Event 14: $15,400 $5 Million Guaranteed WPT World Championship Day 4 | 2014 Borgata Spring Poker Open

04-25-2014 20:17 UTC-4

Keven Stammen Leads Way Heading into Final Six

[user272102]

Level 24 : 20,000/40,000, 5,000 ante

The action was frantic Friday at the $15,400 World Poker Tour Championship Event as they played down from 18 to the final six in what seemed like no time at all. Keven Stammen would end the TV table bubble when he would eliminate Tony Gregg in 7th place after flopping the nut straight.

"I didn't even want to get it in on that straight against 'End Boss'," Stammen would say after the hand, still stoked after dodging a board pair with so much on the line. "I'm just excited for a shot at my first WPT title."

Stammen will head into the final day of play with the chip lead with 5,650,000. Stammen is having an incredible year and will strengthen his place at the top of the 2014 Global Poker Index leader board with his finish here this week.

"Tomorrow's gonna be lots of action," Stammen said, and then further emphasized his point by adding "LOTS of action."

Byron Kaverman, who has cashed a record setting six times on the WPT this season, ended the day second in chips with 4,070,000 in chips. Kaverman rode a surge of momentum throughout the day and held the chip lead until Stammen moved ahead on the day's final hand. A key hand for Kaverman would happen when he eliminated the winner of the WPT Seminole Hard Rock tournament, Eric Afriat, in 11th place. Kaverman told us after bagging, "I'm pretty excited right now, and I've been looking forward to this tournament for the last few months. Knowing you're going to play against a field like this, with so many great players coming out just for this one, motivates me a little more. The prestige, the buy-in, all of it."

The WPT will be pleased that one of their own has made the final six. WPT Raw Deal host Tony Dunst will be taking his place in front of the other end of the cameras tomorrow as he ended the day with 1,330,000 in chips. Dunst's day would get off to a good start when his pocket Queens would double up against Ray Qartomy's pocket Jacks.

Well known professional poker player Ryan D'Angelo ended the day with 1,220,000 in chips and feels as if he is in the right place at the right time.

"I'm just playing really well lately," he told us. "My diet, eating raw food with Ronit, has helped a lot with being in the moment and keeping a super clear mind." D'Angelo would add "my life right now is just super clean, stable, and happy. My diet is helping me avoid tilt which really helps. I had a hand today that the old me would've tilted so badly about. I've been on a sick run too, cashed in my last five WPT's. Just playing with a very clear mind. It helps to have a great structure - it lets you lose a hand and not be forced into playing off your game."

The self-proclaimed "Psycho Ninja", Curt Kohlberg, caused havoc throughout the day and ended with 1,580,000 in chips. Kohlberg's big hand of the day would come in a blind-vs-blind confrontation against D'Angelo that would give Kohlberg a full double up. Kohlberg would say afterwards, "I'm so happy and thankful for the WPT. This is my fourth WPT final table, and sixth top-10 finish, so I'm prepared. Tomorrow I'm bringing my psycho ninja style to the final table. Like a lumberjack, going to chop extra wood."

The sixth member of the final table is none other than Abraham Korotki who is fresh off a win in the $2,700 Borgata Spring Poker Open Championship Event. He is nothing if not confident as he told our PokerNews reporters before the event started that he was going to go back-to-back. Korotki finished with 2,560,000 in chips and it'll be quite the story if he can come out on top tomorrow.

Others who started play today but would end up falling short of their dream of making the WPT Championship Event TV table were local Tom Dobrilovic (8th - $143,146), Brock Parker (10th - $97,048), Bobby Oboodi (12th - $63,081), Ray Qartomy (13th - $52,163), and Justin Young (15th - $52,163).

The exciting conclusion of this prestigious event will get underway tomorrow at 4 pm. Play will resume with the blinds at 25,000/50,000 and a 5,000 ante with one hour levels. PokerNews will be there to bring you all of the action from start to finish so make sure to tune in!

04-25-2014 19:37 UTC-4

Tony Gregg Eliminated in 7th Place ($189,244)

[user101598]

Level 24 : 20,000/40,000, 5,000 ante

Hand #45: Byron Kaverman raised to 90,000 on the button, Tony Gregg called out of the small blind, and Keven Stammen defended in the big blind.

The dealer fanned , Gregg led out for 125,000, and both Stammen and Kaverman made the call.

The turn was a repeat nine - the - and Gregg opted to check. Stammen knuckled behind, Kaverman took the opportunity to fire out 325,000, and Gregg, the Season XI WPT Parx Open Poker Classic champion, tanked for a bit before he check-raised to an even 1 million.

