2012 World Series of Poker

Event 61: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event
Event Info

2012 World Series of Poker

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
k5
Prize
$8,531,853
Event Info
Buy-in
$10,000
Prize Pool
$62,021,200
Entries
6,598
Level Info
Level
42
Blinds
1,000,000 / 2,000,000
Ante
300,000

Greenberg on the Go

Level 17 : 3,000/6,000, 1,000 ante
Ben Greenberg
Ben Greenberg

Ben Greenberg of Boulder, Colorado has had a terrific Day 4 thus far, having begun the day with nearly a million and worked that stack up over 2 million and first-place position during the first two two-hour levels.

Greenberg is a graduate of Duke University where he majored in English and psychology. He is currently pursuing a career as a poker pro. At this moment his wife is flying in from Colorado to follow his Main Event progress in person.

Ben is playing with a broken arm, an injury sustained while sliding into home plate in a softball game. The injury is clearly not hampering his ability to push chips in the middle, however.

Tags: Ben Greenberg

Esfandiari Eliminated

Antonio Esfandiari
Antonio Esfandiari

After being crippled with pocket treys versus Brian Meinders' pocket aces, Antonio Esfandiari soon opened with a raise that left himself but 4,000 behind and was called by a single opponent.

The flop came {J-Clubs}{3-Spades}{8-Diamonds}, and Esfandiari's opponent said "I hit that flop good" before putting Esfandiairi all in. Esfandiari smiled and said, "I did, too," turning over {3-Hearts}{3-Diamonds} again for a flopped set.

His opponent had but {A-Clubs}{10-Clubs}, and Esfandiari's hand held through the turn and river. "Ship the sherbet to Herbert!" said Esfandiari, who had doubled up to about 100,000.

Esfandiari's good fortune didn't last that long, however, as soon he was all in once more with {K-Diamonds}{Q-Hearts} versus Michael Shelton's {A-Hearts}{Q-Diamonds}.

The board came {J-Diamonds}{7-Spades}{9-Spades}{3-Clubs}{3-Diamonds}, and the Event 55: $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop winner was eliminated.

Player Chips Progress
Antonio Esfandiari us
Antonio Esfandiari
Busted
WSOP 3X Winner

Tags: Antonio Esfandiari

Cheong Milks Retterholt

Joseph Cheong on Day 3.
Joseph Cheong on Day 3.

Steffen Retterholt raised to 13,000 from middle position and then called when Joseph Cheong three-bet to 31,000 from the cutoff. Retterholt proceeded to check-call bets of 36,000 on the {3-Clubs}{2-Hearts}{7-Diamonds} flop and 70,000 on the {9-Spades} turn, before the {4-Hearts} was put out on the river.

Again Retterholt checked, but this time he thought long and hard before calling Cheong's 128,000 bet. "Two pair," Cheong said and rolled over {2-Clubs}{3-Hearts}. Retterholt scoffed, shook his head, and then sent his cards to the muck.

Player Chips Progress
Joseph Cheong us
Joseph Cheong
800,000
210,000
210,000
WSOP 1X Winner
Steffen Retterholt no
Steffen Retterholt
580,000
-220,000
-220,000

Tags: Steffen RetterholtJoseph Cheong

Luongo Sent to the Payout Desk

Roberto Luongo
Roberto Luongo

We didn't catch the betting action, but we do know that NHL goalie Roberto Luongo was all in preflop with {4-}{4-} and in bad shape against the {J-Clubs}{J-Diamonds} of Bryan Vanrijsbergen.

The {8-Diamonds}{2-Spades}{10-Spades} flop provided Luongo no help, while the {K-Clubs} river left him in need of a four on the river to keep his Main Event dreams alive. The dealer burned one last time and put out the {3-Hearts}. It was close, but not close enough. Luongo collected his things and made his way to the payout desk, adding a World Series of Poker Main Event cash to his résumé.

