Tuesday, June 9, 2009 4:38 PM Local Time
It has been a super-fast final table! We are well under four hours of play at the time of bracelet being awarded, and consequently our winner looks amazingly fresh-faced for someone who has just won themselves a WSOP final table.
The youthful 37 year old from Hawaii was keenly railed by friends Elky, Arnaud Mattern and Eric Liu throughout her brief final table appearance, and now takes home the juicy first prize money as well as the WSOP bracelet. Not bad for what was her first live tournament.
Many congratulations to all of the final table players, and now it's back out into the Las Vegas sun for all of them to enjoy their prize money and the fabulously early finish.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009 4:32 PM Local Time
Only a couple hands into the heads up, and everything went crazy.
Lisa Hamilton limped in on the button and Lori Bender checked her option. All good, onwards to a flop.
Flop:
Bender checked to Hamilton, and then called the 100,000 bet. Again, fine.
Turn:
Bender checked again and this time Hamilton bet 300,000. Back to Bender, and she instantly announced all in for 397,000 more. Some more dwelling from Hamilton...and a call!
Hamilton:
Bender: in some hot water on
River: no help for Bender, as it is the
Thus, Lori Bender becomes the final player to bite the dust, and we have ourselves a winner.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009 4:21 PM Local Time
With play now heads up, here are the counts:
Lisa Hamilton - 2,315,000
Lori Bender - 865,000
Tuesday, June 9, 2009 4:19 PM Local Time
Mari Lou Morelli opened to 75,000 with Lori Bender making the call.
The flop fell down
and Bender lead out for 125,000. Morelli thought for a little before pushing all in for 60,000 more. "I priced myself in," commented Bender before making the call to see the cards tabled.
Bender:
Morelli:
With Morelli in the lead, she looked in great shape to double when the
fell on the turn. Needing to avoid any jack, nine, eight or six to stay alive, the unfortunate
would fall to see her exit the tournament with a $78,132 payday.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009 4:13 PM Local Time
Mari Lou Morelli pushed all in from the button and with more then half her stack committed in the big blind, Angel Pedroza slid the last of her chips into the pot.
Morelli:
Pedroza:
As the screams started to echo round, the flop of
dropped to put Morelli in the lead, but left Pedroza with outs to stay alive.
The
on the turn changed little, and needing any five, three or four to double up, the
would end Pedroza's hopes of snatching the bracelet.
As Pedroza headed to the rail, she was comforted by cheers from her rail and by the $53,940 in prize money.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009 4:09 PM Local Time
Whenever someone makes a final table, you always expect friends and family to come along and sweat them from the rail.
In the case of Lisa Hamilton, she is lucky to have one of the great poker players on her side - Bertrand 'ElkY' Grospellier.
When we had a moment, we grabbed Grospellier so that he could share with us what he knows about Hamilton.
Normally a cash game specialist, Hamilton is close friends with Grospellier and his girlfriend. Bored with cash games, she decided to take a shot at her first live tournament by buying into the Ladies World Championship.
So far so good for the Hawaiian, who is our current over-whelming chip leader with more than 70% of the chips in play.
With her sight set on the coveted bracelet and title of Ladies Champion - make sure to stay tuned to PokerNews as the action unfolds!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009 4:01 PM Local Time
As the action folded to Lisa Hamilton in the small blind, she looked down at her hand and then back to Angel Pedroza to sum up what was left of her one-time chip lead stack.
With only 10,000 behind, Hamilton put her all in and Pedroza obliged, making the call for her tournament life.
Hamilton:
Pedroza:
With the rail calling hard for a six or a seven, their wish would be granted when the board ran out
to see Pedroza double through to 78,000 in chips.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009 3:56 PM Local Time
Angel Pedroza opened the pot with an 80,000-chip raise from under the gun. With the action on Lisa Hamilton in the big blind, she bumped it up to 260,000 which prompted a fold from Pedroza.
The next hand, both players were in the blinds, and they saw a flop of
fall. Checks came from both players.
When the turn came the
, Hamilton lead for 125,000 with Pedroza making the call. The river fell the
and Hamilton splashed the pot with a bet that totalled 350,000.
Pedroza sat in the tank for over two minutes before calling, only to see Hamilton table her
for the nuts. Pedroza quickly mucked her hand.
With Pedroza now crippled on only 60,000, Hamilton soars to over 2,200,000 in chips.[url=null][/url]
Tuesday, June 9, 2009 3:44 PM Local Time
The very patient Kimberly Cunningham pushed her last 51,000 in to the middle and found a caller in Angel Pedroza from the big blind.
Cunningham:
Pedroza:
The flop of
would see Pedroza hit the lead and put Cunningham at risk.
