Time to Start Another WPT Main Event Satellite

For the second night in a row, we are running a $500 juice free satellite for you guys, guaranteeing at least three seats to the $5,000 WPT Main Event seats. We had a bit of an overlay last night in this event, so you might be able to take advantage of that again tonight. Registration will be open until 9 PM, and you can view a structure for the satellite here. Good luck all!

What's Coming Up: Saturday, August 3rd

Tomorrow is one of the busiest days of the schedule, as we have not one, not two, not three, but four events starting up throughout the day. The action kicks off at 11:30 AM with a $365 buy-in $100,000 Guaranteed Event. Players will be starting with 20,000 in chips, and registration will be open until 3:30 PM. As is the case with all of our six figure guaranteed events, the winner will earn a $5,000 WPT Main Event seat.

At 3 PM, we switch over to the Mixed Games for the first time this series, as we will be running a $20,000 Guaranteed Limit Big "O" 8 or Better Event. Registration in that event will be open until 6 PM, and the buy-in is $365 there as well.

At 5 PM, the bounty hunters will be coming out for the $365 buy-in Bounty Event. All players in that tournament will have a $100 bounty on their heads, and registration will be available in that one until 9 PM.

We wrap up the night at 7:30 PM with another $500 juice free satellite that will be guaranteeing at least three discounted WPT Main Event seats. Registration for that event will be open until 9 PM as well.

There will be poker action going all day long, so make sure you don't miss out on it!

The Final Four Agree to a Chop, John Nguyen Declared the Winner

The final four players took a look at the numbers, and after working out some particulars, a deal was struck. Jason Bral and John Nguyen were virtually even in chips, with Bral just having Nguyen out chipped. Both wanted the $5,000 seat to the WPT Legends of Poker that's included in a prizepool, so Bral agreed to give Nguyen $1,000 and the trophy in order to lock up the seat to the Main Event.

Below you will see a full breakdown of the chop. Congratulations to the final four players on their big scores, and good luck to Jason in the WPT Main Event later this month!

1. John Nguyen - $41,914
2. Jason Bral - $40,075 + $5,000 WPT Legends of Poker Seat
3. Virej Vartaneian - $34,780
4. Fabian Morales - $27,840

Cards in the Air: $370 Survivor Event

It's time to start up another Survivor Event here at the Bicycle Casino. The buy-in today is $370, and the top 10% of players will be taking home either a $3,700 Day 2 ticket, or $3,300 in cash. Registration will be open tonight until 9 PM, and you can click here for a full structure.

Good luck everyone!

Brian Small Eliminated in 5th Place ($15,275)

Brian Small got his short stack in preflop holding [Ah][9h], but he was well behind the [Jh][Js] of Virej Vartaneian. The board came down [8c][4s][4c][4d][Kd], and the jacks held for Vartaneian.

The final four are once again looking at the numbers now for a chip chop. We will keep you guys posted on how that goes.

John Misirian Eliminated in 6th Place ($12,115)

On the first hand after the failed chop, John Misirian raised to 325,000 from under the gun, and action folded around to Jason Bral in the small blind. He moved all in, easily having Misirian and big blind Brian Small covered. Small folded, and Misirian began talking to Bral, asking him if he had aces. It seemed clear that Misirian had a big hand, but was reluctant to get the chips in after just missing out on getting his chop value.

Eventually, Misirian called with [Kh][Kd], and he was ahead of the [Ah][Jd] of Bral. The flop of [Qh][Qs][4c] didn't help Bral, but the [As] came right on the turn to give him a big lead. The [9h] completed the board, and Misirian joked "ok you guys still want to chop?" as he wished everyone luck, and headed to the payout desk.

Exact Chip Counts for the Final Six

The remaining six players took a look at the numbers during the break, but after some negotiations, a deal couldn't be struck, so we play on. One added benefit is that we have the exact counts for all six players, and you can view those below.

Blinds: 75,000-150,000

John Nugyen - 8,700,000
Virej Vartaneian - 7,375,000
Jason Bral - 7,720,000
Fabian Morales - 3,775,000
John Misirian - 2,350,000
Brian Small - 1,750,000

By the Numbers: $50,000 Guaranteed Event

We had a great turnout in the morning event today, as a field of 240 players created a prizepool of $72,000. The final 24 players will finish in the money, with first place taking home $20,875. Below you will see a breakdown of all of the payouts. Good luck everyone!

1. $20,875
2. $11,950
3. $7,130
4. $5,510
5. $4,160
6. $3,385
7. $2,650
8. $2,065
9. $1,570
10-12. $1,140
13-15. $945
16-18. $805
19-21. $705
22-24. $640

Back to Back Doubles For Morales

Fabian Morales was down to about five big blinds just a few hands ago, but now after two double ups, he suddenly finds himself with about four million chips.