Player Chips Progress
Roberto Luongo us
Roberto Luongo
Busted

Tags: Roberto LuongoBryan Vanrijsbergen

Four Players Bust on the Money Bubble

Desmond Portano, Steve Rosen, Jack Effel, David Kelley, Dane Lomas
Desmond Portano, Steve Rosen, Jack Effel, David Kelley, Dane Lomas

In the first hand of hand-for-hand play, five players found themselves all in with two at-risk players playing from behind, while the other three got it in good. Three eliminations were needed for the bubble to burst, and that's exactly what happened as four players busted, thus splitting the prize for 666th place.

Bubble Elimination #1: Steve Rosen open-shoved for his last 85,000 from under the gun. The action folded to Gwennael Grandmougin, who called out of the small blind. The big blind released, and the hands were tabled.

Rosen{k-Spades}{k-Clubs}
Grandmougin{a-Spades}{a-Clubs}

"I folded an ace," Alexander Beck said while the players were waiting for the cameras.

"This is a sick sweat," someone added.

Finally, when all other hands were completed, WSOP Tournament Director Jack Effel came over, and the board ran out {7-Spades}{5-Diamonds}{5-Clubs}{3-Diamonds}{q-Hearts}.

Bubble Elimination #2: Roberto Riva raised to 11,000 under the gun only to have Desmond Portano three-bet to 32,500 from middle position. When action folded back to Riva, he simply moved all in and put the pressure in Portano, who began the hand with about 160,000. The latter tanked for a long time, and Riva eventually called the clock. At the end of it, Portano called off:

Showdown
Portano: {K-Spades}{K-Clubs}
Riva: {5-Clubs}{5-Hearts}

Portano was ahead, but had to wait for the ESPN cameras before the board would be run out. It was a long wait, and made all the more excruciating when the flop fell {9-Spades}{6-Hearts}{5-Spades} to give Riva a set. The {Q-Spades} turn gave Portano a flush draw, but the {A-Diamonds} blanked and he became one of 2012 Main Event bubble boys.

Bubble Elimination #3: Dane Lomas was one of the players looking to double up during hand-for-hand play, being all in holding {a-Diamonds}{a-Spades} against the {a-Clubs}{k-Clubs} of Devin Looney. When the play was paused, Lomas said, "I'm gonna lose." Minutes passed before the dealer spread out a {k-Hearts}{k-Diamonds}{7-Clubs} flop. Lomas looked shattered and with a {2-Spades} on the turn and a {j-Diamonds} on the river, it was all over.

Bubble Elimination #4: Another of the all-in-and-a-call situations happened over in the Purple section, involving Christina Lindley and David Kelley. Lindley had {A-Hearts}{A-Diamonds} and Kelley {Q-Diamonds}{Q-Hearts}. When we first arrived at the table, we'd thought perhaps Lindley was the one at risk as she started the day on a short stack. But in fact she had 69,000 to start the hand, while Kelley had 67,000, meaning he was the one in danger.

After the long wait — lasting nearly 10 minutes — the flop was finally dealt, coming out {A-Clubs}{2-Spades}{10-Hearts} to give Lindley a set. The {6-Clubs} then arrived on the turn, making the {7-Spades} no matter.

Lindley has made it safely to the money, while Kelley became one of the four to tie for 666th.

After all the eliminations, Tournament Director Jack Effel took all the bubble boys to the stage and announced they would all be splitting 666th-place money ($19,227) and take home $4,806.75 each; in addition, all four men would participate in a four-handed single-table tournament to play for a $10,000 seat into the 2013 World Series of Poker Main Event.

Player Chips Progress
Steve Rosen us
Steve Rosen
Busted
Dane Lomas us
Dane Lomas
Busted
Desmond Portano us
Desmond Portano
Busted
David Kelley us
David Kelley
Busted

Tags: Dane LomasDavid KelleyDesmond PortanoSteve Rosen

Shak Misclicks, Spikes River

Dan Shak
Dan Shak

We heard the familiar cry from a dealer "All in and a call!" and saw Dan Shak with a funny look on his face. The board was {J-Clubs} {K-Diamonds} {6-Diamonds} {7-Hearts}, Marc Negron moved in and Shak called.

