Event #13 $5K NL -- Event #12 $2K Pot-Limit Omaha w/ Rebuys Day 2-- Event #11 $2K Pot-Limit Hold'em Final Table

I don't have to set my alarm clock on days I have to get up early. The folks next door are kind enough to shout at each at the top of their lungs. I could not ask for a better wake up call. I couldn't tell if their drugs were kicking in or wearing off. Or both.

"I hate your fuckin' kids," the male's voice boomed. "If they were mine, I would have disowned them years ago."

I heard a few thuds and crashing sounds. I was going to investigate the ruckus, but Dawson's Creek was on. Priorities, man.

Make sure you read a touching post from me that appears right after this one. It's called Marcel and a Guy Named Charlie.

And Dan from Pokerati posted some pics from my satellite last night. Take a peek at his entry called: The Tao of Satellites.

Moving on...

Today is another one of those wild and wacky days at the World Series of Poker. There are three tournaments going on and I will be busting my ass covering all of them. Flip chip will be in action snapping the best photos around. Be sure to stop by and checkout his 2005 WSOP Photo Gallery.

Here are the events that I am covering today:

1. Event #11 $2,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em Final table = Red font
2. Event #12 $2,000 Pot-Limit Omaha with Rebuys (Day 2) = Black font
3. Event #13 $5,000 No Limit Hold'em Day 1 = Green font

For the final table of Event #11, 540 players started two days ago with a total prize pool of $993,600. Event #12 PLO w/ Rebuys started with 212 players. There were 395 rebuys with a total prize pool of $1,180,080. We will start with 18 players today and play down to a nine today.

****** Live Blogging Update ******

1:58p... $5K NL update: All the bggest nams are here for the $5K buy in event. I spotted Todd Bruson, Chip Reese, Devilfish, Vince Van Patten, Tobey Maguire, Johnny Chan, Gavin Smith, and Phil Gordon from my seat in media row. Chau Giang doubled up. Phil Ivey has already been busted. Tobey and Chip Reese are at the same table.

2:00pm... $2K Pot-Limit Hold'em Final Table update: Did you know that Mike Sexton bubbled out of this event last night? He missed the final table by one spot. Here are the final table seat assignments and chip counts:

1 Steve Hudak (Baltimore, MD) $125K... He's a University of Maryland dropout who's a professional poker player.
2 Edward "Boliva" Moncada (No Known Address) $125K... Born in Schenectady, NY, he's a part-time janitor and part-time poker player. He earned an engineering degree from UC Berkeley.
3 Yoshitaka Oku (Tokyo, Japan) $155K... Known as "Yo" to his freinds, he's a computer engineer.
4 Elia Ahmadian (Washington, DC) $74K... The VA Tech grad and car dealership owner is nicknamed "Danger."
5 Marco Traniello (Las Vegas, NC) $120K... He's not just Jen Harman's husband, Marco is also the current leader in money cashes at this years WSOP with four.
6 Freddy Deeb (Las Vegas, NV) $127K... The cash game specialist is the only WSOP bracelet winner at the final table. His favorite hobby is water skiing.
7 Shah Ajay (Belgium) $207K... He's a businessman originally from Bombay, India.
8 Shargel Koumi (Birmingham, England) $120K... He was born in Cyprus and is currently a retired businessman with three kids.
9 David Cossio (El Paso, TX) $166K... He's a math professor at UTEP.

I walked over to my main man Freddy Deeb and told him that I got money on him in the media writer's pool.

2:10pm... PLO w/ Rebuys Day 2: We're down to 18 players and play is underway. Here's the chip counts entering today:

1 Arturo Diaz $201.5K
2 Doug Lee $118K
3 Ron Graham $116.5K
4 Erik Seidel $87.5K
5 John Juanda $77K
6 Jim Bechtel $73K
7 Josh Arieh $71.5K
8 Ari Abramowitz $70.5K
9 Dave Colclough $59.5K
10 Jesus $58.5K
11 Daniel Alaei $56K
12 Lukasz Dumanski $56K
13 Tony Sevnsom $49.5K
14 Max Pescatori $35.5K
15 The Grinder $31.5K
16 Joe Beevers $23.5K
17 Casey Kastle $18K
18 Tony Cousineau $14.5K

I'm rooting for Max Pescatori. I'm hoping he can win his first WSOP bracelet. The Grinder is two tabling it today. He's my hero. Take note of the many European names you'll see in the final two tables. PLO is much bigger overseas than in America.

2:31pm... Pot-Limit Hold'em Final Table update: We have our first bust out. Yoshitaka Oku moved all in with KK. Edward Moncada called with A8. The flop was: 8-8-3. Ouch. Yoshi was knocked out in 9th place when his hand did not improve. He won $19,870 for his efforts.

2:55pm... Pot-Limit Hold'em Final Table update: Marco Traniello's pocket sevens doubled up against Edward Moncada's A-10. He flopped a seven too.

