$5,150 Championship Main Event Day 2 | 2008 World Series of Poker Circuit - Atlantic City

$5,150 Championship Main Event

Day 2 Completed

12-15-2008 21:18 UTC-4

Day 2 Concludes; Final Table Set!

With the elimination of Michael Walls, Day 2 has come to a close. We began play this afternoon with 35 hopefuls knocking on the door of a Circuit championship. Some six hours later, that number has been whittled all the way down to the final nine who will return tomorrow for the conclusion of our event.

Bill Gazes began the day with the chip lead, but he would fail to make the money following a string of small losses and one big crippling blow; he exited in 24th place. Our lone female, Joanne Monteavaro, picked her way through the field to a respectable 11th place finish, by far the best performance by a female in this event. Other notable casualties of Day 2 were Dan Shak, Chris Reslock, and both Spadavecchia's -- John and Vincent.

After the final tally, it's Brent Roberts who will take the chip lead into tomorrow's action. Here's the way the remaining nine players stack up:

Final Table
Seat 1 - Allen Bari - 816,000
Seat 2 - Rafael Camejo - 227,000
Seat 3 - Tim "ttwist" Kelly - 379,000
Seat 4 - Phillip Reed - 340,000
Seat 5 - Robert McLaughlin - 123,000
Seat 6 - Kyle "kwob20" Bowker - 375,000
Seat 7 - Dwyte Pilgrim - 265,000
Seat 8 - Brent "Astrolux85" Roberts - 1,011,000
Seat 9 - Scott Zakheim - 85,000

The final table will commence at 2:00pm tomorrow, so join us then as we crown our champion here at the WSOP-C Harrah's Atlantic City!

12-15-2008 21:17 UTC-4

Michael Walls Eliminated in 10th Place ($13,874)

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Brent Roberts raised to 36,000 from middle position and Michael Walls committed his remaining 48,000 from the small blind. Phillip Reed called from the big blind and Roberts called as well. The {8-Diamonds}

flop was checked and when the {10-Spades}

hit the turn, Brent Roberts isolated the action with a small bet. He said "flopped it" as he tabled {A-Diamonds}

for the nut flush and Michael Walls was drawing dead with {A-Hearts}

. The river card was irrelevant as Walls finished in 10th place.

Tags: Michael Walls

12-15-2008 21:10 UTC-4

A Crippling Overpair

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Michael Walls opened the pot with a raise to 50,000 from early position. Next to act was Phillip Reed. He stood from his chair and said, "Well boys, you might get your wish here." With that, he slid his entire chipstack into the middle -- all 128,000 of it in one neat stack. The betting passed around to the original raiser, and Walls made the call, having his opponent covered.

Showdown:
Walls: {9-Clubs}

Reed:

The board was friendly for the overpair, coming out {6-Clubs}

. With his bigger full house, Phillip Reed doubles up to exactly 300,000. In the process, he has crippled Michael Walls all the way back to his last 60,000.

Tags: Michael Walls Phillip Scott

Level: 16

Blinds: 8,000/16,000

Ante: 2,000

12-15-2008 21:05 UTC-4

A Flop!

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After many hands of one raise winning the blinds and antes, Dwyte Pilgrim changed the table norm by limping in from early position. Scott Zakheim called as well, but Allen Bari had enough of the callers as he raised to 60,000. Pilgrim came along to see the flop come out {J-Clubs}

. He checked to Bari who softly said "all in". Pilgirm showed {A-Spades}

as he threw his hand into the muck.

Allen Bari has eclipsed the 800,000 mark while Pilgrim sits at about 200,000.

12-15-2008 20:48 UTC-4

The Story So Far

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As expected, the pace of play has slowed to a virtual crawl now that the final table looms on the horizon. Every action is slow and deliberate as each decision takes on a greater significance on the final table bubble. The pay jump from 10th to 9th isn't especially significant -- about $3,500 -- but the players are locking it down, hoping to wait each other out for a spot in tomorrow's Big Show.

Most of the pots being played are being won with a single preflop raise or a single bet on the flop. The short stacks don't seem to be afraid of moving their chips, but they have to find a spot where they can do so safely. On the other end of the spectrum, it will be interesting to see how the big stacks handle this period in the tournament, choosing to either look up the small stacks or to just buckle down and fold their way into tomorrow amongst the chip leaders.

Only time will tell.

12-15-2008 20:32 UTC-4

One to Go

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With the last elimination, we are down to our final ten players. They have redrawn seats at one full table, and we'll play on for one more elimination to set our true final table. Here's the way the table is laid out:

Seat 1: Allen Bari
Seat 2: Rafael Camejo
Seat 3: Tim Kelly
Seat 4: Michael Walls
Seat 5: Phillip Reed
Seat 6: Robert McLaughlin
Seat 7: Kyle Bowker
Seat 8: Dwyte Pilgrim
Seat 9: Brent Roberts
Seat 10: Scott Zakheim

12-15-2008 20:25 UTC-4

Joanne Monteavaro Eliminated in 11th Place ($13,874)

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Brent Roberts opened to 28,000 under the gun and Joanne Monteavaro raised all in from the cutoff for 78,000. When action folded back to Roberts, he quickly called with {8-Spades}

and was well ahead of Joanne's {5-Clubs}

. The board ran out {A-Spades}

and Joanne Monteavaro's tournament came to an end.

Brent Roberts regained the chip lead that hand and sits with just over 800,000.

Tags: Brent Roberts Joanne Monteavaro

12-15-2008 20:18 UTC-4

Matt Matros Elininated in 12th Place ($13,874)

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Brent "Astrolux85" Roberts opened to 28,000 from middle position and Matt Matros shoved from the button for 178,000 total. Action folded back to Roberts who made the call with {A-Hearts}