Live! Summer Series Of Poker

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Live! Summer Series Of Poker (Event 19): Final Results

Live! Summer Series Of Poker
July 28, 2014

Event 19 - $250 Last Chance No Limit Hold'em
$5,000 Guarantee

Final Results:

Place	Player Name	Hometown	Prize

1	Charles Reed	Riestertown, MD	$4,000
2	Steven Solomon	Baltimore, MD	$3,256
3	Joseph Gabriszeski	Columbia, MD	$2,500
4	Travis Fowble	Carroll County, MD	$1,278
5	Elaine Ng	Oakton, Va	$1,009
6	Charles Southwell	Arlington, VA	$807
7	Alan Lee	N/A	$605

Live! Summer Series Of Poker (Event 18): Final Results

Live! Summer Series Of Poker
July 27, 2014

Event 18 - $600 No Limit Hold'em
$15,000 Guarantee

Final Results:

Place	Player Name	Hometown	Prize

1	Jimmy Born	Clarksville, MD	$3,007
2	Andrew Weinstein	Seatle, WA	$3,004
3	Sang Kim	Leesburg, VA	$3,004
4	Albert Hoffman	Springfield, MD	$3,004
5	Sang Yi	Marina, CA	$3,004
6	Brian Kurrus	Falls Church, VA	$3,004
7	James Sloat	Baltimore, MD	$3,004
8	Robert Kosydar	Severna Park, MD	$3,004

Live! Summer Series Of Poker (Event 17): Final Results

Live! Summer Series Of Poker
July 25-28, 2014

Event 17 - $2,200 No Limit Hold'em Main Event
$250,000 Guarantee

Final Results:

Place	Player Name	Hometown	Prize

1	Christian Harder	Annapolis, MD	$84,270
2	Brian Hastings	Fort Lauderdale, FL	$84,270
3	Ulises Roman	Huntigton, WV	$39,555
4	John O'Brien	Baltimore, MD	$27,860
5	Timothy Bishop	Saint Clairsville, OH	$21,497
6	Lawrence Lakatosh	Red Lion, PA	$16,338
7	Robert McLaughlin	Washington, DC	$12,726
8	Jonathan Ivy	Columbia, MD	$9,459
9	Charles Welch	Dundalk, MD	$6,707
10	Fred Jafarzadeh	Woodbridge, VA	$5,331
11	Lawrence Pileggi	Pittsburg, PA	$5,331
12	Michael Dentale	Brooklyn, NY	$5,331
13	Jesse Chinni	Hanover, MD	$4,471
14	Jacob Bazely	Cincinnati, OH	$4,471
15	Christopher McCoy	Carroll County, MD	$4,471
16	Samuel Wasserman	Vienna, VA	$3,955
17	Bradley Yazici	Essex, MD	$3,955
18	Faramarz Firoozabadi	Clifton, VA	$3,955

Live! Summer Series Of Poker (Event 16): Final Results

Live! Summer Series Of Poker
July 23, 2014

Event 16 - $220 No Limit Hold'em (Mega Stack Turbo)
$10,000 Guarantee

Final Results:

Place	Name	Hometown	Prize

1	Nathan Whiting	Glen Burine MD	$2,200
2	Jewel Lastner	Forest Hill MD	$2,000
3	Behrooz Shahzad	Laurel MD	$2,000
4	Ryan Sentz	Perry Hall MD	$2,000
5	Stephen Kawata	Elkridge MD	$2,000
6	Timothy Bryan	Fort Lauderdale, FL	$1,508
7	Alexander Wright	Brooklyn MD	$1,508
8	Brendon Sadowski	Aberdeen MD	$1,508
9	Allan Taylor	Owings Mills MD	$1,508
10	Yun Oh	Ellicott City MD	$1,508
11	Hewett Andrews	Joppa MD	$1,508
12	Robert Kosydar	Severna Park MD	$1,508
13	Michael Camp	Baltimore MD	$1,508

Live! Summer Series Of Poker (Event 15): Final Results

Live! Summer Series Of Poker
July 21-24, 2014

Event 15 - $500 No Limit Hold'em
$150,000 Guarantee

Final Results:

