Break it Up
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2009 PokerStars.com EPT Vilamoura
Vilamoura Championship Main Event
Day: 1b
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2009 PokerStars.com EPT Vilamoura
Buy-in
€5,000
Prize Pool
€1,561,700
Entries
322
Level
28
Blinds
40,000 / 80,000
Ante
5,000
Minieri Moving Backwards
Dario had 11,575 chips left, and he was debating a difficult decision. He sat in the tank for several minutes before starting to chat. "I don't know how my last longer will... How many chips you got, Peter?" Two seats to his left, Peter Eastgate quickly covered his stack with both hands and gave a wide grin.
Dario continued to mull it over. "If I didn't have the last-longer... I probably would be all in," he lamented. He turned his attention to Baekke and tried to prod some information out of him. After just a few seconds of chatter, Minieri had heard enough, and he kicked his cards back to the dealer.
You're Paez-ing Me Off
Around 10,000 in chips had found its way into the middle by the river of the
board, when Mr. Under The Gun bet out 4,225. Paez gave it some serious thought but eventually folded, and it back down to 29,500, just a shade less than he started with. Back to the grind.
I Want It All and I Want It Nowab
We caught up with the hand on the
flop with Nowab betting out 2,000. Maceiras called.Both players checked the
turn, and Nowab bet another 2,000 on the 
river. This time Maceiras folded with an almighty sigh.Nowab - 27,000
Maceiras - less than 16,000
Qualifier Taking the Pros to School
On a flop of
, the betting action wasn't clear, but three players each put in 4,100 chips apiece (Online qualifier Matthew Nieberg, Dario Minieri, and Vanessa Rousso). On the turn, the 
drew a check from Minieri and Rousso, and Nieberg fired a bet of 8,000. Minieri quickly folded his cards, but Rousso was deep in thought.She had just about 15,000 total chips left, and she was basically contemplating a decision for her tournament life. She eventually let her hand go, saving those remaining chips for a better spot.
All three of the Team PokerStars Pros on that table are struggling, each under 20,000 here midway through the day.
David Vs. Goliath
The board read
when we caught up with these two gents, and Minieri was all in, Eastgate covering him by a margin of 4,500. Whatever Eastgate had will remain forever a mystery, though - Minieri flipped 
with the innocent look only a man who is holding aces and flops a third one can pull off, and Eastgate mucked. "Nice hand," he admitted as Minieri doubled up to 27,000 or so. Indeed.A few moments later and Eastgate open-shoved from the button; Minieri called from the big blind.
Eastgate:
Minieri:
Board:
Current standings
Minieri - 22,500
Eastgate - 11,000
Eastgate Takes Brecard's Chips, Girl
Showdown
Brecard:
Eastgate:
The news wasn't good for the no-longer-defending-but-still-former World Champion, Eastgate. Brecard sat calmly, enjoying his vigorous massage as he awaited his fate. But his fate wasn't so good this time around. The dealer ran out a flop of
... 
. The last card she rolled out vaulted Eastgate into the lead with his set. The turn was a blank, and the 
that filled out the board could not save Brecard either. He stood from his chair, paid the massage therapist, and wished the table luck.Eastgate gave Brecard some parting words. Something about being so short on chips. Brecard gave it a half-listen as he slowly stepped away. "And now I'm going to steal your massage girl too!" Brecard gave one last chuckle as he exited out past the ropes.
How Many Chips Do They Have?
Davidi Kitai - 32,000
Alexia Portal - 30,500
Dominik Nitsche - 19,500
Ivo Donev - 14,000
Jan Heitmann - 12,000 ("Come back in 27 minutes and I will have 75,000. Or someone else will be in this seat.")
Johan van Til - 40,000
John Eames - 39,000
John O'Shea - 27,000
Jonathan Aguiar - 33,000
JP Kelly - 41,000
Juan Maceiras - 26,000
Juan Manuel Pastor - 25,500
Julian Thew - 40,000
Olaf de Zeeuw - 7,000
Richard Ashby - 30,000, but not actually here. He showed up earlier so they wouldn't take his chips away, but only played one pot (he won) before heading off for a nap owing to a late session in the ludicrous-stakes cash games.
Rob Yong - 32,000
Ross Boatman - 36,000
Sebastian Ruthenberg - 13,500
Simon Nowab - 21,000
Stuart Rutter - 37,000
Missing, presumed busted: George "Tiny" Danzer and Roberto Romanello
Level: 4
Blinds: 150/300
Ante: 0
Eastgate Gives Up
, and there was about 7,000 in the pot already. Dario Minieri was first to act, and he bet out 4,650. Peter Eastgate was his only foe fighting for this pot, and he didn't waste much time calling.The river brought the
. Minieri asked Eastgate how much he had left, and the Nordic pro moved his hands out of the way to show his ~11,000 remaining chips. Minieri then checked. Eastgate considered a move, but he eventually checked behind. And he wishes he hadn't. Minieri tabled 
for bottom pair, and Eastgate mucked his hand. He leaned back in his chair and let out a big, "Ohhhhhh, shit," after giving up on what he later said was king-high.Eastgate is left with those 11,000 chips, while Minieri has moved back up over 50,000.