$5,200 Mar del Plata Main Event | 2009 PokerStars.net LAPT Mar del Plata

04-19-2009 16:03 UTC-4

A Change in Temperature

[user37786]

It's a chilly day in Mar del Plata, the stiff breeze blowing off the ocean has people snuggling up in overcoats and scarves. And since the elimination of Leo Fernandez and Sergio Farias it's cooled down in the tournament room as well. Whereas before every hand either played was met with raucous shouts and chants and cries of "ARGENTINA!! ARGENTINA!!" the departure of the last two natives of our host country let a lot of the air out of the room.

A case in point was the elimination of Jason Skeans. Once the all-in and call were announced the crowd stood and edged forward, but almost in silence. When the flop was shown on the flatscreens throughout the room there was barely a murmur, and when Skeans picked up an inside-straight draw on the turn there was one muted cry of "five!". But that was it, and when Skeans was officially eliminated there was a round of polite applause. Which is rather a change from the passionate chaos that filled the tournament room for the last two days.

04-19-2009 15:57 UTC-4

Players Take a 15-Minute Break

[user24788]

Smoke 'em if you got 'em.

04-19-2009 15:52 UTC-4

Jason Skeans Eliminated in 4th Place ($105,860)

[user24788]

Rodolfo Awad was on the button in Seat 2. Jason Skeans moved all in for 159,000. Rodolfo Awad called.

Skeans: {6-Diamonds}

Awad:

Awad caught Skeans with his hand in the cookie jar and was ahead, while Skeans was fighting for his tournament life. The flop was {K-Diamonds}

and Awad still held the lead. The turn was the {3-Spades}

and Skeans picked up a gutshot. The river was the {10-Diamonds}

and Jason Skeans was eliminated in fourth place. The American from Cincinnati, OH won $105,860.

Tags: Jason Skeans

04-19-2009 15:32 UTC-4

And the Inaction Continues

[user24788]

After that three-way all in over a half hour ago, the action dulled down substantially. Jason Skeans moved all in a couple of times but did not get any action. Jorge Landazuri won a small pot in the last orbit. That was the first pot that the young Mexican has played at the final table.

Tags: Jorge Landazuri

04-19-2009 15:18 UTC-4

Updated Chip Counts

[user37786]

After that mano enferma (that's "sick hand" in Spanish - I think) won by Dominik Nitsche, here are our new chip counts:

Dominik Nitsche: 1,927,000
Jorge Landazuri: 443,000
Rodolfo Awad: 440,000
Jason Skeans: 227,000

Those of you handy with calculators will see that Nitsche has about 67% of the chips in play.

04-19-2009 15:10 UTC-4

Action Paused

[user24788]

After that massive pot, Dominik Nitsche had so many chips that the tournament director paused the action to color him up. Action will resume shortly.

04-19-2009 15:01 UTC-4

The DOMinator Busts Two Players.... Sergio Farias Eliminated in 5th Place ($77,620) and Leo Fernandez Eliminated in 6th Place ($63,520)

[user24788]

The DOMinator shakes Leo Fernandez's hand moment after his elimination

Jason Skean was on the button in Seat 1. Dominik Nitsche opened for 42,000. Leo Fernandez moved all in for 230,000. Sergio Farias went into the tank for three minutes and announced that he was all in for 515,000. Dominik "DOMinator" Nitsche quickly said that he was all in. Three-way all in. Talk about a cooler.

Dominik Nitsche: {A-Spades}

Sergio:

Leo:

The crowd leapt to its feet with excitement and anticipation. Everyone at the table stood up. Leo shook his head when he saw his opponent's cards. Leo's fans begged the dealer for a king.

Dominik took a deep breath as the dealer fanned out the flop of {J-Spades}

. The turn was the {Q-Clubs}

and Dominik folded his arms and tensed up as the dealer dealt the river card. The river was the {6-Clubs}

and Dominik Nitsche screamed, "Yes!" The young German won the hand and knocked out two players. He's now close to 2 million in chips.

Leo Fernandez finished in 6th place and won $63,520. Sergio Farias was eliminated in 5th place and $77,620.

Tags: Domink Nitsche Leo Fernandez

Level: 20

Blinds: 8,000/16,000

Ante: 2,000

04-19-2009 14:49 UTC-4

Derek Lerner Eliminated in 7th Place ($49,400)

[user24788]

Derek Lerner was on the button in Seat 9. Action folded around to Derek Lerner, who moved all in for 100,000. Rodolfo Awad called.

Rodolfo: {Q-Spades}