Leron Washington Living the Dream at the Celebrity Invitational
Level 30: 100,000-200,000, 25,000 ante
WPT Host Mike Sexton couldn’t help but compare boxer and ClubWPT.com online qualifier Leron Washington to Muhammed Ali. It is a more than fitting comparison though, considering how Washington ducked, bobbed and weaved his way through a record-setting Celebrity Invitational field and a tough final table to take down the top prize of $100,000. The recreational player from Huntington, West Virginia proved he could play with some of the top names from poker and Hollywood alike, including final tablemates Thor Hansen and Trishelle Cannatella.
When the final table began, it was truly anyone’s game, as the six players vying for the title were in a virtual dead heat when it came to chip stacks. It was Sean Urban, who began the tournament as chip leader, who got off to a fast start, tangling in a number of pots and making it clear he wasn’t afraid to splash around in hands. Steve Elliot tried to splash around as well, but after dropping a big pot to Cannatella, he was handcuffed by his short stack and was down to just two big blinds when he got it all-in holding K-Q to Neev Baram’s K-10. Baram managed to run out a Broadway straight to eliminate Elliot in 6th place and cross the 2 million chip threshold.
The most experienced poker pro at the table would be the next to fall. Thor Hansen came in as the shortest stack of the day and, though he was able to pick up a couple of pots, he eventually ran out of steam and busted in an unlucky spot when his A-6 was cracked by Washington’s 6-8 on after the board ran out Q-Q-8-5-8 to give Washington a full house.
It took fifty hands to eliminate two players, but the next two would come at a rapid fire rate. Just four hands after Hansen’s elimination, Washington won a nearly 2 million chip pot off Baram to leave him extremely short on chips. Baram got his stack in the very next hand, shoving all-in from under the gun holding Q-10 and Urban called from the big blind with A-K. Big slick held up to give Urban the pot and eliminate Baram.
Even after busting out Baram, Urban’s stack couldn’t compete with Washington’s more than 6 million chips. Both Cannatellla and Urban were sitting on 2 million chip stacks and looking for a spot to get it in and double up before the blinds got too much bigger. Cannatella found that spot when she moved all-in over the top of Washington’s opening raise holding K-J and Washington called with A-3. She spiked a king on the flop to double up and, more importantly, slowed down Washington’s momentum.
Cannatella was hoping for a similar result when she clashed in another big pot with Washington a short while later. She shoved all-in on an 8-7-5-5 board holding pocket queens and Washington called with 6-7 for a pair and a straight draw. The river 4 made his straight, eliminated Cannatellla in 3rd place and set up a heads-up match in which Washington held a 9-1 chip advantage over a short-stacked Urban.
Washington would not enjoy his comfortable chip lead for very long though. On the third hand of heads-up play, Urban doubled through Washington and did so again just two lands later to cut Washington’s lead to 7-3. From there, Urban appeared to seize control of the match. He slowly chipped away at his opponent and late in the match he even managed to take the chip lead away from Washington for the first time in over fifty hands.
As a boxer, Washington is experienced at rolling with the punches though and, while he was down for the count, he was certainly not out. He and Urban continued to battle back and forth in small pots, but the penultimate hand of the match would prove to be a doozy:
The two were in a limped pot with the flop reading K-J-10. Washington led out for a bet, Urban raised him and Washington called. Both players checked when a second J paired the board on the turn, but the 2 on the river prompted Urban to shove all-in. Washington stood from his chair, paced around the table for a moment assessing the situation and took a deep breath before announcing, “Alright, I call.”
Urban tapped the table, conceding defeat, before turning over Q-5 for a busted straight and flush draw. Washington revealed K-Q for two pair, which was enough to take the more than 10 million chip pot and leave Urban with just 175,000 chips. Washington dealt the fatal blow to Urban the very next hand to claim the title of WPT Celebrity Invitational Champion.
The ClubWPT.com qualifier will get a chance to prove his poker prowess again next month as well, since part of his prize includes a seat into the $25,000 buy-in WPT Championship event at the Bellagio. No matter how he does next month in Las Vegas, Washington can rest assured knowing that his skills on the felt are certainly on par with his skills in the ring.
