Event #37: $5,000 Limit Hold'em | 2013 World Series of Poker

06-22-2013 13:06 UTC-7

Witteles Leads Final 12; Bardah, Bonomo, Mueller In Contention

Josh_Cahlik

Welcome back to our coverage of the 2013 World Series of Poker! Today, the 37th bracelet winner of the summer will be crowned as Event #37: $5,000 Limit Hold'em draws to its exciting conclusion. The man nearest the goal of victory is Todd "Dandruff" Witteles who will be bringing the top stack of 442,000 into play today. Witteles will be joined by eleven other hopefuls for the final day as they vie for the gold bracelet and the $211,743 first-place prize.

While Witteles is sitting on the largest mound of chips, other fierce competitors are right on his heels. Ronnie Bardah is a WSOP bracelet holder in limit hold'em, taking down Event 40: $2,500 Limit Hold'em - Six-Handed at the 2012 WSOP. At his final table, Bardah conquered the likes of Marco Johnson, Brent Wheeler, and Sorel Mizzi to grab hold of the gold. Also returning and sitting in the sixth-place chip position is two-time WSOP bracelet holder Greg Mueller. Both of Mueller's bracelets are in limit hold'em and he is quite likely to add a third to his resume today. Though he sits at the middle of the pack, Mueller will most certainly be one of the ones to look out for as the day progresses.

Other names returning to the felt for the final day of play include Justin Bonomo, Steve Landfish, Gabriel Nassif, Ben Yu, and a handful of others.

Play will kick off in the Amazon room at 2:00 PM PST. Be sure to stay tuned to our coverage throughout the day as we provide the latest updates on the quest for the next WSOP champion!

And if you haven't already, be sure to check out Lynn Gilmartin's latest video recap from the tournament floor!

Tags: Todd Witteles Greg Mueller Justin Bonomo Ronnie Bardah

06-22-2013 14:28 UTC-7

Jeffrey Yass Eliminated in 12th Place ($16,211)

Chad Holloway

Level 19 : 6,000/12,000, 0 ante

It took about 20 minutes for the first elimination of the day, and it was no surprise that it was the short stack to fall. Jeffrey Yass managed a couple of doubles at the start of play, but it proved too little too late for the man from Haverford, Pennsylvania.

His demise came on a flop when Yass bet, Justin Bonomo raised and Yass three-bet. Bonomo made the call and then raised when Yass bet the turn. Yass called off his last chips holding the for a pair of queens, which was out in front of Bonomo's flush and straight draws. Unfortunately for Yass, the spiked on the river to give Bonomo the flush and the win.

Player	Chips	Progress
Justin Bonomo	280,000 22,000	22,000

Jeffrey Yass	Busted

Tags: Jeffrey Yass Justin Bonomo

06-22-2013 15:26 UTC-7

Jan Sjavik Eliminated in 11th Place ($16,211)

Chad Holloway

Level 20 : 8,000/16,000, 0 ante

Jan Sjavik raised from the button only to have Ronnie Bardah three-bet from the small blind. Sjavik made the call and it was heads-up action to the flop. Bardah bet, Sjavik called and the turned. Again Bardah bet, but this time Sjavik folded and preserved his last 22,000.

In the very next hand, Dom Denotaristefani raised and Sjavik moved all in from the cutoff. Bardah called from the big blind, Denotaristefani came along and then both those players checked it down as the board ran out .

Denotaristefani tabled the for jacks and sevens, which topped Bardah's and Sjavik's .

Player	Chips	Progress
Ronnie Bardah	440,000 60,000	60,000

Jan Sjavik	Busted

Tags: Dom Denotaristefani Jan Sjavik Ronnie Bardah

06-22-2013 15:43 UTC-7

Steve Landfish Eliminated in 10th Place ($16,211)

Chad Holloway

Level 20 : 8,000/16,000, 0 ante

After tripling to 50,000 it appear Steve Landfish might make a comeback here in Level 20. That proved not to be the case as he was just eliminated by Todd Witteles in tenth place.

It happened when Witteles raised under the gun and Landfish three-bet. Witteles pushed back with a four-bet and Landfish made the call, bringing about a flop. Witteles bet, Landfish raised all in and Witteles made a quick call.

Witteles:
Landfish:

Landfish held a big pocket pair, but Witteles' proved to be bigger. The turn gave both players a full house, but Witteles' jacks full of kings reigned supreme. Landfish was drawing dead, and after the was put out on the river, he exited the unofficial final table in tenth place.

With that, the tournament is down to the official final table of nine. The remaining players are relocating to the ESPN Main Stage where official chip counts will be documented and introductions made. Cards should be back in the air shortly.

