I have followed his lead, I have hired a personal assistant but we got off to a rocky start at WPT Venice. Don’t leave me waiting.

WPT Venice Grand Prix Day 4 Completed: Andrea Dato Runaway Chip Leader

Day 4 of the World Poker Tour Venice Grand Prix Main Event was short and sweet, topping the scales at under three hours, thanks to having to only go from nine to six players. First to go was Massimo Mosele and he was followed out of the door shortly afterwards by Jeremie Sochet and American pro Jason Wheeler and with Wheeler’s elimination the final table was complete set in stone.

When play resumes on Friday afternoon the six final table members will line up as follows:

• Seat 1: Andrea Dato: 1,591,000
• Seat 2: Simon Ravnsbaek: 922,000
• Seat 3: Andrea Carini: 347,000
• Seat 4: Rinat Bogdanov: 907,000
• Seat 5: Gianluca Trebbi: 343,000
• Seat 6: Alessandro Longobardi: 558,000

15:48

Jason Wheeler Eliminated in 7th Place (€25,625)

Our final table has been set with the elimination of Jason Wheeler. Andrea Dato opened to 33,000 in the hijack only to see Andrea Carini three-bet to 85,000 from the cutoff. Gianluca Trebbi folded his small blind but Wheeler moved all in for 436,000. Dato made the call and when Carini folded the cards were revealed.

Wheeler:
Dato:

“One time,” pleads Wheeler

Flop: – A very safe flop for Dato’s jacks.

Turn: – Wheeler still needs an ace or queen

River: – An unnecessary set of jacks for Dato and with that Wheeler heads to the sidelines and we have out final table.

15:37

Trebbi Gets Shoving

Gianluca Trebbi is short stacked and it looks like he has made the decision to start getting his chips into the middle. First he open-shoved for 230,000 from UTG+1 and picked up the blinds and antes then almost immediately afterwards he shoved over the top of Andrea Dato’s opening 33,000 raise and found no callers.

15:26

Dato Hits Quads

Andrea Dato raises to 33,000 in the hijack and Gianluca Trebbi defends his big blind. The flop is and Trebbi check-calls a 30,000 c-bet. On the turn we have yet another deuce 2and this time Trebbi check-calls a 52,000 Dato bet.

Heading to the river Trebbi has around 400,000 behind and Dato has 560,000. We see the and Trebbi checks to Dato who bets 130,000. Trebbi doesn’t need long to make his mind up and flicks a solitary red 5k chip into the middle of the table to indicate a call. Dato shows for quads and the Trebbi hand suddenly became irrelevant as he slides it unseen to the dealer.

Dato: 800,000
Trebbi: 292,000

15:16

Slow Down

The players, who are relatively even in chips, are playing much more conservatively than at any other stage of the tournament and nobody seems to want to take advantage of that. The reason for the slow down is not just the pay jump but also the fact the full WPT production team is here and this tournament is going to be broadcast around the world.

It seems like the last seven players are wanting to get their faces onto the television!

15:04

Bogdanov Closes Gap

Simon Ravnsbaek raises to 28,000 in the cutoff and Rinat Bogdanov calls in the small blind. Gianluca Trebbi folds his big blind and they see a flop of . Bogdanov decided to check-raise to 70,000 and Ravnsbaek calls. On the turn we have the and Bogdanov bets 120,000 and Ravnsbaek decides to fold.

Bogdanov: 900,000
Ravnasbaek: 1,100,000

14:53

Wheeler Gets Into Push-Bot Mode

Jason Wheeler open shoves for 330,000 in the hijack seat, “I have 330,000…well around 375,000 after this hand,” says Wheeler before everyone folds.

“That’s a big shove,” says Ravnsbaek.

“Guess I am done folding,” says Wheeler.

“Tilt?”

“I don’t tilt often,” says Wheeler.

A few hands later and Andrea Carini raises from the cutoff to 33,000 and Wheeler moves all-in from the big blind and Carini folds.

“What is your stack now Jason?” Asks Dato.

“Around 410,000 – enough to some damage,” says Wheeler.

14:49

Official Chip Counts

• 1st – Simon Ravnsbaek – 1,200,000
• 2nd – Rinat Bogdanov – 783,000
• 3rd – Alessandro Longobardi – 680,000
• 4th – Andrea Dato – 625,000
• 5th – Gianluca Trebbi – 607,000
• 6th – Andrea Carini – 475,000
• 7th – Jason Wheeler – 270,000

14:32

Break Time

The players are on a 15-minute break.

14:24

Jeremie Sochet Eliminated in 8th Place (€19,055)

Jeremie Sochet has been sent to the rail and we are now on the WPT Venice Grand Prix final table bubble!

Rinat Bogdanov opens to 27,000 from the small blind and Sochet three-bets all in for an addition 94,000. Bogdanov decided to gamble and he makes the call.

Sochet:
Bogdanov:

Bogdanov picks up flush draw on the flop but he doesn’t need it because the turn is the leaving Sochet drawing to one out. Our river card is the and Sochet becomes out eighth place finisher.

14:12

Massimo Mosele Eliminated in 9th Place (€13,795)

Every tournament has one. The rock who somehow manages to get super deep in the tournament without seemingly playing a hand. This particular rock – Massimo Mosele – played two hands today. The first was an open shove that got through uncontested and the second is this one…

Massimo Mosele open shoves for 109,000, in early position, and Andrea Dato calls in the hijack seat. Mosele turns over and Dato has . The board runs out and Dato eliminates is fellow countryman.

Dato ~ 670,000

13:59

Trebbi Five-Bets

Jason Wheeler gets the action under way by raising to 26,000 from UTG+1. Alessandro Longobardi calls to his direct left and then the action folds to Rinat Bogdanov who squeezes to 86,000. To Bogdanov’s left is Gianluca Trebbi and he moves two towers of chips forward that turns out to be 194,000. This is enough to force snap-folds from Wheeler and Longobardi but Bogdanov ponders his options.

He’s sat scratching his head, literally, with a single yellow 1,000 chips but the friction caused does not spark any bright ideas and he folds.

“Show us a deuce!” jokes Simon Ravnsbaek as Trebbi sends his cards towards the muck.

13:54

Carini Check-Raise Wins Pot

Massimo Mosele raises to 25,000 first-in from the cutoff and the action folds to Andrea Carini in the big blind. He asks Mosele to move his hands so he can count his stack, he does and when he counts the chips Carini makes the call.

Flop: – Carini checks, Mosele continues with a bet of 30,000 but when Carini check-raises to 100,000 Mosele instantly mucks.

13:48

Ravnsbaek Comes Out Three-Betting

Andrea Carinjo opens to 25,000 from under the gun and immediately covers his mouth with his scarf. The action folds to Simon Ravnsbaek in the big blind and he three-bets to 62,000 and surprisingly Carini snap-folds.

13:45

Passively Played Kings Good For Longobardi

Joining the action on a flop, Jason Wheeler checks from the big blind and Alessandro Longobardi checks behind from under the gun. The dealer puts the onto the turn and now Wheeler comes out betting, making it 36,000 to play but Longobardi is not going away and he quickly calls.

The river is the and Wheeler goes back into checking mode. Longobardi checks behind and the players are instructed to showdown their hands.

Longobardi: – and the win
Wheeler:

Longobardi: 790,000
Wheeler: 650,000

13:39

Ravnsbaek Shoves On Dato, Shows a Five!

Andrea Dato raises to 25,000 in the hijack seat and Simon Ravnsbaek three-bets to 64,000 in the cutoff. The action folds back around to Dato and he grabs a handful of white 10k chips and his Danish opponent smiles. Dato counts out a four-bet of around 130,000 and moves it across the line.

“I am all-in,” says Ravnsbaek.

Dato mucks instantly and Ravnsbaek smiles before showing him the !

Ravnsabaek: 900,000
Dato: 630,000

13:35

Bogdanov Doubles Up

Rinat Bogdanov raises to 25,000 from under the gun and Jeremie Sochet quickly two seats to his left. The duo share a flop of and Bogdanov makes a continuation bet of 25,000 and Sochet calls. On the turn we see the and this time Bogdanov slows down and checks. Sochet dives straight into his chips and lays out a bet of 25,000, Bogdanov takes his time and makes the call.

The river card is the and Bogdanov verbally declares he is all in for a total of 122,000 chips. Sochet says something to him in French before finally calling and Bogdanov turns over for straight that he caught on the river. Sochet throws face up on the table for a flopped set.

Bogdanov: 410,000
Sochet: 206,000

13:21

Shuffle Up And Deal

Play is underway in the WPT Venice Main Event. We think it could be short and sweet with just nine players remaining and play stopping when we get to six.

12:22

WPT Venice Grand Prix: Day 4

Hello and welcome back to the historical Casino Di Venezia for the penultimate day of the WPT Venice Grand Prix Main Event. Just nine players remain and by the time the curtain comes down on today’s performance there will only be six and these six will return on Friday for the televised and live streamed final table.

Leading the way when play gets underway, at around 1300 CET, is Simon Ravnsbaek. His 795,000 chips slightly in front of Alessandro Longobardi’s 783,000. Third place at the start of the day belongs to Andrea Dato with 726,000 chips. You may remember Dato from the WPT Venice Main Event we ran in December because he made the final table and finished fourth for €43,170. Can he go one, two or three better in the Grand Prix?

Making up the final nine are Jason Wheeler, Gianluca Trebbi, Andrea Carini, Jeremie Sochet, Rinat Bogdanov and Massimo Mosele. here’s how the nine will line up.

• Seat 1: Andrea Dato: 726,000
• Seat 2: Simon Ravnsbaek: 795,000
• Seat 3: Andrea Carini: 430,000
• Seat 4: Rinat Bogdanov: 201,000
• Seat 5: Gianluca Trebbi: 474,000
• Seat 6: Jeremie Sochet: 402,000
• Seat 7: Jason Wheeler: 699,000
• Seat 8: Alessandro Longobardi: 783,000
• Seat 9: Massimo Mosele: 163,000

00:49

Day 3 Completed: Simon Ravnsbaek Leads With Nine Remaining

Day 3 of the World Poker Tour Venice Grand Prix Main Event has been completed after six 90-minute levels were needed to reduce the 27 starters down to the final table of nine.