3:00pm... PLO w/ Rebuys Day 2 update: Casey Kastle was knocked out by The Grinder in 18th place.

3:30pm... Pot-Limit Hold'em Final Table update: My main Man Freddy Deeb is the chipleader wih 235K and 8 players remaining.

3:35pm... Pot-Limit Hold'em Final Table update: Elia Ahmadian doubled up against Freddy Deeb. Elia had K6s and flopped a king agianst Freddy's Mrs. Slick.

3:40pm... PLO w/ Rebuys update: John Juanda was knocked out bu Josh Arieh in 17th place.

3:46pm... Pot-Limit Hold'em Final Table update: Elia doubled up with AK against Edward Moncada's KTs. He's now got 49K in chips. He turned to his railbirds and said, "We're going shopping now!" His friends told me that he won the Party Poker Million around four months ago for a cool $290K.

4:15pm... $5K NL update: I spotted Shirley Rosario aka Poker Babe. She just lost a big pot but she assured me that she'll be fine working with a short stack.

4:18pm... PLO w/ Rebuys update: We're down to 13 players. Lukasz Dumanski, The Grinder, and Joe Beevers have all been busted. I just got word that Doug Lee eliminated Daniel Alaei. The Grinder can go back to playing in the $5K NL event. Max Pescatori is looking good with $83K in chips. He told me, "It's still early."

4:20pm... Pot-Limit Hold'em Final Table update: David Cassio's KK knocked out Elia Ahmadian's 77 in 8th place. Elia won $29,810. Freddy Deeb is still the chipleader. I got Freddy in a last longer bet with Jay Greenspan, who picked Marco. We're action junkies on the sideline here!

4:39pm... Pot-Limit Omaha update: Tony Cousineau was rivered by Josh Arieh. Tony is knocked out in 12th place.

4:43pm... $5K NL update: Scott Fischman and David Williams are looking healthy with over $20K in chips each. Daniel Negreanu has been eliminated. I heard a rumor that he bolted for the Wynn to play heads up Stud with Barry Greenstein. Speaking of Stud, Felicia and Glenn are here. Felicia is looking to win enough money in cash games to fund her buy in to tomorrow's Stud 8 event.

4:48pm... Pot-Limit Hold'em Final Table update: Shar's 88 doubled up against Freddy Deeb's KQ. Have I mentioned that my buddy F Train from NYC calls KQo the "Kournikova"? Why? KQo looks nice, but never wins... just like Anna Kournikova.

4:54pm... Pot-Limit Hold'em Final Table update: Freddy Deeb was about to double up another player. This time it was Marco. Freddy had 55 and Marco had A-T. Marco flopped an ace and looked like he was going to double up. Freddy had two outs and hit one of them on the river when a five spiked on the river. Marco was knocked out in 7th place. He won $39,745. Jay Greenspan quickly paid me for our last longer bet. My main man Freddy Deeb is back in the hunt for his second gold bracelet. Regarding Marco, Jay commented, "Have you ever seen a better head of hair?"

5:08pm... $2K PLO w/ Rebuys update: We're down to 10 players. Erik Seidel kncoked out Ari Abramowitz in 11th place. Josh Arieh is still the chipleader.

5:26pm... Pot-Limit Hold'em Final Table update: Shargel Koumi was knocked out by Shah Ajay in 6th place. He won $49,680.

5:30pm... $2K NL update: Shirley is back to even with $5K. I spotted Isabelle Mercier sitting next to Kathy Leibert. 210 players are left.

6:00pm... All the players (except the PLO W/ Rebuys) went on a 15 min. break. I spotted Dan chatting with Clonie in the hallway. She said she'd give me an interview later in the week. I also talked to Shirley Rosario for a few minutes in the hallway. She's shortstacked but feels she's playing very well.

6:15pm... $5K NL update: David Williams is looking strong along with Johnny Bax and Liz Lui. 199 players are left. Dan Harrington is sitting at the table next to me.

6:28pm... Pot-Limit Holdem Final Table update: We have one of the most boisterous crowds to date here at the final table. Steven Hudak and Edward Moncada were heads up after both players moved all in. It was an exact coin flip with Moncada's A9 versus Hudak's QJs. Both guys have railbirds hooting and hollering. When Moncada flopped a 9, the crowd exploded. It was the loudest I heard them cheer since I began covering this event. Moncada doubled up.

6:30pm... PLO w/ Rebuys update: We're still at ten players. Max Pescatori was short stacked and he moved all in when Josh Arieh tried for a steal. Max had AKK5 to Arieh's J943. Max is still alive. It would be awesome if he made the ESPN taped table tomorrow.

6:50pm... PLO w/ Rebuys update: We're down to 9 players. Arturo Diaz knocked out Jim Bechtel. Action will resume on Wednesday at 2pm. Max "The Italian Pirate" Pescatori made it to the TV table. Best of luck to Max in his quest for his first WSOP bracelet. Arturo is the chipleader with $279K. Max is the second short stack. He's not looking great, however, anything can happen at the final table!

