Asheesh Boyapati raised to 76,000 on the button only to have Troy Weber reraise to 225,000 from the small blind. When action was back on Boyapati, he moved all in and Weber called for his tournament life.
Boyapati:
Weber:
Weber was ahead, but not after the flop came down . Boyapati had paired his jack to take the lead and left Weber looking for a five. The turn was no help and neither was the river. Boyapati took down the pot, chipping up to 1.8 million, while Weber made his way to the payout desk in fifth place.
Action folded to Chris Viox in the cutoff and he raised to 60,000. Kyle Cartwright then moved all in from the big blind and Viox called off his remaining stack.
Viox:
Cartwright:
As is so common, this all-in situation was a coinflip. With Viox at risk and needing to improve, the flop came down . He had missed and needed some help on the turn. He got a little as the hit and awarded him some extra outs. Unfortunately for him, the on the river blanked and he was eliminated in sixth place. On the other hand, Cartwright continues to roll and is up to 4.7 million.
The eliminations keep mounting here at the WSOP-Circuit Harrah's St. Louis. Most recently, Mitch Franks raised to 65,000 under the gun and received a call from Troy Weber on the button. Phil Stelzer then reraised to 230,000 from the small blind, Franks called all in, and Weber got out of the way.
Franks:
Stelzer:
It was a rough spot for the short-stacked Franks as his pocket pairs had run into cowboys. The flop gave him some extra outs to a straight, but neither the turn nor river provided salvation. Franks was eliminated on the hand in seventh place and will take home $21,382 for his efforts. Meanwhile, Stelzer is up to 1.3 million.
Action folded to Steve Goff on the button and he raised to 33,000. The small blind folded and Kyle Cartwright, who was in the big blind, opted for a raise to 200,000. Goff moved all in for 984,000 and Cartwright quickly called. Just like that, we had the biggest pot of the tournament and it was a classic race situation:
Cartwright:
Goff:
The flop didn't hit Cartwright, but it did provide him a straight draw to any jack. The on the turn was a blank, meaning Goff would double if he could avoid an ace, king, or jack on the river. The dealer slowly burned and put out the . Cartwright shot his arms up in the air in celebration while Goff, who began the day second in chips, was eliminated from the Main Event.
Cartwright extended his already monster chip lead to 3.92 million.
Chris Viox raised to 75,000 under the gun only to have Kyle Cartwright reraise to 220,000 from the cutoff. The rest of the field folded back to Viox and he made the call for his tournament life.
Viox:
Cartwright:
Viox was in a dominating position and stayed there as the board ran out . Viox doubled on the hand to 500,000 while Cartwright took a small hit down to 2.35 million.
Short-stacked Nick Jivkov moved all in under the gun for his last 185,000 and received a call from Ron Segni in early position. The rest of the field folded and the cards were turned up:
Jivkov:
Segni:
Although he was behind, Jivkov had two overs and was looking for an ace or nine. The flop was no help and neither was the turn. It was down ti the river for Jivkov's life, but it was not meant to be as the peeled off. Jivkov finished in 9th place and was the first final table casualty.
The final table of the 2010/2011 World Series of Poker Circuit Harrah's St. Louis Main Event is now underway. A few hands have been played, but nothing exciting as of yet.
Phil Stelzer is 69-years old and hails from Columbia, Missouri. As such, he is affectionately known as "Columbia" Phil. He has been playing poker since 1950 when he used to play for baseball cards. He is married with five children and twelve grandkids (he has two sets of twin grandchildren born eight days apart).
Stelzer's poker ambition is to be a WSOP Champ, much like his favorite player Stu Ungar, and he has a golden opportunity before him here today. Thanks to a fourth-place finish in Event #2 $345 NLHE, Stelzer is in contention for the "Casino Championship" title, which would qualify him for the National Championship $1 Million Freeroll next month in Las Vegas. With an early Steve Goff elimination, all Stelzer would need to do is finish in fourth place or higher. Can he do it?
. Boyapati had paired his jack to take the lead and left Weber looking for a five. The 
turn was no help and neither was the 
river. Boyapati took down the pot, chipping up to 1.8 million, while Weber made his way to the payout desk in fifth place.
hit and awarded him some extra outs. Unfortunately for him, the 
on the river blanked and he was eliminated in sixth place. On the other hand, Cartwright continues to roll and is up to 4.7 million.
flop gave him some extra outs to a straight, but neither the 
turn nor 
river provided salvation. Franks was eliminated on the hand in seventh place and will take home $21,382 for his efforts. Meanwhile, Stelzer is up to 1.3 million.
. Viox doubled on the hand to 500,000 while Cartwright took a small hit down to 2.35 million.
peeled off. Jivkov finished in 9th place and was the first final table casualty.