Hand #29: Trevor Pope Eliminated in 6th Place ($155,571)
Level 26: 40,000-80,000, 10,000 ante
Trevor Pope moves all in from the button for 1,460,000, and Philippe Ktorza moves all in over the top from the small blind for 1,700,000. Michael Mizrachi folds the big blind.
Pope shows A
3
, and he'll need to improve to survive against Ktorza's J
J
.
The board comes Q
5
2
J
8
, and Philippe Ktorza wins the pot with a set of jacks to eliminate Trevor Pope in sixth place.
Philippe Ktorza - 3,300,000 (41 BBs)
Trevor Pope - Out in 6th Place ($155,571)
Sorted In:
Featured Blog, Trevor Pope, Philippe Ktorza, Bellagio, WPT World Championship, Season X
05:32 PM, 05/26/12
WPT World Championship, Day 6 Recap
Level 25: 30,000-60,000, 5,000 ante
By BJ Nemeth
With nine players returning to action on Day 6, Moon Kim (pictured) was the last remaining contender for WPT Player of the Year. Joe Serock had the points lead, but Kim could tie him with a fourth-place finish, and pass him to win the title outright with a third-or-better finish.
You may not know it from their expressions, but Marvin Rettenmaier (center) actually won this pot, and Hafiz Khan (left) lost it. Khan five-bet all in preflop with A
K
, and Rettenmaier called with J
J
. The board came 9
8
7
3
6
, and the jacks held up for Rettenmaier, eliminating Khan in ninth place.
Trevor Pope (right) was down below 20 big blinds when he three-bet all in with K
Q
, and Marvin Rettenmaier (foreground, left) called with A
J
. The board came K
8
3
5
J
, and Pope paired his king on the flop and rivered a spade flush to double up in chips.
Six hands later, Wil Wilkinson (standing, center) moved all in for 13 big blinds with A
6
, but ran into the Q
Q
of Michael Mizrachi (right). The board came K
Q
3
6
3
, and Mizrachi won the pot with an unnecessary full house, queens full of threes. Wilkinson was eliminated in eighth place.
The final seven players, in seat order: (1) Michael Mizrachi, (2) Marvin Rettenmaier, (3) Steve O'Dwyer, (4) Nick Schulman, (5) Moon Kim, (6) Trevor Pope, (7) Philippe Ktorza.
In the final hand of the day, Moon Kim (standing, center left) raised, Michael Mizrachi (foreground, right) called, and Marvin Rettenmaier (foreground left) reraised. Kim quickly moved all in, and Mizrachi tanked for a while before he folded.
Rettenmaier called with 9
9
, and it was a race against Kim's A
Q
.
The board came J
7
3
4
6
, and Rettenmaier won the pot to increase his chip lead, while Moon Kim was the unfortunate seventh-place finisher, bubbling the TV final table.
With Kim's elimination, Joe Serock officially became the WPT Season X Player of the Year.
Philippe Ktorza will begin Saturday's WPT Final Table sixth in chips with 895,000 (15 big blinds).
Trevor Pope will begin Saturday's WPT Final Table fifth in chips with 1,480,000 (25 big blinds).
WPT Champions Club member Nick Schulman will begin Saturday's WPT Final Table fourth in chips with 1,555,000 (26 big blinds).
Steve O'Dwyer will begin Saturday's WPT Final Table third in chips with 2,035,000 (34 big blinds).
WPT Champions Club member Michael Mizrachi already has two WPT titles under his belt, and he will begin Saturday's WPT Final Table second in chips with 2,560,000 (43 big blinds).
Marvin Rettenmaier will begin Saturday's WPT Final Table as the massive chipleader with 6,715,000 (112 big blinds). Rettenmaier has 44% of all the chips in play.
The WPT Final Table begins Saturday at 4:00 pm PT, and you can watch it on the WPT Live Stream with a 30-minute delay showing holecards and providing analysis from Tony Dunst and Dan O'Brien. Of course, live hand-for-hand coverage will also be provided here in the WPT Live Updates.