Drawing to only the two remaining sixes in the deck, or running cards for a straight, Cunningham would see the
and
fall on the turn and river to send her to the rail in 5th place while adding $38,719 to her purse.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009 3:39 PM Local Time
Kim Rios opened with a min-raise under the gun to 40,000 with Lisa Hamilton calling in the cutoff.
On a flop of
, Rios lead out for 100,000 and Hamilton made it 350,000 to go. With the action back on Rios, she pushed all in and Hamilton made the call.
Rios:
Hamilton:
The
on the turn would leave Rios drawing dead, and with the meaningless
landing on the river, Rios was eliminated in 6th place for a payday of $29,121. Hamilton soars to 1,550,000 in chips.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009 3:35 PM Local Time
Both Lisa Rios and Mari Lou Morelli limped before Lisa Hamilton made it 110,000 out of the small blind. With the action now on Angel Pedroza in the big blind, she made it an additional 200,000 to go.
Rios and Morelli passed to see Hamilton push all in for 285,000 with Pedroza making the call.
Hamilton:
Pedroza:
The flop fell down
to see Hamilton flop a set and leave Pedroza drawing to Broadway or a runner-runner full house.
When the turn landed the
, Hamilton would have to evade the four remaining queens in the deck to stay alive, and when the
fell she doubled through to 970,000.
After her rush ends, Pedroza slips back to 530,000 in chips.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009 3:30 PM Local Time
Angel Pedroza bumped the action to 60,000 from the button with Lori Bender insta-calling out of the small blind.
Both players checked the flop of
{2d
to see the
fall on the turn and a bet of 75,000 by Bender follow. Pedroza made the call and when the river fell the
both players checked to see Pedroza table
for the pot as she climbs to 845,000 in chips.
Pedroza continued her rampage since the break, taking down a few more pots to push over the one million chip mark!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009 3:15 PM Local Time
Lisa Hamilton opened from the button to 60,000 and Angel Pedroza made the call from the small blind.
The flop fell down
to see Pedroza check the action to Hamilton, where she obliged with a bet of 120,000.
Pedroza mulled over her decision for around sixty seconds before sliding her whole stack into the middle with both hands. With it a further 247,000 for Hamilton, she eventually laid her hand down to see her slip to 500,000, and Pedroza climbs to 640,000 in chips.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009 2:59 PM Local Time
Kimberly Cunningham has been the short stack for the majority of the tournament.
With only six big blinds left in her stack, she pushed all in from the cutoff to win the blinds and antes.
Although still the tournament short stack, Cunningham will be using her fourteen years of experience at the tables as a tool to see her take a shot at the coveted bracelet and title of Ladies World Champion!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009 2:55 PM Local Time
Mari Lou Morelli opened from under the gun to 55,000 and with the action folding round to Kim Rios in the big blind, she made the call.
The flop fell down
and a bet of 60,000 from Morelli was enough to prompt a fold from Rios.
As Morelli raked in the pot to push her up to 500,000, she flashed the
to the cheers of her rail.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009 2:51 PM Local Time
The cards are back in the air!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009 2:42 PM Local Time
Back shortly.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009 2:42 PM Local Time
Kim Cunningham had been pretty quiet for a while, and had somhow allowed herself to dwindle to just 29,000. She got it in under the gun and got an unsurprising three callers, of who two made it to the river of the
board.
Lori Bender:
Cunningham:
Rios: mucked
Thus patience sort of paid off for Cunningham -- she's still the table shortie on 133,000, but she is still in.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009 2:28 PM Local Time
Meanwhile Mari Lou Morelli has clawed back a few chips and is sitting on a very respectable 430,000. She made it 45,000 pre and got called by both Lisa Hamilton and Lori Bender, but then took down the pot with an 85,000 bet on the
flop.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009 2:25 PM Local Time
Kim Rios made it 40,000 from the button and then called an additional 76,000 from big blind Lisa Parsons. As is traditional, they proceeded to a flop.
Flop:
Parsons now checked -- but when Rios bet 100,000, she moved all in for 290,000 total. A pause... And a call!
Rios:
for top pair
Parsons:
for a set
Now here it gets really good.
Turn:
Parsons fills up, to cheering and high-fiving from her buddies at the rail. "Show me a deuce," she says to the poker gods while the river is being dealt...
River:
Wait for it....
...
!
The rail goes nuts with cheering, booing and a lot of general noise.
Rios makes herself a bigger full house in a most disgusting runner-runner-outdraw sort of way, and while she is the new chip mommy on 938,000, a most unfortunate Parsons hits the rail with 7th place money.