Monday, March 11, 2013 10:43 PM Local Time
That's all she wrote folks! After three lengthy days of poker, 540 players have been whittled all the way down to just one. That man: Joseph McKeehen. McKeehen started the day as the chip leader, and he never gave up that title the whole day. He will be taking $174,147 home with them, along with that beautiful WSOPC Gold Ring. In addition, McKeehen will now be travelling to New Orleans in May to play in the WSOP National Championship.
We came back today with 19 players, and we lost Joseph Steur on the first hand of play today to get us down to our final two tables. From there, it didn't take us long to get down to our final ten players. To start the eliminations, we lost Thomas Sheets when his failed to catch up with the of Dennis Thurman. Here's how the stacks looked when we started the final table. You can learn a little more about the players here.
Seat | Player | Chips |
1 | Leo Walker | 335,000 |
2 | John Holley | 695,000 |
3 | Hend Matthews | 1,140,000 |
4 | Allie Prescott | 445,000 |
5 | Tony Sinishtaj | 945,000 |
6 | Ido Ashkenazi | 595,000 |
7 | Dennis Thurman | 1,240,000 |
8 | Raymond Morgan | 185,000 |
9 | Joseph McKeehen | 4,650,000 |
Just ten minutes into the final table, we lost Allie Prescott. He got all his money in preflop holding , but he was crushed by the of John Holley. The board didn't bring any miracles for Prescott, and he was the first person eliminated from the final table.
Next up was Leo Walker, who quickly followed Prescott out the door. Walker too was dominated when the money went in, with his well behind the of McKeehen. The board ran down ten-high with no diamonds, and Walker had to settle for a $20,307 pay day.
The eliminations kept coming, as Raymond Morgan was knocked out shortly after. His could not catch up to the of Dennis Thurman, as the board came out , and Morgan finished in 7th place.
John Holley was crippled when his lost to the of Tony Sinishtaj after a queen-high flop, and Sinishtaj finished him off shortly after. Holley shoved all in preflop with , and was looked up by Sinishtaj with . The board ran down , and Holley was sent packing with $33,453 in his pockets.
The lone woman at the final table, Hend Matthews, was next to go out. She was down to her last 300,000 when she shoved preflop with . She was called by McKeehen with , and it was an action flop as the dealer put the . Matthews held the lead after pairing her ten, but she had a few cards to dodge. She couldn't do that as the came on the turn. The came on the river, and Matthews went out in 5th place.
The role of bounty hunter went back to Sinishtaj when Dennis Thurman was knocked out in 4th place. The two of them got all the money in on the turn, with the board reading . Thurman had top pair with , but he was drawing dead against the of Sinishtaj. The on the river completed the board, and Thurman took home just under $60,000.
Ido Ashkenazi survived a number of all in shoves, and doubled up a couple times, before he finally succumbed in third place. Ashkenazi got his money in good preflop, holding against the of Sinishtaj. Ashkenazi stayed ahead until the river, which was the . This set the ground for our heads up battle.
While the players were quite talkative throughout the heads up battle, their play wasn't very active. About 80% of the hands didn't see a flop, as McKeehen and Sinishtaj were content with folding to each other's min-raise. It took a preflop cooler to end the tournament. The players got in a raising war preflop that saw Sinishtaj's go up against the of McKeehen. The board ran down , and that gave the title to Joseph McKeehen! Here's a breakdown of how the final table shook out.
Final Table Payouts
Place | Name | Prize |
1 | Joseph McKeehen | $174,150 |
2 | Tony Sinishtaj | $107,673 |
3 | Ido Ashkenazi | $78,659 |
4 | Dennis Thurman | $58,312 |
5 | Hend Matthews | $43,853 |
6 | John Holley | $33,453 |
7 | Raymond Morgan | $25,880 |
8 | Leo Walker | $20,307 |
9 | Allie Prescott | $16,160 |
Congratulations go out to all the final table players, but none bigger than our winner Joseph McKeehen! We will see him again in New Orleans in May for the National Championship. That does it for us here.
We hope you have enjoyed the live coverage here at Pokernews over the past few days. Be sure to tune in for our next stop, the Lodge Casino in Black Hawk Colorado, starting on Friday, March. Goodnight from New Jersey!
Monday, March 11, 2013 10:30 PM Local Time
Joseph McKeehen opened with a raise to 105,000 from the button, then Tony Sinishtaj moved to set out a column of chips to reraise to 225,000. Before Sinishtaj's chips had landed on the felt, McKeehen was already saying he was pushing all in, and Sinishtaj quickly called with what he had left behind.
