said...
UPDATE FROM THE WORLD SERIES. Melissa and i arrived in Vegas too late for the start of the $2,500 NLHE event. When we arrived, a few hours into the event, many of the Alaskan players we knew who had entered had busted out...including APA member Earl Bragg who won his seat at our June fundraiser. However, One of Alaska's best up and coming young players, Scott Lantos, was still in and holding his own despite being seated at some very tough tables....he was seated directly to the right of 1983 World Champion Tom McEvoy for much of the tournament. Scott has been on quite a heater over the last few months consistently cashing at some of Alaska's biggest tournaments and games. Hopes of a serious payday for Scott were finally dashed when he flopped top two pair, A 10, against two opponents only to find himself up against two sets! He finished 250th of the 1290 entrants and gained a great deal of experience. The final table has just been set and i'm sure ESPN is happy to see Mike the mouth has made it!!
7/09/2006 1:13 AM
said...
MORE UPDATESToday we chose to play in the Omaha Eight or better at the Orleans Open. The WSOP $1K Plus rebuys didn't seem like a good option as the pros were likely to burn up chips with many rebuys. Looks like that's exactly what happened..many players were going all-in blind early and often..we heard players rebuying up to 17 times!! Anyway, the Omaha didn't work out well for me and i was one of the very first players eliminated...just more proof that i'm a miserable limit player whatever the game may be!!! On three fully capped hands, holding the nut high at the turn, the river left me beaten each time. Oh well, Melissa and Scott are still in and both doing very well. Melissa is by far the best OMAHA player of our group and her impressive chip stack proves it!!
7/09/2006 1:35 AM
said...
I thought the early exit from the OMAHA might work out o.k. as i could now enter the second chance NLHE tourney. I made the final table each of the last two HE tourneys i entered at the Orleans... so i was pretty confident. Wrong again! With 38 left of the original 140 i picked the wrong time to make a play and the chip leader picked me off after going into the tank for what seemed an eternity!! When time was called on him i thought he would fold...but sadly no!! Good news from the Omaha tourney...Melissa and Scott are still nicely positioned with less than 80 left. The 1st prize is $24,000 and they pay 28 places.
7/09/2006 1:43 AM
said...
Melissa has gone broke just out of the money :( We are back at the hotel awaiting word from Scott. They are supposed to play until 3 a.m. and resume tomorrow (i should say later today!). Melissa has the Ladies championship so wants to get some rest. If she can best her 17th place finish from last year it will be quite an accomplishment. We hear there will also be 2 or 3 more APA members playing in the Ladies event. Will post from the Rio as the day progresses.
7/09/2006 2:14 AM
said...
Scott busts out of the OMAHA before the 3am break in around 38th place, falling just short of the money. Nevertheless a great effort for his first ever Omaha tournament.
7/09/2006 4:56 PM
said...
Alaska ladies fall quickly!! Melissa busts out during the 4th level after raising multiple limpers all-in with pocket nines. One opponent calls with pocket fives and hits a five on the turn! Looking around it looks like all the others who made the trip down have all been eliminated. The field looks to have almost doubled from last years 600+ players. The majority of pros and celebrities have hit the rail but last year's winner Jennifer Tilly is still in. Players are heading to the dinner break.
7/09/2006 5:25 PM
said...
Scott, Dixon Holland and I all played in the $540 NLHE at the Orleans Open today. True to form Scott is our remaining representative and getting close to the money. I'm still not getting the best of breaks...still feel i'm playing well but this is getting old!!! During the second level holding K K i betout to a Jack high flop...my sole opponent calls and checks a rag on the turn...the board now shows 2 clubs and i bet out again only to get check raised for most of my chips. I'm pretty sure it has to be a set and say so to the player...i give it a little more thought and lay it down. My opponent shows a set of eights...i lose the pot but am obviously happy with how i'm playing. My final hand i'm a little less happy about. I call a raise from the big blind and flop bottom pair and the nut flush draw. I fire a large semi bluff and depending on my opponents reaction i decide i would be willing to make a stand....All the chips get in! My opponent has top pair, top kicker and i fail to improve. Not very happy with the outcome but still comfortable in my play and looking forward to the $1,000 NLHE at the WSOP tomorrow!
7/09/2006 11:06 PM
said...
Over at the Orleans we are sweating Scott as he closes in on the money..Word from the Rio is APA member Kristi Smith is still in the Ladies Championship, all players remaining are in the money with less than 75 left. We will get confirmation as soon as we can...Good luck to Kristi she has recently made final tables in both Anchorage and Wasilla at APA events.
