Friday, June 5, 2009 1:05 AM Local Time
Congratulations to Travis Johnson - the World Series of Poker's newest bracelet winner!
A huge field of 2,791 players entered this event and after three long days of play only one player is left standing. Travis Johnson was a prominent figure throughout play today as he got the better of some big pots early on against Gary Tang and Michael Pesek, and rode the wave all the way to the final table.
He continued to apply pressure on his opponents, and his aggressive approach finally got him over the line against a valiant Steve Karp in a tough heads-up battle.
Travis Johnson will take home an incredible $666,853 for his efforts, and of course, the coveted bracelet.
Thanks for your company and join us again tomorrow for our continued coverage of the 40th annual World Series of Poker!
Friday, June 5, 2009 1:03 AM Local Time
Steve Karp limped in on the button and Travis Johnson open shoved. Karp made an instant call and we saw the hands.
Karp -
Johnson -
Karp held his lead on a flop of
, but the
on the turn snatched it away. The
on the river offered no help and Johnson took the pot, the $666,853 first-place prize, and the bracelet. Karp earned $414,116 for his play.
Friday, June 5, 2009 12:54 AM Local Time
Johnson again raised to 350,000 from the button and Karp fought back, reraising all in for 2.6 million. Johnson considered his options for about 30 seconds before mucking.
Friday, June 5, 2009 12:51 AM Local Time
Johnson continued to apply pressure, raising to 335,000 from the button. When Karp called, we saw a flop of
.
Both players checked and, with the
on the turn, Karp led out for 340,000. Johnson called and Karp bet 500,000 more when the
spiked on the river, forcing a fold from Johnson.
Karp now has 2.6 million chips vs. Johnson's 9.9 million.
Friday, June 5, 2009 12:47 AM Local Time
As the night grinds on, Karp is beginning to look tired and frustrated while Johnson is anything but. He's smiling and having fun while pressuring Karp on almost every hand.
Friday, June 5, 2009 12:42 AM Local Time
With blinds going up next hand, here's a quick chip count.
Steve Karp - 2,500,000
Travis Johnson - 10,000,000
Friday, June 5, 2009 12:39 AM Local Time
When Karp limped in from the button, Johnson checked his option and we saw a flop of
.
Johnson checked, Karp bet 150,000, and Johnson raised to 500,000. Karp called and the came
. Johnson led for 1 million and Karp called again. With the
on the river, Johnson shoved and Karp tanked before finally releasing his hand.
When Johnson took the pot, Karp had just 2,650,000 left behind.
Friday, June 5, 2009 12:24 AM Local Time
Steve Karp and Travis Johnson seem to be feeling each other out in the starting stages of heads-up play. Neither man has been willing to put a lot of chips in the middle, and they're trading a lot of small pots.
In one recent hand, Johnson raised to 275 from big blind and Karp called. The pair then checked down the board of
.
When the hands opened, Karp showed
for a pair while Johnson showed
.
Friday, June 5, 2009 12:19 AM Local Time
Just one hand after Mark Salinaro made his exit, Mike Ciotola got his stack in the middle against Travis Johnson.
Ciotola raised to 325,000 from the small blind and Johnson shoved from the big blind. Ciotola called and the hands were opened.
Ciotola -
Johnson -
A flop of
kept Johnson in the lead and the
on the turn put the hand away. When the
fell on the river, Ciotola walked away in third spot with $273,385 and we went to heads-up play.
Friday, June 5, 2009 12:11 AM Local Time
In the end, it was a blind vs. blind battle that did Mark Salinaro in.
Steve Karp limped from the small blind and Salinaro shoved from the big blind. When Karp called, they opened their hands and we started racing.
Salinaro
Karp
A king in the door gave Karp the lead, and Salinaro could never catch up. At the end, the board read
.
Karp now has more than 4 million chips while Salinaro goes home with $193,343.
Friday, June 5, 2009 12:05 AM Local Time
Travis Johnson raised 125,000 from the small blind and got called by Steve Karp in the big blind.
Karp then check-called Johnson's 125,000 bet on a flop of
, and both players checked the
on the turn.
Johnson led out for 500,000 when the
spiked on the river, and Karp folded. The hand added another 375,000 to Johnson's stack.
Thursday, June 4, 2009 11:59 PM Local Time
The action folded to Mark Salinaro in the small blind who completed with Mike Ciotola checking his option in the big blind.
Flop:
Salinaro checked over to Ciotola who fired out 400,000. Salinaro then check-raised all in over the top for an additional 1,330,000, to send his opponent into the tank.
Ciotola eyed his opponent up and down before flashing the
and tossing them into the muck.
Thursday, June 4, 2009 11:54 PM Local Time
Travis Johnston made it 275,000 from early position and got called by Steve Karp on the button and Mike Ciotola in the big blind.
Everyone checked the flop of
and Ciotola led for 500,000 when the
came on the turn. Johnston reraised all in and Ciotola went into the tank for more than two minutes before showing
and releasing his hand.
Thursday, June 4, 2009 11:45 PM Local Time
Mike Ciotola opened the action with a raise to 275,000 from the button with Steve Karp making the call in the big blind.
The flop fell
and both players checked. The turn brought the
and Karp checked once again to Ciotola who fired out 500,000 to take it down.
Thursday, June 4, 2009 11:42 PM Local Time
The last four players are back and we're now at 50,000/100,000 with a 10,000 ante.
Thursday, June 4, 2009 11:21 PM Local Time
We are on a 20-minute break.
Thursday, June 4, 2009 11:18 PM Local Time
Travis Johnson limped from the small blind and Steve Karp checked his option in the big blind.
Flop:
Johnston checked over to Karp who fired 105,000 into the middle to take it down.
Thursday, June 4, 2009 11:17 PM Local Time
Action folded to Mark Salinaro who moved all in for 900,000 from the small blind. Mike Ciotola made the call from the big blinds and the hands were shown.
Salinaro -
Ciotola -
Way behind, Salinaro got lucky on the flop, which came
. When the board ran out
, Salinaro's pair of 10s held up, and he doubled to just over 2.1 million.
Thursday, June 4, 2009 11:07 PM Local Time
Travis Johnson - 5,100,000
Steve Karp - 3,650,000
Mike Ciotola - 2,750,000
Mark Salinaro - 1,000,000
Thursday, June 4, 2009 11:05 PM Local Time
Travis Johnson opened with a raise to 210,000, before Craig McConville once again put in the 3-bet, making it 600,000 to go. Play folded back around to Johnson who moved all in with McConville making a quick call.
McConville:
Johnson:
The board fell the way of Johnson as it arrived
, pairing up his ace. After a strong showing all day, McConville exits in 5th place for a collect of $145,721.