Live Tournament Updates
Day 3 Recap
Level 40: 1,000,000-2,000,000, 300,000 ante
Kam Low was the chip leader on day 1 before his stack was reduced by more than half. Despite the setback, he staged a strong comeback and was looking good throughout day two. In the end though, he was sacrificed to the Niagara poker gods; Mark Newhouse, laughing and red in the face, took him down with queens against sixes. In this, the first Canadian WPT, "Yukon" Brad Booth is representing his homeland with flare. He donked off T60,000 chips after misreading his hand, but with T365,000, he's still in the upper echelons. With a night of sleep, the super-high stakes player will be a serious force. Fellow Canadian alpha Jim 'KrazyKanuck' Worth will be joining him. Tomorrow, we'll be going all the way down to six. John D'Agostino, John Juanda, Allen Cunnngham, Nam Le and a handful of other pros will be joined by a bevvy of Canadians in the pursuit of the promised land: The final table and a national broadcast appearance. Have a good night everyone; I expect a lot of e-mail in the morning. Gary Wise behindthescenes@worldpokertour.com
Sorted In: Tournaments, Fallsview Casino Resort, North American Poker Championship, Season V10:43 PM, 10/27/06
Newhouse Wins Last Hand of the Night
Level 40: 1,000,000-2,000,000, 300,000 ante
Mark Newhouse covers Kam Low pre-flop and they flip over their hands. Low has pocket sixes and Newhouse shows pocket Queens. The board comes A
5
54J
and Low is the odd man out on the bubble of the money.
10:39 PM, 10/27/06
Forty-Six!
Level 40: 1,000,000-2,000,000, 300,000 ante
With 1:22 left in the level, we have 46 players. We'll be stopping at 45 regardless of whether we make it to the next round or not, and with the payouts starting at $19,317, the next mistake will be a costly one. Amazingly, the crowd is still 80 strong. The support we've gotten here has been far above the norm, and not everyone is here for a particular favorite. It's been a real pleasure to see the reactions.
Sorted In: Tournaments, Fallsview Casino Resort, North American Poker Championship, Season V10:28 PM, 10/27/06
Decisions-Decisions
Level 40: 1,000,000-2,000,000, 300,000 ante
It's about five minutes to post time here and the tournament staff at Fallsview Casino is deciding if we will play another level. This just in... the tournament director just came on the microphone and announced we are at 46 players remaining and the tournament will go hand-for-hand until we lose one more. Play will cease for tonight when that happens.
Sorted In: Tournaments, Fallsview Casino Resort, North American Poker Championship, Season V10:24 PM, 10/27/06
Steve Paul-Ambrose eliminated
Level 40: 1,000,000-2,000,000, 300,000 ante
Peter Valente holding pocket queens raises pre-flop. Ambrose moves all-in holding pocket rockets.
Valente calls.
The players flip over their cards and Valente sees the devasting dominance. What's worse, a player at the table announces he folded a Queen.
The board comes 857Q
7
Valente hits a miracle Queen on the turn and wins a monster pot of over T300,000 to send Steve Paul-Ambrose home, just out of the money.
10:17 PM, 10/27/06
Co-Captains?
Level 40: 1,000,000-2,000,000, 300,000 ante
We’re down to fifty now, and that means we just broke a table. Its going to be a lot of fun watching the just-moved John Juanda and Krazy Kanuck butting heads with the sleepy Brad Booth. KK was table captaining hardcore, while Booth just does it naturally. I’m expecting a clash of personalities there given the late hour and the stakes. Should be a lot of fun to watch.
Sorted In: Tournaments, Fallsview Casino Resort, North American Poker Championship, Season V10:07 PM, 10/27/06
"In Case You Read it on the Internet"
Level 40: 1,000,000-2,000,000, 300,000 ante
On a board of 983Q Michael Wielke moves all-in to a T100,000 pot for T57,500 more. Brad "Yukon" Booth goes into one of the most entertaining decision-making processes seen at the tournament. He first asks his opponent for the time. A few minutes pass and he then says to the dealer, "I don't know what to do here. What do you think?" A few more minutes pass as he rewinds the hand in his head and Booth then calls the clock on himself. Thirty seconds pass before he calls. Wielke turns over AQ and Booth says, "He's got me I've only got a pair of eights with a king kicker." He flips over his cards K7 and the realization hits him. "I misread my hand," muttered Booth. He then climbs on top of his chair and announces to everyone in the Grand Hall, "I've just misread my hand and lost T60,000 because I was tired. Just in case you read it on the Internet." He receives a short round of applause and takes his seat.
