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:
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7
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5
4
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2b
2a
1d
1c
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PAGE:
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Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:50:22

Ian Tavelli Eliminated in 17th Place ($500,557)

Ian Tavelli raised to 450,000 from UTG and was met with a reraise to 1.35 million from Steven Begleiter. Tavelli made the call. The flop came down

. Tavelli checked to Begleiter, who bet 3.5 million. Tavelli moved all in for 7,705,000 and Begleiter called. Tavelli

Begleiter

The turn was the

, no help for Tavelli who needed one of the two remaining nines in the deck to keep his Main Event hopes alive. The river, however, was the

and Tavelli was eliminated in 17th place while Begleiter took down the massive pot. He now holds the chip lead with 27,890,000.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:46:46

Lamb Roasted by Smith

Speaking of that pot between Lamb and Smith... Lamb was the pre-flop aggressor with a raise to 425,000 that Smith called in position. Lamb followed through with a bet of 610,000 on the

flop. Smith called, then called another 950,000 when the turn fell

. That took the two players to the

river. Lamb checked, and then tanked when Smith bet 1.8 million. He folded after about a minute. Smith dragging the pot is what prompted the boos from Lamb's supporters.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:43:12

Around the Rail

Like many (if not all) of the players at the secondary feature table, Ben Lamb has a sizeable crowd of supporters on the rail. The difference with Lamb's supporters is that they all appear to be drinking and are starting to become loud and rambunctious. During a hand in play they are generally quiet and respectful, but in between hands they are impossible to ignore. They booed briefly when Lamb lost a pot to Jordan Smith. It almost sounded like baaaa-ing.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:41:30

Ivey Picks It Up on the Turn

Antoine Saout opened for 425,000 and Phil Ivey called. Both players checked the

flop. The turn was the

and Ivey's 600,000 bet took it down.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:37:32

Huge Double Up for Smith, Kopp Drops

Jordan Smith raised to 420,000 from under the gun, and Billy Kopp reraised to 1.5 million from the cutoff. It folded back to Smith, who pushed all in for 7.73 million total and Kopp made the call. Smith showed

and Kopp

. A big race -- with over 15 million on the line! The board ran out

, and Smith's queens held up. He survives with a stack of 15.8 million, while Kopp drops to 17.2 million.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:36:08

Cada Chips Up Through Buchman

Eric Buchman made it 425,000 to go and got two callers in Joe Cada and Jamie Robbins. All three players checked the

flop. Buchman led out for 550,000 on the

turn, Cada called and Robbins folded. The river was the

and Buchman called Cada's 855,000 bet. Cada showed

for middle pair, top kicker, Buchman mucked, and Cada took the pot.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:31:58

Calderaro Surrenders to Shulman's Pressure

Jeff Shulman raised to 450,000 from the hijack position, and got a caller in James Calderaro from the button. The blinds folded, and the flop came

. Shulman continued with a bet of 750,000, and Calderaro made the call. The turn brought the

. This time Shulman bet 1.1 million, and Calderaro tossed it in. Shulman is up to 9 million, while Calderaro is now one of the tourney's short stacks with 3.36 million.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:27:48

Kopp's in Charge

Billy Kopp was in the big blind to start a hand that wound up as a three-way flop. He was the second player to call Kevin Schaffel's raise from middle position to 425,000. Darvin Moon, sitting with the button, was the first. All three men checked a non-threatening flop of

. When the turn paired jacks,

, Kopp took control of the situation by betting 760,000. Only Schaffel called. The river was the

. Kopp continued his charge by firing out a bet of 2.6 million. That was too much for Schaffel. He folded.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:25:26

Akenhead Folds to Robbins' Reraise

James Akenhead opened for 420,000, Jamie Robbins reraised to 1,120,000 from the button. Akenhead folded and Robbins took the pot.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:21:53

Game of Chicken Goes to Schaffel

The pressure bet is one of the greatest weapons in a poker player's arsenal. Kevin Schaffel just used it to great effect. Schaffel opened the preflop action to 425,000. Jeff Shulman had the button and reraised to 1.4 million. Darvin Moon, with plenty of chips to burn, called that raise from the small blind, bringing the action back to Schaffel. Schaffel weighed his options before reraising to 5.8 million total. That was the pressure bet of the hand, inducing folds from Shulman and Moon. Schaffel now has 13.6 million chips.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:20:43

The Silence of the Lamb

Billy Kopp opened with a minimum raise to 320,000 from middle position, and Ben Lamb reraised from the cutoff to one million. It folded around and Kopp made the call. The flop came

