September 2010 Archives

by Brad Willis and Change100 The road to Argentina is the road to the end of the world. Drive far enough down its coasts and through its mountains, and you might just fall off the planet. Oh, sure, there is a greater chance you'll just get frostbite on the...more

6:50pm: Martin Sansour wins the LAPT Rosario, Bolivar Palacios eliminated in second place On the second hand of heads-up play, Bolivar Palacios open-raised, Martin Sansour moved all-in and Palacios made the call. Palacios: A♦Q♣ Sansour: A♣K♣ Dominated and the LAPT title at risk, Palacios needed some serious help on...more

Out of the 254 players who started the LAPT Grand Final in Rosario, Argentina, only eight remain. The final table players come from around South America, the USA, and Sweden. They have many final tables among them, but only one, Matthias Habernig, has an LAPT championship. For a better look...more

If any of our final table players ever dreamt of seeing their name in lights over twenty feet high, well, today they'll get their wish. As the TV crew scrambles to prepare the stage and set up the audience viewing area, another slickly edited video package introducing our eight...more

It's hard to find a Red Bull in South America. I'm sure it's available somewhere, but south of the equator their preferred variety of energy drink comes in a black can emblazoned with a red lightning bolt and the word "SPEED." That's right, folks. Speed in a can. Not everyone...more

5:48pm: Final table set With the final table set, the remaining players are taking a break for the night and will return tomorrow to determine the champion. A full wrap of the day is on the way. 5:23pm: Gustavo Flessak eliminated in 9th place, final table set Gustavo Flessak...more

The lights. The bright, shining, make-you-squint lights. Those are usually the first indication that the stakes have changed. When TV cameras and big boom microphones appear in your face, the chip bags are stuffed with big denomination fichas, and every bustout gets you so much closer to fame, the lights...more

This looked, by all accounts, to be Nico Fierro's. He could've almost folded to the chip lead from the middle of the day, Could he do it? Could Chile's Nico Fierro go wire-to-wire as the chip leader to the final table? He looked good for it. It seemed there was...more

10:05pm: Robby Westrom eliminated, 24 remain Robby Westrom got his chips in with the best of it, taking his A♣K♠ up against A♦Q♥. A queen on the flop and another on the turn dashed his hopes of advancing to Day 3 and he hit the rail in 25th place....more

4:28pm: Players take a 15-minute break While our players enjoy a stretch and a little fresh air, we're going to close out this post. We'll be back in a few with the blinds up to 1,200/2,400 with a 200 ante. 4:26pm: Barbero, Phillips ousted We are down to two...more

Buenos dias, Rosario. We've rubbed the sleep out of our eyes thanks to some of South America's finest java and in about thirty minutes' time, the 126 players who survived Day 1 of the LAPT Grand Final will return to the tables, unbag their chips, and pick up where...more

I have yet to figure out the city of Rosario. The acres of impossibly green farmland on its outskirts recalls the American midwest. The packed-together high-rise apartments that line Boulevard Orono bring to mind some of the South American seaside enclaves we've visited elsewhere on the LAPT, like Vina...more

9:21pm: End of Day 1 9:20pmWait. The world just blew up With just a couple hands left in the night, Nico Fierro nearly doubled his stack, again at the expense of Hugo Franca. It was A♣A♥ versus A♦K♦. The 6♣[2♥K♣[2♦2♣ board was an ugly one. Franca, who had 215,000...more

4:25pm: Level ends, players break With the end of level 4, players are headed out for a 15 minute break. We'll be closing out this post of updates and starting one anew in the meantime. 4:15pm: Dominik down Last year's Grand Final champion Dominik Nitsche's seat is now filled...more

We sit inside a giant, dark room inside the biggest and most luxurious gaming spot on the continent of South America. This alone should be reason enough to impress us. This, however, is not all that's knocking us back like the iconic Maxell "Blown Away" ad campaign (that most poker...more

The final table of a major poker event is an exciting place to be. It's where dreams are made, and then shattered, all with the fall of a single card. We started out today with nine talented players who had safely navigated their way through a field of 218...more

