Live Tournament Updates
Treadmills of Fire with Jess and BJ
Level 24: 15,000-30,000, 5,000 ante
On this episode of the Jess and BJ Show, Jessica Welman and BJ Nemeth recap the action of the WPT Invitational, preview the final table, and wager on a sick prop bet.
03:21 PM, 02/21/11
Photo Recap: WPT Celebrity Invitational
Level 24: 15,000-30,000, 5,000 ante
By BJ Nemeth
The WPT Celebrity Invitational is often called the most fun tournament of the year, and it's easy to see why. The field is a mix of actors, singers, VIPs, and professional poker players, and the first night feels more like a giant party than a poker tournament.
This year's field attracted 482 players, and about $95,000 was raised from player rebuys. (The World Poker Tour chipped in the difference to make it an even $100,000.) The money raised is donated to the Chrysalis charity, which provides job placement for the poor and the homeless to help them rebuild their lives.
When the dust settled after two days, there were six players remaining, including two international-ranked female chess masters, Almira Skripchenko and Dinara Khaziyeva. The notable poker pro at the table is Dan Heimiller, who final tabled the WPT Borgata Poker Open back in Season VII, finishing third.
There will be a 10-day break before the final table, which will be held on Wednesday, March 2nd. (This is done so it can be recorded on the WPT stage on back-to-back days with the upcoming WPT LA Poker Classic.) Here are the official seating assignments and chip counts for the six final tablists:
Seat 1. Dinara Khaziyeva - 670,000 (22 BBs)
Seat 2. Damon Schramm - 865,000 (29 BBs)
Seat 3. George Rechnitzer - 660,000 (22 BBs)
Seat 4. Dan Heimiller - 700,000 (23 BBs)
Seat 5. Davidi Kitai - 845,000 (28 BBs)
Seat 6. Almira Skripchenko - 710,000 (24 BBs)
And now, a photographic look back at the first two days of the WPT Celebrity Invitational:
Actress Jennifer Tilly admires some of the other signatures before signing the commemorative table backstage at the 2011 WPT Celebrity Invitational.
Oscar nominee John Hawkes (left) talks with actor Lou Diamond Phillips before heading out on the red carpet. Hawkes has to wait until this Sunday night to find out if he will win the Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor for his work in the film "Winter's Bone." Also pictured, former Major League Baseball player Jose Canseco (far right).
Former NFL player and actor Bubba Smith ("Police Academy") signs the commemorative table for the 2011 WPT Celebrity Invitational.
Ten-time Grammy Award-winning singer Chaka Khan pauses for an interview on the red carpet.
While Tiffany Michelle (left) and Maria Ho are professional poker players, they also received a good amount of celebrity from their appearance on the hit TV show, "The Amazing Race."
Walking the red carpet can seem like running a gauntlet, as celebrities give interview after interview to many different news outlets. Here you can see actors Ken Davitian (far left, "Borat") and Lou Diamond Phillips (center left, "La Bamba," "Stand and Deliver," "Young Guns").
Shortly before play begins, reality TV star Trishelle Cannatella takes a self-portrait with her two close friends Joe Sebok (left) and Jeff Madsen. Cannatella final tabled this event a year ago, finishing third.
Actress Camryn Manheim ("The Practice," "Ghost Whisperer") entertains poker pros Carlos Mortensen (left) and Bertrand "Elky" Grospellier (right) between hands.
Poker pro Mark Seif (left) looks on as actor Don Cheadle ("Ocean's Eleven," "Hotel Rwanda," "Iron Man 2") plays a hand on Day 1 of the WPT Celebrity Invitational.
Poker pro Phil Laak (right) takes a photo of his girlfriend, actress Jennifer Tilly, and actress Gina Gershon (left). Tilly and Gershon starred in the 1996 film "Bound" together, while Laak won this event back in Season II.
WPT Anchor Kimberly Lansing interviews actor Corey Feldman ("Goonies," "Stand By Me," "The Lost Boys," "License to Drive") after his elimination from the WPT Celebrity Invitational.
Poker pro Lauren Kling receives a good luck hug from WPT Live Updates reporter Jessica Welman, who also played in the event.
Tournament Director Matt Savage (standing, left) tries to rescue Matt Affleck (seated, center) from WSOP Main Event champion Jonathan Duhamel. As you probably remember, Affleck was painfully eliminated from the WSOP Main Event in 15th place when Duhamel cracked his aces on the river in the biggest pot of the tournament to that point.
At the end of Day 1, it was future Poker Hall of Famer Linda Johnson who had the chip lead.
Multiple WPT champion Antonio Esfandiari sits down with WPT Anchor Kimberly Lansing for an extended interview before play begins on Day 2. In addition to winning his second WPT title back in December, Esfandiari final tabled this event in Season II, a few days after winning his first WPT title in the WPT LA Poker Classic.
