July 28 2012, Josh Bell

The 2012 PokerStars.net Australia New Zealand Poker Tour Queenstown Snowfest Main Event played down to a final table on Saturday. Ken Demlakian leads the final nine and is in the best position to take home the title and the NZD$110,000 first-place prize.

The penultimate day of play began with 31 players, all with high hopes of making the final table. It took just a few minutes to eliminate three players at the start of Day 3 and from there, the eliminations kept flying fast and furiously. Six players were eliminated during the first level of the day, and almost half the field was gone by the end of the second.

In the early stages of the third level, 2009 APPT Sydney champion Aaron Benton was crippled when he three-bet shoved holding and ran into Tatjana Zizic’s . Benton held just a couple of big blinds after that hand and was eliminated a short while later when he ran into Ricky Kroesen’s .

It was also during the third level of the day that the money bubble was reached. First, Billy “The Croc” Argyros was eliminated in dramatic fashion two spots off the money. Argyros got his stack all-in holding against David Zhao’s and managed to turn a set after the flop housed an . It was looking good for Argyros to stay alive, but an on the river would give the lead back to Zhao and eliminate Argyros with no money to show for his three days at the felt. After Argyros’ elimination, hand-for-hand play would last around half an hour before Michael Kanaan was sent home as the “bubble boy.”

Kanaan had a roller coaster afternoon, first losing a huge chunk of his stack in a cooler situation when he lost set versus set against the eventual chip leader, Demlakian. It would then be Demlakian who sealed Kanaan’s fate, with Demlakian hitting a set on the river of a board after Kanaan got it in good on the flop holding .

With the bubble popped, the 15 remaining players were guaranteed at least a min-cash of NZD$7,050. The first few in-the-money eliminations occurred quickly, with Jason O’Brien going home in 15th place, Tatjana Zizic in 14th and Michael Fadersen in 13th. David Wonson was then eliminated in 12th place and only 11 players remained.

Play started to slow down at this point, with the prospect of making the final table fresh in the players’ minds. Eventually Stewart Ballard was eliminated in 11th place, followed by Chiu Yeung Lee in 10th. Lee got all his chips in the middle holding against Jordan Westmorland’s . The board ran out , giving Westmorland a straight and sending Lee home as the unlucky final table bubble-boy.

A stacked final nine includes some of the best players from around Australasia. Demlakian, who finished Day 1b as the chip leader, is followed closely by Westmorland and Zhao. Also at the final table are David Allan, Matt Wakeman and Kroesen. These three players are some of the most talented in Australia and so can not be ruled out. Also still in contention and looking to solidify his name as one of the best in the region is Team PokerStars Pro, Bryan Huang.

The full final table lineup, including chip counts, can be seen below.

2012 ANZPT Queenstown Snowfest Final Table

One of the above nine players will claim the ANZPT title and the NZ$110,600 first-place prize. Who will become the newest ANZPT champion? Make sure to join the PokerNews live reporting team from 1230 NZST Sunday (Sunday 1700 PDT) to find out!

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July 09 2012, Chad Holloway

On Sunday, the World Poker Tour Season X continued on Fox Sports Network with Part III of the L.A. Poker Classic (LAPC), which originally took place at the Commerce Casino from Feb. 24 through 29, 2012 and featured a $10,000 buy-in Main Event that attracted 549 players and created a $5,270,400 prize pool.

In Part I, the eliminations of Jason Somerville and Jason Burt occurred, while last week Noah Schwartz joined them. It happened when Sean Jazayeri looked down at and raised to 210,000. Kelly made the call with from the button, which prompted Noah Schwartz to move all-in for 1.53 million from the small blind. Jazayeri instantly moved all-in over the top and Kelly snap-folded. The board ran out and Schwartz took his leave in fourth place, good for $355,750.

Here’s how things stacked up at the start of Part III:

WPT LAPC Final Table

First Hand: With the blinds at 50,000/100,000 and a 10,000 ante, 22-year-old Dan Kelly, who won his way into the tournament through a $1,000 satellite, raised to 250,000 from the small blind with and David “Doc” Sands released his from the big.

