$5,150 Championship Main Event | 2008 WSOP Circuit Event - Lake Tahoe

11-16-2008 14:36 UTC-8

Allen Kessler Eliminated in 6th Place ($31,370)

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After a raise to 20,000 from Tay Nguyen and an all-in reraise from Ty Stewart for approximately 500,000, Allen Kessler moved his remaining 140,000 stack into the middle from the small blind. Nguyen folded and Stewart and Kessler moved straight to the showdown where Stewart tabled {7-Clubs}

, in bad shape against Kessler's {A-Diamonds}

.

The pocket rockets were good through the flop and turn of {J-Clubs}

, but the river {7-Diamonds}

proved fatal as Stewart caught one of the two remaining sevens that were his only outs.

Kessler will take home $31,370 after the bad beat, a bittersweet consolation prize. Stewart moved into the chip lead with 650,000 after the hand.

Tags: Allen Kessler

11-16-2008 14:36 UTC-8

15-Minute Break

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The tournament clock has been paused while the remaining six.... scratch that, five players go on their first 15-minute break of the day.

A bomb dropped on the Harvey's Poker Room just before the break, as Allen Kessler was two-outed by Ty Stewart moments ago.

That hand and updated chip counts will be posted momentarily.

11-16-2008 14:27 UTC-8

Travis Erdman Eliminated in 7th Place ($24,968)

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Big stack Ty Stewart just grew even bigger after eliminating Travis Erdman from the championship event.

Stewart opened the pot with a raise to 18,000 from under the gun plus one and Erdman, sitting to Stewart's immediate left, re-popped it to 45,000. Action folded all the way around the table and back to Stewart who made the call.

The flop came down {9-Spades}

, and Stewart checked to Erdman, who slid three stacks of yellow 1,000 chips across the betting line, a bet worth 60,000. Stewart then quickly announced, "All in," and Erdman made the call:

Showdown:
Stewart: {6-Spades}

Erdman:

The turn and river bricked off {10-Hearts}

,

and Stewart took down the pot on the strength of a spade flush.

Despite having busted out a bit earlier than he would've hoped, Erdman can be proud of one thing: he's the only player in WSOP Circuit history to have made the final table of a championship event at the same location three years straight.

Stewart, meanwhile, stacked up approximately 490,000 in chips with the win, pulling that much closer to chip leader Michael Binger.

Tags: Travis Erdman Ty Stewart

11-16-2008 14:19 UTC-8

No Sad Song for McClain Yet

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Mike McClain is teased on a regular basis for being "the agony of defeat face". The title comes form a montage done to a country song during ESPN's broadcast of the 2003 World Series of Poker. Interestingly, the grimace that is seen in the clip is from a hand in which McClain is not busted out of the tournament. The following year McClain made the final table of the WSOP before making a quick exit.

So far today McClain has not had too much to frown about as he is still among the reaming players.

Tags: Mike McClain

11-16-2008 14:01 UTC-8

Updated Chip Counts

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Michael Binger - 580,000
Jake Solis - 365,000
Ty Stewart - 345,000
Mike McClain - 254,000
Travis Erdman - 180,000
Allen Kessler - 151,000
Tay Nguyen - 94,000

11-16-2008 13:55 UTC-8

Bill Bostick Eliminated in 8th Place ($18,566)

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Michael Binger has just added about 100,000 to his field-leading chip stack with the elimination of opponent Bill Bostick.

Binger opened the pot with a raise to 17,000 and Bostick was the only caller. The flop came {6-Hearts}

and after taking a peak over at Bostick's remaining chip stack, he dropped a massive stack of 5,000 chips across the betting line, enough to put Bostick all in.

Bostick made the call and tabled {7-Hearts}

, well ahead of Binger's {A-Diamonds}

. Unfortunately for Bostick, the next card to roll off the deck would be the {A-Hearts}

, giving Binger the best hand. The {3-Clubs}

popped off on the river and Binger took down the pot with two pair, aces and threes. Binger stacked up 580,000 in chips after the hand.

Bostick earned $18,566 for his eighth place finish; not bad for three days work!

Tags: Bill Bostick

Level: 18

Blinds: 3,000/6,000

Ante: 500

11-16-2008 13:38 UTC-8

Binger Claims 6-way Limped Pot

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Ty Stewart, Travis Erdman, Allen Kessler, Michael Binger, and Tay Nguyen all limped into the pot before the flop and Mike McClain checked his option in the big blind.

The flop came down {10-Clubs}

and the action was checked around to Binger, who fired a 20,000 bet. Ty Stewart was the only caller, and both he and Binger went heads-up to the turn: {J-Spades}

.

Both players checked when the jack fell, opting to see a free river card, which was the {A-Hearts}

.

Stewart quickly fired a bet worth 25,000 and Binger called just as quickly. At the showdown, Stewart tabled {Q-Hearts}

for two pair, but Binger's {A-Diamonds}

was good for trips to rake in the pot.

Tags: Michael Binger

11-16-2008 13:33 UTC-8

Scott Clements Eliminated in 9th Place ($13,444)

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With Allen Kessler in the big blind, Scott Clements in the big blind, and Ty Stewart in the highjack seat, the three limped into pot and saw a flop of {K-Clubs}

. Action checked around to Stewart who bet 10,000. After a Kessler fold, Clements came along and the two players saw the {4-Hearts}

produced on the turn. Clements checked it to Stewart who bet 25,000. The river was the {5-Clubs}

and action was check to Stewart once more. This time Stewart pushed out a stack of 5,000 demonination chips, which was enough to put Clements all in. Clements obliged and just said, "WOW!" as Stewart showed his {Q-Clubs}

for the flopped broadway.

Clements takes home $13,444 for his effort at today's final table.

11-16-2008 13:26 UTC-8

Stewart Wins the First Two

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Ty Stewart took down the first two pots of the final table. The first of which was a simple raise and take from the cutoff. The second, however, was a tad bit bigger.

Action folded around the table to Stewart on the button, who limped in for 5,000. Action then fell on Travis Erdman in the small blind who kicked it up to 17,500. Allen Kessler made the call in the big blind, and Stewart called as well.

The flop came {9-Spades}

and Erdman fired a continuation bet of 25,000. Kessler folded and when the action landed on Stewart, he raised it up to 75,000. Erdman wasted little time folding, and Stewart raked in the pot.

Tags: Ty Stewart