The 2010 WSOP Main Event Final Table started Saturday, November 6, 2010 at noon in the Penn & Teller Theatre at the Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. I hunkered down in the second balcony. Phone on left leg. Notepad and pen on the right. Binoculars on the seat in between my knees.
Starting chips counts…
- Jason Senti – 7,625,000
- Soi Nguyen – 9,650,000
- Michael Mizrachi – 14,450,000
- Filippo Candio1 – 16,400,000
- Matthew Jarvis – 16,700,000
- John Racener – 19,050,000
- Joseph Cheong – 23,525,000
- John Dolan – 46,250,000
- Jonathan Duhamel – 65,975,000
Action started with blinds at 250K/500K with 50K ante.
During approx. 9 hours of play between 12:30 p.m. – 12:30 a.m. PST, I blasted 47 tweets (@PokaPaloma). There was lots of action. Very focused players with very little chatter. The All Ins, three-bets and four-bets kept spectators interested and hooting-n-hollering throughout the day and night.
I shot off the first tweet about 7 minutes into the final table during the second hand of the day. Action folded around to the button, November Niner Jason Senti who came to the final table short stacked with 7.625M. Senti went All In for the first time. The blinds folded, and Senti took it down. We would witness a lot more All Ins from Senti throughout the day; the second coming within 10 minutes (two hands) of the first, and, it appears that his first All In gave everyone else permission. Kind of like getting the first dent on a new car. Once that is over, you don’t worry so much, and just drive along. Once the first All In was heard at this Final Table, it became the mantra and was echoed many many times which made for exciting spectating.
One of the most uncomfortable hands of the day came right away – the third hand. Jarvis and Cheong ended up heads up. The look of concentration and tension on each of their faces was tough to watch. Jarvis had opened with a bet of 1.175M. Cheung (on the button) raised it to 2.675M. Other players folded around back to Jarvis who called, and, Cheong and Jarvis were heads up. They both checked the flop. Jarvis bet 3M on the Turn. Cheong called. Jarvis bet 4.275M on the River. Cheong thought for a few seconds and announced, “All In“. Jarvis, still deliberate and composed, but in obvious discomfort, tanked for a minute or two, then folded.
Third Hand of the 2010 WSOP Main Event Final Table
I think it was so uncomfortable because it was extremely early for big play like that. Later in the afternoon, after the players get “warmed up”, you would expect it, but not 14 minutes into Final Table action. Jarvis lost 7.8M on that hand. Cheong bounced to about 33.5M.
The first casualty of the day was Soi Nguyen. Soi was busted after about 100 minutes of play. He went All In from the button with AdKc. Senti looked him up with a pair of Queens, and flopped a set with Qh 3s 10c. Turn was 9s. River was Ks. Nguyen’s pair of Kings was no match for Senti’s set, and he was eliminated in 9th place after playing 3 hands.
More comments in an upcoming post…Largest Hand played in WSOP HISTORY!
Current Standings…
- Jonathan Duhamel 188,950,000
- John Racener 30,750,000
- Joseph Cheong $4,130,049
- Filippo Candio $3,092,545
- Michael Mizrachi $2,332,992
- John Dolan $1,772,959
- Jason Senti $1,356,720
- Matthew Jarvis $1,045,743
- Soi Nguyen $811,823