Congratulations Roland Foster, WPTDeepStacks Sydney $440 PLO Champion! ($27,954*)
After not playing poker for 7-8 years after the scene ‘died off’ in Canberra, Roland Foster has secured his first major cash in style, winning the $440 PLO here today.
Speaking to PMA after the event, Roland said he’d come to play in the series “just for a bit of fun”, after being unable to play for many years due to inactive local scene and the federal government’s legislation that took online poker off the table.
“Since the first few hands today, I was making hands, hitting wraps, took out two people very quickly … I started then to think that OK, this might actually be my day.” Foster said, “It was definitely good fun, yeah!”
Asked if he’d be playing any other events, Roland confirmed he’d be around for the Main Event, and if that doesn’t go to plan – “I guess I’ve got a few bullets for the other PLO event now!”
Congratulations again, Roland, and we wish you every success in the future.
PMA will return tomorrow, to bring you full coverage of Day 2 of the Big Bounty tournament from 12.30, as well as all of the action from buy-in to bust-out from Day 1A of the Main Event kicking off at 14.30 AEST here at Star Sydney!
Lloyd Locsin eliminated in 2nd place ($17,000*)
Shortly into heads up play, on a board showing A♥5♠10♣J♣, Roland Foster bet out 225,000, Lloyd Locsin hit the pot button, and Foster re-potted over the top to put Locsin all in. Locsin short-called, and the hands were tabled.
Locsin: K♣10♠10♦8♠
Foster: K♠Q♥7♠4♦
Needing the board to pair to turn his flopped set into a full house, Locsin was to be disappointed when the river peeled the 2♠.
We at PMA would like to extend congratulations to Lloyd Locsin on his result today!
| Lloyd Locsin | BUSTED! |
Al Josue eliminated in 3rd place ($17,000*)
Al Josue and Lloyd Locsin clashed twice in quick succession, with Josue coming off worst both times.
In the first hand, Locsin was all in for 595,000 and held Q♣J♣10♣7♦, whilst Josue held A♠K♦J♥3♠. Josue hit two pair on the 6♠3♣4♥K♣ board but the 4♣ river gave Locsin a flush and the full double.
In the second hand, Josue was all in for 520,000 and held 8♠8♣7♥6♥, Locsin was the caller and held A♥J♦9♣3♦. Josue found no help on the board of A♠Q♠10♠3♥2♣ and was eliminated.
| Lloyd Locsin | 2,265,000 |
| Al Josue | BUSTED! |
Level 28: 50,000/100,000 (100,000)
Carlos Youssef eliminated in 4th place ($13,000*)
Immediately after reaching a deal, Carlos Youssef found himself all in and at risk against Roland Foster.
Foster’s Q♥10♥8♥4♥ held all the way after flopping two pair on a board of Q♣9♥8♠3♥7♦ to best the A♦K♠5♦2♦ of Youssef.
| Roland Foster | 5,255,000 |
| Carlos Youssef | BUSTED! |
A treaty reached
The remaining players have agreed to an modified ICM-based deal which will see them take home a set amount each from this point, with $1,954 and the WPTDeepStacks trophy left to play for.
| Player | Payout |
| Roland Foster | $26,000 |
| Lloyd Locsin | $17,000 |
| Al Josue | $17,000 |
| Carlos Youssef | $13,000 |
Talking time
The remaining players have departed the table for a short break. Chip counts in order of seating position.
| Player | Chips |
| Al Josue | 1,030,000 |
| Roland Foster | 4,725,000 |
| Carlos Youssef | 530,000 |
| Lloyd Locsin | 1,035,000 |
Ali Ghezelbash eliminated in 5th place ($6,957)
Ali Ghezelbash has been taken out by the chip leader Roland Foster.
All the money was in preflop.
Foster: A♥Q♦J♣J♠
Ghezelbash: J♦9♠8♥7♦
Board: J♥8♦6♦7♣A♠
Foster flopped top set and held on to secure the elimination and extend his chip lead.
| Roland Foster | 4,725,000 |
| Ali Ghezelbash | BUSTED! |
Level 27: 40,000/80,000 (80,000)
Anthony Hachem eliminated in 6th place ($5,752)
Anthony Hachem raised and Ali Ghezelbash shoved, action folded around to Al Josue in the big blind, who let it go before Hachem snap called.
