WSOP | Tournaments | Event Updates
Auto Refresh Rate:
Competition:
GO

2012 43rd Annual World Series of Poker

Tuesday, June 21, 2011 to Thursday, June 23, 2011

Event #36: $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em

download official reportdownload official winner photo
  • Buy-in: $2,500
  • Prizepool: $3,944,850
  • Entries: 1,734
  • Remaining: 0

EVENT UPDATES

view updates for day:
Thursday, June 23, 2011 7:19 PM Local Time
Thomas Middleton1,850,000485,000
Alexis Bouchiouane1,225,000-150,000
Thomas Miller1,080,000-270,000
John Zentner1,065,000720,000
Mikhail Lakhitov970,000205,000
Kent Padgett715,000-295,000
Michael Michnik535,000-27,000
Richard Gryko325,000-115,000
Thursday, June 23, 2011 7:13 PM Local Time

Matthew Berkey opened for 55,000 on the button and James St. Hilaire called from the big blind. The flop fell      , St. Hilaire bet 63,000, Berkey raised to 180,000 and St. Hilaire moved all in.

This is where the hand got into problems. Berkey asked the dealer twice what the count was and was told that St. Hilaire's all in bet was 323,000. Berkey counted out 323,000 and called.

St. Hilaire tabled     and Berkey turned over    . The board finished     and St. Hilaire won the hand. The dealer went to count St. Hilaire's stack and came up with 423,000 not 323,000. Berkey was adamant the called 323,000 and not a 423,000 bet.

The floor ruled that since St. Hilaire was all in and Berkey said call that he needed to pay 423,000. Berkey was clearly upset at the decision, stating that it wasn't his fault and was told 323,000 twice. The floor listened to his argument but did not change his ruling. Berkey reluctantly tossed the extra 100,000 chips across the table.

Thursday, June 23, 2011 6:56 PM Local Time

Cards are back in the air following the hour long dinner break.

Thursday, June 23, 2011 6:04 PM Local Time

The players have been sent on a one hour dinner break.

Thursday, June 23, 2011 5:50 PM Local Time

Matthew Berkey opened for 40,000, James St. Hilaire called from the button and Conrad Monica called from the big blind. The flop came       and all three players checked. The turn came   and all three players checked again. The river fell  , Monica bet 70,000, Berkey called and St. Hilaire folded.

Monica turned over pocket threes for a rivered set and Berkey mucked his cards.

Playtika - Jason Alexander
Thursday, June 23, 2011 5:38 PM Local Time

Barry Woods - 16th place

Thomas Miller made it 45,000 to go from early position, and Alexis Bouchiouane reraised to 110,000 in position. When it came around to the big blind, Barry Woods four-bet all in for about 500,000, maybe just a bit less. Miller tanked and folded, but Bouchiouane quickly made the call wit red aces,    . Woods could only muster    , but he'd at least get to sweat it.

The first four cards off were        , and Woods was still live to nine outs. The river was his pair, though, and the   did nothing to keep him alive. Woods has fallen out in 16th place, and Bouchiouane is clawing his way toward the top of the counts over the last couple levels. He's closing in on 1.4 million now.

Thursday, June 23, 2011 5:33 PM Local Time
Matthew Berkey1,550,0000
Thomas Middleton1,365,000-75,000
Thomas Miller1,350,000-150,000
Eddy Sabat1,030,00030,000
Kent Padgett1,010,0005,000
Alexis Bouchiouane915,000185,000
Mikhail Lakhitov765,000-365,000
Barry Woods700,000-245,000
Dwyte Pilgrim575,000275,000
Hassan Babajane565,000-360,000
Michael Michnik562,000252,000
Conrad Monica520,00010,000
James St. Hilaire480,000-230,000
Richard Gryko440,000-160,000
John Zentner345,000-65,000
Thursday, June 23, 2011 5:31 PM Local Time

Hassan Babajane raised under the gun, and Michael Michnik three-bet shoved for 259,000 from the big blind. Babajane called pretty quickly with    , but Michnik's     were well ahead.

The board ran clean:          , and Michnik has found his double. He's up to 562,000 now, now just about dead even with Babajane.

Thursday, June 23, 2011 5:27 PM Local Time

Current 2011 WSOP Player-of-the-Year Leaderboard

PlayerPointsCashesFinal TablesBraceletsWinnings
Phil Hellmuth393.75220$500,140
Sam Stein385.75321$690,451
John Juanda336211$410,067
Amir Lehavot330.75211$578,454
Sean Getzwiller325221$647,854
Jason Mercier323.45421$670,471
Mark Schmid317.75311$499,861
Steve Landfish317.70220$330,044
Viacheslav Zhukov315111$465,216
Jake Cody313.13211$856,427
Eric Rodawig311.50211$446,954
Daniel Idema309.50211$384,738

*Standings through Event #35

Thursday, June 23, 2011 5:24 PM Local Time

Yun Fan - 17th place

From the cutoff seat, Matthew Berkey opened the pot with a raise. We don't know how much it was, because it was already pulled in by the time we walked up. The reason? Yun Fan had three-bet shoved for an additional 411,000 from the big blind. Berkey would spend the next several minutes toying with the decision with an amused look on his face. After a long while, he plunked the calling chips into the pot, committing about 40% of his own chips. Cards up, gents:

Showdown
Berkey:    
Fan:    

The       flop was no fun for Fan, and he needed to catch up in a hurry to stay alive. The turn   was a blank, though, and so was the   that filled out the board on fifth street. Fan can't win with the ace-jack, and this loss has cost him the rest of his chips. He's out in 17th place, and Berkey appears to have crept into the chip lead.