McKeehen:
Sinishtaj:
The board ran out , then , then , and McKeehen's queens had held. Both players earn six-figure paydays for their finishes today, with McKeehen taking his first WSOP gold ring at the age of 21!
Joseph McKeehen | 10,800,000 | 1,350,000 |
Tony Sinishtaj | 0 | -1,350,000 |
Monday, March 11, 2013 10:21 PM Local Time
We've just seen an all-in push from Tony Sinishtaj, who now has become short-stacked enough to be looking for opportunities to get back some chips and improve his chances of competing.
Joseph McKeehen opened for 105,000 from the button, and when Tony Sinishtaj shoved in response, McKeehen quickly let his hand go.
Joseph McKeehen | 9,450,000 | 200,000 |
Tony Sinishtaj | 1,350,000 | -200,000 |
Monday, March 11, 2013 10:17 PM Local Time
Following another Tony Sinishtaj min-raise open from the button for 100,000, Joseph McKeehen called and the pair saw the flop come . McKeehen checked, Sinishtaj bet 125,000, and McKeehen called.
The turn then brought the , and McKeehen led out with a bet of 220,000 which after a bit of thought Sinishtaj called. The river was the , and again McKeehen came out firing, this time for 530,000.
Sinishtaj carved out the calling chips and after studying the situation for a few seconds exhalingly called. McKeehen quickly showed for trip deuces, and Sinishtaj flashed his hand — (two pair) — as he tossed his cards dealerward.
That hand pushed McKeehen up over 9 million chips, giving him a nearly 6-to-1 chip lead at present over Sinishtaj.
Joseph McKeehen | 9,250,000 | 1,250,000 |
Tony Sinishtaj | 1,550,000 | -1,250,000 |
Monday, March 11, 2013 10:10 PM Local Time
We just finished talking about how patient these two were playing, and that was perfectly on display in this hand.
Tony Sinishtaj raised it up to 100,000 on the button, and Joseph McKeehen made the call. The flop came down , and McKeehen led for 100,000. Sinishtaj called, and they both checked when the hit the turn. The river brought the , and McKeehen fired out 200,000 this time. Sinishtaj snap called and rolled over . McKeehen said "God I'm the worst," and tabled .
Had the two played the hand aggressively preflop, the tournament would have been over. As it is, McKeehen holds an 8 million to 2.8 million lead.
Joseph McKeehen | 8,000,000 | 320,000 |
Tony Sinishtaj | 2,800,000 | -320,000 |
Monday, March 11, 2013 10:04 PM Local Time
Following that large pot that went McKeehen's way, we've just seen nearly a dozen hands go by with nary a flop, as each player is generally taking the opportunity to raise his button and win the blinds and antes.
With the blinds 25,000/50,000, both players are plenty deep enough to remain patient as they seek opportunities to carve more substantially into each other's stacks.
Joseph McKeehen | 7,680,000 | -220,000 |
Tony Sinishtaj | 3,120,000 | 220,000 |
Monday, March 11, 2013 9:48 PM Local Time
It took about 10 hands of heads up play for us to see our first flop, but it was worth the wait, as the two tangled in a big one.
Joseph McKeehen raised it up to 105,000, and Tony Sinishtaj three bet to 240,000 for the second time in three hands. McKeehen made the call, and the flop came down . Sinishtaj led out for 275,000, and McKeehen took just a few moments to call.
The turn brought the , and Sinishtaj fired out again, this time for 335,000. McKeehen came along, and the river was the . Sinishtaj fired one more time, 625,000, and McKeehen made the call.
Sinishtaj tabled for a pair of sixes, and McKeehen rolled over for top pair on board. Sinishtaj lost a third of his chips in that hand, as he is now down to 2.9 million, while McKeehen jumps up to 7.9 million.
Joseph McKeehen | 7,900,000 | 1,430,000 |
Tony Sinishtaj | 2,900,000 | -1,430,000 |
Monday, March 11, 2013 9:39 PM Local Time
Joseph McKeehen | 6,470,000 | 0 |
Tony Sinishtaj | 4,330,000 | 0 |
Monday, March 11, 2013 9:36 PM Local Time
Just one hand before, Ido Ashkenazi had raised, Joseph McKeehen three-bet, and Ashkenazi called. The flop had brought three Broadway cards, including a king, and when Ashkenazi folded to McKeehen's flop bet, the pair were discussing what might have been.
Ashkenazi said he'd folded pocket eights while McKeehen said his hand had been , and the discussion was over what would have happened had Ashkenazi four-bet before the flop.
