Two more bracelets were awarded at the 2012 World Series of Poker on Wednesday. Ashkan Razavi won Event #9, the $1,500 NLHE Re-Entry, outlasting the 3,403 other entrants to claim his first bracelet and the biggest pot to date of this year’s competition ($708k). Razavi’s triumph came at the expense of Amanda Musumeci, who fell just shy of claiming her first bracelet, dashing (yet again) the hopes of women looking to end their four-year open event bracelet drought. Ryan Olisar, who started the final table as chip leader, could manage no higher than fourth ($252k), and after third-place finisher Darrick Huang ($347k) was eliminated, Musumeci found herself on the wrong end of an almost 7:1 chip advantage. Still, Amanda earned her biggest cash to date ($481k) and the highest female placing so far in this year’s WSOP.
Vincent van der Fluit earned his first bracelet by taking down Event #11, the $1,500 PLO. From a starting field of 970, the Dutchman ended things heads-up against Charles Tonne. Each player held a flush on the final hand, but van der Fluit’s was higher, earning him the victory and $265k. Tonne settled for $164k and Tristan Wade earned $102k for third place.
After two days of play, they’re down to the final four in Event #12, the $10k Heads-Up NLHE. When play resumes Thursday, Tommy Chen will face off against Brian Hastings, while Jason Mo will do battle with Brock Parker.
After failing to cash in every event he’s entered so far, Phil Ivey looks like he might pick up a check in Event #14, the $1,500 NLHE Shootout. Ivey is among 120 survivors (from 1138) who got through a fast-paced Day 1. Day 2 will see the field reduced to a dirty dozen that will decide a winner on Friday.
MEANWHILE…
Lest we forget, poker does exist outside Las Vegas. Bruno Lopes aka French rapper Kool Shen earned €108k over the weekend by winning the World Poker Tour National Cannes main event. It’s Lopes/Shen’s third six-figure score of 2012, having won the €5k Euro Finals of Poker in Paris in January and a fourth-place finish at the EPT Madrid main event in March. Some 338 players did battle at the Casino Barriere, with Louis Gorostis finishing second (€70k) and Yannick Massa taking third (€45k).
In smaller action, Finnish player Tero Kalliomäki beat out 213 opponents – including fellow Finn Jarkko Pennonen heads-up – to win the European Masters of Poker Bulgaria and a €38k payday. Adam Palethorpe outlasted 259 opponents to take the £500 Dusk Till Dawn Deepstack in Nottingham, earning just under £47k for relegating Jamie Burland to runner-up status (£27k). Auckland native Chris Homes earned $49k for winning the SKYCITY New Zealand Poker Open, which attracted a 116-strong field.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Asian Poker Tour is extending its reach beyond its traditional confines by scheduling the APT Mauritius starting Aug. 19. In case you were wondering, Mauritius is an island in the southwest Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar. (In case you were wondering, Madagascar is a much larger island off the southeast coast of Africa. Africa is… oh, look it up.) The Mauritius stop at the Ti Vegas Casino in Grand Bay will feature a €900 buy-in main event and a €2,200 High Roller. Closer on the calendar, if not geographically, the Latin Series of Poker touches down at the Casino Atlantic City in Lima, Peru on Thursday.
