February 08 2012, Chad Holloway

For the past few days, the Casino Di Venezia, the oldest casino in the world, has played host to the World Poker Tour Venice Grand Prix, which continued on Wednesday with Day-3 action. At the start of play, only 27 of the 155-player field remained, each looking to make the top 18 and secure a payday. Not only did the bubble burst, but the field was reduced all the way down to the final nine. Simon Ravnsbaek leads with 795,000 in chips.

It didn’t take long for the first elimination of the day to occur. After losing a race with to Konstantin Streletskiy’s , which cost about half her stack, PartyPoker Pro Kara Scott shoved all-in for 17,500 from the cutoff and was called by Andrea Carini on the button.

Showdown

It was another race for Scott. The board ran out and Scott was eliminated in 27th place. Scott was followed out the door by Carla Solinas (26th), Zoltan Szabo (25th), Maurizio Saieva (24th), Dario De Paz (23rd), Guido Chiodo (22nd), Giacomo Fundaro (21st), and Viacheslav Goryachev (20th).

The field was on the money bubble. Action folded around to Lionel Tran and he moved all-in from the small blind for around 50,000. Marcel Bjerkmann, who began the day as the chip leader, was in the big blind and decided to gamble.

Showdown

Tran was in great shape and primed to double, though the paired Bjerkmann’s jack. Unfortunately for Tran, the turn gave Bjerkmann trips and the lead. The river was of no consequence and Tran was sent to the rail as the bubble boy, guaranteeing the remaining players at least “7,225.

Once the bubble was burst, the eliminations began to mount. Gianluca Speranza was the first to go in 18th place (“7,225), followed by Giacomo Valenti in 17th place (“7,225). After Streletskiy was dispatched in 16th place (“8,540) and Erion Islamay in 15th (“8,540), fan favorite James Akenhead met an unlikely end.

It happened after his were cracked by the of Bjerkmann on a flop. Akenhead was left with just 23,000, which he committed a short time later after Simon Ravnsbaek opened for 13,000. Bjerkmann made the call, but then folded to a four-bet from Ravnsbaek, who held . Akenhead held , but could not improve and was eliminated in 14th place (“8,540).

Marko Neumann was the next to go in 13th place (“8,540) after his failed to improve against the of Carini. Some time later, the boisterous Bjerkmann, who experienced an up-and-down day after starting with the biggest stack, opened for 21,000 from the button only to have Ravnsbaek move all-in. Bjerkmann called off and the cards were turned up:

Showdown

The flop was fairly uneventful, as was the turn. The river was no help to Bjerkmann, and he was eliminated in 12th place (“9,855). Gabriele Lepore (11th – “9,855) and Andrey Gulyy (10th – “9,855) were the last two to hit the rail before action was halted at just nine players.

Day 4 is set to get back under way at 1300 CET (0400 PST) on Thursday as the final nine play down to the final table of six. Here’s a look at the chip counts when play resumes:

World Poker Tour Venice Grand Prix Final Nine Chip Counts

For more on the WPT Venice Grand Prix, be sure to visit the Party Poker Blog to see what Tony G and Mike Sexton have to say from the Casino Di Venezia.

Get all the latest PokerNews updates on your social media outlets. Follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook today!

*Photo courtesy of the World Poker Tour.

Follow Chad Holloway on

February 07 2012, Chad Holloway

The World Poker Tour Venice Grand Prix continued on Tuesday with Day 2 action from the Casino Di Venezia. Appropriately, the three players atop the chips counts – Filippo Candio, Gabriele Lepore, and Andrea Dato – were all from Italy and looking to keep the title on their home soil. By the end of the day, only 27 players remained and Marcel Bjerkmann led the way.

When action kicked off, 89 players from a field of 155 remained in contention, and it didn’t take long for players to start hitting the rail. One of the first eliminations of the day was Melanie Weisner. According to the World Poker Tour Live Update Team It happened when Simon Ravnsbaek opened from the cutoff for 2,100, Weisner three-bet from the button, and Ravnsbaek four-bet enough to put his opponent all-in. Weisner called off for approximately 31,000 and the cards were turned up.

Showdown

Weisner was in great shape to double, until the flop came down . Ravnsbaek hit his six and picked up a flush redraw. Neither the turn nor river helped Weisner and she exited the tournament floor.

Weisner was not the only notable to hit the rail in the early levels of Day 2. Guillaume Darcourt, Dario Alioto, Roberto Romanello, and Marvin Rettenmaier all failed to advance.

Another man who failed to survive was PartyPoker Pro Tony G. He began the day with a healthy 80,000, but couldn’t get anything going and dropped down to 16,000. He committed the last of this chips holding only to be called by Gianluca Trebbi who was holding . The board ran out clean for Trebbi, and he silenced the brassy Tony G.

Likewise, fellow PartyPoker Pro and WPT host Mike Sexton came up shy of the money. His demise came when Umberto Calabrese raised to 5,000 from the hijack and Sexton called from the small blind. Trebbi then exercised his option in the big blind with a three-bet to 17,500. Calabrese folded, and Sexton moved all-in for around 40,000. Trebbi made the call and it was off to the races.

Showdown

Sexton was ahead preflop, but the flop made him a major dog. The was no help, and neither was the . Sexton was eliminated on the hand while Trebbi chipped up to 450,000.

Not long after, Candio, who had finished Day 1 as the chip leader, followed Sexton out the door. It happened when he raised to 4,800 from early position only to have Jason Wheeler make it 12,300. The rest of the field folded and Candio moved all-in. Wheeler snap-called and Candio discovered the bad news.

Showdown

Candio was behind, but the flop delivered a set for him and the lead. Unfortunately, and much to Wheeler’s relief, the turn and river put a four-card flush on the board, giving Wheeler the win with his .

Joining Bjerkmann as the end-of-the-day big stacks are Marko Neumann (384,400) Wheeler (348,200), James Akenhead (336,000), Andrey Gulyy (326,900), and Trebbe (323,500). They will also be joined by Kara Scott, who is the last PartyPoker Pro standing. Only 27 players remained when clock expired, meaning nine more players will need to be eliminated on Day 3 before the money was reached. Here’s a look at the WPT Venice Grand Prix payouts:

Day 3 is set to get back under way at 1300 CET 90400 PST) on Wednesday.

For more on the WPT Venice Grand Prix, be sure to visit the Party Poker Blog to see what Tony G and Mike Sexton have to say from the Casino Di Venezia.

Get all the latest PokerNews updates on your social media outlets. Follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook today!

*Photo courtesy of the World Poker Tour.

Follow Chad Holloway on