As 2024 winds down, the Alberta poker scene is heating up with the final series of the Pure Poker Tour (PPT) season. The trophy events kick off at Pure Casino Yellowhead on November 21 with the Seniors First event, followed by 11 days of action-packed poker, and highlighted by the $1,100 Main Event starting on November 29.
Check out live updates and reporting from the 2024 Pure Poker Tour Series #6 by Lyle Bateman. Chose an event of your choice down below:
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Francis Fan Wins Turbo for $6,031
Francis Fan, Winner of E13 Francis Fan was dominant in this one. I didn’t get eyes on the game until the final two tables, but from the first time I checked through the end of the game, Fan had the most chips in the room.
Fan took out the final three players on his way to the win, starting with Vancouver’s Juno Lau with ace-nine into king-queen. Lau hit a queen on the flop, but fan rivered his ace for the win.
He then moved on to DJ Sharma, sending the McDonald’s magnate home in 3rd with queen-ten when both players flopped a pair but Fan’s was best. That left Mike X to get through, and while they played a few hands without any big confrontations, Mike was very short-stacked and it went in on a two-spade flop with Mike holding a flopped pair. Fan had the spade draw, though, and nailed it on the turn for the big win.
This looks to be Fan’s 8th live win and he has more than $500k in live earnings.
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Mike X Out in 2nd Place for $4,155
Level: 24 (20000/40000/40000) Entries: 1/114 Prizes: $21,660 
Mike X Francis Fan had all the chips through the endgame of this one, and when Mike X got heads up with him, it was a huge hill to climb. Fan had close to 2 million with Mike on about 300k when the final money went in.
The money went in on a flop of 6♠A♦9♠ when Mike shoved with seven-six for the flopped pair, but Fan called off with Q♠4♠ for the spade draw. J♠8♣ completed the board to give Fan the turned flush and the win.
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DJ Sharma Out in 3rd Place for $2,701
Level: 24 (20000/40000/40000) Entries: 2/114 Prizes: $21,660 
DJ Sharma Francis Fan opened to 100k from the button, and DJ Sharma shoved blind from the small blind. Fan called with queen-ten and Sharma woke up with six-three. Sharma found a three on the flop, but Fan also found a queen, and Sharma hit the rail for 3rd place tonight.
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Juno Lau Out in 4th Place for $2,077
Level: 23 (15000/30000/30000) Entries: 3/114 Prizes: $21,660 
Juno Lau Juno Lao shoved for just under 400k with king-queen and Francis Fan called off with ace-nine. Lau hit his queen on the flop but Fan rivered his ace for the win.
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Sharma Doubles with Flush
Level: 23 (15000/30000/30000) Entries: 4/114 Prizes: $21,660 Dj Sharma Doubled to more than 350k when he got there with a dominated ace hitting a flush with ace-ten diamonds against ace-jack for Juno Lau.
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Shihao Zhao Out in 5th Place for $1,600
Level: 22 (15000/25000/25000) Entries: 4/114 Prizes: $21,660 
Shihao Zhao Zhao’s double didn’t last long as he hit the rail while I was still writing up the previous hand, finishing tonight in 5th place for $1,600.
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Zhao Doubles
Level: 22 (15000/25000/25000) Entries: 5/114 Prizes: $21,660 Juno Lau opened to 66k and it folded to DJ Sharma in the small blind who shoved for 219k. Big blind Shihao Zhao called the all-in with 66k, before Lau tank-folded and showed an ace.
Sharma had ace-jack against pocket sixes for Zhao, and the sixes held despite Sharma flopping straight outs and turning flush outs. After the hand, Lau said his ace would have lost to Sharma’s.
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Aaron Syrenne Out in 6th Place for $1,267
Level: 21 (10000/20000/20000) Entries: 5/114 Prizes: $21,660 
Aaron Syrenne They are down to 5 left now after Aaron Syrenne got his money in good with ace-seven over ace-three for Mike X. Mike jept calling for a three through the board of [invalid notations] and he finally got it on the river to best the better ace.
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Six-Handed Chips
Level: 20 (10000/15000/15000) Entries: 6/114 Prizes: $21,660 Seat Player Chips 1 Francis Fan 885,000 2 3 Aaron Syrenne 230,000 4 DJ Sharma 360,000 5 6 Shihao Zhao 100,000 7 Juno Lau 350,000 8 9 Mike X 394,000 -
Mike Ho Out in 7th Place for $997
Level: 20 (10000/15000/15000) Entries: 6/114 Prizes: $21,660 
Mike Ho They are down to 6 left after Mike Ho couldn’t win a race with king-queen against pocket sevens.
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Daniel O’Leary Out in 8th Place for $789
Level: 20 (10000/15000/15000) Entries: 7/114 Prizes: $21,660 
Daniel O’Leary I picked up th action on the flop with 9♦10♠5♠ showing. Daniel O’Leary shoved with a flush draw and Aaron Syrenne called with ace-high. O’Leary’s spades missed and the ace-high held.
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Sharma Time on the Double with Pics for Final 8
Level: 19 (6000/12000/12000) Entries: 8/114 Prizes: $21,660 DJ Sharma was the short stack to start the game, but he’s been hitting Sharma time to improve. He doubled as soon as they sat down at the final table with a blind shove that Daniel O’Leary called off with jack-nine. Sharma woke up with ace-nine and despite O’leary turn straight outs, Sharma held.
A few hands later he scored a triple up when the money went in on a deuce-four-five flop. It checked to Sharma in position and he shoved, Mike X reshoved with more, and Francis Fan called it with the most. Fan had pocket deuces, Mike X had pocket fours, while Sharma was on pocket fives for set over set over set.
Sharma held and is now sitting with a lot of chips in front of him.
Shihao Zhao Mike X Mike Ho Juno Lau 
Francis Fan DJ Sharma Daniel O’Leary Aaron Syrenne -
Sharmark Mohamed Out in 9th Place for $519
Level: 18 (5000/10000/10000) Entries: 8/114 Prizes: $21,660 In the final hand before the break, Sharmark Mohamed shoved with king-jack and Francis Fan called off with pocket tens. Fan held for the win to bring the field to 8. I’ll grab final table pics of the final 8 after the break, but the current stacks are below.