Place	Name	Hometown	Prize

1	Michael Dorsch	Gibsonia, PA	$32,567
2	Jefferey Chang	Washington, DC	$32,567
3	William Beer	Catonsville, MD	$27,000
4	Viet Le	Roanoke, VA	$26,300
5	Andrew Powderly	Reisterstown, MD	$26,016
6	Scott Calcagno	Adelaide, SA	$8,863
7	Tam Nguyen	Harrisburg, PA	$6,791
8	Sean Byars	Fairfax, VA	$4,834
9	David Tran	Annandale, VA	$3,453
10	Vincent Caesar	Newark, DE	$2,647
11	Timothy Weslow	Odenton, MD	$2,647
12	Demetrios Kappatos	Sterling, VA	$2,647
13	John Campbell	Hummels Town, PA	$2,072
14	Ravi Repole	College Park, MD	$2,072
15	William Kopp	Brecksville, OH	$2,072
16	Cory Robinson	Memphis, TN	$1,726
17	Steven Kang	Laurel, MD	$1,726
18	Kenneth Taffaro	Mooresville, NC	$1,726
19	Matthew Brunskole	Toronto, Canada	$1,496
20	RJM McLaughlin	Washington, DC	$1,496
21	Sudha Baxter	Silver Spring, MD	$1,496
22	James Bushmire	Greer, SC	$1,496
23	Trenton Cunnigham	Baltimore, MD	$1,496
24	Nicholas Condo	Philadelphia, PA	$1,496
25	Kyle Bowker	Walton, NY	$1,496
26	Marc Gendleman	Annapolis, MD	$1,496
27	Vito DePaul	Germantown, MD	$1,496
28	Charles Welch	Dundalk, MD	$1,266
29	Eric Montemaggi	Washington, DC	$1,266
30	Theodore Hickman	Frederick, MD	$1,266
31	Ryan Sentz	Perry Hall, MD	$1,266
32	William Bloom	Marriottsville, MD	$1,266
33	Darien Martin	Baltimore, MD	$1,266
34	Ralph Wong	Washington, DC	$1,266
35	Joseph Morris	Leesburg, VA	$1,266
36	Marc Gordon	North Potomac, MD	$1,266
37	Bradford Altman	King George, VA	$1,036
38	Jeromy Bitton	Baltimore, MD	$1,036
39	Daniel Chan	New York ,NY	$1,036
40	Dean Mikulla	Frederick, MD	$1,036
41	Douglas Swirsky	Gaithersburg, MD	$1,036
42	Jeffrey Yeh	Miami, FL	$1,036
43	Jeffrey Esterling	Arnold, MD	$1,036
44	Kunal Shah	Baltimore, MD	$1,036
45	Richard Ali	Pittsburg, PA	$1,036
46	Joshua Mischel	Baltimore, MD	$921
47	Jeffery Dolezal	Fairfax, VA	$921
48	Gang Tao	Brooklyn, MD	$921
49	Eric Laliberte	Montreal, Canada	$921
50	Harry Korotki	Owings Mills, MD	$921
51	Christopher Kojack	Glen Burnie, MD	$921
52	Michael Vida	Herndon, VA	$921
53	Reymundo Reyes	Fort Washington, MD	$921
54	Arnold Dinio	Bowie, MD	$921

Live! Summer Series Of Poker (Event 14): Final Results

Live! Summer Series Of Poker
July 18-20, 2014

Event 14 - $1,100 No Limit Hold'em
$75,000 Guarantee

Final Results:

Place	Player Name	Hometown	Prize

1	Drake Bronk	Chicago, IL	$29,335
2	Christopher Grove	Pasadena, MD	$24,540
3	Benjamin Sears	Suffolk, VA	$22,684
4	Serio Giuseppe	Pasedena, MD	$10,089
5	James Bucci	Hollywood, MD	$8,012
6	Frank Bonacci	Pittsburgh, PA	$6,232
7	Jesse Chinni	Hanover, MD	$5,045
8	Peter Calvo	Edgewater, MD	$3,858
9	Mark Castaldo	Fairfax, VA	$2,671
10	Brian Woods	Towson, MD	$2,077
11	Timothy Little	Cheverly, MD	$2,077
12	James Peters	Silver Spring, MD	$2,077

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Event 17 (Day 3): 1st Place - Christian Harder ($84,270)

Level 27 (Blinds 12,000/24,000/3,000)
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 1
Chip Average: 5,340,000

Event 17 Winner - Christian Harder

Moments after the 2 remaining players left to take a scheduled 15-minute break, they looked back at the table and realized they had almost identical chip stacks.

