Event #49: $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 6-Handed

Louie Calvo came out on top of a 630-player field in Event #49: $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 6-Handed at the 2107 World Series of Poker to win $362,185 and his first gold bracelet.

Once the official final table had been reached, the first player to be knocked out was Gerhard Schleicher, who got his stack in on the turn with two pair against Calvo's nut flush and failed to improve on the river. The next to depart was Aleksei Altshuller, who flopped bottom two pair and got his chips in against Rudolph Sawa's top two pair and got no help from the rest of the board. The fourth-place finisher was Eric Hicks, who entered the unofficial final table extremely short and saw a meteoric rise in his chip stack in a series of double-ups and huge pots before Calvo took the overwhelming majority of his stack in one hand and Sawa dispatched him on the very next one with aces against Hicks' pair of threes. Mark Reilly became the third-place finisher when he got his chips in on the flop with a combo draw against Calvo's pair of jacks and got no help from the deck on the turn or river.

Heads-up play between Calvo and Sawa didn't last long, and it all ended when all the chips went in on the flop with Sawa holding an open-ended straight draw and eight-high flush draw against Calvo's pocket aces and nut-flush draw. The turn and river were running queens, which changed nothing for either player, and meant the pot and the title belonged to Calvo.

"It's so exciting, what a feeling. I've been playing for 18 years, professionally for 17," Calvo said as he explained that he had spent most of his career focusing on cash games and had entered very few major tournaments. "Honestly, I just played my game the whole time. I picked my spots," he said with an uncontainable grin.

The atmosphere at the final table started out lively and enthusiastic, thanks in large part to Eric Hicks, whose good-natured, happy-go-lucky excitement drew more than a few of his friends to join his girlfriend, who had "GO ERIC" written across her exposed midriff, in cheering for him from the rail with beers in hand. Hicks spun up quite a stack and had the chip lead at several different points before he ultimately busted, and his rail exploded with every pot he dragged. When he departed, his rail went with him and the energy around the table dropped to a lull. However, Calvo was soon joined by a star-studded rail that included his longtime friend Michael Mizrachi, who stayed until Calvo, a fellow Floridian, had finished the job.

The pot-limit Omaha action at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino is winding down, but the biggest events are yet to come. Event #54: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed Championship begins Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. local time, and the final and most prestigious pot-limit Omaha event of the summer, Event #67: $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed High Roller, kicks off on July 5. Be sure to check back here for coverage of those and all other events at the 2017 World Series of Poker from the PokerNews live reporting team.

Final Table Results

The first heads-up hand saw Luis Calvo apply a big pressure on Rudolph Sawa.

Calvo min-raised from the button, and Sawa called to see the     land on the flop. Sawa checked, and Calvo continued for 200,000. He received a quick call.

The   turn brought another check from Sawa, and Calvo pulled out a second barrel, sliding in 350,000. Sawa seemed calm, calling fast again.

Sawa checked one more time on the   river, but Calvo remained attacking. He asked for the pot size, getting 1,420,000. Then he announced he was betting 750,000. Sawa acted quickly again, but he didn't press the call button this time, sending his cards to the muck.

With the first hand going his way, Calvo increased his lead to exact two-to-one advantage.

Luis Calvo	6,300,000	710,000
Rudolph Sawa	3,150,000	-710,000

Louie Calvo opened to 175,000 from the button and Rudolph Sawa called from the big blind.

The flop came     and Sawa checked. Calvo bet 250,000 and Sawa called.

The turn was the   and both players checked.

The   fell on the river and Sawa checked. Calvo bet 575,000, Sawa folded, and Calvo took the chips.

Rudolph Sawa	3,420,000	-1,320,000
Luis Calvo	2,205,000	-15,000

Players are now on a 15-minute break.

Rudolph Sawa called from the small blind and Louie Calvo checked his option.

The flop came     and Sawa bet 75,000. Calvo called.

The turn brought the   and Sawa bet again, 225,000 this time. Calvo announced "pot" and put out a raise to 845,000 to commit the majority of his stack. Sawa said "I believe it," and tossed his cards into the muck.

Rudolph Sawa	3,900,000	-300,000
Luis Calvo	1,400,000	100,000

Rudolph Sawa has been successful in pots against Mark Reilly, but he topped it with a tremendous hit to Eric Hicks' stack.

Sawa was under the gun, and he limped. Hicks potted from the small blind, and Sawa stuck around for the required 200,000.

Hicks continued on the     flop, betting 250,000. Sawa called instantly. The turn   was checked by Hicks, inducing a bet worth 350,000 from Sawa. Hicks paused for a moment, then potted it to 1,950,000. Sawa snap-called. He had only 1,760,000 total, and he double-checked whether he was all in so that the cards could be rolled over.

Rudolph Sawa:     
Eric Hicks:     

Hicks knew he was in a huge trouble, and he didn't want to show his cards that quickly. When it became clear he had kings, his railbirds couldn't believe it. Hicks turned toward them, saying, "I got a king coming. Don't worry."

However, the dealer didn't oblige, revealing the   river, giving Sawa quads instead.

Hicks suffered a massive blow to his stack, while Sawa soared to the lead, now guarding nearly a half the total chips in play.

Rudolph Sawa	4,470,000	1,870,000
Eric Hicks	1,400,000	-2,110,000

Rudolph Sawa just took another bite out of Mark Reilly's stack to hurdle over Reilly in the rankings.

It was a casual start to the hand, with Sawa raising to 125,000 under the gun and Reilly defending his big blind.

Reilly checked on the     flop, and Sawa asked how much was in the pot. There was 275,000 in the middle, and Sawa chose the maximum bet. Reilly called the 275,000, and the big-pot alert was on. The   turn was, however, checked by both players. Reilly checked the   river, as well, but Sawa went for more value. He set the price at 400,000, and Reilly gave it some thought before calling.

Sawa had the second nuts, showing     , assured of his victory. Reilly, indeed, didn't have the quads, and paid his opponent off again.

Rudolph Sawa	2,600,000	870,000
Mark Reilly	2,300,000	-815,000

Rudolph Sawa made a big move on the first hand after the dinner break. He was sitting in the small blind, looking at Eric Hicks' open-raise to 125,000 and Mark Reilly's flat on the button. Sawa raised pot, commiting more than a third of his chips. Hicks folded quickly, but Reilly paid off the 550,000.

Sawa had just under a pot-sized bet behind, and he opted to slow down on the     flop. Reilly checked back. They continued to the   turn, and that was the time for Sawa to finally shove on Reilly, who gave up after a few seconds.

Mark Reilly	3,115,000	-550,000
Rudolph Sawa	2,210,000	725,000