7/10/2006 2:01 AM
said...
Our info is that Kristi just busted out in 57th taking home $2,566...Hopefully the report is correct and another APA member has cashed at the WSOP!!
7/10/2006 2:14 AM
said...
Scott just busted out at the Orleans in 39th....Three short of the money!! He keeps knocking on the door and deserves a nice payday! Hopefully at the WSOP tomorrow!!
7/10/2006 2:27 AM
said...
Well, more of the same today! :(Scott and i played the $1,060.00 at the Bellagio..the place was packed with pro names and even Jennifer Tilly was at the table beside us (She didn't last very long). Then again we didn't last much longer! Nothing really interesting as far as hands to report..we were both card dead early and failed to win when we made a stand. More of the same as we rush over to the Orleans for their second chance NLHE tourney..we lasted less than 2 hours. After recouping my outlay for the day in the pit we decided to play some seven card stud 8 or better...finally a cash! But then again it was only a one table satellite!!! However, maybe we found something here...there's a $225 stud tourney tomorrow at the Orleans, got a feeling we'll be there!
7/11/2006 2:03 AM
Anonymous said...
You guys sound like you are having a blast. Good luck!!! Keep us posted.
7/11/2006 3:16 AM
said...
Thanks....it really is a blast but if we could only get a nice cash in poker it would be even better!!!We are just leaving for a $125 NLHE plus re-buy at Caesar's...thanks for the post!
7/11/2006 5:00 PM
said...
Well i wish i could finally post about a cash but both Melissa and I finished just outside the money at Caesar's! Every key coin flip and leading hand seems to go wrong for us. Tonight's final hand for me...a big stack makes a positional raise and i move all in from the button with two black Queens...after counting down my chips the original raiser realises he's pretty much priced in to call and does sheepishly with Ad 2d. The flop brings 3 clubs taking away one of his outs but the two outer, As, hits on the river. Well we are done for poker for this trip, we are leaving tomorrow hopefully to replenish the bankroll in Alaska. But the way we've been running there will probably be a line of players waiting for us at the airport!!! Come and get us!!! We are planning one more trip down this year and we haven't given up on winning a main event seat...Poker Star's huge 150 seat tourney on the 16th might just be that opportunity.
7/12/2006 2:57 AM
Anonymous said...
Wayne, Melissa, Kristi, Scott and Earl (did I miss any?) - you all did us proud! Hopefully next time...and hopefully next time, more of us will be joining you! Congratulations on making the trip and having a great experience! We look forward to hearing more.
7/12/2006 10:37 AM
said...
Thanks...we may have ran bad this year but it still is the WSOP and a great experience. This time last year both Melissa and I had cashed a nice profit for our trip so we do feel a little bit deflated, but as you say, there is always next year!! Maybe we should organize an actual APA trip down and go down as a larger group. Any ideas would be welcome...see you all Monday at Lake Lucille!
7/13/2006 3:27 AM
Kristi Smith said...
Hello everyone, it's Kristi, I just wanted to give a quick trip report....I had a great 1st WSOP experience. I placed 57th out of a little over 1120 in the Ladies Event. I had the pleasure of being seated in the seat directly to the right of Jennifer Tilly for about 2 hours. She was very nice and funny. Phil Laak kept coming by to check on her. I tried to bust her out once but she didn't call my All-In. It would have made a great story. She busted out at my table a little after the dinner break. Play slowed down as we got closer to the money. When we finally hit the money all the ladies started cheering. I was short stacked so I made a couple of all in moves and was taken out 57th earning $2566. My husband, Brett, played in event #17 the next day. It was the largest WSOP event ever (Besides a main event). They had almost 3000 people. He placed 185th. He made a little over $2300. We were both very happy with our 1st WSOP experiences. We are looking forward to doing it again next year. One funny thing that happened to Brett as he was leaving the Rio....He jumped in a cab to get back to the MGM. The cab driver cuts someone off....Brett looks over and he gets flipped off by none other than Mike "The Mouth" Matusow!!!! Priceless!
7/14/2006 10:24 AM
said...
Great job Kristi and Brett!!!! You really did us proud!! With the escalating amount of entries it really is becoming increasingly difficult to cash...and both of you did! Well done and i'll see you at Lake Lucille.Kristi (AKA The Insurance Lady)is one of the leaders in our APA points standings for the Mat-Su Region. She also has recently won a tournament at one of our sanctioned venues in Anchorage. She is also a table sponsor and supporter of the APA. And, yes, she IS the one with the infectious laugh and bright smile!!
7/14/2006 6:27 PM
