Michiel Brummelhuis moved all in from under the gun for 7.525 million. Ryan Riess called from the next seat, and everyone else folded. Brummelhuis showed the to flip against Riess' .
The flop came down , and Brummelhuis' nines stayed in the lead. The turn was the , meaning Riess had just the river to catch an ace or a queen.
The river was the , pairing the board and giving Brummelhuis the double up. With Riess losing this pot, Jay Farber moved back into the chip lead.
Ryan Riess raised to 1.1 million from the hijack seat, and Amir Lehavot reraised to 2.5 million from the cutoff seat. McLaughlin took some time on the button, then stuck in a cold four-bet to 4.75 million. Action got back to Riess and he five-bet to 11.1 million. Lehavot and McLaughlin quickly folded, giving Riess the pot and moving him into the chip lead.
JC Tran started the hand on the button, and the action folded to him. He bumped it up to 1.1 million, David "Raptor" Benefield three-bet shoved for 8.5 million, and Jay Farber went deep into the tank. After over a minute, he called, and Tran folded.
Benefield:
Farber:
The dealer fanned , changing nothing, and the turn brought the . Farber turned Broadway, but Benefield could win with a spade on the river or chop with an ace.
It was not to be for Raptor as the bricked off on the river, and he hit the rail in eighth place.
Amir Lehavot started the hand on the button, and Mark Newhouse moved all in for 5.05 million from the hijack seat. Ryan Riess called in the cutoff, and the rest of the players folded.
Newhouse:
Riess:
The fans in the Penn & Teller Theatre stood at their seats, and the Riess fans erupted when the flop fell . The on the turn changed nothing, and neither did the on the river, sending Newhouse out in ninth place.
He'll earn $733,224, while Riess now has nearly 38 million chips.
Bracelet winner Amir Lehavot raised to 1 million from the hijack seat. Marc-Etienne McLaughlin made the call from the cutoff seat, and everyone else folded. The flop came down , and Lehavot bet 1.25 million. McLaughlin called.
The turn was the , and Lehavot checked. McLaughlin bet 2.5 million, and Lehavot called.
The river completed the board with the , pairing it up with cowboys. After Lehavot checked, McLaughlin fired a big bet of 7.2 million. Lehavot called right away.
McLaughlin showed the for a full house, kings over jacks. Lehavot showed the for losing trips. McLaughlin won the pot and moved just behind JC Tran for the lead.
David "Raptor" Benefield had the button, and the action folded to him. He moved all in for 4.375 million, Jay Farber quickly folded, and Sylvain Loosli sat quietly for a minute or so before calling.
Benefield:
Loosli:
The flop came , giving Benefield a flush draw, and the crowd went bonkers. The cheers in the Penn & Teller Theatre died down just in time for the dealer to burn a second card and deliver the turn, and when the spiked on the felt, Benefield's rail lost it. The bricked off on the river, and Benefield doubled to 9.4 million chips.
Marc-Etienne McLaughlin opened to 850,000 from middle position. Mark Newhouse moved all in from the big blind for 7.1 million, and McLaughlin quickly made the call. Newhouse tabled the , but saw the bad news as his big pocket pair was behind McLaughlin's .
The flop produced an early suckout when the gave Newhouse a leading set of queens. The crowd erupted before fourth street was dealt with McLaughlin now behind. turn was the , and the river completed the board with the .
Newhouse had come from behind to double, jumping up over 14 million in chips.
The crew has reunited in Las Vegas, Nevada for the 2013 World Series of Poker Main Event. In this episode they look at all nine members of the final table and give their predictions.
As the only amateur at the 2013 World Series of Poker Main Event final table, 28-year-old Las Vegas nightclub promoter Jay Farber will play the underdog role when November Nine convenes next week.
Unlike the rest of his final table opponents, Farber has very little tournament experience, especially in major live events. The $733,224 he’s guaranteed for making the November Nine marks his first-ever WSOP cash. In fact, going into July's Main Event he had accumulated only $2,155 in live tournament cashes. That's one-fifth of the WSOP Main Event buy-in.
But whatever edge Farber lacks in experience, he'll make up for in crowd support when the action kicks off at the Penn and Teller Theater on Monday.
Similar to the Vegas nightlife scene, achieving success in poker can be about who you know. And Farber seems to know just about everyone in Sin City, giving him a home-field advantage of sorts at the final table. He's prepared to turn the Penn and Teller Theater into his own Las Vegas nightclub.
"This is probably going to be the loudest and most crazy rail that there's ever been at the World Series," Farber told the PokerNews Podcast crew this week. "I know that half of my friends are planning on getting kicked out."