Here are the official seating and chip counts, along with the final table prizepool:
Seat 1. Michael Mizrachi - 2,560,000 (43 BBs)
Seat 2. Marvin Rettenmaier - 6,715,000 (112 BBs)
Seat 3. Steve O'Dwyer - 2,035,000 (34 BBs)
Seat 4. Nick Schulman - 1,555,000 (26 BBs)
Seat 5. Trevor Pope - 1,480,000 (25 BBs)
Seat 6. Philippe Ktorza - 895,000 (15 BBs)
1st: $1,196,858
2nd: $805,310
3rd: $424,618
4th: $256,235
5th: $192,176
6th: $155,571
Sorted In:
Featured Blog, Moon Kim, Hafiz Khan, Wil Wilkinson, Michael Mizrachi, Marvin Rettenmaier, Steve ODwyer, Nick Schulman, Trevor Pope, Philippe Ktorza, Bellagio, WPT World Championship, Season X
02:28 PM, 05/25/12
Marvin Rettenmaier Takes Big Lead into Saturday's Final Table
Level 25: 30,000-60,000, 5,000 ante
The players have bagged up their chips and now have nearly two days to relax and rest up before the WPT World Championship final table on Saturday.
Marvin Rettenmaier (pictured above) will be sleeping easy tonight and tomorrow, as he holds a gigantic chip lead headed into final table play. Rettenmaier leads the pack with 6,715,000 while his next closest competitor, Michael Mizrachi, has less than half that amount with 2,560,000. Mizachi is still dangerous though and a third WPT title is certainly well within his grasp.
Nick Schulman is looking for his second WPT title on Saturday, while Steve O'Dwyer will making his third WPT final table appearance. Trevor Pope and short stack Philippe Ktorza round out the lineup for the final WPT event of the year.
There will be no action on Friday as the Super High Roller plays down to a winner.
The World Championship final table will get underway at 4pm PT on Saturday. Live streaming of the event, complete with hole cards and commentary from Tony Dunst and Dan O'Brien begins at 4:30pm.
Here are the chip counts and seat assignments for Saturday's final table. When play resumes, there will be an hour of action at 30,000-60,000 ante 5,000:
Seat 1: Michael Mizrachi - 2,560,000 (43 BBs)
Seat 2: Marvin Rettenmaier - 6,715,000 (112 BBs)
Seat 3: Steve O'Dwyer - 2,035,000 (34 BBs)
Seat 4: Nick Schulman - 1,555,000 (26 BBs)
Seat 5: Trevor Pope - 1,480,000 (25 BBs)
Seat 6: Philippe Ktorza - 895,000 (15 BBs)
Photo: Nadia Chaudhary (second from right) briefs the six WPT Final Tablists on what they need to know for Saturday's televised final table.

Sorted In:
Michael Mizrachi, Marivn rettenmaier, Steve ODwyer, Nick Schulman, Trevor Pope, Philippe Ktorza, Featured Blog, Bellagio, WPT World Championship, Season X
02:44 PM, 05/24/12
Hand #63: Trevor Pope Doubles Thru Marvin Rettenmaier
Level 24: 25,000-50,000, 5,000 ante
Hand #63 - Michael Mizrachi raises to 115,000 from middle position and Marvin Rettenmaier (foreground, left) calls. Trevor Pope (center) reraises all-in for 895,00 and Mizrachi folds. Rettenmaier thinks a bit, then calls with A
J
. Pope shows K
Q
.
Pope pairs up with the K
8
3
flop and stays out front with the 5
on the turn. The river comes the J
and Pope takes the pot to double up.
Trevor Pope - 1,900,000 (38 BBs)
Marvin Rettenmaier - 5,200,000 (104 BBs)
Sorted In:
Trevor Pope, Marvin Rettenmaier, Featured Blog, Bellagio, WPT World Championship, Season X
12:44 PM, 05/24/12
WPT World Championship, Day 5 Recap
Level 24: 25,000-50,000, 5,000 ante
By BJ Nemeth
Day 5 began with 19 players, but only 18 would finish in the money. It took about 20 minutes for the bubble to burst, and the unfortunate player was Josh Arieh (standing, center), who got it all in preflop with A
J
against the K
K
of Marvin Rettenmaier (left).
