Nicholas Bamman limps UTG and Bas Van Liere raises to 18,000 from the cutoff. It is folded back to Bamman who quickly folds and gives Bas the pot.
2007 Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) - Manila
$2,500 APPT Manila Main Event
Day: 3
Nicholas Bamman limps UTG and Bas Van Liere raises to 18,000 from the cutoff. It is folded back to Bamman who quickly folds and gives Bas the pot.
Ira Blumenthal limps from late position, as does Maor Feldinger, and Kazuhiro Sato completes his small blind. Van Marcus checks his big blind and the players see a flop of:
Sato checks and Van leads out for 20,000. Each player folds one by one and Van takes the pot.
Derick Hernandez calls for 6,000 and Roger Spets again raises to 35,000. Hernandez thinks momentarily before surrendering the hand to Spets.
From late position, Nicholas Bamman raises to 17,000. Roger Spets on his immediate left reraises to 55,000. Bamman lays it down and Spets collects the pot.
Level: 16
Blinds: 3,000/6,000
Ante: 1,000
Not long now!
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Hometown: Melbourne, Australia
Chip Count: 738,000
A prominent figure in the Australian poker scene, Van Marcus enters the final table as not only the best credentialed player and chip leader, but also the in form player of the tournament.
Normally a high stakes cash game player online (he plays under the moniker "Sirens" at PokerStars), Van is having an amazing year on the live tournament circuit. He made two final tables at the Aussie Millions earlier this year, finishing fourth in both the $1500 No Limit Hold’em Feature Event and the $3000 Pot Limit Omaha tournament. His best tournament performance to date came just two months ago at the 2007 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, where he finished third in the $1500 Pot Limit Omaha w/ rebuys event behind Irishman Alan Smurfit. Marcus won more than $190,000 for this performance, which will stand him in good stead for the battle at today’s final table.
Chip Count: 109,000
The sole Japanese contender for the first APPT title in Manila, Sato faces an uphill battle as the short stack entering the final table. However, the 45-year-old is delighted to have made it so deep into his major poker tournament (his previous biggest buy-in event being a $200 daily tournament at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas). A resident of Tokyo, Sato’s presence reflects the growing popularity of poker in Japan, which was represented by a strong contingent of eight players.