October 08 2012, Chad Holloway

On Sunday night, the World Poker Tour Season X continued on Fox Sports Network with Part I of the $25,000 WPT World Championship, which took place at the Bellagio in Las Vegas from May 19 to 26, 2012. The tournament attracted 152 of the world’s best players and created a prize pool of $3,660,500, of which $1,196,858 was reserved for the eventual winner.

This week’s episode, the first of three, began with a look back at the tournament’s early days. That included a look at past Season X winners from around the world, each of whom earned a seat in the WPT World Championship by winning their respective events. They included Tommy Vedes (Seminole Hard Rock Showdown), Moon Kim (Bay 101 Shooting Star), Sean Jazayeri (L.A. Poker Classic), and Edouardo Alescio (Venice), just to name a few.

Player of the Year: The WPT Season X Player of the Year Race was a heated affair entering the event. Will “The Thrill” Failla sat atop the leaderboard with 2,050 points, but several players were still in contention including, but not limited to, James Dempsey (1,400 POY Points), Bobby Oboodi (1,400 POY Points), Darren Elias (1,600 POY Points), Daniel Buzgon (1,750 POY Points) and Joe Serock (1,800 POY Points).

Early Action: The aforementioned Sean Jazayeri was an early exit, as were Erik Seidel and Phil Laak. In the end, only 98 players made it through Day 1 with Steve O’Dwyer and his stack of 231,500 leading the way. However, registration was open until the start of Day 3, so plenty of other notables entered the fray on Day 2 such as Jake Cody, Sam Trickett and Dave Shallow; in addition, former WPT World Champs Martin De Knijff (Season 2), David Williams (Season 8) and the reigning champ, Scott Seiver, all registered for the event.

James Dempsey, Daniel Negreanu, Vanessa Selbst and Morten Christensen all hit the rail on Day 2. At the end of the day, two-time WPT champ Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi led the final 94 with 428,200.

Will Failla’s exit early on Day 3 meant he was no longer in control of his fate in the POY race. “I’m sweating profusely right now, there are 13 people that could still pass me for Player of the Year. I’m really hoping they don’t, but you know, it is what it is, let it land where it’s supposed to, I absolutely did everything I could do to win it,” Failla said after his elimination.

“The Thrill” was soon joined on the rail by Dave Shallow, Scott Seiver, Martin De Knijff, Edouardo Alescio, John Juanda, Joseph Cheong and Vanessa Rousso, but they were replaced by late registrants like Jason Mercier, David “Doc” Sands, Mohsin Charania, Antonio Esfandiari, Faraz Jaka and Phil Hellmuth. Although many failed to make anything happen on Day 3. In fact, only 44 players made it through the day, including Curt Kohlberg who bagged up 918,300 for the chip lead.

The Money Bubble: Only 18 players were slated to get paid, but that didn’t slow the action. With 21 players remaining, three two-time WPT champs built a three-way all-in pot. Both Antonio Esfandiari and Jonathan Little were all-in and at risk against Michael Mizrachi.

The flop gave Mizrachi a gut-shot straight draw, but it was the on the turn that gave him the lead. The on the river was of no consequence and Mizrachi scored the double elimination. Day 4 ended with 19 players left, meaning just one more needed to go on Day 5 to reach the money.

Marvin Rettenmaier

It happened when Josh Arieh got his short stack all in under the gun with and received a call from Marvin Rettenmaier, who woke up with in the big blind. The board ran out and Arieh became the bubble boy. Not long after, players began to hit the rail including Guillaume Darcourt (18th – $40,266), Faraz Bonyadi (17th – $40,266) and Rinat Bogdanov (16th – $40,266). It was at that point that Joe Serock retook the lead in the POY race; however, Moon Kim and Matt Juttelstad still had a chance of passing him.

Juttelstad (13th – $43,926) was actually busted by Kim a short time later, and then Serock hit the rail in 10th place after his was outdrawn by Retteinmaier’s after the board ran out , bringing about the end of Day 4 with nine players remaining.

A Short Day 6: With only six seats at the final table, three players needed to hit the rail on Day 6. The first to go was Hafiz Khan (9th – $58,568), and he was followed out the door a short time later by Wil Wilkinson (8th – $82,361). On the TV final table bubble, Moon Kim got his stack all in preflop with and was up against the of Marvin Rettenmaier. The board ran out and Kim was sent to the rail in seventh place, good for $118,966. What’s more, his elimination ensured that Joe Serock would become the WPT Season X Player of the Year.