Stammen upped the ante, announcing a re-raise to 1.6 million - 75,000 chips shy of an official raise, but there was no intervention - and Kaverman quickly folded. Gregg moved all in for a total of 1.85 million, and Stammen instantly called.

Stammen:
Gregg:

Stammen flopped the stone-cold nuts, and unfortunately for Gregg, he turned trip nines. The WPT Champions Club member needed a , , or the on the river to survive, but it was not to be as the completed the board.

Gregg shook hands with his former competitors before exiting, and the remaining six players are now buzzing about while bagging and tagging. We will have official counts and a recap for you shortly.

Player	Chips	Progress
Tony Gregg	Busted

Tags: Tony Gregg

04-25-2014 19:01 UTC-4

Hands #30-35: Kaverman Over Five Million

[user101598]

Level 24 : 20,000/40,000, 5,000 ante

Hand #30: There was unknown action after the Tom Dobrilovic elimination.'

Hand #31: Byron Kaverman took the blinds and antes with a raise to 90,000 on the button.

Hand #32: Kaverman popped it to 90,000 again, this time from the cutoff, and Tony Dunst defended his big blind. The dealer fanned , and Dunst check-folded to a bet of 105,000.

Hand #33: Tony Gregg took down the blinds and antes with a raise to 85,000.

Hand #34: Dunst raised to 85,000 on the button, Curt Kohlberg called in the big blind, and both players checked on a flop of . Kohlberg led out for 65,000 on the turn (), and 100,000 on the river (). Dunst called both bets, Kohlberg showed for a pair of queens, but it was no good against Dunst's for a pair of kings.

Hand #35: Kaverman was first to act, and raise to 80,000. Four players called; Dunst (cutoff), Kohlberg (small blind), and Abraham Korotki (big bling). The flop came , and the action checked to Dunst who fired out 175,000. Kohlberg and Korotki both folded, and Kaverman check-raised to 550,000. Dunst called.

The turn was a third diamond - the - and Kaverman slid out another 550,000. Dunst folded.

Player	Chips	Progress
Byron Kaverman	5,100,000	1,050,000
Abraham Korotki	1,750,000	45,000
Curt Kohlberg	1,645,000	-785,000
Tony Dunst	1,320,000	-210,000

Tags: Abraham Korotki Byron Kaverman Curt Kohlberg Tom Dobrilovic Tony Dunst Tony Gregg

04-25-2014 18:47 UTC-4

Tom Dobrilovic Eliminated in 8th Place ($143,146)

[user272102]

Level 24 : 20,000/40,000, 5,000 ante

Hand #29: It was folded to Tom Dobrilovic on the button who moved the remainder of his short stack into the middle. Unfortunately for Dobrilovic, Byron Kaverman woke up with a hand in the big blind and made the call.

Dobrilovic had and Kaverman . The board would run out and Dobrilovic would be eliminated in 8th place for an impressive $143,146.

"Not a bad payday. I'll take it," Tom said with a smile as he left the room to collect his winnings.

Player	Chips	Progress
Byron Kaverman	4,050,000	910,000
Tom Dobrilovic	Busted

Tags: Byron Kaverman Tom Dobrilovic

04-25-2014 18:14 UTC-4

Corey Hochman Eliminated in 9th Place ($97,048)

[user272102]

Level 24 : 20,000/40,000, 5,000 ante

Hand #8: It was folded to Keven Stammen on the button who thought a moment before raising it to 95,000. Corey Hochman in the small blind moved all in for approximately 500,000. Tony Dunst quickly folded from the big blind and Stammen was just as quick to call as he turned over a legitimate hand with .

Hochman also had a legitimate hand with but he could only shake his head as each card was dealt, knowing he was in dire needs. The board would run out and Hochman would be eliminated in 9th place while Stammen moved to 3.6 million in chips, which is good for the chip lead at this point.

Player	Chips	Progress
Keven Stammen	3,600,000	830,000
Corey Hochman	Busted

04-25-2014 18:05 UTC-4

Brock Parker Eliminated in 10th Place ($63,081)

[user253757]

Level 24 : 20,000/40,000, 5,000 ante

Hand #3: Brock Parker open-shoved for 623,000 from early position and the action folded around to Curt Kohlberg on the button. He made the quick call to bring on a showdown.

