Thursday, June 21, 2012 2:44 PM Local Time
Thiago Nishijima opened from under the gun to 35,000, Jonathan Lane called from the button and Roberto Romanello called from the big blind. The flop came , Romanello checked and Nishijima bet 43,000. Lane took a few moments and then raised to 100,000, Romanello folded and Lane folded after holding onto his cards for a moment.
Thursday, June 21, 2012 2:33 PM Local Time
Cards are back in the air following the break.
Thursday, June 21, 2012 2:31 PM Local Time
| Jonathan Lane | 1,085,000 | -55,000  |
| Jeremiah Fitzpatrick | 775,000 | 65,000  |
| Antonio Esfandiari | 610,000 | 72,000 |
| Thiago Nishijima | 580,000 | 150,000 |
| Alessandro Longobardi | 555,000 | 43,000 |
| Craig McCorkell | 550,000 | -60,000 |
| Roberto Romanello | 500,000 | -30,000 |
| Athanasios Polychronopoulos | 470,000 | -59,000 |
Thursday, June 21, 2012 2:13 PM Local Time
Players are on the first 20 minute break of the day.
Thursday, June 21, 2012 2:13 PM Local Time
Jeremiah Fitzpatrick opened from under the gun to 25,000 and action folded around to Antonio Esfandiari in the big blind. Esfandiari called and the flop came . Esfandiari bet 36,000 and Fitzpatrick called to see the turn. Esfandiari bet 67,000 and Fitzpatrick called.
The river came and both players checked. Esfandiari tabled and Fitzpatrick tabled to win the pot.
Thursday, June 21, 2012 2:02 PM Local Time
Every time Brazilian Thiago Nishijima wins a pot his rail cheers and sings. Even the last hand when he open-raised and no one called and he won the blinds and antes they broke out in cheers.
They even did the wave in celebration.
It prompted one of the British rail contingent to shout, "English only!"
Thursday, June 21, 2012 1:51 PM Local Time
Alessandro Longobardi raised to 22,000 and Craig McCorkell called from the big blind.
A flop of was shown to the two players and they both checked. The rolled off on the turn and McCorkell checked to Longobardi who bet out 26,000. McCorkell calld and the rivered.
Once again McCorkell checked and Longobardi moved 37,000 into the middle. McCorkell folded and Longobardi took down the pot.
Thursday, June 21, 2012 1:32 PM Local Time
Joe Tehan opened for 22,000 and Jonathan Lane re-raised to 67,000 on the button. The blinds folded and Tehan moved all in for a total of 307,000. Lane thought for a moment, got an approximate count and called.
The board ran and Tehan was eliminated.
| Jonathan Lane | 1,140,000 | 280,000 |
| Joe Tehan | 0 | -275,000 |
Thursday, June 21, 2012 1:21 PM Local Time
"All American" Dave just delivered a handful of fresh, nutritious lunches. He had a couple deliveries for players in the stands and Antonio Esfandiari.
Esfandiari announced his name and website at least three times over the live stream endorsing Dave's food. Dave smiled nodded and left the stage to deliver more fresh food.
Thursday, June 21, 2012 1:15 PM Local Time
Jeremiah Fitzpatrick opened for 15,000 and Thiago Nishijima called from the small blind. The flop came and Nishijima check-called 20,000. The turn came and both players checked. The river came , Nishijima bet 38,000 and Fitzpatrick called.
Nishijima tabled and Fitzpatrick mucked.
Thursday, June 21, 2012 1:10 PM Local Time
It folded to Alessandro Longobardi who raised to 14,000 from the cutoff. Jonathan Lane called on the button only to see Sardor Gaziev three-bet to 38,000 from the small blind. Craig McCorkell got out of the way in the big blind and both Longobardi and Lane called the re-raise.
The flop was and Gaziev came out firing 62,000 into the middle. Longobardi got out of the way and Lane shuffled his chips for about a minute before making it 125,000 to go.
After about another minute of pondering, Gaziev announced that he was all in and was snap called by Lane.
Lane:
Gaziev:
Gaziev was behind and found no help on the turn or the river. Gaziev will take home $22,899 for his efforts.
| Jonathan Lane | 860,000 | 349,000 |
| Sardor Gaziev | 0 | -527,000 |
Thursday, June 21, 2012 12:59 PM Local Time
Joe Tehan opened for 14,000 from the cutoff and Jeremiah Fitzpatrick called from the button. The blinds released and the flop came . Tehan led out with 21,000 and Fitzpatrick called. The turn came , Tehan bet 50,000 and Fitzpatrick called again.
