Numbers Not Official...

... but pretty damn close.

Play was stopped on day 5 of the 5Star with 51:30 left in the 20th level. We'll re-start the party tomorrow at noon with antes of 4K and blinds of 15K and 30K. Those invited to attend...

PAUL TESTUD -- 80K
JOHN PHAN -- 1.04M
PAUL MAXFIELD -- 685K
JOE CONDI -- 1.1M
TONY MA -- 287K
DAVID SKLANSKY -- 205K
CHRIS FERGUSON -- 1.4M
MICHAEL MIZRACHI -- 1.3M
SAMMY ARZOIN -- 1.3M
JUHA HELPPI -- 493K
HASAN HABIB -- 3.3M
TUAN LE -- 3.7M
PHIL IVEY -- 3.9M
JOE BEEVERS -- 1.2M
ROB HOLLINK -- 1.6M
GEORGE MILLER -- 502K
JEFF SHULMAN -- 759K

And that's that with that. Have a gentle night, campers. We'll be up to warp speed at noon. -jv

In a Word... Wow!

It's hard to read my own notes, my hands were shaking that bad.

69K in the pot including blinds and antes. Phil Ivey is in the small blind. Tuan Le is in the big blind. Chris Ferguson folds. Michael Mizrachi makes it 90 to go. Mark Rose raises all-in for 230 more. Bo Sehlstedt reraises all-in some 400K more. Tuan Le calls them both. Mizrachi shows 2-2 and folds.

Hands are shown.

A-K offsuit for Rose.
K-K for Bo.
9-9 for Tuan.

Flop comes a mind-boggling 9-J-J. No help on the turn or river, and Tuan Le has knocked out the 19th and 18th place finishers, and ended play for the night, all in one fell swoop.

But man, these guys are good! No one played the hand anything but perfectly. You've got to like Mizrachi's aggressive pot-opening bet. If no one has much, he steals the blinds and antes. Rose on a short stack has to go with A-K. Bo is delighted to try to shut out the field with K-K. Tuan Le, with major chippage, can afford to call with 9-9, especially since his opponents probably have some of each other's cards. (How happy would he be to find them both holding A-K?) After that, it's the old equation: Poker = chess + luck. The chess got the money in the middle, and the luck moved it to Tuan Le's stack.

Out in 19th (because he had fewer chips) Mark Rose, to win $75,485.
Out in 18th, Bo Sehlstedt, also to win $75,485.

Moving on up, seriously in the chips and a serious threat to everyone in the field, the formidable Tuan Le.

I'll be back in a minute with the day's final numbers. -jv

Man, You Don't Want Me Predicting Your Death

No sooner had I noted the cally fatigue in Joe Smith's play than he opened the 20th round by calling off the last of his chips to Tuan Le. He made a modest raise preflop with A-Q offsuit (that damn, deadly A-Q) and called Le's reraise. Smith checked a flop of 8-J-8, and called without much thought when Le put him all-in. K-K for Le, no help for Smith, and John Smith of La Habra Heights, CA, is our 20th place finisher.

Credit the man: He played strong, solid, thoughtful poker all week. (And let's not forget that this is a guy with less than a year's experience in tournament poker, his self-described "retirement career.") But tournament poker, at least at this level, is as much an endurance race as a mind game, and weariness, I suspect, caught up with Smith in the end.

Now we are 19, and when the next player busts out, we're gonna close up shop for the day.

More later, -jv

Top of the 20th

We've played 19 rounds and now we're on a break. Here are the numbers now:

MIKE ROSE -- 356K
JOHN SMITH -- 458K
BO SELHLSTEDT -- 850K
PHIL IVEY -- 3.5M
TUAN LE -- 1.8M
CHRIS FERGUSON -- 1.325M
MIKE MIZRACHI -- 1.7M

PAUL TESTUD -- 170K
JOHN PHAN -- 1.5M
PAUL MAXFIELD -- 700K
JOE CORDI -- 1.0M
ROB HOLLINK -- 1.0M
TONY MA -- 275K
DAVID SKLANSKY -- 290K

JOE BEEVERS -- 1.1M
GEORGE MILLER -- 900K
JEFF SHULMAN -- 640K
HASAN HABIB -- 3.0M
JUHA HELPPI -- 421K
SAMMY ARZOIN -- 700K