Sorted In:
Leron Washington, Sean Urban, Trishelle Cannatella, Neev Baram, Thor Hansen, Steve Elliott, Featured Blog, Tournaments, Commerce Casino, WPT Invitational, Season 8 on FSN, Season VIII
09:52 PM, 03/03/10
Hand #68: Trishelle Cannatella Eliminated in 3rd Place ($20,000)
Level 28: 60,000-120,000, 20,000 ante
Trishelle Cannatella raises from the button to 300,000, and Leron Washington calls from the big blind. The flop comes 8
7
5
, Washington checks, Trishelle bets 500,000, and Washington calls.
The turn card pairs the board with the 5, Washington checks, and Trishelle calmly says, "All in." Washington thinks for about 10 seconds before he calls with 76 (pair of sevens, open-ended straight draw). Trishelle shows QQ for the lead with an overpair, and she'll need it to hold to stay alive.
The river card is the 4, and Leron Washington rivers an eight-high straight to win the pot. Trishelle Cannatella is eliminated in third place, earning $20,000.
Seat 3. Trishelle Cannatella - Out in 3rd Place ($20,000)
Seat 4. Sean Urban - 1,075,000
Seat 6. Leron Washington - 9,245,000
Sorted In:
Trishelle Cannatella, Leron Washington, Featured Blog, Tournaments, Commerce Casino, WPT Invitational, Season 8 on FSN, Season VIII
07:16 PM, 03/03/10
Hand #61: Trishelle Cannatella Doubles Through Leron Washington
Level 27: 50,000-100,000, 10,000 ante
Leron Washington raises from the button to 400,000, and Trishelle Cannatella moves all in for 1.75 million. Washington thinks for about 10 seconds before he calls with A3. Trishelle shows KJ
, and she'll need to improve to stay alive.
The board comes K85Q10, and Trishelle pairs her king on the flop to win the pot and double up.
Seat 3. Trishelle Cannatella - 3,630,000
Seat 4. Sean Urban - 1,585,000
Seat 6. Leron Washington - 5,105,000
Sorted In:
Leron Washington, Trishelle Cannatella, Featured Blog, Tournaments, Commerce Casino, WPT Invitational, Season 8 on FSN, Season VIII
07:01 PM, 03/03/10
Nicholas Gonzalez Joins the Crowd
Level 27: 50,000-100,000, 10,000 ante
Nicholas Gonzalez is here to root on his friend Trishelle Cannatella. Gonzalez is all too familiar with what it feels like to be making your WPT final table debut, as he was in the very same spot just last year.
The actor and poker enthusiast finished second in last year's Celebrity Invitational event, losing heads-up to Freddy Deeb for the top prize of $100,000.
Sorted In:
Nicholas Gonzalez, Trishelle Cannatella, Tournaments, Commerce Casino, WPT Invitational, Season 8 on FSN, Season VIII
06:15 PM, 03/03/10
Kara Scott in the House
Level 26: 40,000-80,000, 10,000 ante
Kara Scott, who served as the hostess of this year's Celebrity Invitational, is on hand here at the Commerce and doing some work with the WPT television crew. She is currently interviewing Tiffany Michelle on the sidelines about how Michelle thinks her friend Trishelle Cannatella is faring at the final table.
Sorted In:
Trishelle Cannatella, Tournaments, Commerce Casino, WPT Invitational, Season 8 on FSN, Season VIII
05:48 PM, 03/03/10
Hand #19: Trishelle Cannatella
Level 26: 40,000-80,000, 10,000 ante
Steve Elliott limps from the cutoff for 80,000, Trishelle Cannatella completes the small blind, and Sean Urban checks his option in the big blind. The flop comes 985, Trishelle bets 180,000, Urban folds, and Elliott calls.
The turn card is the 6, Trishelle checks, Elliott bets 200,000, and Trishelle thinks for about 45 seconds before she calls.
The river card is the 2, and both players check. Trishelle shows A8 for a pair of eights, and Elliott mucks. Trishelle Cannatella wins the pot.
