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Does any 1 knw how the 2nd chance tourny is going?

The Consolation tournament final is about to kick off in the absolutely stunning surroundings of the Casino de Monte Carlo - seeing as I'm here now and don't fancy moving from my newly-found power supply, I can keep you updated a bit, should you like.

Well if it's no trouble. would be nice.

How you feeling?

I've stickied this for you Jenn, so you are stuck now:)

Let me see if I can remember the names of all the Consolation finalists from a glimpse I got of John Ioannou's bit of paper at breakfast this morning:

John Juanda
Ken Lennard
Dave Ulliott
Antonio Esfandari
Victor Ramdin
Jesse Jones
Ted Forrest

Oh, and I left out Johan Storakers, who is also in the final and got pretty far in the main event so (in my opinion) rather deserves another shot...

Of course if the Magician Antonio got through, that would make the most bizarre story as he was, of course, the first player eliminated from the main tourney, after only a few hands.

Robert.... do u ever do any work?  :)

Thanks for the stickying, and I am feeling much better.  Had breakfast and all so full of coffee and energy, and not at all nauseous.  The players for the consolation are convening, but word in the Non-Public-Hope-You're-Moving-Soon FSN room is that it's not nearly ready to kick off... so please be patient. 

I have to say that rigging this room (well, hall) with lights and TV equipment must have been a headache and a half, so hats off to the techies with the film crew.  I eventually found my way in by following a trail of wires thick as my leg into an unmarked door and up some gilt and marble stairs... and they've kind of perched the lighting rig on these elaborate columns over a dwarfed poker table, under spectacular chandeliers.  It is truly amazing.

There is a chance I may be ejected after I am finally noticed in here despite having brought my own power etc etc. so I'll get the most detail I can before leaving for what I am told is the Secondary Press area in the Cafe de Paris down the road (!).  I take a non-violent protest-type action when faced with the TV megaliths and usually I am so small I'm not considered a threat.

What time does this kick off at Jen??

non-violent TV megalith.....you really have a with words Jenn. Keep up the good work please.

Afternoon all.

The Consolation Final ids due to bergin at 1pm Local (it's now 1.50pm Local) so that the Main Event Final can start at 5pm Local.

There is no sign that anything is going to begin here in the immediate future. You need to bear in mind, TV peeps are involved, & you know how it is with these guys......

OK, the players are now seated, & we may well have some action very soon......

In fact, yes, it's "SHUFFLE UP & DEAL".....

Chips for the Consolation Finalists (who are now in their seats and ready to go):

1.  Ken Lennaard   463,000
2.  Johan Strakers  352,000
3.  John Juanda     338,000
4.  Antonio Esfandari  331,000
5.  Devilfish           266,000
6.  Victor Ramdin   174,000
7.  Jesse Jones      171,000

By the way, Dave Colclough went very dep in this, & was amongst the leaders with 2 short-handed tables left, when he picked up AA & teased Matey Boy into getting all his equally impressive stack in the middle with AJ. You can guess the rest.

Can you get some pix of this room please?

In case you sense any "overlap" betwen Jen & I, we are in different parts of this Cathedral sized room, & so we are working sort of independent of each other.

Neither of us can go within 20 metres of the table itself, but, in my case, I can see the table clearly, & I do have a Flop Monitor.

Many thanks to Matt Savage & Kerry Johnson for helping us today, & indeed, all week. We (Jen & I) were ejected from 5 or 6 different & unobstrusive work-stations before Kerry & Matt got us sorted. Matt is an extraordinary guy, much younger than I imagined, & very clued up & street-wise. Kerry? She's just lovely.

And it's started rather slowly, despite the blinds being at a hefty 10k - 20k with a 3k ante.  The shorter stacks must be feeling a bit of pressure, but the only thing resembling a pot so far has been a raise by Devilfish taken with a re-raise by Antonio preflop.

Jesse Jones just moved all-in on a RR, but got no action.

Jesse is wearing a red tee-shirt, shades, & no cap. Jesse was a very sick man a few years ago, but has beaten his malaise & is enjoying a good quality of life now.

Oddly, NONE of those at this Final Table are wearing caps, maybe that's like wearing a hat in church - it's not "done" in this place.



