The Main Event
Day 5 Started
The Big Event at The Bicycle Casino
The Main Event
Day: 5
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
The Big Event at The Bicycle Casino
Buy-in
$4,750
Prize Pool
$1,921,327
Entries
417
Level
29
Blinds
50,000 / 100,000
Ante
10,000
A Champion Will Be Crowned
Welcome back to the fifth and final day of The Big Event at The Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens, California. What started as a 417-player field has been whittled down to the final eight. The final table is a mix of amateurs and pros, both young and old, headlined by the 2005 World Series of Poker Main Event Champ Joe Hachem and his good friend and fellow pro Victor Ramdin.
Ramdin enters the final table second in chips while Hachem is a littel further behind in fourth place. Ahead of them both is Jeremy Ausmus, who vaulted to the top of the chip count on a massive Day 4 heater. The final table also includes two old school players in Govert Metaal and Jose De Noronha, and two internet young guns in Taylor von Kriegenbergh and Brian Leskowitz. Rounding out the final table is Jose Nadal, who has proven time and time again that he is not afraid to mix it up.
The remaining players are guaranteed at least a $35,327 payday, but no doubt all are hoping to get their hands on the $500,000 first-place prize. Here is a look at the final table and chip counts:
| Seat | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Govert Metaal | 149,000 |
| 2 | Taylor von Kriegenbergh | 1,810,000 |
| 3 | Santiago Nadal | 943,000 |
| 4 | Jeremy Ausmus | 4,008,000 |
| 5 | Brian Leskowitz | 1,087,000 |
| 6 | Joe Hachem | 1,666,000 |
| 7 | Jose De Noronha | 568,000 |
| 8 | Victor Ramdin | 2,279,000 |
We'll be here all day and night until a winner emerges and is crowned The Big Event Main Event Champion. Be sure to check back in about an hour for all the action and eliminations from the final table!
Seat 1: Govert Metaal (149,000)
Govert Metaal of the Netherlands enters the final table as the extreme short stack; however, he is no stranger to tournament poker and will no doubt stand a decent chance of putting himself back in contention.
Since 2007, Metaal has amassed $510,361 in winnings including a fifth-place finish in the 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $25,000 High Roller back in January, good for $240,470. He has sixteen cashes, two of which were first-place finishes. Metaal has his work cut out for himself today, but is guaranteed to take home at least $35,327.
Seat 2: Taylor von Kriegenbergh (1,810,000)
This is the first major live-event final table for the young Taylor von Kriegenbergh. Mainly an online player under the name "TheRiverHawk" (named after his college baseball team), von Kriegenbergh qualified for The Big Event in a satellite for a minimal investment, which ensures him a tidy profit no matter where he finishes.
Von Kriegenbergh, who hails from Boston, Massachusetts has been playing more live events as of late, having recently appeared at the LAPT-Brazil stop last month. Throughout the course of this tournament, von Kriegenbergh has attempted to duplicate the same routine each morning. When asked why, he attributed it to his baseball days, when many of the players tended to be a bit superstitious.
Von Kriegenbergh begins the day third in chips.
Seat 3: Santiago Nadal (943,000)
Known online as "sanpri", Santiago Nadal is a 26-year-old from Mexico. He is a student of marketing, but has already shown great promise in the poker world. In 2010, he nearly made the final table of a World Series of Poker $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em event. If his last name sounds familiar to Mexican poker players, it should. Nadal is the brother of the most recent Mexican Poker Champion Jose Nadal.
Most recently, Nadal finsihed sixth on the LAPT-Brazil Main Event in February, for which e earned $93,270. No doubt Nadal will be looking to use his final table experience to navigate today's field.
Seat 4: Jeremy Ausmus (4,008,000)
Day 4 of The Big Event Main Event was kind to Jeremy Ausmus, as he went from one of the shorter stacks to the massive chip lead; in fact, he begins final table play with almost double his nearest competitor.
With $90,497 in career earnings, Ausmus has the opportunity to surpass that total with a fifth-place finish or better. His previous accomplishments, totaling six cashes, include a 69th-place finish in the 2010 L.A. Poker Classic for $19,310 and a runner-up performance in a $2,000 No Limit Hold'em event at the 2008 Wynn Classic, which earned him his biggest score to date of $55,484, a total he'll more than likely surpass here today.
Seat 5: Bryan Leskowitz (1,087,000)
Bryan Leskowitz, of Leominster, Massachusetts, told us yesterday he feels as if he were freerolling after starting Day 4 on a short stack and somehow managing to put together a healthy stack. With a $50,839 in live tournament winnings, Leskowitz is certain to surpass that total with a single score here today.
While his live results have been fairly modest, Leskowitz's online success has netted him hundreds of thousands of dollars. It is there that he plays under the names "Iknewwwit" and "Boston3Party". Leskowitz, who studied sport management at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, begins the final table fifth in chips.
Seat 6: Joe Hachem (1,666,000)
This man needs little introduction as he is know to poker fans the world around after winning the 2005 World Series of Poker Main Event for $7.5 million. With more than $11 million in career winnings, Hachem has proven to be one of the more popular poker pros on the circuit.
A native of Australia, Hachem has made poker his full-time profession as a member of Team PokerStars. He has already informed the other final table players that he has no interest in chopping the prize pool, indicating he has his eyes firmly fixed on the $500,000 first-place prize and adding another title to his already impressive résumé. Hachem starts the day with fourth biggest stack.
Seat 7: Jose De Noronha (568,000)
The second-shortest stack today belongs to Jose De Noronha of Lisbon, Portugal. A businessman dealing in antiques, De Noronha has been playing more and more poker events as of late including the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, European Poker Tours, and plans on playing the World Series of Poker this summer. He has been looking for that elusive big score, but is assured the biggest cash of his career here today.
Throughout the tournament De Noronha has carried a notepad that he diligently writes in. Supposedly his notes serve as a guide and constantly reminds him of relevant information such as having so many big blinds in such and such level. We'll soon see if De Noronha's homework pays off and if he can work his short stack back in to contention.
Seat 8: Victor Ramdin (2,279,000)
Born on May 28, 1968, Annand "Victor" Ramdin is a member of Team PokerStars and one of the more amiable players on the circuit. He has amassed more than $2.8 million in tournament winnings including a first-place finish worth $1,331,889 in the 2006 World Poker Tour Foxwoods Poker Classic. Most recently, Ramdin claimed victory in the 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $1,500 No Limit Hold'em event for $49,790.
Ramdin is also well-known for his charitable contributions that help benefit children in Guyana. In the past, Ramdin has donated 25% of his winning to philanthropic pursuits. If he were to claim the $500,000 first-place prize, he'd no doubt put it to good use.