09:59 PM, 10/27/06
We're down to 5 tables
Level 40: 1,000,000-2,000,000, 300,000 ante
50 players remain... 28 minutes left in round 14. Tournament director said we may go another round if not below 45 players.
Sorted In: Tournaments, Fallsview Casino Resort, North American Poker Championship, Season V09:59 PM, 10/27/06
Scary Names
Level 40: 1,000,000-2,000,000, 300,000 ante
We’re down to 53 players with at least an hour to go. After the two slow day 1’s,today has moved a lot faster and there’s been a lot of entertaining poker being played. There are still some scary names out there looking for final table glory. John D’Agostino has a monster stack, and between hands, he and chip leader Marc Karam have an ongoing strategy discussion going. My hunch says Dags is trying to intimidate the table with his superior strategic logic: He always gets the final word in these discussions and I’ve seen him purchase more than a few pots. Seems like the plan is working. Brad Booth meanwhile is whooping it up. The big Canadian is tricky at the table; “I’ll show you one card�? he told an opponent, then showed the blue back just to get a reaction from his man. Nam Le is the exact opposite: He sits there like a poker gargoyle, waiting for those rare cards that grant him fleshy movement. Mark Newhouse is table captaining his way to a massive stack. John Juanda seems to have gone into a holding pattern, the blinds eating him away bit by bit. KrazyKanuck is table captaining, putting every player to task when they make their moves; Steve Paul-Ambrose is happy to sit in waiting. Could you imagine a final table with Dags, Juanda, Newhouse, Booth, Nam and Allen Cunningham? That may still be a reality. - Thanks Myke. You know what I mean
Sorted In: Tournaments, Fallsview Casino Resort, North American Poker Championship, Season V09:46 PM, 10/27/06
St. Louis Cardinals just won the World Series!
Level 40: 1,000,000-2,000,000, 300,000 ante
They have two plasma TV screens here way off in the distance inside the Grand Hall card room. The sound is on mute and only the sounds of chips trickling fill the room. The baseball games have been on this week, but no one seems to notice or care. This is Canada by the way... where hockey is everything. A few of us media gravitated toward the screen when we noticed ‘the moment’ that was taking place. We all seized this opportunity so we could remember where we were when the World Series was won. It was the top of the 9th inning and the home team Redbirds were leading 3 games to 1 and up 4-3 in the game. They escaped a scary 9th inning that almost ruined the lead Jeff Weaver had built. Even though the Cards just won their 10th Championship, it felt great to watch the shining moment. I couldn't hear anything from the screen, but I vividly used my imagination and filled myself with the chills that were running through the veins of baseball fans everywhere, especially in St. Louis. I turned around and saw the backs of the poker players focused beyond belief. They had no idea what just happened. Being a die hard sports fan, mainly Lakers and Dodgers, I felt responsible for making sure I witnessed the end of the fall classic. Once it was over, the crowd and team on TV went bananas and the hairs my arms stood up. It's a magical moment that sports fans everywhere can relate to. I'm not a big Cardinals fan, but I love baseball and it's history. The Tigers will be back… they're a great team. But I felt when this series started it was the Cardinals' time. The love for sports and competition is what brought me into the world of poker. Name another sport where anyone, from anywhere, can sit 10 at a table and interact for hours and hours at a time. Winning and losing, baseball or poker, it’s the thrill of competition that makes us all fans. When we went our separate ways after the final pitch, I walked over to the tournament director Jason March and told him the exciting news. I said, "If you want to announce it, the Cardinals just won the World Series, 4 games to 1." "Sure" he replied. In a mellow tone he spoke into his wireless microphone and delivered to the 57 players remaining and 80 something spectators behind the ropes, "Folks... The St. Louis Cardinals just won the World Series 4 game to 1." The reaction was NOTHING. Maybe a few oooohs and aaahhs, but not one real emotional response. I did hear the conversations suddenly change though: From poker and making the money to sports, hockey and hockey. This tournament has been fantastic. The WPT's first trip to Canada has been a warm, wonderful welcome and we can't wait to come back. It's a different culture for some of us, where Ice rules and baseball is just another game.
Sorted In: Tournaments, Fallsview Casino Resort, North American Poker Championship, Season V09:28 PM, 10/27/06
