Poker Tournaments

2009 40th Annual World Series of Poker

World Championship NL Texas Hold'em (Event 57)

Date:

Friday, July 03, 2009 to Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Buy-In:

$10,000

Prize Pool:

$61,043,600

Entrants:

6,494

RESULTS

CHIP COUNTS

UPDATES

POKER TWEETS

DAY:
8
7
6
5
4
3
2b
2a
1d
1c
1b
1a
PAGE:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 01:02:00

Day 6 Concludes

It was a long day, relatively speaking, following the two shortened days at the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event. Players played five full two-hour levels, and when play finally ended near 1 a.m., just 64 remained from the 185 who came to the Rio at noon still with chips and hopes for that $8,546,435 first prize. Among those leaving us during the first levels of play were Cole South, Chris Bjorin, John Monnette, Joe Serock, Thierry van den Berg, Blair Hinkle, Theo Tran, and long-time chip leader in this tournament, Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier. Sarne Lightman, J.C. Tran, 2005 Main Event champ Joe Hachem, and David Benyamine soon joined the parade of players marching to the rail, and when dinner time arrived just 101 players remained. As Noah Boeken, Kenny Tran, and last year's champion Peter Eastgate were eliminated, Darvin Moon, Ludovic Lacay, and Antoine Stout began moving toward the top of the leaderboard. Nichoel Peppe would go out in 75th place, leaving Leo Margets as our last woman left remaining in the field. Just before night's end, Fernando Gordo was eliminated in 65th place. Darvin Moon will be our overnight leader with nearly 10 million, followed by Billy Kopp in second and the player most everyone will be watching in third -- none other than Phil Ivey. Antonio Esfandiari is also in the top ten with 64 left, and Jeff Shulman, Tom Schneider, Dennis Phillips, Blair Rodman, Joe Sebok, and Prahlad Friedman have chips as well. Thanks for following our coverage today, and rejoin us tomorrow at noon local time when play resumes and, in the words of Tournament Director Robbie Thompson tonight when announcing our main feature table, "the dream continues."

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:53:32

Ludovic Gets Paid

Ludovic Lacay, continuing his active ways, raised to 100,000 from middle position, and got a caller in John Martin from the small blind. The flop came

, and both players checked. The turn brought the

. Martin bet 100,000, Lacay raised to 250,000, and Martin called. The river brought the

. Martin checked, and Lacay fired out 525,000. Martin tanked for a good while, then finally called. Lacay turned over

for queens full, and Martin showed

. "He finally had a hand," quipped Adam Bilzerian, referring to Lacay showing up with something there. Lacay is up to 5.8 million, and Martin has 3.2 million.

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:49:13

Saca Does Damage to Ramage

George Saca got all of his chips in the middle against Grayson Ramage following a flop of

. Saca had

for top two, while Ramage had

for the overpair. The turn was the

, improving Saca to a full house. The river brought the

, and Saca moves to 3.1 million. Ramage slips to 1 million.

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:47:35

Phillips Climbs Back Into Contention

After limping into the pot, Dennis Phillips saw Fernando Gordo put in a raise to 110,000. Phillips then reraised to 310,000, and Gordo made the call. The flop came out

, and Gordo quickly moved all in for 895,000. Phillips snap-called, and Gordo could only lower his head in acknowledgement.
Showdown
Gordo:

Phillips:

Gordo was drawing only to running queens for the win, or runner-runner for the chop. The

on the turn was nowhere in the ballpark though, ending the hand right there. A meaningless

filled out the board, and Phillips has claimed the full stack of Fernando Gordo.

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:47:09

Hamid Nourafchan Eliminated

Ludovic Lacay opened for 100,000 from middle position, Hamid Nourafchan shoved for 325,000 from the small blind and Lacay made the call. Nourafchan

Lacay

Lacay's railbirds immediately began boisterously calling for a "cinq." Lacay didn't get a "cinq" on the

flop, but he got a six on the turn. The river was the

and Lacay took down the pot, sending Nourafchan to the rial in 67th place.

