2007 PokerNews Cup - Australia

Day 1 completed

Posted 10-25-2007 10:36 GMT+10

Gary Benson Wins PokerNews Australian Bad Boys of Poker Invitational ($50,000)

Gary Benson collected $50,000 for winning the first ever PokerNews Australian Bad Boys of Poker Invitational. He outlasted a difficult table featuring some of the best players in Australia.

Benson was the first Australian player to win a World Series of Poker bracelet, when he took first place in $1,500 Seven-Card Stud during the 1996 WSOP. He had a tough final table that year which featured Andy Bloch and Humberto Brenes.

Benson's victory tonight was not an easy task. He had to outlast a mixture of some of the best veteran players such as Billy the Croc, Tony G, Jeff Lisandro, Sam Khouiss, Lee Nelson and a handful of young guns like David Saab, Arul Thillai, Mark Vos, and Emad Tahtouh. He held them all off en route to his victory.

"I got lucky with the A-10," Benson said about the final hand. "Emad played fantastic poker. If a 5 falls on the turn, he probably wins it. But an Ace fell and I won."

Their heads up match lasted thirty minutes before Benson finally finished off Tahtouh.

Congrats to Gary Benson for winning the PokerNews Australian Bad Boys of Poker Invitational.

Click here to check out Gary's Pre-Event interview, along with all the other videos from this event.

Tags: Gary Benson.

Emad Tahtouh Eliminated in 2nd Place ($30,000)

Gary Benson and Emad Tahtouh got into a raising war on a flop of . Benson bet out. Tahtouh raised. Benson re-raised. Tahtouh shoved all in and Benson called.

Benson:
Tahtouh:

Benson had Tahtouh dominated. The turn was the and the river was the . Benson won the pot and busted Tahtouh in second place. Tahtouh won $30,000.

"Second place again. Until I die," said a dejected Tahtouh as he walked away from the table.

Benson finished in first place and collected $50,000 for his victory in the PokerNews Australian Bad Boys of Poker Invitational .

Tags: Emad Tahtouh, Gary Benson.

Emad Tahtouh Doubles Through Gary Benson

Gary Benson appeared to be cruising to a victory. He was slowly chipping away at Emad Tahtoouh's stack. Then the two got it all in pre-flop.

Tahtouh raised to 5,000 from the small blind. Benson re-raised all in and Tahtouh quickly called for his last 37,600.

Tahtouh:
Benson:

"You had to have A-10, huh?" grumbled Benson who was not happy to have a dominated hand.

The flop was . The turn was the and the river was the . Tahtouh doubled up to almost 79,000. Benson slipped to 121,000.

Tags: Emad Tahtouh, Gary Benson.

Table Talk: Pocket Aces

"I got Aces three times tonight," said Emad Tahtouh. "Twice in the first level and once in the second level."

Sam Khouiss was on the rail and chimed in, "I haven't seen pocket Aces in sixteen years."

Tags: Emad Tahtouh.

Level 10 started

Posted 10-25-2007 04:10 GMT+10

Updated Chip Counts

Gary Benson - 148,600
Emad Tahtouh - 51,400

Arul Thillai Eliminated in 3rd Place ($20,000)

Gary Benson raised from the button. Arul Thillai shoved all in from the small blind for 26,000. Benson quickly called.

Benson:
Thillai:

Benson had Thillai dominated. The flop was . The turn was the and Thillai was drawing dead. The river was a meaningless . Arul Thillai finished in third place and won $20,000.

Down to two players. Gary Benson has a healthy 3 to 1 chiplead over Emad Tahtouh. There will be a short break. Action will resume in a couple of minutes.

Tags: Arul Thillai, Gary Benson.

Gary Benson Applies the Pressure

In the first few hands of three-way action, Gary Benson has been pushing Emad Tahtouh and Arul Thillai around with his big stack. He has increased his lead.

Updated Chip Counts

Gary Benson - 114,000
Emad Tahtouh - 54,000
Arul Thillai - 32,000