The final 18 players redrew for seats at the final two tables. The chipleader at this point was Hafiz Khan with 2.1 million, while POY contender Joe Serock was one of the short stacks with only 12 big blinds. Serock would need to outlast three more players to catch Will Failla in the WPT Player of the Year race.
Guillaume Darcourt (standing, right) smiles even as he is eliminated in 18th place by Wil Wilkinson (standing, left). With the board showing A
10
7
8
on the turn, Darcourt raised all in with 9
7
(pair and a straight draw) against Wilkinson's 8
8
(set of eights). Darcourt missed his straight draw and was out of the tournament.
With 17 players remaining, Joe Serock needed to outlast two more to pass Will Failla in the WPT Player of the Year race. But with only 15 big blinds in his chip stack, he couldn't afford to wait, and he moved all in preflop with A
10
. Trevor Pope (foreground, right) called from the button with 9
9
.
The board came A
5
3
4
K
, and Serock (standing, background center) pumped his fist as he won the hand to double up in chips. Serock was still in the hunt for the WPT Player of the Year title.
WPT Venice Grand Prix champion Rinat Bogdanov (center right) threw up his hands as he was eliminated in 16th place in a three-way all-in situation against Matt Juttelstad and Ron Coury.
Coury was the short stack with 6
6
, Juttelstad was the big stack with A
A
, and Bogdanov was stuck in the middle with 10
10
. There was a 6 on the turn to give Coury the triple up, while Juttelstad won the side pot to eliminate Bogdanov.
With Rinat Bogdanov's elimination in 16th place, Joe Serock was guaranteed 15th or higher place, and passed Will Failla for the points lead in the WPT Player of the Year race. But it wasn't over yet, because both Moon Kim and Matt Juttelstad could catch Serock if they went deep enough.
Barry Shulman (pictured) was eliminated in 15th place when he moved all in with 9
9
and ran into Trevor Pope's 10
10
.
Short stack Ron Coury (left) moves all in after a flop against big stack Trevor Pope (right). Pope would fold, giving Coury another small pot to stay alive.
After eliminating John Esposito in 12th place, Hafiz Khan (pictured) was the massive chipleader with more than 4 million.
Trevor Pope didn't have as many chips as Hafiz Khan, but he was still among the big stacks with more than 2 million.
Ron Coury (standing, center) was eliminated in 11th place when he got it all in with Q
8
against the 10
10
of Moon Kim (right) and never improved.
With Ron Coury's elimination in 11th place, the final 10 players combined to a single table. In seat order: (1) Wil Wilkinson, (2) Michael Mizrachi, (3) Hafiz Khan, (4) Marvin Rettenmaier, (5) Steve O'Dwyer, (6) Nick Schulman, (7) Moon Kim, (8) Trevor Pope, (9) Joe Serock, and (10) Philippe Ktorza.
In the first hand at the 10-handed table, Nick Schulman (left) check-raised all in on the turn with the board showing A
9
7
8
. Trevor Pope (right) tanked for more than a minute before he folded.
Hand #11: After a flop of Q
6
4
, Michael Mizrachi (center) check-raised all in with A
Q
(pair of queens), and Hafiz Khan (standing, right) called with J
J
. It was a battle of big stacks, and whoever won this pot would be the chipleader.
Mizrachi turned another queen to win the pot with trip queens, taking the chip lead from Hafiz Khan.
In Hand #23, Nick Schulman (center) and Moon Kim (right) were in a battle of the blinds and saw a flop of A
10
4
. Schulman checked, Kim bet 120,000, Schulman check-raised to 260,000, and Kim moved all in. Schulman folded, and Kim showed one card -- the A
(top pair) -- as he collected the pot.