Player	Chips	Progress
Steve Landfish	Busted

Tags: Steve Landfish Todd Witteles

06-22-2013 16:30 UTC-7

Plenty of Extras Being Given Away At This Year's WSOP

donpeters

Level 20 : 8,000/16,000, 0 ante

The buzz inside the walls of the Rio extends beyond just the tournaments on the 2013 World Series of Poker schedule. Online poker in Nevada is a very, very hot topic right now, and WSOP.com is making a lot of noise.

While the site has yet to launch, you can head to the Lambada Room of the Rio or look for one of the beautiful and friendly WSOP.com ladies walking the hallways to sign up for a free, personal WSOP.com online poker account. This is a great way to get a jump on the site's registration, and plenty of people have already taken this opportunity.

What's more is that the WSOP will be hosting daily raffles for everyone that has taken the time to register for WSOP.com at the Rio. What can you win? Plenty of fantastic prizes including 36 WSOP seats!

Players 21 years of age and older who sign up for a WSOP.com account will automatically be entered into the “36-Seat Giveaway” where a randomly-selected winner will win a seat into the next day’s first WSOP gold bracelet event. One of the events eligible in this promotion is the $111,111 One Drop High Roller No-Limit Hold’em tournament that is expected to feature a $10,000,000 prize pool and allow you to play poker with the biggest names in the game. In total, $182,333 in WSOP seats, including a seat to the WSOP Main Event, are being given away during this one-of-a-kind WSOP.com promotion.

In addition to the 36-Seat Giveaway, a “Hot Seat” promotion will allow any player who signs up for a WSOP.com online account and wears their WSOP.com patch on their chest at the table while playing an event to be randomly selected to receive 500 bonus dollars deposited directly into their WSOP.com online account once the site has received all regulatory approvals and launches.

With 62 WSOP gold bracelet events and three winners promised for the Main Event, this promotion includes $32,000 worth of value to those participating.

Tags: WSOP WSOP.com

06-22-2013 18:17 UTC-7

Justin Bonomo Eliminated in 9th Place ($19,863)

Josh_Cahlik

Level 22 : 12,000/24,000, 0 ante

Hand #57: Michael Moore opened the action with a raise and action came to Dom Denotaristefani in the big blind. He called and the flop came . Denotaristefani checked and Moore fired out a bet. Denotaristefani called to see a turn.

The struck the turn and Denotaristefani took the lead by firing out a bet. Moore mucked his hand and Denotaristefani took down the pot.

Hand #58: Moore raised once more before the flop from early position and action folded around to Ronnie Bardah in the big blind. He called and the two were heads up to a flop. Both players checked and the struck fourth street. Bardah led out only to have Moore raise the action. Bardah called and the final community card was the . Bardah checked and Moore bet out once more. Bardah flat called and tabled . His aces were good as he dragged in a nice sized pot from Moore.

Hand #59: Brian Aleksa raised the action and took down the blinds before the flop.

Hand #60: Mueller raised the action from middle position and Justin Bonomo moved all in for less from the big blind. The hands were tabled:

Mueller:
Bonomo:

The board ran out and Bonomo became the first casualty of this final table.

Player	Chips	Progress
Justin Bonomo	Busted

Tags: Brian Aleksa Dom Denotaristefani Greg Mueller Justin Bonomo Ronnie Bardah Michael Moore

06-22-2013 18:53 UTC-7

Greg Mueller Eliminated in 8th Place ($24,721)

Josh_Cahlik

Level 22 : 12,000/24,000, 0 ante

Hand #78: Gabriel Nassif raised from the cutoff and Greg Mueller moved all in from the big blind. Nassif called.

Mueller:
Nassif:

Mueller was dominated heading to the flop and did not improve as it fell . The turn brought the , giving Mueller four spades heading to the river, but he could not come through as the completed the board. The two-time limit hold'em WSOP bracelet winner will have to wait until another day to grab hold of a third title. Mueller will take home $24,721 for his eighth-place finish.

Player	Chips	Progress
Greg Mueller	Busted

Tags: Gabriel Nassif Greg Mueller

06-22-2013 19:00 UTC-7

Ben Yu Eliminated in 7th Place ($31,264)

Chad Holloway

Level 22 : 12,000/24,000, 0 ante

Hand #79: With a dead small blind, Brian Aleksa raised from the button and Todd Witteles three-bet from the big blind. Aleksa called, the flop fell and Witteles bet. Aleksa called, the turned and this time Witteles checked. Aleksa took the opportunity to bet and Witteles folded.

