World Poker Tour on FSN: Venice Grand Prix Season X — Part II

June 11, 2012

Chad Holloway PR & Media Manager

The World Poker Tour Season X continued on Fox Sports Network on Sunday night with Part II of the Venice Grand Prix from the Casino di Venezia in Venice, Italy. Just five players from a 155-entrant field returned to battle it out for a €229,800 first-place prize

In Part I, the early stages of the tournament, which was held from Feb. 6 to 10, 2012, and created a prize pool of €678,880, were highlighted. It also included the first elimination of the final table, which happened when Andrea Dato opened for 50,000 and Andrea Carini moved all-in from the button for 361,000. The blinds got out of the way and Dato made the call.

Showdown

Dato	8♦8♣
Carini	A♦3♠

The board ran out an uneventful 7♦5♥10♣2♥J♥ and Carini exited in sixth place for €32,195.

Here’s how things stacked up at the top of the broadcast:

WPT Venice Grand Prix Final Table

Seat	Player	Chips
1	Andrea Dato	1,241,000
2	Simon Ravnsbaek	1,682,000
3	-empty-
4	Rinat Bogdanov	1,077,000
5	Gianluca Trebbi	382,000
6	Alessandro Longobardi	291,000

First Hand: With the blinds at 12,000/24,000 and a 4,000 ante, the ultra-aggressive Simon Ravnsbaek opened from the cutoff with 9♠2♠ only to have Alessandro Longobardi move all-in from the big blind for 238,000 more with 7♦7♣. It seemed a hefty price to pay, but Ravnsbaek paid it to put his opponent at risk.

Both players were on their feet for the 10♦5♠K♥ flop. The A♥ turn meant Ravnsbaek needed a nine on the river to take the pot, but it was not meant to be as the A♣ peeled off. With that, Longobardi received a courtesy double.

Bogdanov’s Ladies: Rinat Bogdanov looked down at Q♥Q♦ and opened for 48,000, which cleared the way around to Ravnsbaek in the big blind. He made the call with A♥7♣ and then both players checked the K♣6♦9♦ flop. The 3♠ turn saw Ravnsbaek take a stab at the pot to the tune of 53,000, but Bogdanov called. Action on the 4♥ river went check-check and Bogdanov took down the 234,000 pot with queens.

A Big Sigh of Relief: In the next hand, Dato opened on the button for 50,000 with K♥9♦ but was three-bet to 125,000 by Bogdanov. Dato toyed with his chips for a few moments and then crossed his arms before leaning back in his chair, almost as if he was in a deep meditation. After some more thought, he made the call, and then bet 105,000 after Bogdanov checked the 7♣J♣6♠ flop. Bogdanov wasted little time in releasing his hand, and Dato literally breathed a big sigh of relief.

Gianluca Trebbi Eliminated in Fifth Place: Gianluca Trebbi moved all-in for 280,000 from the cutoff with 10♥7♥ only to run into the J♥J♦ of Longobardi. As we mentioned in our recap of Part I, all-in situations are eerily quiet in Italy, and this one was no different. Even when the flop came down 10♣2♣Q♠ to give Trebbi a sweat, there wasn’t so much as a peep from the rail.

The 3♠ turn left Trebbi in needed of either a seven or ten on the river, but it wasn’t in the cards as the 8♦ blanked. Trebbi was eliminated by his fellow Italian in fifth place, good for €42,705, and the rail sent him off with a small round of applause.

The Russian Strikes: With the blinds at 15,000/30,000 and a 5,000 ante, Dato opened for 60,000 on the button with 2♦2♣ only to have Bogdanov move all-in from the big blind with Q♣9♦ for 515,000 total. Dato starred at the board for a bit before saying, “Call.”

It was a race situation and Dato had a 54 percent chance of winning. The A♥3♠5♦ flop was kind to Dato, making him a 78 percent favorite, though the 3♣ turn did open up some counterfeit options for Bogdanov. While there was no counterfeit, Bogdanov came from behind as the Q♥ spiked on the river to give him the 1,065,000 pot.

“Right now Dato looks like Rocky Balboa in Rocky IV when the Russian knocked him down a time or two,” Sexton said to end the episode.

Tune in Next Week: The conclusion of the Venice Grand Prix is set to air on Sunday, June 17, on FSN, so be sure to check your local listings. If by chance you miss it, check back next week for the latest recap of all the action right here on PokerNews.