While Day 1 feels more like a cocktail party than a poker tournament, Day 2 becomes much more serious. Chipleader Linda Johnson (foreground, left) checks her phone after folding while poker pros David Baker (center) and Barry Greenstein (right) wait for the action to reach them.
Highly-ranked international chess player Almira Skripchenko (left) watches as actor Rich Sommer ("Mad Men," "The Devil Wears Prada") eliminates a player late on Day 2. Sommer was one of the last celebrities standing in this event.
Royal Flush Girl Melanie Iglesias interviews actor Michael Bower (center, "Salute Your Shorts") and reigning WPT Celebrity Invitational champion Leron Washington (right). Washington won his seat into last year's Invitational by playing on ClubWPT.com, and both he and Bower regularly play on the site.
Poker pro Eric Cloutier watches as highly-ranked international chess player Dinara Khaziyeva pulls in a huge pot late in the tournament. That's right, there are two highly-ranked female chess masters in this field.
Poker Pro Phil Laak finished Day 1 second in chips behind Linda Johnson, but had a prior engagement and couldn't return for Day 2. According to the rules, his stack is put out on the table and blinded off in his absence, and his 115,300 lasted long enough to finish in 24th place. Laak won this event back in Season II, but not without playing Day 2.
Future Poker Hall of Famer Linda Johnson carried her Day 1 momentum fairly deep into Day 2 before she ran into trouble. Johnson played a huge pot where she flopped top set, but Davidi Kitai's top pair caught a runner-runner diamond flush to win the pot. Johnson eventually finished in 13th place.
Actor Ashton Holmes ("A History of Violence," "The Pacific") was the last celebrity standing, finishing in ninth place.
With seven players remaining and only six seats at the televised WPT final table, a crowd gathers around as poker pro Dan Heimiller (seated, center left) plays a pot against Davidi Kitai (seated, center right).
WPT Anchor Kimberly Lansing interviews double-bubble boy Tom Christopher after his elimination in seventh place. Normally, that is just the final table bubble, but for this event, it also represents the money bubble. Lansing told Christopher that she understands his pain, because she bubbled this event in 8th place back in Season VI.
Both Almira Skripchenko (left) and Dinara Khaziyeva are internationally-ranked chess masters, and they've both made it to the final table of the WPT Celebrity Invitational. They know each other from chess, but neither realized the other was playing this event until Day 2, when Skripchenko found herself at the same table as Khaziyeva's fiance.
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To consolidate the costs of constructing the WPT set, this final table will begin at 4:00 pm PT on Wednesday, March 2, so it can be recorded on back-to-back days with the WPT LA Poker Classic final table. When they return to action, you can be sure that WPT Live Updates will be there to provide you with complete live hand-for-hand coverage.
In the meantime, the $10,000 buy-in WPT LA Poker Classic begins this Friday, February 25th. Return to WPT.com for continuing live coverage, including hand updates, chip counts, video interviews with Kimberly Lansing, and the Jess & BJ Show.
03:00 PM, 02/21/11
Day 2 Draws to a Close
Level 24: 15,000-30,000, 5,000 ante
With Tom Christopher's elimination in seventh place, Day 2 is now over and done with. The players are bagging up their chips and filling out bio sheets in preparation for the televised final table.
The final six players stacks are closely packed together, but it is Damon Schramm leading the way with 865,000 chips. Davidi Kitai is nipping at his heels though, as he has less than one big blind less than Schramm and will begin final table play with 845,000. Even the shortest stack, George Recnitzer, has 22 big blinds to work with in his 660,000-chip stack.
Once again, the final table will not play out to completion until Wednesday, March 2nd. Play is scheduled to resume at 4pm on that day.
Here are the chip counts and seat assignments for the final table:
Seat 1: Dinara Khaziyeva - 670,000 (22 BBs)
Seat 2: Damon Schramm - 865,000 (29 BBs)
Seat 3: George Rechnitzer - 660,000 (22 BBs)
Seat 4: Dan Heimiller - 700,000 (23 BBs)
Seat 5: Davidi Kitai - 845,000 (28 BBs)
Seat 6: Almira Skripchenko - 710,000 (24 BBs)
11:51 PM, 02/20/11
Hand #54: Tom Christopher Eliminated in 7th Place ($0)
Level 24: 15,000-30,000, 5,000 ante
On the first hand back from break, Tom Christopher raises to 90,000 from under the gun and it folds around to Davidi Kitai in the small blind. Kitai announces he is all-in and Christopher calls.
Kitai has Christopher covered and shows J
J
, while Christopher folds 33
. The board runs out A
1028A and Christopher is eliminated in 7th place, bubbline both the money and the televised final table.
With his elimination, players start bagging up their chips. They will have more than a few days to formulate their final table game plan, as this event will not play out to completion until March 2nd.
