WPT Jacksonville bestbet Open, Day 1A Recap

Level 9: 400-800, 100 ante

By BJ Nemeth



The last time the World Poker Tour had an event in Jacksonville, Florida, Lisa Hamilton final tabled it, finishing third to earn $112,657. The WPT is back in Jacksonville, and Hamilton is back in action trying to improve on that finish by a spot or two.



Mike Sexton welcomes the players to the new bestbet Poker Room in Jacksonville, Florida, joined by Vince Van Patten and Royal Flush Girls Tugba Ercan, Brittany Bell, Jeannie Duffy, and Angelique Velez.



The first elimination came less than 10 minutes into the day, as James Hoeppner got it all in preflop with KK -- only to run into Mark Shoichet's AA. Hoeppner actually flopped a king to take the lead, only to see an ace hit the turn.



Vince Van Patten (pictured) and Mike Sexton have been together in the WPT Commentating Booth since the World Poker Tour began ten years ago, and both players were in action on Day 1A. Not counting the WPT Celebrity Invitational, this is just the second WPT event that Van Patten has played.



Joe Serock (right), who finished third in the last two WPT events on American soil, takes a shot at three final tables in a row here at the WPT Jacksonville bestbet Open. Royal Flush Girls Angelique Velez (left) and Brittany Bell check out the action.



Jonathan Little (right) showed up on time, but watched as Will Failla (left) registered in Level 3 and busted two players in his first six hands to catapult into the chip lead.



Greg Lee earned his entry into this event by winning a tournament on ClubWPT.com. In the last WPT event, ClubWPT qualifier Butch Valure finished 20th, earning $25,056.



The most dramatic hand of the day was a four-way preflop all-in situation with pocket aces against kings against queens against -- sevens?

Matt Marafioti (center, seat 2) was the short stack, and the first to move all in with 77. Eli Berg (right, seat 4) moved all in over the top with KK, and David Paredes (not pictured, seat 5) and the player in seat 9 both called. Then Raj Vohra (center, seat 1) reraised to 33,000. Paredes folded, and seat 9 called all in with QQ. Vohra, of course, had AA.

The board came 65272, and Marafioti pumped his fist in the air when he turned a set of sevens to win the main pot and quintuple up. The pocket aces held up for Vohra to win all the side pots, eliminating Eli Berg and the player in seat 9 in the process.



It is a Florida WPT tradition to offer a bonus prize to the under-21 player who goes deepest in the event. (Florida is the only U.S. state on the World Poker Tour that allows 18-20 year olds to enter the tournaments.) The under-21 prize for this event is a customized surfboard, suitable for use as a trophy or as an actual surfboard.



Robert Gorodetsky appeared to be the only 18-20 year old in the field on Day 1A, so he's got a clear shot at the surfboard trophy unless another under-21 year old enters on Day 1B. But Gorodetsky may have his eyes on a larger prize, finishing the day fourth in chips with 139,600.



Several people pointed out that one table seemed to require a shaved head in order to take a seat. From left to right, Daniel Buzon, Phil Collins, and James Dempsey chat with WPT Live Updates Hostess Jessica Welman.



When Poker Hall of Famer Mike Sexton is involved in a big pot, it shouldn't be a surprise that the WPT cameras do their best to capture the action. Unfortunately, this hand didn't work out too well for Sexton, as he lost a pot worth 53,000 on a failed river bluff with a missed flush draw.



A short while later, Mike Sexton rebuilt his stack when he moved all in preflop with 99, and got called by another player's 88. The best hand held up for Sexton to recover back to nearly a starting stack.



When Jason Koon was crippled down to 2,600 in chips early in the day, he began something of a comeback to build up to about 8,000. His friend Darryll Fish (pictured) made him a bet (with odds) that he couldn't finish the day with 60,000 or more. Koon was actually nearing the 50,000 mark late in the day when Fish took matters into his own hands and won two pots against Koon -- simultaneously eliminating Koon and winning their side bet.

Koon can try again on Day 1B, while Fish finished third in chips with 140,800.



Darren Elias was the clear chipleader at the end of the day, with 213,600 -- the only player to cross the 200,000 mark.



Day 1A began with 125 players, and 65 survived to Day 2. Here's a look at the top 5 chipleaders from Day 1A:

1.  Darren Elias  -  213,600
2.  David Paredes  -  170,300
3.  Darryll Fish  -  140,800
4.  Robert Gorodetsky  -  139,600
5.  Will Failla  -  132,600

Day 1B begins at 12:00 noon ET. Players who played on Day 1A have the option of re-entering to try to improve their chip count, and registration remains open until the start of Level 5 (about 4:30 pm ET). Stay tuned to WPT.com for continuing live coverage of all the action.

