2010 PCA amFAR Tournament: Round one |
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See here for more about amFAR and its work in AIDS research, and here for live TV coverage. 10pm: Final table set Montel Williams, TV host
9.50pm: Two more through Benjafield from Great Yarmouth in the UK, who works on the oil rigs in the North Sea, will now look forward to playing on the TV table. "This is wonderful to be here," he said. "What a place to come and play poker! I'm looking forward to playing these guys. I was a big fan of Nelly, so it would have been cool to be play him, but I hear he is out." 9.40pm: SportStar split On the other table, Team PokerStars Pro Leo Fernandez from Argentina locks a lock for a final place. He just took a monster off Frank Calo when his [ad][10h] overtook Frank Calo's [qh][qc] on a [9s][4h][9h][ah][5c] board. 9.35pm: Nelly out Nelly got all in on a 7-3-8 flop holding 2-3, but he was behind Bernard's 7-7. Another 8 on the river changed nothing, and the 7 on the turn filled up Bernard's full house. Farewell, Nelly. Pack your trunk.
9.20pm: First pair through to final One of those they beat along the way was Jules Manos, 43, a construction estimator from Bellingham, Washington, who has been playing poker for 15 years and won his seat into the amfAR tournament in a PokerStars freeroll. Before the start of play he said: "Just being here is great. I've been to Jamaica once but nowhere like this. It's very exciting. I don't have a special strategy - I'm just going to play my normal game and hope I can keep my hands from shaking.!" News also reaches us of Poli Rincon's departure. 9.05pm: Bust outs quicken
Before the start of play, Nicole told me how she was looking forward to playing tonight. "I've been playing poker for four months, but in that time I've learnt a lot, and actually lasted eight levels of the PCA Main Event this week, which included time at the table with WSOP Champion Joe Cada. "I'm so pleased to be here helping amFAR. It's so important for any celebrity to give their time and do their bit for charity, and I can't think of many better causes than AIDS research. In fact, the first ever charity event I did was on behalf of AIDS charities - we did a bikini car wash!" Cool down, boys. 8.55pm: Kelly Rowland busted
8.47pm: Sheringham, Raymer no more 8.45: Rincon on thin ice 8.40pm: Double for Fossilman 8.35pm: The downfall of Poli Rincon Rincon: [ad][10c] Bernard's top pair, top kicker was behind Rincon's two pair, but poker is never a simple game. So it was that the [qd] came on the turn and the [jh] on the river, filling up Bernard's unlikely straight. That set Rincon back to only a handful of chips, but Bernard up to a more healthy 5,775. Blinds are currently 150-300. 8.16pm: Quick break 8.15pm: Negreanu explains himself "But the poker was irrelevant. The important thing was making money and raising awareness for amFAR. It's why I enjoy working with PokerStars so much - PokerStars makes sure money goes to the right places, and it's money that goes to help less fortunate people than us. Poker players are great at helping charities and are very generous people."
8.10pm: State of play Greg Raymer's table has lost no one at all. Nine of them still sit there, looked in battle. They include world champion Joe Cada and Humberto Brenes. Former Manchester United and England soccer star Teddy Sheringham survives on his table with five others. Chip monster here is Team PokerStars SportStar Mats Sundin on more than 10,000. "He's winning lots of little pots", said fellow Team PokerStars SportStar Fatima de Melo.
On the feature table we are down to six. Nelly leads the way, Montel Williams is also nicely stacked, but Kelly Rowland, Boris Becker and Poli Rincon have more work to do. 8.05pm: Nelly ups 8pm: Celebs on the spot, part II Watch PCA 2010: amfAR Celebs on the Spot - Pt. 2 on PokerStars.tv
7.55pm: Negreanu flushed out 7.50pm: Montel dumps Martin 7.40pm: Slashed and burned "This has been wonderful to be here," he told me. "amFAR is a great cause, and to come here to the Bahamas in a TV event is not a bad way to play poker. I've played a bit before, online when I am on the road or with my mates when I'm at home, but this has been something special." So long, Mr Slash. And that's a name that strikes a chord.
7.30pm: Krupa out Team PokerStars Pro and world champion Joe Cada is also out. He told PokerStars Blog HQ: "Playing here in this charity event means a lot to me, especially as it means I get to give something back after being fortunate enough to win so much myself at the WSOP Main Event. amFAR is a great cause and I hope we raise a lot of money as well as awareness for their work. "I'm excited to be playing with the celebrities. I met Slash from Guns 'N Roses here a few days ago, and he was great." 7.20pm: Slash's stack, er, slashed
7.10pm: Nelly aggression On a [qs][9d][kd] flop he and Boris Becker checked. On the [7h] turn Becker made it 500, Nelly re-raised to 1,600 and Becker called. On the [6c] river Becker slowed down with a check and was then forced to fold when Nelly fired out 2,000. 7.05pm: Cooler for Akkari Calo: [8d][8h] The [4s] turn and [4h] river changed nothing, and the Brazilian was left with just 800 chips. 6.55pm: Raymer doesn't bluff "Good fold," Raymer said. "I never bluff - I gave that up years ago." With that, he turned over [7c][7h] for the flopped set. 6.50pm: The celebs on camera Watch PCA2010: amFAR Celebs on the Spot - Pt. 1 on PokerStars.tv
6.45pm: Thorson crippled, then eliminated Thorson's last few chips went in the middle a few hands later. With [10s][8s] he was up against Friend of PokerStars Darus Suharto's [as][qs]. The board ran [ac][2c][10h][6d][3c], and that, as they say, was that. Here's the group shot. What a lovely bunch...
6.35pm: Ready to roll Kenneth Cole, the chairman of amFAR is making an introductory speech, outlining the foundation's important work in AIDS research. Here's how our four tables are expected to shape up.... Table 1 Table 2 Table 3 Table 4 While we get going, here's a pic we thought you might appreciate. It's 2008 Playboy Playmate Jayde Nicole.
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