It appeared perhaps Ashkenazi had dodged a bullet, but on the very next hand the preflop reraising war that they were envisioning did in fact occur, although this time between Ashkenazi and Tony Sinishtaj.
Following an opening raise to 130,000 by Sinishtaj from the small blind, Ashkenazi made it 280,000 to go from a seat over, Sinishtaj pushed all in, and Ashkenazi quickly called.
Sinishtaj:
Ashkenazi:
The flop came and the turn the , and Ashkenazi was still ahead although needing to fade a number of river cards. Alas for him, the river brought the to pair Sinishtaj, and Ashkenazi's Main Event run has ended in third place.
Joseph McKeehen | 6,470,000 | 570,000 |
Ido Ashkenazi | 0 | -1,800,000 |
Monday, March 11, 2013 9:22 PM Local Time
Shortly after losing a good sized pot to Tony Sinishtaj, Joseph McKeehen got it back and a few extra. McKeehen raised it up to 140,000 in the small blind, and Sinishtaj made the call. The flop came down , and both players checked.
The turn brought the , and McKeehen fired out 150,000. Sinishtaj made the call, and the river brought the . McKeehen fired out another bet, this time 295,000, and Sinishtaj tossed the call in after a few moments of thought. McKeehen rolled over for broadway, and that was good enough to take the hand.
Sinishtaj dropped back down to 3.1 million, while McKeehen is up again to 5.9 million.
Joseph McKeehen | 5,900,000 | 750,000 |
Tony Sinishtaj | 3,100,000 | -800,000 |
Monday, March 11, 2013 9:14 PM Local Time
Following an Ido Ashkenazi button fold, Joseph McKeehen raised to 140,000 from the small blind and Tony Sinishtaj called from the big blind.
The flop came and McKeehen continued for 130,000. Sinishtaj called. The turn then brought the , and this time McKeehen checked. Sinishtaj fired 225,000 into the opening, and McKeehen called.
The river was the . McKeehen checked once more, and when Sinishtaj bet 475,000 rather quickly, McKeehen thought for a short while before folding, showing the as he did.
Afterwards Ashkenazi asked McKeehen what card he'd shown, and he noted it was ace, adding that he thought Sinishtaj had a better one. Meanwhile Sinishtaj wordlessly collected the chips.
Joseph McKeehen | 5,150,000 | -600,000 |
Tony Sinishtaj | 3,900,000 | 600,000 |
Monday, March 11, 2013 8:47 PM Local Time
The final three players have reached the end of Level 29 and are now taking a 15-minute break.
Monday, March 11, 2013 8:44 PM Local Time
Joseph McKeehen | 5,750,000 | 650,000 |
Tony Sinishtaj | 3,300,000 | -500,000 |
Ido Ashkenazi | 1,800,000 | -300,000 |
Monday, March 11, 2013 8:38 PM Local Time
Ido Ashkenazi has made a small comeback to improve his prospects somewhat as three-handed play continues. He's doubled up twice in the last couple of orbits, both times through leader Joseph McKeehen.
In the first hand, Ashkenazi open-raised all in from the button for 550,000 with and McKeehen called from the small blind with . The flop came , giving McKeehen top pair but also an open-ended straight draw to Ashkenazi.
The turn was the , and Ashkenazi was one card from being eliminated. Then the fell on the river to fill his straight and save him.
Shortly after that hand came another in which Tony Sinishtaj opened for 85,000 from the button and both of his opponents called. The flop came , and Ashkenazi led with a bet of 185,000 from the small blind. McKeehen called the bet, and after some thought Sinishtaj folded.
The turn then brought the and an all-in push for 715,000 from Ashkenazi. McKeehen spent a few moments counting out chips, then called, showing for top pair of jacks. Ashkenazi then turned over the exact hand McKeehen had had during their previous encounter — — for the same pair with a better kicker. The river was the to improve Ashkenazi further to two pair, and he collected the large pot.
Joseph McKeehen | 5,100,000 | -1,600,000 |
Ido Ashkenazi | 2,100,000 | 1,400,000 |
Monday, March 11, 2013 8:26 PM Local Time
Dennis Thurman raised it up 100,000 on the button, and Tony Sinishtaj made it 260,000 from the big blind. Thurman instantly called, and the flop came down . Sinishtaj led out for 200,000, and again, Thurman took little time before calling.
The turn brought the , and Sinishtaj moved all in after a few moments of thought. Thurman called quickly, but when he saw Sinishtaj's hand, he said "I'm drawing dead."
