Friday, July 13, 2012 3:31 PM Local Time
Ben Greenberg is having an excellent start to Day 4, up above the 2,000,000 chip mark.
He is sitting in the blue section, making it hard for us to see all of the action, but he was kind enough to inform us of the big hands that have propelled him.
First, he opened under then gun with and an opponent at his table re-raised big with , with about 300,000 behind. Greenberg opted to four-bet jam and his opponent called all in. A on the turn gave Greenberg the pot.
Next, he raised from the small blind with and was called by the player in the big blind with about 200,000 behind. A flop came down and the chips found their way into the middle. Greenberg held up against his opponent's .
Friday, July 13, 2012 3:30 PM Local Time
We caught up with the action to see Jeremy Ausmus all in against Craigory Thames. Thames had flopped a set on the flop with but was crushed by Ausmus who flopped top set with .
The turn was the and Thames had one out going to the river. Unfortunately for Thames, the river was the and Ausmus was able to double up to 460,000 in chips.
| Jeremy Ausmus | 460,000 | 110,000  |
| Craigory Thames | 42,000 | -262,500  |
Friday, July 13, 2012 3:25 PM Local Time
James Mitchell is no longer part of the 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event. His last hand saw him all in preflop holding against the of Tomas Samol.
The board was no help to Mitchell as he was eliminated early in the afternoon of Day 4. Samol, however, is now sitting behind a stack of almost 900,000.
| Tomas Samol | 885,000 | 508,500 |
| James Mitchell | 0 | -260,000 |
Friday, July 13, 2012 3:23 PM Local Time
Joseph Marchal was all in at risk against Shaun Deeb moments ago. When we reached the table, the flop had already fallen , Deeb had in front of him, and Marchal held . There was a brief pause so that the ESPN cameras could set up the shot.
"Man," Deeb sighed. "Any hand but that one."
The turn and river were both black, but neither the nor the improved Deeb's hand, and Marchal doubled again.
Deeb was knocked down to 363,000.
| Joseph Marchal | 415,000 | 155,000 |
| Shaun Deeb | 363,000 | -177,000 |
Friday, July 13, 2012 3:17 PM Local Time
It folded around to Brian Meinders on the button who raised to 17,000, and when the action got to Antonio Esfandiari in the big blind he declared he was all in. Meinders called immediately with his remaining stack of 110,000 or so, turning over . Meanwhile, Esfandiari had .
"This one I don't feel so good about," said Esfandiari after a pause, causing the table to laugh.
The cameras came over, and during the wait Esfandiari suggested to the dealer he could give him a $1,000 bonus if he delivered a three. He continued to talk to the dealer, who managed to keep a mostly straight face before the cameras as they arrived.
Producer Mori Eskandani came over as well and got a look at the tabled hands. "I got aces, Mori!" lied Esfandiari, and the table laughed again.
The community cards were finally delivered — — and Meinders survives while Esfandiari is now on the short stack.
"That hurt," Esfandiari said to Meinders. "Financially, emotionally, and physically... but not spiritually!"
Esfandiari will need a double up soon, or his spirits may sink as well.
| Brian Meinders | 242,000 | 136,500 |
| Antonio Esfandiari | 47,000 | -83,000 |
Friday, July 13, 2012 3:15 PM Local Time
David Kluchman opened for 14,000 from early position only to have last year's November Niner Sam Holden three-bet to 33,000 from late position. Sallie Avino then moved all in for 219,000 from the small blind, Kluchman got out of the way, and Holden made the call.
Showdown
Holden:
Avino:
Avino had picked the wrong time to push as Holden held the granddaddy of all hands. The board ran out and that was all she wrote for Avino.
| Sam Holden | 805,000 | 380,500 |
| Sallie Avino | 0 | -67,000 |
Friday, July 13, 2012 3:14 PM Local Time
Kosei Ichinose opened for 13,000 from early position and was three-bet by Shawn Quillin to 27,000 from middle position. Action folded back around to Ichinose, who made the call.
The flop came and Ichinose check-called a 32,000 bet from Quillin.
Both players checked the turn, however, when the completed the board, Ichinose reached for chips and fired 55,000 into the middle.
Quillin asked for a count and deliberated a bit, but eventually tossed in a call. Ichinose tabled for a set of nines.