When play resumes at 1300 CET on Thursday it will be Simon Ravnsbaek who will be the chip leader, his 795,000 stack nudging him just in front of the chasing pack. Ravnsbaek played aggressive poker throughout the day and despite starting as one of the shorter stacks he thoroughly deserves his place at the top of the chip counts.

This tournament marks the Dane’s second in a World Poker Tour Event, his only other cash on the tour coming in 2011 when he finished third in the WPT Vienna Main Event. Can he go one or two places better here in Venice?

In second place going into Day 4 is Alessandro Longobardi who slowly bled chips all day long before a mini heater right at the death saw his stack swell to 783,000, just 12,000 less than Ravnsbaek. This is his first WPT cash, can he now make it his first WPT win?

Making up the final hand are Andrea Dato (726,000) who finished 4th in the WPT Venice Main Event in December, Jason Wheeler (699,000) who has almost $3,000,000 in online poker tournament winnings, Gianluca Trebbi (474,000), Andrea Carini (430,000), Jeremie Sochet (402,000) and Rinat Bogdanov (201,000).

Day 4 has the potential to be rather short as we will only be playing down to the televised six-handed final table but you never know in this crazy game we all love. When play resumes the players will be seated as follows:

WPT Venice Grand Prix Final Table

Seat 1: Andrea Dato: 726,000
Seat 2: Simon Ravnsbaek: 795,000
Seat 3: Andrea Carini: 430,000
Seat 4: Rinat Bogdanov: 201,000
Seat 5: Gianluca Trebbi: 474,000
Seat 6: Jeremie Sochet: 402,000
Seat 7: Jason Wheeler: 699,000
Seat 8: Alessandro Longobardi: 783,000
Seat 9: Massimo Mosele: 163,000

00:03

Andrey Gulyy Eliminated in 10th Place (€9,855)

Andrey Gulyy has been eliminated on the final table bubble, becoming our 10th place finisher.

Five-handed he open-shoved for 170,000 with what turned out to be and ran straight into the of Alessandro Longobardi. The missed Gulyy but the turn gave him a plethora of outs. They failed to appear though as the river was the and he was eliminated in 10th place, bringing the tournament to an end.

23:47

Gulyy Again!

Andrey Gulyy is being ultra active during the latter part of Day 3 and he has just doubled up to 170,000!

A raise from Rinat Bogdanov was met with an all-in three-bet to 88,000. Bogdanov makes the call and it is off to the races.

Bogdanov:
Gulyy:

The board runs out and Gulyy doubles up.

23:36

Gulyy Loses Even More Ground

Andrea Carini raises to 22,00 in the cutoff, Rinat Bogdanov moves all-in from the small blind for 120,000 and Gulyy reships in the big blind for a little but more. Carini folds and we have a showdown.

Bogdanov:
Gulyy:

Board:

Bogdanov moved up to 240,000 and Gulyy was left with 82,000 and one hell of a headache.

23:23

Longobardi Doubles Through Gulyy

Andrey Gulyy makes a standard raise from the cutoff and Alessandro Longobardi calls on the button. The dealer gives us a rainbow flop of , Gulyy c-bets 21,000 and Longobardi makes the call.

The turn is the and Gulyy fires his second barrel of 51,000 and Longobardi calls once more. Finally, we see the and Gully goes to a tower of reds and as they start to shake he says, “150″. No sooner does he say 150 than Longobardi says, “I am all-in.”

Gulyy’s face hits the floor, “great you have a straight – nice hand,” he says.

“Yes,” says Longobardi.

Gulyy still pays off the additional 55,000 and Longobardi shows for the rivered straight. Gulyy shows everyone his flopped top set with before saying, “The best players always win in this game.”

Longobardi ~ 600,000
Gulyy ~ 200,000

23:37

Mosele Is Highlander

The action folds to Massimo Mosele on the button and he moves all in for 144,000. Simon Ravnsbaek instantly mucks but Jason Wheeler triumphantly says “call” and slams down a pair of black kings. Mosele shows and the dealer gets ready to deal the flop.

The WPT camera crew start to roll their tape as the dealer puts out the flop.

“Come on, I wanna go home.” says Wheeler.

The turn is the and Wheeler looks to the heavens and shakes his head.

“KING!” demands Wheeler but his pleas fall on deaf ears as the river is the and Mosele survives again.

“Highlander. He’s just like Highlander,” says Andrea Dato who has been seated to Mosele’s right all day long.

23:19

Longobardi Plays Rare Pot

Alessandro Longobardi must have been card dead all day because we have hardly seen him move his eyes away from his iPad. But he did just play a hand with Andrey Gulyy.

Gulyy raises to 21,000 on the button and Longobardi defends his small blind. The big blind doesn’t want anything to do with the pot and so they share a flop of . Longobardi checks to Gulyy who c-bets 26,000. Longobardi then check-raises to 62,000 and Gulyy calls. On the turn we have the and Longobardi moves all-in for 145,000 and Gulyy quickly folds.

Longobardi: 340,000
Gulyy: 500,000

23:07

Gabriele Lepore Eliminated in 11th Place (€9,855)

Gabriele Lepore has just been eliminated by Gianluca Trebbi. All the action went down pre flop with Lepore holding pocket sevens and Trebbi holding pocket queens. The board of offering no hope for Lepore and he leaves with €9,855 in his back pocket.

Trebbi ~ 670,000

22:56

Mosele’s Image Pays Dividends

Massimo Mosele has played approximately three hands in the last two days and he made that four when he open-shoved from the small blind.

“Any other player and this is a snap-call,” says Ravnsbaek.

He looks pained in his decision making but he comes to the conclusion that he is beat and he mucks his hand.

22:46

Marcel Bjerkmann Eliminated in 12th Place (€9,855)

Arguably the most entertaining player in the field has been eliminated, Marcel Bjerkmann. He opened to 21,000 on the button only to see Simon Ravnsbaek moved all in. Bjerkmann makes the call and the cards are revealed.

Bjerkmann:
Ravnsbaek:

The board runs out and it is game over for the man known as P3rc4. GG sir, you weren’t everyone’s cup fo twa but you were certainly different from the norm!

22:29

Gulyy Adds To Stack

Joining the action on a board, Andrea Carini checks to Andrey Gulyy who pauses for 45 seconds before picking up a pile of red 5,000 chips and a single yellow 1,000 and makes a bet. The bet is for 81,000 and Carini, sat with a scarf over his mouth, quickly calls.

Gulyy:
Carini: Muck

22:15

Trebbi In Fortunate Double Up

Simon Ravnsbaek raises to 17,000, in early position, and the action folds around to the quiet Gianluca Trebbi, on the button, who makes a three-bet to 41,000. Back to Ravnsbaek and he four-bets to 72,000 and then calls the 288,000 shove from Trebbi.

Surely Trebbi has aces or kings? Why of course he has… ! Ravnsbaek turns over and it looks for all the world that Trebbi is going to be our 12th place finisher.

Flop:

Trebbi now needs runner-runner cards to survive.

Turn:

There is one of them.

River:

Trebbi: 590,000
Ravnsbaek: 395,000

22:07

Last Level

It is the last level of the day folks, 90-minutes more and we will be packing up for the day, unless the players go a little crazy and we get down to six before hand.

22:01

Marko Neumann Eliminated in 13th Place (€8,540)

Marko Neumann, Germany’s sole survivor in this tournament, has been eliminated in 13th place. He open shoved for 95,000 with and Andrea Carini makes the call with . The board runs out and we are down to 12 in the Main Event.

21:47

Bjerkmann Shoves On Ravnsbaek

The action folds to Marcel Bjerkmann who opens on the button to 18,000. Simon Ravnsbaek three-bets to 51,000 which puts the action back on Bjerkmann and he asks his opponent if he will call if he shoves on him. He says he will but Bjerkmann moves in on him and Ravnsbaek snap-folds.

21:35

Jeremie Sochet Doubles Through Andrea Carini

Andrea Carini limps into the pot and Jeremie Sochet moves all-in for 193,000. The action folds around to Jason Wheeler in the big blind and he smells a rat. He shows us before folding and Carini makes the call. When the cards were overturned Carini was indeed setting a trap, but the timing couldn’t have been worse.

Carini turns over but Sochet has woken up with . Wheeler pats himself on the back and the dealer does his job and delivers five community cards. The board is and Sochet doubles up.

Sochet ~ 410,000
Carini ~ 195,000

21:24

Mosele Doubles Through Bjerkmann

Massimo Mosele now has around 160,000 chips after doubling up through Marcel Bjerkmann, who is looking increasingly frustrated about how his tournament is panning out.

Andrea Dato opened to 17,000 from the hijack and Mosele three-bet all in for 65,000 in the cutoff. Bjerkmann is on the button and he calls and Dato folds.

Mosele:
Bjerkmann:

The board runs out and Bjerkmann calls “Deuce” and the dealer puts a deuce on the river but it is of clubs and Mosele wins with a flush.

“Three flips in a row I’ve lost now. I know I can’t win them all but once in a while would be nice,” said Bjerkmann.

“What?” exclaims Simon Ravnsbaek, “you’ve won them all apart that one!”

21:06

Ravnsbaek Takes The Chip Lead

Simon Ravnsbaek has just taken the chip lead without a flop being dealt. Andrea Dato raises to 17,000 in the hijack seat and Marcel Bjerkmann calls on the button. Ravnsbaek enquires about the size of Bjerkmann’s stack before three-betting to 88,000. Dato is next to act and he also enquires about the stack size of Bjerkmann before four-betting to 136,000. Bjerkmann folds and Ravnsbaek breathes a heavy sigh, checks his cards, stares at Dato and raises a total of 100,000 more and Dato mucks instantly.

Ravnsbaek ~ 810,000
Dato ~ 638,000

19:49

Dinner Dinner Dinner Dinner Dinner Dinner Dinner Dinner Batman

Guess what time it is?

19:45

Marko Neumann Explodes!

After just being caught bluffing on the previous orbit Marko Neumann has just exploded and lost more than half of his stack.

