Main Event
Day 3 Completed
2012-13 World Series of Poker Circuit Event - Caesars Atlantic City
Main Event
Day: 3
Congratulations to Joseph McKeehen, WSOP Circuit Caesars Atlantic City Main Event Champion ($174,147)
Level 30
: 25,000/50,000, 5,000 ante
That’s all she wrote folks! After three lengthy days of poker, 540 players have been whittled all the way down to just one. That man: Joseph McKeehen. McKeehen started the day as the chip leader, and he never gave up that title the whole day. He will be taking $174,147 home with them, along with that beautiful WSOPC Gold Ring. In addition, McKeehen will now be travelling to New Orleans in May to play in the WSOP National Championship.
We came back today with 19 players, and we lost Joseph Steur on the first hand of play today to get us down to our final two tables. From there, it didn’t take us long to get down to our final ten players. To start the eliminations, we lost Thomas Sheets when his 
failed to catch up with the 
of Dennis Thurman. Here’s how the stacks looked when we started the final table. You can learn a little more about the players here.
| Seat | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leo Walker | 335,000 |
| 2 | John Holley | 695,000 |
| 3 | Hend Matthews | 1,140,000 |
| 4 | Allie Prescott | 445,000 |
| 5 | Tony Sinishtaj | 945,000 |
| 6 | Ido Ashkenazi | 595,000 |
| 7 | Dennis Thurman | 1,240,000 |
| 8 | Raymond Morgan | 185,000 |
| 9 | Joseph McKeehen | 4,650,000 |
Just ten minutes into the final table, we lost Allie Prescott. He got all his money in preflop holding 
, but he was crushed by the 
of John Holley. The 
board didn’t bring any miracles for Prescott, and he was the first person eliminated from the final table.
Next up was Leo Walker, who quickly followed Prescott out the door. Walker too was dominated when the money went in, with his 
well behind the 
of McKeehen. The board ran down ten-high with no diamonds, and Walker had to settle for a $20,307 pay day.
The eliminations kept coming, as Raymond Morgan was knocked out shortly after. His 
could not catch up to the 
of Dennis Thurman, as the board came out 
, and Morgan finished in 7th place.
John Holley was crippled when his 
lost to the of Tony Sinishtaj after a queen-high flop, and Sinishtaj finished him off shortly after. Holley shoved all in preflop with 
, and was looked up by Sinishtaj with 
. The board ran down 
, and Holley was sent packing with $33,453 in his pockets.
The lone woman at the final table, Hend Matthews, was next to go out. She was down to her last 300,000 when she shoved preflop with 
. She was called by McKeehen with 
, and it was an action flop as the dealer put the 
. Matthews held the lead after pairing her ten, but she had a few cards to dodge. She couldn't do that as the came on the turn. The came on the river, and Matthews went out in 5th place.
The role of bounty hunter went back to Sinishtaj when Dennis Thurman was knocked out in 4th place. The two of them got all the money in on the turn, with the board reading . Thurman had top pair with 
, but he was drawing dead against the of Sinishtaj. The on the river completed the board, and Thurman took home just under $60,000.
Ido Ashkenazi survived a number of all in shoves, and doubled up a couple times, before he finally succumbed in third place. Ashkenazi got his money in good preflop, holding 
against the of Sinishtaj. Ashkenazi stayed ahead until the river, which was the . This set the ground for our heads up battle.
While the players were quite talkative throughout the heads up battle, their play wasn’t very active. About 80% of the hands didn’t see a flop, as McKeehen and Sinishtaj were content with folding to each other’s min-raise. It took a preflop cooler to end the tournament. The players got in a raising war preflop that saw Sinishtaj’s 
go up against the of McKeehen. The board ran down 
, and that gave the title to Joseph McKeehen! Here’s a breakdown of how the final table shook out.
Final Table Payouts
| Place | Name | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joseph McKeehen | $174,150 |
| 2 | Tony Sinishtaj | $107,673 |
| 3 | Ido Ashkenazi | $78,659 |
| 4 | Dennis Thurman | $58,312 |
| 5 | Hend Matthews | $43,853 |
| 6 | John Holley | $33,453 |
| 7 | Raymond Morgan | $25,880 |
| 8 | Leo Walker | $20,307 |
| 9 | Allie Prescott | $16,160 |
Congratulations go out to all the final table players, but none bigger than our winner Joseph McKeehen! We will see him again in New Orleans in May for the National Championship. That does it for us here.
We hope you have enjoyed the live coverage here at Pokernews over the past few days. Be sure to tune in for our next stop, the Lodge Casino in Black Hawk Colorado, starting on Friday, March. Goodnight from New Jersey!
Tony Sinishtaj Eliminated in 2nd Place ($107,673)
Level 30
: 25,000/50,000, 5,000 ante
Joseph McKeehen opened with a raise to 105,000 from the button, then Tony Sinishtaj moved to set out a column of chips to reraise to 225,000. Before Sinishtaj's chips had landed on the felt, McKeehen was already saying he was pushing all in, and Sinishtaj quickly called with what he had left behind.
