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
Monday, July 28, 2014
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
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.
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 4
Chip Average: 1,335,000
 |
| 5th Place - Tim Bishop |
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
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.
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 5
Chip Average: 1,068,000
 |
| Brian Hastings |
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
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.
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 5
Chip Average: 1,068,000
 |
| Christian Harder |
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
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)
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 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.
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 5
Chip Average: 1,068,000
 |
| John O'Brien |
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
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.
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 5
Chip Average: 1,068,000
 |
| Brian Hastings |
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.
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.
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
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.
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
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.
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 5
Chip Average: 1,068,000
 |
| 6th Place - John Lakatosh |
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
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
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.
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 6
Chip Average: 890,000
 |
| 7th Place - Robert McLaughlin |
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
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.
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 7
Chip Average: 762,857
 |
| 8th Place - Jonathan Ivy |
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 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.
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 8
Chip Average: 667,500
 |
| John Lakatosh |
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
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.
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 8
Chip Average: 667,500
 |
| 9th Place - Charles Welch |
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.
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.
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 was all-in for his final 100,000 chips and got a call from Jonathan Ivy.
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 9
Chip Average: 593,333
 |
| Charles Welch |
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.
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
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.
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 9
Chip Average: 593,333
 |
| 10th Place - Fred Jafarzadeh ($5,311) |
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.
Event 17 (Day 3): Final Table Chip Counts
Level 20 (Blinds 3,500/7,000/1,000)
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 10
Chip Average: 534,000
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 10
Chip Average: 534,000
- Jonathan Ivy - 675,000
- Charles Welch - 300,000
- Robert McLaughlin - 325,000
- Brian Hastings - 1,750,000
- John Lakatosh - 500,000
- Fred Jafarzadeh - 150,000
- John O'Brien - 120,000
- Christian Harder - 850,000
- Ulises Roman - 400,000
- Timothy Bishop - 200,000
Event 17 (Day 3): Converging on Final Table
Level 20 (Blinds 3,500/7,000/1,000)
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 10
Chip Average: 534,000
In a span of 30 seconds, both Mike Dentale and Lawrence Pileggi were knocked out of the Main Event.
Dentale had been announcing for a while that he was on a cooler, and it finally led to his elimination when Tim Bishop knocked him out on Table 30.
Over on Table 29, Pileggi pushed all-in pre-flop from the small blind after Christian Harder raised to 15,000 from the hijack seat and Jonathan Ivy called from the button.
Harder deliberated for a while before making the call with Ax Jx. Ivy got out of the hand and the players were heads up.
Pileggi's pocket Qx's had a sizable lead after the 2x 2x 4x on the flop. But as had been the case as of late with hands involving Pileggi, everything changed on the turn when Harder got an Ax. He also got a Jx on the river, improving his two pair.
Here is the seating order at the final table. Chip counts will follow shortly:
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 10
Chip Average: 534,000
In a span of 30 seconds, both Mike Dentale and Lawrence Pileggi were knocked out of the Main Event.
Dentale had been announcing for a while that he was on a cooler, and it finally led to his elimination when Tim Bishop knocked him out on Table 30.
Over on Table 29, Pileggi pushed all-in pre-flop from the small blind after Christian Harder raised to 15,000 from the hijack seat and Jonathan Ivy called from the button.
Harder deliberated for a while before making the call with Ax Jx. Ivy got out of the hand and the players were heads up.
Pileggi's pocket Qx's had a sizable lead after the 2x 2x 4x on the flop. But as had been the case as of late with hands involving Pileggi, everything changed on the turn when Harder got an Ax. He also got a Jx on the river, improving his two pair.
Here is the seating order at the final table. Chip counts will follow shortly:
- Jonathan Ivy
- Charles Welch
- Robert McLaughlin
- Brian Hastings
- John Lakatosh
- Fred Jafarzadeh
- John O'Brien
- Christian Harder
- Ulises Roman
- Timothy Bishop
Event 17 (Day 3): Hastings Does It Again
Level 20 (Blinds 3,500/7,000/1,000)
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 12
Chip Average: 445,000
Not long ago, Brian Hastings scored two knockouts in a span of three hands.
This time, he decided to just get both knockouts out of the way on the same hand.
Both Jesse Chinni and Jacob Bazeley were all-in pre-flop against Hastings, who was already holding the best hand. Bazeley had Ax 10x, Chinni had pocket Jx's and Hastings had pocket Kx's.
Not only did Brian's hand hold up, but he went ahead and made a set on the river for good measure. He now has well over 1.5 million of the 5.34 million chips in play.
Chinni and Bazeley each take home $4,471 for coming in 14th and 13th place. The next player eliminated will earn $5,331.