Seat 1. Steve Elliott - 460,000
Seat 2. Thor Hansen - 730,000
Seat 3. Trishelle Cannatella - 2,350,000
Seat 4. Sean Urban - 2,760,000
Seat 5. Neev Baram - 1,800,000
Seat 6. Leron Washington - 2,220,000
Sorted In:
Trishelle Cannatella, Steve Elliott, Tournaments, Commerce Casino, WPT Invitational, Season 8 on FSN, Season VIII
05:05 PM, 03/03/10
Faces in the Crowd
Level 25: 30,000-60,000, 10,000 ante
There are a couple of familiar faces in the audience watching the action today. Tiffany Michelle and Amit Makhija are here to cheer on Trishelle Cannatella and Robert Mizrachi was spotted in Neev Baram's cheering section.
Sorted In:
Trishelle Cannatella, Neev Baram, Tournaments, Commerce Casino, WPT Invitational, Season 8 on FSN, Season VIII
04:33 PM, 03/03/10
Official Seating & Chip Counts
Level 25: 30,000-60,000, 10,000 ante
The televised final table is set for the WPT Celebrity Invitational. Keep in mind that the final table won't be played until Wednesday, March 3rd, to share production costs with the televised final table for the WPT Commerce main event.
Here are the official chip counts:
Seat 1: Steve Elliott - 1,520,000
Seat 2: Thor Hansen - 1,480,000
Seat 3: Trishelle Cannatella - 1,540,000
Seat 4: Sean Urban - 2,090,000
Seat 5: Neev Baram - 1,900,000
Seat 6: LeRon Washington - 1,790,000
Thor Hansen is a respected top professional player with two WSOP bracelets, while Trishelle Cannatella is a reality TV star who has landed a poker sponsorship deal and had some recent success. LeRon Washington won his entry into this tournament through a satellite on ClubWPT.com. It should be a very interesting final table.
Our tournament coverage here at WorldPokerTour.com will resume this Friday, February 26th, with Day 1 of the WPT Commerce L.A. Poker Classic. See you then!
Sorted In:
Featured Blog, Steve Elliott, Thor Hansen, Trishelle Cannatella, Sean Urban, Neev Baram, Leron Washington, Tournaments, Commerce Casino, WPT Invitational, Season 8 on FSN, Season VIII
10:51 PM, 02/21/10
Michael Heslov Eliminated in 10th Place
Level 24: 25,000-50,000, 5,000 ante
Michael Heslov moves all in under the gun for 240,000 and Trishelle Cannatella calls from the cutoff.
Heslov: QJ
Cannatella: AJ
Board: 99242
Michael Helsov fails to improve and is eliminated in tenth place, leaving his brother Grant with the shortstack.
Sorted In:
Michael Heslov, Trishelle Cannatella, Tournaments, Commerce Casino, WPT Invitational, Season 8 on FSN, Season VIII
09:40 PM, 02/21/10
Trishelle Has a Rack (of Chips) & Knows How to Use It
Level 20: 10,000-20,000, 3,000 ante
Trishelle Cannatella has been playing really well this tournament, adjusting her style to fit the blind structure and the weak spots in the field. She's built up a pretty large chipstack, and she's been using it to pressure the weaker players to pick up even more chips.
In the most recent hand, with the board showing J764 on the turn and a little more than 250,000 already in the pot, Trishelle bet 120,000 from the small blind. Otis "Shox" Hincks tanked for more than a minute from the big blind with Trishelle staring comfortably at him most of the time. Hincks eventually raised to 300,000.
Trishelle quickly moved all in with a smile and a wave of her hands, and Hincks let out a big breath, seemingly unsure of where he stood. Hincks folded, and a few other players teased him about it.
One of the players said, "It's that smirk of hers. I'm afraid of it." Trishelle smiled and asked, "I'm not allowed to smile?"
Sorted In:
Trishelle Cannatella, Shox Hincks, Featured Blog, Tournaments, Commerce Casino, WPT Invitational, Season 8 on FSN, Season VIII
08:55 PM, 02/21/10
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