$5,500 Aruba Poker Classic Championship
Day 1a Completed
2009 Aruba Poker Classic
$5,500 Aruba Poker Classic Championship
Day: 1a
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2009 Aruba Poker Classic
Buy-in
$5,000
Prize Pool
$2,303,750
Entries
475
Level
26
Blinds
40,000 / 80,000
Ante
10,000
Day 1a is a Wrap
![[user66118]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
When the cards hit the tables some nine hours ago, 188 players took to the felt to try their hands at Day 1a. Among them were five members of Team UltimateBet: Adam "Roothlus" Levy, Matt Graham, Scott Ian, "Hollywood Dave" Stann, and everyone's favorite brat, Phil Hellmuth.
Alongside the host-sponsored group were a number of other notable non-affiliated pros, including David Fox, Max Greenwood, James Honeybone, William Reynolds, and Chris Klodnicki. From the online realm, the familiar screen names of Va Shon "JulianVerse" Watkins, Brock "t soprano" Parker, Nick "FU_15" Maimone, Brandon "xblah" Riha, and Chris "DashAlert" Morrison made the trip down here for a run at a major live championship.
It would take just about 10 minutes of play to find our first elimination of the day when a twenty-something entrant ran his pocket aces into Dan Goonin and his set of queens. From that point on, the knockouts kept on coming at a steady and persistent trickle, leaving us with 111 players at the conclusion of play.
Team UB Pros Graham and Stann were among the casualties of the first flight, and they would be joined on the rail by Maimone, Klodnicki, Morrison, Reynolds, and more than 70 others by the time the clock hit zero. On the flip side of things, Gilbert Drolet, Max Greenwood, and Vinny Pahuja all find themselves near the top of the field after very successful days. Everyone's looking up at Jon Favaloro though, his stack of 88,575 chips good enough to secure the overnight chip lead.
Tomorrow will see a fresh, new batch of faces take their seats for the second Day 1 flight. The remainder of Team UB will be on hand, including Annie Duke, Michael Binger, Liv Boeree, Tiffany Michelle, and the rest of the gang.
Until then, we're signing off from Aruba. We'll see you tomorrow at high noon for Day 1b!
Black and Gold
"I picked up the San Fran defense on Sunday morning," said Ian. "Thirty-one points!"
Honeybone chimed in, "How about Rashard Mendenhall. If you could get him, that was a sick pickup. He ran all over the field."
"I know!" said Ian, the two men now fully engulfed in a football discourse. "Wave that terrible towel," said Honeybone, circling his arm above his head as if he was in the stadium.
I asked him if he was a Pittsburgh fan. "Yeah, love Pitt," he said. "I like the Penguins too. And even the Pirates."
"How'd you become a Pitt fan?" Scott Ian asked.
"I pick on colors. That's why. They're black and gold," Honeybone said, pointing to the UltimateBet felt in front of him and those UB signature colors. "That's why UB is my favorite place to play online poker," he said. "Black and Gold."
Fox Eliminated; Watkins in Fold-or-Shove Mode
Va Shon Watkins hasn't had much work out for him today, but he's stayed patient. Watkins has been moving in over the top of preflop raises here and there to pick up chips and keep himself out of terrible short-stack territory. He has only about 8,000 chips, but is managing things fairly well.
Hellmuth Delivers the Bad Beat
. His opponent held 
. The flop contained two spades to give Hellmuth a flush draw: 
. The turn brought the 
and then Hellmuth pleaded for an ace to drop in hopes of a chopped pot. The river was even better when the 
fell to give him a flush.His opponent stood up and shook the hand of Hellmuth. "You don't deserve to go out like that." said Hellmuth.
"It was nice playing with you." commented the player as he exited.
Hellmuth is up to 40,000 chips, despite his late arrival.
Less Chatty This Time
. Both players checked, and the river brought the 
. After a check in front of him, Hellmuth elected to make a small bet of 800. His opponent intended to call, but he mistakenly included one of the blue T1,000 chips for a total bet of 1,300. The floorperson ruled that he must make a raise to 1,600, and Hellmuth called the extra bet.The river came the
, and Hellmuth fired another 2,500. His opponent would spend another several minutes in the tank, trying to engage the Brat in some casual chat. Hellmuth was having none of it this time though, sitting with his jacket zipped to his face and hiding silently behind his sunglasses with his chin resting on his fists.Finally, his opponent folded, mumbling something about having a better hand. "You had a better hand?" asked Hellmuth, indignant. He flashed
and dragged in the pot. He's slipped a bit since the last check, but that pot moves him back up close to 30,000.
Bluff or Not?
and was called by Jon Favaloro. The pot sat at approximately 17,000 when the river came the 
. Ian tipped his head down and studied his own chip stack. After a few moments, he raised his chin and announced that he was all in. The bet was for 12,025. Favaloro tanked and eventually called the clock on himself. With about 10 seconds left on the clock, he announced a fold.He asked Ian to show as the pot was pushed his way. Ian showed only the
and then Favaloro showed what he mucked -- pocket tens. Ian moved up to 30,000 while Favaloro dropped to 87,000.
Interesting Tables
With the exit of Matt Graham, Vinny Pahuja has been joined on his left by David Fox. Jason Gray is sandwiched between Scott Ian and big-stacked Jon Favaloro.
Play Resumes
Level: 5
Blinds: 150/300
Ante: 25