Event #13: $1,500 Limit Hold'em

Two days ago, Event 13: $1,500 Limit Hold'em of the 2012 World Series of Poker began with 730, which created a $985,500 prize pool. On Thursday, the final 25 players in the tournament returned to competed for the gold bracelet and $211,921 first-place prize. It took nearly 11 hours of play, and in the end it was 66-year-old David Arsht who outlasted them all to win his first gold bracelet.

The day started off with a bang as the eliminations came quick. Five players hit the rail in the first level alone, and before long it was down to just two tables. It was at that point that the fan favorite of the tournament, Jennifer Harman, was eliminated. She had grown short stacked and got her chips in preflop with    and was up against the    of Leonid Bilokur. It was an old-fashioned flip, but it didn't come down in Harman's favor as the flop fell    . Bilokur paired his king to take a commanding lead, and Harman was left looking for a queen. The   turn wasn't what she needed and neither was the   river. Harman was eliminated in 18th place and secured her first cash of the 2012 WSOP.

From there, a steady stream of players made their way to the payout desk until the final table was determined. Here's a look at the players that failed to make the Event #13 final table:

Pre-Final Table Eliminations

Ben Landowski began the final table as the chip leader with 574,000, though several players were nipping at his heels; in fact, everyone seemed to be a legitimate contender for the title. It took about an hour for the first final-table elimination to occur and it happened when Al "Sugar Bear" Barbieri raised to 40,000 and a short-stacked Lori Kirgan tossed in her last 38,000. Everyone else folded, and the cards were tabled.

Showdown

Kirgan managed to pair her king on the     flop, but the running   turn and   river gave Barbieri a straight and the run. Kirgan finished in ninth place and took home $15,886 for her efforts.

Not long after, Barbieri was at it again when he raised from the cutoff. Alex Queen three-bet on the button, Barbieri called and the flop came down    . Barbieri check-called a bet from Queen, the   turned, and Barbieri led out for 40,000. Queen had just a few thousand more and he committed them to the pot. Barbieri called, and the cards were tabled.

Showdown

The turn was a cooler card as it gave Barbieri the straight and Queen a set. Queen would need the board to pair to survive, but the river was the  . Queen took home a $20,370 consolation prize.

The next elimination occurred when Arsht put in a raise from middle position and was called by Jeff Weiss and Barbieri, who were in the small and big blinds respectively. Action checked to Arsht on the     flop and he put out a bet. Weiss called off his last 7,000 while Barbieri got out of the way.

Showdown

Arsht was in the lead with a pair of nines, but the   turn did give Weiss an open-ended straight draw headed to the river. "Here comes the king," Barbieri said. The dealer burned and put out paint, but it was the  . Weiss collected his things and made his way to the payout desk to collect $26,401 for his seventh-place finish.

After the dinner break, the cards seemed to turn on Landowski, who if you recall entered the final table as the chip leader, and he went on a downward spiral that lasted 30 minutes that ultimately resulted in his elimination in sixth place for $34,620.

The next to go was Glenn Engelbert, a man that seemed to have nine lives in this tournament. Just when it seemed like his fate was sealed, Engelbert caught a rush of cards and put himself in contention, but it was cut short by a cooler flop that you can read about here. Eventually Engelbert became the fifth-place finisher and earned $45,953 for his performance.

Four-handed play seemed to last forever, but the blinds soon forced the action and did so in a big way. Arsht raised it up and Donald Auger raised all in. Barbieri made the call with just 20,000 behind and Arsht put in one more raise to get Barbieri all in. He made the call, and the three players showed their hands.

Showdown

Barbieri had more chips then Auger and confirmed with the floor that he would get third place if both players lost the hand. Once he got that confirmation, he celebrated and started shadow boxing. "I love my hand," he said. "I'm ready to triple up baby!"

The     flop silenced Barbieri, though he noted he could catch runner-runner clubs to crack Auger's set. The   made things especially interesting as it gave Barbieri his flush draw, but it also delivered Arsht a straight draw. Wouldn't you know it, the   slammed down on the river to give Arsht the straight and the whole rail erupted. Auger stood in disbelief while Barbieri started celebrating, even though he knew he lost the hand. "That's a $23,000 eight of diamonds right there," he said in reference to Arsht eliminating Auger in fourth place and bumping him up to third.

Heads-up play was short and sweet as Arsht held a 5-1 chip lead over Stephen Hung. It took just six hands for Arsht to dispatch his opponent after both players turned trip queens. Lucky for Arsht, his   kicker was best.