First, he got it all in preflop holding [Ah][Kc] to the [8c][7c] of chip leader Virej Vartaneian. The flop of [Kd][Qd][Qc] left Vartaneian drawing all but dead, and another queen on the turn confirmed that. Morales doubled up to about 1.8 million after that hand, and just a few hands later, he was heads up once again with Vartaneian.

This time, the board rad [Kc][Qd][7d][9h], and Vartaneian fired 400,000. Morales moved all in for about 1.6 million total, and Vartaneian called with [Kd][Jc]. He was drawing very slim though, as Morales tabled [7c][7s] for a set of sevens. No miracle ten on the river meant that Morales doubled up to about 4.4 million.

Ed Alikhani Eliminated in 7th Place ($9,475)

We've just saw the biggest pot of the tournament play out, and it saw start of day chip leader Ed Alikhani bust out in seventh place. Alikhani, Brian Small, and Virej Vartaneian all saw a flop of [Kd][5h][Kh]. Everyone checked to see the [Qc] hit the turn, and it checked to Alikhani, who fired 300,000. Small called, and Vartaneian came in with a check raise to 1,400,000. Alikhani thought for a bit before calling, and Small released his hand to leave them heads up.

The [4s] came on the river, and Vartaneian simultaneously threw out one chip, and announced all in. Alikhani smack down a few chips in the middle to signify a call, and Vartaneian rolled over [5s][5c] for a full house. Alikhani could only shake his head as he showed [Ac][Ks] for trip kings that were no good, and Vartaneian celebrated as he vaulted into the chip lead with about 13 million in chips.

Updated Counts From the Final Seven

Blinds: 50,000-100,000 Average: 4,474,000

Jason Bral - 7,750,000
John Nguyen - 5,900,000
Ed Alikhani - 5,450,000
Virej Vartaneian - 4,300,000
Brian Small - 4,300,000
John Misirian - 1,850,000
Fabian Morales - 1,400,000

Armand Muratoglu Eliminated in 8th Place ($7,170)

After a raise from Ed Alikhani, Armand Muratoglu, who started the day as the shortest stack of the 15 remaining players, moved all in. Alikhani called with [As][Ks], and he was dominating the [Ac][10h] of Muratoglu.

The flop of [Qs][Js][5c] gave both players straight draws, but also gave Alikhani a royal flush draw. The [9c] on the turn gave Muratoglu a few more outs, but the [7d] on the river wasn't one of them.

This leaves us with just seven players. We will post updated counts for all seven shortly.

Sohale Khalili Eliminated in 9th Place ($5,175)

Action started with Jason Bral raising to 225,000, and Fabian Morales called in the small blind. In the big blind, Sohale Khalili moved all in for around 2.5 million, and Bral quickly shoved over the top. Morales folded, and the cards were on their backs.

Bral: [Qc][Qd]
Khalili: [Js][Jh]

The board ran down [Ad][8c][8h][3d][6s], and Bral avoided another tough suckout to knockout Khalili. In doing so, Bral has taken the chip lead with just under eight million.

Morales Spikes River to Triple Up

Fabian Morales moved all in for 590,000, and John Nguyen called in the small blind. In the big blind, Jason Bral announced a raise to 1.6 million, Nguyen rechecked his cards before sending them to the dealer.

Morales: [As][Jh]
Bral: [Ac][Ad]

Morales was in rough shape, but he flopped some hope, as it came down [9s][8c][7s]. The [Qh] on the turn didn't help Morales, but the [10h] came on the river, causing most of the table to groan. Bral simply said "hey that's poker," as he sent the chips over to Morales, who tripled up to about two million.

Arkadi Onikoul Eliminated in 10th Place ($3,335)

On the first hand of the final table, Arkadi Onikoul raised to 160,000 on the button, and John Nguyen three bet to 400,000 from the small blind. Onikoul responded with a four bet shove that was for most of Nguyen's chips, and he thought for about a minute before calling.

"Good call," Onikoul said as he tabled [4s][4h]. He was behind the [10s][10c] of Nguyen, and a ten came right in the window on the flop of [10h][3c][7d]. Of course, no hand is that easy, as Onikoul did hit the [4c] on the turn to keep him barely alive. A three came on the river to give Nguyen the hand, and he takes the chip lead with that pot, as he now has over six million in chips.

Unofficial Final Table Seating Chart and Counts

Phil Laak shoved all in on a number of hands before he was finally called by Jason Bral. Laak had a monster hand with Ace-King, and was dominating the Ace-Queen of Bral. However, a queen came right on the flop, and Laak, who joyfully said that he was hoping to go home, took the beat in stride as he hit the payout desk.

Below you will see how the final ten players stack up right now. Stay tuned to find out who takes down this final table!