11:37 PM, 02/20/11
Hands #48-53: Final Seven Players
Level 23: 12,000-24,000, 4,000 ante
Hand #48 - Dan Heimiller raises to 60,000 from the cutoff and Almira Skripchenko reraises to 185,000 from the small blind. Heimiller folds and Skripchenko takes the pot.
Hand #49 - Dan Heimiller raises to 60,000 from the hijack and Davidi Kitai moves all-in from the cutoff. Heimiller folds and Kitai takes the pot.
Hand #50 - Dinara Khaziyeva raises to 70,000 out of the small blind, George Rechnitzer folds the big blind, and Khaziyeva takes the pot.
Hand #51 - Tom Christopher moves all-in from the cutoff, winning the blinds and antes.
Hand #52 - Almira Skripchenko raises to 70,000 from middle position, winning the blinds and antes. She shows the table 99.
Hand #53 - Dan Heimiller raises to 60,000 from the small blind, winning the blinds.
11:21 PM, 02/20/11
Hands #43-47: Final Seven Players
Level 23: 12,000-24,000, 4,000 ante
Hand #43 - Damon Schramm gets a walk in the big blind.
Hand #44 - Almira Skripchenko raises to 70,000 from the hijack, winning the blinds and antes.
Hand #45 - Dinara Khaziyeva raises to 54,000 from the cutoff and damon Schramm makes it 90,000 to go on the button. Khaziyeva folds and Shcramm takes the pot.
Hand #46 - Unknown action, but Dan Heimiller won the small pot.
Hand #47 - Dan Heimiller raises to 60,000 on thebutton, winning the blinds and antes. He shows [AsQd and rakes the pot.
11:09 PM, 02/20/11
Updated Chip Counts
Level 23: 12,000-24,000, 4,000 ante
Here are the updated chip counts through the end of Hand #42:
Seat 1: -empty-
Seat 2: Tom Christopher - 240,000 (10 BBs)
Seat 3: Dinara Khaziyeva 720,000 (30 BBs)
Seat 4: Damon Schramm - 700,000 (29 BBs)
Seat 5: George Rechnitzer - 775,000 (32 BBs)
Seat 6: Dan Heimiller - 700,000 (29 BBs)
Seat 7: -empty-
Seat 8: -empty-
Seat 9: Davidi Kitai - 600,000 (25 BBs)
Seat 10: Almira Skripchenko - 600,000 (25 BBs)
11:02 PM, 02/20/11
Hands #40-42: Final Seven Players
Level 23: 12,000-24,000, 4,000 ante
Hand #40 - Dan Heimiller raises to 65,000 on the button, winning the blinds and antes.
Hand #41 - Dan Heimiller limps from the cutoff and Davidi Kitai moves all-in from the button for around 500,000. Heimiller folds and Kitai takes the pot.
Hand #42 - Damon Schramm raises to 50,000 from under the gun and dan Heimiller calls from the hijack. Dinara calls from the big blind and the trio sees a flop of 532. Khaziyeva checks and Schramm moves all-in for 585,000. Heimiller folds, as does Khaziyeva, and Schramm takes the pot.
10:59 PM, 02/20/11
Hand #39: David Mosikian Eliminated in 8th Place
Level 23: 12,000-24,000, 4,000 ante
Hand #39 - David Mosikian moves all-in for 156,000 from middle postion and Dinara Khaziyeva calls from the hijack. Khaziyeva shows 1010 and she is racing with Mosikian's KQ. The board runs out A9728 and Khaziyeva's tens hold to take the pot and eliminate Mosikian in eighth place.
Dinara Khaziyeva - 780,000
David Mosikian - eliminated in 8th place
10:52 PM, 02/20/11
Hands #34-38: Actor Ashton Holmes Out in 9th Place
Level 23: 12,000-24,000, 4,000 ante
Hand #34 - Dan Heimiller raises under the gun to 56,000, Almira Skripchenko moves all in from the button for 456,000, and Heimiller folds. Skripchenko shows AK as she collects the pot.
Hand #35 - George Rechnitzer raises from early position to 75,000, winning the blinds and antes.
Hand #36 - Almira Skripchenko raises from late position to 70,000, winning the blinds and antes. This time, Skripchenko shows AK as she collects the pot.
Hand #37 - Ashton Holmes moves all in from early position for 174,000, winning the blinds and antes.
Hand #38 - Ashton Holmes moves all in under the gun, and Damon Schramm calls from the button with AQ. Holmes shows KJ, and he'll need to improve to stay alive.
The board comes A982K, and Damon Schramm wins the pot with a pair of aces. Actor Ashton Holmes, the last celebrity standing, is eliminated in ninth place.
Damon Schramm - 650,000 (32 BBs)
Ashton Holmes - Out in 9th Place
10:51 PM, 02/20/11
