ARCHIVE FOR THE '5 Diamond Classic' Category
Last night was the final night out on the town for Team PokerRoom.com here at the Bellagio, with team members scattering to the winds to catch flights back home and return to everyday life. It's hard not to be sad to see the trip come to and end, but it helps when you leave feeling like that you've not only had a great trip but also left town with a lot more friends than you arrived with.
The team gathered outside the Bellagio lobby for one last night on the town.
The very last of many days of fine dinner and fine company here in Las Vegas.
With that, we're signing off here from Las Vegas. Congrats again to all the team members for making the trip, and to billybillard for taking home loads of cash for his 65th place finish. Stay tuned for the Aussie Millions blog in January here at PokerRoom.com, where you'll be able to follow along with the adventures of Team PokerRoom.com in the Land Down Under.
After amassing a nearly unbeatable stack of chips, it was little surprise when Eugene Katchalov sealed the deal and took home the title versus Ted Kearly. On a rainbow 10 high flop the players got all of their chips in the middle, and Katchalov's J10 was way ahead of Kearly's KJ.
No help on the turn or river and the victory was Katchalov's, earning him a monster payday of $2,482,605 and his first WPT tournament win (and a $25,500 seat in next April's WPT World Poker Championship here at the Bellagio). Kearly gets a not-too-shabby $1,252,640 for his second place finish.
This one won't require much editing in the WPT studios, as it was one of the fastest WPT final tables in history with just 53 hands total played to decide the winner at the final table.
Devilfish has been knocked out by Katchalov in 3rd place when his A10 was dominated by Katchalov's AJ, with all the chips going in before the flop.
Devilfish earned $674,500 for his third place finish, for the biggest cash of his tournament poker career. Katchalov now takes a massive chip lead going into heads-up play with Ted Kearly (nearly 17,000,000 chips to 3,000,000).
5:22 PM
Unlike the marathon final table at the WPT Canada event (which set a record for most hands played at a final table in a WPT event), the players here at the Five Diamonds Poker Classic seem to be playing in a much higher gear.
Ryan Daut was eliminated in 6th place in the very first hand of the day, when his AJ ran into Kearly's 88; not only did Daut's hand not improve but Kearly turned quad 8s just to rub it in. Daut collected $192,715 for his 6th place finish.
Jordan Rich was the next to exit, finishing 5th after starting the day 2nd in chips. His JJ ran into Katchalov's AA, with all the chips going in pre-flop. Katchalov's pocket rockets held up to give him a monster pot and a huge chip lead. Rich took home $289,070 for his fifth place finish.
Ken Rosen hit the rails next, taking 4th for $433,675. He got his short stack in pre-flop in good shape with Ad2d versus Katchalov's 7d10d, but katchalov rivered a 10 to knock out Rosen.
Here's how things stood at the last official count:
Seat 2 - Ted Kearly - 2.5 million
Seat 4 - Eugene Katchalov - 15 million
Seat 6 - David "Devilfish" Ulliott - 3 million
12:15 PM
Final table play is scheduled to kick off here at 4:00 PM, with the starting field of 664 whittled down all the way to six.
Seat 1 - Ken Rosen - 1,135,000
Seat 2 - Ted Kearly - 1,620,000
Seat 3 - Jordan Rich - 6,585,000
Seat 4 - Eugene Katchalov - 8,360,000
Seat 5 - Ryan Daut - 330,000
Seat 6 - David "Devilfish" Ulliott - 1,900,000
Devilfish and Ryan Daut have each reached a WPT final table before, but it'll be the first time for Rosen, Kearly, Rich, and Katchalov.
Here are the prize payouts, as far as what's at stake for the six players:
1 - $2,482,605
2 - $1,252,640
3 - $674,500
4 - $433,675
5 - $289,070
6 - $192,715
As far as the favorite, Devilfish is the only former WPT winner, taking home the win at the 2003 World Poker Open at Tunica when he outlsted Phil Ivey. While experience may be on his side, the chips are definitely favoring Katchalov and Rich, who come into the final table with big stacks.
In more final table news, "Suited" Nelson not only final tabled the 11:00 PM Caesar's tournament last night (after being talked into playing at the last minute), but took home third place prize money. He joins Huempel (who cashed in a tournament at the Mirage earlier in the trip) as team members who cashed in side tournaments while here in Vegas. Nice work, sir.
Respect the raise of a man wearing a classic hat.