After about a 10-second discussion, they agreed to an even chop with Christian taking home the trophy:

Christian Harder - $84,270

Brian Hastings - $84,270

That's a wrap for the Main Event, as well as the series. We hope you've enjoyed our coverage of the 2014 Live! Summer Series of Poker over the past few weeks.

Event 17 (Day 3) 2nd Place - Brian Hastings ($84,270)

Level 27 (Blinds 12,000/24,000/3,000)
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 2
Chip Average: 2,670,000

2nd Place - Brian Hastings

Moments after the 2 remaining players left to take a scheduled 15-minute break, they looked back at the table and realized they had almost identical chip stacks.

After about a 10-second discussion, they agreed to an even chop with Christian taking home the trophy:

Christian Harder - $84,270

Brian Hastings - $84,270

Event 17 (Day 3): Harder Closes Gap

Level 27 (Blinds 12,000/24,000/3,000)
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 2
Chip Average: 2,670,000

Christian Harder pre-flop raised to 55,000 before Brian Hastings 3-bet to 170,000, which Harder called.

The flop came out Q♣ 3♣ 7♠. Hastings bet 225,000, and Harder called again.

After the 6♣ on the turn, Hastings checked and allowed Harder to be the aggressor in the form of a 290,000 chip bet. Hastings folded immediately, ceding a little over 400,000 chips in the hand.

Hastings - 3,240,000
Harder - 2,100,000

Event 17 (Day 3): 3rd Place - Ulises Roman ($39,555)

Level 27 (Blinds 12,000/24,000/3,000)
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 2
Chip Average: 2,670,000

3rd Place - Ulises Roman

Ulises Roman was well behind both Christian Harder and Brian Hastings when he woke up to a pocket pair on the button. He pre-flop raised to 63,000 before Hastings re-raised over the top. Roman announced all-in and Hastings quickly called.

Hastings: A♦ 10♠ Roman: 8♦ 8♣

Flop: 6♥ 4♠ 3♥
Turn: 3♣
River: 10♥

Roman's pair was holding up quite well in the race until Hastings paired his 10x on the river. He takes home $39,555 for the third-place finish.

As Hastings and Harder enter into heads up play, both players have over 2,000,000 chips, but Hastings has the early advantage by about a 1.2 million chip margin.

Event 17 (Day 3): 4th Place - John O'Brien ($27,860)

Level 27 (Blinds 12,000/24,000/3,000)
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 3
Chip Average: 1,780,000

4th Place - John O'Brien

On the first hand of Level 27, the two shortest stacks at the table went head to head.

John O'Brien pushed all-in from the small blind with less than 400,000 chips remaining. Christian Harder thought for approximately 0.004 seconds before calling and flipping over a big blind special.

Harder: A♠ A♦ O'Brien: 10♥ 9♥

Flop: 10♣ 7♣ 2♣
Turn: 8♠
River: 4♦

O'Brien got some life on the flop when the 10 gave him 5 outs, but it wasn't meant to be. He takes home $27,860 for the fourth-place finish.

The three remaining players have these chip stacks:

Brian Hastings: 3.4 million
Christian Harder: 1.2 million
Ulises Roman: 800,000

Event 17 (Day 3): Chip Update

Level 26 (Blinds 10,000/20,000/3,000)
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 4
Chip Average: 1,335,000

40 minutes into Level 26, and still minimal action.

During that time, Harder has lost about 400,000 chips, and Roman has gained them.