Here’s how things stacked up at the start of the final table:

WPT Season X $25,000 World Championship Final Table

The Pope: Without a doubt, the man with the best rail was Wisconsin’s Trevor Pope, who had a friend in the crowd dressed as the Pope. Actually, the Pope conjures up images on an elderly man donned in white, but Pope’s friend looked to be about 21 and had a red robe and hat, something more reminiscent of either a bishop or cardinal. Nonetheless, watching him clap and celebrate in the background at the Royal Flush Bar alongside the Royal Flush Girls – well let’s just say it’s not something you see every day.

Sands is the One to Watch: Through Season X, seven up-and-coming poker pros were featured as Ones to Watch. The players finished the season with mixed results, but it was David “Doc” Sands who finished with the best results by quite a margin:

Ones to Watch Season X Winnings

Trevor Pope

Nope for Pope: Action folded to Trevor Pope on the button and he moved all in for 1.46 million holding . Philippe Ktorza then moved all in for 1.7 million from the small blind with , which pushed Michael Mizrachi out from the big blind. Pope was a 3-1 dog and was up out of his seat even before the flop fell flop, which gave him a gut-shot draw to a wheel. The turn gave Ktorza a set, but it also gave Pope an added flush draw. Unfortunately for him, the river was not what he needed and Pope finished in sixth place for $155,571.

“I don’t have any complaints, this is obviously a good finish [in the tournament],” Pope said in his post-elimination interview with Jessica Welman. “A final table is a final table, I don’t expect it to be the last one I make, but sometimes things go in your favor and sometimes they don’t.”

Who will be the next to join this prestigious list:

Tune in Next Week: Part II of the WPT World Championship is set to air on Sunday, Oct. 14, 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 here on PokerNews.

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August 20 2012, Chad Holloway

New episodes of the World Poker Tour Season X continued on Fox Sports Network Sunday night with the conclusion of the Seminole Hard Rock Showdown, a $10,000 tournament that originally took place from April 18 through 23, 2012, at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. The event saw 290 players take their shots at glory, but at the top of this week’s broadcast, only three remained.

Background Info: In Part I, the early stages of the tournament were highlighted and the first elimination of the final table occurred when Kyle Bowker fell.

In Part II, two more players hit the rail in Sharon Levin and Craig Bergeron. Regarding the former, he looked at just the and moved all in for 615,000. While Tommy Vedes contemplated a call, Levin looked at his other card – the . He didn’t seem too thrilled, and even attempted to talk Vedes out of calling, to no avail though, as the former WPT champ tossed in a call. The flop gave Vedes a set, while the turn and river sent the 41-year-old local player home in fifth place for $158,688.

Top of the Broadcast: Here’s how things stacked up at the top of the broadcast:

2012 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Showdown Final Table

Pros in the House: Having three well-known pros as the last players standing was a treat, and knowing one would become the latest WPT champ was icing on the cake.

Tommy Vedes, who final-tabled the same event last year and finished in sixth place, was looking to become only the third player in WPT history to go from short stack at the start of the final table to winning the title. In addition, he was seeking his second WPT title.

By finishing better than fourth place, Joe Serock was guaranteed to take over the top spot in the WPT Player of the Year Race, earning at least 1,700 POY points and moving him ahead of Will “The Thrill” Failla, who had 1,650 points.

Finally, John Dolan was looking for a title to help shake off the sixth-place finish he earned in the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event. Each man had something personal to play for, not to mention the $779,520 first-place prize.

Joe Serock

Just One of Those Hands: With the blinds at 25,000/50,000 and a 5,000 ante, Tommy Vedes raised to 110,000 on the button with and was called by Joe Serock who was holding . The flop gave both players a pair, and Serock check-called a bet of 170,000. The turn paired the board, both players checked, and the river gave Vedes a full house.

Serock led out for 300,000, no doubt thinking he was value betting nines and fives with an ace kicker into an ace-high hand. Obviously it was all for naught because viewers could see that Vedes held a beast of a hand. And sure enough, the latter double-checked his cards and moved all in for 2.025 million, which was certainly an overbet and a bit greedy in the opinion of commentators Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten. Serock probably would have taken a trip to value town, but as it was, he shifted his eyes and wasted little time in releasing his hand.