Pics of this place? Yes, when we get caught up, pics there will be, they are in the camera already.

This is the first time EVER that Poker has been played in this quite extraordinary & world-famous Casino, more of which later.

I wouldn't advise my worthy update partner to use the flash though... considering the problems Joe Beevers just had crossing the room (lots of cordons and conflicting signs) I think a flash might result in summary expulsion.

Also, thanks to Matt Savage from me too; he's been nothing but professional and helpful, and is currently stood on what looks like a gangplank behind the dealer, announcing the action, which is helpful as even from the front row of the spectators' area I can't see too much.  He's wearing a co-pilot type headphone, but it's not amplifying his voice - I think that's for the TV recording people.  It's OK now, but I wonder how loud he'll be when the place gets packed come 5pm.

Johan Storakers is ALL-IN, & John Juanda calls.

Johan shows K-7, & John Juanda JJ, & with no drama on the board, the immensely likeable, & Greek based Johan Storakers is OUT.

Seats 1 & 9 look like they are occupied by little Jen-sized players, dresed in black, but in fact they are disguised cameras, rather weird they look.

Talking of Jen, to whom Matt Savage said some very complimentary things poker-wise this morning (he knows his onions), she & I cannot communicate with each other, but I can see her, perched on a chair in the front row of seats, scurrying back & forth to her laptop which is hidden away in a back room used by the TV peeps.

Good Morning all, have enjoyed this site so much over last few days, fantastic coverage, thank you.

Love to see Devilfish win this tourney, But good luck to Actionjack and  Strummer in the Main Event, lots of people rooting for you back here lads.

Hardly a word has been exchanged n a very tense table, but now The Magician breaks the ice & they are all laughing & joking, indeed Ken Lennard is hysterical.

Dave Boy Band Ulliott has not got his UB shirt on, instead he is wearing the shirt of another site, the name of which escapes my memory. He asked me to give it a plug, so I have, shame I forgot the name of the site though.........

Afternoon Mr taxman, & Hi & welcome to all the new Members who have joined blonde this week. We usually give a personal welcome to ALL new Members, but there have been so many this wek, it's not been possible.

 :hello:

Newbies and oldsters alike, I'll be around with the canapes in a mo :)

Settle down and enjoy the best show in town :)

Heid
xx

The Magician moves in on Ramdin, Ramdin lets go, & Esfandiari then says to Ramdin "I'll show YOU, but nobody else can look". The Magician Rules, OK?

Ramdin tries again, moves all-in, & looks relieved that he gets no action this time.

So the new chip leader John Juanda looks by far the most at ease (then again, he always looks like he's having a fairly good time, which is refreshing).  Yes, Ken Lennaard just went bright red in some kind of hysterical fit and that will make some interesting TV at some stage...

Just now on a 7 6 7 board, Antonio bet 60k to win about that much again, and previously Victor Ramdin took down a preflop pot.  There has been an unexpected dwell factor amongst the players which is a tad surprising considering there are only 20 minutes left at this level. 

are these the only people left in this tourny?

We are in the Salon Prive, but it's about the size of a football-field, & is cathedral like in height & immensity.

They do Punto Banco here, & here are the table limits, in case you fancy a little wager.....

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The acoustics in this salle prive are very odd - I'm sat 20 feet from the table and can't hear a word of what the players are saying to one another, although they're clearly finding the banter hilarious.  Shame.  Something about cavernous, gilded, columned, frescoed grandeur which sucks up conversation...

Yes, Sealey, this is the final of the Golden Ticket Consolation tourney.  The winner heads straight into the Final Proper, at a big chip disadvantage, but guaranteed $100,000.

ty was jus wonderin weather my dad was still in

Yres, just 6 guys left here, Lennard (who was the guuy that busted DC's  AA with AJ), Juanda (surely THE nicest world class poker player who ever lived),Antonio Esfandiari (loud & extrovert), Ramdin (shy & reserved), and Jesse Jones, who done so well to come back from illness. Oh, & Boy Band Ulliott.

Ramdin moves in with Storakers exit hand - K-7 - & goes the same way - OUT - when Antonio calls him with a Rag A which holds up. 5 left.

