Ian Matakis opened for 1,200 from late position and was called by Albert Morrow from the small blind, along with the big blind player.
The ![]()
![]()
flop was checked to the
turn where Morrow took down the pot after he lead out for 1,500.
Ian Matakis opened for 1,200 from late position and was called by Albert Morrow from the small blind, along with the big blind player.
The ![]()
![]()
flop was checked to the
turn where Morrow took down the pot after he lead out for 1,500.
There was heads up action after the flop on a board that read ![]()
![]()
.
Nikolaus Martinez checked his option from the cutoff and Jeff Landherr fired out 5,000 into a 10,000 on the button.
Martinez raised to 12,000 and folded after Landherr three-bet to 25,000 to scoop the pot.
James Pupillo opened under the gun for 1,500 and Michael Puccio three-bet to 4,000 sitting directly to his left.
Action on the table folded back to Pupillo who followed the trend and Puccio tabled ![]()
as he added more chips to his mountain.
Jeffrey Trudeau opened under the gun for 1,4000 and was called by the cutoff player.
The flop fell ![]()
![]()
and Trudeau took down the pot after he lead out for 1,500.
Level: 8
Blinds: 300/600
Ante: 600
Jeffrey Trudeau opened under the gun for 1,200 and was called by Maurice Hawkins from the cutoff along with the button player.
The ![]()
![]()
flop was checked to the button player who bet 3,000 and was called by Hawkins after Trudeau mucked his hand.
All the chips went into the middle after Hawkins raised his opponent's bet of 6,000 to 15,000 when the
fell on the turn.
Maurice Hawkins: ![]()
![]()
Opponent: ![]()
![]()
Hawkins had some outs to dodge and did just that as the river fell a brick with the
to grab the double up.
PokerNews is on site at the Ameristar St. Charles for the latest World Series of Poker Circuit stop, and while we’re only doing live updates from the $1,700 Main Event, it’s not the only tournament that’s been playing out inside the casino.
For the past week, a slew of side events has taken place and awarded gold rings to the lucky winners. One such tournament was Event #3: $400 No-Limit Hold’em, which drew 157 runners and created a $51,810 prize pool.
Among those to cash but fall short of making the final table were Dennis Phillips (11th - $898), Brian McDaniel (13th - $763), Kyle Everett (18th - $667), and Tammi Ledbetter (24th - $555).
The tournament ended with Matt Koch, a 43-year-old personal dog trainer, on top. Not only did he capture his first ring, he notched his first-ever WSOP cash, good for $13,567.
“Really more than anything, I just got lucky,” Koch stated. “I got very lucky with hands, with flips, with everything. That table was filled with talent… I will chalk this one up to just a little bit of skill and a whole lot of luck.”
He continued: “This is kind of my first foray back into [poker]. I think the last time I played a tournament was two years ago. I’ve kind of taken a hiatus from poker for about four, or five, years; been pretty busy at work.”
“I was extremely excited. I took a bunch of days off of work, which is abnormal for me … I did take next weekend off, so I’m thinking about playing in the Main Event. I think that I’ll probably have to now.”
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matthew Koch | Byrnes Mill, Missouri | $13,567 |
| 2 | Charles LeRoi | St. Louis, Missouri | $8,385 |
| 3 | Matthew Green | Canton, Georgia | $5,829 |
| 4 | Jerod Smith | Troy, Illinois | $4,147 |
| 5 | Robert Keeling | Portland, Missouri | $3,020 |
| 6 | Christopher Underwood | Mooresville, Indiana | $2,253 |
| 7 | Jake Ortiz | O'Fallon, Illinois | $1,351 |
| 8 | Andros Ioakimides | Ballwin, Missouri | $1,351 |
| 9 | Jeffrey Copeland | Saint Peters, Missouri | $1,087 |
Level: 7
Blinds: 300/500
Ante: 500