World Poker Tour on FSN: Pros vs. Businessmen in $100,000 Super High Roller
The World Poker Tour Season X continued on Fox Sports Network on Sunday night with Part II of the $100,000 Super High Roller, which took place alongside the WPT World Championship at the Bellagio in May.
The biggest buy-in event the WPT has ever held attracted 27 players, but in Part I, 22 of them had hit the rail. Phil Galfond, David “Doc” Sands, Justin “Boosted J” Smith, Masa Kagawa, Robert Zeps, Brian Hastings, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Daniel Negreanu, Jason Mercier, Galen Hall, Tom Marchese, Andrew Robl, Cary Katz and Justin Bonomo were among those who were eliminated.
Bonomo, who ended Day 1 as the chip leader, managed to use his big stack to make the final table of six, but only five players were slated to get paid. On Hand #13 of the final table, with the blinds at 25,000/50,000 and a 5,000 ante, Bonomo min-raised from the cutoff with A?10? only to have John Juanda three-bet to 300,000 from the big blind with K?K?. Bonomo thought for a few moments before making the call and then watched Juanda move all in on the 10?7?5? flop. Bonomo had flopped top pair with top kicker and called off his remaining 1.9 million. Neither the 7? turn nor 9? river helped Bonomo, who left empty-handed on the money bubble.
Here’s how things stacked up at the start of the final table:
WPT Season X $100,000 Super High Roller Open Final Table
| Seat | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bill Klein | 1,695,000 |
| 2 | John Juanda | 4,695,000 |
| 3 | Tom Marchese | 1,600,000 |
| 4 | Daniel Perper | 2,205,000 |
| 5 | -empty- | N/A |
| 6 | Andrew Robl | 3,410,000 |
Kings Again: On the second hand of the broadcast, John Juanda looked down at K?K? and raised to 120,000. The rest of the field got out of the way, but not before Bill Klein asked, “Kings again?”
“How did you know,” Juanda said with a smile before flipping over his cards. It marked the third time at the final table Juanda held kings.
The Raw Deal: “Once upon a time, $10,000 was a great deal of money for someone to spend buying into a poker tournament,” Tony Dunst began in his latest installment of The Raw Deal. That was certainly true, but as he pointed out, $10,000 isn’t that much in this day and age. In Season IV, the WPT and Bellagio hosted the first $100,000 buy-in event on U.S. soil, a trend that continues today. In fact, some might say it has taken the next step by becoming a reentry. Dunst then explained the edge businessmen have in such an event because $100,000 doesn’t tend to mean as much to them as a poker pro. If they lose a buy-in or two, their financial state will remain constant — the same can’t be said for many pros.
“I Refuse to Stand Up or Lay Down”: Daniel Perper opened for 130,000 in early position only to have Andrew Robl three-bet to 310,000 with J?J? from the button. Bill Klein looked down at 3?3? in the small blind and opted to move all in for 1.305 million. Perper quickly folded while Robl made the call.
“I refuse to stand up or lay down,” Klein said with a smile. The businessman seemed almost ashamed when the A?3?2? flop gave him the lead with a set, and strangely he seemed almost relieved when the J? spiked on the turn to give Robl a bigger set. “Now I’m going to stand up,” a jovial Klein said with a smile. Tom Marchese had folded the 3?, which meant was drawing dead headed into the river, which brought the meaningless 7?. A gracious Klein shook hands with Robl and then took his leave in fifth place for $263,160, all of which he planned to donate to charity.
“It’ll be split between two charities,” Klein told Jessica Welman in his post-elimination interview. “I have to say this is a well-run tournament, love the World Poker Tour. The guys I played with, great guys.”
“Ace of Hearts”: John Juanda, who was playing his seventh WPT final table — though he’s never won a title — looked down at just the A? under the gun and raised to 145,000. Daniel Perper responded with an all-in three-bet to 1.43 million from the small blind prompting Juanda to look down at his other card, the 10?, and then ask for a count. “I’d like my hand better if you were the big blind,” Juanda said. “I don’t think I can fold this hand.”
Juanda made the call and saw that Perper was a 66 percent favorite. Despite having the lead, Perper was intensely serious. The 10?2?8? flop gave Juanda a pair of tens, but he was still behind. The 8? turn didn’t change a thing, and in a last-ditch attempt Juanda quietly commanded, “Ace of hearts.” Wouldn’t you know it, a split second later the A? spiked on the river. Perper, who began the final table as the chip leader, was clearly frustrated as he shook Juanda’s hand and exited in fourth place for $394,740.
“I think I played really well,” Perper said after his elimination. “Didn’t really have the cards go my way today obviously.”
Five Questions: In the latest edition of Five Questions, Kimberly Lansing sat down with the WPT’s very own Tony Dunst to ask some questions, including these gems:
What was it like making the WPT final table in Jacksonville?
“Actually going deep in the tournament playing against a lot of other really thoughtful players was very interesting, but the final table itself was something of a letdown because I pretty much showed up, lost every hand I played and then was eliminated in fifth.”
What’s the biggest mistake guys make with women?
“I would say the biggest mistake guys make is not trying. Most are afraid to go and approach a woman or go talk to a girl they find attractive. If you don’t go and actually try and sort of work out what works for you and what doesn’t, then you’ll never get any better at that, you’ll never become comfortable at it. I think what women really respond to is a guy who is comfortable with himself, comfortable speaking to them, and doesn’t make a big deal with the fact that they’re speaking to an attractive woman.”
A Big Cheese Double: With the blinds at 30,000/60,000, Andrew Robl looked down at K?Q? and raised to 130,000 on the button. Tom Marchese, often known as the “Big Cheese,” responded with a three-bet to 310,000 from the big blind with A?K?, which prompted Robl to move all in. Marchese snap-called off for 1.775 million and was a 3-1 favorite.
The 5?5?5? flop wasn’t very exciting, but the turn was because it was a paint card — unfortunately for Robl, it was the J?. That meant another paint card on the river would give Robl either a win or chop, but it was not meant to be because the 2? blanked. With that, the 24-year-old “Big Cheese” doubled to 3.61 million.
Tune in Next Week: The conclusion of the WPT World Championship Super High Roller is set to air on Sunday, Sept. 30, 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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*Pictures courtesy of World Poker Tour.