Ghezelbash: A♠A♦K♣K♠
Hachem: K♥Q♠J♠10♣
Two huge hands collide but on the 7♦8♦3♠5♦7♠ board, Hachem was unable to really connect and was left with just 20,000, which then went in on the next hand as the ‘ante’. Anthony was unable to make a hand and was eliminated by Al Josue.
| Anthony Hachem | BUSTED! |
Foster doubles the lead
With a limped pot of 180,000 and 5♣9♦8♦ on the flop, Ali Ghezelbash checked to Roland Foster in the big blind, who slid out a bet of 125,000. Ghezelbash then raised to 350,000, and Foster made the call a short time later.
On the turn of 10♣, Ghezelbash led out for 275,000 and Foster announced ‘pot’ – effectively all in for his remaining 1,685,000.
Ghezelbash tanked for a while, but made the call.
Ghezelbash: Q♥10♦8♣8♥
Foster: Q♦J♦5♥3♠
The nut straight on the turn held with the 7♣ river and Foster, already one of the biggest chipstacks on the table, doubled up.
Ghezelbash was left with just 165,000 and immediately shoved it in on the very next hand, with Youssef calling for the additional 105,000 over his big blind.
Ghezelbash: A♠10♠6♦2♣
Youssef: J♦6♥7♣3♠
Board: Q♥2♦4♠10♦9♣
Ghezelbash doubled through.
| Roland Foster | 4,250,000 |
| Ali Ghezelbash | 420,000 |
| Carlos Youssef | 355,000 |
Daniel Hachem eliminated in 7th place ($4,825)
Daniel Hachem moved his shortening stack of 245,000 in preflop, and was called by Al Josue when action folded around.
Josue: A♦A♠6♣2♥
D. Hachem: K♥K♠Q♦5♦
A nightmare scenario for Hachem, who was unable to catch up despite rivering a set of his own on the board of 9♣J♠A♥6♠K♦.
| Al Josue | 585,000 |
| Daniel Hachem | BUSTED! |
Level 26: 30,000/60,000 (60,000)
Fostering relations
Roland Foster and Lloyd Locsin saw a flop of 8♥J♦4♦ with 450,000 in the pot already preflop, and Foster hit the accelerator, shoving to apply pressure on Locsin. Locsin tanked, but eventually called.
Locsin: A♦A♣K♠9♣
Foster: A♥K♥Q♥J♣
Foster was unable to catch up as the board ran out 3♦, 3♥, and Locsin moves over the million mark.
| Roland Foster | 1,975,000 |
| Lloyd Locsin | 1,070,000 |
Phillip Arcidiacono eliminated in 8th place ($3,942)
The very short stacked Philip Arcidiacono found himself all in on the big blind – with less than one big blind. Other players at the table queried the ruling, but floor staff confirmed that the ante had priority and was posted first, meaning Arcidiacono could only win back his ante, and nothing more, if he won the hand.
Al Josue limped UTG, and Lloyd Locsin completed on the small blind, to see a flop of Q♥6♦J♠, before Locsin slid out a full stack of yellow, a bet of 100,000.
Josue spun his cards into the muck, looking disgusted, and cards tabled.
Arcidiacono: K♦Q♠4♦2♠
Locsin: K♥10♣9♦8♠
Locsin had flopped a rather long wrap, needing any Ace, King, Ten, 9, 8, or 7 to make a straight immediately. He hit it immediately, as the board completed 8♣, 3♣ to send Arcidiacono to the rail.
For those wondering, Rehman Kassam was eliminated in 9th place on one of the first hands of the final table. We are endeavouring to get details.
| Lloyd Locsin | 465,000 |
| Phillip Arcidiacono | BUSTED! |
Level 25: 25,000/50,000 (50,000)
The WPTDeepStacks $440 PLO Final Table has been set!
Players are now down to just the one table, with nine players remaining chasing for the beautiful WPTDeepStacks Sydney trophy.
Leading the way is Roland Foster, for whom we could not find a previous result on HendonMob, but the real story here perhaps is that not one, but TWO of the infamous Hachem family have made the final table here today.