Now here's the thing. We have a number of short stacks -- Sklansky, Ma, Testud -- but the player to keep your eye on is John Smith. During this past round he called off more than half a million chips on a single hand to Phil Ivey. Ivey bet, and bet again, into a board of K-K-7, then A, then 5. We won't know what Smith had, because he didn't show, but somehow Ivey, holding K-9 (or K-something; I'm not sure of the kicker), persuaded Smith to make some very loose calls. As he did yesterday, Smith is starting to show some fatigue cracks as the day goes along. I'm hoping he can catch a break -- a couple of quick kamikazes from the shorter stacks to wrap up play for today, gaining him a fresh start in the final 18 tomorrow.

Well, shall see.

Top of the 20th. 20 players and counting. -jv

Dewey or Don't He?

He don't.

Dewey Tomko, a storied old-school poker pro with a long and successful history, is out in 22nd place. He made the most of his dwindling stack and waited patiently for a chance to get his money in with the best of it. He finally found Big Slick, moved all-in and got a call from Rob Hollink, holding Q-9 suited. Can you guess the rest? A queen on the flop. A queen on the turn. A long walk to the cashier's cage for Tomko. He earns $47,000 and change for his trouble. Not bad money... but a disappointingly lot like kissing your sister.

And in the time it takes to tell the tale, we're down to 20. Arnold Spee is out in 21st place. He called Hasan Habib with A-J, with an ace on board and a harmless looking three. Not so harmless, though, since Habib had two threes in his hand. Three is suddenly Habib's lucky number. Also lucky -- or uncannily canny, was George Miller, who laid down the exact same hand, A-J, that Spee called with.

20 and counting. The next five players eliminated will earn $75,485. Stay tuned. -jv

Another One Bites the Dust

Matthew Keikoan is out in 23rd place. He flat-called with K-Q, letting Hasan Habib see the flop for free from the big blind. The flop came Q-x-3, and the three is important because Hasan had 8-3. Hasan bet the flop and Keikoan called. The turn brought a king. Hasan checked. Keikoan bet 200K and Habib called. The river was another 3. Hasan bet Keikoan all-in. Keikoan called with top two pair, and lost to trip threes.

Keikoan played the hand very slowly. If a three doesn't come on the river, he's a genius for extracting maximum value from a nothing hand in the big blind. But the three did come, and Keikoan is out of the tournament. I wonder... if he had it to do over again, would he have played it a little more strongly to protect himself from just the sort of unexpected suckout an unraised big blind can deliver?

Didn't somebody once say, "Go big or go home?"

22 and counting. -jv

Let's All Go to School on This

Hey, far be it for me to say that the guy was shooting an angle, but it's the second time I've seen this "mistake" this tournament, and both times the guy making it held pocket aces. The first time, on day one, Johnny Chan bet 13K, tried to make it look like 5K, allowed the rules to mandate the raise, and goaded Cliff Josephy into overbetting all-in.

Just now, Tuan Le put the same move on Victor Ramdin. Ramdin opened the pot for 80K. Le looked like he was about to call, made a raise to 160K, then tried to take it back. The raise was made to stand, and when the flop came T-x-x, Ramdin, holding T-A, was inspired to go all in. Le, holding pocket aces, was more than happy to call, and when the dust settled, a mere million or so had shifted to Le's side of the table.

Like I said, I wouldn't call it an angle, per se. Let's just call it "a play from somebody's playbook." Whatever you call it, be aware of it! Guys this good don't make stupid mistakes (if they do, they're not this good). So the next time you see somebody making an obvious blunder, pause to consider how obvious a blunder it is.

More later, -jv

Even Cowgirls Get the Blues

Offered without comment...

Matt in Repose

Here's Matt Keikoan, taking it easy during the last break.



Little did he know he was mere moments away from busting David Williams. How much easier life (or anyway poker) would be if we could only see into the future. Well, I can at least confidently predict that I'm about to post this entry, and you're about to read it.

Was I right?

More later (I predict), -jv

It Takes all Kinds to Make up the World

While we're in here having a nice, quiet poker tournament, people are out there on the casino floor dressed in outlandish costumes. And then there are these guys.



