The $10,000 Championship at the World Poker Tour Festa al Lago tournament being held at the Bellagio attracted a strong group of 335 players, and after three full days of play the field has been cut-down to 41 players; all guaranteed nearly $13,000 for their efforts –with most eyeing the $831,000 for first place.
The WPT’s decision to cut the buy-in from $15,000 down to $10,000 had the intended effect of drawing more players to the tournament, but it also shrank the overall prize-pool in the process. It’s unclear at this point which is the more effective marketing tool: more players for less money or fewer players for more money. Obviously the WPT and Party Poker feel the former is the way to go.
Among the remaining poker players are a number of recognizable names, and two players who would like to have a strong finish for another reason. Both Tom Marchese and Jared Jaffe are still in contention for the Card Player Magazine Player of the Year Award, with Marchese just a few hundred points behind Dwyte Pilgrim, and Jaffe trailing Pilgrim by just over 2,000 points. Marchese will likely overtake Pilgrim after the Festa al Lago, and should Jaffe win the event he would find himself right near the two leaders.
Another player that will garner a lot of attention is Annette Obrestad. The now 21 year-old is still seeking her first major win in the United States, and has a lot of work to do to back up some of her recent comments heading into the World Series of Poker where she disparaged female poker players, and old-school players –going so far as to call Doyle Brunson out by name! Obrestad also read Huck Seed the riot-act during the Doubles Poker Championship; made all the more foolish when it turns out that Huck had the right read on their opponents, and Annette the wrong one!
Here is a look at the top 10 chip counts heading into Day 4:
1. Stephen O’Dwyer 844,500
2. Jeffrey Madsen 814,000
3. Randal Flowers 795,500
4. Andreas Hoivold 632,500
5. Jason Koon 586,000
6. Lyle Berman 458,500
7. Ryan Goindoo 450,000
8. Michael Benvenuti 444,500
9. Jared Jafee 426,500
10. Brandon Steven 425,000
Other notable players include:
11. Mclean Karr 388,500
12. Matt Stout 382,500
15. Daniel Alaei 355,000
16. Annette Obrestad 343,500
18. Eric Cajelais 320,500
20. Barry Greenstein 291,500
25. Matt Affleck 262,500
26. Allen Kessler 259,000
27. Marc Newhouse 221,000
28. Tom Marchese 215,000
31. Amit Makhija 209,000
Related posts:
