Event # 23 $5,00 Stud -- Event #22 $1,500 NL Day 2 -- Event #21 $2,500 Omaha Hi/Lo Final Table

My apartment complex at the Redneck Riviera is an episode of COPS waiting to happen. The other night I heard a loud "Bang" and I simply assumed it was a gunshot. I rolled over and went back to sleep until I heard a follow up sound a few minutes later. It was just a rare thunder and lightening storm.

There is someone who drives around with a booming stereo in his car that rivals the sound system of a trendy club in South Beach. The rap music echoes as soon as he turns into the complex. I expected a big black guy looking like Biggie to get out of the pimp mobile. Instead, a skinny cracker who resembled a cross between Tom Green and that inbred cross-eyed kid playing the banjo from Deliverance stepped out of the car with a gold chain around his neck the size of an anaconda.

Only in Las Vegas.

Moving on...

I'll be covering three tournaments today. I feel like a monkey some days. But at least monkey's get laid once in a while. Here's today's action:

1. Event #21 $2,500 Omaha Hi/Lo Final Table
2. Event #22 $1,500 NL Day 2 = green
3. Event # 23 $5,000 Stud = red

The Omaha event started with 359 players who are competeing for a prize pool of $825,700. The $1500 NL event started yesterday with 2013 players. The prize pool is over $2.7 million. Yikes. I don't have official numbers on the $5K stud event yet.

***** Live Blogging Updates ******

3:00pm... Omaha Hi/Lo Final Table update: Here's a list of players at the final table including chipcounts:

Seat 1: Larry Reynolds (W. Hollyweird, CA) $247K
Seat 2: Nat "King" Koe (Irvine, CA) $27K
Seat 3: Ben Lang (San Diego, CA) $56K
Seat 4: Allen Kessler ( Hundington valley, PA) $68K
Seat 5: Todd Brunson (Las Vegas, NV) $177K
Seat 6: Glenn Cozen (South Pasadena, CA) $68K
Seat 7: Tom Fischer(Las Vegas, NV) $86K
Seat 8: Allyn Jaffrey Shulman (Laguana Niguel, CA) $76K
Seat 9: Manelic Minaya (Tampa, FL) $94K

Yeah, more than half of the final table is from Southern California.

4:00pm... Omaha Hi/Lo Final Table update: Nat Koe is the first player knocked out at the final table. Todd Brunson put Nat Koe all in preflop. Brunson flopped a set and caught runner-runner for a full boat. He scooped the entire pot and Nat "King" Koe was knocked out in 9th place. Nat won $16,155.

4:20pm... Omaha Hi/Lo Final Table update: Todd Brunson added more chips to his stack when he knocked out Ben Lang. Todd had A-Q-7-2 and scooped the pot winning both the high (with aces up) and the low with A-2-4-6-7. Ben finished in 8th place and won $24,770.

4:45pm... $1,500 NL Day 2 update: Action began today with 77 players. Amazing that a field of 2,103 (including yours truly) was sheared down to 77 players. Mark Seif is the chipleader. Staffan Rydin from Sweden is a guy I've been alking to alot. He's part of the media and works for Poker Listings. He told me he wa sjust KO'd by Devilfish who put abad beat on him when he sucked out a straight on him. Staffan has two cashes at this year's WSOP. There are about 35 players left including Fossilman, Jesus, and a gal from New York City named Karen Janowsz. There's a pic of her on the right. She has a cool card capper which is her lucky frog.

5:00pm... Omaha Hi/Lo Final Table update: Allen Kessler's ace high flush for the nuts was good enough to send Glen Cozen to the rail. Glen Cozen was eliminated in in 7th place and won $33,030.

5:05pm... $5K Stud update: Isabelle Mercier is waering funky jeans again with cool designs on the back so you cannot help but stare at her ass. Flipchip told me he overhead T.J. Cloutier with a notable quote, "Razz is the most frustrating game in the history of poker."

I also just heard that Steve Diano eliminated Huck Seed and Scotty Nguyen in the same hand. Diano had a full boat while Scotty Nguyen's rolled up 9's were no good, baby. Seed mucked his hand and walked away with a depressing look on his face.

5:15pm... Omaha Hi/Lo Final Table update: Usually split games are brutal to cover, but the action has been moving along with a good pace. Another played was just busted. Allyn Jaffrey Shulman moved all in with her short stack against Todd Brunson. Allyn had Ks-Qh-9s-9c and Todd had Ah-Jh-4h-Qd. Todd flopped two pair and scooped the entire pot. Allyn was knocked out in 6th place. She won $41,285.

6:00pm... Omaha Hi/Lo Final Table update: Larry Reynolds was eliminated in 5th place when Tom Fischer scooped the pot with a Broadway straight. Larry Reynolds home in 5th place and won $49,540. Four players are left. Tom Fischer is the chipleader.

6:05pm... $1,500 NL Day 2 update: New Yorker Karen Janowsz was knocked out in 30th place when her pocket kings ran into Minh Nguyen's AJ.

8:35pm... Omaha Hi/Lo Final Table update: Manelic Minaya was knocked out in 4th Place when he moved all in preflop with Ad-6d-6h-4h. Todd Brunson caled with Ac-Kh-Qh-3h. Todd flopped two pair and it was good enough to win. Manelic Minaya won $57,800 for 4th place. Allen Kessler remained the chipleader until Brunson scooped a pot a few hands later.

9:00pm... Omaha Hi/Lo Final Table update: Tom Fischer was knocked out in 3rd place. He moved all in preflop with Jd-8d-8h-3h. Todd Brunson showed As-Ac-10s-6c. Fischer had plenty of outs and missed a flush and straight draw. Todd elimianted him in third place. Tom Fischer won $66,055. We've reached heads up play!

10:26pm... Omaha Hi/Lo Final Table update: Todd Brunson needed less than ninety minutes of heads up play to win his first bracelet. He also made history when he became part of the first father-son duo to win bracelets. Allen Kessler came in second place and won $132,110 for his efforts. Todd won $255,945.


2005 Omaha Hi/Lo Champion: Todd Brunson
Congrats to Todd for a major accomplishment.

10:45pm... $1500 NL Day 2 update: We're down to 11. Fossilman, Mark Seif, Minh Nguyen, Bill Gazes, and Devilfish are all left.

12:45am... $1500 NL Day 2 update: Paly stopped for the day once we reached 9 players. The final table will begin at 2pm on Friday and will be taped for ESPN. Here's who is left: Fossilman, Peter Lee, Minh Nguyen, Devilfish, Steve Rassi, Mark Seif, James Carter, Bill Gazes, and Webber Kang. Fossilman is the chip leader.

1:02am... $5K Stud update: 41 players left. Doyle Brunson, Carlos Mortenson, John Hennigan, Steve Zolotow, David Levi, Andy Bloch, Eskimo and Peter Costa are all eliminated.

That's it for tonight. See ya tomorrow for three more tournaments.