Joining the action on the Sergey Gulyy bets 29,000 from the small blind seat only to see Neumann move all in for over 350,000! Gulyy looks puzzled as if something doesn’t make sense and he calls off his 199,000 stack.

Gulyy: – for top pair
Neumann: – for nothing at all

The river is the and Neumann gives 199,000 of his hard earned chips to his opponent. He now has 180,000 left whilst Gulyy climbs to 415,000.

19:31

Marko Neumann Caught Bluffing

Marko Neumann opens to 13,000 in early position and he picks up callers in the shape of Jeremie Sochet, Jason Wheeler and Alessandro Longobardi.

Flop: – All four players check the action around

Turn: – Wheeler checks, Longobardi checks, Neumann bets 16,000 and only Sochet calls.

River: – Neumann checks, Sochet bets 24,000 and Neumann hisses like a snake before mucking his hand.

19:22

Gabriele Lepore Doubles Twice In Two Hands

Gabriele Lepore has just doubled twice in consecutive hands. The first saw him all in with against the of Simon Ravnsbaek and the board ran out .

The second saw him all in with against the of Marcin Bjerkmann and the board ran out .

He now has over 280,000.

19:17

Sochet Doubles Through Gulyy

A preflop raising war breaks out between Andrey Gulyy and Jeremie Sochet that results in the latter being all in and at risk, though that risk is limited because he holds and is up against .

The board runs out and Sochet doubles to 240,000

19:13

James Akenhead Eliminated in 14th Place (€8,540)

James Akenhead has been eliminated. Simon Ravnsbaek opened to 13,000 and Akenhead moved all in for 23,000. Marcel Bjerkmann calls the shove and Ravnsbaek tries to raise but Bjerkmann complains to the floor. The floor rules Ravnsbaek can raise and he does just that and an angry Bjerkmann folds.

Ravnsbaek holds to Akenhead’s . The board runs out king heart and void of diamonds and with that the Brit is heading to the cashier’s cage for his winnings.

19:00

Erion Islamay Eliminated in 15th Place (€8,450)

There is an Erion Islamay shaped space where he once sat so we can safely assume he was our 15th place finisher.

18:57

Ouch! Akenhead Has Aces Cracked, Left With Just 23k

Marcel Bjerkmann raises to 14,000 in first position and James Akenhead three-bet to 36,000 in the hijack seat. Bjerkmann, of course, made the call and the two of them share a flop. Bjerkmann checks and Akenhead moves 45,000 over the line. Back to Bjerkmann and he moves all-in and Akenhead calls.

Akenhead turns over and Bjerkmann turns over for top two pair. The turn is the and the river is the and Akenhead stands up to leave. He is eventually told to sit back down because he has 23,000 chips left whilst Bjerkmann has 340,000.

18:45

James Akenhead Doubles Up

Marcel Bjerkmann opens from middle position and James Akenhead moves all-in, on the button, for around 120,000. Bjerkmann makes the call and flips over 7 6 and Akenhead shows A 5. The board runs out Q 2 2 Q 9 and Akenhead gets a much needed double up.

Akenhead ~ 240,000
Bjerkmann ~ 200,000

18:21

Break Time

Time for a quick coffee.

18:15

Heads-Up Event Added

It seems as though the plan for the remainder of Day 3 is to play down to the final table of six players. If this is decided then the players will have a well earned rest tomorrow. Just incase they are bored, the casino has put on a special heads up event. It is a €1350+150 buy-in with a starting stack of 20,000. Registration is open at 16.00 and the tournament starts at 17.00 where it will be contested as a “best of three matches” contest.

18:01

Lepore Loses Again!

Poor old Gabriele Lepore cannot do anything right at the moment, unless you count doubling your opponents up as being good. He raises to 11,000 then calls Massimo Mosele 89,000 all-in three-bet.

Lepore:
Mosele:

Lepore is in a good position to bust out an opponent but the flop comes down to change those plans. The turn is the and the river the and Mosele earns himself a reprieve but Lepore is down to around 60,000 an in real trouble.

17:46

Lepore Doubles Bjerkmann

A preflop raising war breaks out between Marcel Bjerkmann and Gabriele Lepore that results in the former being all in and at risk of elimination.

Bjerkmann:
Lepore:

Board:

Bjerkmann doubles to 210,000 chips.

17:34

Wheeler Doesn’t Win This One

Joining the action on a flop, Jason Wheeler bets 15,000 from middle position under the watchful stare of Andrea Carini who quickly calls. The turn is the and Wheeler taps the table and checks and Carini checks behind.

The river card is the and just like the turn both players checked.

Wheeler shows and Carini wins with his .

17:25

Massimo Mosele raises to 12,500, on the button, and Simon Ravnsbaek puts him all-in, from the big blind prompting a fold from Mosele.

Andrey Gulyy raises to 10,500 in early position, Jason Wheeler three-bets to 28,500, one seat to his left, and then Marko Neumann moves all-in for 200,000. Gulyy folds but Wheeler seems to have a much tougher decision, “can I really lay this down?” Says Wheeler before eventually mucking his hand.

Marcel Bjerkmann is getting bored, so he decides to have a little go at Andrea Dato once more. This time the floor intervene and Bjerkmann is given a warning of a one round penalty if he continues to disrespect his opponents.

17:16

Bjerkmann’s Stack Continues To Tumble

Marcel Bjerkmann continues to leak chips at an alarming rate and at this rate he will become his 15th place finisher.

Simon Ravnsbaek opens to 10,500 from under the gun and the action folds to Andrea Dato on the button. The Italian three-bets to 24,500 and then Bjerkman four-bets to 42,500. Ravnsbaek responds by five-betting to 105,000 which forces Dato out of the ahnd but Bjerkmann makes the call.

Flop: – Bjerkmann checks, Ravnsbaek bets 41,000 and Bjerkmann instantly calls.

Turn: – Bjerkmann checks again, Ravnsbaek shoves and Bjerkmann flicks his cards into the muck lightning quick and he is down to 60,000 chips whilst Ravnsbaek is at the other end of the spectrum with 680,000.

17:06

Bjerkmann And Dato Clash yet Again

After Massimo Mosele folds under the gun Marcel Bjerkmann open-limps. The action folds to Andrea Dato in the big blind and he bangs a red chip on top of the yellow chip protecting his cards to signal his intention to check.

The dealer puts out the flop. Dato checks, Bjerkmann bets 6,000 and Dato makes an instantaneous call. After burning a card the dealer puts the fourth community card onto the table, the . Again Dato check calls, this time a much larger 20,600 bet from the aggressive Norwegian meaning there are still two active players when the lands on the river.

Dato checks and Bjerkmann, who is still being massaged since yesterday, bets 54,500 but his bet spills into the actual pot. Luckily the tournament director is watching him like a hawk after a number of outbursts from him and he had counted the bet. Dato ponders his options for a few moments, sighing and sniffing up before mucking his hand.

Bjerkmann shows him the to which Dato says, “Nice bluff” and Bjerkmann begins re-stacking his chips. As he is doing so the tournament director asks him to pay more attention with his betting and he nods in agreement.

16:53

Konstantin Streletskiy Eliminated in 16th Place (€8,540)

Konstantin Streletskiy is no more, having busted out at the hands of Marcel Bjerkmann. A preflop raising war resulted in Streletskiy all in and at risk with against the crazy Norwegian’s . The pocket threes stayed ahead on a flop and the turn failed to alter anything and when the river came the it was game over for Streletskiy and we are down to 15 in the Main Event.

16:45

Giacomo Valenti Eliminated in 17th Place (€7,225)

Giacomo Valenti has been eliminated in 17th place. We’re unsure of the details but he is no longer seated at his table.

16:22

Frothy Coffee Time

The level has ended and the players are helping themselves to coffee. We’ll be right back

16:10

“You Deserve A Punch In The Face!”

James Akenhead raises to 8,500 from UTG+1 and after three players fold Andrea Dato calls in the cutoff. Marcel Bjerkmann calls in the small blind and Simon Ravnsbaek calls in the big blind.

Flop: – The action folds to Dato and he bets 15,000 only to see Bjerkmann check-raise to 44,000. This is enough to fold everyone except Dato who beats his opponent into the pot.

Turn: – Bjerkmann fires a bet of 64,000 and Dato quickly calls.

River: – Bjerkmann now bets 82,000 and Dato goes into the tank. He stays here for nearly two and a half minutes before announcing, “Call” and making the call.

Dato turns over for a full house whilst all Bjerkmann can muster is .

“Wow. That is the sickest slowroll I have every had put on me,” exclaimed Bjerkmann before flying into a Tony G-esque rant, “You deserve a punch in the face right now. Just don’t talk to me. If you see me out away from here do not talk to me dude.”

Dato is the new chip leader with 670,000 chips whilst Bjerkmann’s stack has dwindled to just 160,000.

15:49

Ravnsbaek Doubles Up

Marcel Bjerkmann has just been moved to his new table and he has gotten off to the worse possible start. He raises to 10,500 in early position and Simon Ravnsbaek three-bets him, one seat to his left, making it 28,000 to play. Bjerkmann immediately moves all-in and Ravnsbaek calls.

Ravnsbaek turns over and Bjerkmann turns over with so much confidence the whole room was sure he had aces.

Board:

Bjerkmann just shrugs his shoulders and hands over 160,000 to Ravnsbaek.

We then missed the following hand but we saw Bjerkmann bluffing into the welcoming arms of Gianluca Trebbi to lose even more chips.

Ravnsbaek ~ 330,000
Trebbi ~ 400,000
Bjerkmann ~ 460,000

15:34

Gianluca Speranza Eliminated in 18th Place (€7,225)

Erion Islamay makes a standard raise in middle position and Gianluca Speranza moves all-in from the big blind. Islamay calls and we have a showdown with Speranza at risk of elimination.

Islamay:
Speranza:

We only had to wait for the flop for the hopes of Speranza to be dashed.

Board:

Islamay: 270,000

15:24

Bubble Bursts, Tran Has Kings Cracked

The bubble has burst here in Venice after Lionel Tran had his pocket kings cracked. The action folded to him in the small blind and he moved all in for his last 40-50,000 and Bjerkmann made a rather loose call.

