Sunday, June 19, 2011 7:30 PM Local Time
With the Seniors Championship serving as the proverbial Main Event for many of today's competitors, the PokerNews team has been asked to send some messages to the readers at home.
Richard "Dick" Harwood told us that he has many people reading the updates back home in Granada Hills, California. The retired TV and movie director wanted his friends and family to know that he is thinking of them today, as he tries to capture a WSOP gold bracelet. He also wanted to say hello to to the "Wednesday Lunch Guys" and made sure we added "Hello Ragu!" Lastly, he just added that he wanted to give a shout out to the Don Porter Golf Group.
Craig Koch wanted to send his love to his family and let them know that "when and if my run ends, I will be calling you all as soon as possible."
Charles Cohen wanted his friends back in New York to know that "I've had the greatest time here" and that this "whole experience is just a trip!"
James Jewell told us that he wants to "thank his friends and family for all of their support" and that despite his short stack, "he is not giving up!"
James Hess sends "a big shoutout to the Valley Crew" and added that he's "diggin' his family enjoying the moment!" Hess also wanted to make sure that his father, currently living in South Africa, knows that he has been in James' heart throughout the entire tournament, inspiring him to play his best in honor of "Dad."
Walter Browne wanted his supporters to know that "If I win the WSOP Seniors Championship, I'm going to play the Seniors World Championship and try to make history!"
For our remaining ten players, reaching this WSOP final table is the pinnacle of their poker playing lives. Every one of them wanted to make sure that the people they love back home know how much their support truly means.
Sunday, June 19, 2011 7:26 PM Local Time
Our 10 finalists have returned from dinner and taken their seats. Cards are back in the air!
Sunday, June 19, 2011 6:31 PM Local Time
Now that we're down to 10 finalists, the players have migrated their chips to the final table. However, we are being told that the tournament director has let the players go on a 60-minute dinner break. We did not officially finish level 24, but play will resume once everyone gets back.
Sunday, June 19, 2011 6:29 PM Local Time
Table | Seat | Player | Chip Count |
Final Table | 1 | Gregory Alston | 1,060,000 |
Final Table | 2 | Leo Whitt | 515,000 |
Final Table | 3 | James Jewell | 256,000 |
Final Table | 4 | Charles Cohen | 740,000 |
Final Table | 5 | Richard Harwood | 930,000 |
Final Table | 6 | Joseph Bolnick | 910,000 |
Final Table | 7 | Walter Browne | 2,900,000 |
Final Table | 8 | Craig Koch | 1,570,000 |
Final Table | 9 | James Hess | 1,962,000 |
Final Table | 10 | Brett Tannenbaum | 330,000 |
| | | |
Sunday, June 19, 2011 6:26 PM Local Time
Craig Koch opened to 75,000 from the cutoff and Kenneth Russell went all-in on the button. Action folded back around to Koch who calmly announced, "Call."
Koch:
Russell:
Koch had a bit of a sweat when the flop came , which gave Russell a flush draw. However, the turn and river bricked respectively and Koch dragged the pot.
Sunday, June 19, 2011 6:15 PM Local Time
After Brett Tannenbaum raised all-in with his short stack of about 250,000, Leo Whitt looked down to find . For many players in this situation, this would be an automatic call, but Whitt evaluated his options and even got Tannenbaum talking by asking him "Will you show if I fold?"
Tannenbaum's relaxed answer gave Whitt all the tells he would need and he mucked his hand face up. Tannenbaum rewarded him by keeping his word and showing his hand: .
Whitt's fellow players whistled in approval, saying "That right there is a professional fold."
Sunday, June 19, 2011 6:07 PM Local Time
Peter Lipton went all-in for his last 340,000 and James Hess called on his immediate left. Everyone else folded.
Lipton
Hess:
The board came , giving Lipton a straight but Hess a superior full-house.
Hess is up to 1.9 million.
Sunday, June 19, 2011 6:01 PM Local Time
With our remaining 12 players so close to their goal of making the final table, the play has slowed down considerably. Most pots are being decided with a preflop raise by the button or cutoff positions, and even when we see flop, one bet is usually all it takes to drag the chips.
With last year's Senior Champion Harld Angle on hand to rail the proceedings, and show off his shiny gold bracelet, we expect this slowdown to continue as nobody wants to be the final table bubble boy.
Sunday, June 19, 2011 5:37 PM Local Time
When we caught up with the action, we saw that Stephen Krieg found himself all-in against Gregory Alston.
Krieg:
Alston:
The board ran out , sending Krieg to the rail.
Sunday, June 19, 2011 5:33 PM Local Time
Leo Whitt raised to 52,000 holding the button and was simply trying to steal the blinds with his . Unfortunately for him, Iry Taylor woke up with and shoved all-in over the top for 73,000 more. Whitt reluctantly made the call and said "Hey, at least I'm live."
After the turn the board read and Taylor was one card away from the double-up.
River:
Taylor gasped in astonishment upon seeing the dagger queen fall on the river, and he hit the rail in 14th place, pocketing $26,710 for his efforts.
