Wednesday, May 20, 2009 6:56 PM Local Time
The players took some time to themselves after coming back from their 15-minute break and have decided upon a deal. The deal was done by the players' chip counts. After each player was granted third-place money of $81,892, the remaining $175,770 was divvied up.
Jean Gaspard had the most chips in play and took the most money with $161,175. Billy "Patrolman35" Kopp took second place and $123,837. Ken "Bama" Christopher took third place and $111,097.
Christopher came into the second day with a very short stack of 13,000 chips. Because he was so short, two of his friends opted to leave the tournament and fly back to New York, not thinking that Christopher would come back from such a deficit. After a few hours of play into Day 2, Christopher contacted his friends and let them know that he was able to grind his way back up and make it into the money. His friends then told him that if he made the final table, they'd come back down and support him from the rail. At the end of the day, Christopher found himself at the final table and his friends stood true to their word by catching an early flight the next day to give Christopher all the support they could.
Kopp was the chip leader of the tournament from Day 1 and never seemed to look back. Although he was overtaken at times during the past couple days, Kopp's stack always seemed to be climbing. With solid play and never really having to show down a hand, Kopp successfully maneuvered his way to have the second most chips when play got down to three handed. He took second place money and his largest cash to date.
Gaspard was deemed the overall winner and the three players elected not to play it out for the championship ring and the $10,000 WSOP Main Event seat. Gaspard will take home these as he is crowned the champion of the 2009 Harrah's New Orleans WSOP Circuit Main Event!
Coming into the final table, Gaspard was the chip leader and the most active player at the table. He never seemed to lose a pot and no one could put a dent in his stack. It was much deserving that after holding nearly half of the chips in play when things got down to three-handed action that Gaspard would be declared the winner.
Congratulations to all the winners and especially to Jean Gaspard, the 2009 Harrah's New Orleans WSOP Circuit Champion!
We'll see you ever so soon live from the Rio in Las Vegas for the WSOP!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 6:32 PM Local Time
The players are back from break, but they've decided to take some time and talk about a possible deal.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 6:06 PM Local Time
The clock has been paused at the end of the level, and the players are taking 15.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 6:06 PM Local Time
Steven McKoy open-shoved for 130,000 and was called by Ken "Bama" Christopher. The crowd stood up and gathered around the table to witness the showdown.
[u]Showdown[/u]
McKoy:
Christopher:
The flop was huge for Christopher and really put him in the driver seat when it came
. The turn brought the
and the river was the
.
McKoy earned $63,916 for his fourth-place finish.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 5:59 PM Local Time
After a little bit of chip moving, here's how the four players stack up:
Jean Gaspard - 1,615,000
Billy Kopp - 1,040,000
Ken Christopher - 420,000
Steven McKoy - 132,000
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 5:51 PM Local Time
Steven McKoy raised from the small blind to 55,000. Once again, Jean Gaspard defended his big blind and called.
The flop came
and both players checked. After the turn brought the
, McKoy bet 70,000. Gaspard raised to 170,000 and McKoy folded. Gaspard showed
for five high and scooped the pot.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 5:30 PM Local Time
Steven McKoy completed from the small blind and then Jean Gaspard raised to 75,000. McKoy moved all in for 255,000 total and Gaspard made the call.
Gaspard held
and McKoy held
. The flop came down
and put Gaspard in the lead. With McKoy's tournament life hanging on edge, the dealer smacked the
on the turn and put him ahead with a Broadway straight. The river then fell the
and McKoy was able to double up.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 5:23 PM Local Time
Steven McKoy raised to 55,000 from the button preflop. Jean Gaspard made the call from the small blind. The big blind folded.
The first three community cards were
and both players checked. The turn brought the
and both players checked again. The river was the
and both players checked once again.
Gaspard rolled over
for a pair of queens on the river. McKoy seemed disgusted and held onto his hand for a moment, before finally mucking it.
It seems to be a reoccurring theme to have preflop raises followed by little or no action on the flop, turn, and river.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 5:13 PM Local Time
Under the gun, Jean Gaspard limped into the pot, and Ken Christopher folded his button. In the small blind, Billy Kopp put in a raise to 86,000. Steven Mckoy ducked out, while Gaspard came along for the ride.