Bjerkmann:
Tran:

The flop comes down and Bjerkmann comments on how he has a sweat now that he has paired his jack. The turn is the which catapults him into an unlikely lead and Tran looks to the heavens but they do not answer as the river is the and he is eliminated.

Each of the surviving 18 players are now guaranteed €7,225 for their efforts here in Italy.

15:13

Lepore Doubles Up

Marcel Bjerkmann opens on the button and Gabriele Leprore three-bets all-in for 75,000 from the big blind. Bjerkmanm calls and comments on how he wants to bust a player out.

Bjerkmann:
Lepore:

Board:

“Don’t try re-shoving on me, it won’t work, unless you have ace-king that is!” says Bjerkmann

“What a call huh?”

15:00

Wheeler Spinning It Up

Jason Wheeler raises to 8,500 from the hijack and Alessandro Longobardi calls in the cutoff. The flop comes down and Wheeler continues with a bet of 12,500, a bet that Longobardi raises to 28,000. Wheeler instantly calls and it is off to the turn.

Wheeler now checks, Longobardi bets 38,000 only to see the American check-raise to 85,000 sending Longobardi deep into the tank. He stays there for at least four minutes before he mucks his hand and the bubble still looms.

Meanwhile Wheeler is up past 500,000 chips.

14:51

Set Over Set

Gabriele Lepore raises to 8,000, Jeremie Sochet three-bets to 18,000 and Lepore makes the call. The flop is rainbow and Lepore bets 15,000. Sochet raises to 40,000, Lepore moves all-in and Sochet calls.

Lepore turns over for bottom set and Sochet turns over for top set. The turn and river were barren for Lepore and Sochet has a huge double up.

Sochet: 480,000
Lepore: 111,000

14:30

Break It Up

Players are on a 15-minute break.

14:23

Bjerkmann Soars To 600,000 Chips

On a flop reading Jeremie Sochet checks from the small blind seat and Marcel Bjerkmann bets 18,000 chips into the already substantial pot. The is checked very quickly by both players but when Sochet checks the arrival of the Bjerkmann stacks up 59,000 and topples them over the betting line. Almost instantly Sochet mucks his hand and Bjerkmann now has almost exactly 600,000.

14:14

No Action For Konstantin Streletskiy

Despite only holding 31,500 chips and the blinds being 1,500/3,000/500a Viachevslav Goryachev decided to make it 6,500 to play from under the gun. To his direct left is Konstantin Streletskiy and he three-bets all in for 50,500 in total and the the entire table’s surprise Goryachev folds!

Streletskiy shows and picks up the blinds, antes and the 6,500 from the unconventional raise.

14:03

Guido Chiodo Busto

Jeremie Sochet now has 230,000 after eliminating Guido Chiodo. It was another preflop coinflip with Sochet holding and Chiodo holding . Sochet paired his queen and Chiodo was out. Simple as that.

Sochet ~ 230,000

13:57

De Paz Ditched

Dario De Paz’s tournament is over and we are down to 23 in the Main Event. He four-bet squeezed all in for around 45,000 chips in the small blind with but was called by Alessandro Longobardi and his .

The board ran out .

13:45

Fundaro Makes a Boat on The River

Joining the action on a flop that reads Simon Ravnsbaek checks from the small blind position and it is up to Giacomo Fundaro to act. With his head rested on his left hand he reaches for chips and best 6,000. Ravnsbaek quickly makes the call.

The turn brings the into play and against Ravnsbaek checks his option to bet. Fundaro bets again, this time making it 21,000 to play and again Ravnsbaek makes the call. The river is a second king, the and once again Ravnsbaek checks. Fundaro reaches for chips again and bets 33,500 and Ravnsbaek does not seem happy at all and he removes his mirrored aviator glasses and sighs.

“Thirty-three?” he quizzes before the dealer confirms the amount is 33,500.

Shortly afterwards he slides the required chips forward but shakes his head an mucks when he sees Fundaro turn over for a full house.

Fundaro is back to 168,000 whilst Ravnsbaek drops back down to 112,500.

13:19

Kara Scott Eliminated

From the cutoff PartyPoker pro Kara Scott moves all in for just 17,500 and Andrea Carini calls from the button. Both blinds fold and the players flip their cards onto their backs.

Scott:
Carini:

Board:

And with that Scott is eliminated from the Main Event. She was already short-stacked at the start of play and never managed to recover after losing with pocket fives to the of Konstantin Streletskiy.

13:16

Akenhead Gets His Chips Back

From under the gun James Akenhead makes it 6,500 to play and after one player folds Gianluca Trebbi flat-calls. Nobody else commits any chips and it is heads up to the flop.

Akenhead leads into his opponent with a 9,500 continuation bet, a bet that Trebbi instantly calls. The turn brings the into the equation and now Akenhead taps the table and checks. Trebbi, only his eyes visible due to his face being covered by a black scarf, snap-checks behind.

The final card is the completing a possible straight and Akenhead fires a bet of 16,500 into Trebbi. The Italian sits motionless for 30 seconds still holding the fabric over his face before sliding his cards from under the yellow chip that was protecting them and passing them to the deal.

Akenhead wins.

13:10

Akenhead Doubles Goryachev

The action folds around to James Akenhead in middle position and he raises to 6,500. To his immediate left is Viacheslaw Goryachev and he wastes very little time in getting his 30,000 stack into the middle. The remainder of the table pass their hands but after 20 seconds deliberation Akenhead calls.

Akenhead:
Goryachev:

The flop keeps the jacks in front. The turn changes nothing and when the lands on the river Goryachev does a little fist pump as he is now up to 65,000.

Welcome back to the Casino di Venezia for the third day of the World Poker Tour Venice Grand Prix Main Event where at 1300 CET the 27 surviving players will take their seats and do battle at the felt.

At some point the money bubble will burst and only the top 18 finishers will receive money, a min-cash being worth €7,225. But none of the players will want to go home with that when there is €229,800 up top for the winner.

Leading the way when play gets underway is the hyper-aggressive Norwegian Marcel Bjerkmann better known to many by his online alias of “p3rc4.” He sits down in Seat 1 on Table 3 armed with a field-leading 436,300 stack but it is anything but a done deal because he has the likes of Jason Wheeler (348,200) and James Akenhead (336,000) hot on his heels.

Plus let’s not forget some of the other talented individuals who are still in but not as well stacked as those already mentioned, players such as Andrea Dato, Gianluca Speranza and PartyPoker Pro Kara Scott who will all certainly have a say in who emerges from Day 3 with chips and who gets sent for an early bath.

Follow all the action, as it happens, here on the PartyPoker blog.

21:51

Day 2 Completed: Marcel Bjerkmann Leads

Day 2 has come to an end with just 27 players remaining. The overall chip leader is a certain Marcel Bjerkmann who bagged and tagged 436,300 but hot on his heels are the likes of James Akenhead (336,000), Gianluca Trebbi (323,500), Jason Wheeler (348,200) and Andrea Dato (309,900).

Join us Wednesday at 1300 CET for all the action from Day 3 when the money bubble will burst and we may play down to the final nine players!

21:16

Seven More Hands

As the title says we will be playing seven more hands before wrapping up for the night and heading to see the magician better known as Dynamo.

21:11

Split Pot

Simon Ravnsbaek has been pushing his stack in with great frequency in the last few orbits in an attempt to pick up some much needed chips. Just now he raised to 4,800 from early position and when Dario De Pez three-bet to 12,100 he moved all in for around 30,000 more. De Pez made the call and the cards were revealed.

De Pez:
Ravnsbaek:

Split pot on its way! The final board ran out .

21:01

Candio Crushed

Filippo Candio raises to 4,800 from UTG+1 and after on player folds Jason Wheeler three-bets to 12,300. The action folds back around to Candio and he announces he is all-in. Wheeler cannot believe his ears and even re-checks his cards for a split second before calling.

Candio:
Wheeler:

The flop comes down putting Candio into an unlikely lead. The turn is the and the river is the and Candio leaps to his feet saying something like “ach ach ach ach,” we don’t think he is impressed.

Wheeler is amazed and offers his hand to Candio who is a gentleman and shakes it before leaving the tournament area chased by half a dozen members of the Italian press. Meanwhile Wheeler now has around 390,000 chips and is right amongst the leaders.

20:42

Akenhead Continues to Chip Up

James Akenhead is constantly adding to his stack and now has 360,000 chips. he just won two hands back-to-back, both uncontested. We think his table has just gotten fed up with his constant, controlled aggression and is letting him do what he likes!

20:32

Mike Sexton Busts Out

Mike Sexton has been eliminated from the Main Event at the hands of Gianluca Trebbi.

It was Umberto Calabrese who got the betting started with a raise to 5,000 from the hijack. Sexton is in the small blind and he makes the call only to see Gianluca Trebbi squeeze to 17,500. Calabrese gets out of the way but Sexton moves all in for around 30,000 in total and Trebbi instantly calls.

Sexton:
Trebbi:

Flop: – “Bad start,” said Sexton in a huge understatement.

Turn: – No help for Sexton

River: – Trebbi makes an unnecessary full house and Sexton is eliminated.

20:15

The Royal Flush Girls’ Day Out

The Royal Flush Girls took a day trip today, take a look at what they got up to.

20:00

Fish and Chips

Here are the biggest chip stacks from around the room and the fishes to whom they belong.

Marcel Bjerkmann: 450,000
Filippo Candio: 320,000
James Akenhead: 320,000
Jason Wheeler: 250,000
Alessandro Longobardi: 200,000

19:44

Last Break

The players are on their last break of the day. Join us in around 15 minutes.

19:35

Akenhead Helps Himself To Another Pot

Dario De Paz opens to 4,000 from middle position and just as he has done on at least half a dozen occasions over the last few orbits Akenhead three-bets him to 10,500. But instead of folding De Paz makes the call and it is heads up to the flop.

De Paz checks to Akenhead and the Brit fires a continuation bet of 10,800 and De Paz quickly calls by dropping the required chips into the pot from a large height. The turn is the and when De Paz checks Akenhead checks behind.

The river is the and De Paz checks again. Akenhead enters his customary pose before firing a bet of 16,500. De Paz quickly folds and says, “Nice hand,” but Akenhead does not reply almost certainly because he is listening to his iPod.

