Hand #171: On a flop of 
, Dom Denotaristefani got his last 48,000 all in against Ronnie Bardah. Denotaristefani tabled 
but was crushed by Bardah's 
for a flopped set. The turn brought the 
and the river the 
, ensuring that Denotaristefani would hit the rail in sixth place.
Hand #172: Brian Aleksa raised from the cutoff and Todd Witteles made it three bets from the next seat over. Aleksa four-bet and Witteles capped the action and was all in. The cards were turned over to find the two racing for Witteles' tournament life.
Witteles: 
Aleksa: 
The board fell down 
and Aleksa was able to send Witteles packing with his turned pair of queens. Witteles will collect $52,582 for his efforts today.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
350,000
105,000
|
105,000 |
|
Busted | |
|
||
Hand #180: Gabriel Nassif opened with a raise under the gun and won the pot.
Hand #181: Brian Aleksa raised all in for 36,000 from the button, Ronnie Bardah called from the small blind and Gabriel Nassif did the same from the big. Both active players proceeded to check it down as the board ran out 
.
Aleksa was up out of his seat before he even saw his opponents' cards, and that's because he held the measly 
. It was actually better than Bardah's 
, but not good enough to beat Nassif's 
for queen high. Aleksa shook hands with the remaining players and then made his way to the payout desk to collect $69,968.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Busted |
Hand #199: Ronnie Bardah raised from the button and Gabriel Nassif called from the small blind. Michael Moore folded his big and it was heads-up action to the 
flop. Nassif checked, Bardah bet and Nassif raised. Bardah got in for 33,000 total and the cards were tabled.
Bardah: 
Nassif: 
"I got no pair, no draw," Bardah admitted before he even revealed his hand. It got even worse when he discovered Nassif shared the king, had a pair of threes and was drawing to the flush. The turn gave Nassif the said flush and left Bardah and his dreams of capturing a second bracelet drawing dead. The meaningless completed the board on the river and Bardah was eliminated in third place.
The classy Bardah shook hands with his opponents and then thanked his rail, which included Danny "Miami Boss" Suied, Tristan Wade and Matthew Waxman, for coming out to support him.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted | |
|
|
||
Both Gabriel Nassif and Michael Moore are searching for their first gold bracelet but each player has come close in the past. Nassif scored a sixth-place finish back in 2009 during a $2,500 Limit Hold'em Six-Handed event for $27,720. Moore, on the other hand, almost made the final table of the 1995 World Series of Poker Main Event when he finished in tenth place for $27,680. Needless to say, Moore wanted to be the last man standing, which was ultimately Dan Harrington.
Moore, who has said one of his long-term goals is to win a bracelet, is awfully close to having one here in Event #37: $5,000 Limit Hold'em. Will he be able to capture the elusive trophy or will Nassif get his first? Stay tuned to find out.
Hand #310: Gabriel Nassif raised from his button and Michael Moore called. The flop came 
and Moore check-called a bet. The 
turned and Moore checked. Nassif bet out and Moore surprised Nassif with a raise. Nassif mucked his hand and Moore took down the pot.
Hand #311: Moore had the button and popped up the action. Nassif three-bet and Moore called. The two saw 
fall on the flop and Nassif led out. Moore called and the hit the turn. Nassif bet out again and Moore stayed around. The 
rivered and Nassif checked. Moore moved a bet out and Nassif raised the action. Moore three-bet and Nassif leaned back and put his hands on his head. He stopped for a moment and took a sip of his water. A minute passed before Nassif tossed out a call.
Moore showed for trip deuces and Nassif mucked his hand.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,970,000
470,000
|
470,000 |
|
580,000
-470,000
|
-470,000 |
|
||
Hand #321: Michael Moore raised from the button and Gabriel Nassif folded his big blind.
Hand #322: Nassif opened with a raise and Moore three-bet the action. Nassif called and the flop came 
. Moore fired out a bet and Nassif folded.
Hand #333: Moore had the button and raised the action. Nassif folded his cards.
