Fri, 20 Jun 2008 22:42:10 -0700
Congratulations to Mike Rocco, Champion of Event #35 ($135,753)
Mike Rocco is the champion of Event #35 - $1,500 Seven Card Stud. He was, by far, the most emotional of the champions in the events that this reporter has covered thus far in the the 2008 World Series of Poker. He screamed, "Yes!" several times, both after crippling Barbieri and then eliminating him. He pumped his fist and flexed while screaming, then got hugs from several supporters and was in tears while on the phone with other supporters.
In addition to the champion's gold bracelet, which is already on Rocco's wrist, Rocco will collect $135,753 from the cage when he is done posing for photographs. Congratulations to Mike Rocco.
Fri, 20 Jun 2008 22:38:39 -0700
Al "Sugar Bear" Barbieri Eliminated in 2nd Place ($83,210); Mike Rocco Wins Event #35
It's not looking good for Al "Sugar Bear" Barbieri. He led the betting on every street to the river after starting with the
against Mike Rocco's
. The boards came:
Barbieri:
Rocco:
Barbieri bet the river dark. Rocco squeezed, then quickly raised. Barbieri had no choice but to call. Rocco showed a seven-high straight.
On the very next hand, the fifth hand since Barbieri made his prediction, Barbieri was all in on third street. He made a pair of threes on sixth street, but Rocco made a pair of kings on seventh. Barbieri squeezed his river card and couldn't come up with anything else.
He is eliminated in second place and collects $83,210.
Fri, 20 Jun 2008 22:32:23 -0700
Al's Crystal Ball
Al Barbieri has returned from the break, apparently back to his old good-natured form. As they sit back down, Sugar Bear makes his latest prediction:
"If you don't get me in 15 hands, we're gonna be here a while. Fifteen, Mike. You gotta get me in 15. Count 'em."
Fri, 20 Jun 2008 22:24:27 -0700
Play Resumes
The cards are in the air once again.
Fri, 20 Jun 2008 22:18:04 -0700
Updated Chip Counts
Mike Rocco - 883,000
Al "Sugar Bear" Barbieri - 257,000
Fri, 20 Jun 2008 22:03:56 -0700
Players Are on a Break
Play will resume in 20 minutes.
Fri, 20 Jun 2008 21:57:00 -0700
Updated Chip Counts
Mike Rocco - 930,000
Al "Sugar Bear" Barbieri - 210,000
Fri, 20 Jun 2008 21:44:51 -0700
Small Ball is the Rule
Al Barbieri is now at a greater than three-to-one chip deficit to Mike Rocco, and thus has no choice but to play cautiously. That is the style of play that Rocco has been trying to dictate all along -- keeping pots small, slowly chipping down at Barbieri. It should be interesting to see how long Barbieri can play such a style before reverting to his more aggressive form.
Fri, 20 Jun 2008 21:39:28 -0700
Barbieri Looking Troubled
When we began heads up play, the atmosphere was quite jovial and friendly. The two opponents were smiling at each other, shooting each other wry glances, and generally high in spirits. They would talk about the other's play, commenting on the frequency of raises and sharing information about the cards they had been dealt. Things have changed quite a bit, at least for Al Barbieri. As his chip stack has fallen, his demeanor has dropped in equal measure.
Barbieri is looking frustrated most of the time. Gone is the laughing and joking between the players. When he is facing difficult decisions, Barbieri leans back in his chair, sighs, nervously fingers chips, and stares at his own cards. He recently removed his red sweatshirt, perhaps in the hope that it will get things going back in his direction.
Fri, 20 Jun 2008 21:33:53 -0700
Rocco is Rocking Now
Barbieri brought in showing the
and Rocco comes along with the
.
Barbieri: x-x /
/ x
Rocco: x-x /
/ x
On fourth street, Rocco checked, Barbieri bet, and Rocco called.
On fifth, Barbieri had the lead. He checked, Rocco bet, and he called. Both players checked sixth.
On seventh street, Rocco bet out. Barbieri asks, "What do you got, the nuts?" as he tossed his calling chips in.
Barbieri:
/
Rocco:
/
Rocco does indeed have "the nuts" relatively speaking. His wheel takes the pot and knocks Barbieri down to 250,000 chips.
Fri, 20 Jun 2008 21:18:14 -0700
Priorities
Despite the fact that he's playing for a difference in $50,000 and a WSOP gold bracelet, Mike Rocco is still finding plenty of time to send text messages on his phone -- sometimes when the action is on him.
Fri, 20 Jun 2008 21:16:20 -0700
Updated Chip Counts
Mike Rocco - 760,000
Al Barbieri - 380,000
Fri, 20 Jun 2008 21:15:26 -0700
Tide Turning for Barbieri?
Earlier in the day, Al Barbieri could do no wrong. Now it's Mike Rocco's turn. Barbieri tanked for a long time after Rocco bet fifth street, showing
. He ultimately made the call, with his board showing
. On sixth street, Rocco caught the
. Before he could even bet, Barbieri mucked in disgust, flipping up one of his own hole cards, the
as he did so.
"Case deuce!" said Barbieri. "How do you hit the case deuce?"
Fri, 20 Jun 2008 21:03:36 -0700
Play Resumes
Cards are in the air.
Fri, 20 Jun 2008 20:54:26 -0700
Rocco Takes Two More
Mike Rocco took the last two pots leading into the break. First, he made deuces full of queens by sixth street, but Al Barbieri couldn't squeeze much out of his hand and folded to Rocco's sixth street bet.
The same thing happened the next hand, where Rocco led all streets with
. Barbieri showed
and quietly mucked after Rocco's fifth street bet.
Fri, 20 Jun 2008 20:52:31 -0700
Players Are on a Break
Play will resume in ten minutes.
Fri, 20 Jun 2008 20:52:11 -0700
Action, Please
Rocco brought in with his
, and Barbieri calls with a
in the door.
Both players check fourth and fifth streets:
Barbieri -
Rocco -
On sixth street, Barbieri grabs the
and he leads with a bet. Rocco folds quickly, and Barbieri clenches his fists. He shows his down cards:
.
Fri, 20 Jun 2008 20:40:24 -0700
Solid As a Rocco
Rocco brought it in with the
, and Barbieri raised with a
in the door. Rocco called.
Fourth street brought Rocco a
. He checked, as did Barbieri, who picked up a
.
On fifth street, Barbieri was allowed to bet with the
, only to get raised by Rocco's
. He called.
Sixth street: Barbieri checked his
, Rocco bet the
, and Barbieri goes into the tank. He fingered his chips and stared at the pot, which the dealer courteously spread out for him. After about two minutes, Barbieri made the call.
On seventh street, Rocco bet again, and Barbieri put in the call. As the cards are turned over, Barbieri sees the bad news. Rocco opens up
, having made triple queens on fourth street. He takes down another nice pot, increasing his chiplead to 250,000.
Fri, 20 Jun 2008 20:33:44 -0700
Small Ball Winning?
It's been a series of limped and checked streets on Green #10. It could be that Mike Rocco's small ball style will become the dominant style of play, as he refuses to play at Al Barbieri's speed.
Fri, 20 Jun 2008 20:26:53 -0700
The World According to Sugar Bear
After a recent pot in which Al Barbieri lost the chip lead, he started jawing with Mike Rocco a little bit. On the next hand, Rocco brought it in for 3,000.
"When you limp," Barbieri said to Rocco, "there will be no pots. I do all the raising."
"Small ball," replied Rocco.
Barbieri shook his head. "If I win, it will be over in two hours. If you win it's gonna take six."
