WPT L.A. Poker Classic, Day 2 Recap

Level 12: 800-1,600, 200 ante

By BJ Nemeth


Here's a look back at some of the highlights from Day 2 of the WPT L.A. Poker Classic. For the official chip counts and seating assignments heading into Day 3, click here.



Royal Flush Girls Brittany Bell (left) and Jeannie Duffy pose with the WPT L.A. Poker Classic trophy, a reproduction of the famous 1895 sculpture "The Bronco Buster" by Frederic Remington.

In addition to the trophy, the winner will receive $1,004,090, which includes his or her $25,500 entry into the season-ending WPT World Championship.



The Commerce Casino has a table set up to be live-streamed over the internet, and the featured table at the start of Day 2 included four members of the WPT Champions Club -- Prahlad Friedman (seat 1), J.C. Tran (seat 8), Joe Hachem (seat 9), and defending LAPC champion Sean Jazayeri (seat 7).



When the day began, poker power couple Phil Laak (left) and actress Jennifer Tilly (foreground right) found themselves seated at the same table.

Even though their table was among the first to break, they did find themselves tangling in a big spot where Tilly flopped two pair against Laak's diamond flush. Laak bet out, Tilly raised, and Laak reraised enough to effectively put himself all in. Tilly tanked for a while, but she was able to get away from it, folding her two pair face up.



The Royal Flush Girls hosted a special RFG cash game down on the casino floor, where they played with some lucky fans. Shortly after this game broke, the RFGs logged into ClubWPT.com to play a special bounty tournament, where ClubWPT players from around the world could play against them on the virtual felt.



WPT Jacksonville champion Noah Schwartz (left) watches as Maria Ho (right) studies the board in a big pot on the river.



Late in the day, a new table was moved to the featured table, including Dan O'Brien, Bruce Buffer, and WPT champions club member Taylor von Kriegenbergh. But it also included Michael "Squeaky" Winnett (standing, foreground), who continued to read from his homemade "Poker Bible," offering a sermon to an O'Brien, who, like the rest of the table, seemed completely uninterested.

The players at the table weren't the only ones trying to ignore Winnett -- whenever he started one of his soliloquies, the live-stream audio was silenced.



If you've watched enough poker on television, you've seen how excited Phil Hellmuth (foreground, right) can get when he thinks he has tricked somebody into moving all in against him. In one motion, he stands up and shoves his chips forward. Hellmuth had flopped a set of sevens, and when Peter Nguyen (seated, top left) moved all in, Hellmuth made his signature move.

There was only one problem -- Nguyen had flopped a set of jacks.



Phil Hellmuth was momentarily stunned after running a set of sevens into a set of jacks, but he quickly regained his swagger and complained about the cooler to the WPT cameras as he exited the room.



Tournaments are a lot of fun when you're sitting on a big chip stack, like Scott Seiver (left) and Jeremy Ausmus. Both players finished the day with more than 200,000 in chips, with Seiver fifth on the leaderboard, and Ausmus 12th.



Naoya Kihara (right) won a WSOP bracelet last summer, becoming the first Japanese bracelet winner in history, and he was the chipleader for a while late in the day.

But Ryan Eriquezzo (left) has a WSOP bracelet of his own from last summer, and Eriquezzo won a couple of key pots against Kihara to even things out a bit. Both players finished the day in the top three, with Eriquezzo having a slight chip advantage.



When the dust settled at the end of the day, the chipleader was Peter Neff with 284,700.




There are 162 players who survived to Day 3, and here's a look at the top of the leaderboard with the blinds increasing to 800-1,600 with a 200 ante.

1.  Peter Neff  -  284,700  (177 bb)
2.  Ryan Eriquezzo  -  265,000  (165 bb)
3.  Naoya Kihara  -  260,400  (162 bb)
4.  Evan McNiff  -  248,500  (155 bb)
5.  Scott Seiver  -  244,100  (152 bb)
6.  Justin Young  -  234,600  (146 bb)
7.  Sam Stein  -  233,400  (145 bb)
8.  Randy Ohel  -  230,800  (144 bb)
9.  Arthur Morris  -  228,500  (142 bb)
10.  Trevor Pope  -  225,000  (140 bb)

Day 3 begins Monday at 12:00 noon PT. Stay tuned to WPT.com for live coverage and chip counts throughout the day.

Day 3 Seat Draw and Chip Counts

Level 11: 600-1,200, 200 ante

ClubWPT Player of the Day - Peter Neff

Level 11: 600-1,200, 200 ante

Day 2 Ends with 162 Players and Peter Neff in the Lead with 284,700

Level 11: 600-1,200, 200 ante

Day 2 at the World Poker Tour L.A. Poker Classic has come to a close and 162 players have advanced to the third day of play. The official field size settled at 517 players when registration closed at the start of play today, and the top 63 players will take home a min-cash worth at least $18,360. The winner will take home $1,004,090, the largest piece of the nearly $5 million total prize pool.

The chip leader at the end of the night is Peter Neff with 284,700. Other top stacks include Ryan Eriquezzo (265,000), Naoya Kihara (260,400), Evan McNiff (248,500), Scott Seiver (244,100), Justin Young (234,600), Elliot Smith (224,000), and Jeremy Ausmus (233,600).

A lot of familiar faces hit the rail on Sunday, including Mike Matusow, JC Tran, Matt Stout, Matt Salsberg, Tim West, Bertrand Grospellier, David Sands, Jason Somerville, Amanda Musumeci, Allen Kessler, Tommy Vedes, Shawn Buchanan, and Phil Hellmuth.

Tune back in at noon tomorrow for all of the Day 3 action. The field will play another five 90-minute levels tomorrow or down to the money bubble if that goal has not been reached in five-levels-time.

Eriquezzo Checks and Calls

Level 11: 600-1,200, 200 ante

On a 532 flop, Ryan Eriquezzo check-calls a bet of 7,000 in a heads-up pot. The turn brings the Q and another check from Eriquezzo, and his opponent bets another 16,000. Eriquezzo pays off the bet, then another bet on the river.

At showdown, Eriquezzo's 99 is the best hand, and that pot pushes him up into contention for the overnight chip lead.

Ryan Eriquezzo - 270,000 (225 bb)

Four More Hands

Level 11: 600-1,200, 200 ante

The tournament clock has been stopped and the field was informed that they will play four more hands. There are 166 players that have survived according to the tournament clock.

Stay tuned as we will be collecting chip count information from the bag and tag and catching the final hands of the night, which will be posted soon.

How Well Do You Know the LAPC?

Level 11: 600-1,200, 200 ante

Tommy Vedes Eliminated

Level 11: 600-1,200, 200 ante

Was up2 70k, Johnny World spins me for 40..then lost some more then get busted after flopping top2 vs Nicks mid pair. #ifeellikethecueball

— TommyVedes (@TommyVedes) February 25, 2013

Josh Hale Eliminated by Peter Neff

Level 11: 600-1,200, 200 ante

Legends of Poker Champion Josh Hale is all in for about 33,000 with AQ against the AK of Peter Neff. The board runs out K43JQ as Neff improves to the nut flush to score the elimination.

Peter Neff - 293,000 (244 bb)

Two More Busts

Level 11: 600-1,200, 200 ante

Brian Rast and Mike Leeh have all busted out of the LAPC late on Day 2.