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 12
Chip Average: 445,000
 |
| Brian Hastings |
This time, he decided to just get both knockouts out of the way on the same hand.
Both Jesse Chinni and Jacob Bazeley were all-in pre-flop against Hastings, who was already holding the best hand. Bazeley had Ax 10x, Chinni had pocket Jx's and Hastings had pocket Kx's.
Not only did Brian's hand hold up, but he went ahead and made a set on the river for good measure. He now has well over 1.5 million of the 5.34 million chips in play.
Chinni and Bazeley each take home $4,471 for coming in 14th and 13th place. The next player eliminated will earn $5,331.
Event 17 (Day 3): Ups And Downs
Level 20 (Blinds 3,500/7,000/1,000)
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 14
Chip Average: 381,429
Over at Table 29, Lawrence Pileggi and Jonathan Ivy got into a battle on a board of Jx 7x 6x. Ivy bet the flop and Pileggi flat-called. After the 9x on the turn, Pileggi bet 90,000, and it was now Ivy's turn to flat call.
Pileggi then bet 140,000 after the river, and Ivy immediately called, revealing two pair, Jx's and 9x's. Pileggi turned up Jx 10x, showing he had the lead on the flop, but was beaten on the turn.
Two hands later, Pileggi was all in with suited KQ against John Lakatosh's pocket Qx's, but this time he made his hand on the river when a Kx spiked and doubled him up.
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 14
Chip Average: 381,429
 |
| Lawrence Pileggi |
Pileggi then bet 140,000 after the river, and Ivy immediately called, revealing two pair, Jx's and 9x's. Pileggi turned up Jx 10x, showing he had the lead on the flop, but was beaten on the turn.
Two hands later, Pileggi was all in with suited KQ against John Lakatosh's pocket Qx's, but this time he made his hand on the river when a Kx spiked and doubled him up.
Event 17 (Day 3): Roman Doubles Through Harder
Level 20 (Blinds 3,500/7,000/1,000)
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 14
Chip Average: 381,429
Just 5 minutes after getting back from break, teal chips were already flying around on Table 29 in a heads up battle between Christian Harder and Ulises Roman.
On a flop of A♠ 5♠ 4x, Harder bet 22,000 and Roman flat-called.
The turn brought the 9♠. Harder bet approximately 40,000 before Roman pushed all-in. Harder made the call and flipped up top pair with the nut flush draw in Ax K♠, but Roman already made his flush with Q♠ 10♠.
The Kx on the river gave Harder two pair, but it wasn't enough to chip Roman up to 400,000.
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 14
Chip Average: 381,429
 |
| Ulises Roman |
On a flop of A♠ 5♠ 4x, Harder bet 22,000 and Roman flat-called.
The turn brought the 9♠. Harder bet approximately 40,000 before Roman pushed all-in. Harder made the call and flipped up top pair with the nut flush draw in Ax K♠, but Roman already made his flush with Q♠ 10♠.
The Kx on the river gave Harder two pair, but it wasn't enough to chip Roman up to 400,000.
Event 17 (Day 3): Chip Update At Break
Level 20 (Blinds 3,500/7,000/1,000)
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 14
Chip Average: 381,429
The remaining 14 players are on a 15-minute break.
While they are away, the tournament director has removed the black 100 chips and introduced the teal 25,000 chips - of which Brian Hastings has quite a few. Players will return to level 20 with the following chip stacks.
Table 29:
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 14
Chip Average: 381,429
 |
| Hastings' Chip Stack |
While they are away, the tournament director has removed the black 100 chips and introduced the teal 25,000 chips - of which Brian Hastings has quite a few. Players will return to level 20 with the following chip stacks.
Table 29:
- Christian Harder - 800,000
- Ulises Roman - 200,000
- Jonathan Ivy - 360,000
- Mike Dentale - 250,000
- Lawrence Pileggi - 375,000
- Robert McLaughlin - 300,000
- John Lakatosh - 675,000
Table 30:
- Timothy Bishop - 275,000
- Fred Jafarzadeh - 75,000
- John O'Brien - 200,000
- Jesse Chinni - 150,000
- Brian Hastings - 1,250,000
- Jacob Bazeley - 150,000
- Charles Welch - 250,000
Event 17 (Day 3): Hastings Scores Back to Back KOs
Level 19 (Blinds 3,000/6,000/800)
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 14
Chip Average: 381,429
After spending an hour as one of the shortest stacks in the room, Sam Wasserman pushed his final chips into the middle of the table with Ax 9x against a flop of 2x Qx 10x.
Brian Hastings made the call with Qx Jx, and eventually made a straight when a Kx and 9x came out on the turn and river.
Two hands later, Hastings eliminated Christopher McCoy after flopping two pair.