Farber also happens to be very close to several high-stakes poker pros who have helped guide him through his Main Event journey. Former November Niners Ben Lamb and Jesse Sylvia, as well as Vanessa Selbst and many others, have been in Farber's corner since the beginning of his own November Nine run. They've all provided invaluable knowledge that could help make Farber the game's next ambassador.
"I'm very, very fortunate to have some of the best poker players in the world as some of my very good friends," said Farber. "They've all pledged their support to me and offered me anything I need. So there will be a lot of research and practice going on for the final table. I'm excited."
Farber will enter the final table fourth in chips with 25,975,000 after enjoying one of the easier paths to the November Nine. He was the only finalist to finish his starting flight with a six-figure stack (104,400), and he told PokerNews that he was only in semi-danger of busting on Day 2 — and he wasn't even all in.
"I sort of cruised through every day of the tournament with well over 100 big blinds," Farber said.
While he could still be considered a tournament novice, Farber has been a regular at the mid-stakes cash games at the Bellagio and other Las Vegas poker rooms for years. He credits his cash-game background and the deep structure of the WSOP Main Event to his success so far.
"The Main Event, more than most tournaments, plays a lot like a deepstack cash game in that you have so many chips and so much room to work for so long," Farber said. "You don't necessarily find yourself in shove-or-fold situations or need to be at risk for your tournament life until a lot of later stages. It's a comfortable feeling for a lot of cash game players to have a ton of chips in front of them."
Farber will be in his comfort zone with 65 big blinds when play resumes on Monday. He says he won't be intimidated by the previous success of his opponents, so it's safe to say Farber is a stong contender to become the next world champion of poker. Whether or not he wins, he'll certainly bring some excitement to the final table.
For more on Farber, be sure to watch the interview he did with our very own Sarah Grant:
The 2013 WSOP Main Event final table will take place starting Monday, Nov. 4 at 5 p.m. Las Vegas time, and you can follow all of the live, hand-for-hand coverage right here at PokerNews.com.
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David Benefield, known better in the online poker community as "Raptor," will be sitting on the shortest stack heading into the November Nine with 6.375 (16 blinds) million in chips. Despite this fact, Benefield's experience on both the virtual and live felt will make him a worthy adversary to the other eight competitors who are looking to be crowned world champion.
In fact, Benefield's quest from Day 7 up through the November Nine was one that was filled with picking spots and playing the short stack to his benefit.
“I just kept winning hands and staying alive,” said Benefield. “I was the short stack going into Day 7 and I’m the short stack going into the final table. I’ve just kind of progressively been staying alive each level.”
Perhaps his success has come from the fact that this is territory that he’s explored before. Benefield made a solid run at the Main Event in 2008 where he ultimately finished in 73rd place for $77,200.
"My deep run was, I guess, about five years ago, and I got 72nd? 73rd? Something like that,
Benefield said. "I was pretty certain that was the deepest I’d ever get. There’s just so many people that play you have to get so lucky to get this far."
Benefield hails from Forth Worth, Texas and began playing online poker during his senior year of high school. After finding much of his freshman year of college consumed with grinding online as well as underground live cash games, Benefield opted to drop out of school after just one semester. Despite successfully grinding his bankroll up, he ultimately found himself nearly broke and longing for a social life. Benefield then enrolled back in school but found himself doing more partying than studying. Eventually, he returned to the game he knew so well and began grinding once again.
Although he was not old enough to participate, Benefield took to the 2006 World Series of Poker where he spent the summer living in the "Ship It Holla Balla Mansion," a place rented by some of the best online young guns around. Benefield used his time this summer to increase his bankroll and solidify his place as one of the best Internet players around.
Prior to his finish in the November Nine, Benefield racked up a total of 12 cashes at the WSOP including his 2008 Main Event run and an eighth-place finish in the €50,000 No Limit Hold'em — Majestic Roller at the 2012 WSOP Europe.
Benefield has been active post-2013 WSOP as well, making numerous final tables at high roller events around the world. Benefield had a successful trip to the EPT Barcelona where he finished fifth place in the €50,000 Super High Roller for €208,150 ($278,439). He immediately followed that up with a 110th-place cash in the Main Event and he capped off his trip with an eighth-place finish in the €10,000 High Roller for €47,850 ($64,008). Benefield continued his high-roller consistency at EPT London where a seventh-place finish in the £50,000 High Roller earned him a payday of £139,600 ($226,348).
The 2013 WSOP Main Event final table will take place starting Monday, Nov. 4 at 5 p.m. Las Vegas time, and you can follow all of the live, hand-for-hand coverage right here at PokerNews.com.
Get all the latest PokerNews updates on your social media outlets. Follow us on Twitter and find us on both Facebook and Google+!