WPT Jacksonville, Day 1A Recap

Level 9: 400-800, 100 ante

By BJ Nemeth



We couldn't hear what David "The Dragon" Pham (left) was whispering to Allen Kessler, but Pham was having a great day on the felt, finishing the day fifth in chips. Perhaps Pham was telling Kessler the secret to accumulating more than $8.2 million in career earnings, and reaching seven televised WPT final tables. Unfortunately for Kessler, he busted in the final minutes of the day, but he plans to re-enter on Day 1B.



The day begin at noon with the WPT's Vince Van Patten welcoming the players and giving the traditional "Shuffle up and deal." From left to right: Royal Flush Girl Angelique Velez, Deborah Giardina (Executive Director of Poker for the Orange Park Poker Room), Vince Van Patten, Tony Dunst (Raw Deal Analyst and Live Streaming Commentator), and Royal Flush Girl Ivy Teves.



By the time Jason Mercier (foreground right) arrived in Level 2, multiple WPT winner Jonathan Little (top left) had nearly tripled his chip stack from 30,000 to 88,000. Little had flopped a set of sevens against Todd Terry's pocket aces to bust Terry, and the next hand, Little picked up aces of his own to win another big pot.



Will "The Thrill" Failla was a little late to the WPT event, because he was busy winning the final preliminary event ($560 No-Limit Hold'em). Failla has been on a heater since the summer, and doesn't look ready to cool down anytime soon.



Since Florida allows 18-21 year olds to play poker, the Poker Room at Orange Park Kennel Club has added a prize for the last player standing from the 18-21 demographic -- the customized surfboard seen above. Even if you're not a surfer, it'll make a very unique trophy.



The customized surfboard trophy is on display over the entrance to the poker room.



New Royal Flush Girls Angelique Velez (center) and Ivey Teves (right) play a casual game of hold'em with a few fans at the Royal Flush Girl Social Bar.



Matthew Selman is another player in the field with a lot of chips who is fresh off a victory in one of the prelim events. Selman won Event #4 ($340 No-Limit Hold'em with Bounties) a couple of days ago. In the WPT event, Selman finished Day 1A strong with 93,900.



Abbey Daniels is the only woman to ever final table a WPT event in the state of Florida -- she finished fourth in last season's WPT Seminole Hard Rock Showdown near Miami, earning $286,819. There were five women in the Day 1A field, including Lisa Hamilton and WSOP Ladies champion Marsha Wolak.



A handful of pros in the field were passing the time between hands by playing Chinese poker on their iPads. Here, Jeanine Deeb helps John Racener set up the app on his iPad.



Tony Dunst is scheduled to be providing commentary on the WPT Final Table Live Stream, but he would like to be too busy playing at the final table. Dunst finished Day 1A in the middle of the pack with 52,700.



From left to right: Darryll Fish and former WPT winners Tommy Vedes and Dwyte Pilgrim. Fish finished among the top 10 in chips with 135,400, and Pilgrim is well above average with 95,400. Unfortunately, Vedes busted late in the day, but he'll have a chance to re-enter on Day 1B.



Matthew Jarvis was near the top of the leaderboard for a while, and busted a player in the final few hands to finish the day as chipleader with 190,300. Jarvis was also named the ClubWPT Player of the Day.



In addition to the glory and the prize money, the players are battling to get their name on the WPT Champions Cup, which travels around with the tour. Each WPT winner also receives a smaller version to take home -- this WPT Champions Trophy.


There were about 85 survivors from Day 1A, and they will have the day off on Saturday before returning for Day 2 on Sunday. Here's an unofficial look at the top of the leaderboard:

1. Matthew Jarvis - 190,300
2. Eli Gomez - 181,300
3. Shaun Deeb - 174,900
4. Robert LeBeau - 170,000
5. David "The Dragon" Pham - 165,600

Players who busted on Day 1A have the option of re-entering on Day 1B, which begins Saturday at 12:00 noon ET. Registration remains open until the end of Level 4, and we should have the official prize pool information sometime shortly after that.

However, the $500,000 guarantee has already been passed, and there's a definite possibility of a $1 million prizepool.

Stay tuned to WPT.com for live coverage throughout the day.

ClubWPT.com Player of the Day - Matthew Jarvis

Level 9: 400-800, 100 ante

Day 1A Ends with Approximately 85 Players

Level 9: 400-800, 100 ante

The players have bagged and tagged their chips and there appears to be around 85 Day 1A survivors in this inaugural WPT Jacksonville Fall Poker Series Main Event.

Matthew Jarvis appears to be the chip leader heading into Day 2.  After busting a player on one of the final hands of play, Jarvis finished up with 190,300, putting him out front of Eli Gomez, who ended with 181,300.

The Day 1A survivors will get a day to relax while Day 1B players take to the table on Saturday.  We'll be seeing some of the eliminated players hitting the felt again tomorrow thanks to the re-entry component of the tournament.

We will have official chip counts, the Day 1A photo recap, and the latest episode of "Jess and BJ" up before Day 1B gets underway at 12pm ET on Saturday. 

