Congratulations to Hermilo Vargas, Winner of the Monster Stack Event ($71,195)

A few hands later, Hermilo Vargas put the final nails in the coffin. Mario Martinez was all in preflop holing [Jc][3d], while Vargas held [10h][9s]. The flop of [Qd][5d][8h] meant that a jack would work for Vargas now. The [3s] on the turn didn't help, but the [10s] on the river sure did. That gave Vargas the winning hand, and sent his rail into a frenzy.

For his second place efforts, Martinez will take home $44,120, but the night belongs to local grinder Hermilo Vargas, who will take home nearly $72,000, and the WSOP Circuit Ring. Congratulations to Hermilo "Taxi" Vargas on his impressive result!

Vargas Takes Massive Chip Lead

On a flop of [Ac][Kc][3d], Mario Martinez check called a bet of two million from Hermilo Vargas. The [7c] hit the turn, and this time, Martinez led for 6.3 million. Vargas didn't take long to call even though the bet was for over half of his stack, and the [7s] completed the board.

This time, Martinez checked, and Vargas quickly announced all in for four million. Martinez rechecked his hand quickly before kicking it in, giving Vargas a huge lead in this heads up battle.

Hermilo Vargas - 23.2 million
Mario Martinez - 4.5 million

Macradij Yacoubian Eliminated in 3rd Place ($32,380)

Macradij Yacoubian and Hermilo Vargas got into a huge all in preflop coin flip, with Vargas holding [Qs][Qh] to the [Ad][Ks] of Yacoubian. The board ran down [6c][4s][2h][8h][9c], and the ladies held for Vargas.

The chips were counted down, and Vargas had him covered by a million. This gets us to heads up play now, with Mario Martinez holding 13.9 million to the 12.8 million of Vargas.

The Final Three Close Again

Thanks to another double up when his Ace-Queen beat the pocket fives of Mario Martinez, Macradij Yacoubian has stormed back, and is nearly in the chip lead now. Here is how the final three currently stand, with the blinds at 120,000-240,000.

Hermilo Vargas - 9.7 million
Macradij Yacoubian - 9.4 million
Mario Martinez - 7.6 million

A Pair of Double Ups for Macradij Yacoubian

Mario Martinez and Hermilo Vargas look to be setting themselves up for a deep heads up battle, but short stack Macradij Yacoubian is not going down without a fight, as we has just earned two double ups in a matter of minutes. First, Yacoubian held [Ac][6c] against the [Qd][3d] of Varags. Neither player improved their hands, meaning Yacoubian's ace high earned the double up.

A few hands later, Yacoubian would get in his final 1.25 million with [Ad][Kd], and he was dominating the [Ks][9c] of Martinez. Again, neither player improved on the board, and again, Yacoubian's ace high took down the pot to get the double up.

By the Numbers: $365 Omaha 8-or-Better Event

Our first non No-Limit Hold'em Event of the series drew a total of 92 players, creating a prizepool of $27,600. The top 12 finishers will be taking home some cash tonight, with the lion's share, $8,285 of the prizepool going to the winner. Scroll down for a full list of the payouts.

1. $8,285
2. $5,120
3. $3,645
4. $2,645
5. $1,960
6. $1,480
7. $1,140
8. $890
9. $710
10-12. $575

Dante Magtoto Eliminated in 4th Place ($24,465)

After losing a big pot to Hermilo Vargas, Dante Magtoto three bet shoved all in for 3.6 million over the raise of Mario Martinez. Martinez thought for a while after getting the count, then slid in the call.

Martinez: [7c][7d]
Magtoto: [Kc][Qc]

It was a classic race, and the pair never had to sweat too much, as the dealer put out a low board of [6h][2h][2c][2d][9h].

This gets us to three handed play. Because this is a WSOP Circuit Event, chops aren't allowed, so we will be playing down to a winner tonight!

Mario Fauceglia Eliminated in 5th Place ($18,670)

Next to go was Mario Fauceglia, as he shoved all in from the button with [Qh][10h]. Once Dante Magtoto got a count, he made the call with [Kd][Js]. The board came down [5s][3s][2d][7d][Kh], and Magtoto unnecessarily made top pair on the river to send Fauceglia to the rail.

The final four players are now on a break. The action will resume again shortly.

