Hands #42-45: Negreanu Wins Four Pots in a Row

Level 21: 15,000-30,000, 5,000 ante

Hand #42  -  Daniel Negreanu raises under the gun to 65,000, and Chino Rheem calls from middle position. The flop comes 887, Negreanu bets 85,000, and Rheem folds, showing AJ. Negreanu shows KK as he takes the pot.

Daniel Negreanu  -  820,000  (27 bb)
Chion Rheem  -  5,290,000  (176 bb)

Hand #43  -  Erick Lindgren min-raises from the cutoff to 60,000, Daniel Negreanu reraises from the big blind to 160,000, and Lindgren folds. Negreanu takes the pot.

Daniel Negreanu  -  915,000  (30 bb)

Hand #44  -  Daniel Negreanu raises from the small blind to 75,000, winning the blinds and antes. Negreanu shows AQ as he collects the pot.

Hand #45  -  Daniel Negreanu raises from the button to 65,000, Matt Hyman calls from the small blind, and Chino Rheem calls from the big blind. All three players check to the turn on a board of KQ10Q, Hyman checks, Rheem bets 30,000, and Negreanu raises to 120,000.

Hyman and Rheem both fold, and Negreanu takes his fourth pot in a row.

Negreanu started the day last in chips, but he has more than doubled his stack in the first half hour without ever putting himself all in.

Daniel Negreanu  -  1,190,000  (39 bb)

Hands #40-41: Final Eight Players

Level 21: 15,000-30,000, 5,000 ante

Hand #40  -  Matt Hyman raises from the hijack to 65,000, winning the blinds and antes.

Hand #41  -  Brandon Steven raises under the gun to 65,000, Chino Rheem calls from the hijack, and David Peters reraises from the button to 185,000. Steven folds, and Rheem moves all in. Peters folds, and Rheem takes the pot.

Chino Rheem  -  5,360,000  (178 bb)
David Peters  -  680,000  (22 bb)

Hands #38-39: Final Eight Players

Level 21: 15,000-30,000, 5,000 ante

Hand #38  -  Rocco Palumbo min-raises from middle position to 60,000, Jonathan Roy reraises from the big blind to 145,000, and Palumbo folds. Roy takes the pot.

Hand #39  -  Jonathan Roy completes the small blind to 30,000, and David Peters checks his option in the big blind. The flop comes K82, Roy bets 40,000, and Peters calls. The turn is the 10, and both players check.

The river card pairs the board with the 8, Roy bets 85,000, and Peters calls. Roy shows 55 for two pair, eights and fives, but Peters turns over K4 to win the pot with two pair, kings and eights.

David Peters  -  970,000  (32 bb)
Jonathan Roy  -  1,920,000  (64 bb)

Hands #35-37: Final Eight Players

Level 21: 15,000-30,000, 5,000 ante

Hand #35  -  Chino Rheem raises UTG+1 to 65,000, and Daniel Negreanu calls from the big blind. The flop comes AQ10, Negreanu checks, Rheem bets 60,000, and Negreanu check-raises to 160,000. Rheem folds, and Negreanu takes the pot.

Daniel Negreanu  -  720,000  (24 bb)
Chino Rheem  -  4,710,000  (157 bb)

Hand #36  -  David Peters min-raises UTG+1 to 60,000, and Erick Lindgren calls from the hijack. The flop comes K62, Peters bets 80,000, and Lindgren calls. The turn card pairs the board with the 2, and both players check.

The river is the 4, and they check again. Peters shows 1010 for two pair, tens and deuces, but Lindgren turns over 99 to win the pot with a spade flush.

Erick Lindgren  -  2,705,000  (90 bb)
David Peters  -  710,000  (23 bb)

Hand #37  -  Matt Hyman raises from the small blind to 65,000, and Chino Rheem calls from the big blind. The flop comes 854, Hyman bets 55,000, and Rheem calls. The turn is the A, Hyman checks, Rheem bets 125,000, and Hyman calls.

The river is the 6, Hyman checks, Rheem bets 225,000, and Hyman folds. Rheem shows A4 (two pair, aces and fours) as he collects the pot.

Chino Rheem  -  4,985,000  (166 bb)
Matt Hyman  -  1,650,000  (55 bb)

Day 5: Shuffle Up & Deal!

Level 21: 15,000-30,000, 5,000 ante

The final eight players have taken their seats and unbagged their chips, ready to play down to the six-handed televised WPT Final Table.

Everyone is seated and ready to go, so it's time to shuffle up and deal!

Action begins in Level 21, with blinds at 15,000-30,000 and a 5,000 ante.

Day 5 Set To Begin

Level 21: 15,000-30,000, 5,000 ante

Welcome to Day 5 coverage of the WPT World Championship. The field of 146 entries is down to just 8 players, 6 of which will make the televised WPT Final Table.

Leading the way is Chino Rheem with 4,839,000. Despite beginning Day 4 in 21st place out of the 24 players who began the day, Rheem was in cruise control and eliminated five players en route to his massive chip lead.

In second place is Erick Lindgren with 2,518,000. Despite being the short stack on the money bubble, Lindgren survived and later vaulted up the counts.