Akenhead seems to have the measure of his table right now and looks like he is in the zone, a dangerous combo we can tell you.

19:15

Mathew Frankland Heads For The Rail

A very disappointed Mathew Frankland is heading back to his hotel room after busting out at the hands of Jason Wheeler. The pair had clashed a couple of times over the past few levels with Wheeler being in Frankland’s big blind but they won’t be clashing any more.

The details of the hand elude us and Frankland didn’t look in the mood to talk about how the hand went down but we arrived to see Frankland rising from the table his beaten by the as the board had run out .

Frankland, a PartyPoker qualifier, started the day with just 14,200 chips, peaked at around 190,000 and now is busto. Good game sir.

18:42

Mike Sexton Doubles Up

PartyPoker Pro Mike Sexton has doubled up to around 56,000 after his pocket nines held up against the of Alessandro Longobardi.

Longobardi raised to 4,200 from early position then called, after 40 seconds deliberation, when Sexton moved all in for 27,500 from the big blind. The gave Longobardi even more outs but they failed to appear as the turn and river were the and respectively and Sexton survives.

Here Dany Willis speaks to the legend:

18:34

Akenhead Bossing His Table

The action folds to James Akenhead in the hijack and he makes it 4,300 to play. Rocco Palumbo is in the cutoff and he three-bets to 10,500. The button and both blinds fold but Akenhead is not in the mood for folding and he four-bets to 24,600 in total, which is enough to get the job done because Palumbo mucks his hand.

18:22

Party Players In Action

18:00

Coffee Please

It is the end of the level so that means the players are on a 15-minute break. Mine’s a coffee one sugar please. Thanks.

17:58

Popp Pops

Just a few minutes after reporting Alexander Popp was sat with 85,000 we now have to update that and inform you that he has busted out. We were there to see him moving a short stack in with and him getting called by the of Rinat Bogdanov.

The final board read and with that Popp us eliminated from the WPT Venice Main Event.

You could be following in Popp’s footsteps and have the experience of playing in one of the most prestigious events on the poker calendar. Download PartyPoker now and get winning your seat to a future World Poker Tour event.

17:39

PartyPoker Watch

Day 2 of WPT Venice would see four PartyPoker online qualifiers return and unbag chips, joining PartyPoker pros Tony G, Mike Sexton, and Kara Scott at the tables.

Sergey Vasiliev would bow out midway through the day but the other three PartyPoker online qualifiers are still alive and kicking, with Mathew Frankland turning his tiny 14,000 stack to start the day into a top ten chip stack for much of Day 2:

• Mathew Frankland: 190,000
• Alexander Popp: 85,000
• Kevin Green: 45,000

As far as the PartyPoker pros, Tony G would make an early exit but Kara Scott and Mike Sexton continue to grind away:

• Kara Scott: 87,000
• Mike Sexton: 25,000

17:25

De Paz And Akenhead Lock Horns

Joining the action on a board reading Dario de Paz fireds a bet from early position worth 12,000 into James Akenhead to really test the Brit’s resolve. It seems 12,000 is a fair asking price because Akenhead makes the call.

The dealer puts the onto the river and de Paz wastes no time at all making it 37,000 to play. This really gets Akenhead thinking and he sits and studies the board and his opponent for well over a minute before taking another peek at his holecards and flicking them towards the muck.

17:14

Frankland Claws Some Back

We just paid a visit to Mathew Frankland’s table where he told us he had lost some of his stack running a “house into a house.” He had also lost some more chips to Jason Wheeler just as we arrived but he won some back from Jeremie Sochet and Max Pescatori.

From under the gun Frankland raises to 3,300 and Sochet calls on the button. The small blind folds but Pescatori calls from the big blind.

Flop: – Pescatori checks, Frankland continues with a bet of 5,200 and neither opponent is prepared to pay that price and Frankland picks up the pot and is now armed with around 130,000 chips.

16:56

Bjerkmann Adds To Stack

Marcel Bjerkmann looks like he is attempting to break the world record for the length of time a poker player being massaged at the table, but it is doing him some good because he is up amongst the chip leaders with a stack of 252,000 chips.

Massimo Mosele opened to 3,300 from the button and Bjerkmann opted to defend his small blind with a three-bet to 8,300. Mosele called and the dealer got to work putting out the flop. Bjerkmann fired a continuation bet of 6,400 and after just 25-30 seconds he called time on his opponent. Mosele sat focussing on the board and by the time the floor had reached his table he had mucked his hand.

Bjerkmann is now up to 252,000.

16:43

Scott Doubles Through Pollack

PartyPoker Pro Kara Scott has just doubled through Benjamin Pollack to find herself with 95,000 chips. Pollack opened the betting, Scott three-bet with and Pollack moved all in with his . Soctt called and when the board ran out Scott doubled up and Pollack was left with around 38,000.

Shortly afterwards he was sent to the rail after losing to Fabrizio Ortolmo and he will not be repeating his final table appearance from WPT Prague here in Venice.

16:34

Wheeler Flies Past 100,000 Chips

Jason Wheeler makes a standard raise on the button and Viachelsav Goryachev defends his big blind. The flop is and Goryachev makes the first play with a check raise to 8,500 after Wheeler had bet 3,500.

On the turn we see the and Goryachev leads for 10,000, Wheeler raises to 28,000 and Goryachev calls. The final card is the and Goryachev checks to Wheeler who moves all-in and Goryachev folds.

Wheeler climbs to around 138,000 and is definitely a threat here in Venice.

16:06

Break Time

The players have gone on a 15-minute break.

16:03

PartyPoker Qualifier Down

Andrea Dato raises to 2,500 on the button and PartyPoker qualifier Sergey Valisyev moves all-in for around 26,000 in the big blind.

“Where are you from?” Dato asks.

Vasilyev tells him he is Russian and Dato makes the call.

Dato:
Vasilyev:

Board:

Dato now has 210,000 and is now sharing a table with Filippo Candio

15:52

Kourdourli Bust

Nesrine Kourdourli has been sent to the rail after running her straight into Fabrizio Ortolmo’s pocket queen. The five community cards were void of drama and Kourdourli heads for the rail early than she would have planned to.

15:43

Delfonco Depleted

Francesco Delfonco’s Main Event has come to an abrupt end despite getting his money in as a substantial favourite. His found itself all in against the of Rocco Palumbo but the board ran out and the lesser hand became the best to send Delfonco home early.

15:37

A Look Back At WPT Venice Day 1

15:32

Bjerkmann’s Queen Hold, He Aoars To Second Place

Marcel Bjerkmann is now second in chips with a stack of 230,000 thanks in part having his queens hold against Sergey Samsonenko’s . The money went in preflop and when the board ran out it was game over for Samsonenko and Bjerkmann had a little celebration with the Revive Touch massage therapist.

15:23

Wheeler Rolls On

The action folds to Jason Wheeler in the hijack and he opens the betting with a raise to 2,500 from the hijack. Next to act is Viachelaw Goryachev and he looks Wheeler up and down before making the call.

Flop: – Wheeler leads out with a 3,500 continuation bet and he is instantly called by his opponent.

Turn: – Wheeler now checks and his opponent senses weakness and bets 12,500. Unfortunately his senses have let him down because Wheeler immediately check raises to 41,000 and Goryachev snap-folds.

15:12

Islamay Takes On Candio Head On

Giacomo Valenti raises to 2,800 from Seat 5 and after one player folds Filippo Candio three-bets to 7,000 in the cutoff. The button folds but Enion Islamay in the small blind has other ideas. He pauses for close to a minute before four-betting to 11,200. Valenti quickly gets out of the way but Candio checks how many chips Islamay has behind and then calls.

Flop: – Islamay bets 6,000 and Cadino instantly calls by throwing a red 5,000 and a yellow 1,000 chips into the middle of the felt.

Turn: – The turn is greeted with a rather quick 37,000 all in bet from Islamay and this seems to puzzle Candio who winces, licks his lips and stares at his opponent. Eventually he comes to the decision he is not prepared to pay 37,000 and he folds his hand.

14:56

Dorey’s Story Ends Here

William Dorey, better known as Muzowned online, has been eliminated from the WPT Venice Grand Prix after losing his stack in two hands. We missed the first hand but Fabrizio Ortolmo was helping himself to plenty of chips having turned a set of tens and rivering a boat.

The next hand Andrea Dato opened to 2,500 from middle position and he called off his remaining chips from the cutoff. Mike Sexton called from the big blind and the dealer put out the flop. Sexton checked, Dato bet 1,200 and Sexton folded.

Dato:
Dorey:

The turn was the and when the river was the it was game over for Muzowned but the journey has just begun for Dato who is nicely stacked with 155,000 chips.

14:42

Dynamo To Perform Live

The sensation that is Dynamo is performing a show tonight for all WPT players and staff. The show is taking place at Ca Zanardi, just 10 minutes from the casino, at 2145-2315.

There will be free pasta and risotto with drink provided until midnight! Do not miss it!

14:22

Break Time

The players are now on a 15-minute break.

14:16

Frankland Doubles Again!

Although he started the day with just 14,000 chips Mathew Frankland now has a much healthier stack of 165,000! He told us that he got his money in with pocket tens against ace-queen and won the flip by flopping another set of tens.

Nice hand sir. The PartyPoker qualifier is now back in business.

14:10

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14:08

Kings No Good For Kourdourli

Nesrine Kourdourli has just had pocket kings cracked by a lowly pair of four, much to the annoyance of Tony G.

We missed the preflop action but the camera crews were waiting for Tony G to act. Umberto Calabrse was all in and Kourdourli had bet 40,000 chips. After a minute, including saying something about a banana Tony G folded and the cards were shown down.

Kourdourli:
Calabrese:

The flop kept the kings well in front but the on the turn turned the hand on its head. The completed the hand and as Calabrese starting stack his chips Tony G said, “Look at that. That’s how easy it is. I can’t believe it.”

13:56

Apicella Crippled

Vicenzo Apicella has been left with just one big blind after his kings were smashed by Andrea Carini’s queens.

Carini opened to 2,200, Apicella responded with a three-bet to 5,300 and then called when Carini moved all in for 22,000 exactly. Carini turned over and was in big trouble against the of his opponent.

