In case you missed it, the PokerStars-backed North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Los Angeles Bounty Shootout, which took place in November, aired on ESPN2 on Sunday night. The two-hour broadcast included the opening flights of the $5,000 buy-in tournament.
The unique bounty event features a $1,000 payout for each player busted throughout the course of the tournament. When all is said and done, the person who records the most number of bounties wins a seat into the 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Bounty Shootout. Players who defeat their opening round tables bank $20,000 and the final table is played as winner-take-all, with a top prize of nearly $135,000 on the line.
Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi was the first player to be eliminated from the Los Angeles tournament, and November Nine member Jason Senti followed him out the door after his pocket queens could not hold against Vanessa Selbst’s A-K. Fellow November Niner Scott Montgomery sent Greg Mueller packing with pocket kings against pocket eights, while UB.com pro Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin doubled up courtesy of Matt Woodward with A-J against kings.
Selbst hit the rail after her pocket sevens couldn’t withstand Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi’s A-Q of hearts. Then, Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier was all-in with pocket tens, but Justin Bonomo woke up with pocket jacks. Tom “Kingsofcards” Marchese sent Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad and Andrew “good2cu” Robl to the rail in a double knockout, while PokerStars Canadian pro Greg DeBora was shown the door courtesy of Ronnie Bardah.
The eliminations were fast and furious. Bonomo chalked up bounty #4 after sending Andy Seth to the stands with pocket queens against A-Q. Then, Victory Poker pro Antonio Esfandiari delivered a bad beat by sucking out on David Baker’s pocket aces with A-Q. Justin Young won his table after dispensing of Montgomery, whose girlfriend, Obrestad, railed him during his final hand. Obrestad admitted, “We suck,” and Montgomery echoed, “Yes, indeed. We do suck.”
Baldwin sent Esfandiari to the rail to win his table, while Clint Coffee claimed his spot at the finale after his pocket tens held against Bonomo’s pocket eights. Marchese stamped his final table ticket after his pocket nines outlasted Bardah’s K-Q all-in pre-flop. Also making the finals is Mizrachi, who continued his 2010 poker dominance. The curtain fell on the first one-hour episode, which began late due to the Tennessee/Stanford women’s basketball game reaching overtime.
The second episode featured the final four first-round tables. In the field were Daniel Negreanu and Phil Hellmuth; the former sported a beard, while the latter failed to don any patches for his home poker site, UB.com. Also calling attention was Barry Greenstein, who did not sign over a copy of “Ace on the River” following his elimination at the hands of Brett Richey.
Hellmuth doubled up Shaun Deeb at the feature table before moving all-in on a Q-2-5-10 board with K-10. However, Liv Boeree held A-Q in the hand, which held when the river came a three. Hellmuth immediately asked the Crystal Casino’s staff, “Can you guys get me a limo? I want to head to the airport immediately.” His comments elicited a chuckle from his former tablemates.
Phil Laak sent Alex Keating packing. Then, Mohsin “chicagocards1” Charania busted Victor Ramdin after hitting a pair of jacks on the river. Matt Affleck ousted Adam Junglen after spiking Broadway on the final community card, while Kevin MacPhee doubled up after hitting quad aces.
David Williams eliminated “Nacho” Barbero to win his table, while Pat Pezzin followed suit after dispensing of Richey with A-4 against A-8. Charania advanced to the NAPT LA Bounty Shootout finale, as did MacPhee, who busted Nick Binger with pocket kings against pocket fives.
The nine finalists in the $5,000 buy-in bounty event are Tom “Kingsofcards” Marchese, Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi, Clint Coffee, Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin, Justin Young, Kevin MacPhee, Mohsin “chicagocards1” Charania, David Williams, and Pat Pezzin. The finale of the NAPT LA Bounty Shootout will air on ESPN2 on Sunday at 9:00pm ET. One hour later, action from the NAPT LA Main Event will be shown.
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