McKeehen:
Sinishtaj:
The board ran out , then , then , and McKeehen's queens had held. Both players earn six-figure paydays for their finishes today, with McKeehen taking his first WSOP gold ring at the age of 21!
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
10,800,000 | 1,350,000 |
|
Busted |
Sinishtaj Shoving
Level 30
: 25,000/50,000, 5,000 ante
We've just seen an all-in push from Tony Sinishtaj, who now has become short-stacked enough to be looking for opportunities to get back some chips and improve his chances of competing.
Joseph McKeehen opened for 105,000 from the button, and when Tony Sinishtaj shoved in response, McKeehen quickly let his hand go.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
9,450,000 | 200,000 |
|
|
1,350,000 | -200,000 |
Trips Mean Chips for McKeehen
Level 30
: 25,000/50,000, 5,000 ante
Following another Tony Sinishtaj min-raise open from the button for 100,000, Joseph McKeehen called and the pair saw the flop come . McKeehen checked, Sinishtaj bet 125,000, and McKeehen called.
The turn then brought the 
, and McKeehen led out with a bet of 220,000 which after a bit of thought Sinishtaj called. The river was the , and again McKeehen came out firing, this time for 530,000.
Sinishtaj carved out the calling chips and after studying the situation for a few seconds exhalingly called. McKeehen quickly showed 
for trip deuces, and Sinishtaj flashed his hand — 
(two pair) — as he tossed his cards dealerward.
That hand pushed McKeehen up over 9 million chips, giving him a nearly 6-to-1 chip lead at present over Sinishtaj.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
9,250,000 | 1,250,000 |
|
|
1,550,000 | -1,250,000 |
Kings vs. Ace-King = Small Pot
Level 30
: 25,000/50,000, 5,000 ante
We just finished talking about how patient these two were playing, and that was perfectly on display in this hand.
Tony Sinishtaj raised it up to 100,000 on the button, and Joseph McKeehen made the call. The flop came down , and McKeehen led for 100,000. Sinishtaj called, and they both checked when the hit the turn. The river brought the , and McKeehen fired out 200,000 this time. Sinishtaj snap called and rolled over . McKeehen said "God I'm the worst," and tabled .
Had the two played the hand aggressively preflop, the tournament would have been over. As it is, McKeehen holds an 8 million to 2.8 million lead.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
8,000,000 | 320,000 |
|
|
2,800,000 | -320,000 |
No Hurry, No Worry
Level 30
: 25,000/50,000, 5,000 ante
Following that large pot that went McKeehen's way, we've just seen nearly a dozen hands go by with nary a flop, as each player is generally taking the opportunity to raise his button and win the blinds and antes.
With the blinds 25,000/50,000, both players are plenty deep enough to remain patient as they seek opportunities to carve more substantially into each other's stacks.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
7,680,000 | -220,000 |
|
|
3,120,000 | 220,000 |
McKeehen Wins 2.8 Million Chip Pot
Level 30
: 25,000/50,000, 5,000 ante
It took about 10 hands of heads up play for us to see our first flop, but it was worth the wait, as the two tangled in a big one.
Joseph McKeehen raised it up to 105,000, and Tony Sinishtaj three bet to 240,000 for the second time in three hands. McKeehen made the call, and the flop came down 
. Sinishtaj led out for 275,000, and McKeehen took just a few moments to call.
The turn brought the , and Sinishtaj fired out again, this time for 335,000. McKeehen came along, and the river was the . Sinishtaj fired one more time, 625,000, and McKeehen made the call.
Sinishtaj tabled 
for a pair of sixes, and McKeehen rolled over for top pair on board. Sinishtaj lost a third of his chips in that hand, as he is now down to 2.9 million, while McKeehen jumps up to 7.9 million.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
7,900,000 | 1,430,000 |
|
|
2,900,000 | -1,430,000 |
Chip Counts to Start Heads-Up Play
Level 30
: 25,000/50,000, 5,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
6,470,000 | |
|
|
4,330,000 |
Ido Ashkenazi Eliminated in 3rd Place ($78,659)
Level 30
: 25,000/50,000, 5,000 ante
Just one hand before, Ido Ashkenazi had raised, Joseph McKeehen three-bet, and Ashkenazi called. The flop had brought three Broadway cards, including a king, and when Ashkenazi folded to McKeehen's flop bet, the pair were discussing what might have been.
Ashkenazi said he'd folded pocket eights while McKeehen said his hand had been 
, and the discussion was over what would have happened had Ashkenazi four-bet before the flop.
It appeared perhaps Ashkenazi had dodged a bullet, but on the very next hand the preflop reraising war that they were envisioning did in fact occur, although this time between Ashkenazi and Tony Sinishtaj.
Following an opening raise to 130,000 by Sinishtaj from the small blind, Ashkenazi made it 280,000 to go from a seat over, Sinishtaj pushed all in, and Ashkenazi quickly called.
Sinishtaj:
Ashkenazi:
The flop came 
and the turn the , and Ashkenazi was still ahead although needing to fade a number of river cards. Alas for him, the river brought the to pair Sinishtaj, and Ashkenazi's Main Event run has ended in third place.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
6,470,000 | 570,000 |
|
Busted |