Parker:
Kohlberg:

Parker made his stand with a real hand but he was crushed nonetheless, and the final runout of left him with an inferior full house. He hit the rail in 10th place for a $63,081 score, while Kohlberg neared the 2.5 million mark

Player	Chips	Progress
Curt Kohlberg	2,430,000	600,000
Brock Parker	Busted

Tags: Brock Parker Curt Kohlberg

04-25-2014 17:39 UTC-4

Eric Afriat Eliminated in 11th Place ($63,081)

[user272102]

Level 23 : 15,000/30,000, 5,000 ante

Byron Kaverman opened to 65,000 from under the gun and was called by the cutoff, Eric Afriat, and the big blind, Curt Kohlberg. The flop came and Kohlberg checked. Kaverman acted quickly, betting 90,000. Afriat tossed the call out casually and after a little bit of thought Kohlberg also called.

The turn was the and Kohlberg was quick to check. After approximately 30 seconds, Kaverman made a bet of 210,000. Afriat also called, not as casually this time, as he carefully placed the chips into the center of the table. This left Afriat with just 340,000 behind. Kohlberg also came along and we had a large pot brewing.

The river was the and again Kohlberg checked quickly. Kaverman took his time, enough so that Afriat called the clock on him even though it'd only been about two minutes. Kaverman didn't give the floor man a chance to count him down. He made a bet of 350,000. Afriat thought for a bit and then placed the last of his chips into the center of the table.

Kohlberg agonized for a bit but eventually folded. Kaverman turned over for two pair, tens and fives. Afriat mucked and said "when you got somebody's number, you got somebody's number." It was a great run for Afriat, especially after winning the WPT Seminole Hard Rock less than two weeks ago, but it ends with him being eliminated in 11th place.

They are now combining into one table and will play down until we reach the final six.

Player	Chips	Progress
Byron Kaverman	3,140,000	1,340,000
Curt Kohlberg	1,830,000	-420,000
Eric Afriat	Busted

Tags: Byron Kaverman Curt Kohlberg Eric Afriat

04-25-2014 17:28 UTC-4

PokerNews GPI Update Episode #16: Negreanu Plummets

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Level 23 : 15,000/30,000, 5,000 ante

Daniel Negreanu plummeted out of the top 10 of the Global Poker Index this week, and Rich and Eric discuss that along with a bit of shakeup in the 2014 GPI Player of the Year race.

The two also offer a little advice for the Fantasy Poker Manager game on Facebook. This week's "buy low" candidate is a very familiar face, and the "sell high" is a favorite of the duo with a very big price tag.

Get all the latest PokerNews updates on your social media outlets. Follow us on Twitter and find us on both Facebook and Google+!

Tags: Daniel Negreanu Global Poker Index

04-25-2014 16:58 UTC-4

Bobby Oboodi Eliminated in 12th Place ($63,081)

[user253757]

Level 23 : 15,000/30,000, 5,000 ante

After making a big river bet on an ace-high board (looked to be 300,000, or half of his stack at the time), Bobby Oboodi was called down quickly by Tom Dobrilovic. Oboodi snap-mucked his busted bluff and Dobrilovic tabled for the winner.

That hand essentially crippled an already short-stacked Oboodi, and soon after he open-jammed for his last 305,000 from the small blind.

Keven Stammen made the call from the big blind to put Oboodi at risk, tabling as he did so. The race was on when Oboodi revealed , and when the flop fell Oboodi jumped out to a head start.

Turn:

Just like that Oboodi dropped far behind the pack, needing to catch a two-out shot to cross the finish line first.

River:

Stammen outraced Oboodi and knocked him out in 12th place, while crossing the 2 million chip mark in the process.

Player	Chips	Progress
Keven Stammen	2,100,000	80,000
Bobby Oboodi	Busted

Tags: Keven Stammen Bobby Oboodi Tom Dobrilovic

04-25-2014 16:32 UTC-4

Curt Kohlberg Beats the Game

[user253757]

Level 23 : 15,000/30,000, 5,000 ante

Ryan D'Angelo opened for 70,000 from under the gun, and Curt Kohlberg flatted from the next seat over. The action folded around to Tony Gregg in the big blind, and he came along to see the flop fall .

The "End Boss" checked to D'Angelo and he did the same, prompting a bet of 175,000 from Kohlberg. Gregg then paused a beat to study the board and the pot, before sliding a raise to 550,000 forward. D'Angelo was over it and he folded quickly, but Kohlberg made his stand by moving all in for 860,000 total.

Gregg made the quick call and tabled for a flush draw, while Kohlberg showed down for top pair.

Turn:
River: