Dan Gerard is Riding the Roller Coaster at the Final Table
Just a few hands after losing a huge flip, Dan Gerard just doubled through Eric Rappaport to recoup his earlier loss.
Gerard's last 2.3 million went in before the flop, and Gerard tabled his just hoping to have live cards. When he saw Rappaport's , his hand was live indeed, and he found four more outs on the flop. Rappaport's big slick gave him a BRoadway straight draw, however, so Gerard essentially traded his three outs to the jack for the decks' four remaining nines.
Turn:
Just like that, Gerard's gin card arrived on board, but Rappaport's king of spades meant the drama was far from over. Gerard would need to dodge jacks and spades to survive.
River:
The board pairing was just what Gerard wanted to see, and his straight was enough to secure his survival. He now sits with nearly 5 million, while Rappaport dropped to just under 4 million.
After suffering a few losses in previous hands, Eric Rappaport open-shoved with and hoped to hold live cards at the very least if somebody called.
Unfortunately for him, David Heck woke up with and Rappaport went from hoping to be live to life support.
The final board read when it was all said and done, sending Rappaport to the rail in 6th place for a $20,530 payday. Heck, meanwhile, is now approaching the 7 million chip mark with just four players between him and a $99,144 score.
After open-shoving three times in the last five, claiming uncontested pots each time to add more than a million chips to his stack without seeing a flop, Dan Gerard tried the power play one too many times.
Nicholas Immekus opened for a raise of 500,000 and once again Gerard slowly slid his entire stack forward without saying a word. This time, however, rather than forcing a fold, Gerard ran smack dab into the held by Immekus.
"That's not good..." said Gerard when he heard the authoritative snap call. "A flush would be good I guess."
Rather than bringing diamonds to the board, the flop paired Gerard up. The on the turn provided eight additional outs to a chop, as either a deuce or seven would result in a split pot with players playing the straight on board.
River:
Gerard's miracle card failed to arrive, and he went around the table shaking hands with his former tablemates before heading the payout desk to collect a $25,425 payout. Immekus, meanwhile, chipped back up to over 10 million after falling back a bit during the last level.
Nicholas Immekus Just Chipped Up With a Well-Timed Value Bet
After dozens of hands with not a flop to be found, as the final four continue to raise and take, three board cards have been spotted on the felt.
Nicholas Immekus opened for 625,000 in the cutoff and flatted when Andrew Carnevale three-bet to 1.45 million.
When the flop was spread, Carnevale continued with a bet of 1.375 million, and Immekus came along to see the arrive on fourth street. Both players then slowed down by tapping the table, and the completed the board on the river.
After another check by Carnevale, Immekus announced a bet of 1 million and stared silently at his man, who went into the tank for a minute or so before ultimately making the crying call. Immekus tabled the with authority and his hand was indeed good enough to claim the pot.
David Heck Has Allyn Marshal Cussin' and Carryin' On
More than 3 million chips were just transferred from David Heck's stack to the increasingly massive castle built by Nicholas Immekus.
The board read by the turn and Heck fired out a cool million, but Immekus was game and he came along to see the float down the river.
When Heck slowed down by tapping the table, Immekus made it 1.9 million and Heck called fairly quickly, only to muck when he saw Immekus reveal the for a runner-runner flush. Heck flashed the to show he wasn't getting out of line with his turn bet, and the pot was pushed to the chip leader.
Shortly thereafter, Heck open-shoved for the remainder of his now shortened stack, and he was snapped off by Allyn Marshall and his .
"I got ten-eight," Heck announced while tabling , much to Marshall's surprise.
"Why you gotta make a move with that?" responded Marshall, obviously perturbed that he did not have a weak ace dominated.
The flop of was safe enough for Marshall, but the on the turn had him shouting obscenities as only a New Jersey native can. When the completed the board on the river he continued cursing his bad luck, before retaking his seat and returning to the fray.
The Lights Are Dimming Here at the Borgata Winter Poker Open
The four players left in contention are now entering their 17th hour of poker play, and no matter how much each of them loves the game, the wear and tear of such a lengthy session is evident on each one's face.
Simply put, the intense pressure of tournament poker for such high stakes is magnified as the minutes bleed away one by one.
The human body is dependent on sleep and sustenance, neither of which are coming any time soon at this pace, and with every 50-minute level that passes by, the final four are becoming punch drunk.
General Rule #8 on the Borgata's structure sheet for this event says "This is a two-day tournament." But at this rate, during a Winter Poker Open defined by strange scenarios, suspensions and even a trash can fire that set off alarms, history might be made again.
This could be the first "two-day" tournament to last more than 48 hours.
Andrew Carnevale made the standard opening raise to 800,000 and heard Nicholas Immekus announce himself all in - a bet which really put Carnevale at risk.
Holding , Carnevale made his stand and actually found himself flipping against Immekus' .
Flop:
Just like that, the coin fell in favor of Immekus and Carnevale's hopes were slashed by a set of deuces. The arrived on the turn to bring the sweat that never fails to arrive, but the wheel fell off for Carnevale when the completed the board on the river.
With his extremely deep run in this event, Carnevale took home $30,556 in prize money.
David Heck's last hand of the night just went down, after he shoved all in over the top of Nicholas' Immekus' 2.5x opening raise.
Immekus, already in possession of a huge chip advantage, went for the jugular and snapped the move off with his .
Heck was ace-hunting with his , and three more spades would suit him just fine, but the final board rolled out with neither and he hit the rail with a 3rd place finish. Despite falling short of the title, Heck took home $36,389 for his deep run here tonight.
After entering heads-up play at a decided chip disadvantage in terms of chips, Allyn Marshall has made a game of it here, and after the last hand he has actually taken over the top spot.
Marshall made aces full on a four-flushed board, and Immekus had to pay off a big bet with what we can only assume was a fifth heart in his hand. The loss tipped the balance of power and now Marshall holds a slight lead.
![[user253757]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
just hoping to have live cards. When he saw Rappaport's 
, his hand was live indeed, and he found four more outs on the 
flop. Rappaport's big slick gave him a BRoadway straight draw, however, so Gerard essentially traded his three outs to the jack for the decks' four remaining nines.
and hoped to hold live cards at the very least if somebody called.
when it was all said and done, sending Rappaport to the rail in 6th place for a $20,530 payday. Heck, meanwhile, is now approaching the 7 million chip mark with just four players between him and a $99,144 score.
flop paired Gerard up. The 
arrive on fourth street. Both players then slowed down by tapping the table, and the 
completed the board on the river.
by the turn and Heck fired out a cool million, but Immekus was game and he came along to see the 
for a runner-runner flush. Heck flashed the 
, much to Marshall's surprise.
completed the board on the river he continued cursing his bad luck, before retaking his seat and returning to the fray.
.