We wondered at the start of the day how Table 30 would play out with significantly fewer chips than Table 29. As it turns out, Hastings has capitalized in a huge way from opening the day as one of the only big stacks at that table.
All four eliminations of the day have taken place on Table 30, leaving Hastings with more than 1,000,000 chips.
Players are 13 minutes away from a 15-minute break.
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 14
Chip Average: 381,429
 |
| Brian Hastings - Chip Leader |
Brian Hastings made the call with Qx Jx, and eventually made a straight when a Kx and 9x came out on the turn and river.
Two hands later, Hastings eliminated Christopher McCoy after flopping two pair.
We wondered at the start of the day how Table 30 would play out with significantly fewer chips than Table 29. As it turns out, Hastings has capitalized in a huge way from opening the day as one of the only big stacks at that table.
All four eliminations of the day have taken place on Table 30, leaving Hastings with more than 1,000,000 chips.
Players are 13 minutes away from a 15-minute break.
Event 17 (Day 3): McLaughlin Doubles Through Dentale
Level 19 (Blinds 3,000/6,000/800)
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 16
Chip Average: 333,750
Mike Dentale, Lawrence Pileggi and Robert McLaughlin all saw a flop of K♣ 8♣ 5♣.
Pileggi and McLaughlin checked from the blinds before Dentale put out a bet of 20,000. Pileggi folded and McLaughlin re-raised to 45,000, at which point Dentale asked to see Robert's remaining stack - sizing up his foe for a war of attrition.
Dentale made the call and the A♠ came out on the turn. McLaughlin quickly bet 100,000, sending Dentale into the tank for several minutes before he made the call.
The river brought the 10♦ and Robert immediately went all-in for his final 69,200. Dentale went into the tank once again, this time for nearly twice as long as before. He talked through the hand, said he had the A♣, asked why Robert only bet 100,000 on the turn, and asked McLaughlin if he would show him his cards if he folded.
Dentale stared him down, but McLaughlin never moved a muscle.
Mike would eventually make the call with A♣ 3♦, and McLaughlin revealed the flopped flush with Q♣ 3♣.
Dentale is still in pretty good shape with about the chip average while McLaughlin is up to around 450,000.
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 16
Chip Average: 333,750
 |
| Mike Dentale |
Pileggi and McLaughlin checked from the blinds before Dentale put out a bet of 20,000. Pileggi folded and McLaughlin re-raised to 45,000, at which point Dentale asked to see Robert's remaining stack - sizing up his foe for a war of attrition.
Dentale made the call and the A♠ came out on the turn. McLaughlin quickly bet 100,000, sending Dentale into the tank for several minutes before he made the call.
The river brought the 10♦ and Robert immediately went all-in for his final 69,200. Dentale went into the tank once again, this time for nearly twice as long as before. He talked through the hand, said he had the A♣, asked why Robert only bet 100,000 on the turn, and asked McLaughlin if he would show him his cards if he folded.
Dentale stared him down, but McLaughlin never moved a muscle.
Mike would eventually make the call with A♣ 3♦, and McLaughlin revealed the flopped flush with Q♣ 3♣.
Dentale is still in pretty good shape with about the chip average while McLaughlin is up to around 450,000.
Event 17 (Day 3): 17th Place - Bradley Yazici ($3,955)
Level 18 (Blinds 2,500/5,000/600)
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 16
Chip Average: 333,750
There's no easy way to get eliminated from the third day of a tournament, but Brad Yazici dismissal was a little tougher to swallow than your average knockout.
Against a board of A♠ K♠ 4♠ 3x, Yazici was holding Ax Kx for two pair and had put out a bet of 45,000. Brian Hastings thought for a minute or two before announcing all-in - putting Yazici at risk.
Brad snap-called and flipped up two pair. Unfortunately for him, Hastings slow-played the flush that he flopped, flipping up 10♠ 7♠. Despite having top two pair, only four cards in the deck would be able to save Yazici, but he bricked the river and left the room in 17th place.
Players are seconds away from entering Level 19, with blinds increasing to 3,000/6,000/800.
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 16
Chip Average: 333,750
 |
| Brian Hastings |
Against a board of A♠ K♠ 4♠ 3x, Yazici was holding Ax Kx for two pair and had put out a bet of 45,000. Brian Hastings thought for a minute or two before announcing all-in - putting Yazici at risk.
Brad snap-called and flipped up two pair. Unfortunately for him, Hastings slow-played the flush that he flopped, flipping up 10♠ 7♠. Despite having top two pair, only four cards in the deck would be able to save Yazici, but he bricked the river and left the room in 17th place.
Players are seconds away from entering Level 19, with blinds increasing to 3,000/6,000/800.