The river came and Tehan continued his aggression and bet 100,000. Fitzpatrick re-raised to 200,000 and Tehan was visibly not happy with the raise.
He shook his head, counted his stack and stewed for a few minutes. He only had about 275,000 behind so Fitzpatrick put him in a situation where Tehan should either fold or shove.
Tehan checked his cards another time and had a frustrated frown when he folded.
| Jeremiah Fitzpatrick | 710,000 | 171,000 |
| Joe Tehan | 275,000 | -254,000 |
Thursday, June 21, 2012 12:46 PM Local Time
Action folded to Craig McCorkell in the cutoff who made it 13,000 to go. Thiago Nishijima three-bet to 35,000 out of the small blind and McCorkell called.
We were heads up to a flop of . Nishijima continued out for 35,000 only to have McCorkell raise to 98,000. Nishijima tanked for about three minutes before finally folded his hand, sending McCorkell's rail into a frenzy of cheers.
| Craig McCorkell | 610,000 | 71,000 |
| Thiago Nishijima | 430,000 | -80,000 |
Thursday, June 21, 2012 12:38 PM Local Time
Antonio Esfandiari loosened up his end of the table and got Joe Tehan, Jeremiah Fitzpatrick and Athanasios Polychronopoulos talking. They were making light conversation and smiling.
However, the other end of the table has been playing in silence. Even the normally rowdy international rails are quiet and calm.
Thursday, June 21, 2012 12:35 PM Local Time
Sardor Gaziev opened for 14,000 on the button and Roberto Romanello called from the big blind. The flop came , Romanello checked and Gaziev bet 21,000. Romanello called to see the turn and both players checked. The river came , Romanello bet 31,000 and Gaziev called.
Romanello tabled for a flopped two pair and Gaziev mucked.
Thursday, June 21, 2012 12:29 PM Local Time
Roberto Romanello opened to 12,000 and it folded around to Alessandro Longobardi who tossed out a call from the big blind.
The dealer spread out a flop of and both players checked. The came on the turn and Longobardi checked to Romanello who took this opportunity to bet out 12,000. Longobardi called and the river brought the . Longobardi checked once again and Romanello moved 31,000 into the middle. This action prompted Longobardi to fold and Romanello dragged in the pot.
Thursday, June 21, 2012 12:12 PM Local Time
Cards are in the air for the start of the Final Table.
Thursday, June 21, 2012 12:06 PM Local Time
The hardest working man in poker, Robbie Thompson, aka "Red Bull" Robbie, is making the final table introductions. Cards will be in the air momentarily.
Thursday, June 21, 2012 11:58 AM Local Time
The field of sixty that returned for Day 2 has been reduced to the final ten. Today those ten players will compete for the title of World Series of Poker champion. Along with the shiny gold bracelet that will adorn the winner's wrist, a paycheck of $368,593 will also go to the winner.
Yesterday's play saw many professional players and notable names hit the rail in an attempt to be where the final ten are right now. Melanie Weisner, Ryan D'Angelo, Mickey Petersen, Jason Koon, Steve Billarakis, Justin Bonomo, and Jean-Robert Bellande were just some of the names that were able to score a min-cash but unable to make the final day.
Headlining today's final table is Antonio "The Magician" Esfandiari who will begin with a slight advantage in chips. Esfandiari won his first and only bracelet in 2004 in a $2,000 Pot Limit Hold'em event and will be searching for number two today.
Esfandiari isn't the only bracelet winner in today's field, however, as Athanasios Polychronopoulos will be in the hunt as well. Polychronopoulos won his first bracelet at the 2011 WSOP in Event #48: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em and will be looking to go back-to-back this year with another win.
Today we will be covering all of the action occurring on the ESPN stage in the Amazon room. History occurred in this very spot yesterday when Chris Tryba was able to earn his first bracelet in Event 35: $2,500 Mixed Hold'em. Cards will be in the air at 1:00 PM today so be sure to stay tuned as we crown yet another WSOP champion.
Final Table Seat Draw
| Seat | Player | Chip Count |
|---|
| 1 | Antonio Esfandiari | 538,000 |
| 2 | Joe Tehan | 529,000 |
| 3 | Jeremiah Fitzpatrick | 539,000 |
| 4 | Athanasios Polychronopoulos | 528,000 |
| 5 | Alessandro Longobardi | 512,000 |
| 6 | Jonathan Lane | 509,000 |
| 7 | Sardor Gaziev | 527,000 |
| 8 | Craig Mccorkell | 539,000 |
| 9 | Roberto Romanello | 530,000 |
| 10 | Thiago Nishijima | 510,000 |