Brian Hastings - 3.0 million
Ulises Roman - 1.5 million
Christian Harder - 500,000
John O'Brien - 400,000

Event 17 (Day 3): Plenty of Effort, Minimal Work

Level 26 (Blinds 10,000/20,000/3,000)
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 4
Chip Average: 1,335,000

There have been a few decent pots in the 20 minutes since the players returned from break. But if you'll recall from physics class, if you carry a piano up the stairs and carry it back down the stairs to the same starting point, you've "physically" done no work.

That's where the 4 remaining players are, as their chip counts are all but identical to what they were at break.

Monday, July 28, 2014

Event 17 (Day 3): Chip Update At Break

Level 26 (Blinds 10,000/20,000/3,000)
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 4
Chip Average: 1,335,000

What a roller coaster ride it has been for Brian Hastings over the past few hours.

At one point before the dinner break, he was up over 2.7 million - holding more than 50 percent of the chips in play. Then, about 45 minutes after dinner, he was down to just over 1.0 million. But over the past 40 minutes, he has soared back into a commanding lead.

Brian Hastings - 2,925,000
Ulises Roman - 1,050,000
Christian Harder - 900,000
John O'Brien - 500,000

Event 17 (Day 3): 5th Place - Tim Bishop ($21,497)

Level 25 (Blinds 8,000/16,000/2,000)
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 4
Chip Average: 1,335,000

5th Place - Tim Bishop

After a long, uphill journey to get over half a million chips, Tim Bishop's chips were gone in the blink of an eye thanks to the rejuvenated good fortune of Brian Hastings.

After a flop of 9♣ 6♠ 5♣, Bishop pushed all-in and got a call from Hastings.

Bishop: J♥ J♣ Hastings: 7♦ 8♦

Turn: 10♠
River: 5♦

After the turn, Bishop was drawing dead to the straight that Hastings flopped.

Bishop leaves in 5th place with $21,497, and Hastings is back over the 2,000,000-chip mark.

Players are 15 minutes away from their next 15-minute break. There will be a full chip update at that time.

Event 17 (Day 3): Hastings Back in Great Shape

Level 25 (Blinds 8,000/16,000/2,000)
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 5
Chip Average: 1,068,000

Brian Hastings

After 75 minutes of losing chips left and right, it only took two hands against Christian Harder for Brian Hastings to get comfortably back into first place.

This showdown transpired maybe 4 hands after the previous one documented.

Hastings raised to 40,000 pre-flop, and Harder made the call in the big blind.

Flop: 10♠ 6♦ 4♥

Hastings upped his bet marginally to 45,000 and Harder flat-called.

Turn: 8♣

Now Hastings started going for the jugular, putting out a bet of 150,000, which Harder called after some deliberation.

River: A♥

This time Hastings counted out a big stack of teal 25,000 chips, pushing 350,000 into the middle. Harder once again thought for some time before making the call. Hastings flipped up 10♦ 8♥, revealing two pair. Harder tossed his cards into the muck, and now sits with less than 400,000 chips.

Event 17 (Day 3): Harder To Fold

Level 25 (Blinds 8,000/16,000/2,000)
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 5
Chip Average: 1,068,000

Christian Harder

With a pre-flop pot of about 200,000 and a flop of 10♣ 3♣ 4♦, Christian Harder put out a bet of 112,000, which Brian Hastings re-raised to 250,000. Harder deliberated for a little while before making the call.

The 3♠ came out on the turn, and Hastings pushed all-in for his final 650,000 chips.

Harder went into the tank for several minutes, saying nothing while shuffling a stack of teal 25,000 chips over and over again. Losing the hand would have left him with less than half of the chip average, but a win would give him an overwhelming chip lead with just four players remaining.

In the end, he elected to fold and remains the chip leader by a thin margin.

Event 17 (Day 3): Level Increase, Chip Update

Level 25 (Blinds 8,000/16,000/2,000)
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 5
Chip Average: 1,068,000

Christian Harder - 1,600,000
Ulises Roman - 1,100,000
Brian Hastings - 1,100,000
John O'Brien - 1,000,000
Tim Bishop - 600,000

Event 17 (Day 3): Chip Update

Level 24 (Blinds 7,000/14,000/1,500)
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 5
Chip Average: 1,068,000

Here is where the players stand 45 minutes after dinner break (with their pre dinner break chip count listed in parentheses):

Christian Harder: 1,600,000 (1,050,000)
John O'Brien: 1,200,000 (750,000)
Brian Hastings: 1,100,000 (2,050,000)
Ulises Roman: 950,000 (1,200,000)
Tim Bishop: 450,000 (200,000)

Event 17 (Day 3): O'Brien's Turn To Double Through Hastings

Level 24 (Blinds 7,000/14,000/1,500)
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 5
Chip Average: 1,068,000

John O'Brien

John O'Brien pre-flop raised to 30,000 under the gun before action folded around to Brian Hastings in the big blind. He raised to 85,000, which O'Brien called.

Flop: 10♥ 8♥ 5♠

O'Brien bet 75,000, and after a minute, Hastings pushed him all-in for his final 422,000. He immediately called and flipped up a monster draw.

O'Brien: 6♥ 4♥ Hastings: A♠ Q♥

Turn: 3♣
River: 7♣

O'Brien got his gut-shot straight on the river, taking nearly 600,000 more chips away from Hastings.

Ulises Roman hasn't been involved in any big hands since dinner break, but he may be the new chip leader by attrition. Four of the five players at the final table now have more than 1,000,000 chips.

Event 17 (Day 3): Bishop Doubles Up; Hastings Takes Another Hit

Level 24 (Blinds 7,000/14,000/1,500)
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 5
Chip Average: 1,068,000

Brian Hastings

Slowly but surely, the dents are starting to take effect on Brian Hastings' big stack, as he gave away another 200,000 to Tim Bishop.

Bishop pushed all-in pre-flop with A♥ 3♠ and got a call from Hastings' K♥ Q♦.

The board ran out A♠ 4♠ 2♦ 6♥ 10♦, giving Bishop the win, but leaving him at least one more double up away from the chip average.

Event 17 (Day 3): Easing Back Into Play

Level 24 (Blinds 7,000/14,000/1,500)
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 5
Chip Average: 1,068,000

They say you should wait half an hour after eating before going swimming.

Evidently, that also applies to playing big hands of poker. Aside from Tim Bishop occasionally pushing his short stack all-in and getting no callers, there weren't any big pots in the first 20 minutes after players returned from dinner.

But then Christian Harder and Brian Hastings made a bit of a splash in a hand that almost reached 1,000,000 chips.

After a flop of 8♠ 8♥ 7♦, Harder bet 90,000. Hastings flat-called.

The turn brought the A♠ and a 130,000 bet from Harder. Again, Hastings flat-called.

With the 5♥ on the river, Harder counted out 280,000 chips before pushing them into the middle. Hastings went into the tank for a minute before folding and revealing the A♥.

Harder ended up taking about 250,000 chips from Hastings' 2,000,000 stack.

Event 17 (Day 3): Back From Summer Break

Level 24 (Blinds 7,000/14,000/1,500)
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 5
Chip Average: 1,068,000

Play has resumed after a one-hour dinner break.

Players are entering Level 24, where the chip average equates to 76 big blinds.

Event 17 (Day 3): Dinner Break Chip Count

Level 24 (Blinds 7,000/14,000/1,500)
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 5
Chip Average: 1,068,000

The remaining 5 players will return to Level 24 after a one-hour dinner break, resuming play at 9:40 p.m.

With Ulises Roman taking more than 300,000 chips from Brian Hastings in the final hand before dinner, the playing field has been evened out a bit.

Brian Hastings - 2,100,000
Ulises Roman - 1,200,000
Christian Harder - 1,050,000
John O'Brien - 750,000
Tim Bishop - 225,000

Event 17 (Day 3): Dinner Looming

Level 23 (Blinds 6,000/12,000/1,500)
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 5
Chip Average: 1,068,000

The 5 remaining players are 8 minutes away from their hour-long dinner break.

With the average chip stack currently accounting for 89 big blinds, let's hope they get some coffee with their nourishment. It could be a very late night.

