By Pauly
When I arrived at the Fontana Room, the fountains in the Bellagio lake were being cleaned by guys in scuba gear. While word was out that James Woods was lurking around with his new 17 year old girlfriend that he picked off of MySpace. Jimmy Woods is a pussy magnet but he wasn't playing at the WPT Championships this year. Wonder why he missed it?
Day 4 of the WPT Championships continued with 54 players. 27 players would bust out in less than three levels and play would be suspended by TD Jack McClelland. The eliminations went quick and I welcomed the short day especially because the Fontana Room was opened to spectators and several of them would wander off into where I was working.
Phil Hellmuth entered Day 4 as the chiplead and he squandered it all. He didn't go on mega tilt. He decided to play loose and aggressive to start out the day and that cost him a few chips. Then he took two big hits doubling up David Levi and Sorel "imper1um" Mizzi. When the day ended he had slipped to 19th place in chips with more than one million less than he started with.
Paul Lee jumped out of nowhere to take the lead. He won a monster pot off of Loi Phan which helped put him in the lead. Carlo Mortensen went on a rush to end the day third in chips. Mortensen got the majority of his stack after flopping a set and having it hold up against Ray Davis' nute flush and guthot straight draw. If there was one time to have your flopped set hold up... it would be on Day 4 of the WPT Championships.
Doyle Brunson came by to sweat Lyle Berman. He was trying to get Berman to donk off his chips so they could play over at Bobby's Room in the Big Game.
Click here to see the Doyle Brunson video.
Doyle Brunson thinks that Hellmuth and Mortensen are the two best players left in the field. My pick to win it all is Finland's Thomas Wahlroos. He made a final table at the WSOP last year and final tabled the last WPT event in Paris at the Aviation Club. Keep an eye on that Scandi.
I'm also rooting for a guy named Robert Wazelle. He looks like a guy you'd see in the parking lot of a Grateful Dead show selling doses. The old hippie wears Birkenstocks and has long scragly hair.
Noteworthy players who cashed on Day 4 included... Lyle Berman (29), David Oppenheim, (31), Mark Gregorich (32), Bill Gazes (33,) ZeeJustin (35), Jared "TheWacoKidd" Hamby (44), Patrik Antonius (52), Danny Alaei(53).
Here's a Top 5 chipcount:
1. Paul Lee 3,601,000
2. Kirk Morrison 2,980,000
3. Carlos Mortensen 2,429,000
4. Sorel Mizzi 2,256,000
5. Thomas Wahlroos 1,847,000
Notable Stacks:
Tim Phan 1,273,000
David Levi 1,258,000
Grant Lang 1,201,000
Mike Wattel 1,060,000
CK Hua 760,000
Phil Hellmuth 738,000
Paul Wasicka 581,000
James "KrazyKanuck" Worth 556,000
Roland de Wolfe 460,000
Bouncin Round the Room on Day 4
I could hear the screams from the neartest craps table about 150 yards away from the Fontana Room. There was a hot shooter throwing which meant that people were winning money. I love it when the average Joe gambler takes money from a casino.
Hellmuth and Lyle Berman were discussing endorsement deals for various companies like soft drinks. Hellmuth mentioned Jay-Z's deal with Pepsi a couple of times. Hellmuth likes rap and he loves Jay-Z. I wonder what he thinks of Hellmuth?
At one point Hellmuth liked how Mike Wattel played a hand and he took time out to commend him. "That's the Hellmuth Seal of Approval," mentioned Snoopy who happened to be standing there next to me on the rail.
Tim Phan explained to some of his tablemates that 25% of all tournament earnings goes to his family. "My family is my charity," he said. They should be happy because he's going to win at least 23K. He still has plenty of chips so his family is still in the running for 1M.
After you spend enough time in Vegas, you come to accept things that would normally make you shake your head in disgust. I heard a bizzare story involving Carrot Top. It's an off the menu thing that most of the local hookers know about. It's sort of like ordering from the secret menu at In & Out Burger. As the story goes, comedian-freakazoid Carrot Top would pick up high priced hookers and pay them double. They would do a sexy striptease for him before he made them get down on their knees and he jerked off on their faces. So the next time a working girl comes over to you at the Hooker Bar, ask her how much a Carrot Top costs.
John Bonetti came by to sweat his good friend Phil Hellmuth. Bonetti is in his late 70s or early 80s and needs the assistance of one of those scooters. While trying to navigate a tough corner, he smashed into the table where the Gutshot guys were working. Bonetti spilled all the drinks on their table.
Last 5 Pros I Pissed Next To...
1. Lyle Berman
2. Phil Hellmuth
3. Loi Phan
4. Mark Gregorich
5. Patrik Antonius (and no Dan, I didn't peak but I know you would have!)
Don't forget to check out Flipchip's WPT Championship photos.
And you can follow the WPT Championship by visiting our live updates over at Poker News.
While you are there, peek at the Poker News extensive WPT Championship video gallery put together by our mulitmedia guru Shronk. The video gallery includes interviews with your favorite pros such as Phil Ivey, Doyle Brunson, Tim Phan, and Thomas Wahlroos.
Original content written and provided by Pauly from Tao of Poker. All rights reserved. RSS feeds are for non-commercial use only.
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