer flipped up the 4♦ and the 2♦ it was all over for Hank Sitton. He will take $210,265 for his efforts.

Back-to-Back Pots for Edler

Edler limps from the small blind and David Robbins checks his option in the big blind. The flop comes J♦ 9♦ 6♦ and it's checked around. The turn brings the T♦ and once again both players check. The river is the 9♠, pairing the board. Both players opt to check it down and Edler shows the 8♦ which is good for the pot.

Edler limps from the button, Robbins limps from the small blind and Hank Sitton checks his option, taking us to yet another unraised three-way pot. The flop comes out 9♦ 8♦ 2♣ and it's checked to Bill who fires $125,000. David Robbins makes the call and Sitton gets out of the way. The turn is the 6♣ and it's checked around. The river is the T♥ and Robbins bets out $125,000. Edler then raises to $290,000 and gets a quick call. Q♥ J♠, the nut straight, for Edler is in great shape against the 7♠ 6♦ of Robbins.

Edler on the Comeback

After relinquishing the chip lead to Hank Sitton not long ago Bill Edler just took down a big pot to get back into contention. Edler limped from the button, Robbins limped from the small blind and Sitton checked in the big blind.

The flop comes down 6♣ 5♣ 5♦ and after a check from Robbins, Sitton bets out $75,000. Both other players call. The turn is the Q♣ and and it's checked around. The river is the 9♥ and Robbins checks once again. Sitton fires $250,000 and after Edler makes the call Robbins get out of the way. Sitton flashes a six for two pair but sees it's no good when Edler turns over pocket kings. With that slow-play Edler rakes in a pot of more than $800,000.

Blinds and Antes for Edler

In the last series of hands Bill Edler has been consistently raising before the flop and taking down the blinds and antes. Edler is steadily climbing back toward chip leader status.

Massive Pot for Edler

After pulling near even with Hank Sitton with the aforementioned action, Bill Edler takes down a pot of more than $1.3 million, catapulting him back into chip-leader position. Edler limps from the button and and both other players opt not to raise the pot. The flop comes Q♣ T♦ 3♥ and it's checked around. The turn card is the 4♣ and after a check from Robbins, Hank Sitton bets out $125,000 and Edler raises to $375,000.

Robbins gets out of the way and Sitton makes the call. The river is the 6♠ and Sitton leads out for $250,000. Edler tanks for some time before making the call and tabling T♣ 8♣ for second pair. "Good call," comments Sitton as he mucks his cards without showing.

Chip Counts and Seating Charts

Here are the latest counts as we head into a short 10-minute break:

Seat 2	Bill Edler	$2.15 million
Seat 4	David Robbins	$1.3 million
Seat 6	Hank Sitton	$1.6 million

 

Changing Gears

Both David Robbins and Hank Sitton have picked up the pace considerably in the last few orbits and have seen each of their stacks grow as a result. Robbins began open-shoving repeatedly while Sitton is making relatively standard raises, both picking up the blinds and antes in the process.

Edler takes Massive Hit

Bill Edler just had a chance to knock out one of his two remaining opponents but was unable to win a race and has instead taken a huge hit to his stack. Hank Sitton got the action started with a raise to $200,000 and Edler, next to act, re-popped to $600K. Sitton immediately announced all-in and Edler went deep into the tank to try to come to a decision.

With his hands covering his face and his head bowed to the felt, Edler made no effort to pick up a read by observing his opponent. He was deep in thought for a few minutes, after which he quietly announced call. When the cards were tabled we saw it was a coin flip with Edler's A♠ 8♥ needing to improve against pocket fours.

The flop came Q♥ T♦ 6♠, no help to the overcards, but the Q♣ on the turn gave him a few more outs for the win. Edler was looking for an ace, an eight or for the board to pair. The river did not deliver though, bringing the K♥ and doubling up Hank Sitton.

New Counts

Seat 2	Bill Edler	$1 million
Seat 4	David Robbins	$1.2 million
Seat 6	Hank Sitton	$2.05 million

 

Pot for Robbins

David Robbins has returned to the quiet inactivity which characterized his play for much of the playdown to the final table. In this hand he managed to show down the best hand after checking it all the way down with Bill Edler.

Edler completed from the small blind and Robbins checked his option. The flop came A♥ T♣ 9♦ and Bill fired out $50,000. Robbins made the call and the turn was the 3♠. Two more checks and the river brings the 6♣. Two more checks and it's time for a showdown. T-5 for Robbins is good for the pot.

Edler on the Grind

Bill Edler is commanding a lot of respect at this table and seems to be the only player doing much in the way of blind stealing. Hank Sitton and David Robbins seem to be treading water and trying to pick up a big hand to double-up with.

Blinds Increase

We've reached a new level and the blinds have gone up accordingly. $30,000/$60,000 with an ante of $5,000 is the new number that Bill Edler will be able to steal so look for some all-in confrontations to occur as the two short stacks reach critical levels.

Talkin 'bout Chip Counts

Here are the latest counts, with Wild Bill Edler leading the pack:

Seat 2	Bill Edler	$3,345,000
Seat 4	David Robbins	$1,055,000
Seat 6	Hank Sitton	$830,000

 

Bill Edler has taken control of this table in a big way after dealing John Davidson a one-two punch, crippling him in one hand and sending him to the rail shortly after.

