Main Event
Day 4 Started
2010 PokerStars.net APPT Auckland
Main Event
Day: 4
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2010 PokerStars.net APPT Auckland
Buy-in
$3,000
Entries
218
Level
28
Blinds
40,000 / 80,000
Ante
10,000
Final Table Soon to Begin; Brotha D, Grigg and Boxell All In Contention!
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The final day in Auckland, New Zealand has greeted us with cold rain and hurling wind as we prepare for the final table of the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour Auckland Main Event!
Entering the SKYCITY Auckland Casino, a DJ is spinning tracks to entertain the masses, but for the lucky nine that stand within a few pocket pairs, lucky rivers and eight eliminations of becoming the sixteenth PokerStars.net APPT Champion, the buzz is all about the Poker Room.
The Godfather of New Zealand hip-hop is leading the charge as Danny ‘Brotha D’ Leaoasavaii rode a wave of cards and hometown support to bag an impressive 636,000 in chips. Sitting just a few antes shy of Leaoasavaii is PokerStars Online Qualifier Srdjan Mitrovic (632,000) followed by Day 2 chip leader Tom Grigg (616,000).
Tournament stalwart Leo Boxell may be one of the short stacks with only 194,000, but he has countless years of experience under his belt – even reaching the APPT Sydney final table alongside Grigg last year before bowing out in third place. Throw in Day 1a chip leader Noah Vogelman (576,000), fellow qualifiers Santi Soriano Ramos (347,000), Danny Silk (250,000) and local Ropati Toleafoa (163,000); and it is still a guessing game for who will capture the $123,058 (NZ$170,000) first prize and title of APPT Auckland Champion!
Final Table Line-Up (average stack is 484,444)
Seat 1: Tamas Lendvai (472,000 in chips)
Seat 2: Santi Soriano Ramos (347,000)
Seat 3: Noah Vogelman (576,000)
Seat 4: Tom Grigg (616,000)
Seat 5: Ropati Toleafoa (163,000)
Seat 6: Danny Silk (250,000)
Seat 7: Danny 'Brotha D' Leaoasavaii (636,000)
Seat 8: Leo Boxell (194,000)
Seat 9: Srdjan Mitrovic (632,000)
Play is set to begin at 1:00 p.m NZST with the PokerNews Live Reporting Team providing the continuous live updates of every four-bet, triple-barrel bluff and spiked two-outer from the floor of the SKYCITY Auckland Poker Room and the PokerStars.net APPT Auckland Main Event!
Seat 9: Srdjan Mitrovic (New Zealand) - 632,000
Srdjan Mitrovic, a relative novice to high stakes tournament poker, has only been playing poker for 21 months. Before Auckland, Mitrovic had never played in an APPT event.
The 32-year-old software engineer resides in Auckland and considers himself a recreational poker player. His best result to date was a fourth-place finish in the Auckland Anniversary Poker Championships back in January (NZD $11,620). Mitrovic enjoys playing soccer and “Go” (a popular board game) in his spare time.
An APPT Auckland PokerStars qualifier, Mitrovic will begin the final table with 632,000 in chips; second only to chip leader 'Brotha D.'
Bios courtesy of PokerStars
Seat 8: Leo Boxell (Australia) - 194,000
Representing poker’s elder statesmen at the APPT Auckland Main Event final table is 68-year-old Leo Boxell. The Melbourne, Australia native claims that he has been playing poker “Since Noah.” They say that with age, comes wisdom, and that would seem to hold true for Boxell, who has accumulated more than $500,000 USD in career tournament earnings, dating back to 1998.
Last December, he finished third in the APPT Sydney Grand Final Main Event, posting an AUD $213,840 result. In 2003, Boxell finished runner-up to Peter Costa in the $10,000 buy-in Crown Australasian Poker Championships (now Aussie Millions), earning AUD $225,640 in prize money. Leo works as an auto mechanic by day, hence his nickname, “The Mechanic,” and currently ranks 19th on Australia’s all-time money list (per The Hendon Mob Poker Database). He’ll begin Sunday’s final table with 194,000 in chips.
Bios courtesy of PokerStars
Seat 7: Danny ‘Brotha D’ Leaoasavaii (New Zealand) - 636,000
South Auckland, New Zealand native Danny ‘Brotha D’ Leaoasavaii is the co-founder of Dawn Raid Entertainment, a hip-hop record label based in the South Pacific. The label made in a big splash in the North American market back in 2008 with the release of the hit single “Swing,” performed by RIAA certified platinum rapper ‘Savage.’
Commonly referred to as the “godfather of hip-hop in New Zealand,” 40-year-old Brotha D has seen some moderate success in the poker world, having won back-to-back APPT Auckland Celebrity Invitational titles (2009 & 2010). Brotha D has been playing poker for about four years, and in that time he has yet to record a big-buy-in tournament cash.
Already guaranteed NZD $16,350 for reaching the final table, this will be Brotha D’s best tournament finish to date. You can guarantee hips will swing at the after party, should Brotha D command a victory at Sunday’s final table. He’ll start the day with a field-leading 636,000 in chips.
Bios courtesy of PokerStars
Seat 6: Danny Silk (Australia) - 250,000
Danny Silk is a 31-year-old professional poker player from Australia's Gold Coast. A five-year veteran of the game, Silk is looking to add his first six-figure score to his tournament résumé. A first- or second-place finish in tomorrow's final would do the trick.
Silk's biggest cash thus far came from a win in a side event during the 2005 Crown Victorian Poker Championships, where he bested a field of 156 players, earning an AUD $14,000 payday. In his spare time, Silk enjoys traveling and brushing up on his Japanese. Silk, a PokerStars qualifier, enters the final table with 250,000 in chips.
Bios courtesy of PokerStars
Seat 5: Ropati Toleafoa (New Zealand) - 163,000
On paper, Ropati Toleafoa is probably one of the underdogs at the APPT Auckland final table. He'll begin the final round with just 163,000 in chips – the table's shortest stack. To date, Toleafoa has posted only one major cash during his brief, three-and-a-half-year poker career, but that one cash was here at SKYCITY, at last year's APPT Auckland Main Event (17th - NZD $7,101).
He's gone deep in this event before and has already bested last year's mark, which should give him some extra confidence heading into the final table. The 36-year-old storeman considers his style "unpredictable," which could prove to serve him well against some of the more experienced players he'll be up against.
Bios courtesy of PokerStars
Seat 4: Tom Grigg (Australia) - 616,000
Tom Grigg is a 25-year-old student who resides in Melbourne, Australia. He’s been playing poker for the larger part of three years and in that time has amassed career live tournament earnings in excess of $150,000 USD. Grigg’s largest tournament cash to date came at last year’s APPT Sydney Grand Final Main Event where he finished in fifth place, earning AUD $130,680.
In Sydney, Grigg was one of the chip leaders for much of the tournament and entered the final table second in chips, but ultimately cashed in the middle of the final table pack. Grigg will be looking to avoid a similar fate here in Auckland, as he once again enters the final table as one of its biggest stacks with 616,000 in chips. Grigg qualified for the APPT Auckland Main Event on PokerStars.
Bios courtesy of PokerStars
Seat 3: Noah Vogelman (USA) - 576,000
Noah Vogelman from Brooklyn, New York is the youngest player at the APPT Auckland final table. The 21-year-old has been playing poker professionally for the past four and a half years. Due to his age, Vogelman has limited live experience, but rest assured the kid can play.
Vogelman qualified for the APPT Auckland Main Event on PokerStars and finished Day 1 atop the overall leaderboard with 128,275 in chips – the only player to report a six-figure chip total at the end of Day 1. When he’s not playing poker, Vogelman enjoys hanging out with his friends and playing pool.
With 576,000 in chips heading into the final table, Vogelman already has his eyes on the prize: “I want to bring an APPT title back to Brooklyn!” he said.
Bios courtesy of PokerStars
Seat 2: Santi Soriano Ramos (Spain) - 347,000
Santi Soriano Ramos is a PokerStars qualifier hailing from Barcelona, Spain, playing in his first APPT event. A 22-year-old student, Soriano Ramos has been playing poker for about one and a half years. He considers himself primarily an online player, but admits he’s posted cashes in a couple of live events as well.
When he’s not grinding on the virtual felt, the man with two last names (literally) enjoys playing basketball with friends. Soriano Ramos is looking to post the biggest cash of his young tournament career Sunday afternoon, and he’s got as good a chance as any, starting the day with 347,000 in chips.
Bios courtesy of PokerStars