Monday, April 11, 2011 11:18 PM Local Time
The World Series of Poker Circuit, Harrah's St. Louis continued Monday with the remaining 92 players out of a 449-player field. Each was competing for their share of a $646,762 prizepool, including a first-place prize worth $142,290. It didn't take long for players to get down to business as the eliminations quickly mounted. After twelve hours of play, the final table of nine was reached. Leading the way was Kyle Cartwright who emerged as the runaway chip leader with 2,875,000.
While Day 2 certainly belonged to Cartwright, there were still plenty of other players in action. Harris Paroya began the day as chip leader with 314,100 and he was poised to make a deep run. Unfortunately for him, he would have to settle with a small cash. Others looking to ensure a payday were recognizable names such as Mark "Pegasus" Smith (tied for the most WSOP-C rings with four), "Cowboy" John Land, Aaron Massey, and Nadya Magnus. The former two would be eliminated shy of the money while the latter pair went on to cash. By far the biggest names left in the field were St. Louis native Dennis Phillips and 2004 World Series of Poker Main Event Champion Greg Raymer. Both began the day with decent chip stacks, but both found themselves out of favor with lady luck.
Phillips' demise came on a flop of when he checked only to Paroya, who threw in a bet. Phillips opted for a check-raise, Paroya shoved, and Phillips called off his remaining stack:
Phillips:
Paroya:
It was a brutal set-over-set situation, and Phillips found himself on the raw end of the deal. He needed the last four in the deck to keep his hopes alive, but neither the turn nor river were it. Just like that, the well-liked St. Louis native was sent to the exit.
Not long after the elimination of Phillips, another big name in Raymer hit the rail. It happened when Raymer was left crippled after running a Broadway straight into a flush, and he committed his remaining chips preflop with only to be face the pocket kings of Mark Koeln. The board blanked and Raymer was eliminated from the Main Event.
When the money bubble was reached at 45 players, a flurry of eliminations ensued. Todd Bartlett (45th- $2,923), Gary Schaan (40th- $2,923), Steven (31st- $3,590), Brett Schwertley (29th- $4,049), Paroya (21st- $6,267), Matthew Thornton (13th- $8,938), and Scott Carlson (10th- $10,891) were just a few to hit the rail.
[H]WSOP-Circuit Harrah's St. Louis Final Table[/H]
1 | Kyle Cartwright | 2,875,000 |
2 | Mitch Franks | 460,000 |
3 | Nick Jivkov | 206,000 |
4 | Ron Segni | 983,000 |
5 | Asheesh Boyapati | 1,138,000 |
6 | Chris Viox | 346,000 |
7 | Troy Weber | 1,006,000 |
8 | Steve Goff | 1,270,000 |
9 | Phil Stelzer | 637,000 |
The final table is set to play out at 1 PM CDT (1700 GMT) on Tuesday when a winner will be determined. As always, the PokerNews Live Reporting Team will be there to bring you all the action, eliminations, and stories straight from the tournament floor.
Monday, April 11, 2011 11:10 PM Local Time
Phil Stelzer raised to 79,000 from middle position and was called by Kyle Cartwright in late position. When action reached Scott Carlson in the cutoff, he moved all in for 152,000. Stelzer got out of the way and Cartwright made the call.
Carlson:
Cartwright:
It was a race, but not after the flop came down , giving Carlson a pair of queens and the lead. To make matters worse for Cartwright, Nick Jivkov chimed in that he had folded , leaving just one three left in the deck. However, they were all overlooking one small fact . . . Day 2 had belonged to Cartwright. That proved true when the spiked on the turn! Just like that, Carlson went from the lead to drawing dead. The meaningless was put out on the river and Carlson exited the tournament area. The final table is set.
Monday, April 11, 2011 11:03 PM Local Time
The remaining ten players have combined to a single table, but it'll take one more elimination before the final table is set. Here is how the last table looks:
1 | Kyle Cartwright | 2,500,000 |
2 | Mitch Franks | 475,000 |
3 | Scott Carlson | 197,000 |
4 | Nick Jivkov | 200,000 |
5 | Ron Segni | 1,000,000 |
6 | Asheesh Boyapati | 1,210,000 |
7 | Chris Viox | 300,000 |
8 | Troy Weber | 1,000,000 |
9 | Steve Goff | 1,240,000 |
10 | Phil Stelzer | 700,000 |
Monday, April 11, 2011 11:00 PM Local Time
Level: 27
Blinds: 15000/30000
Ante: 4000
Monday, April 11, 2011 10:59 PM Local Time
In a blind versus blind situation, Yury Parad found himself all in holding against the of Phil Stelzer. The flop gave Stelzer a pair of five, but Parad could still win with either a queen, ten, or running spades. The was none of the above, and neither was the .
Stelzer took down the pot, increading his stack to 725,000, while Parad made his way to the payout desk in 11th place.
Monday, April 11, 2011 10:53 PM Local Time
We don't know how we missed it, but when we looked up Sam Ansley was gone from the tournament. We can confirm that he was eliminated in 12th place and will take home $10,891 for his efforts.