I am sorry Sealey, but your Dad is out too. But be proud of him - VERY proud - because he's a great, great, player, & we all like & respect him loads. He talks about you all the time, you know.

CORRECTION - Ramdin HIT his K, & is NOT OUT. I apologise for that incorrect info, our monitor is very poor quality, & I had a misread.....

lol the few good things or the millions of bad ones ( and yes were all very proud of him and of paul who is his business partner
they are nearly ready to open their new website and playsite when they get back)

But now we have sensation, as Ramdin gets a 10 minute penalty. He showed his hand when passing, with peeps still to act behind him, & Savage was on him in a flash - faiir play, let's start imposing penalties & clean poker up!

That same Ramdin-penalising hand saw Jesse Jones double up with pocket 10s against John Juanda's K 10.  The board came 7 5 4 7 5 and Jesse is up to (approximately) 210,000.  Sorry for absence of suits, and therefore absence of marvellous little cards but I can't see the table and there's no monitor in my room. 

Hey Jen, hope you're feeling better today. :)

Any idea what the blinds are now and what time they plan to finish this table?

Hi tikay, great great site, how is devil fish getting on?

Thx

And with Ramdin banished to a little chair 20 feet away from the table, the players seem to be playing faster, gobbling up Ramdin's blinds which are freely available. It's a shame for Ramdin, but I agree with Matt Savage's decisaion, unless TD's make a stand, poker will continue it's downward spiral into anarchy & intolerable & unacceptable behaviour. Lecture over, tikay tetchy today.

But Ken Lennard is even more tetchy than me presumably, as John Juanda's Full House dumps him out of the comp, so five left now. Definitely!

Hi thefog - Much better, sneaked some croissants out of the breakfast room today...

The blinds started at 10k - 20k, 3k ante today, and I don't think they've gone up - Tikay - hear any increase?   The idea is that they're definitely done by the time the Finalists Proper head on over (5pm MC time, 4pm UK time).  But the way these things tend to go, you never really know. Pre-dinner, that's a nice, vague guess.

Adding to Jen's answer - weird this, talking to each other via Forum when we are 20 yards apart! - the levels are, I believe, 30 minutes. And Dave Ulliott is doing OK, sitting very quiet in bioth senses of the word, certainly by his standards.

 :D  hi tony nice to see the "fish" still in lol,any chance you writing something good about me on here about how i done his head in in wallsall just to show some real fish thanx m8  p.s see you at the masters m8

james fisher

23 spades - ex Amateur Boxer James Fisher, if I'm not mistaken, did indeed take Devilfish, & plenty of others, apart in the Midland Masters 2 years ago. A phenonomal performance by the lad who demolishes Final Tables in Cardiff & Swansea on a regular basis, I'm told. He has fingers thicker than my forearms, but is a gentle giant, & I like him a lot. I'd like him more if he were not Welsh.

sealey_son - sorry, but I've had to delete your last post. We are short of Moderators today, & I am flat out busy here, so no time to explain, but I'll explain later. Sorry mate, no offence intended, but you can't do that on blonde.

tikay my dad was telling me tht it was hard to get anything to eat because evry body speaks french  :D

sry tikay didnt know just saw it last night because i bet united to beat villareal and just happened to see pauls name at poker

Yes, and the French are very rude, and I DO mean rude, but it's still a beautiful place.

Now, Jen spoke earlier about the lighting rig for the TV table, this gives you some idea of it, & also the grandeur of the room. This is one of EIGHT such rooms in this building.

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No problem sealey_son, I know you intended no offence.

ty tony your a star ,,and i would like you even more if you were.......yes you guessed it "A SHEEP"ty tony and jen for your updates,,i fancy aj to get the result i think hes due.p.s see you saturday m8

looks expensive lol

The Devilfish has claimed two smallish pots in a row with preflop raises, the second one (and all-in) dwelt about rather seriously by Antonio and then given to him.

A 75,000 raise of John Juanda's was just picked up by the Magician with an all-in preflop re-raise, too.  That's it for the action.  But the other Finalists are making an appearance - I spotted ActionJack, Marc Goodwin and Kenna James sidling up to the ring.

