The Big Event ESPN Bounty Shootout Flight 2: Ramdin, Eslami, Woodward, Smith and Tehan Advance
The second flight of tables for the $10,000 ESPN Bounty Shootout at The Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens, California wrapped up on Friday with the last five spots at the final table being secured. Those five players who will be returning Saturday for the final table are Victor Ramdin, John Smith, Joe Tehan, Matt Woodward and Ali Eslami.
Ramdin was the first player to advance and did so after beating Jesse Martin heads up. Ramdin moved on with four bounties, but that’s not the story here. Ramdin won the $5,000 Main Event at The Big Event on Thursday night after defeating Joe Hachem. He scored $500,000 for that win and it would be unthinkable if he could also win the ESPN Bounty Shootout at the same stop with such top-notch competition.
With 9,000 in the pot, the flop read Q♠8♥5♥ between Victor Ramdin and Jesse Martin. Ramdin checked and Martin bet 5,800. Ramdin raised to 17,000 and Martin moved all in for 87,300 total. Ramdin called.
Ramdin tabled the 7♥4♥ for a combo draw and was up against the 8♦5♦ for bottom two pair. The turn brought the 9♥ to give Ramdin a flush. The river completed the board with the 10♥ and kept Ramdin in the lead.
Smith was the second player to advance to the finals from the second starting flight. He defeated Bill Chen heads up to move on with four bounties in his pocket for a total of $8,000. Add that to the $40,000 in prize money he earned for winning his table and Smith has pocketed some nice cash already with a chance to win a lot more.
The third player to win his first table was Tehan, the 2010 North American Poker Tour Main Event champion. Tehan defeated a table that included Daniel Alaei, William Reynolds and Nenad Medic. Tehan beat Vanessa Peng heads up and moved on with a total of three $2,000 bounties.
Woodward was the fourth player to advance and did so after a long battle with Shannon Shorr. With the blinds are 2,000-4,000 with a 500 ante, Woodward’s Q♦J♣ out-flipped the 6♦6♠ for Shorr. The money went in preflop and the board ran out Q♣J♦9♣2♠5♦. Eliminating Shorr was the only bounty claimed by Woodward, but it was certainly the most important as it secured his spot at the final table and pocketed him $40,000.
Eslami was the final player to make the final table, defeating Sameer Al Janedi just after 11:30 PM. Eslami and Al Janedi finally got all the money in preflop after Eslami raised to 8,000 from the button, Al Janedi shoved for 27,000 and Eslami called.
Al Janedi: 10♣9♣
Eslami: K♠6♥
The board ran out 8♠6♠2♠10♦J♠ and Eslami's flush won him the hand and the table.
Although Shawn Buchanan and Al Janedi are tied for the bounty lead with five apiece, they were eliminated prior to making the final table. Here’s how the bounty race stands going into the final table.
| Bounty Leaders | |
|---|---|
| Shawn Buchanan* | 5 |
| Sameer Al Janedi* | 5 |
| Victor Ramdin | 4 |
| Jonathan Duhamel | 4 |
| John Smith | 4 |
| Joe Tehan | 3 |
| Ali Eslami | 3 |
| Shane Schleger | 3 |
| Pat Walsh | 3 |
| Alex Keating | 1 |
| Matt Woodward | 1 |
*Denotes the player has already been eliminated from the tournament.
The final table will commence at 2:00 PM PST out on the West Coast. The stakes will be raised as every bounty will be worth $10,000 and the winner is set to take home a first-place, winner-take-all prize of $171,700. Be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews for all of the live reporting from the floor.
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