$115 NL Hold'em PokerPro Deep Stack | 2008 PokerNews Cup Championships - Australia

$115 NL Hold'em PokerPro Deep Stack

Day 1 Completed

10-13-2008 00:04 UTC+11

Mark Casale Claims Event 2: $115 PokerPro Deep Stack ($2,700)

[user38449]

It took just one hand of heads-up play to determine who would be crowned the winner of Event 2 and Prince of PokerPro.

Armed with a 3-to-1 chip advantage over opponent Daniel Schembri, Mark Casale quickly decided that his {A-Diamonds}

was good enough to call Schembri's all-in reraise. At the showdown, Schembri's cards were revealed -- two black eights -- and he seemed to be in great shape to double up and bring the match close to even.

The {5-Hearts}

board cooperated with Schembri through the turn, but the {A-Spades}

on the river clinched a victory for Casale, who told us afterwards that the win is the biggest he's experienced thus far in his young poker career.

One final interesting note before we sign off for the evening -- Casale's father Antonio, a well known local who finished sixth at last year's Aussie Millions Main Event ($300,000 AUD), also played in today's PokerPro event, though he was the very first player eliminated from the tournament.

We hope you'll join us again tomorrow night (7:10 p.m. local time) for our continued coverage of the 2008 PokerNews Cup Australia Championships, live from the Crown Casino in sunny Melbourne, Australia. Until then, good night and good luck!

Tags: Mark Casale

10-12-2008 23:48 UTC+11

Dom Italiano Takes 3rd

[user38449]

Dom Italiano was eliminated from the tournament in third place and he'll take home $1,260 in prize money for his efforts.

Italiano's exit sets up a heads-up match between Mark Casale and Daniel Schembri. Casale will begin the match with about a 3-to-1 chip lead over his opponent. $2,700 is on the line for the event's eventual winner, along with a very sharp looking crystal winner's trophy, similar to the one pictured here.

10-12-2008 23:26 UTC+11

Three's Company

[user38449]

It's taken just over 30 minutes to eliminate six of the nine final tablists, leaving us with the three who are currently playing for the championship: Dom Italiano, Mark Casale and Daniel Schembri.

Here's how fourth place through ninth place panned out:

4th: Adam Reid - $900
5th: Matt Walker - $720
6th: Michael Matthews - $540
7th: Kim Peart - $450
8th: Mark Grech - $360
9th: Ian Daniels - $270

10-12-2008 22:48 UTC+11

Final Table Line-up

[user38449]

Seat 1: Mark Casale - 219,000
Seat 2: Dom Italiano - 133,000
Seat 3: Ian Daniels - 72,000
Seat 4: Daniel Schembri - 204,000
Seat 5: Matt Walker - 50,000
Seat 6: Michael Matthews - 100,000
Seat 7: Mark Grech - 29,000
Seat 8: Adam Reid - 39,000
Seat 9: Kim Peart - 53,000

10-12-2008 22:45 UTC+11

The Bubble Bursts

[user38449]

The final table/money bubble has just popped, leaving us with our nine finalists who are guaranteed a minimum payday of $270 AUD. Otto Pickermann earned the title of bubble boy after blinding away to his last 1,000 in chips.

Forced all in from the small blind, Pickermann's {6-?}

was in bad shape against his opponent's pocket queens. To make matters worse, the board ran out a very salty {2-?}

(X), giving Pickermann's opponent quads and smashing his final table hopes in one fell swoop.

A list of the nine finalists and their starting final table chip counts will be posted momentarily.

10-12-2008 21:47 UTC+11

19 Remain...

[user38449]

The field in the PokerPro tournament has dwindled down to 19 players from 90 after three hours of play. Aussie Josef Berec owns the chip lead at the break with 79,000. When the players return from break, the blinds will go up to 2,000/4,000 and considering the fact that the current chip leader's "M" is only 13, we should see the pace of play pick up quite a bit over the next few levels.

When we reach the final table, we'll provide you with a list of the nine finalists along with their chip counts.

Stay tuned!

10-12-2008 21:15 UTC+11

What is PokerPro, You Ask?

[user38449]

PokerPro is a fully automated poker table that combines the speed and efficiency of online poker with the thrill and feel of playing a traditional live game.

The tables fit up to ten contestants and instead of chips, each player sits in front of his or her own personal touch screen computer on which all of their betting actions are controlled. A larger monitor fills the middle of each table and displays the pot size, player actions, community cards and stack sizes of each player. When set up for a cash game, the players can either purchase pre-paid cards to deposit money into the table, or set up their own PokerPro account.

10-12-2008 20:19 UTC+11

Top Dawgs

[user38449]

Two hours into the PokerPro tournament, we've lost but 10 of the 90 players who started the day. The average chip stack at the moment is 11,250 and your top five chip stacks are as follows:

James Frendo - 30,700
Jim Halfacre - 30,300
Jason Chahine - 29,700
Mark Casale - 29,400
Karib Karib - 27,100

10-12-2008 19:55 UTC+11

Prizepool and Payout Information

[user38449]

Event 2's 90-player field generated a prizepool of $9,000 and the top nine finishers will walk away with a profit. Here's a breakdown of the payouts:

1st: $2,700
2nd: $1,800
3rd: $1,260
4th: $900
5th: $720
6th: $540
7th: $450
8th: $360
9th: $270