Event 17 (Day 3): 6th Place - John Lakatosh ($16,338)

Level 23 (Blinds 6,000/12,000/1,500)
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 5
Chip Average: 1,068,000

6th Place - John Lakatosh

It had been a good 25 minutes since a river card came out on the final table. If Brian Hastings wasn't big-stack bullying everyone else out of the hand pre-flop or if another player wasn't going all-in pre-flop without getting a call, it was a flop and immediate raise that ended the hand.

But when the river finally did come, it was quite cruel to John Lakatosh.

John O'Brien pre-flop raised to 75,000, which Lakatosh called. After the 10♦ 5♣ 2♦ flop, Lakatosh pushed all-in and O'Brien immediately called.

Lakatosh: 2x 2x O'Brien: J♦ J♣

Turn: K♥
River: J♠

O'Brien hit a two-outer on the river, nearly doubling up to 750,000 and sending Lakatosh home in 6th place with $16,338.

Event 17 (Day 3): Chip Updates

Level 23 (Blinds 6,000/12,000/1,500)
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 6
Chip Average: 890,000

After a small flurry of eliminations and less than an hour before dinner, here is what the remaining six players are holding:

Brian Hastings: 2,750,000
Christian Harder: 1,150,000
Ulises Roman: 600,000
Tim Bishop: 330,000
John Lakatosh: 320,000
John O'Brien: 300,000

Event 17 (Day 3): 7th Place - McLaughlin ($12,726)

Level 23 (Blinds 6,000/12,000/1,500)
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 6
Chip Average: 890,000

7th Place - Robert McLaughlin

Two hands after Jonathan Ivy's elimination and less than 5 hands after his own stack was crippled, Robert McLaughlin was eliminated in 7th place.

He was all-in pre-flop against Christian Harder in a race that all but ended on the turn.

Harder: 9x 9x McLaughlin: Ax Kx

Flop: 8x 7x 6x
Turn: 10x
River: Ax

Without a 9x on the river, McLaughlin was unable to get a chopped pot and left in 7th place.

A few hands prior, he and Brian Hastings were engaged in a big hand. With a board of K♦ Q♥ 8♥ 9♥ 9♦ and roughly 300,000 already in the pot, Hastings put out a bet of 375,000 that would have put McLaughlin all-in. He went into the tank for several minutes before electing to fold, leaving him with about 200,000 chips.

Event 17 (Day 3): 8th Place - Ivy ($9,549)

Level 22 (Blinds 5,000/10,000/1,000)
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 7
Chip Average: 762,857

8th Place - Jonathan Ivy

In a battle between the two biggest stacks at the table, Brian Hastings emerged victorious and now has more than half the chips in play.

Jonathan Ivy put out a pre-flop raise to 30,000, knocking everyone out of the hand except for Hastings.

Flop: K♦ J♣ 9♣

Ivy bet 50,000 before Hastings re-raised to 130,000. Ivy immediately announced a raise to 300,000. Hastings thought for maybe 30 seconds before putting Ivy all-in, which he agreed to do.

Ivy: K♣ K♠ Hastings: Q♠ 10♠

If the top players were all-in, you had to know they both had monster hands. Ivy flopped top set, but Hastings had a straight. A pair on the board would have given Ivy a full house, but it ran out 6♦ 2♥, sending Ivy home in 8th place.

Event 17 (Day 3): Roman Takes 120,000 From Lakatosh

Level 22 (Blinds 5,000/10,000/1,000)
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 8
Chip Average: 667,500

John Lakatosh

John Lakatosh could do no wrong last night as he opened up a commanding lead heading into the final two tables.

Today has been a different story. He opened the day with just under 900,000 chips, but now has just over 200,000.

The latest loss came courtesy of Ulises Roman. Lakatosh put out a pre-flop raise to 23,000, which Roman re-raised to 58,000. Lakatosh called, and they saw a flop of Q♣ 9♣ 5♣.

Lakatosh checked and Roman bet 64,000. Lakatosh flat-called. The turn brought the 5♦. Lakatosh once again checked before Roman bet 100,000, leading Lakatosh to fold.

Lakatosh and Tim Bishop are currently battling for the honor of short stack with 8 players remaining. Both players have about 20 big blinds left.