Day 1A Official Chip Counts

Level 9: 400-800, 100 ante

ClubWPT Player of the Day - Will Failla

Level 9: 400-800, 100 ante

Hey @wptliveupdates tell @willfailla he's drawing dead because I'm gonna win the 25k Championship. #gg

— TommyVedes (@TommyVedes) April 27, 2012

Day 1A Ends With About 65 Players

Level 9: 400-800, 100 ante

Day 1A began with 125 players, and action comes to an end with about 65 players remaining. A full list of official chip counts will be released by the casino later tonight.

Here is an unofficial look at the top of the leaderboard:

1.  Darren Elias  -  213,600
2.  David Paredes  -  170,300
3.  Darryll Fish  -  140,800
4.  Robert Gorodetsky  -  139,600
5.  Will Failla  -  132,600

Day 1B begins tomorrow at 12:00 noon ET, and players who busted today can re-register and try again. Players who finished today with chips also have the option of re-registering tomorrow, and they will begin Day 2 with whichever chip stack is larger.

Stay tuned for the official chip counts, and a photo recap to be posted later tonight.

Stuart Paterson Eliminated by Blake Purvis

Level 9: 400-800, 100 ante

With the board showing Q5247 on the river, Blake Purvis moves all in, and Stuart Paterson calls. Purvis turns over A3 for a five-high straight on the turn, and Paterson mucks his cards as he is eliminated.

Blake Purvis  -  86,000
Stuart Paterson  -  Eliminated

Jonathan Little Chips Up Late

Level 9: 400-800, 100 ante

The player under the gun raises to 1,600 and Jonathan Little calls behind him. The two see a flop of J33 and the initial raiser bets 2,300. Little raises, making it 5,700 to play. The other player calls.

The turn brings the 10 the player under the gun checks. Little grabs all of his large denomination chips and places them over the betting line. They total 23,000 and he has just around 8,000 behind. The other player folds and Little takes the pot. 

Just half an hour ago, Little was down to 8,000 chips, but he is finishing the day strong and, barring a disaster in the last ten minutes of play, will be ending with around an average stack and taking Day 1B off tomorrow.

Jonathan Little - 58,000

Harrison Gimbel Eliminated

Level 9: 400-800, 100 ante

With around 20,000 in the pot and the board reading 753AK, Harrison Gimbel moves all-in for 24,800 on the button. His opponent thinks about her decision for a while. She has Gimbel covered but not by much. Eventually she calls and Gimbel doesn't even wait to see her hand before mucking and starting to get out of his seat.

Gimbel is fully out of his chair by the time she turns over A6 for a winning pair of aces.

Harrison Gimbel - eliminated

Jason Koon Eliminated by Darryll Fish

Level 9: 400-800, 100 ante

Darryll Fish and Jason Koon have been seated together all day, even as their tables have broken, and they have a side bet on whether or not Koon can finish the day above 60,000 after being down to 2,600. (The bet was made when Koon had bounced back a bit to 8,000.)

Well, the bet is over. Fish took matters into his own hands over the course of two hands.

In the first hand, Fish was all in with J-J against Koon's J9. Koon flopped a nine to give himself two outs, but he improved no further as Fish doubled up and crippled Koon.

Darryll Fish  -  92,000
Jason Koon  -  1,700

A few minutes later, Jason Koon moves all in from the hijack for 3,100. Darryll Fish calls from the button, and Fred Goldberg calls from the big blind. 

Fish and Goldberg check all the way down on a board of K10983. Fish turns over Q8 to win the pot with a pair of eights, and both Koon and Goldberg muck. 

Koon is eliminated, and loses the bet to Fish in the process.

Darryll Fish  -  95,000

Stuart Paterson Busts a Player

Level 9: 400-800, 100 ante

This is the first World Poker Tour re-entry event where players who survive Day 1A can treat it as a "safety stack." They don't have to bust or abandon their stack in order to register and play again on Day 1B, which changes the strategy a bit here in the final level.

With the final board showing AKQ108, a player is all in with K-10 (two pair) against Stuart Paterson's 88 (set of eights). Paterson wins the pot to eliminate the other player.

Allen Kessler expresses shock that the player called with two pair on that board, and Matt Stout mocks him a bit saying, "What part of re-entry don't you understand? The guy had nine big blinds."

An Update on Jason Koon and Darryll Fish

Level 9: 400-800, 100 ante

In the early goings of the day, Jason Koon was down as low as 2,600 chips. He had worked his way up to almost 8,00 when he laid Darryll Fish 5-1 odds on $100 that he would end the day above 60,000.

Koon has struggled most of the day, but managed to stay afloat just below starting stack. As play is winding down though, Koon is picking up steam and currently sitting on 49,000 chips and nearing in on his goal for the day.

Fish has been by Koon's side the entire day to sweat the bet up close. Their tables have broken twice, but each time the duo are paired together at a new table line-up. They are currently seated in Seat 7 and Seat at a table that also includes James Calderaro and BJ McBrayer, where all Fish will have to do is look 18 inches or so to his right to see where Koon stands as the clock moves towards zero.