Sinishtaj:
Thurman:
Thurman's top pair was no good against Sinishtaj's set of kings, and to rub salt in the wound, Thurman paired his nine on the river, the .
With that hand, Sinishtaj is building a stack to rival McKeehen's as he is up to 3.8 million.
Tony Sinishtaj | 3,800,000 | 1,140,000 |
Dennis Thurman | 0 | -1,450,000 |
Monday, March 11, 2013 8:17 PM Local Time
The two big stacks have been tangling as four-handed play proceeds, as evidenced by a couple of recent hands.
In the first, Tony Sinishtaj raised to 85,000 from the cutoff, Joseph McKeehen reraised to 235,000 from the big blind, and Sinishtaj called. The flop came , and when McKeehen led for 165,000, Sinishtaj stepped aside.
The next confrontation between the pair went a little further. In that one it was McKeehen raising to 85,000 from the button, then Sinishtaj reraised to 230,000 from the small blind and McKeehen calleed.
The flop came , and Sinishtaj led for 190,000. McKeehen called. The turn brought the and another bet from Sinishtaj, this time for 230,000. McKeehen called once more.
The river was the . This time Sinishtaj slowed down and checked, and when McKeehen pushed out a tall stack of yellow (25,000) chips plus one gray (5,000) one for a bet of 455,000, Sinishtaj folded again.
Joseph McKeehen | 6,700,000 | 950,000 |
Tony Sinishtaj | 2,660,000 | -740,000 |
Monday, March 11, 2013 8:07 PM Local Time
Joseph McKeehen raised it up to 85,000, and Hend Matthews moved all in for her last 300,000. McKeehen quickly made the call when it got back to him, and like many of the all ins at this final table, it was a race.
McKeehen:
Matthews:
It was an action flop as the dealer put the . Matthews held the lead after pairing her ten, but she had a few cards to dodge. She couldn't do that as the came on the turn. She could only hope for a chop, but the provided no such help.
The last woman standing will have to settle for 5th place, while McKeehen now owns more than half the chips in play with four remaining.
Joseph McKeehen | 5,900,000 | 1,400,000 |
Hend Matthews | 0 | -625,000 |
Monday, March 11, 2013 8:01 PM Local Time
Soon after that big hand between Tony Sinishtaj and John Holley in which the latter lost most of his stack, Holley open-pushed from the button for about 400,000 and Sinishtaj was there to call him from the big blind.
Holley turned over and Sinishtaj , and when the board ran out , Sinishtaj's sixes had held. There will be no third WSOP-C gold ring for John Holley, but another deep Circuit run nonetheless.
Tony Sinishtaj | 3,400,000 | 350,000 |
John Holley | 0 | -360,000 |
Monday, March 11, 2013 7:56 PM Local Time
Someone has finally emerged from the pack following Joseph McKeehen to accumulate some chips with which to challenge the leader thanks to a huge post-flop confrontation between Tony Sinishtaj and John Holley.
The hand began with a raise to 85,000 by Sinishtaj from middle position, called by Holley in the big blind. The flop came and Holley checked. Sinishtaj made a continuation bet of 90,000, and all seemed relatively innocuous to that point. That's when Holley said he was raising all in, and all sat forward in their chairs to take a closer look.
Holley's check-raise was with a stack of about 1.8 million, which meant Sinishtaj — who had about 1.3 million behind — had a big decision to make.
"Put it all in like that with a gutshot and spades?" asked Sinishtaj. "That's not what I have," answered Holley.
Finally after some deliberation, Sinistaj made the call, turning over for top pair of queens. Holley then showed his hand — . He also had queens, but with a lesser kicker.
"I told you I wasn't on a draw," he said, adding "I wish I was, though."
The turn was the and river the , and suddenly Sinishtaj is up over 3 million while Holley has been knocked down to less than 400,000.
Tony Sinishtaj | 3,050,000 | 1,970,000 |
John Holley | 360,000 | -1,440,000 |
Monday, March 11, 2013 7:40 PM Local Time
Dennis Thurman raised it up to 140,000, and Raymond Morgan was next to act. He tanked for about 20 seconds before moving all in for just under 500,000, and when he got around to Thurman, he shrugged and made the call.
Thurman:
Morgan:
Thurman stayed out in front when the flop came . The turn brought the , and Morgan was looking for a king or a queen on the river. That card was paint, but it was the only paint card that couldn't help him: .
Thurman jumped up to 1.45 million after the hand, while Morgan will have to settle for just over $25,000.
Dennis Thurman | 1,450,000 | 210,000 |
Raymond Morgan | 0 | -375,000 |