Here is how the entire table looks:

Seat 1.  Jonathan Roy  -  1,987,000  (66 bb)
Seat 2.  David Peters  -  858,000  (28 bb)
Seat 3.  Erick Lindgren  -  2,518,000  (83 bb)
Seat 4.  Rocco Palumbo  -  680,000  (22 bb)
Seat 5.  Brandon Steven  -  1,235,000  (41 bb)
Seat 6.  Daniel Negreanu  -  545,000  (18 bb)
Seat 7.  Matt Hyman  -  1,940,000  (64 bb)
Seat 8.  Chino Rheem  -  4,839,000  (161 bb)

Play resumes at 12:00 noon PT and will commence for five levels, or until only six players remain.

ClubWPT Player of the Day Chino Rheem

Level 21: 15,000-30,000, 5,000 ante

Chino Rheem Leads a Tough Final Eight Into Day 5

Level 21: 15,000-30,000, 5,000 ante

The Money Bubble burst as the WPT World Championship entered the money on Day 4. The unfortunate bubble boy was Hyon Kim, who finished 16th but received nothing to show for it.

When the dust settled at the end of five 90-minute levels, these were the results:

Seat 1.  Jonathan Roy  -  1,987,000  (66 bb)
Seat 2.  David Peters  -  858,000  (28 bb)
Seat 3.  Erick Lindgren  -  2,518,000  (83 bb)
Seat 4.  Rocco Palumbo  -  680,000  (22 bb)
Seat 5.  Brandon Steven  -  1,235,000  (41 bb)
Seat 6.  Daniel Negreanu  -  545,000  (18 bb)
Seat 7.  Matt Hyman  -  1,940,000  (64 bb)
Seat 8.  Chino Rheem  -  4,839,000  (161 bb)

9th:  Amir Babakhani  -  $70,300
10th:  Sam Goldman  -  $57,998
11th:  Dan Shak  -  $57,998
12th:  Emil Ohlsson  -  $57,998
13th:  Byron Kaverman  -  $49,210
14th:  Steven Silverman  -  $49,210
15th:  Jeffrey Ishbia  -  $49,210

Chino Rheem (pictured above) entered the day 21st in chips with 24 players remaining, but he caught fire shortly after the field reached the money to take the chip lead, and he never looked back. Rheem, who won a WPT title here at Bellagio four seasons ago, has nearly twice as many chips as anyone else.

Erick Lindgren finished the day second in chips behind Rheem, but it was not an easy road for him to get there. Lindgren was short-stacked most of the day, and was the shortest stack throughout most of the two-hour Money Bubble. But once Lindgren reached the money, he doubled up twice, including a big hand to cripple Dan Shak.

Lindgren, who has two WPT titles under his belt and was the Season II WPT Player of the Year, is hoping to become just the third player to win three WPT titles, alongside Gus Hansen and Carlos Mortensen.

Another player seeking his third title is Daniel Negreanu, who was the Season III WPT Player of the Year. Negreanu is on a heater of his own lately, winning the first-ever WSOP-APAC Main Event last month and adding a fourth-place finish in the EPT Grand Final a couple weeks ago.

This season's WPT Player of the Year race is still undecided, as WPT Montreal champion Jonathan Roy is third in chips and can pass POY points-leader Matt Salsberg if he wins this event. If Roy falls short of a victory, Salsberg will win the Player of the Year title.

With eight players remaining, five of them already have their names engraved on the WPT Champions Cup: Erick Lindgren, Daniel Negreanu, Rocco Palumbo, Chino Rheem, and Jonathan Roy.

Action resumes tomorrow at 12:00 noon PT, with the blinds at 15,000-30,000 and a 5,000 ante. Rocco Palumbo has the button in seat 4, and action will pick up right where it left off this evening.

Return to WPT.com tomorrow for complete hand-for-hand coverage as they battle for the six seats at the televised WPT Final Table.


Photo: Daniel Negreanu (center) photobombs his buddy Erick Lindgren while he's being interviewed by WPT reporter Jeanine Deeb.

Hand #34: Amir Babakhani Out in 9th Place ($70,300)

Level 20: 12,000-24,000, 4,000 ante

Hand #34  -  Matt Hyman raises UTG+1 to 50,000, Chino Rheem reraises from middle position to 125,000, and Amir Babakhani (pictured above) moves all in from middle position for about 470,000.

Hyman folds, and Rheem calls with KK. Babakhani turns over 77, and he'll need to improve to stay alive.

The board comes A83J4, and the pocket kings hold up for Rheem to win the pot and eliminate Amir Babakhani in ninth place.

Chino Rheem  -  4,839,000  (201 bb)
Amir Babakhani  -  Out in 9th Place  ($70,300)

Level 20 comes to an end, and the remaining eight players bag up their chips for the night. Official chip counts will be posted soon.

Hands #31-33: Final Nine Players

Level 20: 12,000-24,000, 4,000 ante

Hand #31  -  Amir Babakhani moves all in from the button, winning the blinds and antes.

Hand #32  -  Brandon Steven raises UTG+1 to 55,000, winning the blinds and antes.

Hand #33  -  Daniel Negreanu raises UTG+1 to 54,000, Chino Rheem calls from middle position, and Rocco Palumbo calls from the big blind. The flop comes KQ7, and action checks to Rheem, who bets 75,000. Palumbo and Negreanu both fold, and Rheem takes the pot.