Lee Davy brings you updates from the World Series of Poker Main Event as nine players battle it out for the title of poker’s Champion of the World and $8m in prize money.
The online poker room 888Poker seems to be a curse for the players involved in the November Nine as all three players who were sponsored by the site have now hit the rail after Qui Nguyen sends Kenny Hallaert packing.
Hallaert opens to 2,300,000 from under the gun, Qui Nguyen three-bets to 5,700,000 from the cutoff; Hallaert moves all-in for 35,625,000 and Nguyen makes the call.
Showdown
Nguyen: [Ad] [As]
Hallaert: [Ac] [Qc]
Hallaert is crushed and needs to see some clubs or queens to avoid elimination. The flop gives the Belgian some hope as the [Qs] [5h] [4s] hands him top pair, but there isn’t a club in sight. The turn is the [7d], and the [4h] lands on the river to send Hallaert home and ensure that Nguyen ends the day’s play with the chip lead.
After Hallaert’s exit, Tournament Director, Jack Effel, calls a halt to proceedings. The remaining five players will return to action on Monday 4.30 pm (Vegas time) where they will play down to the final three players.
Chip Counts
Qui Nguyen – 128,625,000
Cliff Josephy – 63,850,000
Vojtech Ruzicka – 62,250,000
Gordon Vayo – 58,200,000
Michael Ruane – 23,700,000
Final Table Payouts
1. $8,005,310
2. $4,661,228
3. $3,453,035
4. $2,576,003
5. $1,935,288
6. Kenny Hallaert – $1,464,258
7. Griffin Benger – $1,250,190
8. Jerry Wong – $1,100,076
9. Fernando Pons – $1,000,000