Seat Player Chips 1 Francis Fan 1,005,000 2 Mike Ho 99,000 3 Aaron Syrenne 88,000 4 DJ Sharma 41,000 5 Daniel O’Leary 105,000 6 Shihao Zhao 55,000 7 Juno Lau 367,000 8 9 Mike X 315,000 -
Final Table Time
Level: 18 (5000/10000/10000) Entries: 9/114 Prizes: $21,660 They are setting the final table now after Haven Taylor ended her day in 10th place tonight, adding to the mountain of chips in front of Francis Fan.
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Fan Has a Third of the Chips in Play
Level: 18 (5000/10000/10000) Entries: 10/114 Prizes: $21,660 Francis Fan is the confirmed big leader right now with more than 800k in front of him. There are only 2.3 million in play, so that’s more than a third in front of Fan.
Seat Player Chips 1 2 3 4 Aaron Syrenne 100,000 5 DJ Sharma 155,000 6 Mike Ho 115,000 7 8 Mike X 200,000 9 Sharmark Mohamed 160,000 — 1 2 Francis Fan 830,000 3 4 Shihao Zhao 60,000 5 6 7 Juno Lau 300,000 8 Haven Taylor 110,000 9 Daniel O’Leary 180,000 -
One Off the Final Table
Level: 17 (4000/8000/8000) Entries: 11/114 Prizes: $21,660 Graham Ible was the first player out in the money tonight, and Preston Stevenson the second, bringing the field to 10 left. They are still relatively deep for a turbo game with the average stack at about 228k or just under 30 big blinds.
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Lane Bubbles Tonight
Level: 17 (4000/8000/8000) Entries: 12/114 Prizes: $21,660 They are in the money now after two all-ins saw the short stack double on one table, but Deven Lane hit the rail on the second one. In the first hand Mike Ho’s ace0queen held against the suited seven-four for DJ Sharma.
Lane wasn’t so lucky, however, running his ace-jack into the big stack ace-queen for Francis Fan, to his left. The board didn’t help Lane and he was tonight’s bubble.
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Final 13 Players on the Bubble
Level: 17 (4000/8000/8000) Entries: 13/114 Prizes: $21,660 I don’t have a good handle on the chip counts yet, but Francis Fan has a mountain in front of him that looks like more than 300k for one of the bigger stacks on the bubble.
Seat Player 1 Graham Ible 2 Sharmark Mohamed 3 Preston Stevenson 4 Aaron Syrenne 5 DJ Sharma 6 Mike Ho 7 8 Mike X 9 — — 1 Deven Lane 2 Francis Fan 3 4 Shihao Zhao 5 6 7 Juno Lau 8 Haven Taylor 9 Daniel O’Leary -
Bubble Time
Level: 16 (3000/6000/6000) Entries: 13/114 Prizes: $21,660 They are hand-for-hand on the bubble in the Turbo game now with 13 players left. The clock is paused with 9:44 remaining in Level 16 with two minutes coming off the clock for each hand played until the next player busts.
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Mike Kim Wins PLO Big Bounty for $9,726
Level: 18 (5000/10000/10000) Entries: 1/73 Prizes: $41,610 ($27,010 prizes, $14,600 bounties) 
Mike Kim, winner of PLO Big Bounty Mike Kim went pretty much wire-to-wire on the final table with the chip lead. He had half the chips in play four-handed, and about three-quarters by the time there were three left.
He was very active with opens or calls on most hands in the endgame, and more often than not, he had the goods when the showdown came, or he forced others off the pot with hit raises. Clubs were working hard for him tonight as he won two key pots in the late stages with club flushes, both with the turn and river getting him there. He also boated up to send Nicholas Milkovich out in 4th place.
It was his second club flush that got him the win over API leader Mike Malm. Both players had premiums and the money was in. After a bust year, Kim hasn’t been around as much in recent series than he was a year or two ago, but he’s come out this time and showing he’s still very much in the game.
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Mike Malm Out in 2nd Place for $6,752
Level: 18 (5000/10000/10000) Entries: 1/73 Prizes: $41,610 ($27,010 prizes, $14,600 bounties) 
Mike Malm It was a quick heads-up that ended with a bit of a cooler. Mike Malm was in with A♠Q♠10♦4♣ but Mike Kim woke up even more premium with A♣A♦K♦2♣.
Clubs were on for Kim tonight as he hit one on the flop, then ran out to two more on the turn and river to give him the flush and the win. For his part, Malm added yet more points to his now almost insurmountable lead in the API points race in addition to more than $6,700.
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Alex Liu Out in 3rd Place for $4,321
Level: 18 (5000/10000/10000) Entries: 2/73 Prizes: $41,610 ($27,010 prizes, $14,600 bounties) 
Alex Liu It’s now heads-up between Mike Malm and Mike Kim after Alex Liu busted out in 3rd place. That’s his 2nd 3rd place finish of the series after he did that same in yesterday’s High Roller.
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Nick Milkovich Out in 4th Place for $2,701
Level: 18 (5000/10000/10000) Entries: 3/73 Prizes: $41,610 ($27,010 prizes, $14,600 bounties) 
Nicholas Milkovich Mike Kim is on a roll after sending Nick Milkovich to the rail in 4th place. Kim hit nines full of deuces to cap the straight for Milkovich, and he now has more than half the chips in play.
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Kim Flushes
Level: 18 (5000/10000/10000) Entries: 4/73 Prizes: $41,610 ($27,010 prizes, $14,600 bounties) Mike Kim raised under th gun to 30k and Mike Malm called from the small blind. The flop was 8♠7♣J♦ and both players checked to th 5♣ turn where Malm check-called for 30k. The 4♣ brought another check-calle from Malm, this time for 120k. Kim showed A♣K♥9♣6♠ for the club flush and the win.
Malm was down to about 350k after the hand while Kim is pushing 1.2 million, around half the chips in play.
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Scott Munro Out in 5th Place for $1,620
Level: 17 (4000/8000/8000) Entries: 4/73 Prizes: $41,610 ($27,010 prizes, $14,600 bounties) 
Scott Munro There are four left in the PLO Big Bounty after short stack Scott Munro busted in 5th place tonight. I missed the action while writing the previous hand.
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Agro Action, No Show
Level: 17 (4000/8000/8000) Entries: 5/73 Prizes: $41,610 ($27,010 prizes, $14,600 bounties) Mike Malm limped the cutoff and Alex Liu called the button before Mike Kim potted to 40k from the small blind. It folded to Malm who repotted to 136k.