Congratulations to David Arsht on capturing the Event 13: $1,500 Limit Hold'em title, his first WSOP gold bracelet and the $211,921 first-place prize. It was made all the more impressive considering he was down to just 4bbs at the start of Day 2!

Final Table Results

That does it for our coverage from Event 13: $1,500 Limit Hold'em. Be sure to visit our Live Reporting Section to learn which events you can follow as we continue to live blog the 2012 WSOP from the Rio in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Action folded to David Arsht and he continued to apply pressure with a raise. Donald Auger defended from the big and even called a bet on the     flop, but when Arsht fired on the   turn, Auger shook his head and released his hand.

David Arsht	2,300,000	400,000
Stephen Hung	600,000	100,000
Donald Auger	200,000	-60,000
Al Barbieri	120,000	-160,000

Al Barbieri raised from the button and David Arsht defended from the big blind. The   {!0c} flop saw Arsht check and Barbieri bet. Arsht then check-raised and Barbieri looked perplexed. "Really?" the man known as "Sugar Bear" said. "Did you find a big hand in the big blind, David?"

Barbieri then flashed the   and folded his hand.

David Arsht	1,500,000	300,000
Al Barbieri	460,000	-320,000

The players are in their seats again, and the cards are back in the air.

With all four players fairly close in chips, play has been very tight recently. The chips have mostly just moving around the table, and Al Barbieri is doing all he can to lighten the mood and make it more fun. Some of his antics have included offering to sing God Bless America, announcing the new dealer's arrival like Bruce Buffer, and posing as a fountain and spitting water out of his mouth off the stage. We can't make this stuff up.

Stephen Hung limped in under the gun, and David Arsht raised on the button. The blinds folded, and Hung made the call. The flop came down    , and Hung check called a bet from Arsht. The turn was the  , and Hung checked again. Arsht bet, and this time, Hung raised. Arsht called, and the   hit the river. Hung bet, and Arsht called. Hung tabled   , and Arsht mucked   .

On the next hand, Arsht raised under the gun, and Hung called in the big blind. The dealer fanned a flop of    , and Hung checked to Arsht, who bet out. Hung check raised for the second consecutive hand, and Arsht called. Hung bet the   on the turn and the   on the river, with Arsht calling both time. Hung showed   , and Arsht mucked again.

Arsht falls to 685,000, while Hung jumps up to 800,000.

Stephen Hung	800,000	360,000
David Arsht	685,000	-515,000

David Arsht raised from the button, and Glenn Engelbert and Donald Augar called in the blinds. The flop came down   , and it was checked to Arsht. He fired out a bet, and Engelbert instantly raised. Auger folded, but Arsht called. The turn was the  , and Arsht called a bet from Engelbert. The   hit the river, and Engelbert checked. Arsht bet out 50,000, and Engelbert went into the tank. He only had 56,000 left, so it was a huge decision. After two minutes of thinking, he flung in the call. Arsht showed   , and Engelbert led out a big sigh of frustration, saying he had   .

After the hand, Engelbert was left with just 6,000, while Arsht had half the chips in play at 1.6 million. Engelbert tripled up shortly after, but was eliminated a few hands later. Engelbert was all in preflop, and got calls from Al Barbieri and Stephen Hung. The board ran out      , and Barbieri showed   . It was good enough to take the pot, and Engelbert was eliminated in 5th place.

David Arsht	1,600,000	680,000
Glenn Engelbert	0	-245,000

To say it's been an exciting ride for Glenn Engelbert in the last ten minutes would be putting it mildly. After doubling through Stephen Hung, Engelbert squared off against David Arsht in back-to-back hands. Both went to Engelbert as he held    in the first and    in the second.

Those pot both got to the turn, which allowed Engelbert to chip up to 445,000 and put himself back into contention. He seemed to have momentum on his side, not to mention a newfound confidence, but it all came to a screeching halt a few hands later when action folded to Arsht in the small blind and he raised. Engelbert three-bet from the big, Arsht called, and then the latter check-called a bet on the     flop.

Arsht then turned right around and led out on the   turn, Engelbert called, and the   was put out on the river. Again Arsht bet and Engelbert, and the former rolled over    for a flopped straight. Engelbert shook his head and showed    for a rivered set and his third big pair in less than ten minutes.

Glenn Engelbert

245,000

80,000