, and both players checked. The turn brought the

. Kopp pushed out a bet of 1.75 million, and Lamb responded by announcing he was all in. Kopp looked over at Lamb, who sat quietly awaiting Kopp's action. Finally Kopp let it go. Kopp has 23.25 million, and Lamb 7.6 million.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:18:32

For the Ivey Fans

Phil Ivey made it 420,000 to go and Steve Begleiter called from late position. The flop came down

and Ivey led out for 600,000. Begleiter made the call and they went to the turn which fell the

. Both players checked the

on the river as well. Begleiter showed

for busted straight and flush draws. Ivey turned up

and took down the pot to a raucous chorus of "Ivey, Ivey, Ivey!" He's back up to 6.8 million.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:10:53

Andrew Lichtenberger Eliminated in 18th Place ($500,557)

Andrew "LuckyChewy" Lichtenberger wasn't lucky enough to ride his deep run in the Main Event into a berth in the November Nine. He opened his last pot preflop for 400,000 and was called by Darvin Moon in position. The flop was all small cards,

. Lichtenberger had to act first and bet 680,000 chips. Moon raised that bet to 1.5 million, then called when Lichtenberger moved all in! Lichtenberger:

Moon:

Lichtenberger was drawing at the last two jacks in the deck. Neither the turn

nor the river

was one of them. He's out in 18th place. Moon is now up to almost 25 million chips.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:09:15

Begleiter Keeps Climbing

Steven Begleiter opened for 425,000 from UTG, Eric Buchman reraised to 1,150,000, and Begleiter came back over the top for 3,000,000 total. It was enough to get Buchman to fold and Begleiter took down yet another pot, taking his stack up to 19.7 million.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:06:27

Begleiter Wins Kicker War with Maimone

Steven Begleiter opened for 425,000 and Nick Maimone called from the small blind. The flop came down

and both players checked. The turn was the

and Maimone led for 400,000. Begleiter called. The river was the

. Maimone bet 800,000 and Begleiter called. Maimone showed

for top pair, but Begleiter had him out-kicked with

. Begleiter won the pot, taking his stack up to 18,000,000. Maimone was left with 10,000,000.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:53:36

Akenhead Squeezes Out Begleiter, Saout

Steven Begleiter made it 400,000 to go from the cutoff and Antoine Saout called on the button before James Akenhead came in with a reraise to 1,460,000. Both players folded and Akenhead took it down. He's up to 8 million in chips.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:52:15

One Bet Wins It for Smith

Every pot, from here to the final table, will be carefully and cautiously contested. Billy Kopp, with the weight of his tournament-leading stack behind him, will be trying to control the flow as much as he can. He opened a recent pot to 375,000 preflop and was called by Ben Lamb on the button and Jordan Smith in the big blind. All three players quietly cheched an all-middle-card flop of

. The turn fell

and brought a bet of 700,000 from Smith, the first player to act. That bet folded both of Smith's opponents, enabling him to drag the pot.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:49:51

Lamb Takes Blinds Battle

Over on the secondary feature table, all folded around to Ben Lamb who raised to 410,000 from the small blind, and Kevin Schaffel called from the big blind. The flop came

. Lamb promptly fired out 500,000, and Schaffel didn't waste much time letting it go. Lamb has 5.65 million, and Schaffel 11.7 million.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:41:21

Re-Draw to Two Tables

Our 18 remaining players are seated and ready to go. Here's a look at the new lineups:
Main Feature Table

Phil Ivey
Ian Tavelli
Steve Begleiter
Antoine Saout
James Akenhead
Eric Buchman
Joe Cada
Jamie Robbins
Nick Maimone
Secondary Feature Table

Ben Lamb
Kevin Schaffel
Jordan Smith
Andrew Lichtenberger
Jeff Shulman
Darvin Moon
James Calderaro
Billy Kopp
Ludovic Lacay

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:33:43

Action Paused

The clock has been pause while our final 18 re-draw for seats on two tables.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:30:25

Cada Takes a Huge Pot from Shulman

Jeff Shulman opened for 420,000, Joe Cada raised to 1,200,000 and Shulman called. The flop was

. Cada checked, Shulman bet 1.4 million and Cada called. The turn was the

and Cada checked again. Shulman checked behind. The river fell the

and Cada led out for 2 million. Shulman tanked for about two minutes before laying his hand down. Cada dragged the massive pot and is up to 9.3 million. Shulman fell to 7.4 million.