Leo Whitt | 860,000 | 540,000 |
Iry Taylor | 0 | -240,000 |
Sunday, June 19, 2011 5:33 PM Local Time
We caught up with the action just as Gregory Meredith was getting up out of his seat. It appeared that Meredith lost a race situation with against his opponent's ,
Sunday, June 19, 2011 5:27 PM Local Time
Current 2011 WSOP Player-of-the-Year Leaderboard
Player | Points | Cashes | Bracelets | Winnings |
John Juanda | 336 | 2 | 1 | $410,067 |
Amir Lehavot | 330.75 | 2 | 1 | $578,454 |
Sean Getzwiller | 325 | 2 | 1 | $647,854 |
Steve Landfish | 317.70 | 2 | 0 | $330,044 |
Viacheslav Zhukov | 315 | 1 | 1 | $465,216 |
Jake Cody | 313.13 | 2 | 1 | $856,427 |
Daniel Idema | 309.50 | 2 | 1 | $384,738 |
Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier | 299.25 | 3 | 1 | $364,565 |
Allen Bari | 292.63 | 3 | 1 | $883,469 |
Jason Sommerville | 291.50 | 2 | 1 | $525,274 |
*Standings through Event #28
Sunday, June 19, 2011 5:27 PM Local Time
Michael Johnson raised from the hi-jack position and Richard Harwood shoved all-in from the small. Action folded back around to Johnson, who called off his remaining 300,000. after some deliberation.
Hardwood:
Johnson:
The board ran out , sending Johnson to the rail.
Sunday, June 19, 2011 5:19 PM Local Time
James Jewell raised to 75,000 from middle position and the action folded around to Charles Cohen in the hijack. He slowly squeezed his cards and instantly announced "I'm all-in!" before standing up and pacing around the table.
Jewell shrugged his shoulders and made the call, putting his last 396,000 at risk with . Cohen saw the pair and said "It's a coin flip" while revealing his .
The final board ran out and Cohen lost the flip, shipping over 440,000 to Jewell in the process.
James Jewell | 955,000 | 505,000 |
Charles Cohen | 555,000 | -545,000 |
Sunday, June 19, 2011 5:08 PM Local Time
Walter Shawne Browne opened to 60,000 from the button and James Jewell shoved for his last 290,000 from the small. Jimmy Parker also shoved his last 117,000 from the big and action was back on Browne, who tanked for several minutes before finally folding.
Showdown
Parker:
Jewell:
The board came ... , pairing Jewell on the river and sending Parker home, who will enjoy a cool $21,037 for his efforts.
James Jewell | 450,000 | 50,000 |
Jimmy Parker | 0 | -359,000 |
Sunday, June 19, 2011 4:56 PM Local Time
Charles Cohen and Gary Mcdonald got all of their chips in the middle before the flop, and Mcdonald was at risk with his shorter stack.
Showdown:
Cohen:
Mcdonald:
When Cohen saw Mcdonald's holding he began to laugh and said "Well, I hope we don't get hearts" while turning over his cards.
The flop came and Cohen took the lead with a pair of sevens. The on the turn changed nothing and Mcdonald was down to his last card. He needed to spike a king on the river to survive.
River:
With that, Mcdonald was eliminated in 18th place and he will take home $21,037
Charles Cohen | 1,100,000 | 410,000 |
Gary Mcdonald | 0 | -180,000 |
Sunday, June 19, 2011 4:48 PM Local Time
Table | Seat | Player |
280 | 1 | James Hess |
280 | 2 | Charles Cohen |
280 | 3 | Craig Koch |
280 | 4 | Gary Mcdonald |
280 | 5 | Gregory Meredith |
280 | 6 | Kenneth Russell |
280 | 7 | Walter Shawne Browne |
280 | 8 | James Jewell |
280 | 9 | Jimmy Parker |
| | |
286 | 1 | Richard Harwood |
286 | 2 | Stephen Krieg |
286 | 3 | Peter Lipton |
286 | 4 | Joseph Bolnick |
286 | 5 | Leo Whitt |
286 | 6 | Iry Taylor |
286 | 7 | Michael Johnson |
286 | 8 | Gregory Alston |
286 | 9 | Brett Tannenbaum |
| | |
Sunday, June 19, 2011 4:41 PM Local Time
James Hess opened for 75,000 from under-the-gun and Gary McDonald announced he was all-in from middle position. Action folded back around to Hess who called off his remaining 500,000.
Hess:
McDonald:
The board ran out , doubling Hess up and crippling McDonald heading into the final two tables.
James Hess | 1,300,000 | 510,000 |
Gary Mcdonald | 180,000 | -635,000 |
Sunday, June 19, 2011 4:41 PM Local Time
Michael Millard open-shoved from under-the-gun, putting his last 185,000 into the middle. Walter Browne found in the hole and his pair was good enough for the call. Millard showed down his and was in bad shape with just aces and spades available as outs.
The flop came and Browne's sevens were still in front. The turn card brought the and the river fell , leaving Millard with just ace-high. He hits the rail in 19th place and will pocket $16,715 for his run through this massive field.
Walter Browne | 2,220,000 | 220,000 |
Michael Millard | 0 | -543,000 |
Sunday, June 19, 2011 4:19 PM Local Time
Place | Player | Prize |
20 | James Jarvis | $16,715 |
21 | Andrew Bradshaw | $16,715 |
22 | Robert Mitchell | $16,715 |
23 | Jack Ward | $16,715 |
24 | Ralph Crow | $16,715 |
25 | Albert Balayn | $16,715 |
26 | John Sozio | $16,715 |
27 | Bruce Baker | $16,715 |
28 | Donald Belanger | $13,405 |
29 | Louis Cheffy | $13,405 |
30 | Rodney Clarida | $13,405 |
31 | Bruce MacGregor | $13,405 |
32 | Stuart Krasney | $13,405 |
33 | Debbie Millican | $13,405 |
34 | Craig Zotter | $13,405 |
35 | Hans Pfister | $13,405 |