2010 World Series of Poker

Event #24: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em
Day: 3
Event Info

2010 World Series of Poker

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
k2
Prize
$503,389
Event Info
Buy-in
$1,000
Prize Pool
$2,960,100
Entries
3,289
Level Info
Level
29
Blinds
50,000 / 100,000
Ante
10,000

Event #24: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em

Day 3 Completed

Final Table Set with McNamara and Tran in the Lead

JD McNamara
JD McNamara

A very short Day 3 is in the books now as the 30 returning players were whittled to nine in under five levels. JD McNamara started as one of the shorter stacks with 230,000 but ran hot, played aggressively, and surged into the chip lead by the end of the day. He brings nearly 2.4 million with him to the final table. Thanh dat Tran started the day in the middle of the pack and chipped up to finish the day just behind McNamara.

Christophe Benzimra, who won EPT Warsaw last October, started the day as one of the shortest stacks and couldn't get anything going. He was eliminated in 27th place. Joseph Grenon began the day at the opposite end of the counts but fell from chip leader to out very quickly. He ran jacks into aces to finish in 23rd place. Holger Kanisch, who finished second to Sandra Naujoks at EPT Dortmund in 2009, didn't make it quite as deep here. He was sent packing in 21st. Bulgarian hotshot Yordan Mitrentsov followed soon after in 19th place.

A few speedy eliminations left the group with 11 players at the dinner break, and they left no time in busting Anthony Damore in 11th place. Alexis Belanger-Lebel was one of the larger stacks returning from dinner but made a painful mistake, losing nearly all of his chips when he failed to notice another player had moved all in in front of him. Belanger-Lebel was eliminated soon after in 10th place, setting the official final table. The players will sit down to the following seats and stacks when they resume their quest for the title:

Seat 1: Blake Kelso - 1,166,000
Seat 2: JD McNamara - 2,393,000
Seat 3: Thanh dat Tran - 2,311,000
Seat 4: Greg Pohler - 1,660,000
Seat 5: David Cai - 844,000
Seat 6: Michael Gross - 535,000
Seat 7: Denis Murphy - 789,999
Seat 8: Jeffrey Tebben - 466,000
Seat 9: John Tolbert - 925,000

With nine fresh faces earning a spot around WSOP final-table felt, we'll crown a brand new bracelet winner in eight short eliminations. Which one of these players will make his mark? Tune in Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. to find out along with us.

Alexis Belanger-Lebel Eliminated in 10th Place ($29,897)

Alexis Belanger-Lebel - 10th Place
Alexis Belanger-Lebel - 10th Place

After his huge mistake in a very inopportune spot, Alexis Belanger-Lebel was left with 156,000. A few hands later, David Cai raised to 90,000 from middle position, and Belanger-Lebel moved all in from the cutoff. Cai called the extra few chips with {10-Spades}{10-Clubs}, and Alexis was going to need to improve with his {j-Diamonds}{8-Diamonds}. The {a-Hearts}{q-Diamonds}{3-Clubs}{9-Spades}{6-Hearts} board wasn't what he needed, and Belanger-Lebel was out in 10th as the final-table bubble boy.

Tags: Alexis Belanger LebelDavid Cai

Oops!

Blake Kelso opened the action by moving all from early position in seat one. The table folded around to Alexis Belanger Lebel in the small blind who turned to Jeffrey Tebben in the big blind and asked for a count. Tebben shrugged and counted out about 535,000. Lebel then announced, "I'm all in". Tebben quickly folded and Lebel got the shock of his life.

"You didn't realize I was already all in, did you?" laughed Kelso, as Lebel dropped his head in dismay at his huge error.

Perhaps he didn't see the bet from the other side of the dealer, but there was no turning back now as the cards were tabled.

Kelso: {J-Clubs}{J-Diamonds}
Lebel: {K-Hearts}{2-Hearts}

It would be a cruel blow for Kelso if he lost it in this fashion as he turned and ran away from the table, unable to watch. He didn't have to worry as the board ran out {A-Diamonds}{Q-Diamonds}{10-Clubs}{2-Clubs}{10-Hearts} missing both players.

Kelso doubles through to 1.2 million in extraordinary circumstances as Lebel is now on the short stack with just 156,000.

Tags: Alexis Belanger LebelBlake Kelso

Updated Chip Counts

There hasn't been much noteworthy action, but here is how the stacks have been affected by the passing around of blinds:

Player Chips Progress
Kiet Tran Tuan
Kiet Tran Tuan
2,400,000 -150,000
JD McNamara
JD McNamara
2,300,000 -105,000
David Tolbert
David Tolbert
920,000 -130,000
Alexis Belanger Lebel
Alexis Belanger Lebel
790,000 -176,000
David Cai
David Cai
680,000 35,000
Greg Pohler us
Greg Pohler
670,000 165,000
Michael Gross us
Michael Gross
600,000 228,000
Denis Murphy
Denis Murphy
585,000 180,000
Jeffrey Tebben us
Jeffrey Tebben
WSOP 1X Winner
540,000 46,000
Blake Kelso us
Blake Kelso
530,000 -87,000

Raise and Take It

The unofficial final table has kicked off with mostly "raise and take it" hands with Denis Murphy, Greg Pohler and David Cai each moving all in preflop in the first orbit to take down the blinds and antes uncontested.

The short stacks are definitely under pressure from the rising blinds so we're going to see a big collision here sometime very soon.

The Bags Are Out

The bags are out and the pens are at the ready, in anticipation of one more elimination. That means it looks like we'll be stopping for the night as soon as we reach our final nine, with the finale of this event set to take place tomorrow afternoon.

"Final" Table Draw

Here are the seats and approximate chip counts as the top ten take their seats:

Seat 1: Blake Kelso - 617,000
Seat 2: JD McNamara - 2,405,000
Seat 3: Thanh dat Tran - 2,550,000
Seat 4: Greg Pohler - 505,000
Seat 5: David Cai - 645,000
Seat 6: Michael Gross - 372,000
Seat 7: Denis Murphy - 405,000
Seat 8: Alexis Belanger-Lebel - 966,000
Seat 9: Jeffrey Tebben - 494,000
Seat 10: John Tolbert - 1,050,000

Anthony Damore Eliminated in 11th Place ($29,897)

Anthony Damore - 11th Place
Anthony Damore - 11th Place

Action folded to Anthony Damore on the button, and he shoved for the three big blinds he had left. David Cai called from the small blind, and Thanh dat Tran called in the big. Cai and Tran checked all three streets as the board fell {9-Hearts}{4-Hearts}{3-Hearts}{7-Diamonds}{4-Diamonds}. Cai tabled {j-Spades}{7-Clubs} for sevens and fours, and Tran mucked. Damore tossed his cards as well and said his goodbyes, leaving ten players remaining.

As Damore left to pick up his first WSOP cash, the rest of the players paused to redraw to the unofficial final table.

Tags: Anthony DamoreDavid CaiThanh dat Tran