Poker Tournaments

2009 40th Annual World Series of Poker

Pot-Limit Holdem/Omaha (Event 10)

Date:

Wednesday, June 03, 2009 to Friday, June 05, 2009

Buy-In:

$2,500

Prize Pool:

$1,041,900

Entrants:

453

RESULTS

CHIP COUNTS

UPDATES

POKER TWEETS

DAY:
3
2
1
PAGE:
1
2
3
4
5
6

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 02:03:04

Najib Bennani Eliminated in 2nd Place ($151,335)

Hold'em Najib Bennani opened from the button with a pot-sized raise. In the big blind, Rami Boukai reraised the pot, enough to cover his opponent. Bennani quickly called, his tournament life now squarely in the hands of the poker gods.
Showdown
Bennani:

Boukai:

The first three cards were brilliant news for the at-risk player, as he paired up on the

flop. Unfortunately for him though, the

struck the turn like a thunderbolt. Bennani was left drawing only to a ten for the straight, and the

that filled out the board was indeed not a ten. With his two pair finishing as the second-best hand, Najib Bennani becomes our 2nd-place finisher, taking home more than $150,000 but falling just short of the top prize.

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 01:53:35

Bennani Bending

After a series of small pots, Rami Boukai is really starting to squeeze his opponent. Najib Bennani is down to about 800,000, with Boukai just approaching the 2.5-million-chip mark.

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 01:49:27

The First Bite

Omaha Najib Bennani limped in from the button, and Rami Boukai raised to 100,000 from the big blind. Bennani wanted to see a flop, and he made the call. The dealer spread out

in the middle of the table. Boukai checked, and Bennani took the opportunity to fire a bet of 110,000. After just a moment, Rami Boukai put in a check-raise to 450,000, drawing a long, "Hmmmmm," from his opponent. Bennani eventually elected to let his hand go, and Rami Boukai takes the first significant pot of heads-up action. Boukai - 2,215,000 Bennani - 1,175,000

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 01:35:59

Heads Up!

With Bennani taking out Grundy, the two remaining players will begin heads-up virtually even in chips. It looks like Bennani has just a sliver of an edge with 1,750,000 to Rami Boukai's 1,650,000

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 01:33:43

Ben Grundy Eliminated in 3rd Place ($99,574)

Omaha Najib Bennani opened from the button with a raise to 125,000. In the small blind, Ben Grundy reraised the pot, making it 425,000 to play and leaving himself with just 40,000 funny money behind. Rami Boukai quickly folded his big blind, but Bennani would take his time to think things through. After about a minute-long stare-down, Bennani told Grundy he was putting him all in, and Grundy stuck the rest of his stack into the middle.
Showdown
Bennani:

Grundy:

The flop was pretty safe and sound for the at-risk Grundy, coming

. Bennani picked up a lot of outs when the turn card brought the

though, and Grundy stood to sweat what would end up being his final card of the night. The

spiked the river, drawing a huge cheer from the relatively small Bennani cheerleading squad. Grundy's dry aces got run down by Bennani's two pair, and the Brit has been eliminated in 3rd place. For his efforts over the past three days, he'll walk away with just less than $100,000. Not too shabby, but judging by the look on his face, not the result he was hoping for tonight.

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 01:20:19

No Walking

It's getting comical now. On the first orbit of this PLO round, Grundy got another walk in the big blind. He flashed

plus another paint card -- it looked like a queen -- as he added one more small blind to his stack.

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 01:17:43

Grundy Has to Let Go

Omaha Najib Bennani folded his button, and Ben Grundy raised to 180,000 from the small blind. After a moment, Rami Boukai reraised it up to 540,000 from the big, sending Grundy into the tank. After some careful consideration, and a few sideways glances across the table, Grundy let his hand go, choosing to save his 525,000 chips for a better spot.

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 01:13:56

Checks!

Rami Boukai - 1,550,000 Najib Bennani - 975,000 Ben Grundy - 795,000

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 01:13:17

Grundy Getting Walked On

Hold'em From the button, Rami Boukai peeked at his two cards and quickly folded. In the small blind, Najib Bennani followed suit, giving Ben Grundy a walk in the big blind. It's not often you're upset to snag some free chips, but Grundy couldn't have been happy to look down at

as he slid them across the felt face-up. "That should steam you now," quipped Boukai, drawing a chuckle from the table. It was good to see the stale mood broken just a bit with that comment, as the players have been all too serious for several hours now. ----- Two orbits later, Grundy got yet another walk. "Oh my god," he said, leaning back in his chair. "I'm not even gonna show you this time." A few hands later, he told one of his railbird friends that he had ace-king. He's still chuckling though, with no signs of steaming just yet. Let's see what happens next orbit though.

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 01:05:40

A Showdown!

Omaha Najib Bennani limped in from the button, Ben Grundy completed from the small blind, and Rami Boukai knocked the table in the big. In a friendly three-handed pot, the flop brought

. Grundy checked, and Boukai led out with a two-thirds pot bet of 100,000. Bennani called, and Grundy got out of the way. The turn and river came

and

respectively, with the two players check-checking on both streets. Bennani tabled

, and his set of tens was good enough to win the pot on a scary looking board.

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 00:53:21

Play Resumes

Cards are back in the air.

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 00:44:44

Updated Chip Counts

Here's what our remaining trio will have when they return from the break: Rami Boukai -- 1,465,000 Najib Bennani -- 1,095,000 Ben Grundy -- 875,000

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 00:32:00

Break Time

The relatively uneventful Level 27 has finally come to a close. Players are now taking a 20-minute break.

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 00:18:00

Short-Handed, Short Hands

Omaha Players continue to play cautiously, with few hands going beyond the flop (if that far). Just now we thought something big might be brewing as Rami Boukai raised to 110,000 from the button, and Ben Grundy reraised pot from the big blind. Boukai thought about it, but let it go. Grundy showed

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 00:11:00

Moving Chips

Rami Boukai has pushed back out into the lead now with about 1.6 million. Najib Bennani has 1.1 million, and Ben Grundy is the short stack with 700,000.

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 00:01:00

Tightening Up

Najib Bennani held a big advantage for a good while, but they have pulled back close to even now. Rami Boukai has 1.25 million, Bennani has 1.15 million, and Grundy 1.05 million.

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 23:56:19

Boukai Gets Flush, Doubles Up

Hold'em Rami Boukai limped in the small blind, and Najib Bennani checked from the BB. The flop came

. Boukai bet 60,000, Bennani raised to 200,000, and Boukai reraised all in. Bennani made the call. Boukai showed

for the flush draw, and Bennani

for top pair. The turn was the

, and Boukai was down to one card. The river brought the

and his flush, and he doubled up to 1.25 million. Bennani slips to 1.15 million.

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 23:44:51

Grundy Doubles Through Boukai

Omaha Rami Boukai raised to 200,000 from the button, and Ben Grundy reraised to 460,000 from the big blind, leaving himself 65,000. Boukai went ahead and reraised to put Grundy all in, and Grundy called. Grundy

Boukai

The board came

, and Grundy doubles up to 950,000. Now Boukai is the short stack with 625,000. Meanwhile Najib Bennani has the big advantage right now with 1.95 million.

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 23:36:33

We're Back

Cards are in the air.

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 23:28:28

A Quick One

The three remaining players are taking a quick five-minute break before we move to the next level.