Event 17 (Day 3): 18th Place - Faramarz Fiboozabadi ($3,955)
Level 18 (Blinds 2,500/5,000/600)
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 17
Chip Average: 314,118
It took just under half an hour for the first elimination of the day to occur.
Faramarz Fiboozabadi had just had his stack crippled in the previous hand, and pushed all-in with well under 20 big blinds remaining. Fred Jafarzadeh thought for a minute before making the call and turning up a pocket pair that would win the hand.
Jafarzadeh: 8♥ 8♦ Fiboozabadi: A♣ K♦
Flop: 9♠ 6♥ 4♦
Turn: 2♦
River: 9♣
Fred's 8x's held up, sending Faramarz to the rail in 18th place.
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 17
Chip Average: 314,118
 |
| Fred Jafarzadeh |
Faramarz Fiboozabadi had just had his stack crippled in the previous hand, and pushed all-in with well under 20 big blinds remaining. Fred Jafarzadeh thought for a minute before making the call and turning up a pocket pair that would win the hand.
Jafarzadeh: 8♥ 8♦ Fiboozabadi: A♣ K♦
Flop: 9♠ 6♥ 4♦
Turn: 2♦
River: 9♣
Fred's 8x's held up, sending Faramarz to the rail in 18th place.
Event 17 (Day 3): McCoy Gets An Early Double Up
Level 18 (Blinds 2,500/5,000/600)
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 18
Two hands into the day, there were already two players all-in pre-flop with pocket pairs.
Christopher McCoy opened the day as the shortest stack in the field, but he's in much better shape now.
You wouldn't know it from the picture, but McCoy's pocket Kx's held up against Sam Wasserman's pocket 9x's as the board ran out Ax Qx Jx 10x 8x.
McCoy is up to 150,000, while Wasserman drops to 100,000 chips.
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 18
 |
| Christopher McCoy |
Christopher McCoy opened the day as the shortest stack in the field, but he's in much better shape now.
You wouldn't know it from the picture, but McCoy's pocket Kx's held up against Sam Wasserman's pocket 9x's as the board ran out Ax Qx Jx 10x 8x.
McCoy is up to 150,000, while Wasserman drops to 100,000 chips.
Event 17 (Day 3): Cards in the Air!
Level 18 (Blinds 2,500/5,000/600)
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 18
Chip Average: 297,000
The tournament director has made the announcement to resume the Main Event. Players will begin by playing out the remaining 48 minutes of Level 18 and will only finish tonight once a champion is crowned.
John Lakatosh (893,000) opens the day at Table 29 with more than twice as many chips as his closest competition. Christian Harder comes into the day with 433,200, but holds position over Lakatosh, as he is one seat to Lakatosh's left. Lakatosh has almost exactly one-sixth of all the chips in play.
As the luck of the draw would have it, six of the seven shortest stacks are at Table 30. It will be interesting to see how things play out with roughly 2 million chips in play on Table 30 and 3.34 million on Table 29.
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 18
Chip Average: 297,000
The tournament director has made the announcement to resume the Main Event. Players will begin by playing out the remaining 48 minutes of Level 18 and will only finish tonight once a champion is crowned.
John Lakatosh (893,000) opens the day at Table 29 with more than twice as many chips as his closest competition. Christian Harder comes into the day with 433,200, but holds position over Lakatosh, as he is one seat to Lakatosh's left. Lakatosh has almost exactly one-sixth of all the chips in play.
As the luck of the draw would have it, six of the seven shortest stacks are at Table 30. It will be interesting to see how things play out with roughly 2 million chips in play on Table 30 and 3.34 million on Table 29.
Event 17 (Day 3): Star-Studded Conclusion to Main Event
Level 18 (Blinds 2,500/5,000/600)
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 18
Total Entries: 178
Players Remaining: 18
11 of these players have career earnings in excess of $125,000. Four players (Brian Hastings, Robert McLaughlin, Jacob Bazeley and Christian Harder) have all earned more than $1.2 million.
But it just might be one of the seven players without frequent flyer miles who has the hometown advantage. Charles Welch made it to the final table of the Main Event during the $1 Million Live! Poker Classic back in March, and he's fixing to do the same here today. Welch also final tabled Events 1 and 13 of this series, so clearly the Maryland Live! Poker Room has been kind to him over the past few months.
As a reminder, here is the payout structure these remaining players are fighting for. Be sure to follow along here throughout the day to find out who finishes where and how.
Payouts:
- $106,628
- $61,912
- $39,555
- $27,860
- $21,497
- $16,338
- $12,726
- $9,549
- $6,707
10-12. $5,331
13-15. $4,471
16-18. $3,955
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