Chris Karagulleyan Guns For Second WPT Title in Just Seven Years

Those of you watching Season 1 of the World Poker Tour on Fox Sports recently or who have memories on par with elephants are probably familiar with Chris Karagulleyan. He was the guy in the suit with the facial ticks who won the second ever WPT event back in 2002.

Those of you not watching Season 1 of the World Poker Tour on Fox Sports recently or who have memories on par with trout have no idea who Chris Karagulleyan is, because after he won the second ever WPT event back in 2002, he pretty much went the way of Temp Hutter and was never heard from again.

In fact, Karagulleyan is one of the charter members of the Temp Hutter Club. However, he may be playing himself off that list today. [copy + paste] Karagulleyan brings the chip lead to the LAPC final table, stacked at 4,080,000.

[copy + paste] Karagulleyan is followed by Mike Sowers with 2,405,000. Joining them and making his first ever WPT final table is Chris "Jesus" Ferguson with 1,565,000.

Get full chip counts and reports (and follow the final table action starting at 4PM PST) here.

Chris "Jesus" Ferguson Leads LAPC With 20 Remaining

As many of you know, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson didn't play World Poker Tour events for years, as he and a group of other (mostly) FTP'ers filed a pretty ridiculous lawsuit against Lipscomb & Co.

The parties settled said suit, and now Full Tilt more or less covers the production costs of WPT broadcasts. Maybe the Israelis and Palestinians could learn something from FTP and the WPT.

Maybe.

Ferguson, who is arguably one of the best no-limit hold'em tournament players alive and already makes more money than most of the highest paid athletes do in a year, is looking to add another milli plus to his sizable warchest, as he ended Day 4 of the LAPC as chip leader, stacked at 1,721,000.

Ferguson is followed by Payman Arjang with 1,488,000, and Chris Karagulleyan with 1,146,000.

Other notables remaining include Nick Schulman (850,000), Mike Sowers (626,000), Nordberg (423,000), and Teddy "The Iceman" Monroe (264,000).

Get full chip counts here.

Daniel Negreanu, Jeff Madsen, Bertrand Grospellier Among LAPC Day 1 Chip Leader

The LAPC Main Event got underway yesterday with 695 entrants, making the total prize pool just shy of the $7M Jamie Gold decided to skip out on to play his charity tourney (fyi, seats are still available, go here to sign up).

Lots of big name big stack among the 412 survivors. Not included among them is overall chip leader Kasey Nam with 141,000. He's followed though by Daniel Negreanu (128,000, more on him in a moment), Jeff Madsen (112,500), and Bertrand Grospellier (86,000). Nick Schulman (79,000) and defending champ Phil Ivey (75,000) are also among the people you probably have heard of and care about with fairly large stacks.

There are about 407 other people we haven't listed still alive, so get their chip counts here.

Eighth Time's a Charm: Phil Ivey Wins WPT LA Poker Classic

This one kind of felt inevitable.

Phil Ivey finally won his first WPT title.

Although it didn't look good at first. Ivey lost a big pot early in final table action, telling Kimberly Lansing:

"I was just really frustrated, the seven other times I've made [a WPT final table]...I actually felt when I first sat down and lost that big hand [against Charles 'no chance' Moore], I thought, 'Here we go again.'"

But Ivey tightened up and started building his stack again. After Phil Hellmuth and Scott Montgomery were eliminated, Ivey won a 3.14 million dollar pot off Nam Le, gaining back the chip lead. He later knocked Nam out when he spiked a three on the river to make a set and crack Nam's aces.

When it got to heads-up play, Ivey had a near 5-to-1 chip advantage over eventual runner-up Quinn Do. Ivey busted Quinn with a full house (aces full of eights), banking $1,596,100 for the win, which should pad his FTP bankroll nicely.

Get the full final table recap here.

WPT LAPC: Phil Ivey, Phil Hellmuth, Nam Le Battle for Title

It would be hard to reasonably ask for a better WPT final table than this.

The 2008 WPT LAPC has three of poker's toughest tournament players gunning for the title. Leading the way as big stack is Phil Ivey with 4,100,000. This is Ivey's record-setting eigth WPT final table. However, he has yet to win a WPT title. However however, even if he doesn't win this one, he did manage to capture yesterday's Blue Diamond Almonds Bold Player of the Day. And that's a year's supply of almonds right there.

Ivey is followed by Scott "r_a_y" Montgomery with 2,680,000.

In third overall is 11-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth (2,380,000). This is Hellmuth's third WPT final table.

Rounding out the final six are Charles "no chance" Moore (1,510,000), Quinn Do (1,450,000), and three-time WPT final table-ist (and one-time winner) Nam Le (1,180,000).

WPT LAPC: Phil Ivey, Phil Hellmuth, Phil Nam Le Lead the Way

A WPT dream final table is shaping up at the LAPC, which probably means that it won't happen [insert Debbie Downer music]. A healthy dose of skepticism is always a good thing, right?

However, if this WPT dream final table does happen, the Entities who comprise Wicked Chops Poker promise you this: a minimum of 2 Entities will be in LA to pseudo-cover it.* That's how big it'll be.

With 18 remaining at the end of Day 4, Phil Ivey is the chip leader, stacked at 1,543,000. He's followed by relatively unknown but solid online pro Blair Hinkle (1,541,000). And he's followed by 11-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth (1,399,000). And he's followed by past WPT champ Nam Le (1,254,000).

Also still in, although not big stacked (however, still very big racked) is Jennifer Tilly (417,000), as well as David Singer (285,000).

Get full chip counts from the WPT site here.

In related news, at press time the Blue Diamond Almonds Bold Player of the Day had not yet been picked. We mention this because we know that you are really, really curious. Not to ruin the surprise, but we're guessing it'll be Phil Hellmuth. If we're right, expect a post bragging about how we were right. If we're wrong, nothing.

*Editor's Note: Already happening regardless. Empty promise.

WPT LAPC: Ivey, Tilly, Singer, and Glum Girl Svetlana Among Chip Leaders

While other early chip leaders have rode the proverbial rollercoaster, Phil Ivey has managed to remain at or near the chip lead for yet another day at the 2008 WPT LA Poker Classic.

Ivey ended Day 3 play stacked at 656,000. He trails only Kyle Burnside, who ended the day at 781,000.

Only 58 players remain from the starting field of 665. Following Ivey as the third overall big stack is big racked Jennifer Tilly with 569,000. She's followed by Day 1 chip leader David Singer with 561,000.

Other notables include but are surely not limited to: Glum Girl Svetlana Gromenkova (292,000), 2006 LAPC winner Alan Goehring - 284,000, Nam Le - 180,000, Toto Leonidas - 146,000, Phil Hellmuth - 100,000, and last year's LAPC champ Eric Hershler - 90,000.

2004 LAPC winner Antonio Esfandiari was eliminated three from the money.

With so many big names remaining, and with the WPT's recent history of big name flame-outs as we get to the TV table, we're sure to see a final table consisting of Yury Parad, Mike Hamparsomian, Pete de Best, Hassan Kamoei, David Stroj, and Jeff Chotikul. No offense to Yury Parad, Mike Hamparsomian, Pete de Best, Hassan Kamoei, David Stroj, and Jeff Chotikul.

Get full chip counts from the WPT site here.

And in honor of Ben Affleck, who once won the California State Poker Championship in Commerce Casino where the LAPC is held, here's the surprisingly very funny I'm F*cking Ben Affleck video.