One can only wonder why they thought this look was a good idea.

We have reached the end of level 18. Those who remain will face antes of 3K and blinds of 12K and 24K when we resume. Here's a best-guess chip count:

TABLE ONE:

MIKE ROSE -- 500K
VICTOR RAMDIN -- 600K
JOHN SMITH -- 1.4M
BO SEHLSTEDT -- 650K
PHIL IVEY -- 2.5M
TUAN LE -- 1.25M
CHRIS FERGUSON -- 1.616M
MIKE MIZRACHI -- 1.6M

TABLE TWO:

GEORGE MILLER -- 1.2M
ARNOLD SPEE -- 1.35M
HASAN HABIB -- 1.4M
DAVID WILLIAMS -- 205K
JUHA HELPPI -- 854K
MATTHEW KEIKOAN -- 200K
SAMMY ARZOIN --350K

TABLE THREE:

PAUL TESTUD -- 690K
PAUL MAXFIELD -- 740K
JOHN PHAN -- 650K
DAVID SKLANSKY --500K
JOE CORDI -- 1.2M
TONY MA -- 900K
DEWEY TOMKO -- 370K
JEFF SHULMAN -- 500K

Cards are back in the air. Round 19 is underway.

And not a moment into the new round... David Williams has been eliminated in 25th place. Desperate times call for desperate measures, I guess; he went all-in with 8-5, got called by Matt Keikoan holding A-J, received no miracles, and will see no more of the 19th round. He lived long on borrowed time and showed once again why he's one of the toughest young guns in poker today.

We're playing down to 18 players or 9pm, whichever comes first. It's 5:40 right now. We're at 24 and counting. And the beat, as they say, goes on. -jv

Reza, Re-Reza, All-in

Reza Payvar has been knocked out in 26th place. Holding A-J suited, he opened the betting and then responded to Juha Helppi's rereaise by pushing all-in. But Helppi held A-K suited, and when the board blanked out, Reza was done.

25 and counting. -jv

It's the End of the (Vegas) World as we Know it

Bob Stupak, longtime local mogel and onetime owner of the Vegas World casino, has been eliminated in 27th place.



"Short-stacked and desperate," (there's our theme again) he pushed all-in with pocket sevens, getting a call from Phil Ivey, who flopped a 9 to go with his Q-9, and sent Stupak packing. Stupak picks up more than $56K in cash, but that's only a drop in his net worth, and you get the feeling that -- like so many of his ilk who bring success in other fields to the poker realm -- he'd much rather have the title than the dough.

Or, really, the title plus the dough.

26 and counting, kids. Stay tuned. -jv

No Merc(ier)

Isabelle Mercier has finally been pushed out of the ring, finishing her terrific run and titanic battle for survival in 29th place. The beginning of the end came in her big blind when she picked up J-2, a hand she just couldn't defend with. In the small blind, though, she found a very playable A-6, and so responded to Jeff Shulman's late position raise by reraising the last of her chips. Shulman had an easy call with a not-very-steller K-8. The board came 8-6-rag-rag-rag, and Isabelle was out.

She's off to Europe now for -- guess what? -- more tournament poker, then back to the States in time for the WSOP. We'll look forward to seeing her there, and watching the progress of this up-and-coming pro.

Meanwhile, not for nothing but Phil Ivey has eliminated Kieth Carter, putting him out in 28th place with a spade flush besting Carter's pocket jacks.

We're down to 27 players now. They've reshuffled the seats once again, and we'll play down to 18 players or 9pm, whichever occurs first.

Hey! Are we having fun yet? -jv

How to Mount a Comeback

David Williams, shown here with Chris Ferguson, is doing his damndest to make a prophet out of me.



Down to his last 25K, he put it all in holding Q-6 offsuit and got a call from Hasan Habib. The flop came 8-9-J, and a ten on the turn gave him a straight, bumping his chip stack up to around 100K. On the very next hand, he was back all-in, this time with pocket twos against Reza Payvar's Varkonyi (Q-T off). A two on the turn moved Williams up to a quarter million in chips, give or take, and almost off life-suport

Now if only Isabelle Mercier can mount a similar comeback, both of JV's underdogs will be right back in the hunt. More later, -jv

Trading Cards to Come?

