Monday, June 6, 2011 12:18 AM Local Time
Day 3 of the $10,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em Championship began with 27 hopefuls looking to capture a coveted World Series of Poker bracelet and the $573,456 first-place prize. The eliminations came at a rapid pace, the field reducing itself from 27 to the final table in just five hours. After another five hours, it was Amir Lehavot who emerged victorious to capture the prize and his first WSOP bracelet.
Lehavot's path to victory did not come easy as a number of notables stood in his way at the beginning of the day. Nenad Medic (25th- $20,129), Jennifer Tilly (21st- $20,129), Mike Matusow (20th- $20,129), Owen Crowe (15th- 32,183), Robert Mizrachi (12th- $40,890), and Toby Lewis (11th- $40,890) were just a few of the big names that were eliminated in the early stages of Day 3.
When the field was reduced to the final nine, the players relocated to the ESPN feature table:
| Seat | Player | Chip Count |
|---|
| 1 | Amir Lehavot | 1,268,000 |
| 2 | Sam Stein | 599,000 |
| 3 | Jarred Solomon | 1,427,000 |
| 4 | Stephen Chidwick | 772,000 |
| 5 | Nicolas Levi | 579,000 |
| 6 | Michael Benvenuti | 670,000 |
| 7 | Eric Cloutier | 457,000 |
| 8 | Tommy Vinas | 1,409,000 |
| 9 | McLean Karr | 290,000 |
The final table action was no less rapid than the preceding exploits. Michael Benvenuti was the first to go after his failed to improve against Stephen "Stevie444" Chidwick's on a board reading . A short time later, both McLean Karr and Eric Cloutier hit the rails in the eighth and seventh-place spots respectively. Nicolas Levi was the next out the door in sixth place after his failed to hold against the of Lehavot as the board ran out .
It was during five-handed play that one of the more brutal hands of the day developed. It began when Jarred Solomon raised to 70,000 under the gun and Tommy Vinas decided to look him up from the button. Solomon led right out with a 75,000 bet on the flop, which Vinas raised to 275,000. Solomon thought for a moment before announcing, "Pot." The three-bet was for a whopping 735,000!
Vinas didn't take long before moving all in for a couple hundred thousand more and Solomon made the call.
Solomon:
Vinas:
It was a brutal set-over-set flop that saw Vinas on the bad end of things. "Spade, spade," Vinas pleaded as he looked to his rail in resignation. The turn ensured that there would be no chop. It was down to the river for Vinas, who needed the case seven to stay alive. The was close, but not quite what he needed. Vinas was eliminated in fifth place and will take home $150,453 for his efforts.
The next to go was Chidwick in fourth place followed out the door just a few hands later by Sam Stein in third place, leaving Lehavot (5,415,000) to do heads-up battle against Solomon (2,160,000). It was a back and forth affair as Solomon did his best to put himself back in contention; however, Lehavot proved too much to overcome. In the final hand, Solomon's could not pull ahead of Lehavot's and he finished as our runner-up.
[H]Final Table Payouts[/H]
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|
| 1 | Amir Lehavot | $573,456 |
| 2 | Jarred Solomon | $354,460 |
| 3 | Sam Stein | $264,651 |
| 4 | Stephen Chidwick | $198,927 |
| 5 | Tommy Vinas | $150,453 |
| 6 | Nicolas Levi | $114,525 |
| 7 | Eric Cloutier | $87,702 |
| 8 | McLean Karr | $67,596 |
| 9 | Michael Benvenuti | $52,406 |
[H] Former $5,000-$10,000 Pot Limit Hold'em Champions [/H]
| Year | Event | Player | Prize | Entrants |
|---|
| 2005 | Event #20 ($5,000) | Brian Wilson | $370,685 | 239 |
| 2006 | Event #32 ($5,000) | Jason Lester | $550,764 | 378 |
| 2007 | Event #13 ($5,000) | Allen Cunningham | $487,287 | 398 |
| 2008 | Event #1 ($10,000) | Nenad Medic | $794,112 | 352 |
| 2009 | Event #45 ($10,000) | John Kabbaj | $633,335 | 275 |
| 2010 | Event #38 ($10,000) | Valdemar Kwaysser | $617,214 | 268 |
| 2011 | Event #7 ($10,000) | Amir Lehavot | $573,456 | 249 |
Congratulations to Amir Lehavot on taking down the $10,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em Championship. Not a bad showing for the man who won $421,680 for a fourth-place finish back in March at the World Poker Tour's L.A. Poker Classic. While Event #7 may have come to an end, there is still plenty of poker action to be had. As always, the PokerNews Live Reporting Team will be here to bring you all the action and eliminations from the 2011 WSOP.