Negron: {7-Spades} {7-Diamonds}
Shak: {K-Hearts}{7-Clubs}

"I didn't even see him raise preflop," Shak said. "I was just raising the small blind."

The cameras swarmed and both players had a decent sweat before the river was dealt. The card peeled off {K-Clubs} and Shak spike a miracle card to stay alive.

Player Chips Progress
Dan Shak us
Dan Shak
240,000
104,500
104,500

Tags: Dan ShakMarc Negron

Roberto Luongo Saves His Tournament Life

Roberto Luongo
Roberto Luongo

A short-stacked Roberto Luongo was all in preflop and racing against Kyle Keranan.

Luongo: {A-Diamonds}{Q-Hearts}
Keranen: {7-Hearts}{7-Diamonds}

Luongo was the one at risk and in need of some help, which is exactly what he got on the {10-Hearts}{5-Clubs}{Q-Spades} flop. The {2-Clubs} turn meant Luongo needed to dodge a seven on the river to stay alive, which is what he did when the {Q-Clubs} peeled off.

Here is a video interview with Luongo and our very own Sarah Grant from back on Day 1 of the 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event.

Player Chips Progress
Kyle Keranen us
Kyle Keranen
710,000
-92,500
-92,500
Roberto Luongo us
Roberto Luongo
185,000
93,000
93,000

Tags: Kyle KeranenRoberto Luongo

Day 4 Begins Soon; Today We Burst the Money Bubble

Dave D'Alesandro Leads The Pack
Dave D'Alesandro Leads The Pack

Welcome to our coverage of Day 4 of the 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event. Yesterday's play saw the return of the remaining 1,738 from a starting field of 6,598. Those players were scattered across three rooms, and yet, by the end of the night, had all combined into the Amazon Room. Today, the final 720 will once again return for five levels of intense poker action. Perched atop the highest stack in the room is Dave D'Alesandro who owns a stack of 1,100,000 in chips.

Day 4 will be quite the exciting day for these remaining players, as it will be the day that the money bubble is burst. We are a mere 53 eliminations away from each of the final 666 players being guaranteed at least $19,227 in tournament winnings. After the players make the money, they will have their sights set higher and higher on the path to the first place prize of $8,527,982.

Day 3 saw the exit of just over 1,000 players from the tournament. Many big names showed up only to hit the rail in those fives levels of play. Among those whose WSOP came to an end yesterday were Eugene Katchalov, Soi Nguyen, Marco Traniello, Ben Lamb, Chris Tryba, Barry Greenstein, Sammy Farha, Brett Richey, Phil Galfond, Shannon Shorr, Nick Schulman, and John Racener.

Several Main Event champions of previous years also saw their tournament come to an end on Day 3. Dan Harrington, Robert Varkonyi, Jerry Yang, Peter Eastgate, and reigning champion Pius Heinz all saw a Day 3 exit.

While those players were not able to survive the massive field of the Main Event, others were able to continue to grind out and push through this deep field. Some of the more notable names that will return to the felt for Day 4 include Sean Rice (1,076,000), Vanessa Selbst (814,000), Sorel Mizzi (738,000), Vivek Rajkumar (678,000), Jason Somerville (637,000), Marcel Luske (602,000), Gaelle Baumann (599,000), Shaun Deeb (598,000), Lee Childs (570,000), Antonio Esfandiari (485,000), Gavin Smith (425,000), Maria Ho (382,000), John Juanda (357,500), Athanasios Polychronopoulos (305,000), Joseph Cheong (287,000), Liv Boeree (207,500), and Daniel Negreanu (109,000).

Play will be fast approaching the money bubble, so make sure to stay tuned to PokerNews for all of the latest updates on the most prestigious poker tournament in the world!

Top Ten Chip Counts

PlacePlayerChips
1Dave D'Alesandro1,100,000
2Sean Rice1,076,000
3Jacob Balsiger1,065,000
4Leo Wolpert1,003,500
5Ben Greenberg963,000
6A.J. Jejelowo928,500
7Daniel Rudd834,500
8Michael Ferrell821,000
9Paul Volpe820,000
10Vanessa Selbst814,000

Tags: Dave D'Alesandro