If you can have a Scotty Nguyen bobblehead doll, why not trading cards? Wheaties boxes? A Phil Hellmuth lunch pail? The possibilities are endless.



We've reached the end of round 17, and we're down to 30 players, which means we get a money bump. The next ten players to be knocked out will take down $56,615 for their troubles. Now we're starting to get to the serious cheese.

When play resumes, we'll see antes of 3K and blinds of 12 and 24, so it will cost players 47K (at a seven-handed table) just to take a lap. Among those still running the race:

JOHN SMITH, the 2 MILLION DOLLAR MAN
PAUL TESTUD -- 750K
DAVID SKLANSKY -- 700K
ARNOLD SPEE -- 1.6M
TONY MA -- 670K
HASAN HABIB -- 670K
JOHN PHAN -- 450K
REZA PAYVAR -- 560K
GAVIN SMITH -- 265K
GEORGE MILLER -- 1.0M
TUAN LE -- 1.1M
JOE BEEVERS -- 1.0M
MIKE MIZRACHI -- 1.5M
VICTOR RAMDIN -- 950K
JUHA HELPPI -- 660K
PHIL IVEY -- 1M
CHRIS FERGUSON -- 932K

Those on life support: Isabelle Mercier, who managed the high wire act of surving the last round, but limps into this one with just 150K; and David Williams, who bluffed off many chips to John Phan, and now clings to a piece of driftwood in stormy seas, with 50K.

Make no mistake: These are two tough players. Williams, of course, is a known quantity, but Mercier has opened many eyes this week with her steady play and her "reads from the heart." Don't bet against either of themsurviving. More later, -jv

Alexander the Late

Alex Prendes is out in 31st place. Though he failed to make the final table, the fact that he made the money continues to keep alive a pretty amazing rookie streak: Alex has entered exactly four $10,000+ buy-in tournaments, and monied in all four of them. Keep that name in mind. You haven't heard the last of him. -jv

A Break in the Inaction

Incredibly, we've gone more than an hour without anyone busting out. There have been, at a rough count, only three all-in confrontations, and they've all gone the way of the short stack. So let's take advantage of the lull to meet Mark Rose and his wife, Lois.



The Roses live in Edna, Texas, along with their "one beautiful daughter, Stephanie," where Mark is a non-practicing lawyer (the best kind?) and a property manager. He's one of the few who have survived all-in scares on this round, when he made a pair of kings on the flop to best Tony Ma's pocket jacks. Mark plays on UltimateBet, where his screen name is... oops, sorry, I've been sworn to secrecy. "I hate to give it away," says Rose, "'cause I play so bad." He also says that a big money finish here will just about nullify his UB losses. Something tells me that's a bit of a Texan's tall tale...

Meanwhile, David Williams just put Tony Ma all-in, with KK for Ma and JJ for Williams. With no cards of note on the board, Ma has doubled through Williams, leaving last year's WSOP main event runner-up "short-stacked and desperate" at around 100K. More later, -jv

Raymer Gets Rivered

Greg Raymer has been eliminated in 33rd place.



It was actually Isabelle Mercier's short stack that caused his demise, in an indirect sort of way. Mercier was in the big blind, and at the mercy of anyone who cared to bet. Victor Ramdin seemed up to the task, making it 55K to go. Raymer reraised all-in, which may very well have looked like a re-steal to Victor who, in that situation, could have any hand or not much of a hand at all. In fact, they both had real hands, 9-9 for Raymer and A-K offsuit for Ramdin. Ramdin called. The board came brick-brick-brick-brick-ace! and Raymer was done. Ever poised and gracious, he offered praise for his foes and handshakes all around. Raymer had been a force since the start of this tournament, and the others must be at least a little relieved to see this formidable player depart. -jv

Round 16 is History

And Isabelle, one hopes, is not...



... but she's short-stacked now, with just 125K, and by now you know how the song goes: "Short-stacked and desperate...

You've got to love Isabelle's approach, though. A six-month veteran of the tournament trail, she says, "I play with my heart. That's the trick." And a great trick it's been so far. With a little luck, and a whole lot of heart, maybe she can extend her play today.