Monday, June 6, 2011 12:13 AM Local Time
Jarred Solomon raised to 100,000 on the button and Amir Lehavot three-bet to 265,000 from the big blind. Solomon four-bet the pot and the cards were on their backs shortly thereafter.
Solomon:
Lehavot:
Solomon was in a bad spot and while the flop gave Lehavot trips, Solomon was still live with four outs to make a straight. However, the turn sealed the deal for Lehavot. The river was merely a formality, ending Solomon's run in second place for $354,460.
Monday, June 6, 2011 12:09 AM Local Time
| Amir Lehavot | 6,575,000 | 1,580,000  |
| Jarred Solomon | 1,000,000 | -1,580,000  |
Sunday, June 5, 2011 11:55 PM Local Time
Amire Lehavot opened for 125,000 on the button and Jarred Solomon raised it to 325,000. Lehavot then reraised to 800,000 and Solomon called.
Flop:
Solomon checked and Lehavot bet the pot - 1.6 million. Solomon rechecked his hole cards and the folded. Lehavot continues to keep the pressure on Solomon in this heads up battle.
Sunday, June 5, 2011 11:46 PM Local Time
Level: 26
Blinds: 25000/50000
Ante: 0
Sunday, June 5, 2011 11:43 PM Local Time
Jarred Solomon opened to 80,000 on the button and Amir Lehavot re-raised to 200,000 in the big blind.
Solomon called and a flop followed. Both checked to see the turn. A check from Lehavot led to a bet of 240,000 from Solomon, which Lehavot called. The hit the river and Lehavot checked once again. Solomon fired 700,000 and after a few moments, Lehavot called.
Solomon tabled for a flush, winning the pot and upping his stack to 2,580,000.
Sunday, June 5, 2011 11:35 PM Local Time
Jarred Solomon raised to 80,000 from the button and was met with a raise from Amir Lehavot in the big blind. Solomon decided this was the time and moved all in for 700,000 total and Lehavot made the call.
Solomon:
Lehavot:
Solomon was in great shape to double and was looking to dodge a seven. He managed to do so as the board ran out , giving him a stack of 1.4 million.
| Amir Lehavot | 6,100,000 | -600,000 |
| Jarred Solomon | 1,400,000 | 600,000 |
Sunday, June 5, 2011 11:34 PM Local Time
Jarred Solomon opened to 80,000 from the button and Lehavot called. The flop came and both players checked. The turn came the and Lehavot bet 105,000. Solomon called and the came on the river.
Lehavot checked and Solomon bet 350,000. Lehavot called and the hands were shown.
Solomon:
Lehavot:
Lehavot grabbed another large pot with a better two-pair.
Sunday, June 5, 2011 11:25 PM Local Time
The action as of late has been a lot of raise and take it. Lehavet seems to be getting the better of the back and forth as he has Solomon down to around 800,000.
To give you an example of the action, in a recent hand Solomon raised to 100,000 on the button only to have Lehavot pot it to 300,000. Solomon released and Lehavot took down the pot.
| Amir Lehavot | 6,700,000 | 595,000 |
| Jarred Solomon | 800,000 | -670,000 |
Sunday, June 5, 2011 11:18 PM Local Time
Jarred Solomon opened for 100,000 on the button and Amir Lehavot called.
Flop:
Lehavot checked and Solomon bet 115,000. Lehavot called to see the turn. He checked and Solomon bet 230,000. Lehavot potted, enough to cover Solomon, and Solomon folded his hand. Lehavot now has a resounding chip lead.
Sunday, June 5, 2011 11:14 PM Local Time
Amir Lehavot raised to 100,000 on the button and Jarred Solomon called from the big blind.
