Tuesday, June 21, 2011 8:16 PM Local Time
Michael Souza went all in from middle position and it was folded around to Mark Schmid in the big blind. Schmid asked for a count and it was 410,000 total so 380,000 more to him. After a little white, he made the call and the players turned over their holdings.
Schmid:
Souza:
Souza was in a classic coinflip for his tournament life. The was clean and changed nothing but Schmid stormed into the lead when the hit the turn. Souza would need one of two remaining threes in the deck to survive but it was not meant to be when the hit. Souza, who entered the day as the chip leader, goes out in what is surely a disappointing but commendable 8th place while Schmid continued to build his chip lead.
Mark Schmid | 2,700,000 | 450,000 |
Michael Souza | 0 | -260,000 |
Tuesday, June 21, 2011 8:08 PM Local Time
It folded around to Robbie Verspui in the small blind and he moved all in for his final 245,000. Michael Sousa immediately made the call from the big blind and the hands were turned up.
Verspui:
Sousa:
The flop was giving Verspui an open-ended straight draw along with two live cards that could be paired. The turn was the which didn't change anything. While the of Verspui would no longer play if a Jack came, his would still give him a higher straight than Sousa.
The river was the which doubled up Verspui to 525,000 and made Sousa our new short stack with just 260,000.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011 7:58 PM Local Time
Robbie Verspui moved all in for 120,000 from middle position and Mark Schmid made the call from the big blind for 90,000 more.
Schmid:
Verspui:
Verspui was in trouble for his tournament life but not after the flop rolled out to give Verspui kings up and a stranglehold on the hand. Schmid would need an ace on the turn or river to knock out his opponent but it came the and and Verspui survived to double up.
Robbie Verspui | 295,000 | -545,000 |
Tuesday, June 21, 2011 7:55 PM Local Time
There was a raise to 65,000 in early position and Justin Cohen flatted in position. It folded to Robbie Verspui in the big blind and he decided to raise to 185,000. The initial raiser folded and Cohen quickly moved all in for about 700,000 total. Verspui wasted no time in making the call and flipped over . Although he seemed slightly nervous he was beat, he seemed almost more nervous when Cohen tabled because now he could take a bad beat for a lot of chips.
Cohen stood up while the flop was dealt out but Verspui opted to sit and stare down the board. The flop was and Cohen picked up a club draw and a gut-shot straight draw. Along with his overcard, he needed one of 15 remaining cards in order to keep his hopes of winning a bracelet alive. The turn was the and hit both his strait and flush draw. A member of the rail asked him which he wanted to play and Cohen just laughed.
After the meaningless , Cohen's stack now has 1.6 million while Verspui is left with just 125,000.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011 7:46 PM Local Time
Jeremy Kottler went all in on the button for 330,000 and Jonathan Clancy made the call from the big blind.
Clancy:
Kottler:
Clancy was in dominating position for the knockout and the flop put Kottler on the brink of elimination unless he could hit running a running flush or deuces. The turn had Kottler drawing dead though and the river was just a formality as Kottler was eliminated.
Jonathan Clancy | 1,450,000 | 490,000 |
Jeremy Kottler | 0 | -167,000 |
Tuesday, June 21, 2011 7:46 PM Local Time
Jeremy Kottler was all in against the man who spiked a Ten on him just before the dinner break. That same man, Trevor Vanderveen, had also just busted a player to give Kottler a pay raise. Luckily for Kottler, he was in great shape to double up with against the of his opponent.
The flop was which gave Kottler a pair of Aces but also gave Vanderveen four outs instead of three. The and both bricked though and Kottler is back into the mix.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011 7:37 PM Local Time
Steven Davisson was able to get his final 550,000 chips in the pot with against Trevor Vanderveen's .
The flop was and left Davisson still searching for an Ace or King. The turn was the and officially ended his day. The meaningless was dealt on the river and Davisson bubbled our official WSOP final table.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011 6:48 PM Local Time
Current 2011 WSOP Player-of-the-Year Leaderboard
Player | Points | Cashes | Bracelets | Winnings |
Phil Hellmuth | 393.75 | 2 | 0 | $500,140 |
Sam Stein | 385.75 | 3 | 1 | $690,451 |
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 |
Eric Rodawig | 311.50 | 2 | 1 | $446,954 |
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 |
*Standings through Event #33
Tuesday, June 21, 2011 6:23 PM Local Time
Mark Schmid | 2,500,000 | 350,000 |
Trevor Vanderveen | 1,205,000 | 505,000 |
Benjamin Volpe | 1,050,000 | 50,000 |
Jonathan Clancy | 960,000 | -105,000 |
Robbie Verspui | 840,000 | -110,000 |
Justin Cohen | 725,000 | -95,000 |
Andrew Rudnik | 710,000 | -150,000 |
Michael Souza | 650,000 | 100,000 |
Steven Davisson | 550,000 | -125,000 |
Jeremy Kottler | 167,000 | -513,000 |
Tuesday, June 21, 2011 6:16 PM Local Time
The players are now on a one hour dinner break.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011 6:14 PM Local Time
Our opening post title for today was "Welcome back, welcome back welcome back" and while unintentional at first, seemed to predict Jeremy Kottler would have a good day. After all, it was Welcome Back Kotter, and if you say it fast enough, it sounds the same.
But it was another prediction that got the best of Kottler at this unofficial final table. From the cutoff, he raised to 54,000 before Trevor Vanderveen moved all in for 570,000 from the button. When the blinds folded, Kottler had the dealer count it out fully and began removing chunks of his stack that would be committed if he made the call. Eventually, he stuck in one column of those chips and call.
