Horseshoe Council Bluffs - Live Updates

Ben Hock limps and Michael Martin checks. The flop comes 10♥ 6♠ 3♥. Martin bets $23,000 and Ben Hock calls. The turn comes 7♣ and Hock checks but Martin raises $54,000. Ben Hock re-raises to $100,000.

Martin thinks for a couple of minutes and finally decides to go all-in. Hock makes the call and Martin shows him 8♥ 4♥ for the flush draw and double gut-shot straight draw. Meanwhile Hock has 10♣ 6♣ for two pair.

The entire tournament will be decided on the next card and it falls 3♣ and puts an end to Martin's first-place dreams.

Michael Martin will take home $94,263 for second place while Ben Hock wins $169,237 for first place plus a $10,000 seat into the main event.

Congratulations to everybody who took part in this year's WSOPC Horseshoe Council Bluffs.

Michael Martin is making moves early in Level 15 and it's paying off. Martin bet $32,000 pre-flop and Ben Hock called.

The flop came Q♠ 10♦ 8♠ and Hock checked. Martin raised to $48,000 and Hock called. The turn came 2♣ and Hock once again checked. Martin started positioning his chips as if he was going to go all-in and Hock preemptively folded.

Martin rakes $80,000.

The cards are once again in the air in the Whiskey Roadhouse at the Horseshoe Council Bluffs. Blinds are now $8,000/$16,000 with a $2,000 ante. Two men enter, one man leaves!*

*As the winner.

Players are enjoying a 15-minute break and when they come back they get to deal with Level 15. Yay!

Here are the chip counts:

Ben Hock: $776,000

Michael Martin: $214,000

Michael Martin is in a bad situation and he seems committed to playing defense so far. The last few hands have seen Hock and Martin limp and then check all the way to the river. Martin won two of the hands with queen-high and jack-high respectively. He's going to have to make a move soon if he wants a decent shot at winning this thing.

Ben Hock is first to act and makes it $31,000 to go. Michael Martin re-raises an additional $64,000 and Hock calls.

The flop comes 10♦ 9♠ 6♣ and Martin bets $115,000. Ben Hock announces he is all-in and Martin insta-folds. It's a huge pot for Hock and Martin is left with only $160,000. 

Michael Martin bets $30,000 from the button and Nick Manganaro goes all-in for $93,000 from the big blind. Martin makes the call and the players flip over their cards:

Martin: K♦ 5♦

Manganaro: J♣ 10♣

The board comes A♥ 9♠ 6♠ 6♥ 4♥ and local favorite Manganaro is eliminated third. He will receive $52,039 for his efforts. We are now heads-up.

Just one hand after their epic bout Ben Hock and Nick Manganaro are once again all-in against each other.

Incredibly Manganaro has Q-Q while Hock has 10♦ 10♥ again.

The pro-Manganaro crowd is postively raucous as we go to the board, which comes 8♠ 7♠ 4♣ J♥... 10♣!

The crowd gives out an exuberant cheer until they realize the spiked ten makes Hock the winner. The room then quiets to almost silence as the dealer shoves the pot toward Hock. After two roller-coaster hands Manganaro is down to approximately $80,000 and on life support against the two big stacks.

Michael Martin bets $24,000 from the button and Ben Hock limps from the small blind. Nick Manganaro decides to go all-in from the big blind and Martin folds. Hoth makes the call and the players flip over their cards:

Manganaro: K♠ K♥

Hock: 10♦ 10♣

The board comes J♥ 7♣ 5♦ 6♠ 5♥ and Manganaro doubles and puts Hock in a precarious position.

Chip leader Michael Martin has been getting numerous walks when he has the big blind and after a recent walk Bernard Lee commented, "It's good to be the king, huh?"

Martin just chuckles.

Still hurting from the big Nick Manganaro hand, Keith Murrell decides to shove from under the gun. Action is folded to Michael Martin who is on the big blind and considering a call. He asks for a count and it's approximately $25,000 more for Martin to call.

Eventually Martin opts to call and Murrell flips over A♥ K♠, which has a slight advantage over Martin's J♠ 8♣.

The board comes 10♦ 10♥ 8♦ 2♠ 9♣ and Martin's spiked eight means elimination for Murrell. Murrell finishes fifth for $33,273.