Both Daniel and Anthony Hachem, sons of 2005 WSOP Main Event Champion Joe Hachem, have now been seated on opposite sides of the Star Sydney feature table and will be looking to add onto the family’s collective list of achievements.
Daniel Hachem came close to emulating his father, finishing 79th in the 2019 WSOP for over US$98k, and collecting big scores with a win in APT’s “The Grind” event in 2018, and 2nd place in Event 15 NLH/PLO in the 2016 Aussie Millions (in which yours truly also cashed).
Anthony Hachem has the bigger single score of the pair, winning the 2013 ANZPT Melbourne Main Event for AU$181,460. He also came 2nd in the 2019 Melbourne Poker Championships Deepstack Event for $24,675.
Ali Ghezelbash, Al Josue, GC Champs Day 1 chipleader Lloyd Locsin, and GC Champs Big Bounty Champion Rehman Kassam have also made the final table today.
L-R (Front) Ali Ghezelbash, Al Josue, Phillip Arcidiacono
Photo courtesy of Star Sydney
Table 32
| Seat | Player | Chips |
| 1 | Phillip Arcidiacono | 65,000 |
| 2 | Al Josue | 1,375,000 |
| 3 | Anthony Hachem | 885,000 |
| 4 | Ali Ghezelbash | 830,000 |
| 5 | Roland Foster | 2,170,000 |
| 6 | Daniel Hachem | 410,000 |
| 7 | Rehman Kassam | 325,000 |
| 8 | Carlos Youssef | 830,000 |
| 9 | Lloyd Locsin | 430,000 |
Angelakis archived
Con Angelakis charged into the big stack of Roland Foster with a premium pocket pair, but bad news as Foster held the superior pair.
Foster: K♣K♦10♦9♣
Angelakis: Q♥Q♣8♠4♣
Foster’s King’s turned Angelakis dead on the board of K♥9♠A♥A♦10♣, and with Angelakis departing in 10th place, our unofficial final table of nine has been set!
| Roland Foster | 2,170,000 |
| Con Angelakis | BUSTED! |
Lin bashed
All in preflop action on Table 32, as Jianwei Lin and Ali Ghezelbash got all the chips in. Lin was the player at risk.
Ghezelbash: A♦Q♦10♦4♥
Lin: J♣10♣9♠8♦
The board ran 5♠A♣4♦8♥3♦ and Lin was eliminated in 11th place.
| Ali Ghezelbash | 830,000 |
| Jianwei Lin | BUSTED! |
Habib crippled then crushed
“I got very lucky” said Daniel Hachem to our Live Reporter after the hand.
The hand in question was all in between Hachem and Habib, with Habib having Hachem covered by just 35,000. Habib had A-A-6-4 with two diamonds, and Hachem had K-J-T-8. The flop came K-9-3 with two diamonds, then an Ace on the turn, and Hachem hit a miracle 3-outer non-diamond Queen on the river to claim the big pot with Broadway.
Habib then got the remainder of his chips in on the next hand, with Lloyd Locsin the only caller.
Locsin: K♦Q♠10♥9♦
Habib: K♠10♠9♠4♣
Both players hit two pair on the K♣7♦Q♣4♦2♥ run-out, but Locsin’s was best to send Habib to the rail in 12th place.
| Lloyd Locsin | 420,000 |
| Daniel Hachem | 410,000 |
| Bassam Habib | BUSTED! |
Level 24: 20,000/40,000 (40,000)
Habib teaches how to play jiggidies
Get it in good and hope they miss, apparently. Bassam Habib got all the chips in preflop versus Daniel Hachem, and with cards tabled, Hachem was hoping for a high board.
Habib: J♦J♠8♣7♣
D. Hachem: A♠K♥10♠9♣
Habib stayed clear ahead as the board of 5♠5♦3♠Q♦6♣ completely whiffed Hachem.
“You’ll have to teach me how to do that!” laughed tablemate Con Angelakis.
| Bassam Habib | 415,000 |
| Daniel Hachem | 275,000 |
Set up!
When our Live Reporter approached, Jianwei Lin was well and truly in the tank, facing an all in shove worth 255,000 from Ali Ghezelbash.
It was a battle of the blinds, with Ghezelbash limping preflop, and Lin checking, before both players absolutely smashed the 3♠6♠J♣ flop. The board completed 2♠, 8♦ before Ghezelbash applied all of the pressure.
Lin eventually folded, and Ghezelbash showed first the 10♠, then the J♠, then the J♥, and finally the 3♥.
“I had a jack and a three too!” exclaimed Lin, “I actually flopped three pair … wow, what a set up, small blind versus big blind.”
“You were lucky to get away from that” remarked tablemate Carlos Youssef. Lucky Lin-deed.
| Ali Ghezelbash | 520,000 |
| Jianwei Lin | 480,000 |
Laidlaw dusted
Daniel Laidlaw and Anthony Hachem got their short stacks in on a flop of 10♦3♦9♣, with both tabling … not a single pair.
Laidlaw: K♥J♣7♥5♣
A. Hachem: Q♠J♥8♠6♠
Both players had straight draws galore, however, it was Hachem who made the nut straight on the turn A♦, river 8♥.
“Lucky river!” said tablemate Carlos Youssef.
“I needed it.” remarked Hachem, “I was about to lose to King high!”
Laidlaw was left with dust, only 35,000, and promptly short called after Youssef opened the next pot to 90,000. Ali Ghezelbash called from the big blind, only to then check-fold to Youssef’s 100,000 bet on the 8♣5♥2♦ flop.
Youssef: A♠A♦K♠Q♠
Laidlaw: A♥K♥J♦4♣
Needing a three, and only a three, Laidlaw was unable to catch up on the 2♥, 9♠ runout and walks away from the Star Sydney feature table.
| Carlos Youssef | 835,000 |
| Anthony Hachem | 510,000 |
| Daniel Laidlaw | BUSTED! |
Level 23: 15,000/30,000 (30,000)
Yazbeck flies off
Patrick Yazbeck got the last of his chips in against the charismatic Lloyd Locsin, but it was Locsin who had the best hand when the cards were tabled.
Locsin: A♦A♣7♥6♥
Yazbeck: A♠5♠3♣3♦
Board: 9♣10♦2♣6♣2♥
Despite picking up a draw to the six high, needing either a 3 or a 4 to stay alive, the deuce on the river means Yazbeck is finished for the day.
| Lloyd Locsin | 515,000 |
| Patrick Yazbeck | BUSTED! |
And the fortunate Hachem
As his brother Daniel lost the below hand, Anthony Hachem got it all in and at risk, jamming for his last 110,000 over the 75,000 UTG open from Al Josue.
Josue: A♥J♦J♥7♥
A. Hachem: 4♦3♦2♦2♥
Taking a gamble on a low board, Hachem got his wish, hitting a straight as the board ran out 5♠4♥7♠9♣6♥ to secure a much needed double.
Both Hachem’s now have the most recognisable rail in the Australian poker world, as father Joe Hachem, 2005 WSOP Main Event Champion, has taken a seat in-between the two tables, looking rather relaxed!
| Al Josue | 920,000 |
| Anthony Hachem | 285,000 |
“Well, thats (un)fortunate”
Rehman Kassam clicked the pot button on Daniel Hachem’s big blind, action folded to Hachem who announced all in, with Kassam quickly calling.
Kassam: K♥Q♦10♥2♠
D. Hachem: J♦10♣9♥8♣
Kassam: “You’re going to win with a 9, I reckon.”
The flop came 7♥7♣5♥, the turn 2♦, Kassam staying ahead, and finally, the river J♥ paired Hachem.
“Well, that’s unfortunate” stated Kassam, before the dealer put all three hearts up, announcing flush. “OH! I didn’t even see my flush draw!”
Cue chuckles all round and Kassam stacked some much needed chippies.
| Daniel Hachem | 370,000 |
| Rehman Kassam | 340,000 |
Level 22: 15,000/25,000 (25,000)
Saghabi eliminated
David Saghabi limped in early position, Ali Ghezelbash called in middle position, and Phillip Arcidiacono completed the small blind. Carlos Youssef wasn’t having any of it, though, squeezing with a pot sized bet from the big blind.
Saghabi responded by jamming the remainder of his stack in, and with both Ghezelbash and Arcidiacono getting out the way, Youssef gave a little shrug and called.
Saghabi: A♦5♦4♦4♥
Youssef: A♥K♦Q♣7♣
The board ran out 6♠10♥7♦J♣J♠ and Youssef secured the elimination.
| Carlos Youssef | 860,000 |
| David Saghabi | BUSTED! |
Yanji cord snaps
Roland Foster has become the first millionaire, eliminating Ge Yanji in a huge hand immediately after the break.
Foster hit the pot button preflop from the hijack and received calls from Yanji in the cutoff as well as Kassam in the big blind.
On a flop of Q♣3♣4♣, Kassam checked and Foster bet pot again, Yanji made the call and Kassam quickly got out of the way.
Foster then bet enough to put Yanji all in on the 5♠ turn and Yanji snap called.
“You have a straight?” enquired Foster.
“Nope, nut draw.” responded Yanji, tabling the A♣10♣, then the 10♦9♦.
“Oh okay, I have Aces and an open ender.” replied Foster, tabling A♠A♥5♦6♠.
The river 7♦ completed the straight for Foster, sending Yanji straight to the bottom.
| Roland Foster | 1,420,000 |
| Rehman Kassam | 135,000 |
| Ge Yanji | BUSTED! |
Level 21: 10,000/20,000 (20,000)
Table draw and counts
Table 30
| Seat | Player | Chips |
| 1 | Lloyd Locsin | 395,000 |
| 2 | Bassam Habib | 330,000 |
| 3 | Rehman Kassam | 235,000 |
| 4 | Patrick Yazbeck | 285,000 |
| 5 | Con Angelakis | 235,000 |
| 6 | Daniel Hachem | 585,000 |
| 7 | Roland Foster | 860,000 |
| 8 | Ge Yanji | 410,000 |
Table 32
| Seat | Player | Chips |
| 1 | Carlos Youssef | 545,000 |
| 2 | Daniel Laidlaw | 375,000 |
| 3 | David Saghabi | 225,000 |
| 4 | Anthony Hachem | 275,000 |
| 5 | Ali Ghezelbash | 885,000 |
| 6 | Jianwei Lin | 445,000 |
| 7 | Al Josue | 720,000 |
| 8 | Phillip Arcidiacono | 510,000 |
Break time
The players have just left for a 20-minute break.
PMA will be back with a full re-draw, seating and counts, shortly.
Vulic vaulted
Luka Vulic, who missed a large portion of today’s play due to not realising it was a 2-day event and having other commitments today to attend to, turned up late to a shorter stack than he bagged and has recently been eliminated at the hands of Jianwei Lin.
Lin: A♠A♥10♦8♠
Vulic: 10♣9♠8♦7♣
Vulic was, unfortunately for him, able to hit any kind of straight on the rather uncooperative board of Q♣2♠4♦Q♥7♥ and with that elimination, the clock has been paused to break down to two tables, as there were 16 players remaining.
Caris cut
On a flop of 6♣J♠9♦, Al Josue applied the ultimate pressure, shoving all in versus Charles Caris. Caris short-called and both players turned over their cards.
Josue: Q♦Q♣J♣10♥
Caris: A♦K♣9♥8♦
The board completed J♦ to give Caris the nut flush draw, but still behind to Josue’s now-trips, then the river 8♠ to give Josue the straight and the pot.
| Al Josue | 693,000 |
| Charles Caris | BUSTED! |
Rhodes hits the road
Paul Rhodes has been eliminated over the space of two hands in quick succession, including a rough beat.
Firstly, in the previous level, Ge Yanji was in action again, getting it in versus Rhodes; but when the cards were tabled, Yanji found he was drawing very thin indeed.
Rhodes: A♣A♥K♠10♠
Yanji: K♣K♥7♣6♦
With the news that another player had folded a King, and with Rhodes holding one himself, Yanji needed another way to win the hand. He got it, though, flopping Rhodes nearly dead on the board of 6♣Q♣9♣5♣A♥, with the Aces going from a 68% favourite preflop to just 2.8% on the flop.
Rhodes then bet pot from the button the next hand, stealing the blinds and antes, before repeating action the next hand, but this time receiving a call from Patrick Yazbeck in the small blind before Con Angelakis got out of the way.
The flop dropped 9♥4♣3♦ and Yazbeck shoved, Rhodes called in short order, and both players tabled their cards.
Yazbeck: J♣10♠10♣2♦
Rhodes: K♥Q♥3♣2♣
Rhodes couldn’t come from behind and the Tens held on the runout of 8♣, 6♦.
| Ge Yanji | 408,000 |
| Patrick Yazbeck | 346,000 |
| Paul Rhodes | BUSTED! |
Level 20: 10,000/15,000 (15,000)
Straight is best for Kassam
Rehman Kassam has been short most of the day and recently got his remaining 102,000 in with A♣K♦Q♣9♣ against the K♠J♣J♦3♥ of Ge Yanji.
Kassam hit Broadway and faded the board pairing on the board of K♥10♦J♥6♦7♥ to double through.
| Rehman Kassam | 248,000 |
| Ge Yanji | 223,000 |
Laoyant, not buoyant
Daniel Hachem has eliminated Patrick Laoyant, who started on the day on Table 17 but as play is now down to the last 3 tables was broken into Table 31 not too long ago.
All the chips went in preflop and the cards were tabled.
Hachem: A♥K♥K♣3♥
Laoyant: A♦Q♣J♥10♠
Hachem rivered a nut flush on a board of 9♦9♥10♥2♣4♥ and sunk Laoyant.
| Daniel Hachem | 340,000 |
| Patrick Laoyant | BUSTED! |
Full house on board
Bassam Habib has earned a full double up, getting it all in preflop versus the big-stacked Al Josue with pocket Aces.
Habib: A♦A♥10♠6♣
Josue: A♠K♦J♦J♥
The board came 5♠5♣8♣8♦8♠ – a full house on board but playing the superior pocket pair Habib’s hand was best the whole way through for a full double.
| Al Josue | 432,000 |
| Bassam Habib | 256,000 |
Pongrass mowed
Roland Foster has claimed another scalp for today, this time getting it in on the flop of J♦7♦5♠ versus Matt Pongrass.
Foster: A♣K♦9♣8♦
Pongrass: A♠J♥7♥6♠
Pongrass had flopped top two, but Foster hit his double gutshot as the board completed 3♠, 6♣.
| Roland Foster | 849,000 |
| Matt Pongrass | BUSTED! |
Level 19: 6,000/12,000 (12,000)
All aboard the Caris-coaster
Charles Caris has had a very down and up last couple of hands, first matching Jianwei Lin’s remaining 138,000 on a flop of 8♠5♣8♣ before the cards were tabled.
Caris: Q♣Q♠7♣6♣
Lin: A♣Q♥9♦8♥
The turn and river completed 3♥, 2♥, with trips good enough to secure Lin the full double.
Caris was left with 38,000, which promptly went in on the next hand, jamming over Daniel Hachem’s 20,000 open. Locsin made the call, Josue made the call, and Hachem completed to see a four way flop of Q♦7♠4♥. Hachem bet 60,000 into the dead side pot, forcing Locsin and Josue out of the way.
Hachem: A♥A♦2♥5♠
Caris: K♣5♦4♦4♣
The flopped set was enough for Caris, as Hachem couldn’t spike an Ace on the 8♣, 3♣ runout.
| Jianwei Lin | 352,000 |
| Charles Caris | 170,000 |
| Daniel Hachem | 165,000 |
Thiel terminated
Con Angelakis raised in early position before Joshua Thiel jammed his remaining 58,000 in. Action folded all the way back around to Angelakis, who made a quick call.
Angelakis: K♣K♥10♠7♠
Thiel: Q♦J♥10♣8♠
Board: 2♣3♦6♣5♠6♠
Thiel knew his run was over as soon as the flop dropped, needing runner runner and already packing his bags.
| Con Angelakis | 286,000 |
| Joshua Thiel | BUSTED! |
Level 18: 5,000/10,000 (10,000)
Lox rox
Lloyd Locsin raised to 19,000 UTG and recieved a call from Al Josue in seat 4. Charles Caris and Bassam Habib folded their blinds and the dealer spread a flop of 10♦4♠4♣, which was checked by both “Lox” and Josue.
On the turn of 9♥, Locsin fired 40,000 and Josue considered his options for a couple of minutes before making the call, but folded when Locsin fired 60,000 on the 6♠ river.
Josue got some back the next hand, raising to 18,000 UTG on Locsin’s big blind, then continuing for 35,000 on the A♣J♣J♠ flop to a fold from Locsin.
A few hands later, Charles Caris, who is seated to the left of the still-absent Luka Vulic, raised to 18,000 UTG after complaining to our Live Reporter about being UTG ‘twice every orbit’. Action folded around to Daniel Hachem in the big blind, who made the call to see a A♦5♠5♣ flop.
Hachem checked, Caris continued for 28,000, only to let his cards go when Hachem came over the top to 75,000.
| Al Josue | 589,000 |
| Charles Caris | 335,000 |
| Lloyd Locsin | 324,000 |
| Daniel Hachem | 275,000 |
Grant goneski
Roland Foster has claimed Stephen Grant as the first scalp of the day, with all the chips going in on the flop of 4♣3♥9♥ except for 10,000, which was bet and called blind before the turn fell anyway.
Grant: A♦Q♠Q♣5♣
Foster: 5♦6♠2♦4♦
The turn and river completed 2♥, 6♦, with both players making a straight, but Grant’s wheel not wheel-y enough.
Elsewhere on a different table, Lloyd Locsin made the cardinal error of folding without realising he was big blind on first hand… and asked us not to put it in the blog, so of course, it’s going in the blog.
| Roland Foster | 605,000 |
| Stephen Grant | BUSTED! |
Shuffle up and deal!
And we’re away! Tournament staff have commenced proceedings and our remaining 27 players have been dealt their first cards of the day.
Level 17: 4,000/8,000 (8,000)
A new day!
Welcome back to PokerMedia Australia‘s coverage of the WPTDeepStacks series from The Star Sydney!
Today, the $440 PLO tournament plays to a conclusion; from 365 entries, we have 27 players remaining currently on 4 tables. All players are in the money and guaranteed $1,054 as the bubble burst late yesterday, and will be playing for a top prize of $30,662.
Leading the way after yesterday’s action is Sydney poker veteran Ali Ghezelbash, who will be gunning for a first WPT title.
Play is 8-max, meaning we have 4 tables at the moment, but play will be broken down to 3 tables as soon as we hit 24 players.
The players have unbagged their chips, the dealers have loaded their shoes; so stay with us here on the PMA Live Reporting blog and follow the feature table streaming over at twitch.tv/StarPokerAU. Best of luck to all our players today!
Day 2 seat draw
Table 17
| Seat | First Name | Surname | Chips |
| 2 | Anthony | Hachem | 335,000 |
| 3 | Chi | Au | 192,000 |
| 4 | Patrick | Laoyont | 162,000 |
| 6 | Matthew | Pongrass | 506,000 |
| 7 | Carlos | Youssef | 175,000 |
| 8 | Patrick | Yazbeck | 145,000 |
Table 30
| 1 | Stephen | Grant | 122,000 |
| 2 | Paul | Rhodes | 391,000 |
| 3 | Rehman | Kassam | 188,000 |
| 5 | Con | Angelakis | 188,000 |
| 6 | Joshua | Thiel | 141,000 |
| 7 | Roland | Foster | 447,000 |
| 8 | Yanji | Ge | 236,000 |
Table 31
| 1 | Bassam | Habib | 152,000 |
| 2 | Lloyd | Locsin | 249,000 |
| 3 | Jianwei | Lin | 108,000 |
| 4 | Al | Josue | 584,000 |
| 6 | Daniel | Hachem | 326,000 |
| 7 | Luka | Vulic | 28,000 |
| 8 | Charles | Caris | 377,000 |
Table 32 (Feature Table)
| 1 | Slav | Rypinski | 52,000 |
| 2 | Daniel | Laidlaw | 344,000 |
| 3 | David | Saghabi | 327,000 |
| 5 | Ali | Ghezelbash | 591,000 |
| 6 | Louie | Srour | 188,000 |
| 7 | Giuliano | Nobili | 141,000 |
| 8 | Phillip | Arcidiacono | 356,000 |
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