That pushed Liu out but Kim called to see a flop of 3♦2♦10♠. Kim checked, then tank-folded when Mlam went all in for 291k, just short of a pot bet.
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28 Players Left
Level: 13 (1500/3000/3000) Entries: 28/114 Prizes: $21,660 There are 28 players left in th Turbo game tonight at the break following Level 12.
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Kim Still Leads at Break
Level: 17 (4000/8000/8000) Entries: 5/73 Prizes: Names Chips from Break
Player Chips Scott Munro 183,000 Nicholas Milkovich 567,000 Mike Malm 450,000 Alex LIu 275,000 Mike Kim 777,000 -
Kim Keeps Stacking
Level: 16 (3000/6000/6000) Entries: 5/73 Prizes: $41,610 ($27,010 prizes, $14,600 bounties) Mike Kim raised to 20k under the gun and Nicholas Milkovich called from the button. They both checked the 3♣10♣6♣ flop and Kim led for 30k on the 5♣ turn.
Milkovich reraised to 100k and Kim made the call. The river was Q♣ an both players checked again. “I would have liked a bet,” Kim said as he showed deuce-four for the straight and Milkovich mucked his hand.
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114 Entries Confirmed
Level: 11 (1000/2000/2000) Entries: 38/114 Prizes: $21,660 The numbers are in with 114 entries confirmed tonight. That means 12 players will take part of $21,660 later tonight.
Turbo Payouts
Place Player 1 $6,031 2 $4,155 3 $2,701 4 $2,077 5 $1,600 6 $1,267 7 $997 8 $789 9 $644 10 $519 11 $440 12 $440 -
Tony Comely Out in 6th Place for $1,080
Level: 16 (3000/6000/6000) Entries: 5/73 Prizes: $41,610 ($27,010 prizes, $14,600 bounties) 
Tony Comely There are 5 left in the PLO Big Bounty tonight after Tony Comely took $1,080 for 6th place.
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Kyle Levicki Out in 7th Place for $810
Level: 15 (1500/2500/2500) Entries: 6/73 Prizes: $41,610 ($27,010 prizes, $14,600 bounties) 
Kyle Levicki There are 6 left in the PLO Bounty now after Kule Levicki was the first player to exit in the money. He picked up $810 for 7th place tonight.
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Money Shots
Level: 15 (1500/2500/2500) Entries: 7/73 Prizes: $41,610 ($27,010 prizes, $14,600 bounties) Tony Comely Scott Munro Nicholas Milkovich Mike Malm 
Mike Kim Kyle Levicki Alex Liu -
In the Money
Level: 15 (2500/5000/5000) Entries: 7/73 Prizes: $41,610 ($27,010 prizes, $14,600 bounties) They are in the money in the PLO Bg Bounty with 7 players left. Sam Gottiparthi was the bubble tonight in 8th place.
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Final 8 with Eyeballed Stacks
Level: 14 (2000/4000/4000) Entries: 8/73 Prizes: $41,610 ($27,010 prizes, $14,600 bounties) There are just 8 players left on the final table now, one off the money. Below is a look at the stacks for the final 8, but keep in mind it’s an estimate.
Final 8 Stacks for PLO Big Bounty
Player Chips Scott Munro 260,000 Nicholas Milkovich 95,000 Mike Malm 320,000 Alex LIu 260,000 Sam Gottiparthi 30,000 Kyle Levicki 240,000 Mike Kim 840,000 Tony Comely 85,000 -
Final Table Time
Level: 14 (2000/4000/4000) Entries: 9/73 Prizes: $41,610 ($27,010 prizes, $14,600 bounties) They are setting up the final table now for the PLO Bounty game. I’ll grab names for the final nine shortly, but will grab pics when they get into the money at 7 left.
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Down to 12
Level: 13 (1500/3000/3000) Entries: 12/73 Prizes: $41,610 ($27,010 prizes, $14,600 bounties) There was a lot of action right after the break and they are now down to 12 remaining. Deven Lane, Jerry Li, Stefan Maloney, and Brady O’hara were the busted players to bring it to 12.
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114 Entries after Break
Level: 7 (400/800/800) Entries: 66/114 Prizes: $21,660 Entries are now closed with 114 on the board at the close of registration. That is still unofficial, but if confirmed it will mean 11 or 12 players cashing from a prize pool of $21,660. I’ll confirm the numbers shortly when the prizes are posted.
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Break Chips for Final 16
Level: 13 (1500/3000/3000) Entries: 16/73 Prizes: $41,610 ($27,010 prizes, $14,600 bounties) Alex Liu and Garry Sandhu are the leaders to start Level 13 as the only players with more than 300k in front of them.
1 Brady O’hara 66,000 2 Scott Munro 119,500 3 4 Nicholas Milkovich 120,000 5 Sam Gottiparthi 126,000 6 John MacArthy 30,500 7 Deven Lane 27,000 8 Kenny Ta 61,000 9 Alex LIu 335,000 1 Garry Sandhu 308,000 2 Kyle Levicki 265,000 3 Michael Khan 133,000 4 Mike Malm 210,000 5 6 Stefan Maloney 30,000 7 Jerry Li 56,500 8 Tony Comely 49,500 9 Mike Kim 230,000 -
Final Two Tables
Level: 12 (1500/2500/2500) Entries: 18/73 Prizes: $41,610 ($27,010 prizes, $14,600 bounties) They are down to the final two tables with 18 players left in the PLO Big Bounty tonight. Level 12 has just begun and the remaining players will go for a 15-minute break at the end of this level.
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Big Turnout for Turbo Side
Level: 4 (200/400/400) Entries: 67/85 Prizes: $15,960 The side game is filling up the room with 85 entries so far and just under an hour left to enter the game. Level 4 is nearly complete with two more levels of entry before the break following Level 6. Entries will be closed when they sit down for Level 7 at about 8:15 PM.
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Down to 21 Left
Level: 11 (1000/2000/2000) Entries: 21/73 Prizes: $41,610 ($27,010 prizes, $14,600 bounties) The PLO Big Bounty is down to 21 players left now with about 10 minutes to play in Level 11. The next break is following Level 12 and I’ll try to get some chip counts then. At the moment, it looks like Garry Sandhu has the big stack with around 200k in front of him.