The dealer spread the flop into the centre of the table and Apicella looked disgusted to say the least. The turn was no help and neither was the and the pot slid its way to Carini.

13:39

Marsh Shoves On Pollack

The action folds to Benjamin Pollack in middle position and he min-raises t 2,000. Next to act is David Marsh and he announced all-in before moving his 14,000 or so into the middle. Everyone folds back to Pollack but the price is too much and he lets the dealer take his hand.

13:35

Mathew Frankland Triples Up

PartyPoker qualifier Mathew Frankland started the day with around 14,000 chips but now has three times that thanks to a touch of good fortune. He got his stack in with a pair of tens and found himself up against a pair of nines and pocket aces!

Just as it looked like he would be heading for an early exited up popped a ten on the flop to gift him a set and the win. He’s now up to 44,000 and has a little more breathing room.

13:24

Like London Buses

Although poker is a game played by both sexes but female poker players on the live circuit are still quite a rare breed. However, over on Table 5 there are not one, not two but three ladies keeping Roberto Romanello and chip leader Filippo Candio company.

So if you’re passing Table 5, which is highly unlikely we know, say hello to Irene Baroni, Carla Solinas and Giorgio Tabet.

13:22

A Couple of Tough Tables Out There

With the field thinning we have a number of tables that are starting to look a little on the tough side. Over on Table 3 there is Marvin Rettenmaier, Jason Wheeler, and Guillaume Darcourt whilst Table 1 is the home to Benjamin Pollack and two PartyPoker pro is the shape of Kara Scott and Tony G.

13:19

Speranza Number Two Gets Unwanted Action

Having just seen his brother raise from under the gun and pick up the blinds and antes just a hand or two previously, Alessandro Speranza tried his luck and made it 2,200 from the same position. To his direct left is Nicolas Levi and he three-bets to 5,100. The action folds around to Gianluca Speranza on the button and he stares down Levi before deciding to not pull the trigger and he folds.

The small and big blinds both fall and after 20-30 seconds of Hollywooding so does A.Speranza.

13:15

No Customers For Speranza

Gianluca Speranza has a wild and crazy image but that cunted for nothing just now as he raised just over the minimum to 2,100 from under the gun and all he picked up were the blinds and antes.

He’s got a much tougher table today that includes the likes of his brother Alessandro, Nicolas Levi, Andras Kovacs, PartyPoker Pro Mike Sexton and Dario Alioto.

Hello and welcome back to the WPT Venice Grand Prix Main Event where at 1300CET the 88 surviving players from Day 1 will return to their seats for another day of high octane poker.

The man everyone has to catch when the cards are back in the air is Filippo Candio who somehow turned his 30,000 starting stack into a colossal stack of 227,900, over 55,000 more than his nearest rival Gabriele Lepore on 172,000.

Other big stacks include Andrea Dato on 121,700 who you may recall finished fourth in the WPT Venice Main Event back in December, Andreyy Gulyy (107,600) who bubbled WPT Prague at the start of December and Danilo Donnini (105,200).

There are also a few well-known faces still in contention too so keep your eye out for the likes of Mustapha Kanit, Nicolas Levi, Dario Alioto, Tony G, James Akenhead, Guillaume Darcourt, Roberto Romanello, Kara Scott, Mike Sexton and Marvin Rettenmaier.

Play gets underway at 1300 CET and will continue until around 2100 when the tournament will be paused and everyone will vacate the casino and take a trip a few buildings down to be mesmerised by the magician that is better known as Dynamo.

During play yesterday Mike Sexton declared that Antonio Esfandiari is no longer the best magician in poker, here’s the video.

00:30

Day 1a Completed: Filippo Candio Leads

The former World Series of Poker November Nine member Filippo Candio is out overnight chip leader after he turned his 30,000 starting stack into a colossal 227,900. The aggressive Italian is a royal pain in the backside at the best of times, to his opponents of course, and he will be even more so now he has a massive stack.

From our contingent of PartyPoker Pros and qualifiers we have six survivors. They are:

• Alexander Popp: 121,000
• Tony G: 80,000
• Kevin Green: 70,000
• Kara Scott: 35,000
• Sergey Vasilev: 25,000
• Mike Sexton: 24,200

Play resumes at 1300 CET Tuesday and the plan is to play to around 2100 CET and pause the tournament at that point so the players and staff ca go and what the phenomenal magician Dynamo!

Dynamo was the man who started the WPT Venice Grand Prix Main Event, take a little look at his shuffle up and deal technique.

Until then good night, or good morning!

23:35

Here’s What They Are Playing For

1st: €229,800.00
2nd: €111,700.00
3rd: €72,275.00
4th: €52,565.00
5th: €42,705.00
6th: €32,195.00
7th: €25,625.00
8th: €19,055.00
9th: €13,795.00
10-12th: €9,855.00
13-15th: €8,540.00
16-18th: €7,225.00

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23:21

Romanello The Younger Adds To Stack

Antoni Romanello, brother of WPT Bratislava champion Roberto, has just added to his stack to climb to 21,300 chips.

The action folded around to Mathew Frankland on the button and he min-raised to 1,600. Romenello called in the small blind, and Simone Ferretti calls from the big blind. Romanello’s call surprises Guillaume Darcourt as he only has around 12,000 behind.

“I don’t know how you can call that,” says the Frenchman

But Romanello does not look bothered at all.

The flop comes down and Romanello checks, Ferretti checks too but Frankland bets 3,300. Romanello jumps into action and check-raises all in, forcing both of his opponents out of the pot.

23:10

Roberto Nulli Sent Packing

Italian pro Roberto Nulli has just been spotted gathering his belongings and heading for the exits.

22:30

Break Time

It is the last break of the evening. There are some very tired looking poker players in the tournament area, hopefully they’ll start splashing around in pots in an attempt to keep themselves awake!

22:23

Top Five Chip Counts Going Into The Break

As the title says:

• Tomasso Briotti: 140,000
• Andrea Dato: 110,000
• Dario Alioto: 110,000
• Erion Islamay: 96,000
• Filippo Candio: 95,000

22:03

Kings Good For Pescatori

From early position Andrea Sighinolfi opens to 1,650 and then calls when Max Pescatori, on the button, three-bets to 3,350. The first three community cards read and when Sighinolfi checks “The Pirate” checks behind.

The turn is the and now Sighinolfi leads into his fellow countryman with a 4,000 bet and Pescatori instantly calls. The river is the and Sighinolfi instantly reaches for chips, grabs 4,500 of them and bets them. Pescatori snaps him off and his is the best hand as Sighinolfi shows .

21:49

The Kings, The Flush and The Quads

A massive hand just took place that saw Marvin Rettenmaier triple up and left PartyPoker pro Mike Sexton with 24,000 chips.

We did not actually see the hand take place but the TV crew did and told us Sexton raised preflop with and the player two to his left three-bet all in with . The action then folded to Rettenmaier who re-shoved for 24,000 in total with what turned out to be pocket eights. Sexton made the easy call and the dealer got busy putting out the community cards.

By the river Sexton’s kings, which started off as favourites, were the third best hand because the made a flush but ‘Mad’ Marvin Rettenmaier had made quad eights! Must be nice etc!

Sexton is now on 24,000 whilst the German Justin Beiber soars to the 70,000 chip mark.

21:36

‘Lil Dave Nicholson Busted

Dave Nicholson has become the latest casualty of the Main Event after losing a 130,000 chip pot despite getting his chips in good with pocket kings against the Big Slick of Tommaso Briotti. The young Brit managed to avoid an ace on the flop but he was far from being home and dry because a dreaded ace appeared on the turn. No king on the river and ‘Lil Dave is on his way home.

Actually that last part is a bit of a lie because he’s currently sat playing, what will probably be Chinese poker, with the recently busted James Dempsey.

21:26

PartyPoker Pro Watch

PartyPoker’s stable of sponsored pros were in full force here on Day 1 of WPT Venice, with Tony G, Mike Sexton, Kara Scott, Giovanni Rizzo, and Dragan Galic all taking to the tables.

Dragan Galic and Giovanni Rizzo bowed out right around the dinner break but Kara Scott, Mike Sexton, and Tony g are all still in the hunt with the following stacks.

• Tony G: 50,000
• Kara Scott: 40,000
• Mike Sexton: 30,000

Tony G got a very late start — taking his seat right before late registration closed — but made up for lost time quickly to get up 50,000 chips.

Check back soon for video footage from Tony G’s Hellmuthian late entrance, as he caused quite a ruckus when he finally made his way over to the casino tonight.

21:23

James Dempsey Eliminated

James Dempsey, fresh from his exploits in the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic will not be adding WPT Venice to his growing list of achievements because he has been eliminated. We don’t have the details but “Flushy” didn’t seem too bothered about being on the sidelines, joking that he is just not a Venetian player.

21:14

Good Call By Frankland

PartyPoker qualifier Mathew Frankland has been nursing a shortish stack for most of the day and his efforts have not been helped by the fact he is having to share a table with Guillaume Darcourt, James Akenhead, Simon Ravnsbaek, Tony G and David Baker but he now has some extra chips after a solid call in a hand with Darcourt.

The pink-haired Frenchman opened to 1,100 from the hijack and only Frankland, in the big blind, called. The flop came down and both players checked. The turn brought the into the equation and now Frankland lead for 1,600 and Darcourt instantly called the young Brit. After burning a card the dealer put the out on the river prompting Frankland to check.

Darcourt did not check behind though instead he fired a bet of 3,600 right into Frankland sending him into the tank. Around a minute later Frankland had thought for long enough and decided to call. No sooner had he done so Darcourt flicked his hand into the muck.

21:03

Giovanni Rizzo Departs

Poker is a funny old game. Only moments ago Giovanni Rizzo was staring at a dream flop of while holding and now he is outside facing the cold icy water of the Venetian canals.

Rizzo was in fantastic shape when a raising war developed with the net result being an all-in confrontation with Sean Jazayeri who was holding . Then poker showed how cruel it could be when the turn and river handed Jazayeri an unlikely straight eliminating Rizzo from the competition.