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:46:06

Powell Runs Into a Crooked Kopp

From under the gun, Billy Kopp raised to 105,000. Brian Powell reraised from middle position to 400,000. Action folded back over to Kopp and he announced that he was all in, putting the pressure back on Powell. There wasn't much pressure as Powell quickly called with pocket kings --

. Kopp rolled over

. Powell began commenting on how this always happens. This type of scenario always happens to him he said, and he went to say how he always goes out in situations like this. The flop came down

. It did pair Kopp, but it was the wrong pair as he was still behind Powell's kings. The turn brought the

. Powell was still in the lead. The river was the

though, and Kopp stole the hand on the river from Powell. Kopp now has 7.9 million chips after eliminating Powell on the hand.

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:44:00

The Brice is Right

Jason Brice opened for 105,000 from early position, and it folded around to Nick Maimone in the big blind who made the call. The flop came

. Maimone checked, Brice bet 130,000, and Maimone called. The turn was the

. This time Maimone check-called Brice's bet of 175,000. The river brought the

, and both checked. Maimone showed

and Brice

. Brice took the pot with his jacks, and moves up to 2.8 million.

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:41:34

Lacay Can't Call the River

At this point, Ludovic Lacay is playing nearly every hand. In this one, he called Adam Bilzerian's UTG raise to 125,000 from the big blind, then checked the

flop. Bilzarian bet 250,000 and Lacay called. The turn came the

and Lacay check-called another 525,000. The river fell the

and Lacay checked a third time. Bilzerian moved all in for 1,695,000 and Lacay gave it up. Lacay is down to 4.5 million in chips while Bilzarian is up to 2.5 million.

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:41:32

All Aboard the Ivey Train

Gabriel Vezina started things off with a raise to 100,000 from middle position. Whether he wanted it or not, he found action from Phil Ivey in the big blind. The two men went heads up to a flop showing

, and the action went check-check. The

on the turn drew a bet of 150,000 from Ivey, and Vezina put in the call. The last card off the deck was the

. Ivey fired again, 350,000 this time, and Vezina sent his cards back to the dealer face-down. He's on 6.5 million now if you're scoring at home.

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:36:22

Ivey, Ivey, Ivey

Under the gun, Ryan Fair opened with a raise to 100,000. Three players (Phil Ivey, Blair Rodman, and Gabriel Vezina) came along with him to the flop. It showed up

, and the action checked four ways. The turn card was the

, and the first two players checked. Phil Ivey figured now was a good time for bet of 260,000, and it was good enough to win him the pot right there. From the rail: "Ivey, Ivey, Ivey" Across the rail: "Oy! Oy! Oy! Mr. Ivey is sitting on 6.2 million chips now, breathing down the neck of the chip leader.

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:35:08

Palevic Eliminated

Nick Maimone raised to 120,000, Jason Brice called from the hijack seat, and Rifat Palevic also called from the big blind. The flop came

. Palevic pushed all in, Maimone called, and Brice folded. Palevic showed

for the open-ended straight draw, and Maimone

for top pair. The turn was the

and the river the

, and Palevic is out in 69th place. Maimone is at 4.8 million.

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:31:33

A TV Hand

From the button, Tom Schneider opened with a raise to 110,000. In the small blind, Dennis Phillips announced a reraise, and he made it 310,000 to play. From the big blind, chip leader Darvin Moon four-bet it up to 675,000, drawing a quick fold from Schneider. Phillips wasn't so quick to act though, and he would think things over for several minutes. After cutting down and counting his own stack, he elected to make the call. Heads up then, the flop brought

. Phillips slowly checked, and without missing a beat, Moon continued out with a bet of 750,000. Phillips would go for a long soak in the tank this time, clearly agonizing over a difficult decision. There were periods of complete stillness alternated with periods of chit-chat, though the conversation was too soft to hear from the table. Phillips finally asked if Moon would show, and the reply was affirmative. "Really, so you'll show if I fold?" Moon nodded again. Finally, and reluctantly, Phillips open-mucked

. True to his word, Moon showed up

, drawing a big slap on the felt from Phillips. The two men shook hands and exchanged further pleasantries as the dealer pulled in the cards and pushed the pot to Moon. It was a good flat-call preflop and a good laydown thereafter that will keep Phillips alive though he's been dropped down close to 1,000,000.