Kenna James incidentally is sporting the same colour (pillarbox red) shirt as fellow American Jesse Jones, albeit with a fab black cowboy hat (pic if you can!!).  They are sure to stand out on their respective tables.

Very little see-able action at the Final Table, Raise, Dwelll, Pass, Raise, Dwell, pass, rinse repeat.

So here's a view out of the window by which I sit. That blue stuff is the sea, The Mediterranean I think.

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I've heard all that lighting and rigging is scientifically calibrated to show Marc Goodwin's tan in the best possible light on camera.  :D

John Juanda is the Chip Leader.

Marc Goodwin? Don't know about that. He arrived at the Venue at 0500 this morning, & has been in make-up ever since. He'll be ready in another 5 or 6 hours. And he smells like he's bathed in after-shave, or Chanel.

And Boy Band Uliott is OUT, after The Magician, Antonio Esfandiari, tricks his way to a winning hand.

great stuff form you guys...keepin me awake at work

does it ever feel like you guys are living your own fantasy with surroundings like that and doing what you love...

And the Devilfish is OUT in 5th place -

He moved in preflop with  Ks 4s and was called by Antonio Esfandari with  Ah Tc.

The  4d popped up immediately on the flop, and there followed a J 8 and 6, at which point Antonio was patting Ulliott on the back saying rather gentlemanly-like, "Nice hand," when the 10 came on the river as if as a reward for unexpectedly good behaviour, and the best preflop hand ended up winning.  He did shout "Oh Baby!" at that point.

So, four left - Juanda. Esfandiari, Jones & Ramdin.

And it's FREEZING in ths little alcove I've been allocated, really freezing.

The players don't look exactly toasty either - Antonio has a nice leather jacket draped over his shoulders and the ones in shirt-sleeves look like they wish they weren't. The wealth of cables heading out of the building means that windows must necessarily be opened, though, which is understandable - this Casino is new to poker, and Televised Poker in particular. 

I saw the makeup area the finalists get shepherded into - it's absolutely full of little powder compacts and tubes and different shades of brown and pink so that they can all glow with the, ahem, naturally healthful glow of the professional poker player.

When burnley john was sent into make up before his will hills heat they couldnt see his reflection in the mirror ;)

Yes - I AM living my fantasy. I'd like to enlarge on that, but it's not really what the blondes wanna hear right now. But yes, yes, YES.

Here's a pretty high-powered bunch of Railbirds, nearrest camera is Iwan Jones (Welsh), then ActionJack (looking remarkable intelligent, by his standards), John "punk floyd" Conroy (Liverpool supporter), Jon "skalie" Kalmer, who's a nice bloke, & Conor Tate, who comes from Lancashire. Not much going for any of them, then.

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Can the public see anything from the guest area, or is it like the TV table at the sporting d'hiver on day 3.
I want to pop around tonight but not sure if I need to go home and put on a suit.

Hi team


What time is the final of the main event going to start ?


Thanks


Greg

Despite the lack of huge pots, somehow Antonio has taken a big old chip lead and the stacks are now as follows:

John Juanda     280,000
Jesse Jones      175,000
Victor Ramdin    245,000
Antonio Esfandari  1,340,000 !

Taking out Devilfish was the biggest boost, but we've clearly missed a few raises of raises which took him down some reasonable pots, taking a chunk off Juanda in the process.

Greg - I have been trying to avoid directly answering this question all day lol - 'Before dinner' was my last guess, but this has to finish and the TV get set for the Main Final before they kick off, so my proper estimate would be 6pm (5pm UK).  It entirely depends on whether Antonio finishes off the last three quickly, or if they get some doubleups and turn the tide, thereby extending play.

ty for all your updates one day tony.you might get to one of these big finals and when you do my son i will write about you in the south wales echo ...i think youd like that m8 ,,,oh yes i forgot to blow my trumpett after your  nice soft,  spoken words of me (i won again monday £20 pot limit in cardiff £2k suppose it pays for the masters  lol    :D :D :D :D

I am back into la chambre froide straight into the front row of the spectator chairs.  I have a feeling I might be uncomfortably in shot at times so I might just stand behind one of the pillars..

Thanks Jen

It has been known

Looking forward to the mouth watering final.