Seat 1: Arkadi Onikoul - 2,700,000

Seat 2: John Nguyen - 3,300,000

Seat 3: Jason Bral - 5,900,000

Seat 4: Brian Small - 2,400,000

Seat 5: John Misirian - 2,500,000

Seat 6: Virej Vartaneian - 5,800,000

Seat 7: Fabian Morales - 900,000

Seat 8: Sohale Khalili - 3,500,000

Seat 9: Ed Alikhani - 4,300,000

Seat 10: Armand Muratoglu - 1,500,000

Just 13 Left in the Day 3 Finals

We have lost three players so far in the Day 3 finals of the $200,000 Guaranteed Event, leaving us with just 12 now. First, former Mega Millions champion Phuoc Nguyen missed out on another major final table, busting in 15th place. After that, Jorge Alba departed in 14th place.

Then, Phil Laak looked to be in great shape to secure a massive double up when he got his chips in preflop holding [Ad][Ks] to the [Ah][6h] of Virej Vartaneian. However, Vartaneian flopped a gutshot straight draw, and turned a pair of sixes to cripple Laak down to just a few big blinds. He would get those chips in a few hands later, and was able to double up through Sohale Khalili. However, he is still the extreme short stack with 13 players left.

Once we get down to the final 10 players, we will posted updated counts and photos of everyone left.

Guarantee Nearly Met in Morning Event Already

In the morning event today, we have 158 players registered, meaning that we already have $48,000 in the prizepool. With registration still open until 3:30 PM, we will be easily surpassing the posted guarantee today. Remember this is a one day event, and first place should be over $15,000, so come on down and join us!

Cards in the Air: $50,000 Guaranteed Event

Happy Friday everyone! We are kicking off the weekend with a $50,000 Guaranteed Event this morning here at the Bicycle Casino. Yesterday we had a $9,000 overlay in the $30,000 Guaranteed Event, so you won't want to miss out on this one today!

The buy-in is $365, and registration will be open until 3:30 PM. Click here for a full structure, and good luck to all!

Schedule for Today: Friday, August 2nd

11:30 AM - $50,000 Guaranteed Deepstack Event.  $365 buy-in. 50,000 in starting chips. Registration open until 3:30 PM

5 PM - $370 Juice Free Satellite. Top 10% will take home $3,700 ticket, or $3,300 in cash. Registration open until 9 PM

7:30 PM - $500 Main Event Mega Satellite. Guaranteeing three $5,000 seats to the WPT Main Event. Registration open until 9 PM

Ed Alikhani and Jason Bral Top the Final 15

After 14 levels of poker today, a starting field of 174 players is down to just 15 players. Leading the way is a familiar face to the Bicycle Casino, Ed Alikhani, who will be bringing 4,835,000 into play tomorrow. Right behind him is another Bike regular, Jason Bral, who has 4,300,000.

Below you will see a full seating chart for tomorrow's Day 3 finals. One of these 15 players will be taking home over $60,000, as well as a $5,000 seat to the WPT Main Event that will be starting at the end of the month. The action resumes at 1 PM tomorrow, and we will have all of the updates until a winner is decided, so be sure to come back then!

Table 1

Seat 1: Joseph Lerman - 1,225,000
Seat 2: Phil Laak - 985,000
Seat 3: Virej Vartaneian - 3,450,000
Seat 4: Jason Bral - 4,300,000
Seat 5: Tommy Reeves - 1,720,000
Seat 6: EMPTY
Seat 7: Phuoc Nguyen - 735,000
Seat 8: Sohale Khalili - 2,400,000
Seat 9: John Misirian - 2,400,000


Table 2

Seat 1: EMPTY
Seat 2: EMPTY
Seat 3: Fabian Morales - 1,520,000
Seat 4: Ed Alikhani - 4,835,000
Seat 5: Arkadi Onikoul - 1,700,000
Seat 6: Jorge Alba-  1,255,000
Seat 7: Brian Small - 1,650,000
Seat 8: John Nguyen -2,900,000
Seat 9: Armand Muratoglu - 675,000

Ed Alikhani - 4,835,000

Jason Bral - 4,300,000

Viraj Vartaneian - 3,450,000

Last Round of Bustouts Tonight: 19-27th Places

We are at the point where there is a pay jump for every three eliminations. The following players each took home $2,235 tonight.

19. Genefredo Legaspi
20. Francis Mariani
21. Casey Jacobs

These three all won $1,945.

22. Adam Singer
23. Armen Poghosyan
24. Robert Radin

And lastly, these three earned $1,660 for their efforts.

25. Anonymous
26. Eugene Tito
27. Kathleen Solowitz

Khalili Still Leads with One Level Left Tonight

We have just started the 14th and final level of the night, and only 21 players still remain. Sohale Khalili, who is a former WSOP Circuit ring winner here at the Bike, is in the pole position right now with 4.7 milllion. Bike regular Ed Alikhani is not far behind him though, as he has 4.5 million.

Play will be wrapping up within the hour. Stay tuned for the final updates of the night!