Main Event | 2010 WSOP Circuit - Caesars Palace

Main Event

Day 3 Completed

04-29-2010 21:03 UTC-12

Congratulations to Andrew Lichtenberger, Champion of Caesars Las Vegas WSOP-C Main Event ($190,137)!

[user75032]

Throughout the course of this final table, it seemed like it was Andrew Lichtenberger's day. After starting off in 6th chip position of the 10 finalists, Lichtenberger started gathering momentum. Everyone in the room could sense that maybe it was Lichtenberger's chance to win his first ever live tournament. Certainly every time Lichtenberger got his chips in the middle against an opponent, he had the goods and flopped exceptionally well. When he wasn't getting all of the chips in the middle, he was playing smart, intelligent poker.

But so was Dan Casetta. Casetta, the Day 1 chip leader, was basically never at risk of elimination over the three days of this tournament. So when his Immovable Object met Lichtenberger's Unstoppable Force, it was only natural that a stalemate should result. Five hours the two men played heads up, going deeper into the night than anyone at the Caesars Palace poker room expected. Each player was all in at risk of elimination a few times during the heads-up battle, but every time the short stack doubled up.

Finally, with blinds at 30,000 and 60,000, the player who didn't run as well as his opponent would quickly find himself getting short. That's what happened to Casetta. And although he managed to double up one last time by coming from way behind, in the end he ran out of steam, time and chips.

Lichtenberger played exceptionally well throughout the final table and hit hands when he needed to. That's almost always an unbeatable combination. Congratulations to Andrew on a hard-fought, well-deserved victory.

Here's how the rest of the table finished:

1st - Andrew Lichtenberger ($190,137)
2nd - Dan Casetta ($114,800)
3rd - Brock Parker ($73,544)
4th - Diego Sanchez ($57,400
5th - James Carroll ($44,844)
6th - Stephen O'Dwyer ($35,875)
7th - Aaron Been ($28,700)
8th - Anthony Yeh ($23,319)
9th - Matt Stout ($19,731)
10th - Thu Nguyen ($16,144)

That concludes our coverage of the WSOP-C at Caesars Palace. We hope you've enjoyed it. Our colleagues in Monte Carlo are busy covering all of the action at the EPT Grand Final. Check it out!

Tags: Andrew Lichtenberger Dan Casetta

04-29-2010 20:56 UTC-12

Dan Casetta Eliminated in 2nd Place ($114,800)

donpeters

Andrew Lichtenberger moved all in from the button and Dan Casetta quickly called with only about 600,000 chips left. Lichtenberger held {K-Diamonds}

against Casetta's {A-Spades}

.

The flop nailed Lichtenberger with a pair of kings when it came down {K-Spades}

. The turn didn't add any extra sweat when the {5-Hearts}

peeled off and Casetta was left needing only an ace.

The river couldn't do it for him when the {6-Clubs}

fell and that was it. Lichtenberger successfully finished off Casetta, who took home $114,800 for his second-place finish. This is his largest score to date.

Tags: Andrew Lichtenberger Dan Casetta

04-29-2010 20:40 UTC-12

Casetta Doubles

[user75032]

Ground down to just 650,000 chips, Dan Casetta open-shoved all in from the button. Andrew Lichtenberger quickly called. Would this finally be the last hand of the tournament?

Casetta: {K-Clubs}

Lichtenberger: {K-Diamonds}

Lichtenberger was a 3-to-1 favorite to end it. Those odds increased even more after a flop of {A-Hearts}

. Casetta started asking for a heart on the turn; instead he got the {7-Spades}

to pair sevens and take the lead. The river blanked out {9-Clubs}

, disappointing everyone in the room not named Dan Casetta.

Tags: Andrew Lichtenberger Dan Casetta

04-29-2010 20:19 UTC-12

Lichtenberger Doubles Back to Chip Lead

[user75032]

Swings are getting very big now with blinds at 30,000 and 60,000. Andrew Lichtenberger opened from the button to 120,000 and Dan Casetta called. After Casetta checked the {4-Spades}

flop, Lichtenberger continued for 150,000. Casetta called.

The turn was the {3-Hearts}

. Again Casetta checked. This time Lichtenberger announced all in and Casetta quickly called. Casetta was dismayed to see Lichtenberger open {K-Spades}

. Casetta also held a king but his {K-Diamonds}

was out-kicked.

"Nine ball, corner pocket," said Casetta, echoing something Lichtenberger said earlier. It didn't work though. The river was the {J-Diamonds}