$2,200 High Roller (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guarantee | Structure | Payouts
Level 27:  25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 173

With the board showing on the turn and about 350K already in the pot, A.J. Kelsall checked, Romeo Mendoza bet 200,000, and Kelsall check-raised all in. Mendoza went into the tank with 660,000 left in his stack.

As he considered the situation, Kelsall asked if Mendoza had ace-queen.

Mendoza asked, “Is ace-queen good?”

“Depends on the river,” answered Kelsall.”

Mendoza thought for a while longer before asking Kelsall if he had queen-six.

Kelsall pointed to his cards and asked, “Are these cards marked?”

Eventually, Mendoza called with , and Kelsall turned over — . Kelsall had turned two pair, and Mendoza needed to improve to stay alive.

The river card was — the . Mendoza rivered a set of aces to win the pot and double up in chips.

Romeo Mendoza  –  3,125,000  (63 bb)
A.J. Kelsall  –  2,075,000  (42 bb)

$400 Monster Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 37:  250,000/500,000 with a 500,000 ante
Players Remaining:  1 of 1,371

In the first hand of heads-up play, Serge Dergham raised from the small blind to 1,250,000, and Kevin Ho called from the big blind.

The flop came , Ho checked, Dergham bet 1,500,000, and Ho called.

The turn card was the , Ho bet 1,500,000, and Dergham called.

The river card was the , Ho checked, Dergham moved all in for about 6,000,000, and Ho called with for two pair, nines and eights. Dergham showed for ace high, and Ho wins the title and the WSOP Circuit ring!

Stay tuned for a recap from this event.

1st:  Kevin Ho  –  $70,567 + WSOP Circuit Ring
2nd:  Serge Dergham  –  $43,614
3rd:  Abdelouahed Bouanani  –  $32,323
4th:  Chastity Fowler-Lee  –  $24,227
5th:  Robert Cheung  –  $18,367
6th:  Alon Eldar  –  $14,086
7th:  Ryan Jones  –  $10,929
8th:  Giedrius Bagdonas  –  $8,581
9th:  Joseph Hebert  –  $6,818
10th:  Carlos Guerrero  –  $5,483

$400 Monster Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 37:  250,000/500,000 with a 500,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 1,371

The players return from a break to begin Level 37, with increased blinds of 250,000-500,000 and a 500,000 ante. With three players remaining, the average chip stack is about 13.7 million (27 big blinds).

Here are the official chip counts from the break:

Seat 1.  Abdelouahed Bouanani  –  3,450,000  (7 bb)
Seat 2.  Serge Dergham  –  7,000,000  (14 bb)
Seat 3.  Kevin Ho  –  30,700,000  (61 bb)

About seven minutes into the level, Abdelouahed Bouanani moved all in from the small blind for about 3,500,000, and Serge Dergham thought for a while before he called from the big blind with .

Bouanani turned over , and he needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came , and Dergham paired his king to win the pot and double up in chips.

Abdelouahed Bouanani  –  Eliminated in 3rd Place  ($32,323)

Heads-up play is now underway between Kevin Ho and Serge Dergham, and these are their approximate chip counts, followed by the remaining payouts:

Kevin Ho  –  31,000,000  (62 bb)
Serge Dergham  –  10,200,000  (20 bb)

1st:  $70,567 + WSOP Circuit Ring
2nd:  $43,614

$2,200 High Roller (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guarantee | Structure | Payouts
Level 26:  20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 173

Eric Salazar completed the small blind to 40,000, A.J. Kelsall raised from the big blind to 120,000, and Salazar called.

The flop came , Salazar checked, Kelsall bet 120,000, and Salazar moved all in for about 850,000.

Kelsall quickly called with for an overpair, and Salazar turned over for an open-ended straight draw. Salazar needed to improve to stay alive.

The turn card was the , the river card was the , and Kelsall turned a set of queens and rivered a full house to win the pot and eliminate Salazar in third place.

Eric Salazar – Eliminated in 3rd Place ($38,190)

Heads-up play is now underway between Kelsall and Romeo Mendoza. Here are their approximate chip counts:

A.J. Kelsall – 4,050,000 (101 bb)
Romeo Mendoza – 1,150,000 (29 bb)

$400 Monster Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 36:  200,000/400,000 with a 400,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 1,371

Serge Dergham moved all in from the button for 2,700,000, and chipleader Kevin Ho called from the small blind with . Dergham turned over , and needed his hand to hold to stay alive.

