PokerStars.com European Poker Tour Grand Final Day 4 | 2008 PokerStars.com EPT Grand Final - Monte Carlo

04-16-2008 17:01 UTC+2

Hachem Takes Hit

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Joe Hachem limped, as did Isaac Baron and the action folded to the big blind who checked his option.

The flop came {6-Diamonds}

and the action checked to Baron who fired out 30,000. The big blind folded and Hachem made the call.

The turn brought the {9-Hearts}

and Hachem checked to Baron who bet 65,000 chips into the middle. Hachem thought for a few moments before again making the call.

The river landed the {J-Spades}

and Hachem checked the action for a third time and Baron fired a third bullet worth a hefty 155,000 chips. Hachem went into the tank for a long time, staring down his young opponent for any signs of weakness. Eventually Hachem laid down his hand as Baron had to bet on three streets to collect the nice pot.

Hachem still has over 500,000 in chips.

Tags: Joe Hachem

04-16-2008 17:06 UTC+2

Mostafa Belkhayate Eliminated in 24th Place ($73,325)

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Johnny Lodden opened the pot from middle position for 34,000, Mostafa Belkhayate moved all in from the small blind for 172,000 and Lodden made the call.

Belkhayate {A-Clubs}

Lodden

There was a three in the door for Lodden and his railbirds cheered as the flop came down {9-Clubs}

. The turn was the {K-Hearts}

, the river was the {6-Diamonds}

, and Belkhayate headed to the rail in 24th place.

Tags: Johnny Lodden Mostafa Belkhayate

04-16-2008 17:18 UTC+2

Noah Siegel Eliminated in 23rd Place ($73,325)

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Robin Keston of the UK just took down a huge pot, eliminating Noah Siegel from the tournament in the process. The hand was sparked by an initial pre-flop raise of 27,000 made by Isaac 'westmenloAA' Baron. Keston, sitting to Baron's immediate left, re-raised, making it a total of 72,000 to go. The action then fell to Siegel who pushed his entire stack (~230,000) across the betting line, prompting everyone but Keston to get out of the way.

Keston got up out of his chair and asked for a count, but he was calling all the way with {Q-Clubs}

; Siegel tabled {A-Hearts}

and the race was on.

An eight-high board favored Keston's queens and thus Siegel was sent to the rail in 23rd place, collecting $73,325 in prize money for his efforts.

Tags: Noah Siegel

04-16-2008 17:33 UTC+2

Claudio Pagano Eliminated in 22nd Place ($73,325)

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Claudio Pagano opened the pot for 30,000 from the cutoff, Denes Kalo raised to 79,000 on the button and Pagano made the call. The flop was {K-Diamonds}

and both players checked. The turn was the {A-Clubs}

. Pagano checked, Kalo bet 120,000, Pagano moved all in and Kalo called. Pagano turned up {A-Diamonds}

, but was drawing dead to a win and with only two outs to a chop, as Kalo had made two pair with {A-Hearts}

The river was the {3-Hearts}

, and the elder Pagano was eliminated, drawing applause from the entire rail. Son (and tablemate) Luca, remained stoic behind his dark sunglasses as his father made his exit.

Claudio and Luca Pagano are the first father-son duo to ever cash in the same EPT event.

Tags: Claudio Pagano Luca Pagano

04-16-2008 17:52 UTC+2

Hachem Reminisces With Dealer

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During a recent lull the in action at Joe Hachem's table, we overheard Joe reminiscing with the dealer who was on duty during yesterday's confrontation between Hachem and Woody Deck.

Hachem referred to a now infamous photo we published yesterday, saying, "Everyone is going to be so scared of me now! I'm going to frame that picture and put it on my wall!" The dealer replied, "I didn't see the photo, but I have the image etched permanently in my memory."

For those who missed it yesterday, here's the photo once again.

Tags: Joe Hachem

04-16-2008 17:53 UTC+2

Makhija Doubles Through Gwinner

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Henrik Gwinner opened the pot with a 27,000 pre-flop raise and the action folded around to Amit Makhija in the big blind, who called, but accidentally threw in 32,000 chips. The dealer didn't notice the extra 5,000 chip and started to rake the bets into the pot when Gwinner pointed out the excess chip. After correcting the error, the dealer spread a flop of {J-Hearts}

and Makhija passed the first action to Gwinner who asked to see how many chips Makhija had left. Once he'd gotten a good look, he fired five 5,000 chips into the middle, for a bet of 25,000. Amit answered by moving in over the top for a grand total of 112,000. Henrik hesitated, but eventually called, tabling {A-Diamonds}

for middle pair; Amit then flipped over {A-Spades}

, which made Henrik ask, "That's it?"

A turn and river combo of {10-Diamonds}

,

locked things up for Amit, who now sits with just under 300,000 in chips. Gwinner was left with 380,000 after the hand.

Tags: Amit Makhija

04-16-2008 17:59 UTC+2

Big Stacks Collide

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On the feature table the action was folded around to Oyvind Riisem in the small blind who raised the big blind of Maxime Villemure. Not one to give up his blinds without a fight, Villemure re-raised making it 85,000 to go.

Villemure hoped to take down the pot right there but Riisem decided to 4-bet, adding another 200,000 into the middle as a huge pot was developing.

Villemure, who has been playing very solidly all tournament, went into the tank for a long time before eventually laying down his hand to avoid a clash with his fellow big stack.

04-16-2008 18:00 UTC+2

Rasmussen Doubles Through Esfandiari

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In a massive hand on the feature table, Stig Top Rasmussen has just been caught in a huge trap from Antonio Esfandiari but somehow made a miraculous escape.

It is believed that Esfandiari had limped in from early position before a mid-position raise saw Rasmussen come over the top with a massive overbet for all of his 700,000 chip stack. Esfandiari sat there looking at his pocket queens and made a huge call. The other players stepped aside and the cards were revealed.

Esfandiari: {Q-Spades}

Rasmussen: {A-Diamonds}

Rasmussen's adventurous move looked like it was going to end his tournament when the flop came {7-Clubs}

. However a miraculous {A-Spades}

on the turn gave Rasmussen a sensational three-outer to take the lead in the hand. The river peeled off the {J-Clubs}

and Stig Top Rasmussen scoops a 1.4 million chip pot to become our new tournament chip leader, taking the lead from Esfandiari, who slips to just below a million in chips.

Tags: Stig Top Rasmussen