Vadim Baranovsky Eliminated in 6th Place ($14,370)

The action has certainly picked up to say the least, as we have another elimination in this level. This time, it was Vadim Baranovsky, who got his final chips in the middle holding [Ac][5c]. He was in big trouble, as Mario Martinez held [Kc][Kh]. Baranovsky hit an ace on the flop, but Martinez hit a king as well, and Baranovsky hit no miracles to win the hand.

With that, we are quickly down to our final five. Here is how they are looking right now, at the 80,000-160,000 level.

Mario Martinez - 7.6 million
Dante Magtoto - 7.5 million
Macradij Yacoubian - 5.4 million
Hermilo Vargas - 3.9 million
Mario Fauceglia - 1.1 million

Chris Herrin Eliminated in 7th Place ($11,190)

Not long after that last hand, Chris Herrin found his short stack in the middle holding [Qs][6h], and he was up against the [Ad][Jd] of Macradij Yacoubian. The board would run down [Ks][10s][7s][8h][8d], and Herrin missed all of his outs, hitting the rail in 7th place.

Macradij Yacoubian Triples Up in Massive Pot

The theme of the final table so far as been short stack suckouts, and that trend continued in this massive hand that we just witnessed. Action start with Macradij Yacoubian moving all in for 1.4 million from under the gun. Vadim Baranovsky was next to act, and he flat called the bet with just over 1 million behind. It folded around to Chris Herrin in the small blind, and he thought for quite some time before calling as well, making for a massive 5 million chip pot before the first three cards came out.

Those cards would be [10c][7c][2h], and Herrin moved all in. Baranovsky dropped a chip in for the call, and the cards were flipped.

Baranovsky: [Kh][Ks]
Herrin: [Qd][Qs]
Yacoubian: [As][8s]

The turn brought the [7s], meaning Baranovsky was an ace or queen away from the chip lead. As you can guess by now, the river was an ace, the [Ac] to be exact, and Yacoubian celebrated with his rail as a huge pot was shipped his way.

Baranovsky collected a double up in the side pot, while Herrin is now the severe short stack.

Said El Harrak Eliminated in 8th Place ($8,815)

The nightmare final table for Said El Harrak is over. After starting the table as the chip leader, El Harrak got unlucky in a few big spots, and ultimate lost a flip to bust. He was in position to be a contender again with [Qd][Qc] against the [Ah][Ks] of Dante Magtoto, but an ace came right on the flop, and El Harrak was heading to the payout desk even before the board completed.

While it was a rough final table for El Harrak, the opposite is the case for Magtoto, who is now one of our chip leaders after taking that massive pot.

Necip Iscan Eliminated in 9th Place ($7,025)

Necip Iscan got his short stack in preflop holding [Kc][8c], and he was trailing the [Ah][Qc] of Dante Magtoto. Iscan took the lead on a [Jh][Js][8d] flop, but while the turn didn't change anything, as it has often at this final table, the river certainly did, as an ace came down to give Magtoto the win.

With that, we are down to our final eight players.

Suckouts Everywhere at This Final Table

We are still nine handed even though the average stack is less than 20 big blinds now with the blinds at 80,000-160,000. That is largely because the deck hasn't cooperated for the bigger stacks so far. First, Vadim Baranovsky hit an unlikely six on the river to make trips and beat the top two pair of Said El Harrak, who is now our short stack.

A few hands later, Dante Magoto tried to steal the blinds by shoving in late position with [10c][9s]. He was in big trouble when Macradij Yacoubian woke up with pocket aces behind him, but a nine on the flop, and a ten on the turn, gave Magoto the hand.

We continue on with nine handed play as we continue to wait for the first final table elimination.

Action is Slow at the Final Table

There haven't been many updates on our monster stack final table because there hasn't been much to report. There has been only one double up at the final table so far, and that was Hermilo Vargas, who has seen his stack skyrocket since the start of the final nine. On the other side, it hasn't been a good hour for start of final table chip leader Said El Harrak. He was the one who doubled Vargas off, then he lost another massive pot when Mario Martinez picked off a big river bluff with top pair. El Harrak is now one of the shorter stacks at the table.

By the Numbers: $580 No-Limit Hold'em

Over on the other side of the room, we have the official payouts for the $580 event. A total of 117 players came out,  creating a prizepool of $58,500. The final 12 spots will be paid, with first place taking home $17,560, and the WSOP Circuit Ring. Continue reading for a full breakdown of the payouts, and good luck to those still in!