Event 17 (Day 3): 9th Place - Welch ($6,707)

Level 22 (Blinds 5,000/10,000/1,000)
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 8
Chip Average: 667,500

9th Place - Charles Welch

After an impressive run of three final tables during this series, Charles Welch's Main Event has come to an end.

Welch was one of the shorter stacks since the start of the final table, and was down to about 10 big blinds when he got all his chips into the middle with two over cards against John O'Brien's pocket pair.

Welch: A♦ J♥ O'Brien: 9♠ 9♣

Flop: K♠ K♦ 9♥
Turn: 8♥
River: 6♥

Not only was Welch unable to pair either of his cards, but O'Brien flopped a full house. He has been running hot since the start of the final table. He was the shortest stack with 10 players remaining, but now has just a shade under the chip average - pretty good considering Brian Hastings has more than one-third of the chips in play.

Welch goes home in 9th place with $6,707. This was his third cash during this series and his fifth career cash at the Live! Poker Room.

Event 17 (Day 3): Chip Update On Break

Level 22 (Blinds 5,000/10,000/1,000)
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 9
Chip Average: 593,333

Players are currently on a 15-minute break. When they return, they will play two more levels before taking an hour-long dinner break.

At the moment, here is where everyone stands in the quest to catch up to Brian Hastings.

Jonathan Ivy - 825,000
Charles Welch - 150,000
Robert McLaughlin - 420,000
Brian Hastings - 1,900,000
John Lakatosh - 350,000
John O'Brien - 380,000
Christian Harder - 825,000
Ulises Roman - 330,000
Tim Bishop - 140,000

Event 17 (Day 3): Action Slowing Before Break

Level 21 (Blinds 4,000/8,000/1,000)
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 9
Chip Average: 593,333

With just 5 minutes remaining until the next break, it's been a little while since a big hand transpired.

Perhaps the most intriguing development in the past half hour was a hand in which Brian Hastings raised to 18,000 pre-flop and got three callers - John Lakatosh, Christian Harder and Tim Bishop.

All three players checked the J♦ 10♠ 2♠ flop, bringing out the 8♣.

Bishop bet 23,000. Hastings and Harder called. The 7♣ came out on the river and Harder bought the pot with a bet of 82,000.

While players are on break, a full chip count updated will be provided.

Event 17 (Day 3): Welch Staying Alive

Level 21 (Blinds 4,000/8,000/1,000)
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 9
Chip Average: 593,333

Charles Welch

Charles Welch was all-in for his final 100,000 chips and got a call from Jonathan Ivy.

Welch: Q♥ J♣ Ivy: A♥ 9♠

Flop: A♣ 8♣ 9♣

Turn: 10♥

River: K♣

Ivy was pretty unhappy about flopping two pair, as those cards also gave Welch a straight and flush draw. Charles made his straight on the turn and the flush on the river, while Ivy was unable to improve to a full house.

As mentioned earlier today, Welch also final tabled the main event of the $1 Million Live! Poker Classic back in March, and has now been to three final tables in this series alone. So, yeah, of course he hit both the straight and the flush on that hand. The man has been unstoppable for months.

Welch still has less than half the average chip stack, but he does have close to 30 big blinds to play with - a testament to how deep the stacks are in comparison to the blinds.

Event 17 (Day 3): O'Brien Doubles Up, Jafarzadeh takes 10th place

Level 20 (Blinds 3,500/7,000/1,000)
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 9
Chip Average: 593,333

10th Place - Fred Jafarzadeh ($5,311)

Down to his final 137,500, at least John O'Brien was able to find a good hand to push all-in with.

He got a call from Charles Welch, and everyone else folded pre-flop to reveal a battle of pocket pairs.

Welch: Jx Jx O'Brien: Qx Qx

Flop: Qx Ax 2x
Turn: 4x
River: Jx

Pretty painful for Welch to finally make a set while drawing dead after going quite some time without winning any big pots.

Both players are still well below the chip average, but O'Brien does have some chips to play with again.

Two hands later, Fred Jafarzadeh - now the shortest stack at the table - pushed all-in to no avail and left the room in 10th place. He'll take home $5,311.