August 05 2011, Mickey Doft

The PokerStars Latin American Poker Tour returned to Punta del Este, Uruguay, on Thursday for the 2011 PokerStars.net LAPT Punta del Este. The Mantra Resort is host to the LAPT for a fourth consecutive season and this year had the biggest turnout of all. A field of 422 showed up to play, creating a prize pool of $941,480 and first-place prize of $244,720. Only 188 remain, and at the top of the counts after eight levels on Day 1 is Juan Jose Perez with 197,500.

For much of the day, Perez quietly amassed a stack in the back of the main room. It was not until Team PokerStars Pro Leo Fernandez arrived at his table during the final level of the day when the rest of the room took notice. The two tangled in a pot, and although it was by no means the biggest pot, it sure was a good way for Perez to head into Day 2. He limped in from early position and another played involved shoved for 15,100. Fernandez, short-stacked and in the small blind, called all-in for 6,700. Perez also called, putting both players at risk, but was behind with against Fernandez’s and the other player’s . Perez was happy to see the board roll out to score the double knockout.

Fernandez was not the only member of Team PokerStars to have a tough go of it on Day 1. All six of the Team PokerStars Pros failed to reach Day 2. Defending Champion Jose “Nacho” Barbero was the first to bust. Barbero never gained traction on Day 1 and eventually succumbed when a race situation did not go in his favor. With , Barbero found himself all-in against . It was about as bad as it could get for the Season 3 LAPT Punta del Este Champion when the flop came out . Barbero needed running queens of kings to survive, but that was not the case when the turn and river fell.

Angel Guillén was another member of Team PokerStars to hit the rail on Day 1. With pocket tens, Guillén nailed a flop, getting his chips into the middle against . The landed on the turn and it was at this point when another player at the table commented that he laid down the preflop. The , though, popped off on the river to end Guillén’s tournament with a brutal one-outer. Christian de León, Gualter Salles, and Greg DeBora were the other Team PokerStars Pros to make the trip Uruguay, but won’t be back for Day 2.

Play resumes at 1200 UYT (0800 PDT) on Friday and the goal of the day will be to reach the final 24 players. Our Live Reporting Team will be back on the floor to keep you up to date on everything that happens.

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April 14 2011, Mickey Doft

The 2011 PokerStars.net North American Poker Tour Mohegan Sun High Roller Bounty Shootout concluded on Thursday and much like the Main Event on Wednesday, it was déjà vu all over again. Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier, last year’s NAPT Mohegan Sun Bounty Shootout champion, was back at it. Having watched Vanessa Selbst repeat as Main Event Champion the day before, there was no doubt that Mercier looked to do the same. He would have to get through an impressive bunch to do so, though.

Here is how the seating assignments looked for the final table.

Bounties were kicked up to $10,000 at the final table, having been $2,000 each at the first flight of tables. Also up for grabs was an additional $20,000 and automatic entry into the next NAPT bounty shootout for the player who won the most bounties. Aside from that, a first-place prize of $142,600 was on the line.

The first to drop at the final table was Joe Sweeney, shoving with on a board and running smack into Eugene Katchalov’s . Sweeney did not find the miracle suckout and exited in ninth place. Micah Raskin hit the rail next after his fell to Jonathan Jaffe’s . Scott Blackman busted in seventh place after losing in a three-way pot with against Jimmie Guinther’s and Michael Pesek’s . The board ran out as Pesek hit the river to cripple Guinther and end Blackman’s tournament. A short-stacked Guinther, with , was finished off by Pesek’s pocket deuces a few hands later and took sixth place.

The cruelest hand of the final table occurred with five left as Taylor von Kriegenbergh held and looked to eliminate Eugene Katchalov and his . The flop was harmless, but von Kriegenbergh spiked the lead when the turn left Katchalov two outs to survive. On cue, the popped off and left von Kriegenbergh short stacked, busting a few hands later at the hands of Michael Pesek. Jonathan Jaffe was the next to go when his ran into Jason Mercier’s . A clean board for Mercier ended Jaffe’s day with a fourth-place finish.

Michael Pesek fell in third place after his failed to hold against Eugene Katchalov’s when the board came down . The heads-up play chip counts between the two Team PokerStars Pros began as follows:

Mercier: 269,600
Katchalov: 180,400

It did not take long for the chips to get in. On a board, Mercier held for top pair and an open-ended straight draw while Katchalov tabled for bottom two pair. The turn brought the and kept Katchalov in the lead, but the river delivered the knockout blow in the form of the to give Mercier a better two pair to take it down. For his runner-up showing, Katchalov earned $66,000.

Final Table Results

What more can you say about Jason Mercier? Having won six bounties at his first table and another three at the final table to win the most bounties, Mercier collected a cool $246,600 for his performance in the 2011 NAPT Mohegan Sun Bounty Shootout. More impressive, though, is his repeat performance as champion, capping off an amazing week here at the Mohegan Sun as both major events were won by last year’s respective champions.

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