2014 WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open Day 2: Keven Stammen Leads After Double Elimination
The 2014 World Poker Tour Lucky Hearts Poker Open continued on Sunday with Day 2 action at the Seminole Coconut Creek Casino in Florida. The day began with 169 of the original 415 entrants still in contention for the $271,103 top prize, and after a lengthy day on the felt only 33 remained. WSOP bracelet winner Keven Stammen (pictured) leads the way as the only player who crossed the 1-million chip mark.
Top 10 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keven Stammen | 1,089,000 |
| 2 | Matthew Waxman | 899,000 |
| 3 | Mukul Pahuja | 735,000 |
| 4 | Ryan D'Angelo | 676,000 |
| 5 | James Calderaro | 663,000 |
| 6 | Anthony Zinno | 631,000 |
| 7 | Dimas Martinez Jr. | 520,000 |
| 8 | Corrie Wunstel | 453,000 |
| 9 | Shelby Standley | 443,000 |
| 10 | Kishor Bhakta | 399,000 |
Stammen took the lead in one of the final hands of the night by busting both Jordan Cristos and Joey Weissman. According to the WPT Live Updates, Cristos min-raised to 12,000 from the hijack, Stammen called from the button and Weissman called from the big blind. On the J♥10♦5♦ flop, action checked to Cristos and he bet 28,000. Stammen called, and Weissman opted to check-raise all in for 15,000 more. The bet wasn't large enough to re-open the betting, so both Cristos and Stammen called.
On the 4♣ turn, Cristos led out for 130,000 and Stammen moved all in, having Cristos covered. Cristos called off his remaining 330,000, and all of the cards were tabled.
Weissman: J♠10♠
Stammen: K♦9♦
Cristos: 10♣5♠
Weissman was in front with top two pair, while Cristos had a smaller two pair and Stammen was drawing to straight and flush draws. The river brought the Q♠, giving Stammen a straight and sending the other two players to the rail.
Two former WPT champions will be chasing Stammen when Day 3 begins. Matt Waxman is second in chips with 899,000, while Anthony Zinno is sixth with 631,000. Meanwhile, several top pros are eyeing their first WPT title, including Ryan D'Angelo, Shannon Shorr, Lily Kiletto, Tony Cousineau, and WPT Ones to Watch Athanasios Polychronopoulos.
Dozens of notables fell by the wayside on Day 2, including some who left empty-handed. Only the top 54 places paid, which meant more than 100 players exited before the money on Sunday. Among them were David Diaz, Darryll Fish, Ebony Kenney, Jared Jaffee, Andy Frankenberger, Dan Heimiller, Byron Kaverman, Tony Dunst, Shawn Cunix and Mike Linster.
After the money bubble burst, Jamie Rosen (52nd place), Jaime Rubinsteyn (49th place), and Ronnie Bardah (40th place) were among those eliminated in the money. Rubinsteyn, the chip leader entering the day, was eventually sent to the rail by James Calderaro. With the blinds at 2,500/5,000/500, Calderaro raised to 12,000 from under the gun and Rubinsteyn three-bet to 27,000. Calderaro called, and the flop rolled out A♠5♦4♥. Calderaro checked, Rubinsteyn bet 25,000, and Calderaro moved all in. Rubinsteyn called all in for his remaining 220,000 or so and showed A♣K♠ for top pair, but he was dominated by his opponent's 5♠5♥ for a set of fives. Rubinsteyn was unable to improve on the 4♠ turn and 8♠ river and he was eliminated. Calderaro increased his stack to 790,000 at the time, and he'll enter Day 3 fifth in chips with 663,000.
Day 3 will begin at 1 p.m. local time on Monday, and the plan is to play all the way down to the six-handed final table. Be sure to catch the end-of-day recap right here at PokerNews.com.
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