Chipleader Freddy Deeb Goes For a Record-Tying Third WPT Title

Level 24: 40,000-80,000, 5,000 ante

WPT Festa al Lago, Day 5 Recap

By BJ Nemeth

Freddy Deeb will be going for history on Monday as he plays for his third title on the World Poker Tour, which would tie Gus Hansen for the record.

Sunday's action can be summed up as six hours to eliminate five players. Play started with 11 players, so there were two short-handed tables. Even with only five or six players per table, the action was relatively tight, and it took an hour for the first elimination of the day.

The first elimination may have been the most painful. Bellagio dealer Larry Berg won a satellite for his entry, and was making the most of it on the verge of the final table. Berg started the day with 810,000, but didn't put a single chip into play other than his blinds and antes. When he finally took a stand from the button with Q-J (with 10 big blinds in his stack), Tommy Vedes called with Q-J suited. In an almost certain chop situation, Vedes made a flush to win the pot outright and eliminate Berg in 11th place.

The final 10 players took their seats shortly after 1:30 pm, and it took 42 hands and more than two-and-a-half hours to lose Chris Bjorin in 10th place. Richard Sciuto followed him out the door a few minutes later in 9th place, and Kido Pham busted less than an hour later in 8th place.

Around 6:00 pm, Aaron Jones moved all in with K-8, but ran into Craig Crivello's pocket jacks. The jacks held up, and Jones was out in 7th place, earning the unfortunate title of "Bubble Boy."

By the end of the day, two-time WPT winner Freddy Deeb had moved into first place on the chip counts:

1.  Freddy Deeb  -  3,840,000
2.  Shawn Cunix  -  3,670,000
3.  Tommy Vedes  -  2,990,000
4.  Craig Crivello  -  2,570,000
5.  Jason Lavallee  -  2,045,000
6.  Jason Burt  -  1,375,000

The WPT Final Table begins tomorrow (Monday) at 4:00 pm PT, and chipleader Freddy Deeb is hoping to tie Gus Hansen as the only players with three WPT titles. (Deeb won WPT Aruba in 2005 and the WPT Celebrity Invitational earlier this year.)

Speaking of the Celebrity Invitational, if you would like to win your chance to play with Hollywood's hottest celebs and poker's top pros, then head on over to ClubWPT.com to sign up now. 

Blue Diamond Almonds Bold Player of the Day - Shawn Cunix

Level 24: 40,000-80,000, 5,000 ante

 

Freddy Deeb - 3,840,000

Level 24: 40,000-80,000, 5,000 ante

Tommy Vedes - 2,990,000

Level 24: 40,000-80,000, 5,000 ante

Craig Crivello - 2,570,000

Level 24: 40,000-80,000, 5,000 ante

Jason Lavallee - 2,045,000

Level 24: 40,000-80,000, 5,000 ante

Jason Burt - 1,375,000

Level 24: 40,000-80,000, 5,000 ante

Official Chip Counts

Level 24: 40,000-80,000, 5,000 ante

Here are the official chip counts for the final six players:

Seat 1.  Tommy Vedes  -  2,990,000

Seat 2.  Jason Lavallee  -  2,045,000

Seat 3.  Craig Crivello  -  2,570,000

Seat 4.  Freddy Deeb  -  3,840,000

Seat 5.  Jason Burt  -  1,375,000

Seat 6.  Shawn Cunix  -  3,670,000

Stay tuned for a recap of today's action later tonight, along with brief bios of the six final tablists. 

Hands #82-85: Aaron Jones Eliminated in 7th Place ($129,210)

Level 24: 40,000-80,000, 5,000 ante

Hand #82  -  Freddy Deeb raises from middle position to 220,000, winning the blinds and antes. 

Hand #83  -  Craig Crivello raises under the gun to 220,000, Jason Lavallee moves all in from the big blind, and Crivello folds. Jason Lavallee 

Hand #84  -  Shawn Cunix raises from middle position to 225,000, winning the blinds and antes. 

Hand #85  -  Aaron Jones moves all in from the cutoff, and Craig Crivello calls from the small blind with JJ. Jones shows K8, and he'll need to improve to stay alive. 

The board comes 1062JA, and Craig Crivello wins the pot with a set of jacks on the turn. Aaron Jones is eliminated in seventh place, earning $129,210. 

The final six players are now filling out WPT bio sheets and bagging and tagging their chips for tomorrow's televised WPT Final Table. 

Hands #79-81: Waiting For One More Elimination

Level 24: 40,000-80,000, 5,000 ante

Hand #79  -  Craig Crivello completes the small blind to 80,000, Freddy Deeb raises from the big blind to 230,000, and Crivello folds. Deeb takes the pot. 

Hand #80  -  Freddy Deeb raises from the button to 350,000, winning the blinds and antes. Deeb shows A-A as he collects the chips. 

Hand #81  -  Freddy Deeb raises from the cutoff to 220,000, winning the blinds and antes. This time, Deeb only shows one card, but it is an ace.