Wednesday, April 29, 2009 9:31 PM Local Time
It took just about four hours of heads-up play, but finally Justin Bonomo has emerged as the winner of the WSOP Circuit event here at Caesars Las Vegas! It may have taken awhile, but it was all worth it in the end for Bonomo.
Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi and Bonomo battled back and forth all evening. Multiple times, one of the players would drop below one million chips, but then battle back up to get level or even take back the chip lead. Finally though, Bonomo was able to put together a nice string of wins in big pots to cripple The Grinder and then eventually finish things off in back-to-back hands.
Bonomo will take home just under $240,000 for his win, along with the gold WSOP Circuit champion ring and a $10,000 seat into the WSOP Main Event!
This wraps things up from Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Once again, congratulations to Michael Mizrachi on his finish and to Justin Bonomo on his win! We'll see you on the next stop in New Orleans.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 9:26 PM Local Time
After losing 225,000 chips to Justin Bonomo's three queens, Michael Mizrachi pushed all in preflop with
. Bonomo, who had a commanding chip lead, instantly called with
.
The flop of
didn't give Mizrachi much hope, but the
gave him a gutshot draw for the win. The river was unkind though, bringing the
and giving the title to Justin Bonomo.
Mizrachi earned $143,512 for second place, while Bonomo took home $237,692 and the Champion's ring for the victory.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 9:16 PM Local Time
Mizrachi is down to 600,000 while Bonomo now has 4.1 million.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 9:13 PM Local Time
Both players limped and saw the flop of
.
Justin Bonomo check-called Michael Mizrachi's 60,000 bet and led out for 125,000 on the turn when the
hit the board. Grinder called and the river brought the
.
When both players checked, Bonomo said "You win" and mucked his hand. Grinder showed
to take the pot.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 8:55 PM Local Time
Not much big action has happened lately, but the battle is going back and forth by a few hundred thousand. Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi just ran out of the room for a quick two-minute bathroom break.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 8:39 PM Local Time
All the money got in preflop once again.
Justin Bonomo raised to 80,000 preflop and Michael Mizrachi pushed all in. Bonomo took a long time to make his decision, saying he really didn't know what to do. Finally, he called, showing
and dominating Mizrachi's
.
When the board ran out
, Bonomo's kicker played and he scooped the pot.
Bonomo now has 2.9 million chips to Mizrachi's 1.8 million.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 8:25 PM Local Time
Heads-up play has now lasted longer than the rest of the final table action.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 8:18 PM Local Time
All the money got in preflop once again. This time, Justin Bonomo shoved with
and Michael Mizrachi called with
.
The flop of
gave Bonomo the nut flush draw, which he completed when the
hit the turn. A meaningless
on the river doubled Bonomo up and the player again have almost even stacks.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 8:12 PM Local Time
From the button, Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi raised to 100,000. Justin Bonomo elected to reraise to 300,000. Mizrachi then moved all in and Bonomo quickly called!
[u]Showdown:[/u]
Mizrachi:
Bonomo:
The ground flourished to gather around the table to witness the flop. It came
. The turn brought the
and then the river brought the
. The Grinder's railbirds clapped their hands in excitement.
Bonomo is down to under one million chips, with Mizrachi bumping himself up to 3,670,000.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 7:57 PM Local Time
The players have returned and cards are in the air.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 7:52 PM Local Time
Justin Bonomo - 2,997,000
Michael Mizrachi - 1,678,000
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 7:42 PM Local Time
The players are taking a 15-minute break.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 7:31 PM Local Time
All the money got in preflop as Justin Bonomo shoved with
and Michael Mizrachi called with
.
The flop of
gave Bonomo the nut flush draw, which he completed when the
landed on the turn. After a meaningless
on the turn, Bonomo doubled up and is now back to 2.8 million chips.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 7:24 PM Local Time
Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi just won a decent pot with pocket aces and despite chipping back up a little, Justin Bonomo is back down to 970,000.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 7:19 PM Local Time
Justin Bonomo has taken down a succession of small pots and built his chip stack back to about 1.3 million. Michael Mizrachi still has him well-covered with a stack of about 3.3 million.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 7:11 PM Local Time
Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi - 3,600,000
Justin Bonomo - 960,000
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 7:10 PM Local Time
Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi raised to 80,000 preflop and Justin Bonomo called. The flop came down
.
Bonomo bet 180,000 and Mizrachi called before the turn brought the
. Bonomo checked and The Grinder fired 360,000. Bonomo called.
The river was the
and Bonomo checked. Mizrachi moved all in for 1,250,000. Bonomo tanked and then made the call.
Mizrachi showed
for a full house and Bonomo mucked his hand. He was left with 960,000 chips.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 7:02 PM Local Time
Just when Justin Bonomo had built a commanding lead, Michael Mizrachi fought his way back.
Bonomo called Mizrachi's 150,000 bet on the board of
and, when the
fell on the river, Mizrachi bet another 500,000. Bonomo tanked for about 30 seconds before making the call. He quickly mucked his hand when Mizrachi turned over
for the king-high straight.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 6:50 PM Local Time
On a flop of
, Justin Bonomo bet 75,000 and Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi called.
The turn brought the
and Bonomo fired 120,000. The Grinder called.
The river was the
and Bonomo fired 335,000. Mizrachi made the call and then mucked after Bonomo showed his trip fours with
.
Mizrachi is now under 700,000 chips.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 6:46 PM Local Time
On the board of
, Justin Bonomo bet 240,000 and was raised to 440,000 by Michael Mizrachi from the button. After making the call, both players checked the
on the river and Bonomo showed
for two pair.