We saw the action on the river, but Jeffrey Hakim later filled us in on what had happened before that.
Darie Vlad opened under the gun and Olivier Busquet was one of three callers. The initial raiser continued on with a 10,500 bet. Busquet was the only caller and they went heads up to the turn: . Vlad checked to Busquet who made a bet of 26,000. Vlad now check raised to 58,000 and Busquet called.
The river came the and Vlad announced all in. This clearly wasn't what Busquet liked to see and he started pondering. "I have a very good hand" he said with a big grin on his face. "How much is it?" The dealer started counting and announced it was 126,100. "126? That's a lot" Busquet continued his monologue. "How can I fold?"
Busquet moved his hand forward, still heavily thinking about his decision. You could just feel he wanted to fold, but in the end he didn't; "Call" he said without moving any chips forward.
Vlad looked disappointed, got up from the table and showed his failed bluf with . Busquet tabled and the dealer started pushing a big pile of chips his way.
"It's a very strong play, I fold almost every hand" Busquet said to his Romanian former opponent. Hakim, Frankland and Busquet continued to discuss the hand. Vlad in the meantime was already out the tournament area.
Aku Joentausta has become the latest victim to the run of Olivier Busquet here on Day 3 of the EPT10 Sanremo Main Event. He was all in preflop for what looked like 80,000 and Busquet made the call.
Joentausta:
Busquet:
The board boosted the stack of Busquet to massive 650,000 in the very last hand before the first break on Day 3.
The Skrill Last Longer competition has been being held at each stop on this season’s EPT, of which they’re an official sponsor. The promotion is simple – players sign up for the promotion either online (preregistration is available) or at the Skrill booth (which will be present at each stop); don a Skrill patch; and then aim to be the last man or woman standing. The last player remaining will then receive their buy-in back via their Skrill account.
Here in Sanremo, just 20 players remained heading into Day 3. You can see the list of players still in contention by scrolling to the bottom of this post.
While Skrill is upping the ante for Season 10 with a bigger branding initiative, this isn’t their first appearance on the EPT; as a matter of fact, they were a sponsor of Season 8 and have held previous “Last Longer” promotions.
The company’s website provides a bit more information on Skrill, which rebranded from Moneybookers back in 2010:
“Skrill has been moving money digitally since 2001. We offer online payment solutions for businesses and consumers, allowing them to pay and get paid globally. Over 36 million account holders already trust Skrill. Our customers can send and receive money worldwide in 200 countries and 40 currencies, securely and at low cost, without revealing their personal financial details. Your business will benefit from our worldwide payment network with over 100 payment options. Whether through a simple one-step integration or a fully-tailored payment solution. Whoever you are, however you like to pay or get paid, trust Skrill to make your online payments simpler, faster and safer.”
Headquartered in London, Skrill is looking to make their presence known in the poker world with a commitment to customer satisfaction through innovation and service. Not only that, they’re looking to be more than just a company by becoming a trusted and respected member of the poker community.
Jennifer Robles provides the start of day update for the EPT Sanremo Main Event. 115 to start the day, 79 make the money and 476,000 Euros to the winner.
Andrea Benelli raised from under the gun to 8,000 and Jan Sjavik called before Victor Zabukas Begara called all in from the button for only 6,000. On the flop Benelli continued for 9,500 and Sjavik called. The same story repeated on the turn for 19,500, Sjavik called once again.
The completed the board and Benelli fired his third bullet for 36,000. Sjavik moved all in and the Italian snap called. Victor Zabukas Begara showed and was eliminated. Sjavik improved on the final community card to trips with the , but Benelli turned over .
Paul Berende moved his short stack of under 10 big blinds over the line from early position. The red triangle was in front of him and one by one the other players folded until it got to big blind Mitch Johnson who made the call and flipped over his . Berende was pretty happy with the outcome and looking forward to a double up with his .
The cards though had other ideas as the drew groans on the turn and a sigh on the river to send Berende home a little short of the money.
Ludovic Riehl already doubled earlier today with aces versus queens and just profited from the best starting hand in hold'em for the second time.
He opened the action with a raise to 8,500 and Antonio Lafosse Fernandez reraised to 24,000. Riehl clicked it back to 48,500 and snap-called all in for 180,000 when his opponent shoved.
Lafosse Fernandez:
Riehl:
The board saw Lafosse Fernandez drawing dead after the turn and Riehl makes a huge jump in the rankings.
with a 10,500 bet. Busquet was the only caller and they went heads up to the turn: 
. Vlad checked to Busquet who made a bet of 26,000. Vlad now check raised to 58,000 and Busquet called.
and Vlad announced all in. This clearly wasn't what Busquet liked to see and he started pondering. "I have a very good hand" he said with a big grin on his face. "How much is it?" The dealer started counting and announced it was 126,100. "126? That's a lot" Busquet continued his monologue. "How can I fold?"
. Busquet tabled 
and the dealer started pushing a big pile of chips his way.
turn for 19,500, Sjavik called once again.
completed the board and Benelli fired his third bullet for 36,000. Sjavik moved all in and the Italian snap called. Victor Zabukas Begara showed 
and was eliminated. Sjavik improved on the final community card to trips with the 
, but Benelli turned over 
. Berende was pretty happy with the outcome and looking forward to a double up with his 
