Event #37: $2,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em

With both players keeping things very close to the vest, you knew they'd both need to pick up big hands before anything decisive took place. And that's exactly what happened on the last hand of this Pot-Limit event. Jason Newburger was dealt    and he raised the pot, and Greg Hopkins looked down at the   . He reraised, and although he'd made some big laydowns earlier in the day Newburger wasn't about to give up his hand now. He moved all in for the last of his chips and Hopkins called. The     gave Newburger a gutshot draw and two additional outs. The   didn't help, and needing paint on the last card, the   arrived on the river to give the pot to Hopkins. The chip counts were so close that it wasn't immediately clear the match was over, but Hopkins seemed to know as he raced over and hugged some supporters in the audience who just watched him win his first bracelet. Jason Newburger turned the tide of the match over the last hour or so, but after fighting back from next-to-nothing, he had to settle for being our runner-up and $165,707 in prize money. And in addition to the coveted World Series of Poker bracelet, Greg Hopkins won $269,707.

Forgive the lack of updates the last half-hour or so, but there's been precious little to update about. Neither player seems willing to raise before the flop, or bet after. We've seen a number of hands checked down, even after one player made a pair on the flop. And so far the cards have trended Newburger's way.

And in most-unlikely fashion. Facing a raise, Newburger tried to make a move with    and Hopkins called with   . With his flush outs removed from the equation, Newburger's best hope was to hit a pair...and that's just what he did on the     flop. Hopkins picked up some additional outs when the   turned, but he didn't get the picture card he needed on the river. Newhouse has now closed the gap to 1.6 million to 800,000.

Jason Newburger went with his read...and it nearly cost him the tournament. Holding    Newburger flopped a pair on the     board, but Hopkins flopped top pair with   . Hopkins bet the pot, and after thinking about it Newburger called. The   fell on the turn and again Hopkins bet the pot. Again Newburger thought a long time before just calling. That left him with only about 275,000 behind and when the   fell on the river Hopkins moved all in. With just bottom pair, Newburger thought for several minutes about what he should do. That   also filled every possible draw on the board, but there was so much money in the pot that Newburger seemed unwilling to surrender his hand. It took him several minutes of stacking and re-stacking his chips before he conceded defeat and mucked his cards, giving Hopkins a massive chip lead.

We're down to heads-up play and here are the chip counts: Greg Hopkins: 1,660,000 Jason Newburger: 740,000

The three player left in today's event all had nearly equal stacks, so if anyone could land a decisive blow, he could take a 2-1 chip lead into the heads-up battle. Yuval Bronshtein came one card away from doing just that. On the button, Bronshtein raised with    and after Jason Newburger folded, Greg Hopkins raised the pot with   . Bronshtein chose to call, and after the flop of     Hopkins announced he was all-in. Bronshtein made the call with the best hand, but when the   turned it gave Hopkins a flush draw as well. A draw he didn't need in the end. The   spiked on the river to give Hopkins the pot and the chip lead with 1,225,000. Instead of going into the heads-up battle with a huge lead, Bronshtein was left with just 360,000.

Yuval Bronshtein: 850,000 Greg Hopkins: 840,000 Pete Lawson: 380,000 Jason Newburger: 325,000

After Pete Lawson raised with pocket sixes, Jason Newburger chose to flat-call with    and Greg Hopkins called in the big blind with   . The flop came     and when Lawson and Newburger didn't make a move at the pot, Hopkins threw in a bet. The others escaped the trap and Hopkins picked up the pot.

In a three-way pot both David Zarrin and Greg Hopkins flopped aces with a so-so kicker on an A-J-10 board…but Pete Lawson, holding K-Q, flopped Broadway. Zarrin bet and when Lawson raised, that chased Hopkins out of the pot. Zarrin called and both players checked the   on the turn. The   on the river was a scare card that might have convinced Zarrin not to put any more chips in the pot, but he made a move for the rest of his chips and Lawson quickly called. That eliminated David Zarrin in fifth place, which was good for a $52,874 payday.

So far Yuval Bronshtein has pretty much dictated the play at the final table. He's playing his big stack aggressively...so aggressively, in fact, that he's been picked off twice in big hands. But both times he's hit miracle cards to wriggle off the hook and pad his lead, and so far he shows no signs of slowing down.