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Three Tables Left
Level: 10 (1000/1500/1500) Entries: 27/73 Prizes: $41,610 ($27,010 prizes, $14,600 bounties) The PLO Big Bounty is down to the final three tables with 27 players left in the action. Level 10 has just begun with blinds at 1k/1.5k/1.5k. They’ll take another break at the end of Level 12, and I’ll do my best to grab a full set of chip counts at that point.
Among the players still fighting for prizes tonight are Deven Lane, PLO ring and bracelet winner Jerry Li, Ryan Smith, Marc Lavergne, Brady O’hara, Alex Liu, Colten Yamagishi, Garry Sandhu, Michael Khan, Mike Malm, Stefan Maloney, Daniel O’Leary, Thomas Taylor, Nick Milkovich, Tiny Comely, Preston Stevenson, Ryan Comely, and Mike Kim.
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Side Game is Underway
Level: 1 (100/100/100) Entries: 25/25 Prizes: $4,750 The side game is now underway with 25 players to start the game and prizes closing in on $4,750. Entries are open for a bit more than 2 hours with the desk set to close at about 8:15 tonight.
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73 Entries After Dinner
Level: 9 (600/1200/1200) Entries: 29/73 Prizes: $41,610 ($27,010 prizes, $14,600 bounties) Entries are now closed for the PLO Big Bounty with 73 on the board. That puts the combined prizes at $41,610 with 7 players getting paid from $27,010 in the prize portion. There are $14,600 in bounties out there to be won throughout today’s game.
First place later tonight will pocket $9,726 with the min-cash set at $810.
PLO Big Bounty Payouts
Place Payout 1 $9,726 2 $6,752 3 $4,321 4 $2,701 5 $1,620 6 $1,080 7 $810 -
A Bit More than an Hour to Enter
Level: 7 (400/800/800) Entries: 28/64 Prizes: $36,480 ($23,680 prizes, $12,800 bounties) Level 7 is about half complete now with 64 entries on the board and 28 players still at the felt. That puts the combined prizes at more than $36k with $12,800 of that in the bounty pool.
Entries are open until the start of Level 9, which is now about 1 hour and 15 minutes away.
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Turbo on the Side
Event: Event #13: $230 NLH Turbo ($200 + $30) Date: Nov 28, 6 PM Blinds: 20 Minutes Starting Stack: 20k Late Entry: 6 Levels(~8:15 PM) Day 1 Ends: One-day Event The side game on Thursday is a $230 NLH Turbo game that starts at 6 PM. There are 6 levels of late entry with the entry desk shutting at the start of Level 7. Including the break, that should put the last chance to enter at about 8:15 PM.
Players start with 20k in chips to play 20-minute levels throughout the game. Once entries close at about 8:15 PM it will be a race to the trophy, which will be awarded before the end play for the day.
This game is on the side with the PLO Big Bounty game running as the main game. That game promises to go pretty late, so I’m not sure whether I’ll make it over to cover much of this one, but I’ll try to keep up with the numbers and get a winner’s pic at least.
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56 Entries to Start Level 6
Level: 6 (300/600/600) Entries: 31/56 Prizes: $31,920 ($20,720 prizes, $11,200 bounties) Level 6 has just kicked off with 56 entries on the board and 31 players still at the felt. That puts the combined prizes at almost $32k with almost $21k in the prize pool ate $11,200 in bounties.
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50 Entries on First Break
Level: 5 (300/500/500) Entries: 32/50 Prizes: $28,500 ($18,500 prizes, $10,000 bounties) The players are on their first break of the day with 50 entries on the board for combined prizes of $28,500. Marc Lavergne is among the players I spotted before the break, having just arrived from Ottawa.
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Nearing 50 Entries in Level 4
Level: 4 (200/400/400) Entries: 32/46 Prizes: $26,220 ($17,020 prizes, $9,200 bounties) They are about 15 minutes away from the first break of the day following Level 4 and the field is at 46 entries now. That puts the combined prizes at more than $26k with $17k of that in prizes and the rest reserved for bounties.
I’ve just arrived but my first scan of the room has revealed Malcolm Bolger, Brady O’hara, Ryan Smith, Nick Milkovich, Stefan Maloney, Ryan Comely, Mike Malm, Leonard Siebenga, Daniel O’Leary, Tony Comely, Colten Yamagishi, Alex Liu, Mike Kim, and Ron Lauzon.
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More Head-Hunting, but with Four Cards
Event: Event #12: $560 PLO Big Bounty ($400 + $200 + $60) Date: Nove 26, 1 PM Blinds: 30 Minutes Starting Stack: 30k Late Entry: 8 levels (~5:45 PM) Day 1 Ends: One-day event Thursday is another big bounty day but this time with four cards. The PLO Big Bounty puts $400 to prizes and $200 on each player’s head.
The cards go in the air at 1 pm with entry open until the start of Level 9, which should be about 5:45 pm. Players start the day with 30k in chips and blinds are 30 minutes long for the whole game.
This should be my main focus for Thursday though I will be late getting to the Pearl room. Once I arrive, I’ll be working on this one until it ends.
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Deal Time
Level: 22 (15000/30000/30000) Entries: 1/120 Prizes: $57,000 ($33,000 prizes, $24,000 bounties) The final four players cut a deal tonight. Dan Martel had the most chips and took $6,400 while the other three chopped the rest evenly for $5,466 each. They played one all-in hand for the trophy once the deal was struck, and Mal Hagan took the official win for the trophy while Deven Lane took second, Ron Lauzon took third, and Dan Martel got fourth, but the most money.
Mal Hagan (seated), Ron Lauzon (L), Deven Lane (M), Dan Martel (L), chopped E11 four-ways with Martel taking $6,400 and the rest taking $5,466 each -
Lauzon Rides River to a Million
Level: 21 (15000/25000/25000) Entries: 4/120 Prizes: $57,000 ($33,000 prizes, $24,000 bounties) Ron Lauzon raised to 70k from the button, and Dan Martel called before big blind Mal Hagan shoved the big stack. Lauzon snap-called with less and Martel got out of the way.
Lauzon had jacks against ace-king for Hagan, and it looked like Lauzon would be heading home in fourth on the flop with the board of 9♥4♥A♦9♠J♠ but Lauzon boated up on the river for a huge double to over a million. Hagan is down to about 500k now.