"Wow...good river for you," Quillin said. He then tabled for pocket aces and mucked.
Ichinose, who recently won the Macau Poker Cup HK$5,400 No-Limit Hold'em Event, is up to 345,000.
| Kosei Ichinose | 345,000 | 142,000 |
Friday, July 13, 2012 3:13 PM Local Time
We don't know the exact preflop bets, but we know that Vanessa Selbst raised preflop, Roberto Betbese shoved for around 45,000, and Selbst called.
Selbst:
Betbese:
The board brought all low cards, coming , and Selbst collected the bounty, and added those chips to her stack, which is now at around 930,000 from our estimation.
| Vanessa Selbst | 930,000 | 18,000 |
Friday, July 13, 2012 3:11 PM Local Time
Nicholas Abourisk opened to 12,000 on the button, Andrew Moreno three-bet jammed for 120,000 from the small blind, and Abourisk called.
The board ran out , and Moreno doubled to around 255,000.
| Andrew Moreno | 255,000 | 100,000 |
Friday, July 13, 2012 3:11 PM Local Time
Amnon Filippi was in early position when he opened it up to 16,000. Marty Zabib then three-bet to 35,000 from the button and Filippi made the call.
Flop:
Filippi checked here and Zabib bet 115,000. Filippi started thinking deeply and Gavin Smith, who was a few tables away, shouted out, "Take it down Amnon!"
"Would you shut the f**k up," snapped back Filippi. "This is for my tournament life here."
After some more thinking, Filippi moved all in for 419,000. His opponent called and the two players turned their hands over.
Filippi had a set of fives and would be doubling up as long as he dodged a few cards. The turn was safe and so was the and Filippi raked in the double up.
| Amnon Filippi | 910,000 | 385,000 |
| Marty Zabib | 580,000 | -320,000 |
Friday, July 13, 2012 3:08 PM Local Time
Zachary Fahmie opened on the button, another player in the blinds three-bet, and Joseph Marchal four-bet jammed for 115,000 from the big blind. Fahmie called, and the three-bettor folded.
The board ran out , and Marchal doubled to around 250,000.
| Joseph Marchal | 260,000 | 196,000 |
| Zachary Fahmie | 250,000 | -70,000 |
Friday, July 13, 2012 3:08 PM Local Time
Steffen Retterholt raised to 13,000 from middle position and then called when Joseph Cheong three-bet to 31,000 from the cutoff. Retterholt proceeded to check-call bets of 36,000 on the flop and 70,000 on the turn, before the was put out on the river.
Again Retterholt checked, but this time he thought long and hard before calling Cheong's 128,000 bet. "Two pair," Cheong said and rolled over . Retterholt scoffed, shook his head, and then sent his cards to the muck.
| Joseph Cheong | 800,000 | 210,000 |
| Steffen Retterholt | 580,000 | -220,000 |
Friday, July 13, 2012 3:05 PM Local Time
There was a preflop all in showdown between Wes Gauthier and Fabio Luongo. The camera crews surrounded the table and we were off to a showdown.
Gauthier:
Luongo:
The board ran and Luongo doulbed with aces up.
| Fabio Luongo | 550,000 | 190,000 |
| Wes Gauthier | 500,000 | -45,000 |
Friday, July 13, 2012 3:04 PM Local Time
We caught up just in time to see Ronnie Bardah's final hand of the 2012 World Series of Poker. This is Bardah's third consecutive cash in the WSOP Main Event. Bardah was able to make a deep run in 2010 where he eventually finished in 24th place. Bardah also cashed in 2011 with a 453rd place finish.
Bardah moved his last 140,000 all in before the flop with . Bardah was called by Al Wasserberger's and Bardah was looking for some help on the flop.
He did not find it, however, as the flop fell .
"Club one time for the sweat," said Bardah, but the deck denied him even this privilege, as the rolled off on the turn.