The flop brought
. Kopp checked, Gaspard fired 90,000, and Kopp made the call.
The turn and river were
and
respectively, double pairing the board. Both players checked the last two streets. After the final table tap, Kopp exposed his
, and Prince could not beat it, sending close to 200,000 chips across the table.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 5:02 PM Local Time
Virtually nothing has changed in the last 20 minutes. The blinds are now up, but that's not really pushing the action just yet. Chips are being passed back and forth in small amounts to the players in position on any given hand, and the four remaining runners are at a stalemate for the time being. Chip counts are practically dead on what they were as of the last update. Even emcee Steve Frezer has abandoned the announcing duties for the time being.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 4:37 PM Local Time
From under the gun, Billy "Patrolman35" Kopp raised to 35,000. Jean Gaspard reraised from the small blind to 60,000. Kopp then moved all in for 460,000. Gaspard thought about things for only a few moments and then made the fold, saying, "Looks like you got aces. I'm gonna fold."
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 4:28 PM Local Time
Two players folded and then action was on Steven McKoy in the small blind. With the blinds at 8,000-16,000, McKoy put in a raise to 128,000. From the big blind, Jean Gaspard made the call.
The flop came down
and both players checked. The turn brought the
and two more checks. The river was the
and McKoy and Gaspard checked again.
Gaspard showed pocket fours to win the pot and McKoy mucked his hand.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 4:22 PM Local Time
Jean Gaspard - 1,700,000
Ken Christopher - 650,000
Billy Kopp - 480,000
Steven McKoy - 380,000
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 4:21 PM Local Time
Steven McKoy opened the betting this time, raising to 45,000 from the button. Both Jean Gaspard and Ken Christopher came along from the blinds, and it was three handed the rest of the way.
The board ran down
, with all three players checking the action on each street. Christopher was the first to show, tabling
. Both opponents mucked their cards, and the pot goes to Bama.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 4:18 PM Local Time
From the button, Ken Christopher started off with a minimum raise to 32,000. In the big blind, Steven McKoy took his time to consider before making the call.
Heads up, the flop came down
, and both players checked. Fourth street was the
. McKoy led out this time, pushing 35,000 chips forward. Christopher opted to re-raise, making the minimum increase once again to 75,000. Not to be outdone, McKoy three-bet over the top, making it 115,000 straight. That was all Christopher could take as he slipped his cards into the muck.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 4:06 PM Local Time
Under the gun, Billy Kopp put in a raise to 40,000. All the way around the table, Ken Christopher made the call from the big blind.
The board ran down
, with the two men checking it down the whole way. Christopher tabled
, and his baby flush was good enough to take down the pot.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 4:00 PM Local Time
Ken "Bama" Christopher completed from the small blind and Billy "Patrolman35" Kopp checked in the big blind. The two players checked all the way down to the river as the board was laid out
.
Chirstopher bet the minimum on the river and was called by Kopp. Kopp showed
for the winning hand and Christopher mucked.
======
In other small action, Kopp raised to 40,000 from under the gun. Jean Gaspard called from the small blind and Christopher called from the big blind.
The flop came
and everyone checked. The turn brought the
and Gaspard led for 60,000. The other two players folded and Gaspard took the pot.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 3:59 PM Local Time
We join the action on the flop, heads up in a battle of the blinds between between Ken Christopher and Billy Kopp. The first three community cards showed
, and Christopher led out with a bet of 35,000. Kopp came along, and the two men saw the turn card bring the
. Christopher kept the heat on with another 40,000 chips, which Kopp once again called.
Fifth street came the
, and both players checked. Kopp rolled over
, and it was the winner as Ken Christopher sent his cards back to the dealer face-down.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 3:46 PM Local Time
With the super short stacks out of the way, each of the four remaining players have a relatively comfortable amount of chips to play with. Still, play is especially timid right now, back to a sort of feeling-out period it seems.
We've seen just three flops since the break ended.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 3:29 PM Local Time
With the final four back in their seats, the cards are in the air once again.