Here is a look at the unofficial top fve chip leaders form Day 1A:

1. Matthew Jarvis - 190,300
2. Eli Gomez - 181,300
3. Shaun Deeb - 174,900
4. Robert LeBeau - 170,000
5. David Pham - 165,600

Matthew Jarvis Takes the Chip Lead In Final Minutes

Level 9: 400-800, 100 ante

With the board showing Q997 on the turn, the big blind moves all in for about 17,000, and Matthew Jarvis calls from late position with KQ for two pair, queens and nines. The big blind turns over J8 for a gutshot straight draw, and he'd need a ten to stay alive.

The river card trips the board with the 9, and Matthew Jarvis wins the pot with a full house, nines full of queens, to eliminate his opponent in one of the final hands of the night to take the chip lead.

Matthew Jarvis  -  190,000

Day 1A About to Conclude

Level 9: 400-800, 100 ante

The final level of Day 1A is coming to an end, and with a few hands to go, the tournament clock shows 88 players remaining from a field of 188. 

We'll gather an unofficial list of chipleaders to post soon, with the full official list coming by tomorrow morning.

Daniel Buzgon Shoves On Mark Eddleman

Level 9: 400-800, 100 ante

Mark Eddleman raises to 1,600 from middle position, Ken Aldridge calls on the button, and Daniel Buzgon reraises to 6,200 out of the small blind.  Eddleman calls and Aldridge folds.

The flop comes A103 and Buzgon bets 3,600.  Eddleman calls.  The turn brings the 9 and Buzgon checks.  Eddleman bets 8,300 and Buzgon thinks a bit before calling.

The river is the Q and Buzgon checks again.  Eddleman bets 5,500 and Buzgon tanks for a couple of minutes before moving all-in for 46,500 more.

"Wow," Eddleman says.  "I should've checked."  Eddleman thinks for well over a minute, again saying "I almost checked it too."  After a couple of minutes of deliberation, on eof the players coming into the blinds calls the clock on Eddleman.

Eddleman protests that he hasn't had much time to think, but the floor person begins the 60 second countdown nonetheless.  Aroudn 20 seconds into his minute, Eddleman tells Buzgon, "I flopped a set.  Set's no good huh?"  He pauses, then adds, "Or do you think ace-queen is good?"

He thinks ten more seconds then announces, "Fold."

Buzgon almost doesn't believe him and needs tablemate Matt Glantz and the dealer to confirm he folds before pushing his hand towards the muck.

"Nice hand," Glantz tells him.  "Klod would be proud," he adds, referring to their friend, Chris Klodnicki.  At that statement, Buzgon can't resist showing his hand.

"Set of tens are good," he tells Eddleman. Then he turns over A-Q for a rivered two pair and takes the pot.

Daniel Buzgon - 98,000
Mark Eddleman - 100,000

David Pham Folds to John Liu's Five Bet

Level 9: 400-800, 100 ante

The early betting action on this hand was provided to us by Allen Kessler. 

David "The Dragon" Pham raises from late position to 2,100, Allen Kessler calls from the cutoff, and John Liu reraises from the big blind to 6,100.

Pham four-bets it to 17,000 or 18,000, and Allen Kessler folds. Liu five-bets to about 38,000, leaving himself about 30,000 behind, and Pham tanks.

David Pham eventually folds, and John Liu takes the pot without showing his cards.

John Liu  -  90,000
David Pham  -  100,000

Darryll Fish Jumps Up the Counts

Level 9: 400-800, 100 ante

Darryll Fish is now amongst the chip leaders in the final level of Day 1A action after eliminating Tommy Vedes.  According to Fish, he flopped bottom set against Vedes' top pair on a Q-9-3 board.  Vedes' K-Q was no match for Fish's 3-3 and Vedes was eliminated.

Darryll Fish - 140,000

Level 9 Begins

Level 9: 400-800, 100 ante

The players return from their last break of the day to begin Level 9, with increased blinds of 400-800 and a 100 ante. The tournament clock shows 97 players remaining, with an average chip stack around 58,000.

This will be the last level of the night. Anyone who busts today has the option of re-entering tomorrow on Day 1B for another $3,500.

Will Failla: "Welcome to Jacksonville"

Level 8: 300-600, 75 ante

This post comes to you courtesy of Will Failla, who even suggested the title -- "Welcome to Jacksonville." We didn't witness it, but here's how Failla described the hand:

A player raises preflop, and Failla calls behind with 5-5. The flop comes A-Q-5 with two spades, giving Failla bottom pair, and his opponent bets into him for about 2,500. Failla raises to 8,500, and his opponent calls.

The turn card is a 7, and his opponent leads out again, this time for 10,000. Failla min-raises to 20,000, and his opponent calls.

The river card is a third spade, putting a potential flush out there. His opponent checks, Failla bets 40,000 (most of his stack), and his opponent calls with 7-7 to win the pot with a set of sevens.

Failla's set of fives are no good, and he's knocked all the way down from more than 70,000 to about 5,000 in chips.

Will Failla  -  5,000