Jazayeri ~ 50,000

20:56

PartyPoker Player Watch

Our PartyPoker heroes are still going strong in the Main Event though we have lost Dragan Galic who Kara Scott told us shoved with a medium ace and ran into a larger ace that held.

A quick glance reveals the following chip counts:

Alexander Popp: 56,000
Mike Sexton: 52,000
Kevin Green: 49,050
Kara Scott: 43,250
Sergey Vasilyev: 28,000
Mathew Frankland: 25,300

20:46

Vasilyev Doubles Up!

The PartyPoker qualifier Sergey Vasilyev has doubled up to around 28,000 an has much more breathing room over on Table 3. The chips went flying in on a board, Vasilyev holding to the of Andrea Carini. Our river card is the and although Carini improves to two-pair it is still beaten by the set of nines of Vasilyev.

20:35

Kourdourli Wins Three-Way Pot

Things should get a little more interesting over on Table 1 because Irene Baroni has joined the action and she certainly loves to splash around in pots. She was involved in a hand just now but was rather passive allowing the other aggressive woman, Nesrine Kourdourli, to scoop the pot.

On a flop Kourdourli checks from the small blind, Andras Kovacs checks in late position and Baroni checks on the button. The on the turn was always going to be bet by someone and Kourdourli was that someone. She bet 5,500 into the 7,600 pot and it was enough to force a fold from her opponents.

20:24

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18:56

Dinner Time

The players have been sent on a 75-ish minute break.

18:45

Ellwood Eliminated

Jack Ellwood’s tournament is over after running into the pocket aces of Guillaume Darcourt. Ellwood had raised preflop from late position then called the Frenchman’s three-bet to his immediate left. The chips went in on the flop with Ellwood holding and Darcourt .

The turn and river were the and respectively and Ellwood heads for the exits whilst Darcourt climbs to around 51,000.

18:35

Sapiano Takes On PartyPoker Qualifier

The action folds to Albert Sapiano in the small blind and he min-raises to 800. PartyPoker qualifier Kevin Green tosses in the extra chips from the big blind seat and makes the call.

A flop sees Sapiano bet 500 and green instantly call. The turn is greeted by a 2,000 bet from Sapiano, which seems to puzzle Green. He stares at the board for a around a minute before mucking his hand, still with a puzzled luck on his face.

18:28

Ascani Busts Out

Luca Ascani has been eliminated at the hands of John Passfield. The money went in preflop with Ascani holding and finding himself up against . Passfield flopped the world on a flop and hit one of million out when the landed on the turn. The river was not what Ascani was looking for and it is game over for Ascani.

18:20

Lucky Escape For Akenhead?

A massive hand just went down over on Table 10 that saw Simon Ravnsbaek almost triple up. James Akenhead opened with a raise to 700 from middle position only to see David Baker three-bet to 1,750 from the cutoff. Ravnsbaek, on the button, four-bet to 3,850 putting the action back on Akenhead.

He paused for 30-45 seconds before five-betting to 7,750. This was not the end of the hand though! Baker now moved all in for around 41,000 and Ravnsbaek called off his 21,275 chips and a disappointed Akenhead flicked his cards into the muck.

Ravnsbaek:
Baker:

Final board:

One feels Akenhead dodged a few bullets in that hand.

18:14

PartyPoker Player Watch

Six PartyPoker online qualifiers were among the 150+ players who’ve registered so far here at WPT Venice, with each winning their $10,000 WPT Venice trips via online satellites at Party.

Below are the six qualifiers, headlined by Mathew Frankland who has nearly $300,000 in live cashes to his credit:

Mathew Frankland – UK
Alexander Popp – Germany
Serget Vasiliev – Russia
Markus Ross – German
Antony Cowen – UK
Kevin Green – UK

Through the first four levels of play, only Antony Cowen has bowed out of action, with Kevin Green currently leading the PartyPoker qualifier charge with around 50,000 chips.

18:09

Darcourt On The Run

Guillaume Darcourt is currently occupying his time between hands by playing the latest iPhone craze, Temple Run. So boys and girls, if you want to become a poker pro practice on Temple Run. You heard it hear first.

18:05

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17:58

Romanello Three-Bet Shoves

Nesrine Kourdourli opens from the button and next to act is Robert Romanello and he three-bets all in for 8,900. Rodrigo Milo is the big blind and he looks like he is considering a call but as the WPT camera crew circle like vultures around the table he folds and Kourdourli follows suit.

“What did you have?” quizzes Romanello

Milo replies but we didn’t hear what he said.

“King-jack?” said a surprised Romanello, “I don’t believe you.”

Romanello back past 10,000, around 33 big blinds.

17:53

Kourdourli Not a Happy Bunny

Nesrine Kourdourli is less than happy over on table partly because of running into quads but also because of a ruling that didn’t go in her favour.

There was some commotion on Table 1 and we headed right over to what was causing it. We got there to discover a board reading and Kourdourli turning over but finding it completely crushed by the of Sandro Hirn.

Kourdourli still has 51,000 whilst Hirn climbs to 82,500.

Apparently Hirn had bet on the river and Kourdourli maybe misheard him and quickly called only to discover she actually owed another 10,000+ to her opponent. The floor ruled she must call, she did and was not best pleased at the situation.

Francesco Bullo joked, “Thanks to the floor call, huh?”

“NO! No thank you, no thank you,” said Kourdourli.

17:46

Akenhead Shoves On Darcourt

Everyone folds to Guillaume Darcourt on the button and he min-raises to 800. James Akenhead is in the small blind and he makes the call.

It is heads up to the flop, a flop that Akenhead checks. Darcourt makes a continuation bet of 1,250 only to see Akenhead check-raise to 2,900. Darcourt beats him into the pot and calls. The lands on the turn and Akenhead bets again, this time his entire stack of 8,900. As he does the pink-haired Darcourt gets out of the way and Akenhead’s rebuilding mission continues.

17:27

Break Time

The players are now on a 15-minute break.

17:23

Speranza Learns From His Brother

Alessandro Speranza must have been taking lessons from his hyper-aggressive brother judging by his preflop five-bet.

Heinz Kamutzki opens from the cutoff but his plans on stealing the blinds falter when Speranza three-bets from the big blind. Kamutzki reacts by four-betting to 6,000 but Speranza is having none of it and he five-bets to 11,300. After two minutes Kamutzki folds, leaving his 25,000 stack intact.

“I wasn’t planning on folding,” said the German as he folded!

17:17

Mattern Claws Some Back

Arnaud Mattern is in mid-massage, a position you will commonly find him in during poker tournaments, and it seems to be doing him some good because he is back up to around 15,000.

17:13

Weisner Fails To Slay The Dragan

Melanie Weisner opens from the cutoff and PartyPoker pro Dragan Galic defends his big blind with a call.

Flop: – Galic checks, Weisner bets 600 and Galic calls.

Turn: – Galic checks and Weisner checks behind.

River: – Galic now leads for 1,000 and when Weisner folds he throws a card towards the Texan, the . Weisner does not look too impressed and sends it towards the dealer.

17:10

Natale Rivers Winning Two Pair

On a board reading the runner-up of WPT Slovenia, Vincenzo Natale checks from the big blind seat. PartyPoker qualifier Sergey Vasilyev checks his holecards and bets 2,000. Natale instantly calls so the the hand progresses to the river, which is the .

Natale checks again but when Vasilyev bets 2,800 he springs back into action and check-raises to 6,100. Vasilyev ponders his options before taking back his original bet and replacing it with 6,100.

Natale:
Vasilyev: muck

17:04

Ognjon Sekularac Sent Packing

Ognjon Sekularac’s WPT Venice Grand Prix Main Event is over. We don’t have the hand details but he is heading out of the door with his belongings.

17:01

Mike Sexton Nodding Off

PartyPoker Pro Mike Sexton sees a little sleepy over on his table, his head dropping then rising sharply when the feeling of falling asleep takes over. The second time he did this he gave a little smile to himself. Can we get some coffee to Mike please? Thanks.

For your chance to play with Mike, one of the legends of the game, download PartyPoker and get qualifying for future WPT Main Events such as the upcoming WPT Vienna.

16:53

Akenhead Left With Less Than 5,000

On the flop Guillaume Darcourt checks from under the gun an to his direct left is James Akenhead who removes his left earphone, announced “sixteen hundred” and places two yellow 1,000 chips forwards. Aldo Lorenzo snap calls and Darcourt comes along for the ride too.

The turn brings the into play and Darcourt checks again. Akenhead takes another stab at the pot, making it 3,600 to play. Lorenzo instantly calls again, Darcourt gets out of the way though. The river is another five, the and Akenhead bets again, this time 4,500 and Lorenzo calls quicker than ever before.

Akenhead:
Lorenzo:

Akenhead is left with 4,900 whilst Lorenzo surges to 47,000.

15:57

Speranza Takes On Nicholson

The hyper-aggressive Gianluca Speranza opens the betting from late position with a raise to 425, just a single 25 chip more than the min-raise. A couple of players fold and the action is now on David Nicholson on the button. He calls and it is heads-up to the flop.

Speranza leads with a 425 bet and Nicholson, with his red hoodie pulled over his head, opts to just call. The on the turn seems innocuous enough but these two like it because Speranza bets 1,025 and Nicholson sticks in a raise to 2,800 sending the Italian into the tank. He stays here for more than 90 seconds before emerging with a raise of his own, he makes it 6,075. Nicholson suddenly doesn’t like his hand as much anymore and after 30 seconds or so he lays it down.

Speranza mucks and Nicholson twists his face a little as if he expected Speranza to show his holding.

15:44

Alexsandrov Represents Ellwood’s Hand

On a board that reads British pro Jack Ellwood checks to Michail Alexsandrov who wastes very little time in betting 2,400, a bet that Ellwood calls. The river is the and Ellwood checks to his Russian opponents who increases his bet size to 4,000 and Ellwood quickly calls.

Alexsandrov:
Ellwood: – and the win

15:43

Mattern Crippled

We didn’t see the hand but Arnaud Mattern is sat shaking his head and counting his 3,300 chips and it looks like Erio Islamay is the beneficiary as he has a monster stack of 67,350 chips and is out chip leader.