In Hand #44, Michael Mizrachi (foreground, right) moved all in after a flop of J
3
3
, and Nick Schulman (center) quickly called with K
K
. Mizrachi was caught bluffing with A
Q
, and didn't improve. Schulman doubled up, and stacked his chips while Mizrachi discussed the hand with Hafiz Khan (left).
In Hand #47, Joe Serock (standing, background center) could only scratch his head after being eliminated in 10th place by chipleader Marvin Rettenmaier (right). Serock moved all in for 18 big blinds with 9
9
, and Rettenmaier called with A
K
. Serock put on his backpack and began to walk away, fully expecting to lose the race.
The flop came Q
7
7
, and Serock slowed, perhaps showing some optimism. But the turn card was the K
, putting Rettenmaier way out in front, and the Q
on the river was enough to eliminate Serock.
Serock leads the WPT Player of the Year race, but it isn' t locked up yet. Moon Kim can tie Serock with a fourth-place finish, and clinch the POY title with a third-or-higher finish.
In the last hand of the night (Hand #52), Nick Schulman (standing, left) and Hafiz Khan (foreground, right) battled over a board of J
8
5
7
4
. Schulman check-called the flop, bet the turn, and then checked the river. Khan moved all in at that point, and Schulman tanked for a few minutes before he folded.
Khan showed Q
9
for queen high (a missed double-gutshot straight draw) as he collected the pot, getting away with a big bluff in the last hand of the day.
There are nine players remaining, but only the top 18 will finish in the money, guaranteed at least $40,266. First prize is worth $1,196,858.
Here are the official seating and chip counts for Day 6:
Seat 1. Wil Wilkinson - 705,000 (14 BBs)
Seat 2. Michael Mizrachi - 3,124,000 (62 BBs)
Seat 3. Hafiz Khan - 1,641,000 (32 BBs)
Seat 4. Marvin Rettenmaier - 3,757,000 (75 BBs)
Seat 5. Steve O'Dwyer - 1,643,000 (32 BBs)
Seat 6. Nick Schulman - 1,350,000 (27 BBs)
Seat 7. Moon Kim - 1,139,000 (22 BBs)
Seat 8. Trevor Pope - 800,000 (16 BBs)
Seat 9. Philippe Ktorza - 977,000 (19 BBs)
Day 6 begins Thursday at 12:00 noon PT, when these players will battle for the six seats at Saturday's televised WPT Final Table. Return to WPT.com for complete hand-for-hand coverage the entire way.
Sorted In:
Featured Blog, Josh Arieh, Marvin Rettenmaier, Guillaume Darcourt, Wil Wilkinson, Joe Serock, Trevor Pope, Rinat Bogdanov, Barry Shulman, Ron Coury, Hafiz Khan, Steve ODwyer, Michael Mizrachi, Nick Schulman, Moon Kim, Philippe Ktorza, Bellagio, WPT World Championship, Season X
04:21 AM, 05/24/12
Day 6: Official Seating & Chip Counts
Level 24: 25,000-50,000, 5,000 ante
Day 5 comes to an end with nine players, and they will return tomorrow (Thursday) at 12:00 noon PT to play down to the final six for Saturday's televised WPT Final Table.
(Friday will be an off-day, as the WPT set will be used for the final table of the WPT Super High Roller.)
Here are the official chip counts and seating assignments:
Seat 1. Wil Wilkinson - 705,000 (14 BBs)
Seat 2. Michael Mizrachi - 3,124,000 (62 BBs)
Seat 3. Hafiz Khan - 1,641,000 (32 BBs)
Seat 4. Marvin Rettenmaier - 3,757,000 (75 BBs)
Seat 5. Steve O'Dwyer - 1,643,000 (32 BBs)
Seat 6. Nick Schulman - 1,350,000 (27 BBs)
Seat 7. Moon Kim - 1,139,000 (22 BBs)
Seat 8. Trevor Pope - 800,000 (16 BBs)
Seat 9. Philippe Ktorza - 977,000 (19 BBs)
Sorted In:
Featured Blog, Wil Wilkinson, Michael Mizrachi, Hafiz Khan, Marvin Rettenmaier, Steve ODwyer, Nick Schulman, Moon Kim, Trevor Pope, Philippe Ktorza, Bellagio, WPT World Championship, Season X
09:26 PM, 05/23/12
Hands #25-26: Preflop Three-Bets Don't Work Out For Trevor Pope
Level 23: 20,000-40,000, 4,000 ante
Photo: Michael Mizrachi (right) stares down Trevor Pope (foreground, left) after the flop in Hand #25.