The flop came down and Solomon checked. Lehavot bet 100,000, but could not shake Solomon. Both checked the turn card, landing the on the river. Solomon checked it to Lehavot who bet 150,000. Solomon called, but mucked when Lehavot tabled for aces and queens.
| Amir Lehavot | 6,105,000 | 305,000 |
| Jarred Solomon | 1,470,000 | -305,000 |
Sunday, June 5, 2011 11:08 PM Local Time
Amir Lehavot raised to 100,000 from the button and Jarred Solomon called. The flop came and Solomon check-called a 100,000 bet from Lehavot. The turn brought checks form both players and the came on the river.
Solomon bet 150,000 and Lehavot called. Solomon tabled and Lehavot had for runner-runner two-pair to steal the pot away from Solomon.
Sunday, June 5, 2011 11:00 PM Local Time
Amir Lehavot opened to 120,000 on the button, only to be raised to 250,000 by Jarred Solomon. Lehavot gave it up, giving the pot to Solomon.
| Amir Lehavot | 5,295,000 | -120,000 |
| Jarred Solomon | 2,280,000 | 120,000 |
Sunday, June 5, 2011 10:56 PM Local Time
The cards are back in the air!
Sunday, June 5, 2011 10:51 PM Local Time
The remaining two players are on a brief break.
| Amir Lehavot | 5,415,000 | 0 |
| Jarred Solomon | 2,160,000 | 0 |
Sunday, June 5, 2011 10:49 PM Local Time
Sam Stein had the unfortunate position of being the short stack in between Amir Lehavot and Jarred Solomon. From the big blind Stein moved all in preflop following an opening raise from Lehavot in the small blind. Lehavot called and the hands were tabled.
Showdown:
Stein:
Lehavot:
Stein was in bad shape and needed help to double up. He whiffed on the flop when it came . Stein needed running straight cards or one of the remaining sixes to double up. The turn came followed by and Stein's tournament was over.
Sunday, June 5, 2011 10:44 PM Local Time
Stephen Chidwick raised to 80,000 from the cutoff only to have Amir Lehavot reraise from the button. The blind quickly got out of the way and Chidwick moved all in for around 620,000 total. Lehavot made the call and it was essentially a flip.
Chidwick:
Lehavot:
The crowd was on its feet as the flop came down , giving Chidwick two pair and sending his supporters into a jovial celebration. However, they seemed to overlook the fact that Lehavot still had outs. The turn kept Chidwick in the lead, but it also gave Lehavot an open-ended straight draw.
What was once celebration quickly turned into shock and awe as the peeled off on the river and gave Lehavot the winning Broadway straight. Chidwick's supports were silenced as their man shook hands with the remaining players and made his exit in fourth place.
| Amir Lehavot | 4,900,000 | 250,000 |
| Stephen Chidwick | 0 | 0 |
Sunday, June 5, 2011 10:31 PM Local Time
Level: 25
Blinds: 20000/40000
Ante: 0
Sunday, June 5, 2011 10:30 PM Local Time
Action folded to Amir Lehavot in the small blind and he made it 75,000 to go. Sam Stein defended in the big blind and the duo watched the flop come down . Lehavot led out for another 75,000, and again Stein made the call.
The dealer slowly burned and turned the , at which point Lehavot check-called a bet of 115,000. Lehavot then checked the river and Stein bet 245,000. Lehavot eyed his opponent's stack but then settled on making the call. Stein confidently turned over for two pair, but was soon stunned as Lehavot rolled over for a higher two pair.
| Amir Lehavot | 3,950,000 | 390,000 |
| Sam Stein | 525,000 | -395,000 |
Sunday, June 5, 2011 10:19 PM Local Time
On the button Stephen Chidwick opened for 60,000, Amir Lehavot called from the small blind and Sam Stein called from the big blind. The flop fell , Lehavot checked, Stein checked and Chidwick bet 105,000. Both Lehavot and Stein called.
The turn came which prompted Lehavot to slide a large stack of 25,000 chips - 19 of them to exact - then added a couple 5,000 chips to make the bet 495,000. Stein and Chidwick both folded and Lehavot added almost 400,000 to his stack.