“That’s one of those hands that you just keep getting involved, you go deeper and deeper, you shouldn’t really be in it, and it backfires,” cohost Van Patten commented after the hand.

Pop the Collar: I’ll admit I’m no fashion expert, a fact recently pointed out by Daniel Negreanu on Twitter:

With that said, the WPT’s Mike Sexton is keen on players dressing up for final tables, and since this is a WPT recap, I felt obligated to do a quick assessment on the attire being worn.

Tommy Vedes: Last week I touched upon Vedes’ extensive collection of sunglasses. He never did get back to me about how many pairs he owns, but he was still donning the same pair of clear-framed Oaklies that I liked so much. Complement that with an all-black getup, including a shiny black jacket with a popped collar, and Vedes looked quite menacing. Grade: A-

Joe Serock: The man called “Floes” has a reputation for being a bit lackadaisical, but it looked like he actually put some tender loving care into his wardrobe selection. Serock’s button-up with pulled up sleeves and cardigan-like gray pullover was actually quite nice and preppy. He definitely shakes the skateboarder rep with his threads. Grade: B+

John Dolan: Oh, dear John, a gray hoodie. That’s it. Neither flattering nor memorable. At least it looked comfortable. Grade: D

Sunbathing Beauties: If you like good-looking women sunbathing in an assortment of bikinis – including red, orange, blue and hot pink – then the brief five-second clip of the Royal Flush Girls doing just that was for you. They were lounging on some chairs in front of a sign that read: “Pool chairs are reserved for hotel guests only.” Hotel clerk, I’d like to make a reservation please.

flop.

Dolan didn’t see his opponent’s cards until after the flop, and seemed a bit disappointed the eight he had hit was no good. Both players were on their feet as the dealer burned and turned the , giving Dolan top two pair and the lead. Vedes celebrated with poker pro Noah Schwartz on the rail, knowing he was about to play heads-up for the title, and that’s exactly what happened when the river sent Serock home in third place for $306,240. Despite not winning the tournament, Serock’s back-to-back third-place finishes instantly became one of the highlights from Season X and put him atop the WPT Player of the Year Leaderboard.

John Dolan

Heads-Up Play: John Dolan took a 6.655 million to 2.045 million chip lead into heads-up play, but with the blinds a 40,000/80,000 and a 10,000 ante, anything could happen. In one of the early hands, the former raised to 180,000 with and was called by the of the latter.

The flop allowed Vedes to hit the 118-to-1 flopped flush, and he coyly checked to Dolan who bet 240,000 with top pair. Vedes check-raised to 530,000, Dolan moved all in, and Vedes snap-called off for 1.645 million. Neither the turn nor river changed a thing and Vedes doubled to 3.67 million.

A short time later, Vedes doubled again, took over the chip lead with 5.68 million, and was primed to win a second WPT title, joining just 15 others who’ve accomplished the feat.

WPT Championship Cup Moments: This season, the WPT has instituted a new segment called Championship Cup Moments, which takes a look back at memorable tournaments. If you’re a longtime fan of the WPT, like me, these segments will no doubt leave you feeling nostalgic.

In the latest look back, the Season III Foxwoods World Poker Finals was shown. It happened way back in 2004 and iwas definitely old school. According to that tournament’s legend, young Tuan Le was in need of a hotel room at Foxwoods and struck a deal with pro Hasan Habib – he’d give him 50 percent of his winnings, if he had any, in exchange for a place to stay. Le went on to win the $1.5-million prize, and we can only hope he used and abused the room service in that hotel room.

Vedes Captures Number Two: In what would be the last hand, John Dolan looked down at and raised to 250,000. Tommy Vedes picked up , made it 620,000 to go, and Dolan moved all in for 3.195 million. Vedes snap-called and Dolan’s face dropped. His expression changed to all smiles when the flop gave him two pair, but the turned it upside down as Vedes made a straight on the turn. The river failed to pair Dolan, who was eliminated in second place for $459,360.

Meanwhile, Vedes became just the 16th player to win two WPT titles and only the third to start the final table as the short stack and claim victory. Vedes is a man of few words, a quality I like about him, and that was shown as all he said to Mike Sexton in his winner’s interview was a simple, “Thank you.”

Tune in Next Week: The WPT Jacksonville BestBet Open is set to air on Sunday, Aug. 26, 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.

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*Pictures courtesy of World Poker Tour.

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