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
Wed, 15 Jul 2009 20:46:46
Phil Ivey Starts Strong
Phil Ivey opened for 675,000 and Joe Cada called.
The flop was 
. Cada checked, Ivey bet 800,000 and Cada called. The turn came the 
and Cada checked again. Ivey bet 1.7 million, Cada folded and Ivey raked in the pot.
He's up to 9,030,000.
Wed, 15 Jul 2009 20:45:50
Shulman Never Fires
Jeff Shulman raised to 750,000 from under the gun on the second hand after the dinner break. Action folded to Jordan Smith in the big blind. He was the only caller.
The action checked all the way down on a board of 
. Shulman showed down 
to collect the pot.
Wed, 15 Jul 2009 20:41:15
Shuffle Up and Deal
Cards are back in the air.
Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:17:00
Secondary Featured Table Dinner Break Chip Counts
Secondary Featured Table Dinner Break Chip Counts
Ben Lamb 5,200,000
Kevin Schaffel 10,630,000
Jordan Smith 18,840,000
OPEN
Jeff Shulman 15,500,000
Darvin Moon 23,800,000
James Calderaro 5,000,000
Billy Kopp 13,500,000
OPEN
Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:15:30
Main Featured Table Dinner Break Chip Counts
Phil Ivey 7,325,000
OPEN
Steven Begleiter 27,260,000
Antoine Saout 12,420,000
James Akenhead 5,090,000
Eric Buchman 28,670,000
Joe Cada 19,465,000
Jamie Robbins 1,340,000
OPEN
Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:11:36
Dinner Time!
With the crowd still chattering away about the miraculous double-up of James Akenhead, we are off to dinner. See you in 90 minutes.
Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:11:23
Akenhead Cracks Robbins' Aces to Double Up
Jamie Robbins raised to 530,000, James Akenhead moved all in for 2,390,000 and Robbins made the call.
Akenhead 
Robbins 
Boom! The flop came down 
, the room going absolutely bezerk as Akenhead flopped two pair. The turn was the , the river was the and Akenhead's cheering section exploded, high-fiving their man as he earned a much-needed double-up to 5.09 million.
With that, we're on a ninety-minute dinner break.
Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:05:58
Ivey With the Three-Bet
Joe Cada opened for 500,000 from the cutoff, Phil Ivey reraised to 1.5 million from the small blind, Cada folded and Ivey won the pot. He's up to 7.2 million.
Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:02:37
Button Reraise Works for Cada
Steven Begleiter made it 525,000 to go from UTG, Joe Cada reraised to 1,500,000 from the button. Begleiter couldn't make the call and Cada took it down.
Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:00:07
Smith Fills on the River
A lucky river card saved Jordan Smith more than 1 million chips. He raised preflop to 525,000 and was called by James Calderaro. Calderaro cheked the 
flop, then called a bet of 650,000. Both men checked the turn after it fell 
. The river was a seeming blank, the 
. Again Calderaro checked. But on this street, Smith did not check behind. Instead he bet 1.75 million. Calderaro called, then mucked when he saw that the river had hit Smith hard, giving him a full house with 
.
Smith is up to 16.3 million. Calderaro is one of the shortest stacks with 3.6 million.
Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:56:12
Ivey Chipping Up
Phil Ivey opened for 525,000 and Eric Buchman called from the big blind.
The flop was . Buchman checked to Ivey, who bet 700,000. Buchman folded and Ivey won the pot.
Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:53:00
Lamb Over Moon
Haven't seen many hands go past the flop over on the secondary feature table for the last short while -- not since that Ben Lamb double up through Jeff Shulman. That hasn't stopped Lamb's cheering section from making themselves heard whenever their hero wins a hand, no matter how small the pot is, relatively speaking.
Just now Darvin Moon opened with a raise to 700,000 from middle position, and it folded around to Ben Lamb who called from the blinds.
The flop came , and both players checked. The turn was the . This time Lamb led out with a bet of 730,000, and Moon folded to the shouts of "Ben-ba!"
That pot pushes Lamb to about 5.45 million with fifteen minutes to go before the break.
Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:52:30
Two in a Row for Begleiter
Eric Buchman raised to 550,000 and Steven Begleiter called from the small blind.
Begleiter led out for 1.1 million on the 
flop. Buchman folded and Begleiter won the pot.
Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:49:55
Begleiter Runner-Runners Two Pair
Jamie Robbins raised to 530,000 from the button and Steven Begleiter called from the big blind.
The flop came down 
. Both players checked. The turn was the 
. Check-check again. The 
hit the river and Begleiter led for 750,000. Robbins made the call.
Begleiter showed 
for two pair and Robbins mucked.
Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:45:13
Antoine Saout Doubles Through James Akenhead
Antoine Saout raised to 550,000 from the cutoff, James Akenhead reraised from the button, Saout moved all in for 5,705,000 and Akenhead called.
Saout 
Akenhead 
The board ran out 
and Saout doubled to 13,020,000. Akenhead was left with 2.6 million.
Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:37:02
Buchman Chips Away at Saout
Eric Buchman raised to 550,000 and Antoine Saout made the call from the small blind.
The flop was 
. Saout checked to Buchman, who bet 800,000. Saout folded and Buchman won the pot.
Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:30:46
The Bracelet Awaits
Of the remaining 14 players, Phil Ivey is, of course, the most decorated with his seven WSOP bracelets, two of which he won earlier this summer in Event No. 8 ($2,500 No Limit 2-7 Draw) and Event No. 25 ($2,500 Omaha/Seven Card Stud Hi-Low-8 or Better).
The only other player still with chips who owns a WSOP bracelet is Jordan Smith. He won his this summer in Event No. 36, a $2,000 No-Limit Hold'em event.
Smith's name currently appears in the top half of the chip counts with his 16.5 million, while Ivey is lower down the list with 6.54 million.
Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:28:33
Ben Lamb Doubles Up
Ben Lamb's rail is ecstatic after watching their horse double up through Jeff Shulman. Shulman was the first preflop aggressor, opening the action to 700,000. Lamb was in the small blind and moved in for 1.71 million more when action passed to him. Shulman wasted little time in calling.
Lamb: 
Shulman: 
"Teeeeeeen!" shouted his fans. "Ben-ba! Ben-ba! Ben-ba!" They were even more rowdy when the flop missed Shulman, 
. The turn and river gave Lamb and his fans a shudder, but neither one improved Shulman to the best hand. He paid off the double-up, increasing Lamb's count to 4.9 million.
Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:28:27
Checkity-Check Yourself
Antoine Saout raised to 575,000 and Joe Cada called from the small blind.
The flop came down and both players checked. The turn was the 
and they checked again. The on the river was met with two more checks.
Cada's 
took it down.
Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:20:20
Robbins Folds to Cada's Shove
Joe Cada raised to 500,000 from the cutoff, Jamie Robbins three-bet to 1,700,000 from the button and Cada responded with a four-bet shove. Robbins insta-folded and Cada won the pot.
Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:16:10
Smith and Shulman Choppin' Broccoli
There are fourteen players left in the tournament now. Each successive elimination ratchets up the pressure another notch as the player contend for the final table. Even chopped pots have their share of drama.
Jeff Shulman opened the pot for 600,000 preflop from under the gun and was called only by big blind Jordan Smith. On a flop of , Smith check-called another 1 million chips from Shulman.
Both players checked the turn. At the 
river, Smith checked a third time, then called again when Shulman made what looked like a value bet of 750,000. Shulman showed down 
for two pair, jacks and queens. Smith had the same hand, , and so the pot was chopped.