The Crippler

This hand began when Edler limped into the pot from the small blind and Davidson checked his option in the big. The flop came A♥ 9♦ 4♦ and after a check from Bill, Davidson fired out $50,000. Edler then check-raised to $150,000 and JD made the call. The turn was the T♠ and Bill took the lead, firing $120,000 into the pot. After only a few seconds Davidson announced all-in and Edler insta-called.

A♣ T♦ for Edler is in the lead against the J♦ 7♦ of Davidson. JD is looking to hit either a diamond or an eight for the win but the 5♣ on the river seals the deal. Ship it to Bill Edler! Bill's up to $2.7 million while Davidson is dead in the water with only $65,000.

The Death Blow

Only a few hands later Davidson was on the button and called all-in after Bill Edler raised to $110,000 from under the gun. David Robbins joined the hand as well from the big blind, creating a side pot between the two players with chips still in front of them. The flop comes 9♣ 9♦ 8♦ and it's checked around. They continue to check it down and the board finishes out 4♣ K♦. Edler shows a four for bottom pair and the other two players toss their hands in the muck.

With that, John Davidson is out in 4th place, taking $163,540 along with him.

Night of the Living Chip Count

Here are the counts after the demise of John Davidson:

Seat 2	Bill Edler	$2.9 million
Seat 3	David Robbins	$1 million
Seat 6	Hank Sitton	$1.16 million

Frazin Frazzled (Fifth)

Only a short time into the evening we have two eliminations with the most recent being Mr. Tim Frazin. Frazin has an interesting story which relates to the magic eight ball he keeps with him while at the poker table. At the recent Legends of Poker Frazin decided to enter a Stud Hi-Lo tournament despite having just learned the game that day. Rumor has it that he consulted his eight ball for much of the tournament and ended up making the final table.

The eight ball was unable to help him here though, as he finds himself on the way to the rail after a run-in with current chip leader David Robbins. Robbins limped into the pot from the small blind and Frazin checked it in the big.

The flop comes J♣ 6♠ 3♥ and it's checked around. The turn is the T♣ and after a check from Robbins, Frazin announces all-in for just over $300,000. Robbins insta-calls and tables pocket kings which are miles ahead of Frazin's 8♣ 7♥. Frazin needs a nine for the gutterball straight but when the river brings the 6♥ it's all over for Tim Frazin. He receives $140,177 for his finish.

Edler vs Sitton

After the elimination of Tim Frazin in 5th, the four remaining players quickly got back down to business. In this hand Bill Edler and Hank Sitton saw a flop of 6♠ 5♥ 3♣ with Sitton checking it over to Wild Bill. Edler bet out $110,000 and was quickly check-raised to $250,000 by Sitton. Edler folded and Hank took down the pot.

Chip Counts

Here are the approximate chip counts after the latest elimination:

Seat 2	Bill Edler	$1 million
Seat 3	John Davidson	$1 million
Seat 4	David Robbins	$2 million
Seat 6	Hank Sitton	$1.2 million

 

The Captain: Victim of Mutiny (Sixth)

After taking a large hit in the first hand of the night and coughing up the blinds and antes to participate in the first orbit, Captain Tom Franklin's stack was a little closer to the felt going into what would be the last hand of his tournament.

It began with David Robbins raising from under the gun to $90,000 and when it got to Franklin he re-popped to $200K. Robbins made the call and the flop came 8♣ 5♥ 5♦. The Captain led out for $210,000 and after a lot of time in the tank, which turned out to be nothing but ACTING!, as he eventually moved all-in.

Franklin said he had to call and turned over pocket queens. Pocket aces for Robbins were in a dominating position and the Captain needed some serious help going to the turn. A king hit the felt and the crowd let out a gasp due to its paintiness. The river was another brick and with that the Captain is forced to set sail, taking a booty of $118,814 for his treasure chest. (Yes, we like to beat these jokes to death.)

Davidson All-In

On the very first hand of the night John Davidson managed to pick up the pot with an all-in move on the turn. It began with Tom Franklin opening the pot to $65,000 and getting a call from JD on the button. The flop came Q♣ J♠ T♥ and Franklin led out for $85,000. Davidson announced raise and made it $200,000 to go. The turn brought the 7♠ and after a check from Franklin, Davidson moved all-in. Franklin folded and conceded the first pot of the night to John Davidson.

As we made our first trip into the final-table room we quickly noticed that the WPT set was significantly less impressive than usual. In her introduction Linda Johnson alluded to the fact that something had happened to prevent the regular Season 6 set from making it here to Biloxi.

The new set is more of a bare-bones version with none of the flashy accoutrements we're used to here on the World Poker Tour. As you'll soon see from today's photography, there was a problem with the overhead lights which led to an interesting color tint to all the players.

The air is electric here at the Beau Rivage Hotel and Casino as fans crowd the entrance to the Magnolia Ballroom where today's final table will play out. Six poker gladiators have waded through the 256-person field to make it this far but by the end of the night only one will be able to call himself a WPT champion.

We have a mix of pros and amateurs at the table with veterans Bill Edler and Captain Tom Franklin leading the pack in the experience department. The action is scheduled to get underway in less than 30 minutes but for now feast your eyes on these chip counts and seating charts:

Seat 1	Tom Franklin	$1.04 million
Seat 2	Bill Edler	$1,005,000
Seat 3	John Davidson	$1,011,000
Seat 4	David Robbins	$727,000
Seat 5	Tim Frazin	$499,000
Seat 6	Hank Sitton	$846,000