EVENT UPDATES
view updates for day:
Saturday, June 23, 2012 1:31 PM Local Time
In the very next hand after he double Marco Johnson, Hans Minocha raised from the button. Appropriately, it was Johnson who reraised from the small blind. After the big blind got out of the way, Minocha made the call and then raised a bet on the flop. Johnson made the call before check-folding to a bet on the turn.
| Hans Minocha | 182,000 | 28,000  |
| Marco Johnson | 52,000 | -28,000  |
Saturday, June 23, 2012 1:28 PM Local Time
Action folded to Hans Minocha in the small blind and he raised only to have Marco Johnson reraise from the big blind. Minocha made the call and then led out on the flop. Johnson made the call and then raised all in for 17,000 total when Minocha led out on the turn. A call was made and the hands tabled:
Showdown
Minocha:
Johnson:
The river was of no consequence and Johnson received a double.
| Hans Minocha | 154,000 | -22,500 |
| Marco Johnson | 80,000 | 9,000 |
Saturday, June 23, 2012 1:23 PM Local Time
Chad Brown lost a chunk in the early going in a hand to Ronnie Bardah, but has just claimed some chips back, mostly from Sorel Mizzi.
Bardah opened from the button, Mizzi three-bet from the small blind, then Brown made it four to go from the big blind. Both Bardah and Mizzi called.
The flop came . Mizzi led with a bet, and when Brown raised Bardah went into the tank. "How much you got?" he asked Brown, who replied "a lot" and held up his short stack of pink (5,000) chips. Brown was in fact quite short-stacked, relatively speaking, but was indicating he had enough to play out the hand.
Bardah finally folded and Mizzi called. The turn was the . Mizzi checked, Brown bet, Mizzi check-raised, and after a pause Brown called. Brown again called a bet by Mizzi after the river.
Mizzi then tabled and Brown , and Brown won the sizable pot. Bardah shook his head afterwards, indicating he'd folded what would've been a winner.
| Sorel Mizzi | 245,000 | -35,000 |
| Chad Brown | 135,000 | 30,000 |
| Ronnie Bardah | 55,000 | -45,000 |
Saturday, June 23, 2012 1:20 PM Local Time
Vincent Gironda raised from the cutoff, Ronnie Bardah three-bet from the button, Chad Brown four-bet from the small blind, Gironda called, and Bardah called. The flop came monotone — — and when it checked to Bardah he bet and only Brown stuck around.
The turn was the , and Brown checked. This time when Bardah bet, Brown let it go.
| Chad Brown | 105,000 | -32,500 |
| Ronnie Bardah | 100,000 | 36,000 |
Saturday, June 23, 2012 1:14 PM Local Time
Sorel Mizzi raised from the hijack and received a call from Chad Brown in the cutoff. Terrence Chan and Vincent Gironda came along from the small and big blinds respectively, and it was four-way action to the flop.
Action went check-check to Mizzi, who put out a bet. Brown got out of the way, Chan made it two bets to go, and Gironda folded. Mizzi made the call and then folded when Chan led out on the turn.
| Terrence Chan | 469,000 | 50,500 |
| Sorel Mizzi | 280,000 | -34,500 |
Saturday, June 23, 2012 1:05 PM Local Time
Event #40 $2,500 Limit Hold'em Six-Handed is back underway. The final ten players are seated in the Blue Section of the Amazon Room on Tables 457 and 451, which is along the rail. With that said, the railbirds have flocked to view the action.
Saturday, June 23, 2012 12:47 PM Local Time
We are still about 15 minutes away from the scheduled start, although a few of the players have already found their seats. Here's how the final 10 will be arranged around the two five-handed tables:
| Table | Seat | Player | Chips |
|---|
| 451 | 1 | Ronnie Bardah | 64,000 |
| 451 | 2 | Sorel Mizzi | 314,500 |
| 451 | 3 | --empty-- | -- |
| 451 | 4 | Chad Brown | 137,500 |
| 451 | 5 | Terrence Chan | 418,500 |
| 451 | 6 | Vincent Gironda | 550,000 |
| | | | |
| 457 | 1 | Hans Minocha | 176,500 |
| 457 | 2 | --empty-- | -- |
| 457 | 3 | Marco Johnson | 71,000 |
| 457 | 4 | Rep Porter | 97,000 |
| 457 | 5 | Joep van den Bijgaart | 273,000 |
| 457 | 6 | Brent Wheeler | 163,000 |
Saturday, June 23, 2012 8:52 AM Local Time
There's been a kind of near-symmetry thus far Event 40: $2,500 Limit Hold'em - Six-Handed, almost matching the fixed nature of the betting the game requires.