Monday, April 11, 2011 10:50 PM Local Time
On a flop of , Ron Segni bet 110,000 from the big blind only to have Steve Goff move all in for 578,000 in the cutoff. Segni made the call, creating a pot around 1.3 million, and the cards were turned up:
Segni:
Goff:
Goff was ahead with his pocket rockets but had to dodge the open-ended straight draw of his opponent. The turn gave Goff a set, but it was the on the river that ensured his double. Segni took a hit down to 990,000.
Monday, April 11, 2011 10:43 PM Local Time
At this point the action has stalled and players are more or less passing chips around the table by swapping blinds and antes. Every once in awhile a reraise will bring the railbirds to their feet, but the subsequent folds send them back to their chairs. With only 15 minutes left in this level, the players will have to get busy or face the dreaded 15K-30K level.
Monday, April 11, 2011 10:26 PM Local Time
With just 12 players remaining, the railbirds have flocked to tables to see who is still in contention. While action is slow at the moment, the plan for the evening is to play down to the final table, which means three more eliminations.
Monday, April 11, 2011 10:12 PM Local Time
Ron Segni was under the gun and opened preflop holding and received a call from the of Matthew Thornton in the big blind. When the flop came down, Thornton open-shoved for 250,000 and couldn't have picked a worse spot considering a ten had hit. Segni made the easy call with his set and Thornton's run in the WSOP-Circuit Harrah's St. Louis Main Event came to an end in 13th place.
Sengi is up to 1.55 million.
Monday, April 11, 2011 9:59 PM Local Time
Level: 26
Blinds: 12000/24000
Ante: 4000
Monday, April 11, 2011 9:59 PM Local Time
Unfortunately we were busy writing up elimination hands and happened to miss this one. What we do know is that a short-stacked Gary Herstein has become the 14th-place finisher.
Monday, April 11, 2011 9:57 PM Local Time
Thomas Cronin was all in preflop under the gun for his last 168,000 and received a call from Nick Jivkov on the button.
Jivkov:
Cronin:
Cronin had picked up a big hand, but unfortunately he ran up against the best hand in poker. The board ran out an uneventful and Cronin was sent packing in 15th place, good for $8,938. On the flip side, Jivkov chipped up to 400,000.
Monday, April 11, 2011 9:53 PM Local Time
With about 300,000 in the pot preflop and a flop of , Mark Koeln moved all in for around 250,000 holding and was called by the of Ron Segni. Koeln was in bad shape and couldn't find help as the hit the turn followed by the on the river.
He was eliminated from the Main Event in 16th place and will take home $7,438 for his efforts. Meanwhile, Segni is up to 1.1 million.
Monday, April 11, 2011 9:45 PM Local Time
On a flop of , Mitch Franks checked from the big blind to his sole opponent, Kyle Cartwright, on the button. The chip leader bet 47,000 and Franks decided to look him up.
When the dealer burned and turned the , Franks checked and Cartwright fired out 83,000. Franks hit the tank for a long time before making the call and watching the put out on the river. This time Franks check-called a bet of 225,000 and let out a frustrated, "Ahhhhh," after Cartwright turned over . It was obviously good and Franks simply mucked. He dropped to 350,000 while Cartwright extended his chip lead to 2.3 million.
Monday, April 11, 2011 9:25 PM Local Time
Asheesh Boyapati raised to 55,000 from middle position and was called by Lance Craig on the button. When the flop came down , Boyapati moved all in and Craig called off his last 115,000.
Boyapati:
Craig:
Craig had hit his ace and was in great shape to double. That quickly changed when Boyapati hit his gin card, the , on the turn and left Craig drawing dead. The rubbed salt in the wound as Craig was eliminated in 17th place. Meanwhile, Boyapati is up to 830,000.
Monday, April 11, 2011 9:09 PM Local Time
Kyle Cartwright | 1,830,000 | 330,000 |
Steve Goff | 1,100,000 | -150,000 |
Troy Weber | 800,000 | 70,000 |
Asheesh Boyapati | 700,000 | 200,000 |
Mitch Franks | 680,000 | -120,000 |
Phil Stelzer | 480,000 | -120,000 |
Scott Carlson | 450,000 | 100,000 |
Sam Ansley | 435,000 | 35,000 |
Matthew Thornton | 400,000 | 0 |
Yury Parad | 400,000 | -100,000 |
Nick Jivkov | 370,000 | -220,000 |
Ron Segni | 260,000 | 90,000 |
Chris Viox | 225,000 | 170,000 |
Mark Koeln | 225,000 | -295,000 |
Lance Craig | 220,000 | -40,000 |
Gary Herstein | 220,000 | 30,000 |
Thomas Cronin | 220,000 | 70,000 |
Monday, April 11, 2011 9:02 PM Local Time
Level: 25
Blinds: 10000/20000
Ante: 3000
Monday, April 11, 2011 8:47 PM Local Time
Players are on another ten-minute break.
Monday, April 11, 2011 8:46 PM Local Time
Troy Weber and Matthew Thornton created a pot of about 200,000 preflop and watched as the flop came down . Thornton moved all in for 124,000, Weber called, and the cards were turned up:
Weber:
Thornton:
Thornton was ahead with top pair and even added a straight draw when the hit the turn. His hand improved to trips when the was revealed on the river, ensuring him a double to 400,000. Meanwhile, Weber dropped to 730,000.