The Latest: Game (almost) over. 9 players chase poker prize
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The latest from the World Series of Poker main event championship (all times local):
1:30 a.m.
Alex Turyansky of Germany is out, leaving the final nine players with at least $1 million each and a bid to return to the World Series of Poker's no-limit Texas Hold 'em main event in November.
Joseph McKeehan is the far and away chip leader with 64.1 million. Zvi Stern of Israel, 72-year-old Pierre Neuville of Belgium, Neil Blumenfield of San Francisco, Max Steinberg of California, Thomas Cannuli and Joshua Beckley of New Jersey, Patrick Chan of New York and Federico Butteroni of Italy will surround the table one last time November 8-9.
One will win $7.7 million and be poker's newest champion.
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12:15 a.m.
Daniel Negreanu is out of the running for the "November Nine" falling in 11th place. It's the same spot Negreanu's main event pursuit ended in 2001 and remains the closes the poker pro and fan favorite has gotten to the final table.
Negreanu had gone all-in with an ace and a four against Joe McKeehen who has led the table in chips and matched Negreanu's bet with a jack and three.
The final community card did Negreanu in and gave McKeehan a straight and sent Negreanu.
McKeehen of Pennsylvania has become the runaway chip leader of the World Series of Poker no-limit Texas Hold 'em main event with nearly 55 million in chips. That's more than twice the chips that five other players combined have stacked in front of them.
Negreanu easily had the largest cheering section inside the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino ballroom in Las Vegas.
10 players at two tables still remain. Only nine will move on.
Concerns that McKeehen's table was playing faster than the other led tournament organizers to balance the pace going forward.
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10:30 p.m.
Two more are out of the World Series of Poker's no-limit Texas Hold 'em main event after a quick one, two elimination not long after players returned from a dinner break.
Matt Guan of New Jersey fell first when he went all-in with a pair of queens that were no match for Italian Federico Butteroni's pair of aces. George McDonald from Glasgow was out minutes later at a neighboring table despite gambling the last of his chips with a strong pair of queens against a 10 and eight of spades from Zvi Stern who got lucky landing three more spades making a flush as the cards on the table were turned.
Eleven players remain including fan favorite Daniel Negreanu. Only nine will win at least $1 million and move on to the final table in November.
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The post above has been corrected to reflect that Zvi Stern not Pierre Neuville had the hand that beat McDonald.
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8:30 p.m.
Daniel Negreanu is still alive as the poker hall of famer chases a bid to be one of the final nine players to outlast several thousand others in the World Series of Poker's no-limit Texas Hold 'em main event.
It was close though. On Tuesday night Negreanu risked what was left of his chips on a pair of fours and watched one by one as the five cards laid out on the table didn't offer any help to his opponent who held an ace and a seven. After winning the hand Negreanu punched his arms in the air and playfully wiped the sweat from his brow.
He has to outlast four more players though.
The last time Negreanu got this close was 2001 when he placed 11th.
The field is down to 13 card-players. Justin Schwartz wearing a hoodie and a bandanna across his face for most of the night lost the last of his chips on a gamble with three cards on the table giving him a three-of-a-kind of threes. What he didn't know what that Joe McKeehen had three sixes. Schwartz grabbed his bag and walked off the stage before the last card was flipped on the felt.
Also out is player Thomas Kearney.
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6:30 p.m.
The field of would-be World Series of Poker no-limit Texas Hold 'em champions is down to 15 players.
Hall of Famer and fan favorite Daniel Negreanu is still in the running with the eighth largest stack of chips.
Negreanu's luck got the best of David Peters. The 56-year-old attorney from San Diego bet the last of his chips on a pair of sevens, but Negreanu's ace found a pair on the final card of the hand.
Peters wins $325,034 for 17th place. Kilian Kramer, of Germany, fell before him when his ace-queen couldn't beat his opponent's ace- king.
Dave Stefanski, of Connecticut, finished 16th after his ace-king couldn't outdo Pierre Neuville's pair of eights.
Neuville has been in the lead for much of the event. The 72-year-old Belgian is a retired executive for board game company Hasbro.
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4:45 p.m.
Eighteen card-players are still chasing the World Series of Poker championship in Las Vegas with at least nine guaranteed at least $1 million a bid to return in November for the final table and a chance at $7.7 million.
Poker Hall of Famer Daniel Negreanu was 14th in chips after four hours of play Tuesday as players were shuffled from three tables to two.
The winner won't be a repeat champion or anyone who sat at the final table last year. It won't be a woman, either. Kelly Minkin, from Arizona, was the last woman standing until Monday, when she was knocked out in 29th place.
Winning the main event means joining a relatively small club including poker legends Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth and Johnny Chan, who have each won the event in its 46-year history.
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