Fifth street was the and Bardah was sent to the rail. While it is always a disappointment to be eliminated from the Main Event, Bardah can't be too disappointed with his 2012 WSOP as a whole. Bardah was able to earn his first WSOP bracelet earlier this summer in Event 40: $2,500 Limit Hold'em - Six-Handed. Here is Bardah's winner interview from his bracelet win:
| Ronnie Bardah | 0 | -244,500 |
Friday, July 13, 2012 3:03 PM Local Time
Joh Lavorato was under the gun when he get all his short-stacked chips in the middle. Lee Childs was in the small blind and made the call, along with Randy Haddox in the big blind. Lavorato watched on as Haddox and Childs checked down a board. Here is how all the cards looked at showdown.
| Lavorato: |
| Haddox: |
| Childs: |
"What are guys calling with?" commented Lavorato as he raked in his new chips.
| Randy Haddox | 1,200,000 | 290,000 |
| Lee Childs | 600,000 | 160,000 |
| John Lavorato | 215,000 | 115,000 |
Friday, July 13, 2012 3:03 PM Local Time
With around 70,000 in the pot and a flop of , Maria Ho checked from the under-the-gun position and opened the door for Mark Cole to bet 45,000 from middle position. Ho responded with a check-raise to 100,000, but Cole instantly moved all in for 330,000. Ho tanked for a solid two minutes before making the call.
Showdown
Both players had flopped a pair of aces, and while Ho's kicker had her out in front, Cole held a spade-flush draw. The turn gave both two pair, but again Ho's kicker was best. The dealer burned one last time and put out the on the river to give Cole a flush.. Ho, who was the last woman standing in the Main Event back in 2007, dropped down to 175,000 after the hand.
| Mark Cole | 735,000 | 354,000 |
| Maria Ho | 175,000 | -300,000 |
Friday, July 13, 2012 2:58 PM Local Time
We caught up with the action on the turn, with the board reading . There was about 45,000 in the middle, and Freddy Deeb made it 38,000 to go. Action was on Jamie Shaevel, and he counted out a raise of 100,000, and stuck it in the middle. This represented most of Deeb's remaining stack, and it didn't take him long to announce all in. Shaevel made the call, and the cards were tabled.
Deeb:
Shaevel:
Deeb held top two pair, but Shaevel could still catch an ace or a heart to win the hand. The river brought the , and Deeb let out a quick "yes" as he saw he won the pot. Shaevel is knocked down to 238,000, while Deeb doubles to 310,000.
| Freddy Deeb | 310,000 | 150,000 |
| Jamie Shaevel | 238,000 | -71,000 |
Friday, July 13, 2012 2:51 PM Local Time
For exact places of finish, please refer to our payouts page.
| Kent Goulding | 0 | -113,000 |
| Benjamin Saada | 0 | -155,000 |
| Tommy Velliama | 0 | -163,000 |
| Neil Ryder | 0 | -75,000 |
| Stewart Newman | 0 | 0 |
| Alexis Bouchiouane | 0 | 0 |
| Steven Schlesinger | 0 | -245,000 |
| Dan Natarelli | 0 | -74,500 |
| Justin Oliver | 0 | -87,000 |
| Joseph Teanotoga | 0 | 0 |
| Antoine Guyetant | 0 | -120,000 |
| Brock Parker | 0 | -337,000 |
| Fabien Perrot | 0 | -75,000 |
| Thaddeus Wolff | 0 | -138,000 |
| Adam Bennett | 0 | -239,000 |
| Loi Phan | 0 | -105,500 |
| Kirk Specka | 0 | -99,000 |
| Paul Ephremsen | 0 | -292,000 |
Friday, July 13, 2012 2:49 PM Local Time
We caught up to find David Randall all in before the flop for his last 248,000. Randall was against the pocket aces of Vitalii Minakov and would need some help on the flop.
Minakov:
Randall:
Randall was able to flop a gutshot on and was miraculously able to get there when the peeled off on fourth street. The table winced when this card fell and the board completed with the . Randall is now sitting with about 520,000 in chips while Minakov has been crippled.
| David Randall | 520,000 | 270,000 |
Friday, July 13, 2012 2:47 PM Local Time
Former WPT Champion Tuan Le is seated with Vanessa Selbst over on the secondary featured table, and we have very limited access to that table. However, we heard that Le was all in, so we went over to get as close as we could. Here's what we saw.
Le was all in with on a flop of . However, Le was well behind the held by Daniel Sauva. The turn brought the , and the river came the . With that, Le's dream of making the Octo-Nine is gone.
| Tuan Le | 0 | -240,000 |