$10,000 No Limit Hold'em Championship | 2009 L.A. Poker Classic

02-26-2009 16:08 UTC-8

Moments Away

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As part of the opening festivities, TD Matt Savage introduced WPT founder Steve Lipscomb to the assembled audience.

"Wow, guys, you are going to have an amazing treat here tonight," said Lipscomb. He then thanked all of the staff at Commerce for their hard work during the L.A. Poker Classic, but especially Savage.

Lipscomb billed this a "table of the Chrises", singling out long-time poker professional Chris Ferguson and former WPT winner Chris Karagulleyan. He encouraged the audience to have a great time before turning the mic back over to Savage. Play should commence in just a few minutes now.

02-26-2009 15:35 UTC-8

Seat Assignments

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Seat 1: Chris Ferguson - 1,565,000
Seat 2: Cornel Andrew Cimpan - 1,740,000
Seat 3: Pat Walsh - 2,215,000
Seat 4: Chris Karagulleyan - 4,080,000
Seat 5: Mike Sowers - 2,045,000
Seat 6: Binh Nguyen - 1,895,000

02-26-2009 13:34 UTC-8

And Then There Were Six

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Could it be Chris Karagulleyan's day again?

The 2009 L.A. Poker Classic Main Event is a six-day affair. It is therefore only fitting that on the last day, the sixth day of the tournament, six players should remain. Each of them is guaranteed $240,538 in prize money; one will walk away with $1,686,760, the trophy, and the title of champion.

The average stack starting play is 2,320,000. With blinds starting at 30,000 and 60,000, that means the average stack has roughly 39 big blinds. But unless TD Matt Savage rewinds the clock, the blinds will quickly move to 40,000 and 80,000, as there wasn't much time left in the level when play concluded last night. Only one player, chip leader Chris Karagulleyan, has an above average chip count.

This is a televised final table, as all WPT final tables are. We expect that the combination of television and the high blinds in relation to most of the stack sizes will create tight, cautious play at the start of the day. Once the seal is broken, however, and the first player is eliminated, anything goes. Look for Karagulleyan to take advantage of the expected early tight play to increase his chip lead, which is already almost two-to-one, as he attempts to claim his second-ever WPT title.

Play is scheduled to begin at 4pm. Televised final tables often start late due to the demands of the television production, but TD Savage has been running a tight ship around here. This one might actually go off on time. Either way, PokerNews will bring you all of the action, from our eyes in the Commerce ballroom to your eyes reading your computer screen.