6:55pm... Pot-Limit Hold'em update: We're down to four players after my main man Freddy Deeb was knocked out in fifth place. His KQ lost to David Cassio's set of 6s. Freddy wins $59,615. Cassio is the chipleader with $386K.

7:08pm... Pot-Limit Holdem update: Steven Hudak's 77 doubled up against David Cassio's AQs.

8:30pm... All players are on a dinner break. During the breaks, dealers are required to sit at the tables to make sure no one fools with chip stacks. One dealer is singing Phish lyrics, "Won't you step into the freezer."

So what do I do during dinner break? I catch up on my email and grab a quick bite to eat. $4 slices of mediocre pizza. Dan and I go over to the skanky girls working the cigar booth. Eventually we'll get them to come out and party with us.

9:00pm... Pot-Limit Hold'em Final Table update: We're back from a dinner break with four players. Edward Moncada is the chipleader. Steve Hudak is the short stack.

9:15pm... Pot-Limit Hold'em Final Table update: Steve Hudak's A8 just doubled up against Shah Ajay's K5. He now is second in chips.

9:23pm...Pot-Limit Hold'em Final Table update: Another heads up fight between Steve Hudak and Shah Ajay. Steve had JJ and Ajay showed AQ. Steve's Jacks held up and he knocked out Ajay in 4th place. Ajay collected $69,550 for his efforts.

9:35pm... Pot-Limit Hold'em Final Table update: Both players moved all in on the turn. The board read: 2-4-5-7. David Cassio held two overcards with AQ. Steve Hudak called with 3-4o and just a pair with an open-ended straight draw. The river was an ace which gave Hudak the Wheel. David Cassio was knocked out in 3rd place. He goes back to El Paso with $79,490 in prize money.

10:03pm... Pot-Limit Hold'em Final Table update: Heads-up action. Edward Moncada took a commanding chiplead when he won a huge pot from Steve Hudak. On a flop of J-8-5, Moncada pushed all in. Steve Hudak eventually called with pocket 99s. Moncada showed Jackson Five! Steve Hudak was crippled. Moncada had about $864K in chips to Steve Hudak's 136K

10:09pm... Pot-Limit Holdem Final Table update: Steve Hudak's KT doubled up against Edward Moncada's J7s. Moncada flopped a flush draw but couldn't catch any hearts. Moncada's chiplead is now just a 2 to 1 difference.

10:23pm... Pot-Limit Holdem Final Table update: We have a winner. Edward Moncada pushed all in preflop with 88. Steve Hudak called with A8. He did not catch an ace and Edward Moncada won his first WSOP bracelet. For second place, Steve Hudak won $159,970 for his efforts.


2005 WSOP Pot-Limit Hold'em Champion: Edward Moncada
Edward Moncada picked up $298,070 and his first bracelet. Congrats Edward!

10:46pm... $5K NL update: I heard that Erin Ness cracked AA with pocket tens. She has 36K in chips. Scott Fischman and Antonio are both cruising. David Williams was knocked out a while ago. 100 players are left on 10 tables.

2:30am... $5K NL update: Chip Jett and Scott Fischman have been booted. Play is done for the day. There are 58 players left and action will resume at 2pm on Wednesday. Patrik Antonius is the chipleader. Here's who's remaining... Chris Bigler, TJ Cloutier, Liz Lieu, Reza Payvar, Eric Ford, Morgan Machina, Bill Blanda, Hoyt Corkins, Vinny Napolitano, Meng La, Sean McCabe, Senthil Kumar, Robbie Frank, Neal Wang, Steven Zoine, Gregg Turk, Dustin Woolf, Tony Ma, Jen Harman, Marc Aubin, Jon Brody, Jesus Moquendo, Kevin Song, Louis Asmo, Julian Gardner, Joseph Bartholdi, Antonio Esfardiani, Gavin Griffin, AJ Kelsall, Haralabos Voulgaris, Shane Schleger, Todd Brunson, John Hennigan, Don Mullis, Paul "X-22" Magriel, Isabelle Mercier, Billy Duarte, Matt Glantz, Steven Jacobs, Chad Layne, Gavin Smith, Mike Manttan, Steven Metzger, Johan Storakers, Kevin Saul, Shae Drobushevich, Jason Berilgen, Paul "The Hammer" Sexton, Benjamin Roberts, Erin Ness, Steve Eddson, Mickey Appleton, "Syracuse" Chris Tsiprailidis, Ben Johnson, Ivo Donev, and Dani Awad.

That's it for now. Time for me to write until sun up. See ya tomorrow afternoon.

For a complete recap written by yours truly, visit 2005 World Series of Poker News. For complete standings visit the 2005 World Series of Poker Tournament Results. And for all your picture needs, make sure you hit up Flip Chip's 2005 World Series of Poker Photo Gallery, which in my opinion is the best photo coverage available.