Hand #334: Nassif raised from his button and after a series of raises, Nassif moved his short stack all in for his tournament life. The hands were turned over as we headed to the flop.
Nassif: 
Moore: 
The dealer rapped the table and produced the 
, which caused Nassif's rail to go into a frenzy as he secured the lead in the hand. All of that changed on the turn, however, as the 
paired the board and gave Moore trip tens and a tight grip on winning the tournament. Moore was one card away from victory and he secured it after the finished off the board. Nassif was eliminated in 2nd place and will collect $130,852 in tournament winnings.
After three longs days of player Event #37: $5,000 Limit Hold'em of the 2013 World Series of Poker has played down from a starting field of 170 players to a champion. That man is Michal “Big Store” Moore, who outlasted a tough final table that included Ronnie Bardah, Greg Mueller and Justin Bonomo to win his firth bracelet and a $211,743 first-place prize.
Moore, who finished tenth in the 1995 WSOP Main Event for $27,680, finally captured his long-sought-after bracelet and tripled his WSOP career earnings in one fell swoop.
It took about 20 minutes for the first elimination of the day, and it was no surprise that it was the short stack to fall. Jeffrey Yass managed a couple of doubles at the start of play, but it proved too little too late as Bonomo sent the man from Haverford, Pennsylvania home in 12th place.
In the next level, Jan Sjavik and Steve Landfish were felled in 11th and 10th place respectively, bringing about the official final table of nine.
It took a long time for the first final table elimination, but it came on Hand #57 in Level 22 (12,000/24,000 limits) when Bonomo’s failed to overcome the 
of Mueller.
Unfortunately for Mueller, his momentum would be short lived as he was the next to go on Hand #78 of the final table. Mueller, who made his third final table of the 2013 WSOP, was denied his third limit hold’em bracelet when he was eliminated in seventh place—which wasn’t quite as good as his two third-place finishes in the weeks prior. Still, it’s been a heck of a summer for “FBT”.
Just two hands later, Ben Yu was sent to the rail in sixth place courtesy of Todd “Dandruff” Witteles. He was no doubt disappointed, but given the fact that he started the day on the second shortest stack he likely took solace in the $31,264 prize money.
It took a long time for the next elimination to occur and it didn’t happen until after the dinner break. With the limits at 25,000/50,000 two players hit the rail in back-to-back hands. The first to go was Dom Denotaristefani, who grew short and fell to Bardah on Hand #171. The very next hand 2005 WSOP limit hold’em bracelet winner Witteles followed him out the door after his pocket sevens failed to win a race against Brian Aleksa’s king-queen.
Ten hands later it was Aleksa’s turn to go, and then the last bracelet winner in the field, Bardah, was eliminated in third place on Hand #199.
Gabriel Nassif, a member of the Magic the Gathering Hall of Fame who was at one point down to just 40,000 six-handed, entered heads-up play with a 2-1 chip lead over Moore. Even so, the man from the small town of Agar, South Dakota (Pop. 72) used his well of experience to chip away at his opponent and take the chip lead over the course of 134 hands. Then, on Hand #334 of the final table, Moore finished off Nassif to complete the come-from-behind victory.
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Michael Moore | $211,743 |
| 2nd | Gabriel Nassif | $130,852 |
| 3rd | Ronnie Bardah | $94,793 |
| 4th | Brian Aleksa | $69,968 |
| 5th | Todd Witteles | $52,582 |
| 6th | Dom Denotaristefani | $40,205 |
| 7th | Ben Yu | $31,264 |
| 8th | Greg Mueller | $24,721 |
| 9th | Justin Bonomo | $19,863 |
| 10th | Steve Landfish | $16,211 |
| 11th | Jan Sjavik | $16,211 |
| 12th | Jeffrey Yass | $16,211 |
Congratulations to Michael “Big Store” Moore on winning the $5,000 Limit Hold'em event here at the 2013 WSOP. While Event #37 is complete, there is plenty of great tournament action to follow throughout the summer. Check out our live reporting section for more details.