Hand #25 - Michael Mizrachi raises from middle position to 88,000, Trevor Pope reraises from the small blind to 238,000, and Mizrachi calls. The flop comes A
9
5
, Pope bets 166,000, and Mizrachi calls. The turn card is the J
, and both players check.
The river card is the 6
, Pope checks, Mizrachi bets 500,000, and Pope folds. Mizrachi takes the pot.
Michael Mizrachi - 3,940,000 (98 BBs)
Trevor Pope - 1,232,000 (30 BBs)
Hand #26 - Steve O'Dwyer raises form middle position to 100,000, Trevor Pope reraises from the button to 207,000, and O'Dwyer calls. The flop comes Q
J
5
, O'Dwyer bets about 375,000, and Pope quickly folds. O'Dwyer takes the pot.
Steve O'Dwyer - 1,667,000 (41 BBs)
Trevor Pope - 1,025,000 (25 BBs)
Sorted In:
Trevor Pope, Bellagio, WPT World Championship, Season X
07:44 PM, 05/23/12
Hand #1: Nick Schulman Shoves Against Trevor Pope
Level 22: 15,000-30,000, 4,000 ante
Hand #1 - Nick Schulman (left) raises under the gun to 67,000, and Trevor Pope (right) calls from middle position. The flop comes A
9
7
, Schulman bets 85,000, and Pope calls.
The turn card is the 8
, Schulman checks, Pope bets 127,000, and Schulman check-raises all in for 716,000. Pope tanks for more than a minute before he folds, and Nick Schulman takes the pot.
Nick Schulman - 1,185,000 (39 BBs)
Trevor Pope - 1,870,000 (62 BBs)
Sorted In:
Nick Schulman, Trevor Pope, Bellagio, WPT World Championship, Season X
06:16 PM, 05/23/12
Moon Kim Doubles Thru Trevor Pope
Level 21: 12,000-24,000, 3,000 ante
Photo: Trevor Pope may have lost this pot, but he was still smiling and sitting on a big stack afterward.
WPT Bay 101 Champion Moon Kim is all in preflop for 258,000 with Q
2
against Trevor Pope's 6
6
.
The board comes Q
8
5
8
A
, and Kim wins the pot with two pair, queens and eights, to double up in chips.
Moon Kim - 550,000 (22 BBs)
Trevor Pope - 2,015,000 (83 BBs)
Sorted In:
Moon Kim, Trevor Pope, Bellagio, WPT World Championship, Season X
05:18 PM, 05/23/12
Ron Coury Tries to Bargain with Trevor Pope
Level 21: 12,000-24,000, 3,000 ante
Photo: This photo is from earlier in the level, when Ron Coury (left) moved all in after the flop against Trevor Pope (right).
Trevor Pope limps in from under the gun and action folds to Ron Coury in the big blind. Coury raises to 60,000. Pope thinks for less than a minute before announcing he is all-in, having Coury's remaining 275,000 well-covered.
Coury thinks for a bit, then asks Pope, "Would you show if I fold?"
Pope counter-offers. "Am I allowed to show one?"
"Will you show both?" Coury asks.
Pope agrees to show one card of Coury's choosing. After a little more thought, Coury decides to accept the offer and folds. He then picks one of Pope's cards and turns up the Q
.
Trevor Pope - 2,210,000 (92 BBs)
Ron Coury - 275,000 (12 BBs)
Sorted In:
Trevor Pope, Ron Coury, Bellagio, WPT World Championship, Season X
04:53 PM, 05/23/12