Day 1 saw the starting field of 302 almost perfectly divided by three, with 101 players returning on Friday. From there exactly 10 have made it to today's final day of play, with the remaining group collectively bringing an impressive résumé of WSOP success to what will begin as two five-handed tables.
Here's how the stacks will look as the first hands of Day 3 are dealt:
| Position | Player | Chips |
|---|
| 1 | Vincent Gironda | 550,000 |
| 2 | Terrence Chan | 418,500 |
| 3 | Sorel Mizzi | 314,500 |
| 4 | Joep van den Bijgaart | 273,000 |
| 5 | Hans Minocha | 176,500 |
| 6 | Brent Wheeler | 163,000 |
| 7 | Chad Brown | 137,500 |
| 8 | Rep Porter | 97,000 |
| 9 | Marco Johnson | 71,000 |
| 10 | Ronnie Bardah | 64,000 |
It's quite a group. And a lot of interesting story lines, too.
To start, our end-of-day chip leader on both Day 1 and Day 2, Vincent Gironda of Edison, NJ is making his very first WSOP cash in this event.
Terrence Chan of Vancouver, Canada continues his remarkable summer at this year's WSOP where he's cashed a whopping seven times already, his best finish so far coming in Event 20: $5,000 Limit Hold'em where he took 12th. He's come close before at the WSOP, with a runner-up in 2007 in this very same event among his now 26 career WSOP cashes. As he told WSOP Media Director yesterday, "I'm hoping number eight is number one."
Sorel Mizzi, who like Chan also currently resides in Canada (in Toronto), begins today third in chips. This marks Mizzi's 21st career WSOP cash, among them a couple of runner-ups in PLO events.
The Dutchman Joep van den Bijgaart is also continuing a hot 2012 WSOP after having finished fourth in Event 35: $2,500 Mixed Hold'em. He final tabled another limit hold'em event back in 2009, the $1,500 shootout where he finished seventh.
Hans Minocha of Manhattan, Kansas starts today fifth in chips. This marks Minocha's first WSOP cash.
Brent Wheeler of St. Charles, Illinois was at that same Event 35 final table with van den Bijgaart earlier this week where he took seventh. Wheeler is making his fifth cash of the summer at this year's WSOP.
Like Chan and Mizzi, Chad Brown is another player whose enjoyed much success at the WSOP, coming close yet not quite earning a first gold bracelet. This marks Brown's 36th career WSOP cash, among them 10 final tables and three runner-up finishes (in stud, stud high-low, and 2-7 NL draw events). His career WSOP earnings entering this event total nearly $1.19 million.
Meanwhile Woodinville, Washington's Rep Porter comes to today's final day as the only player among the 10 with WSOP gold, having two bracelets among his 20 career cashes. Porter's first also came in 2008, also in a short-handed event, the $1,500 no-limit hold'em 6-max. event. Porter followed that with a win in last year's $2,500 razz event. This is Porter's fourth WSOP cash this summer, results that have nudged his career WSOP earnings over $1 million.
The Californian Marco Johnson is yet another player bringing a track record of WSOP success to today's final day. This marks Johnson's 17th career cash, one of them a second-place finish in 2008's $2,000 no-limit hold'em event that earned him a nearly half-million dollar payday.
And Ronnie Bardah of Stoneham, Massachusetts likewise has tasted success at the WSOP before, most notably in the 2010 Main Event where a deep run ended in 24th-place for a $317,161 score.
Will Gironda go wire-to-wire? Will Chan, Mizzi, Brown, or Johnson improve on their previous runner-ups at the WSOP to grab a first gold bracelet? Will Rep Porter manage to grab a third bracelet in five years? Or will someone else emerge as the next WSOP bracelet winner?
Today we'll find answers to these questions. It's been an exciting beginning and middle. Join us here at 2 PM Vegas time to follow along and find out how the Event 40 narrative ends.