15:40

PartyPoker Player Watch

We have a number of players seated around the tournament area sporting PartyPoker patches and other attire. Here is how they stack up:

• Alexander Popp: 39,500
• Kara Scott: 38,400
• Kevin Green: 28,725
• Sergey Vasilyev: 26,300
• Dragan Galic: 23,250
• Giovanni Rizzo: 22,125
• Mathew Frankland: 20,400

15:32

Check It Around

The action is on Andrea Dato and he min-raises to 400 from middle position prompting three players to call. Giovanni Maresca to his immediate left calls, to his left is Sam El Sayed and he calls on the button. The third and final caller is Maurizio Saieva in the big blind.

After burning a card the dealer spreads out the flop and the action goes check, check, check, check! Which is exactly how it goes when the lands on the turn. Guess what happens with the arrival of the on the river? You guessed it, four checks.

Saieva reluctantly turns over thinking he has a pair of fives but El Sayed bellows,

“Flush! Did you not see the flush?”

Saieva shakes his head and smiles and as he is doing so his three opponents fold and he scoops the pot.

15:00

Break Time

The players have been sent on a 15-minute break, which may take a little longer as Dynamo is performing some magic tricks for his new show!

14:53

Weisner Frustrates Solinas

Melanie Weisner raises to 400 from the hijack and picks up callers in the shape of PartyPoker pro Dragan Galic (small blind) and Carla Solinas (big blind). The dealer puts out the flop, Galic checks, Solinas checks and Weisner taps the table and makes it three checks.

The turn is the , Galic checks for a second time but Solinas makes a move at the pot with a 1,000 bet. Weisner springs into action herself, and makes it 3,000 to play, forcing out Galic but Solinas makes the call.

The river card is the and Solinas pauses for 20 seconds before betting 5,000. Weisner instantly calls and shows for a straight and a frustrated Solinas sends her cards into the muck.

14:42

Baroni Gives Up On The River

Irene Baroni raises to 350 from UTG+1 and after two players fold Andrea Corini makes the call. A couple more folds later and Manlio Iemina calls in the big blind.

Flop: – All three players check

Turn: – Iemina checks, Baroni bets 550 and Corini calls but does so with a 1,050. Iemina calls and after Baroni clarifies that Solinas called and not min-raised she makes the call herself.

River: – Iemina checks again, Baroni bets again making it 2,050 to play but Corini now springs into action with a raise to 5,125. Iemina mucks his hand and a few moments later, after checking her holecards again, Baroni folds.

14:40

No Customers For Elder

Rupert Elder’s reputation of being an EPT champion must proceed him because he has just raised to 400 from middle position and did not pick up a single caller. Not one. Nada. Zilch.

14:23

Todd Terry Takes On Mike Sexton

From under the gun Todd Terry raises to 250 and his only customer is Mike Sexton seated two to his left. The dealer puts out the first three community cards, and both players check. The turn is the and Terry bets 350 though does not seem confident about it. Sexton picks up on this and calls extremely quickly.

The final card is the and Terry announced “nine” meaning 900, in a much more confident manner and Sexton realises he is beat and relinquishes his hand.

14:11

Another Nasty Table Emerges

Lots of established pros are turning up fashionably late but it is working against them as they seem to be all seated on the same tables!

Table 15 is now the home to Dario Alioto, ‘Lil Dave Nicholson, Rupert Elder, Padraig Parkinson, Charles Chattha and Gianluca Speranza.

14:02

Kourdourli Feeling Flush

Joining the action on the flop, Szabo Sibor leads into Nesrine Kourdourli with a 450 bet from the big blind, a bet that she is more than happy to call. The dealer taps the table twice before placing the on the turn. Sibor now goes into check-call mode, checking then calling Kourdourli’s 1,025 bet.

The river card is the and Sibor checks again but Kourdourli does not need any excuse to bet and she puts 1,625 worth of chips across the betting line. Sibor quickly grabs some chips and makes the call.

Kourdourli:
Sibor: Muck

Kourdlourli up to around 34,000 right now.

13:53

Darcourt Off To a Flying Start

Guillaume Darcourt is now sat behind 41,400 chips after having his pocket kings nicely paid off by David Baker.

Joining the action on the flop, Aldo Lorenzo checks in the big blind, Baker takes a stab with a 525 from under the gun and Darcourt calls in the hijack. Lorenzo gets out of the way and the dealer gets busy putting out the on the turn.

Baker obviously likes his hand and he bets again, making it 1,025 to play but the pink-haired Darcourt almost immediately clicks it back and makes it 2,225 in total. Baker tosses in the few extra chips and makes the call.

The fifth and final community card is the and Baker now lets up on his aggression and checks but the flamboyant Frenchman is in no mood for slowing down and he bets 2,500. Baker makes the call but nods and mucks when he is shown .

13:50

Table 10 Getting Tougher

There are rarely any weak tables in a €4,950 buy-in event but Table 10 is starting to look a little tougher than most. Seated there are players such as Mathew Frankland, Jack Ellwood, Guillaume Darcourt and James Akenhead.

Ouch!

13:35

Huge Preflop Three-Bet Takes It Down

Who says size doesn’t matter? Try telling that to Bernd Gleibner who just made a massive preflop three-bet to win a 250 raise.

The initial raise came from Peter McFayden under the gun and when two players folded Gleibner three-bet to 1,525, which obviously takes down the pot.

The only thing we can think of is that McFayden opened the betting with a 500 chip and Gleibner must have thought he opened to 500 otherwise WOW and LOL spring to mind.

13:28

Marinoni Check-Raise Wins Pot

Roberto Romanello opens to 250 from UTG+1 and picks up two callers in the shape of Sandro Hirn and Gabriele Marinoni, the latter seated in the big blind.

The flop comes down and Marinoni checks his option to bet. Romanello quickly flicks a 500 chip into the pot prompting Hirn to question how much the bet is for.

“200,” comes the answer from Romanello, sticking two fingers up almost like Playboy Bunny ears.

With that information Hirn makes the call. No sooner has Hirn made the bet Marinoni check-raises to 575, instantly folding out Romanello and Hirn also folds after smirking to himself.

13:23

How Many Are Here?

The TV screens around the room are showing we currently have 111 players registers and climbing. Remember that late registration is open until the end of the sixth level.

13:18

Romanello In Early Clash

WPT Bratislava champion Roberto Romanello is in the house and he has wasted little time in getting involved over on Table 1. Joining the action on a flop, Romanello fires a bet of 250 into the 700 pot, a bet that Alexander Hirn instantly calls from the button.

The dealer puts out the onto the turn and Romanello, three seats to Hirn’s right, shapes to bet again. He does indeed bet, making it 350 to play. Hirn has already got two blue 1,000 chips in his hand and he tosses them into the pot. Romanello has seen enough and he mucks his hand.

Hirn waits until the pot is pushed his way before giving the dealer his cards.

13:15

Shuffle Up And Deal!

The WPT Venice Grand Prix Main Event is now underway! The cards are in the air, let’s go go go!

Registration is open until the end of Level 6, for those who plan on turning up fashionably late!

12:25

Hello and Welcome To The WPT Venice Grand Prix

As the title says hello and welcome to the WPT Venice Grand Prix being held at the historical Casinò di Venezia, the oldest running casino in the world having being in operation since 1638.

Whilst most of Europe is covered in a thick blanket of snow, Venice seems to have avoided the white fluffy stuff and instead exchanged it for sub-zero temperatures. It is currently minus one out there but that will pale into insignificance once the British magician Dynamo kicks the €4,950 Main Event off with those immortal words, “Shuffle up and deal” because the action will be red hot.

Although the horrible weather conditions have caused disruption to many players’ travel plans we still expect a bumper crowd to descend on this historic venue, including but certainly not limited to PartyPoker pros Tony G, Kara Scott and Giovanni Rizzo, circuit regular Arnaud Mattern, recent WPT Five Diamond winner James Dempsey, James Akenhead and current WPT Player of the Year Andy Frankenberger.

The plan for the day is to play nine 60-minute levels, with play getting underway at 1300 CET.

Will Smith calls him “Absolutely stunning” whilst Chris Martin from Coldplay says he’s “the greatest” and his list of celebrity fans now reads like a ‘who’s who’ of the Hollywood elite. Diddy, Jay Z, Russell Brand, Gwyneth Paltrow, The Black Eyed Peas and Paris Hilton are but just a few select names who’ve raved about this amazing talent.

Okay but whom are we talking about? Well Ladies and Gents it’s the one and only Dynamo!

Walking on Water

You might remember him for his extraordinary feat of ‘walking on water’ on the River Thames in London with the Houses of Parliament acting as an iconic backdrop causing some lively street scenes and chaos rivaling that of the very last Beatles rooftop concert.

We’re of course more than excited to announce that on Tuesday the 7th February Dynamo will be amazing us all with a 90-minute performance that will feature intimate and up-close spectacular illusions for guests during the fabulous WPT Players Party. With never-before-seen illusions this will be an unforgettable experience.

And the magic doesn’t stop there folks. Fans of the WPT will have the chance to meet and greet the legendary Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten who will be co-hosting the globally televised WPT Venice Grand Prix event. On top of that the beautiful Royal Flush Girls will all be on location in Venice, Italy and of course no Party Poker event would ever be complete without the legendary Tony G making an appearance!

A cast to be reckoned with!

The WPT Season X tournament will run from the 6th to the 10th of February and will see a buy-in of €4,950. Hosted by Casinò de Venezia Ca’ Vendramin know to be the oldest operating casino in the world. There’s a lot of poker to play for when the WPT lands in Venice with a packed schedule featuring a wide range of side events including a €1,000+€100 PLO 8 Max game and several NLH tournaments.

Last year it was the local hero Italian Alessio Isaia who took down this exclusive tournament and walked away with a cool €380,000 in winnings, plus an entry into the $25,000 2012 WPT World Championship at the Bellagio in Las Vegas.

So who will be crowned the 2012 WPT Venice Champion? With the competition already looking fierce with top poker pros names like Kara Scott, Max Pescatori, Jake Cody, Giovanni Rizzo, Charles Chatta, James Akenhead, John Eames, Roberto Romanello and James Dempsey all scheduled to play one thing is for sure you won’t want to miss a minute of our live blog featuring streaming final table action and daily freerolls!

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