12:04 PM
Today is the last full day for Team PokerRoom.com here in Las Vegas, and the sad reality is starting to sink in that it's just about time to pack the bags, bid adieu to new-found friends, and to head back home, whether that be to Sweden, Canada, or Germany.
It's been a great trip, though, and all good things must come to an end. There's still a grand farewell dinner planned for tonight, too, so it's not like all of the fun is in the rearview mirror. And if the last few events and online finals are any indicator (with former Team PokerRoom.com members gbpoker, janus1984, and dj_stiff winning yet another spot on the team roster), we may very well be seeing billybillard, macker21, Huempel, Mr Bumbi, and M.Macho at another major live event in the near future.
The blown glass installation in the lobby of the Bellagio hotel.
8:56 PM
After plenty of twists and turns, suckouts, bad beats, and monster hands, the final TV table is set for the 2007 Five Diamond Poker Classic:
Seat 1 - Ken Rosen - 1,135,000
Seat 2 - Ted Kearly - 1,620,000
Seat 3 - Jordan Rich - 6,585,000
Seat 4 - Eugene Katchalov - 8,360,000
Seat 5 - Ryan Daut - 330,000
Seat 6 - David "Devilfish" Ulliott - 1,900,000
Jordan Rich got out to a monster lead at one point but Eugene Katchalov closed the gap as the day drew to a close, and was vaulted into the chip lead when he knocked out Raymond Davis to end play for the day. While Devilfish is the most experienced of the final six players, he's got a lo of ground to make up, as far as the chip counts entering the final day of play.
4:20 PM
Granted, poker plays a pretty large role in these Team PokerRoom.com outings to places such as Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Niagara Falls, and (soon) to Melbourne, Australia. Players are indeed here to chase a poker dream of a lifetime, so it'd be silly to pretend otherwise.
That said, players remark time and time again about what a great trip they had, and in some ways the trip really begins for them when they get knocked out of the tournament. At that point they're free to kick back, enjoy the luxurious accomodations, get wined and dined at fine restaurants, and focus on one thing: having a great time.
Players have spent the last few days relaxing in all sorts of ways, including hitting up night clubs, visiting the Picasso exhibition here at the Bellagio, jaunting off for hiking in nearby parks, and playing in cash games and tournaments, as well as the inevitable shopping trip today to local outlet malls. Everyone is definitely focused on having a great time and getting the most out of their time here, and Vegas offers all sorts of avenues for exactly that.
Not that you really need any more incentive to punch your ticket for a trip with Team PokerRoom.com, but it really is a win-win situation for those lucky (and skilled, of course) enough to get to experience one of these events. Either you have an amazing run in the tournament and win tens of thousands of dollars or you get to spend a great vacation in the company of fun, wonderful people.
The pecan-encrusted reindeer at the Bellagio Conservatory says: "Dude, what are you waiting for? Qualify for Team PokerRoom.com yourself already!"
4:03 PM
After being stuck on 11 players remaining for quite awhile, Bill Kontaratos was just eliminated in 11th place, taking home $96,355 for hs efforts. His K7 ran into A9 and couldn't get any help from the board.
Here's your lineup for the final table (although they'll continue play today until there are six players left for the TV final table):
Seat 1 - Ken Rosen - 1,405,000
Seat 2 - Ted Kearly - 2,750,000
Seat 3 - Erick Lindgren - 1,230,000
Seat 4 - Raymond Davis - 1,360,000
Seat 5 - Jimmy Tran - 1,350,000
Seat 6 - Jordan Rich - 4,185,000
Seat 7 - Eugene Katchalov - 2,110,000
Seat 8 - Ryan Daut - 3,575,000
Seat 9 - David "Devilfish" Ulliott - 1,590,000
Seat 10 - Matthew Casterella - 625,000
Raymond Davis in earlier tournament action sporting one of many stylish hats in his collection.
1:55 PM
The big names just took a hit here, with Todd Brunson eliminated in 15th and Daniel Negreanu knocked out in 14th shortly after.
Negreanu got all his chips in versus Matt Casterella on a flop of Ah Jh 8h, but his Ac 4h couldn't hold up against Casterella's As 8d. No hearts for Negreanu and his tournament run was over, going from chip leader to start the day to busted in 14th place.
They're playing down to 6 players remaining today, no matter how long that takes, in order to be ready for the final TV table of 6 players tomorrow.
Daniel Negreanu in earlier happier times during the tournament, when he still had a mountain of chips.
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