Dan Kelly Eliminated in Third Place: Sands was first to act and raised to 220,000 with . Jazayeri folded the small blind, Kelly moved all-in for 1.665 million in the big blind with , and after thinking it through for a bit, Sands made the call. Kelly had a 46 percent chance of winning the hand, but that dropped to 38 percent on the flop. Kelly had counterfeit options, but the turn improved Sands to a full house and dropped Kelly’s chance to just 14 percent.

The dealer burned one last time and put out the , putting an end to Kelly’s LAPC in third place for $521,770, not a bad parlay of a $1,000 investment. “I think I played well,” Kelly told sideline reporter Matt Savage after the hand. “Just didn’t win.”

Heads-Up Play: In an interview with Savage before heads-up play began, Jazayeri said: “I’m very fortunate to be here, but if there’s one guy I didn’t want it’s that guy,” Jazayeri said before heads-up play began. “In my experience heads-up is a different game. Luck becomes a much bigger factor. I’m gonna get a lot more aggressive, and let’s just see what happens.”

Likewise, Sands, who had played 12 WPT events and was notching his second cash, was happy to give his take on entering as the 9.4 million to 7 million chip leader: “Definitely a good spot to be in. I’ve got a lot of respect for the guy I’m playing heads-up, but to be totally honest, out of all the people that made the final table, he’s the guy I’d like to be playing, so it should get pretty heavy, pretty fast.”

In the first hand of heads-up play, Sands raised to 200,000 with and Jazayeri called with . The flop was gin for Sands, and he bet 270,000 after Jazayeri checked. The amateur made the call and then checked the turn, prompting Sands to fire out 570,000. It proved too much for Jazayeri, who quickly sent his hand to the muck.

Ones to Watch: In the latest installment of Ones to Watch, 21-year-old Dylan Hortin was featured. “Ever since I was a kid I watched poker on television. It’s been a dream of mine to win a major poker tournament,” Hortin said of hitting the live circuit after previously cutting his chops online. “I’ve been traveling a little bit more than I’m used to and the buy-ins are more than I’m used to.”

What a Flop: With a 2-1 chip lead, Sands min-raised to 240,000 from the button with and Jazayeri defended from the big with . The flop came down , giving both players trips, though Sands had the inferior kicker. Jazayeri proceeded to check-raise Sands’ bet of 270,000 up to 600,000, and Sands made the call.

The saw Jazayeri slow down with a check, and Sands checked right behind. The river gave both players sixes full, and Jazayeri led out for one million. Sands responded by raising to 2.44 million, Jazayeri moved all-in, and Sands called. Both players smiled upon seeing each other’s six, which also seemed to amuse the crowd.

Queens vs. Big Slick: After playing small ball poker and chopping away at his opponent, Sands looked down at and raised to 280,000. Jazayeri squeezed out , and you just knew there would be fireworks. Sure enough, Jazayeri three-bet to 800,000, Sands four-bet 1.84 million, and Jazayeri moved all in. Sands made the call and was a 56 percent favorite to capture his first WPT title.

Both players shook hands and were out of their seats waiting for the flop. “One time,” Sands said to his girlfriend on the rail. Unfortunately for him, it was Jazayeri’s time to shine as the flop came down . The turn left Sands in need of a “lucky lady,” but it wasn’t in the cards as the peeled off on the river. With that, Jazayeri doubled to 13.95 million.

David “Doc” Sands Eliminated in Second Place: After the blinds went up to 75,000/150,000, Jazayeri raised to 400,000 with and then called Sands’ 2.495-million shove with . Jazayeri was a 60 percent favorite to take down the title, but not after the flop. Sands paired his king and became the 80 percent favorite, which improved to 89 percent on the turn. Amazingly, and much to the shock of Sands’ supporters, the spiked on the river to give Jazayeri trip fives and the LAPC title.

Jazayeri shot his arms up in the air in victory, shook hands with everyone, and then told Mike Sexton in his winner’s interview: “I don’t think words can describe how I feel. This is a fantasy you dream about. I really have to check, am I awake right now or not.”

Tune in Next Week: Next Sunday an all-new episode of the WPT Season X will air on FSN, so be sure to check your local listings. If by chance you miss it, check back next week for the latest recap of all the action right here on PokerNews.

Past WPT L.A. Poker Classic Champions

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*Picture courtesy of World Poker Tour.

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