Keith Murrell and Nicholas Manganaro see a flop of 8♥ 3♥ 2♣. Murrell bets $30,000 and Manganaro shoves all-in for an additional $65,000. Murrell makes the call and the players flip over their cards:

Murrell: J♠ J♣

Manganaro: 8♠ 8♦

The board finishes 5♠ and then 6♥ and Manganaro's set of eights are good. The mostly pro-Manganaro crowd lets out a mighty roar in appreciation. Murrell takes a massive hit to his stack and Manganaro is boosted to the upper echelon of today's chip counts.

Samuel Shamburg moves all-in for his last $50,000 or so from the cut-off; Bernard Lee calls from the small blind and Ben Hock from the big.

The board of J♥ 4♦ 2♠ 10♠ 9♠ is checked all the way by Lee and Hock and the players flip over their cards:

Hock: Q-Q

Lee: A-K

Shamburg: (mucks)

Hock wins the pot and Shamburg is eliminated sixth. He will receive $28,582 for his poker-playing prowess.

Action is folded to Bernard Lee, who is in the small blind, and he decides to complete. Ben Hock checks from the big blind and action is checked all the way down on a board of 10♣ 10♥ 4♦ K♦ 8♥. Hock shows 8-2 and, to his suprise, wins the small pot.

Keith Murrell raises his usual $18,000 from the cut-off and Dan Jensen goes all-in for approximately $40,000 from the big blind. Murrell calls and flips over A♣ Q♠ while Jensen has K♥ J♦.

The board goes 8♦ 3♦ 3♣ 6♦ 4♠ and Jensen is eliminated seventh for a $23,981 payday.

Ben Hock opens for $18,000 and Dan Jensen comes back over the top for a total of $32,000. Hock announces he's all-in and pushes his entire stack into the middle. Jensen thinks for a minute before laying it down.

Bernard Lee opens for $17,500 and Ron Koenemann moves all-in for his last $24,500. Bernard Lee calls and shows a very respectable Q♠ Q♣, while Koenemann will need some help with his A♥ 6♥.

The board comes J♣ 9♦ 5♣ 8♦ 2♦ and Koenemann receives no help. He is eliminated eighth. The crowd is noticeably disappointed as Koenemann was one of today's favorites (as is local Nick Manganaro).

Koenemann will receive $19,199 for all his efforts.

After some incredibly tight play the man some refer to as "colorful" has been eliminated. Michael Martin raised $15,000 from the cut-off and Wolper, who was short-stacked, shoved all-in from the big blind. Martin made the call and the players flipped over their cards:

Martin: 3♦ 3♥

Wolper: A♦ 2♣

The flop comes K-9-4 with two spades and the board finishes 10♦ and then Q♦. Wolper is our first casualty at the final table and he will earn $14,508 for his ninth-place finish.

Ron Koenemann makes it $18,000 to go and Samuel Shamburg moves all-in. Koenemann calls almost immediately and flips over 8♣ 6♣. Koenemann meanwhile shows 10♠ 10♣.

The flops comes A-Q-7... with two clubs. Koenemann completes his flush on the turn when it comes J♣ and the river falls Q♦. Koenemann rakes the pot and is up to approximately $80,000.

We're not seeing many flops and so far Michael Martin, Keith Murrell and Ben Hock have all picked up minor pots. With 15 minutes left in the level we may have to wait until Level 13 to see some real action.

After a 30-minute delay to get the TV cameras rolling we are finally under way from the Horseshoe Council Bluffs. Only one player will be walking away with the coveted WSOPC ring.

Game on!

The biggest final table of the year is finally upon us. Ok, maybe not, but nine combatants have reconvened at Horseshoe Council Bluffs and will battle it out until one of them is WSOPC champ for this region.

Here's a look at the chip stacks as players prepare for all-out war:

Player:	Chip Count:
1. Michael Martin	$214,500
2. Bernard Lee	$155,500
3. Ben Hock	$122,000
4. Samuel Shamburg	$117,000
5. Keith Murrell	$116,500
6. Dan Jensen	$83,500
7. Nicholas Manganaro	$75,000
8. Howard Wolper	$63,000
9. Ron Koenemann	$43,000