Stephen A - there is spectator seating all around the table, & you CAN see plenty. I don't think a suit is necessary, we all have to enter via the tradesman entrance (behave Ariston), & even Mad Yank Fanelli got in, so, clothes-wise, anything goes.

Jesse Jones, down to the felt, just rivers his out to double-up.

23 spades - well done on Monday, but it was only in Cardiff, they don't have any real players in Wales so far as I know.

tikay a guy called zim is taking all them railbirds to manchester on his private jet

i suppose your right the only welsh real player is over ther with you Ia
wan "CODEYES" Jones. ask if hes gonna swansea tonight to watch the real pros .its like a minefield  8)

Sorry about the darkness, but here's another view of the insde of this rather grand little Casino.

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thats smaller than my outside toilet  :D :D :D :D :D

I dont know, what to say   speeeechleess

JJ for JJ news now as Juanda moves in on Antonio's blind, and after he painfully decides to pass preflop saying, "If I had a 9 I would have called you," he's rewarded with a glimpse of the pocket Jacks.

Then Jesse Jones doubles up calling Antonio (again) who had raised enough to put him in with 7 4 offsuit.  Jesse's A4 was in good shape and stayed that way, boosting him to nearly 300,000.

Here's big event Finalist Kenna James, suited, booted, red-shirted & hatted. He's extremely loud & extrovert at the table, but off the table, he's almost like a normal person.

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Can someone give Tikay a dictionary please, his typo's and spelling are deteriorating rapidly!

Victor Ramdin OUT in 4th place -

His all-in with A8 was called by John Juanda with J9 and the flop was fairly interesting as it came  As Js Ts and Juanda held the  9s.  It had to be the river which brought the fourth spade to knock out Ramdin who gets, I think I heard right, $30,000 for getting this far in the second chance event.

Kenna may be loud, but he sings beautifully at the table. If all else fails, he wouldn't be half bad at country/western singing....

Can someone give Trace T one of these?  :redcard:

Here's EPT Big Boss Man John Duthie, get the shoes. He joined a bunch of us, including El Blondie & Michael Greco, for a series of £1,500 SNG's aboard a private yacht last night. I'm delighted to say I finished ahead of the game, for the third night in a row. Long Live SNG's, eh? Hehe......

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With Jesse gone, the heads up is about to start with Antonio Esfandiari on about 1.3 million chips to John Juanda's 700,000.

It could be the onset of juvenile dementia  :D

You can't give me a red card for stating true facts!  Can you?

go on jonny j As Ks Qs Js Ts

And we just got an all-in which nearly finished it:  I think Juanda has the chip lead now and he got it all-in with  Kc Qh against Antonio's  Kd 4d.  The flop came 7 6 5 which must have pleased Antonio, with the turn and river 6 7 resulting in a split pot!  I rather think this will all be over rather shortly, and then there'll be about a half hour break I would imagine before the proper final with its extra player gets started.

What a contrast John Juanda & Antonio Esfandiari make. John is just too nice to be true, an absolute Gent, in every sense of the word. No rubdowns, no trash talk, ever smiling, not an enemy in the world, equally gracious both in defeat & in victory. And then there's Antonio.

when does the final start???

The Final was DUE to start at 5pm, but my bet is nearer 6.30 or 7pm. (Local). Deduct an hour for UK.

Here's the scene right now. Antonio to the left, John Juanda to the right, Matt Savage doing the announcing. Note the opulence of the room, which reminds me greatly of Grosvenor Luton.

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Well, a big up to John Juanda, I can't say I'm not delighted for him. If Antonio had won, what a story THAT would have made, though. The second guy to depart drom the comp "proper" after only a few minutes, & he gets back in via the consolation tourney. But he did not, so there you go.

An John Juanda wins the GOLDEN TICKET!

He eventually called Antonio's preflop reraise with K 10, but found the magician making a move over the top of his initial 150k raise with 8 10off, and with no miracle, Juanda progresses and is Back In the final, guaranteed $100k and with a shot at the $1 mil.

*********10 minute break*********

tikay how does this golden ticket effect ranking points?

Wow, What a cardroom.




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OK, for the BIG FINAL, please go here.........

http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?topic=3887.0