1. $17,560
2. $10,845
3. $7,725
4. $5,610
5. $4,155
6. $3,135
7. $2,415
8. $1,890
9. $1,505
10-12. $1,220

James Hoeppner Eliminated in 10th Place ($5,665)

James Hoeppner shoved his short stack all in from late position with [Ks][6c], and a couple seats behind him, Mario Fauceglia put him at risk holding [Jh][Jd]. The hand was all but over after the flop of [Jc][3h][2s], and a seven on the turn sealed it.

That leaves us with just nine players, and you can see all of them in the final table photo below.

Cards in the Air: Event #5 $365 Omaha 8-or-Better Event

It's time to kick off another ring event here at the Bike, and we are mixing up the game for this one, as it will be Omaha 8-or-Better. Like many of the other events in this series, the buy-in will be $365. Registration will be open until 7:30 PM tonight, and the finals will kick off tomorrow at 1 PM.

Good luck all!

Congratulations to Samuel Lee, Winner of Event #3

It took less than two hours for Samuel Lee to earn the ring in Event #3, defeating Sohale Khalili heads up. For his efforts, Lee will be taking home $9,900. Below you will see how the final four ended up today.

Congratulations to Lee on his victory, and good luck in the player of the series race!

1. Samuel Lee - $9,900
2. Sohale Khalili - $6,120
3. Robert Gau - $4,355
4. Cory Smith - $3,165

Photos and Counts From the Monster Stack Final Table

Seat 1: Vadim Baranovsky - 1.985 million

Seat 2: Mario Fauceglia - 1.77 million

Seat 3: Said El Harrak - 4.935 million

Seat 4: Necip Iscan - 3.22 million

Seat 5: Mario Martinez - 3.155 million

Seat 6: Dante Magtoto - 1.93 million

Seat 7: Chris Herrin - 2.605 million

Seat 8: Hermilo Vargas - 1.19 million

Sear 9: Macradij Yacoubian - 3.7 million

Seat 10: James Hoeppner - 1.885 million

Photos From the Final Four of Event #3

The Monster Stack Event isn't the only one handing out a ring today, as just four players are coming back for the Day 2 restart of Event #3. Sohale Khaili leads the final four, but not by much, as Robert Gau is the only player who isn't without shouting distance. Having said that, Gau is starting to mount a comeback, and has already secured two double ups. Check out those photos below, and stay tuned to find out who takes home the title! 

Seat 1: Samuel Lee - 351,000

Seat 2: Cory Smith - 320,000

Seat 3 Sohale Khalili: 359,000

Seat 4: Robert Gau - 70,000

Next Round of Monster Stack Bustouts

We are just two eliminations from the final table in our Monster Stack Event. Below you will see the three players who were just eliminated. Each of them took home $4,615.

13. Ratna Srikanthoggu
14. Avedis Chuldjan
15. Kinson Cheung

A Few Photos From the $580 Event

While most of our attention will be on the Monster Stack Day 3 today, we did want to let you guys know that the morning $580 Ring Event is in full swing. You can see a few of the players below. On this list are two players who are hoping to get back to heads up once again. William Collins defeated Robert Miller heads up to take the first ring of the series, and they are both back today. 

Robert Miller

Jared Griener

William Collins

Peter Hengsakul

Two Early Eliminations in the Monster Stack

We are quickly down to the final 15 players in the Monster Stack, and that means a pay jump for the remaining players. Rick Green and Rodney Graham were the first two causalities of the day. The remaining 15 players have all locked up at least $4,615.

Monster Stack Finals Now Underway

It's time to find out who will take the biggest first place prelim prize of the series, as the third day of the Monster Stack Event has just kicked off. Mario Martinez and Necip Iscan are in a virtual tie at the top of the counts, separated by just 10,000 in chips. Click here for a full list of the survivors today.

Good luck players!

Cards in the Air: $580 No-Limit Hold'em Ring Event

It's time to kick off another ring event here at the Bicycle Casino, and the buy-in today is up to $580. Players will start with 12,000 in chips today, and registration will be open until 4 PM today. This is a two day tournament, with the finals starting up tomorrow at 1.

Click here for a full structure of the event. Good luck everyone!