The final table of the 2012 World Poker Tour (WPT) Parx Open Poker Classic was determined Tuesday as the first U.S.-based event in Season XI saw its field narrowed to six from the original 500. It was a relatively short day as far as WPT events are concerned, with the competition starting at noon and wrapping up around 9:30pm ET. Steve Reynolds will be the chip leader when the final table begins, holding 4.035 million chips. Tony Gregg, the leader going into yesterday’s Day 3, is not far behind, holding 3.6 million.
As we discussed yesterday, Tony Gregg supplemented his skillful play with a bit of well-timed luck, something every tournament poker needs now and then. As it so happened, the poker gods smiled on him one more time, at the best possible time (or worst, depending on one’s perspective).
With seven players remaining, the final table bubble, Joey Couden put in a min-raise pre-flop to 60,000 chips. Gregg shoved out of the small blind with two red Jacks and Couden made the easy call for the rest of his stack with pocket Kings. The flop was safe for Couden: Q-3-3. But the turn was a disaster. A two-outer Jack. Couden couldn’t find his own two-outer on the river and he was eliminated one spot short of the final table.
The chip leader, Stephen Reynolds, is gunning for what would be far and away the largest prize of his live tournament career. In fact, the $416,127 purse for first place is more than four times Reynolds’ total career winnings. He came close to huge scores twice during this summer’s World Series of Poker (WSOP), placing 11th in two events: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Re-entry and $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em.
Overall, this is a very inexperienced final table, at least in terms of live tournament success. Tony Gregg easily has the most extensive resume of the six players. He does not have a tournament win to his credit, but he did place second in the 2009 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, earning himself a whopping $1.7 million. He took sixth in the same tournament this year, good for $364,000. This summer, he came close to winning his first WSOP bracelet in the $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em Four-Handed event, placing fourth for $114,711. All told, Gregg has won almost $2.4 million on the live tournament circuit.
The six-handed final table of the 2012 World Poker Tour Parx Open Poker Classic will begin at 4:00pm ET Wednesday (keep in mind that start time, as it is four hours later than the previous days’ start times). The WPT will stream the final table semi-live on its website beginning at 4:30pm.
2012 World Poker Tour Parx Open Poker Classic – Final Table Chip Counts
- Stephen Reynolds – 4,035,000
- Tony Gregg – 3,600,000
- Chris Lee – 3,040,000
- Chris Vandeursen – 2,430,000
- Andre Nyffeler – 895,000
- Larry Sharp – 870,000