Here's another take on poker philosophy, courtesy of Chris Ferguson, who described a moment of masterful play this way: "I put a read on him, then called with pocket aces." Ferguson, by the way, wants me to be sure to amend his chip count from the last color-up, noting that since he didn't know when he gave me his number whether he'd win the chip race or not, it was imperative that I qualify his total with "plus or minus 500." You just have to love this guy's approach. He's playing for more than two million dollars, but he's loose enough not just to joke around with his chip count, but to poke fun at his own obsessive nature.

Recent bustouts: Francoise Safieddine, 36th, Stuart Paterson, 35th, David Wells, 34th. All take home $47K and change.

It's a 2Kante and 8K and 16K blinds here at the top of round 17. Some numbers of note:

PHIL IVEY -- 1.2M
JOHN SMITH -- 1.7M
DAVID WILLIAMS -- 875K
JOE BEEVERS -- 1.2M
MICHAEL MIZRACHI -- 1.3M
HASAN HABIB -- 480K
JUHA HELPPI -- 695K
TONY MA -- 500K

And Chris Ferguson: 1,067,000.00 exactly.


Here at the break, we're down to 33 players,

No Boston Tea Party

Alan Boston is out in 38th place, after having gone to war with the wrong hand against the wrong man at the wrong time. Holding A-K, Boston saw a raised flop heads-up against Arnold Spee. The flop of K-9-x looked good to Boston... but Spee had flopped a set. Spee led out, Boston raised, Spee re-raised, and Boston pushed all-in. No help on the turn or river. End of story. It was a great run for the Old Orchard Beach radio talk show host who professes to prefer stud anyhow. Now we are down to 37. Incredibly, for we haven't even finished the day's first level, we're within ten eliminations of being done for the day. And the way these boys (and one girl) are gambling, I predict an early clock-out today. More later, -jv

Brad Wyatt (as in Earp) Shot Down

It gets to be a litany: "Short-stacked and desperate..." Short-stacked and desperate, Torontan Brad Wyatt pushed all-in with the not-so-handsome holding of 8-7 offsut, and his hand took a turn for the ugly when Holland's Rob Hollink called him with a dominating 8-A. The board came J-J-T-K-J, Hollink's ace played, and Wyatt was en route to the cage to collect his $47,180. Another member of the $8 Parlay Club, this internet satellite winner made the most of his investment, to say the least. More later, -jv

Peter Costa, out in 39th

Peter Costa is out in 39th place, claiming a prize of $47,180 for his week's work.



With only 40K in chips left, he moved all-in with a naked ace. Given the antes and blinds of more than 30K, Mike Mizrachi was getting the right price to call, even though he held only J-6. But... when you're hot, you're hot, and when a six fell on the river, Costa was gone. Then there were 38. -jv

2 Fast 2 Furious

Now the bustouts are coming so quickly that I almost can't keep up with them. Out in 42nd... Dave Colclough. Out in 41st... Jesse Jones. Out in 40th... Alan Goehring. And if people would just stop busting out so quickly, I could get you a hand or two.

Jesse Jones met his demise at the hands of Phil Ivey, when he pushed all-in with A-J, only to find Ivey holding queens. A queen on the turn sealed Jesse's fate.

David Williams sent Alan Goehring packing when he called Goehring's preflop raise holding A-J. Goehring flopped a flush draw and moved all-in, but the ace on board gave Williams ample reason to call, and when the flush failed to materialize, Goehring was done.

One thing you notice in all these all-in confrontations is that nobody is too far out of line. You'd be shocked to see someone turning over rags in almost any situation, and even the bluffs and semi-bluffs have a little something-something behind them.

Meanwhile, Joe Beevers just dodged a fatal bullet when, after a preflop raise and call, he mixed it up with Reza Payvar on a flop of Tc-7h-6h. Beevers bet 25, Payver raised to 90, Beevers raised all-in. Holding pocket nines, and not putting Payver on a ten or an overpair, Beevers must have thought he was in good shape. But Payvar had flopped a set of sixes and was well ahead... until the river brought a nine, and a reprieve for Beevers. Well, strategy is one thing, but a little luck never hurts, either. More later, -jv

It's No Fun Being the Short Stack

Paul Kraus lost most of his chips to Francois Safieddine when his top pair on the flop became second pair on the river, and his elimination a couple of hands later was just a formality. Out in 43rd place, Paul Kraus of Manhattan Beach, CA.