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Break Chips for the Final Four
Level: 20 (10000/20000/20000) Entries: 4/120 Prizes: $57,000 ($33,000 prizes, $24,000 bounties) Chips from Break
T-S Player Cjips 11 – 2 Dan Martel 817,000 11 – 3 Mal Hagan 975,000 11 – 4 11 – 5 Deven Lane 520,000 11 – 6 11 – 7 11 – 8 11 – 9 Ron Lauzon 680,000 -
Wilfred McNeely Out in 5th Place for $2,437
Level: 20 (10000/20000/20000) Entries: 4/120 Prizes: $57,000 ($33,000 prizes, $24,000 bounties) 
Wilfred McNeely Wilfred McNeely was short after the previous hand, and he got it in against Deven Lane when they both flopped two pair on a board of Q♣2♣7♠3♥6♥. McNeely was on queen-deuce, but Lane was on queen-seven.
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Martel’s Deuce takes It
Level: 20 (10000/20000/20000) Entries: 5/120 Prizes: $57,000 ($33,000 prizes, $24,000 bounties) Wilfred McNelly raised to 50k from the button and Dan Martel called to see 6♠2♠5♦ on the flop. Martel fired 30k on the flop and McNeely called to the 8♦ turn.
Martek bet another 30k and got the call, then fired 40k on the 8♥ and got another call. Martel’s ace0deuce was good for the win.
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Hagan Shoves River
Level: 19 (10000/15000/15000) Entries: 5/120 Prizes: $57,000 ($33,000 prizes, $24,000 bounties) Mal Hagan opened the button to 30k and Wilfred McNeely called from the big blind. The flop was Q♥8♠4♥ and McNeely check-called for 22k.
He check-called again for 36k on the A♣ turn but switched to a check-fold line when Hagan shoved a covering stack om the 3♠ river.
Level 19 is nearly complete and the players will be moving to poker when it finishes.
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Steve Chung Out in 6th Place for $1,931
Level: 19 (10000/15000/15000) Entries: 5/120 Prizes: $57,000 ($33,000 prizes, $24,000 bounties) 
Steve Chung Steve Chung limped from the middle, then called when Dan Martel raised to 40k from the cutoff. The flop came 10♥3♦A♥ and Chung check-shoved the smaller stack. Martel called him off with ace-ten for two pair against ace-seven for Chung. Martel held and Chung was done in 6th place.
Because of an issue with the clock in the Pearl room, the remaining players will be moving to poker at the end of this level.
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Ian Alvarado Out in 7th Place for $1,519
Level: 19 (10000/15000/15000) Entries: 6/120 Prizes: $57,000 ($33,000 prizes, $24,000 bounties) 
Ian Alvarado They are down to 6 now after Ian Alvarado hit the cage for 7th place money tonight.
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McNeely Shoves on Lane
Level: 18 (6000/12000/12000) Entries: 7/120 Prizes: $57,000 ($33,000 prizes, $24,000 bounties) Deven Lane raised under the gun to 24k, then called when Wilfred McNeely, to his left, three-bet to 60k. They both checked the J♠A♥3♥ flop, but when Lane led the 2♦ turn for 50k, McNeely shoved and Lane quickly mucked.
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Final Table Faces
Level: 18 (6000/12000/12000) Entries: 7/120 Prizes: $57,000 ($33,000 prizes, $24,000 bounties) While a couple of these pictures have already been posted on the bustouts for 9th and 8th places, here is a look at the nine players who made the final table tonight.
Wilfred McNeely Steve Chung 
Ron Lauzon 
Mal Hagan Ian Alvarado 
Deven Lane 
Dan Martel 
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Jason Law Out in 8th Place for $1,203
Level: 17 (5000/10000/10000) Entries: 7/120 Prizes: $57,000 ($33,000 prizes, $24,000 bounties) Jason Law They are quickly down to 7 players left on the final table after Jason Law hit the cage for 8th place. I missed the action as it happened immediately after the 9th place bust.
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Daniel O’Leary Out in 9th Place for $981
Level: 17 (5000/10000/10000) Entries: 8/120 Prizes: $57,000 ($33,000 prizes, $24,000 bounties) Daniel O’Leary Daniel O’Leary ran into on the first hand at the final table. He shoved from the big blind after an early open and a call from the small blind Wilfred McNeely. The original opener folded but McNeely snapped it off with aces into kings for O’Leary. The board missed O’Leary and McNeely rivered an ace for the set.
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Final Table Time
Level: 17 (5000/10000/10000) Entries: 9/120 Prizes: $57,000 ($33,000 prizes, $24,000 bounties) Zhi Jiang was the bubble to the final table tonight to bring them down to 9 remaining. The final 9 are now moving to the feature table on the stage to finish it out.
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Final Table Bubble
Level: 17 (5000/10000/10000) Entries: 10/120 Prizes: $57,000 ($33,000 prizes, $24,000 bounties) They are down to 10 after Ed Zurawell hit the rail shortly after Level 17 began. After the next elimination, they’ll break down to the final table and move to the feature table on the stage.
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Final 11 Stacks
Level: 17 (5000/10000/10000) Entries: 11/120 Prizes: $57,000 ($33,000 prizes, $24,000 bounties) They are down to 11 left at the break following Level 16. Benny Sarnelli was the first player out in the money tonight for $670 and there is one more payout at that amount for 11th place. Deven Lane is the chip leader at the moment with 560k while Dean Martel is a distant second with 430k.
Stacks for the Final 11
T-S Player Chips 11 – 1 11 – 2 Mal Hagan 419,000 11 – 3 Jason Law 102,000 11 – 4 Ron Lauzon 155,000 11 – 5 11 – 6 Deven Lane 560,000 11 – 7 11 – 8 Zhi Jiang 259,000 11 – 9 – 12 – 1 Daniel O’Leary 200,000 12 – 2 12 – 3 12 – 4 Steve Chung 348,000 12 – 5 Wilfred McNeely 235,000 12 – 6 Dan Martel 430,000 12 – 7 Ed Zurawell 84,000 12 – 8 12 – 9 Ian Alvarado 165,000 -
Sarnoski Bubbles the Money
Level: 16 (4000/8000/8000) Entries: 12/120 Prizes: $57,000 ($33,000 prizes, $24,000 bounties) Keith Sarnoski was the bubble tonight. He shoved fumes against Deven Lane, and had the best of it with eights over fours, but Lane spiked a four for a set and the win. The remaining players are all guaranteed at least $670.
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Deven Lane Gets a Double Plus
Level: 16 (4000/8000/8000) Entries: 13/120 Prizes: $57,000 ($33,000 prizes, $24,000 bounties) It was a huge hand that saw three players all in. Karim Koval was the short stack with ace-jack off, Deven Lane was the second stack with pocket jacks, and Haven Taylor was the big stack with pocket fives. The jacks held and Lane took the bounty from Koval and grabbed a double from Taylor.
That left Taylor short and she was out the following hand to bring the field down to 13. The clock is now paused for hand-for-hand play with 2 minutes coming off the clock manually for each hand played.
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Final Two Tables
Level: 16 (4000/8000/8000) Entries: 18/120 Prizes: $57,000 ($33,000 prizes, $24,000 bounties) They are down to 18 left in the Big Bounty now with Level 16 just underway. That puts them 6 eliminations off the money, and five away from hand-for-hand bubble play. It looks like Steve Chung is the leader right now with more than 410k, but Mal Hagan looks to be close to 400k on the other table as well.
Final 18 Players in Bounty
T-S Player 11 – 1 Haven Taylor 11 – 2 Mal Hagan 11 – 3 Colten Yamagishi 11 – 4 Ron Lauzon 11 – 5 Keith Sarnoski 11 – 6 Deven Lane 11 – 7 Benny Sarnelli 11 – 8 Zhi Jiang 11 – 9 Karim Koval – 12 – 1 Daniel O’Leary 12 – 2 Tai Santos 12 – 3 Brian Morgan 12 – 4 Steve Chung 12 – 5 Wilfred McNeely 12 – 6 Dan Martel 12 – 7 Ed Zurawell 12 – 8 Jason Law 12 – 9 Ian Alvarado -
120 Entries Confirmed
Level: 9 (600/1200/1200) Entries: 47/120 Prizes: $57,000 ($33,000 prizes, $24,000 bounties) The entries are all counted and official at 120. That puts 12 paid spots at the end of the night with 37 players still competing for one of those prizes.
Big Bounty Payouts
Place Prize 1 $9,187 2 $6,331 3 $4,115 4 $3,165 5 $2,437 6 $1,931 7 $1,519 8 $1,203 9 $981 10 $791 11 $670 12 $670 -
Just under 15 Minutes to Enter
Level: 8 (500/1000/1000) Entries: 52/120 Prizes: $57,000 ($33,000 prizes, $24,000 bounties) The field is up to 120 entries now with a bit more than 10 minutes remaining in the dinner break. They’ll return to action in Level 9 with blinds at 600/1200/1200 and right now it looks like 12 players will get paid later tonight, but there’s still time for a few more entries before it all shuts down for the day.
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Biggest One-Day Field of the Series
Level: 7 (400/800/800) Entries: 59/112 Prizes: $53,200 ($30,800 prizes, $22,400 bounties) There are about 10 minutes to play in Level 7 with entries open for another full level plus the break to follow Level 8. That puts the end of entries for this one about an hour away, but the field is already the biggest single-day field of the series with 112 on the board.
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Up to 89 Entries in Level 5
Level: 5 (300/500/500) Entries: 64/89 Prizes: $42,275 ($24,475 prizes, $17,800 bounties) The Big Bounty field is getting big with 89 entries on the board early in Level 5. That puts the combined prizes at more than $42k with a bit more than two hours left to enter this one. This looks like it could be one of the biggest single-day fields of the series so far.
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54 Entries to Start Level 3
Level: 3 (200/300/300) Entries: 50/54 Prizes: $25,650 ($14,850 prizes, $10,800 bounties) They are up to 54 entries in the Big Bounty now at the start of Level 3. Among the players in the mix so far are Ali Razzaq, Mo Alamelhuda, Stefan Maloney, DJ Sharma, Ron Lauzon, Haven Taylor, Thomas Taylor, Zhi Jiang, Deven Lane, Preston Stevenson, Benny Sarnelli, Evan Thomas, Michael St. Pierre-Porter, Justin Pennell, Juno Lau, Ryan Comely, Garry Sandhu, Suru Patel, Andy Wong, Pav Braich, Ian Alvarado, Ed Zurawell, Steve Chung, Daniel O’Leary, and Graham Lupton.
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Good Start for Big Bounty
Level: 1 (100/100/100) Entries: 38/39 Prizes: $18,525 ($10,725 prizes, $7,800 bounties) Level 1 is nearly complete with 39 entries on the board. That puts the combined prizes over $18k with about 4 hours left to get into the game.
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Head-Hunting Wednesday
Event: Event #11: $560 NLH Big Bounty ($300 + $200 + $60) Date: Nov 27, 3 PM Blinds: 30 Minutes Starting Stack: 25k Late Entry: 8 Levels (~7:45 PM) Day 1 Ends: One-Day Event The side game on Wednesday is the NLH Big Bounty. The action starts at 3 PM with $200 on every player’s head and $300 going to the prizes later in the day.
Late entry runs for the first 8 levels and closes after the dinner break when they sit down for Level 9. That should put the final entry at about 7:45 PM.
The opening stack is 25k and levels will be 30 minutes long throughout the game. This is a straight bounty game with no progressive component, so every bustout earns the winner another $200.
I likely won’ be over on this game until later in the play as Day 2 of the High Roller will be running alongside this one, but I expect I’ll make it over to cover the end of this on at least.
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Garry Sandhu Wins 6-Max for
Level: 22 (10000/20000/20000) Entries: 1/73 Prizes: $55,480 
Garry Sandhu Wins 6-Max Garry Sandhu was the chip leader for most of the final table tonight, though Ali Razzaq did take a lead during heads-up play. Sandhu and Razzaq were the two top stacks for most of the FT so it wasn’t much of a surprise that they got heads up tonight.
Sandhu survived an all-in when he flopped two pair and Razzaq turned an ace. The money went in on the river when Sandhu shoved, and after Razzaq called, he was down to about 350k. He fought back to about 600k with a double shortly after, but that was as close as he got. In the final hand, his pocket threes were racing against king-queen for Sandhu and the threes looked to be holding until Sandhu found a king on the river.
Final Results from 6-Max
Place Player Prize 1 
Garry Sandhu$17,757 2 Ali Razzaq$11,650 3 Daniel Lefebvre$7,767 4 Graham Lupton$5,548 5 Stephen Dauphinais$4,161 6 DJ Sharma$2,995 7 Mike Malm$2,330 8 Michael “Berny” Bernstein$1,830 9 Colten Yamagishi$1,442 -
Ali Razzaq Out in 2nd Place for $11,650
Level: 22 (10000/20000/20000) Entries: 1/73 Prizes: $55,480 
The 6-Max is now over with Ali Razzaq taking the runner-up spot today. He was close to a double back to even but drowned on the river. The money went in preflop with Razzaq on pocket threes against the king-queen for Sandhu. The 10♥7♠J♥4♦K♠ board ran clean for Razzaq’s pair until the river king sunk him for second place.
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Razzaq Doubles, Still Short
Level: 21 (10000/20000/20000) Entries: 2/73 Prizes: $55,480 Ali Razzaq just flushed to a double, giving him about 550k now. Garry Sandhu limped in, then snapped it off when Razzaq shoved for 245k. Sandhu was well ahead with ace-king of clubs against queen-nine of spades fro Razzaq. Sandhu turned his king on the board of 4♠9♥2♠K♠Q♥ but it was Razzaq’s flush card as well. Sandhu still has the lead by about 1.5m to 500k.
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Sandhu Back to the Lead
Level: 21 (10000/20000/20000) Entries: 2/73 Prizes: $55,480 Ali Razzaq had chipped up into a slight lead but he’s down to about 350k now after a big hand. He opened to 50k and got the call from Garry Sandhu. Sandhu check-called for 40k on the 6♣K♣7♦ flop.
Sandhu check-raised from 50k to 200k on the A♥ turn and Razzaq called. Sandhu put it all in on the 10♣ river and Razzaq hit the tank for about a minute before announcing “Call”. Sandhu’s king-seven for two pair was best against the ace0nine top pair for Razzaq and Sandhu doubled to a big lead and left Razzaq pretty short.
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Razzaq Turns the Boat
Level: 20 (10000/15000/15000) Entries: 2/73 Prizes: $55,480 Garry Sandhu opened to 40k and Ali Razzaq called. The flop came K♥A♦A♥ and Razzaq check-called for 40k. The K♠ turn brought another check-call from Razzaq, this time for 100k. They both checked the 3♠ river, and the king-ten of diamonds for Razzaq was good with the turned boat.
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Daniel Lefebvre Out in 3rd Place for $7,767
Level: 20 (10000815000/15000) Entries: 2/73 Prizes: $55,480 
Daniel Lefebvre They are heads up now between Garry Sandhu and Ali Razzaq after Daniel Lefebvre busted out in 3rd place. He was pre-registered in the High Roller for the reduced rake (along with about 14 others so far) so he won’t have long to wait to get back into the action.
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Graham Lupton Out in 4th Place for $5,548
Level: 20 (10000/15000/15000) Entries: 3/73 Prizes: $55,480 
Graham Lupton Graham Lupton shoved under the gun for 105k and Gary Sandhu called him off from the small blind. Lupton had a pair of threes and was racing against ace-five for Sandhu. Sandhu smashed the flop on the A♣Q♥A♥10♥10♠ board to take the lead and hold for the win.
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Lupton Doubles Back into It
Level: 19 (6000/12000/12000) Entries: 4/73 Prizes: $55,480 GRaham Lupton shoved his button after taking blinds and antes in a previous hand to get himself up to 70k. It folded to big blind Garry Sandhu and he decided to “give it a try.”
Sandhu has the offsuit eight-six against ace-jack off for Lupton, and Sandhu turned best before losing it on the river of the 5♣2♠2♣8♥J♦ board. Lupton is now back to about 170k while Sandhu is still the big stack at the table.
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Lefebvre Doubles, Leaves Lupton Short
Level: 19 (6000/12000/12000) Entries: 4/73 Prizes: $55,480 Graham Lupton raised to 30k under the gun and Daniel Lefebvre re-popped it to 120k from the button. Lupton made the call to the 5♦5♠5♥ flop where he shoved a covering stack. Lefebvre snapped it off with pocket sevens against the king-queen overs for Lupton. The A♣2♦ runout kept Lefebvre ahead to give him about 200k now while Lupton was left with just 40k behind.
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Stephen Dauphinais Out in 5th Place for
Level: 19 (6000/12000/12000) Entries: 4/73 Prizes: $55,480 
Stephen Dauphinais They are down to four remaining now after Stephen Dauphinais busted out for 5th place today.
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Razzaq Takes One Blind on Blind
Level: 19 (6000/12000/12000) Entries: 5/73 Prizes: $55,480 Ali Razzaq limped from the small blind, then called when big blind Graham Lupton raised to 42k. They checked it all the way to the river on a board of 7♦J♠10♦K♥3♠ where Razzaq led out for 30k. Lupton called, but mucked when Razzaq showed king-three for the turned top pair and rivered two pair.
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Sandhu Leads at Break
Level: 19 (6000/12000/12000) Entries: 5/73 Prizes: $55,480 Garry Sandhu has a pretty big lead on the first break of Day 2.
Final Table Stacks for 6-Max
Seat Player Chips 1 Ali Razzaq 495,000 2 Graham Lupton 335,000 3 Stephen Dauphinais 175,000 4 Daniel Lefebvre 298,000 5 6 Garry Sandhu 875,000 -
DJ Sharma Gets Bad Beat for 6th
Level: 18 (5000/10000/10000) Entries: 5/73 Prizes: $55,480 
DJ Sharma It was the perfect flop for Garry Sandhu. DJ Sharma opened the action to 36k from the button, and Garry Sandhu, in the small blind, checked out Sharma’s stack, then shoved the covering stack.
Sharma called it off with jacks while Sandhu showed up with ace-jack. The A♥A♦J♦ was massive, giving both players the flopped boat, but Sandhu’s aces-full was best. The 7♦10♣ were irrelevant and Sharma hit the rail for 6th place tonight.
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Big Stack Battle goes to Sandhu
Level: 18 (5000/10000/10000) Entries: 6/73 Prizes: $55,480 Garry Sandhu and Ali Razzaq are still the big stacks out there and they just got into a decent-sized confrontation. Razzaq raised to 20k under the gun and both DJ Sharma (small) and Garry Sandhu (big) called to see 3♥8♠8♦ on the flop. It checked to Razzaq who put out a bet of 25k.