We badly need a color-up, though.

Playtika - Jason Alexander
Thursday, June 23, 2011 5:15 PM Local Time

Alessio Fratti - 18th place

Alessio Fratti only had about 55,000 chips left when he took his stand with    . In a case of unfortunate timing, he only had one live card as Thomas Miller called with the dominating    . The board came down          , and that's all she wrote for Fratti.

Just a few hands after his aces went under, Fratti goes under as well. He's out in 18th place, and he'll take home a pay bump up to almost $27,000.

Thursday, June 23, 2011 5:12 PM Local Time

Matthew Berkey raised to 36,000 from middle position, and Conrad Monica three-bet to 106,000 from the big blind. Berkey eyeballed the chips behind before splashing in the call.

The flop came      , and Monica continued out with a bet of 133,000. Berkey called quickly once again, and the turn and river came   and   with the two men checking it down.

Berkey tabled    , and it was the winner. Dragging that pot moves him up to 1.15 million now, while Monica takes a step back to 510,000.

Thursday, June 23, 2011 5:08 PM Local Time

Richard Gryko open shoved in late position and Alesio Fratti insta-called behind him, showing     immediately. Gryko turned over    .

The board ran           and Gryko made an eight high straight, cracking Fratti's aces and leaving him with just three big blinds.

Richard Gryko600,000345,000
Alessio Fratti59,000-261,000
Thursday, June 23, 2011 4:56 PM Local Time

Alexis "lesuperpanda" Bouchiouane

Alexis Bouchiouane opened to 32,000 from the cutoff seat, and Mikhail Lakhitov three-bet to 72,000 on the button. When it passed back around to Bouchiouane, he made another raise to 156,000. Lakhitov looked like he really didn't want to, but he waved the white flag of surrender and slid his cards into the muck.

Thanks to an ally in the french media, we gleaned a little bit of information about Bouchiouane while the hand was playing out. He's "lesuperpanda" online, and he's beginning to make quite a name for himself as a member of the young French elite players. He intended to play only the Main Event, entering this tournament on a whim. It's his first-ever WSOP event, and he's putting his buy-in to good use, working his stack up over 800,000 with that four-bet pot.

Thursday, June 23, 2011 4:36 PM Local Time

Lars Bonding - 19th place

Thomas Miller opened for 39,000 and Lars Bonding moved in behind him. Miller called and tabled     and Bonding held    . The board ran           and Miller's small pair held sending Bonding to the cashier's cage.

Thomas Miller1,500,000465,000
Lars Bonding0-260,000
Gorilla Gaming
Thursday, June 23, 2011 4:26 PM Local Time

As we expected, our comment about the 'brisk pace' did not go unpunished. We've hit a wall in the action here, so have a look at a round of chip counts while we all wait for some significant movement.

Thomas Middleton1,440,000120,000
Mikhail Lakhitov1,130,000-20,000
Thomas Miller1,035,00025,000
Kent Padgett1,005,000-125,000
Eddy Sabat1,000,000-100,000
Barry Woods945,000195,000
Hassan Babajane925,000175,000
Conrad Monica790,000165,000
Alexis Bouchiouane730,000-35,000
James St. Hilaire710,00010,000
Matthew Berkey555,000-20,000
Yun Fan505,00075,000
John Zentner410,00025,000
Alessio Fratti320,000-170,000
Michael Michnik310,00030,000
Dwyte Pilgrim300,00060,000
Patrick Smith280,000-70,000
Lars Bonding260,000-20,000
Richard Gryko255,00010,000
Thursday, June 23, 2011 4:08 PM Local Time

Edgar De La Torre - 20th place

Hassan Babajane opened to 34,000 under the gun, and the table passed all the way around to the small blind where Edgar De La Torre reraised all in for 260,000 total. Eddy Sabat gave it a long look in the small blind, but he eventually folded, and Babajane quickly did the calling to put De La Torre at risk. Flip a coin.

Showdown
Babajane:    
De La Torre:    

The       flop was a good one for De La Torre, pairing up to take a big lead with two to come. The turn   was dangerously close to a two-outer, and it only served as foreshadowing of the river card. The   dropped like a hammer, and Babajane sets up to tally the knockout.

Both men complimented each other on their play and their final hand, but it's De La Torre who comes up short in this one. He's out in 20th place, good for $21,933.

Thursday, June 23, 2011 3:58 PM Local Time

Cards are back in the following the first 20 minute break of the day.

Thursday, June 23, 2011 3:38 PM Local Time

The players have completed the first two levels of the day and are going on their first 20 minute break of the day.

Thursday, June 23, 2011 3:32 PM Local Time

A few short hands after Dorfman was down to 48,000 he moved all in from middle position and Thomas Miller called from the big blind. Dorfman showed     and Miller held    . The board ran           and Dorfman headed to the payout desk.

Thomas Miller1,010,00040,000
Randy Dorfman0-48,000
Playtika - Jason Alexander