Meanwhile, how would you like to have this man sweating you?



Here's Alan Boston, left, with four-time WSOP winner Artie Cobb rooting him on. With friends like these... you've got great friends. More later, -jv

Bernie Collins, Walkin' back to Brampton

Bernie Collins, of Brampton, Canada, who parlayed $8 into $37,740 (less Canadian excise tax), has been eliminated in 44th place.



After a flurry of preflop raising, Bernie bet his last 120K or so into a board of 3d-5d-Tc. Phil Ivey gave it a good long think before calling with his pocket sixes. No help for the game Canadian, and it was time to hit the bar for some Molson's and rumination. "I lost to an excellent player," said Bernie. "No regrets. I'm just thrilled to have made the money." Here's to a tough competitor who made the most of his opportunity. And then there were 43. -jv

Alex Todd, out in 45th

Short stacked and desperate, Alex Todd probably thought that his all-in late position move with K-J suited was as good a place as any to get his money in. It might have been, too, if Chris Ferguson hadn't woken up behind him with pocket aces. No miracles on board; short day for Todd. And then there were 44. -jv

Day five of the 5Star is underway. While we're waiting for first blood, let's have a quick spin through the photo gallery, starting with the ever-dapper Jack McClelland, Tournament Director extraordinaire.

Hasan Habib

Isabelle Mercier, last woman standing

Assistant Tournament Director Thang O. The next mistake he makes will be his first.

Arnold Spee and Tuan Le got the glowers

Bo Sehlstedt of Stockholm, Sweden

Michael Mizrachi's idea of a joke. The bag of chips before...

...and after

Phil Ivey, getting his game face on

Gavin Smith, Canada's pride

Juha Helppi of Helsinki, Finland

Bags of Hope

Here we are on the tournament floor, waiting for the players to saunter, stagger or shuffle in (depending on their chip count and extra-curricular activities). Meanwhile, if you're wondering what bags of hope look like, here they are, bags of chips patiently awaiting the players' arrival.



While we have a moment of calm before the chaos, let's review the dollars involved. Ladies and gentlemen, the pay table:

1st place $2,856,150
2nd $1,698,390
3rd $896,375
4th $518,920
5th $377,420
6th $264,195
7th $188,710
8th $150,970
9th $132,095
10th $113,225
11-15th $94,355
16-20th $75,485
21-30th $56,615
31-40th $47,180
41-50th $37,740

More later, -jv

Two Top Ten Lists

Here are two lists for you at the start of play on day five.

First, the top ten chip-counts at the end of day four:

REZA PAYVAR -- 1.6M
JOHN SMITH -- 1.6M
TUAN LE -- 1.5M
MICHAEL MIZRACHI -- 1.1.M
PHIL IVEY -- 1.1M
DAVID WILLIAMS -- 838K
ARNOLD SPEE -- 754K
MATTHEW KEIKOAN -- 693K
KEITH CARTER -- 631K
JUHA HELPPI -- 630K

And now a list of the ten worst desperation moves to reach the final table:

10. Tip over your table after a bad beat
9. Propose a 45-way chop
8. Tell everyone your wife has only six months to live and it's her dying wish to see you on TV
7. Peek at your neighbor's cards
6. Go all-in for twelve hands in a row in an attempt to dodecaple through
5. Yell, "Look, Halley's Comet!" and while everyone's distracted grab their chips
4. Do a strip tease for the lipstick cam
3. Drink a dozen Red Bulls in an attempt to think faster than everyone
2. Drink a dozen Red Bull and vodkas in an attempt to reawaken your state-dependent memory of that one time you played really great drunk

And the number one thing you wouldn't do to reach the final table...

1. Play like I play

There are 45 players left in competition as we start play today. Blinds will be 6K and 12K, antes 2K. Players like Stuart Paterson, trailing the field with 107K , will be feeling the pressure -- but not too much pressure, for unlike yesterday, everyone who starts play today is guaranteed a paycheck worth at least as much as a luxury car. We're in Volvo country right now -- $37,740 for the next five finishers -- but it jumps to Hummerville, Corvette City and the Land of the Rolls Royce Phaeton very soon after. Stay tuned, campers. Plenty of fun to come. -jv