Kottler:
Vanderveen:
The flop came down . While that didn't directly improve Vanderveen's hand, it did give him a straight draw and backdoor flush draw. However, two of the Tens that would make his straight were being held by Kottler. The turn was the and Kottler was down to just eight outs with one card left. Someone on the set here in the Amazon Room called out for the Ten of clubs. The tournament director instructed the dealer to show us the river and sure enough there it was, the . Vanderveen fist-pumped and began walking around the set at a furious pace.
With the loss of the 1.2 million chip pot, Kottler will leave for the dinner break as our short-stack with just 167,000
Tuesday, June 21, 2011 5:53 PM Local Time
While many of these players have had success in the poker world previous to this final table, making the final 10 at the World Series of Poker is an accomplishment that all of these men will remember for the rest of their lives. Especially when you consider they had to best a field of 3,144 to do so.
But you don't need to tell these players. While we paused the clock and moved to the ESPN set to play down to a winner there was time for some of them to take pictures. Steven Davisson and Justin Cohen seemed to be taking as many as they could before the cards started flying again.
Once we hit our final nine though, and with it our official WSOP final table, there will be only one more milestone for these players to hit, winning that coveted gold bracelet!
Tuesday, June 21, 2011 5:46 PM Local Time
Seat 1: Jeremy Kottler (680,000)
Seat 2: Trevor Vanderveen (700,000)
Seat 3: Jonathan Clancy (1,065,000)
Seat 4: Steven Davisson (675,000)
Seat 5: Robbie Verspui (950,000)
Seat 6: Michael Souza (550,000)
Seat 7: Andrew Rudnik (860,000)
Seat 8: Benjamin Volpe (1,000,000)
Seat 9: Justin Cohen (820,000)
Seat 10: Mark Schmid (2,150,000)
Tuesday, June 21, 2011 5:36 PM Local Time
We missed all of the action but found Daniel Sosa all in preflop for around 400,000 against Mark Schmid.
Schmid:
Sosa:
The flop was a dramatic one as it came to give Sosa an open-ended straight draw. The on the turn meant that he would need an ace, kings or nine on the river to survive. Unfortunately for Sosa, it came the and he was eliminated as the unofficial final table bubble boy.
Daniel Sosa | 0 | -550,000 |
Tuesday, June 21, 2011 5:29 PM Local Time
Steven Davisson was in the big blind on a recent hand. The good news was that the other four players decided to fold. The bad news was that he woke up with pocket rockets.
Davisson showed the Aces and got up from the table. "My first walk all day and I have Aces!" he complained. Tensions are high as we are on the unofficial final table bubble with just 11 players left.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011 5:26 PM Local Time
And then just like that his party was over.
Steven Davisson moved all in from the cutoff for over 400,000 and Mich Schock called for less on the button (about 200,000). The blinds got out of the way and the hands were turned up.
Davisson:
Schock:
The flop ended things early when it came . Without running cards for broadway, Schock would be sent home in 12th place. The turn was the and Schock hit the rail. Davisson has now turned his good luck into a 700,000 chip stack.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011 5:21 PM Local Time
It seems as if almost everyone sweating this tournament has some kind of alcoholic drink in their hand. While it's still too early for any of them to get too rowdy, it should provide for some fun as we get deeper in the night. Mitch Schock, who has one of the larger rails just stood on his chair and announced "Anyone within seven feet of this table gets a drink on me!" The tournament director, who just happened to be walking by him at the time, kindly asked him to get off his chair.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011 5:12 PM Local Time
We missed the betting but saw Steven Davisson all in preflop for 267,000 against Robbie Verspui.
Verspui:
Davisson:
The flop changed nothing but the on the turn gave Davisson a flush draw to go with his ace outs. The river was the and Davisson doubled up.
Robbie Verspui | 790,000 | -310,000 |
Steven Davisson | 550,000 | 230,000 |
Tuesday, June 21, 2011 5:09 PM Local Time
We missed the betting but found Trevor Vanderveen all in preflop for 369,000 against Andrew Rudnik.
Rudnik:
Vanderveen:
Rudnik was in dominant position and poised for the knockout until the flop rolled out to now give Vanderveen the commanding lead. The turn and river changed nothing and Vanderveen stayed alive to double up.
Andrew Rudnik | 780,000 | -370,000 |
Trevor Vanderveen | 750,000 | 325,000 |
Tuesday, June 21, 2011 5:00 PM Local Time
There was an eruption on table 286 just now, including the rail that is now two or three people deep. Everyone in the Amazon could hear it and a few people were curious enough to approach us and find out what happened. Here's the brutal way Paulus Valkenburg ended his day.
It folded to Valkenburg in the small blind. He looked down at his cards, then over to Jonathan Clancy in the big blind, and finally at the dealer before announcing he was all in. Clancy squeezed his cards, looked again and then announced a call.
Valkenburg:
Clancy:
The flop didn't just hit Valkenburg once, but twice. The gave him two pair and left Clancy drawing to just two outs. Someone in the crowd began shouting "Five of diamonds! Five of diamonds!" The turn was the which didn't change anything. But Clancy was sure to use the last card. Sure enough the dealer peeled the . Clancy has been very emotionless all day, despite having been in many stressful situations. But when the Five of diamonds hit, his rail celebrated and he couldn't help but join in. He is now nearing seven-figures with 950,000. Valkenburg, on the other hand, walked away from the table and buried his head in his hands seemingly devastated.