Photo Recap: Day 4 of WPT Foxwoods

By BJ Nemeth

Day 4 started with 28 players, and the top 25 would finish in the money. It seemed like a simple task, especially when Ronald Lee busted in 28th place in the first five minutes. The field redrew for new seats at the final three tables and began hand-for-hand play. So how long would it take to lose two more players?

Three and a half hours.

Once the bubble burst, play continued to complete the scheduled five levels, and at the end of the day there were 12 players left:

1. Thomas Marchese – 1,832,000 (114 bb)
2. Jeff Forrest – 979,000 (61 bb)
3. Sorel Mizzi – 788,000 (49 bb)
4. Nikolai Yakovenko – 690,000 (43 bb)
5. Christopher Bonita – 610,000 (38 bb)
6. Besnik Ziba – 500,000 (31 bb)
7. Keven Stammen – 400,000 (25 bb)
8. Hoyt Corkins – 335,000 (20 bb)
9. Dave Inselberg – 331,000 (20 bb)
10. Jason Mercier – 322,000 (00 bb)
11. Mohsin Charania – 283,000 (20 bb)
12. Ben Klier – 269,000 (16 bb)

And now, a photographic look back at Day 4 of the WPT Foxwoods:

The money bubble was the longest we’ve seen in a long time — it took three and a half hours to bust two players. Many times, one table would play a long hand, and the players at other tables would just sit and wait while media and WPT cameras surrounded the one table with action.

Kyle Bowker (right) started the day in 28th place with 28 players remaining. But Bowker, who was the Day 1 chipleader, battled with a short stack through the entire bubble period, won the pots he needed to (like this one), and cashed in 24th place. Bryan Piccioli (left) started the day in 22nd place, and also made the money, finishing 19th. Both players earned $27,779.

Josh Arieh (left) faces a bet on the river from Ben Klier (foreground, right) during the money bubble. Arieh started the day in third place, but had a rough time during the money bubble. Arieh came out of the money bubble with a substantially smaller stack, and eventually busted in 21st place, earning $27,779.

Thomas Marchese doubled up with [AcKh] against Nikolai Yakovenko’s [AsQc] during the money bubble. Marchese would go on to put those chips to good use, as you’ll soon see. You might notice that neither player is in this photo — these four players (left to right, Ronnie Bardah, Bob Courtney, Jason Mercier, and Gavin Smith) are looking at Yakovenko, while Marchese is off to the left in seat 1.

Finally, after three and a half hours, Alex Berger (standing, left) was all in with [10c10h] against Kyle Bowker’s [QdQs]. Berger picked up an open-ended straight draw on the turn, but missed his outs on the river to bust in 26th place.

Kyle Bowker (right) shakes hands with unfortunate bubble boy Alex Berger (left). But Berger should stick around for a few minutes, because there is a hand in progress at another table …

While Alex Berger was eliminated on the money bubble in 26th place, Bob Courtney (far left) was playing a hand against Sorel Mizzi (far right). Berger asked for a clarification of the rules so he would know exactly what happened if he busted in this hand. The rule states that if two players are eliminated at separate tables during hand-for-hand play, they would tie for 25th place and split the prize in half — $13,889.50 each. Even though he was guaranteed that amount, Bob Courtney decided to fold [JdJs] face up on a board of [9c5h5s] to Sorel Mizzi’s all-in bet. Mizzi turned over [AhJc] as he received the pot — Courtney would have been a huge favorite to double up.

When the money bubble came to an end, Jeff Forrest emerged as the leader with more than one million in chips. Forrest was the first player in the tournament to reach that mark.

In the spirit of Halloween, Ronnie Bardah put on a wig that belonged to a friend on the rail — it may have been a celebratory move after reaching the money. Unfortunately, Bardah would eventually be eliminated in 17th place, earning $33,016.

WPT Anchor Kimberly Lansing wears a skeleton tracksuit in honor of Halloween, and convinces Sorel Mizzi to wear a wig when he returns to play after the break. The wig didn’t last long, because Mizzi sent a message out via Twitter a few minutes later — @SorelMizzi: "Put wig on. First hand lose 500k pot. Wigs gotta go. 450k" But any damage done was only temporary, as Mizzi would survive the day third in chips.

With the final board showing [Qc10h3s3h9c], Sorel Mizzi (left) bets big on the river against Jason Mercier (right). Mercier was confused by the move, saying that Mizzi often plays hands like this in unusual ways, and somehow catches a winning hand by showdown. Mercier said, "The last time you did this, you had nothing, but I had worse. This time I have it, but I still have this sick feeling." Mercier eventually folded, and Mizzi took the pot.

Thomas Marchese rakes in another pot, putting him into position for some big hands in the final minutes that would set the stage for Day 5.

Everyone at the table wants to know what cards Dave Inselberg (foreground, right) had when he moved all in, but Inselberg, who had been riding a short stack all day, was reluctant. Inselberg eventually relented and showed one card — the [Ad].

Thomas Marchese (far right) reraises all in on the river against Mohsin Charania (left). The board showed [10h7s2cQsKd], and Charania tanked for a while before he folded. It was a big pot to forfeit, and Charania dropped down near the bottom of the chip counts. Charania would survive the day, but 11th in chips with 12 players remaining.

There were two key hands in the final minutes of Day 4. In the first one, Hoyt Corkins (foreground, right) and Thomas Marchese (left) create a pot worth 1.1 million on a board of [9h7d6d8h4h]. Corkins led the betting the entire way, and showed down [10d10h] to win the pot with a ten-high straight on the turn. Marchese mucked without showing, and this pot propelled former WPT Foxwoods champion Corkins into the chip lead with 12 players remaining.

It didn’t take long for Hoyt Corkins (center) and Thomas Marchese (foreground, left) to play another huge pot. Shortly before the end of the day, Marchese opened from the button, Corkins reraised from the big blind, and Marchese four-bet it to 208,000. Corkins reraised to 570,000, and Marchese asked, "Why did you do that instead of shoving?" Marchese tanked for a minute as media and the WPT crew swarmed the table. Finally, Marchese said, "Whatever, I’m all in." Corkins replied, "I guess this is the tournament. I call." Corkins showed [AdKc] to Marchese’s [10c10h], and it was a race situation. The board came [Qs10d8c2h6h], and Marchese won the pot with a set of tens to double up to a huge chip lead with triple the average stack.

Mohsin Charania, who started the day sixth in chips, wasn’t pleased that he was 11th out of 12 at the end of the day. Charania added a little "FML" next to his count on the bag his chips were sealed in.

Day 5 begins tomorrow (Monday) at 12:00 noon ET. Return to WorldPokerTour.com for continuing live coverage, including hand updates, frequent chip counts, video interviews with Kimberly Lansing, and the still-untitled recap show starring Jessica Welman and BJ Nemeth.