Hand #80: Witteles raised from the small blind and Ben Yu called from the big. Witteles wasted little time in betting the flop, Yu raised and Witteles three-bet. Yu got the rest of his stack in the middle and discovered the bad news.

Yu:
Witteles:

Witteles held top pair while Yu was on a gutshot straight draw. Neither the turn nor river changed a thing and Yu was eliminated in seventh place. Not too shabby considering he began the day on the second shortest stack.

Tags: Ben Yu Todd Witteles

06-22-2013 20:39 UTC-7

Nassif Doubles Through Witteles

Josh_Cahlik

Level 24 : 20,000/40,000, 0 ante

Hand #126: Todd Witteles opened with a raise and took down the blinds.

Hand #127: Michael Moore made it two bets from the small blind and Brian Aleksa called from the big blind. The flop came and Moore dropped out a bet. Aleksa called and fourth street brought the . Moore slowed down by rapping the table and Aleksa followed suit. The paired the board on the river and Moore led out. Aleksa called and showed for aces and fives for the winning hand.

Hand #128: Gabriel Nassif raised from the cutoff and received a call from Moore on the button. The flop brought and Nassif led out. Moore raised the action and Nassif went into the tank for about two minutes before finally deciding to release his fold.

Hand #129: Nassif opened the action with a raise and Todd Witteles made it three bets. Nassif moved all in for his last 49,000 and the cards were tabled.

Nassif:
Witteles:

The board ran out and Nassif's ace-queen high was able to hold as the best hand.

Tags: Brian Aleksa Gabriel Nassif Michael Moore Todd Witteles

06-22-2013 20:41 UTC-7

Catching Up with Ronnie Bardah On Break; Limit Hold'em Beat Boxing, and Team Ivey

donpeters

Level 24 : 20,000/40,000, 0 ante

The final table of Event No. 37 $5,000 Limit Hold’em of the World Series of Poker has been cut down to the last six players and amongst that group is Team Ivey pro and World Series of Poker gold bracelet winner Ronnie Bardah, who is sitting near the top of the leaderboard with around half a million in chips.

During the last break, PokerNews' Pamela Maldonado met up with Bardah to ask him about his recruitment with Ivey Poker, his skills as a beat boxer, and the future of limit hold’em.

Is there more skill in limit hold’em or no-limit hold’em?

I think it takes more skill to make a living playing limit hold’em cash games. It’s all about making sick folds and sick value bets. I’ve been asked this question before, and it’s hard to answer because both are really tough games. Although limit hold’em requires more skill to make a living, I do think no-limit hold’em requires more skill overall. You get put to the test so much more [in no-limit hold'em], and there are so many different styles of play that make you have to be aware of so many more things.

What future do you see for limit hold'em for WSOP events and as cash games?

Well, this event had two entries more than last year. The WSOP got rid of three of the six limit tournaments, but it should keep the championship event, the six-max, and the $1,500 so everyone could play. It should also bring back the limit hold’em shootout. It’s a great event, attracts a great crowd, and is great for the game of limit hold’em.

I don’t think cash games are necessarily fading. Bellagio, Foxwoods and Borgata still spread limit games. There are also games in Minnesota and Denver. Commerce in L.A. is still huge in terms of spreading limit games daily. They have $40/$80 games running all day, everyday. There are a lot of young kids learning the game, and I see a lot of the younger generation playing more often. Generally, the demographic of limit hold’em is 40 years and older, but with that said, I don’t see the game dying anytime soon.

As a Team Ivey Pro, what will you be specializing in as a coach?

I’m not sure yet, but I presume it will be limit hold’em. The site has yet to launch because we’re still in the first few steps of jumpstarting. Hopefully it gets up and running pretty soon, but there is no date as of yet.

Why do you think you were chosen to represent Ivey Poker?

I think I am different in terms of marketability. I’ve been playing poker for a decade and have a WSOP bracelet, and I’ve been good to everyone. There are a lot of people in the poker world that do rotten things, and I’m not one those players. I have a heart, I believe in karma, and I believe in being a good person both on the tables and off the tables. I’m decent looking, I think, for the poker world at least, and besides Phil Ivey, I’m the only brown person on the roster; everyone else is white. Maybe that had something to do with them choosing me. They needed to add color to the mix (laughs).

Three years ago, you went on PokerNews and demonstrated your beat boxing skills. Do you still beat box frequently?

I’ve been doing it since I was a kid. I don’t do it as much as I used to because I’ve been really focused on poker. Pretty much, though, I’ll beat box at anytime, while I’m walking with my headphones or at the most random times. It’s so much a part of who I am that I don’t even recognize when I do it anymore. Some people hum or whistle, I beat box.

Tags: Phil Ivey Ronnie Bardah