Horseshoe Hammond - Live Updates

Thomas Koral raises to $100,000 and Steve Billirakis puts him all-in in the big blind. Koral thinks for a minute or two before removing his sunglasses and announcing, "I call."

Koral has 9♥ 9♦ and is ahead of MrSmokey1's A♦ 8♠, but as the pro-Billirakis crowd screams its encouragement the dealer burns and turns, producing a flop that comes J♦ 8♦ 4♦ and giving Billirakis a pair and a flush draw.

Any diamond will do for the youngest-ever WSOP bracelet-winner and the turn is the Q♦, giving him the flush while giving Koral the slim odds for a straight flush. TommyBoy83 needs the T♦ to double up, but the river card is the 9♠ and the flush stands, giving Billirakis the pot and the tournament.

For the win, Billirakis earns $208,885, a WSOPC ring and an entry into the WSOP Main Event in 2009 to go along with his new title as youngest-ever WSOP Circuit event winner.

Meanwhile, Koral takes $126,120 for his second place finish.

We've ragged a lot on the city of Hammond during this tournament, but in all seriousness the folks here at the Horseshoe have a lot to be proud of for this tournament. The structure was amazing, the venue one of the best on the tour and the staff among the best in the business. Congrats to all involved and especially our champion!

 

Steve Billirakis raises to $100,000 and Thomas Koral makes the call. The flop comes 9♠ 5♥ 3♦ and Koral checks to Billirakis, who checks behind. The turn is the 9♥ and Koral again checks to MrSmokey1, who this time bets $145,000. Koral makes the call and the river is the 7♦. Koral checks a third time and Smokey fires out $285,000. After some thought, "TommyBoy83" lays it down and Billirakis takes the pot, much to the delight of his multitudinous and well-lubricated cheering squad.

Steve Billirakis raises to $78,000 from the button and Gary Leibovitz moves all-in for $335,000 more from the big blind. Billirakis gives the matter some thought before deciding he's in and making the call, turning up K♥ J♥. Leibovitz is racing with 6♠ 6♦.

The flop is a heartbreaker for Leibovitz, coming Q♥ 6♥ 2♥ and giving Sweetness the Cloven-Hoofed Set while giving MrSmokey1 the king-high flush. Leibovitz needs to pair the board to stay alive, but after the turn is the 3♣ the river is the A♥ and the hearts hold up.

Leibovitz, a self-described "terrible poker player" and "slum landlord" is out in 3rd place, earning $80,796 for his time.

We're now on a ten-minute break as the players "gather their thoughts" before starting heads-up play. Chip counts have Billirakis at $2.085 million and Koral with $1,215,000.

After shipping it all-in three times in previous hands without getting a call, Kyle Schertz moves his last $425,000 all-in from the button and, after pausing for a count, Thomas Koral moves all-in over the top from the small blind. Gary Leibovitz folds out in the big blind and Schertz turns up A♦ 7♠ to counter Koral's 9♥ 9♠.

Schertz needs an ace or a card combo to stay alive, but the board comes 7♣ 5♥ 3♦ 8♦ J♦ and, despite picking up a pair of sevens, Schertz can't match Koral's paired nines and is out in fourth place. He earns $63,060 for his time.

After an extended break after Gary Leibovitz and Kyle Schertz dawdled a bit in the steak house, the cards are back in the air after the dinner break and action continues four-handed at the final table of this World Series of Poker Circuit event.

Here are the chip counts as we return to the game:

Steve Billirakis	$1,625,000
Thomas Koral	$785,000
Gary Leibovitz	$470,000
Kyle Schertz	$420,000

Thomas Koral raises to $72,000 on the button and Gary Leibovitz makes the call from the small blind. The flop comes J♥ 8♠ 2♦ and Leibovitz checks to Koral, who makes it $80,000 to go. Leibovitz flat-calls and the turn is the K♥.

Leibovitz immediately moves all-in, putting Koral to a decision for his tournament life. It takes a few minutes, but Koral makes the call, tabling A♦ 8♦ to find himself ahead with third pair against Leibovitz' T♥ 9♥ for the open-ended straight draw and over cards.

The river card is the K♦ and the eights hold, giving Koral a double-up and knocking Leibovitz down to his last $290,000.

Thomas Koral open-shoves for $227,000 from the button and Steve Billirakis pauses to ask for a count before making, according to the tournament announcer, an "insta-call." Billirakis has A♣ 5♠, giving him two overs against Koral's 3♦ 3♠.

The flop comes T♠ 6♠ 6♣ and Billirakis picks up some outs to bust Koral. The turn is the K♠ and now Koral needs to fade aces, fives, tens and kings if he wants to stay alive. The river is the J♠ and fade them he does, doubling up to a cool half million.

Action folds around to Thomas Koral, who moves all-in from the small blind. Gary Leibovitz insta-calls for his tournament life in the big blind, tabling A♦ Q♥ to put him well ahead of Koral's K♠ Q♠. The board comes T♥ 3♠ 2♦ 3♣ 6♠ and Leibovitz doubles, bringing his stack up to about $950,000 in a remarkable comeback. Koral is down to his last $350,000.

Kyle Schertz raises to $80,000 from under the gun and Gary Leibovitz moves all-in for another $102,000 from the small blind. Action folds back to Schertz, who makes the call with a pocket pair of fives (5♥ 5♣) and finds himself behind Leibovitz' (9♣ 9♦).

The board comes J♣ 8♠ 4♠ 9♠ 8♥ and Leibovitz makes nines-full to double up once more. "Feel free to beat up on each other," he tells his rivals. "Let a terrible poker player move up another place and get to play with you guys some more."