Sharma got out of the way, but Sandhu smooth-called to the A♠ turn. Sandhu checked again but elected for the check-raise to 100k after Razzaq tossed in 35k. Razzaq thought about it for a minute or so before sliding his hand into the muck.
Sandhu has about 715k to Razzaq’s 660k after the hand.
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Mike Malm Out in 7th Place for $2,330
Level: 18 (5000/10000/10000) Entries: 6/73 Prizes: $55,480 
Mike Malm Mike Malm was the first off the final table tonight. He shoved with ace-deuce and Stephen Dauphinais called with ace-five and the bigger stack. Malm flopped a deuce to take the lead but by the river, Dauphinais found himself on the wheel for the win.
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Final Table Faces
Level: 18 (5000/10000/10000) Entries: 6/73 Prizes: $55,480 Here is a look at the final seven players on the final table today.
Stephen Dauphinais Mike Malm Graham Lupton 
Garry Sandhu DJ Sharma Daniel Lefebvre -
Final Table Time
Level: 17 (4000/8000/8000) Entries: 7/73 Prizes: $55,480 They are down to 7 players at the final table now after Colten Yamagishi (9th) and Michael “Berny” Bernstein (8th) hit the cage for early payouts today. I’ll grab some FT pics shortly.
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Day 2 is Underway
Level: 17 (4000/8000/8000) Entries: 9/73 Prizes: $55,480 The final nine players are back in action in the 6-Max and they’ll be playing down to a winner today. Last night’s bubble was a true marathon with more than an hour of hand-for-hand play so there are some short stacks out there as a result so it should be a relatively quick trip to the final table of 7 players.
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Jeffery Clarke and Jody Ashton Chop the Money
Jody Ashton (L) & Jeffery Clarke (R) Chopped Event #9 tonight I didn’t have any time to watch this game as this finished just as the marathon bubble in the 6-Max burst. However, I was able to chat with the two players who chopped and they made an even chop with Jeff Clarke taking the official will and Jody Ashton packing the trophy home to Ontario.
Final Results from Event #9
Place Player Prize 1 Jeffery Clarke$4,009 2 Jody Ashton$4,009 3 Alex Twin$2,109 4 Tyler Panas$1,406 5 Amr Samy$927 6 Tyler Rumpel$674 7 Daniel O’Leary$520 8 Steven Riendeau$407 -
Garry Sandhu Leads Day 2 into the Money
Event: Event #8: $880 NLH 6-Max Day 2 ($400 + $40) Date: Nov 26, 1 pm Blinds: 40 Min Entries: 9/73 Prizes: $55,480 1st Place: $17,757 Day 2 is now set with Garry Sandhu leading with 569k and Ali Razzaq on his heels with 544k. They’ll return with 17 minutes remaining in Level 17 and all players in the money
Day 2 gets going at 1 pm and they’ll play until there’s a winner tomorrow.
Day 2 Chips & Seats
S Table 1 Chips 1 2 Gary Sandhu 569,000 3 Graham Lupton 191,000 4 Stephen Dauphinais 148,000 5 Michael Bernstein 80,000 6 S Table 2 Chips 1 2 Mike Malm 383,000 3 Colten Yamagishi 29,000 4 DJ Sharma 158,000 5 Daniel Lefebvre 140,000 6 Ali Razzaq 544,000 Day 2 Prizes
Place Prize 1 $17,757 2 $11,650 3 $7,767 4 $5,548 5 $4,161 6 $2,995 7 $2,330 8 $1,830 9 $1,442 
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Rhett Stensrud Bubbles the Money
Level: 17 (4000/8000/8000) Entries: 9/73 Prizes: $55,480 It was a long bubble tonight as they played a couple of hands in Level 15, the entire Level 16, and part of Level 17 without losing a player. In the end, one of the bigger stacks at the start of hand-for-hand, Rhett Stensrud, was the bubble.
Garry Sandhu and Ali Razzaq are leading the way with more than 500k each. See below for the final 9 stacks in the money with players coming back to the same seats until the redraw for the final table at 7 players.
S Table 1 Chips 1 2 Gary Sandhu 569,000 3 Graham Lupton 191,000 4 Stephen Dauphinais 148,000 5 Michael Bernstein 80,000 6 S Table 2 Chips 1 2 Mike Malm 383,000 3 Colten Yamagishi 29,000 4 DJ Sharma 158,000 5 Daniel Lefebvre 140,000 6 Ali Razzaq 544,000 -
Sharma Time Double
Level: 17 (4000/8000/8000) Entries: 10/73 Prizes: $55,480 It’s definitely Sharma Time tonight. DJ Sharma just shoved the short stack under the gun and Ali Razzaq reshoved from the button. Sharma was live with six-four of clubs but needed to find outs against the ace-king for Razzaq. Most of the J♠8♠10♥4♠6♥ board was clean for Razzaq, but he sunk on the river to double Sharma up.
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Berny Doubles
Level: 16 (3000/6000/6000) Entries: 10/73 Prizes: $55,480 They are still hand-for-hand with 10 left after Michael “Berny” Bernstein survived by doubling through Rhett Stensrud. He shoved with king-ten of diamonds and Stensrud called with queen-jack off. Berny hit his king on the river and doubled.
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Malm with Big Hero; Bernstein Survives; Sharma Doubles
Level: 15 (2500/5000/5000) Entries: 10/73 Prizes: $55,480 Michael Bernstein survived and all-in shove from the small blind after a tank-fold from Rhett Stensrud in the big blind. On the other table, Mike Malm raised preflop to 17.5k and got a call from big blind Ali Razzaq. I missed the flop and turn action while watching Berny’s all in, but by the 8♠3♥2♣5♠2♦ Malm was twisting a bit as he faced a 35k bet from Razzaq.
“Can we get a different river?” he joked at one point during his tank before he finally called, showing ace-jack against Razzaq’s queen-jack.
Shortly after, DJ Sharma doubled up with ace-king over ace-queen against Ali Razzaq. They are now on the break.
S Table 1 Chips 1 2 Gary Sandhu 349,000 3 Graham Lupton 164,000 4 Stephen Dauphinais 83,000 5 Michael Bernstein 63,000 6 Rhett Stensrud 327,000 S Table 2 Chips 1 2 Mike Malm 202,000 3 Colten Yamagishi 109,000 4 DJ Sharma 126,000 5 Daniel Lefebvre 194,000 6 Ali Razzaq 547,000