Congratulations Danny "Brotha D" Leaoasavaii - Winner of the the 2010 PokerStars.net APPT Auckland Main Event That concludes our live coverage of the 2010 PokerStars.net APPT Auckland Main Event. It was an exciting day of poker and enthralling heads-up battle that ended in a popular victory in Kiwi-legend Brotha D....more

10:50pm: Ten-minute break 10:43pm: Grigg falls further In a limped pot, action checked to the turn on a board of A♦6♣K♣J♥ where Tom Grigg took a stab with a bet of 100,000. Brotha D called and both players checked the Q♣ river. Brotha D opened Q♠6♥ for two pair which...more

8:40pm: Ten-minute break 8:38pm: Million-chip pot for Brotha D The biggest heads-up pot of the tournament and first all-in move has seen Brotha D once again break out to a big lead. Brotha D raised to 100,000 on the button with Tom Grigg making the call to take a flop...more

5:20pm: Ten-minute break 5:15pm: Brotha D Storming Ahead Tom Grigg raised to 45,000 before Danny Silk put in the three-bet to 130,000 from the button. Action was then with Brotha D who put in a four-bet to 370,000. Grigg and Silk quickly folded as Brotha D raked in the pot....more

3:10pm: Ten-minute break 3:02pm: Toleafoa doubles through Grigg In a battle of the blinds, Tom Grigg opened to 30,000 from the small blind and Ropati Toleafoa made the call in the big blind. They took a flop of 7♠3♥T♥ and Grigg fired 50,000. Toleafoa responded by moving all in for...more

After six hours of play on Day 3, the final table of the 2010 PokerStars.net APPT Auckland has been set. It brings with it an international flavour with five different countries represented and six PokerStars qualifiers making it through for the chance at the title and NZ$170,000 first place prize....more

Day 3 of the PokerStars.net APPT Auckland Main Event is in the books, and it was a wild ride to reduce our field from 28 to our final nine. The day ebbed and flowed with a couple of quick early eliminations as Sam Courtenay, AJ Bertenshaw and Akshay Nauhria all...more

6:40pm: That's a wrap! That concludes our coverage from Day 3 of the APPT Auckland Main Event, with the "Godfather of New Zealand Hip Hop" Brotha D hanging onto a very narrow chip advantage at the end of the day. We'll have a complete wrap of the day's action and...more

4:25pm: Ten-minute break 4:22pm: Mitrovic moving ahead Lance Climo limped in from under the gun before Noah Vogelman bumped it to 25,500 in middle position. Srdjan Mitrovic called in late position and Climo came along to see a flop of 3♥7♥7♦. Climo checked and Vogelman fired 45,000. Mitrovic put in...more

2:15pm: Ten-minute break 2:12pm: Two shorties lose the battle Aaron Sue moved all in for his last 21,000 with 6♦6♥ and Leo Boxell made the call with A♥J♥ in the big blind. The board ran out 7♦A♦5♠K♠2♣ to end Sue's run in 19th place. Shaun Gray was soon to follow...more

Every year thousands of tourists venture to New Zealand for a thrill-seeking adventure of a lifetime. It is after all, the adventure-sports capital of the world. From hitting the magical ski slopes, to a wild jet boat ride, to a bungy jump of a variety of structures and stunning...more

We set sail today with 96 wide-eyed voyagers on a journey to ride the seas and arrive safely to our destination - a berth on day three of the PokerStars.net APPT Auckland Main Event. Along the way there were casualties; some were a tad reckless while a few others were...more

7:55pm: Play concludes With little action to report in the final three hands, day two of the APPT Auckland Main Event has drawn to a close with approximately 28 players remaining. There's no doubting our chip leader, as PokerStars qualifier Tom Grigg bagged up a massive 546,300 chips. We'll have...more

6:45pm: Ten-minute break 6:40pm: Grigg and Colman chop it up Tim Grigg was one river card away from eliminating Julius Colman and padding his monstrous stack even further. But just to prove that the Poker Gods in fact do not play favourites, the luck went against Grigg to ensure Colman...more

4:35pm: Ten-break minute 4:22pm: No notes on Schaffman Oliver Schaffman opened to 4,100 from middle position with Akshay Nauhria put his glasses on to make the call and see a flop of 6♥A♠4♣. Schaffman fired 5,200 but Nauhria responded with a raise to 16,200. Schaffman made the call and the...more

