The second of two starting days are in the books at the World Poker Tour (WPT) Bellagio Cup V. When the smoke cleared, 268 players turned out to the storied Las Vegas casino, down sharply from the 446 that entered last year.
A total of 79 players turned out for Day 1A of the Bellagio Cup on Monday, the kickoff U.S. tournament of Season VIII of the WPT. On Tuesday, 189 runners turned out, boosting the field to 268. As a result, the $15,000 buy-in event will pay out $1.1 million to its victor from a prize pool of $3.9 million. Only a handful of players were sent packing on Day 1B, as entrants utilized their starting stacks of 60,000 wisely. One of the day’s final eliminations was 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe Main Event Champion John Juanda, who called for his tournament life with A-X on a board of A-A-Q-4-K. He remarked to his opponent, “I think you have me beat, but I want to play the side games anyway.” Sure enough, his foe flipped up pocket queens for a boat and Juanda was sent packing.
Jamie Rosen was the executioner of Doyle Brunson on Day 1B of the Bellagio Cup. Brunson pushed over the top of a re-raise by Matt “mattg1983” Graham and Rosen, who was also in the pot, made the call. Brunson turned over pocket jacks, only to see Rosen reveal pocket kings. The better hand held and Rosen’s chip stack ballooned to 150,000. He ended the day as the 14th largest total at the Bellagio with 153,000. The entire field is looking up at Alec “traheho” Torelli, the Day 1A chip leader who built a stack of 308,000.
Owen “ocrowe” Crowe, who is fresh off a 79th place effort in the WSOP Main Event down the road at the Rio, doubled up the dangerous Eli Elezra late in the day. Elezra flopped a straight holding Q-10, which held up. Elezra ended play with the 170th largest stack in the field at 38,000, while Crowe owns the 109th largest tally at 62,000. Nenad Medic also doubled up an opponent late on Tuesday. With the board reading K-Q-4-A, Medic called an opponent’s all-in holding K-Q for two pair. However, his opponent flipped up A-K for a better two pair. The river was a 10 and Medic’s chip stack took a sizable hit. Nevertheless, the Waterloo product holds the 119th largest stack out of 218 survivors at 59,000.
Last year, three starting days were held in the Bellagio Cup. According to WPT officials, only two will be held this year. Now, the action resumes at Noon Pacific Time on Wednesday for Day 2. The final table will take place on Sunday in front of Fox Sports Net television cameras and airs in high-definition as part of the eighth season of the WPT. Here are the Top 10 stacks entering play this afternoon:
1. Alec Torelli – 308,675
2. Vijayan Nagarajan – 257,775
3. Cornel Andrew Cimpan – 256,375
4. Matt Graham – 195,150
5. Michael Mizrachi – 182,700
6. Ray Taylor – 181,800
7. Jeremiah Vinsant – 179,450
8. Pavel Reshetov – 178,225
9. Justin Bonomo – 175,675
10. Joshua Schlein – 172,725
Other notables in the Top 25 include Adam Geyer (12th with 157,000), Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier (18th with 139,000), Prahlad Friedman (20th with 138,000), David “Devilfish” Ulliott (22nd with 137,000), and Hoyt Corkins (23rd with 133,000). Twenty-seven places will pay out, with the members of the televised final table being rewarded as follows:
1st Place: $1,187,670
2nd Place: $774,780
3rd Place: $464,870
4th Place: $271,165
5th Place: $203,385
6th Place: $164,640
Fireworks will be flying at Table 47 on Wednesday, which features 11-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth. Joining him will be fellow Ultimate Bet pro Graham, Amonon Filippi, Erik Seidel, and cash game aficionado Chau Giang. Hellmuth can be found in Seat 8, sandwiched between Giang and Jeremy Rafalowicz.