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:29:10

Newman's Tournament Ends with Kings into Aces

There really wasn't much Clayton Newman could have done differently in his final hand of the 2009 Main Event. He opened for 80,000 from middle position. Action folded to George Caragiorgas int he blinds, who re-raised to 280,000. Newman quickly moved all in for about 1 million and Caragiorgas just as quickly called. Newman:

Caragiorgas:

Caragiorgas got out of his chair at the end of the table and moved to stand behind the 5-seat, to better see the board. Newman remained seated until the dealer produced a

. It was at that point that he stood up and grabbed his bag. The turn came

. "A nice legit sweat," remarkd Newman, referring to his potential to hit a spade flush. "What do you know." No flush this time; the river

sent Newman around the table to shake everyone's hands before exiting the Amazon Room.

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:27:41

Lamb Ousts Hensel

On the turn of a board reading

, Ben Lamb checked to Reed Hensel who bet. Lamb then raised all in and Hensel made the call for his last 1.2 million total. Lamb held

against Hensel's

. The turn brought the

, adding a flush draw to Lamb's hand. The river completed that flush draw when the

fell, eliminating Hensel from the tournament.

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:24:36

Flakstad Busts

Antonio Esfandiari continues his solid run after just busting another opponent at his table. This time, it was Andreas Flakstad that was the casualty. Flakstad had all of his 850,000 or so in the middle preflop holding pocket tens --

. Esfandiari held

. The board ran out

and that would be the end of Flakstad's tournament.

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:22:44

Chips for Sebok

Hung Pham limped from middle position, Joe Sebok completed from the small blind, and Montagna Corrado checked from the big blind. The flop came

, and the trio all checked. The turn was the

. Sebok bet 100,000, Corrado called, and Pham folded. The river was the

. This time Sebok bet 200,000, and Corrado made the call. Sebok turned over

for two pair, Corrado

for jacks. Sebok chips up to 1.225 million after that one.

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:20:04

Jordan Smith Doubles Through Joseph Cada

Jordan Smith open-shoved for his remaining 655,000 from the hijack and Joseph Cada made the call from the small blind. Smith

Cada

The queens held for Smith and he doubled his stack to 1,390,000. Cada was still healthily stacked at 3,660,000.

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:14:21

Nines Serve Haabak, Nourafchan Crippled

Jesse Haabak open-raised to 110,000 from the button, and it folded to Hamid Nourafchan who reraised all in from the big blind. Haabak called with his remaining chips, thereby committing a total of 1.62 million to the hand. Nourafchan showed

, and Haabak

. The board ran out

, and Haabak's nines were good. He's up close to 3.3 million now, while Nourafchan is suddenly on life support with just 65,000.

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:12:52

Lacay Can't Bluff Saout

Antoine Saout opened for 110,000 from middle position, Ludovic Lacay reraised to 325,000 and Saout made the call. Saout checked the

flop over to Lacay, who bet 425,000. Saout made the call. Both players checked the

on the turn. Saout checked again when the

hit the river. Lacay bet 550,000 and Saout looked him up. "Nothing," said Lacay, who insta-mucked. Saout showed

and picked up the pot, taking his stack up to 5,800,000. Lacay slipped to 5,500,000.

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:11:21

Musical Chairs

The main featured table was next on the breaking order, so we've rotated to a new set of faces. Here's how the TV table looks now:
Darvin Moon
Scott Cook
Christopher Bach
Hieu Luu
Fernando Gordo
Scott Bohlman
Marco Mattes
Tom Schneider
Dennis Phillips

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:08:49

Prahlad Friedman Doubles

Prahlad Friedman opened for 125,000, Francois Balmigere three-bet to 375,000, Freidman moved all in for 550,000 total and Balmigere made the call. Friedman

Balmigere

Friedman's tens held on the

board, giving him a much-needed double-up to 1,300,000. Balmigere was left with 1,500,000.