Here are your updated chip counts as the action continues four-handed:

Seat 1	Thomas Koral	$730,000
Seat 2	George Dietz	5th Place
Seat 3	Gary Leibovitz	$270,000
Seat 4	Steve Billirakis	$1,500,000
Seat 5	Sameer Al-Dbhany	6th Place
Seat 6	Ravi Raghaven	7th Place
Seat 7	Jason DeWitt	8th Place
Seat 8	Dustin Woolf	9th Place
Seat 9	Kyle Schertz	$900,000

And the blinds are moving up as we've reached the end of the level.

Sameer Al-Dbhany open-shoves all-in for his last $115,000 and Kyle Schertz makes the call on the button. Action folds around and Al-Dbhany turns up K♥ J♦, clapping his hands when he sees he's racing against Schertz' 8♦ 8♠.

The flop is a roller coaster for Al-Dbhany, coming K♦ Q♦ 8♥ and giving Al-Dbhany top pair but Schertz the set. The turn is the A♠ and Al-Dbhnay picks up outs to draw for the Broadway Straight. He needs a ten to survive.

Miraculously, the river card is the T♠ and Al-Dbhany gets there, making Broadway on the river to double through Schertz and stay alive. We remain eight-handed at the final table.

Gary Leibovitz raises and Ravi Raghaven moves all-in over the top for his last $141,000. Action folds around and Leibovitz makes the call, turning up A♥ Q♥ and finding himself way behind Raghaven's Q♦ Q♠.

The flop comes T♣ 9♦ 2♠ and the turn is the 4♥. The river is the 4♦ and the queens hold, giving Raghaven the pot and doubling him through Leibovitz.

Gary Leibovitz open-shoves his last $142,000 all-in from under the gun and Steve Billirakis moves all-in over the top from UTG+1 to isolate. Action folds around and Leibovitz turns up K♠ Q♠, only to find himself dominated by Billirakis' A♣ Q♥.

The flop comes T♦ T♣ 3♦ and Billirakis maintains the lead. The turn is the 4♣ and Leibovitz is down to three outs - two after someone claims to have folded a king. The river is the K♥, however, giving Leibovitz the best hand and doubling him through Billirakis in dramatic fashion.

This being Sunday in Chicagoland, a lot of attention is being paid to Da Bears, who currently battle the Detroit Lions at Soldier Field just across the State Line from the Horseshoe. Luckily for all involved at this final table, a twenty-foot tall TV screen has been set up just ten feet from the table and our competitors seem to be taking advantage, yelling instructions to Sexy Rexy up on the screen and generally paying more attention to the game on the screen than the game on the baize.

Action folds around to a short-stacked Dustin Woolf, who moves all-in on the button. Kyle Schertz passes in the small blind but Thomas Koral makes the call in the big, tabling Q♠ 8♣ to "neverwin's" T♥ 9♦.

The flop comes K♣ J♦ 8♥ and Woolf flops an open-ended straight draw. He gets there when the T♦ comes on the turn, but the river card is the dagger 9♣, giving Koral the better straight and sending Woolf packing.

"Could I run any worse?" the Neverwin Poker namesake mutters as he heads off to collect his $21,677 ninth-place reward.

Gary Leibovitz open-shoves all-in for his last $98,000 and the action folds around to Dustin Woolf, who makes the call, tabling 6♦ 6♣ to Leibovitz' A♣ K♥. It's a race situation and Leibovitz jumps out to the lead as the flop comes A♥ K♣ J♠. The turn is the Q♣ and Woolf can chop with a ten or win with a six, but the river is the 9♦ and Leibovitz doubles through, crippling Woolf in the process.

George Dietz brings it in for a raise and Steve Billirakis and Jason DeWitt make the call. The flop comes Q♠ T♣ 4♣ and action checks to MrSmokey1, who bets out. DeWitt and Dietz get out of the way and Billirakis turns up aces as he rakes the pot.

Incidentally, the dealer at this final table is the same dealer who dealt Billirakis' winning hand in Event 1 of the 2007 World Series of Poker. 

On the first hand at the final table, George Dietz open-shoves all-in for his last $173,000. Action folds around to Dustin "neverwin" Woolf, who makes the call, turning up Q♠ Q♦ and finding himself behind Dietz' K♣ K♥.

The flop comes 4♦ 3♥ 2♦ and the turn makes things interesting, bringing the 6♦ and giving Woolf outs for a flush. The river, however, is the 8♠ and the kings hold, doubling up Dietz as we proceed...

It's final table time at the 2008 World Series of Poker Circuit event at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana and our nine survivors are on the main stage at The Venue preparing to fight it out for that $208,885 first prize.

WSOP bracelet-holder Steve Billirakis leads the charge with $754,000 to his name, but online pros Jason DeWitt, Dustin Woolf and Thomas Koral all lurk in the leaderboard's upper echelons.

Players are just unbagging their chips and we should be ready to roll in a few minutes. Keep it locked on PokerListings.com for full and comprehensive coverage of this exciting final table!

Here are the seating positions and chip counts for the final nine:

Seat 1	Thomas Koral	$351,000
Seat 2	George Dietz	$174,000
Seat 3	Gary Leibovitz	$156,000
Seat 4	Steve Billirakis	$754,000
Seat 5	Sameer Al-Dbhany	$253,000
Seat 6	Ravi Raghaven	$213,000
Seat 7	Jason DeWitt	$651,000
Seat 8	Dustin Woolf	$491,000
Seat 9	Kyle Schertz	$325,000