2:15pm: Ten-minute break 1:59pm: Hinrichsen rockets past Turker Well, Koray Turker's stay at his new table didn't last long as he was just eliminated by Andrew Hinrichsen. In a battle of the blinds, Turker raised to 2,700 from the small blind with Hinrichsen flat-calling in the big blind to see...more

Auckland is popularly known as the "City of Sails" with its beautiful harbour often filled with hundreds of yachts and luxurious boats. With a population of 1.4 million people, Auckland actually has more yachts per capita than any other city in the world. The City of Sails - Auckland...more

At the start of the day we awoke to dark clouds and threatening skies hovering above the city of Auckland, and although the rain held off outside we didn't have to wait long for it to start pouring in the SKYCITY poker room. Within the first few minutes of play...more

8:00pm: Play concludes The last four hands didn't produce any noteworthy action to bring our day to a close. Approximately 58 players have survived to make it safely through to day two with Nauv Kashyap, Michael Kroger and Koray Turker our likely chip leaders. Team PokerStars Pro Lee "Final Table"...more

6:50pm: Ten-minute break 6:44pm: Mads eliminated For the second time today, Mads Smith-Hansen has felt the pain of elimination from a poker tournament. After crushing the PokerStars WCOOP event earlier in the day, Smith-Hansen couldn't match that run on the live felt as he was recently eliminated from the tournament....more

4:40pm: Ten-minute break 4:34pm: Tony Hachem eliminated Tony Hachem has lost the battle with his short stack to be eliminated from the tournament at the hands of Leo Boxell. Boxell raised from early position to 800 before Hachem moved all in from the small blind for his last 3,700. Boxell...more

2:30pm: Ten-minute break 2:20pm: Nelson struggling PokerStars sponsored player Lee Nelson is struggling to get going so far this afternoon as we just caught him losing a small pot and looking a little frustrated. Catching the action on the turn on a board of K♠J♣8♦5♦, Nelson raised his opponent's 650-chip...more

They call New Zealand the "Land of the long white cloud". Well, today the city of Auckland is more representative of a long, rather threatening, grey cloud, as overcast conditions greet a new batch of arrivals for day 1b of the PokerStars.net APPT Auckland Main Event today. The threat of...more

New Zealand and the city of Auckland provides a serene landscape of stunning hillsides and picturesque harbours, yet it remains one of the more geologically volatile lands you'll find. Auckland is dotted with dozens of dormant volcanoes, while its location close to the boundary of the Earth's tectonic plates has...more

8:10pm: Play wraps up with Vogelman out in front The last five hands were a little uneventful as Noah Vogelman cemented his place at the top of the chip count leaderboard following the elimination of Lucas Anderson. With all the chips in preflop Anderson was going to need help with...more

7:00pm: Ten-minute break 6:50pm: Neilson scratched by the ladies It's certainly been a dramatic hour of poker, and the drama has continued with the recent elimination of PokerStars qualifier Daniel Neilson. Neilson opened under the gun to 1,200 before Noah Vogelman made it 5,300 in late position. The blinds folded...more

4:50pm: Ten-minute break 4:45pm: Big flop, little action Tao Luo, Ricky Kroesen and Bernhard Perner just took a three-way flop that each of them hit really hard. After seeing their holdings we might've expected them to get their money in, but only 2,200 went in on the 7♣J♣Q♣ flop, another...more

2:40pm: Ten-minute break 2:32pm: Benton back in business Aaron Benton was struggling in the early stages of today's play, but a much-needed double up has seen his stack return above his starting stack for the first time today. With a limp and a raise to 800 in front of him,...more

The PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge is back and ready to give contestants their shot at a million dollar win. The first season of Million Dollar Challenge was the highest-rated poker show in U.S. history and averaged nearly four million viewers per episode. The first season closed out with retired...more

Kia ora! Welcome to the third event of Season Four of the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour coming to you live from SKYCITY Casino in Auckland, New Zealand! One of the youngest and most remote cities in the world, Auckland provides a unique backdrop for a major poker event, bringing...more