The board came , and Dergham won the pot with a five-high straight to double up in chips.

Serge Dergham  –  6,200,000  (16 bb)
Kevin Ho  –  22,425,000  (56 bb)

A short while later, Kevin Ho raised UTG/cutoff to 1,000,000, Chastity Fowler-Lee moved all in from the small blind for 3,875,000, and Ho asked for an exact count before he called with .

Fowler-Lee turned over , and she needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came — Fowler-Lee turned a gutshot straight draw, but Ho rivered a set of threes. Ho won the pot to eliminate Fowler-Lee in fourth place.

Kevin Ho  –  30,100,000  (75 bb)
Chastity Fowler-Lee  –  Eliminated in 4th Place  ($24,227)

With three players remaining, the average chip stack is about 13,700,000 (34 big blinds), and the next player to bust will earn $32,323.

$2,200 High Roller (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guarantee | Structure | Payouts
Level 25:  15,000/30,000 with a 30,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 173

Romeo Mendoza and Eric Salazar folded and A.J. Kelsall jammed from the small blind. Steven Veneziano called all in from the big blind for 575,000.

Kelsall:
Veneziano:

Veneziano was ahead for the double up but Kelsall took the lead on the flop then the turn came .

“Oh that’s not a good card,” Kelsall said.

Veneziano needed an ace, a jack, or any diamond to double but blanked the river to go out in fourth place.

A.J. Kelsall – 2,925,000 (98 bb)
Steven Veneziano – Eliminated in 4th Place ($27,206)

$400 Monster Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 36:  200,000/400,000 with a 400,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 1,371

With the blinds still at 150,000-300,000 (300,000 ante), Chastity Fowler-Lee and Serge Dergham saw a flop of with about 1.5 million already in the pot.

Fowler-Lee bet 1,500,000 from the big blind, Dergham moved all in under the gun for 2,275,000, and Fowler-Lee called with for ace high. Dergham turned over for ace high with a king kicker, and he needed his hand to hold to stay alive.

The turn card was the , the river card was the , and Dergham won the pot with his king kicker to double up in chips.

Serge Dergham  –  6,000,000  (20 bb)
Chastity Fowler-Lee  –  5,200,000  (17 bb)

Shortly after the blinds increased to 200,000-400,000 (400,000 ante), chipleader Kevin Ho raised from the button to 1,000,000, Robert Cheung moved all in from the small blind for 4,300,000, and Ho asked for an exact count before he called.

Cheung said, “I have a pair. I hope you don’t have a pair.”

Cheung showed , and Ho turned over . Cheung needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came , and the pocket sixes held up for Ho to win the pot and eliminate Cheung in fifth place.

Kevin Ho  –  19,900,000  (50 bb)
Robert Cheung  –  Eliminated in 5th Place  ($18,367)

With four players remaining, the average chip stack is about 10,275,000 (26 big blinds), and the next player to bust will earn $24,227.

$2,200 High Roller (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guarantee | Structure | Payouts
Level 25:  15,000/30,000 with a 30,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 173

The four remaining players went on another break and return with A.J. Kelsall holding nearly 50% of the chips in play. But it’s still anyone’s game at this point.

Seat 1: Steven Veneziano – 545,000 (18 bb)
Seat 3: Romeo Mendoza – 1,100,000 (37 bb)
Seat 4: Eric Salazar – 1,050,000 (35 bb)
Seat 8: A.J. Kelsall – 2,490,000 (83 bb)

Remaining payouts:

1st: $88,717 + WSOP Circuit ring
2nd: $54,831
3rd: $38,190
4th: $27,206

$2,200 High Roller (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guarantee | Structure | Payouts
Level 24:  10,000/25,000 with a 25,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 173

James Calderaro open-shipped for 250,000 from the cutoff, Steven Veneziano called in the small blind, and Romeo Mendoza folded his big.

Veneziano:
Calderaro:

Calderaro needed a ton of help to double but blanked the board to exit in fifth place.

Steven Veneziano – 1,125,000 (45 bb)
James Calderaro – Eliminated in 5th Place ($19,834)

$400 Monster Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 34:  125,000/250,000 with a 250,000 ante
Players Remaining:  5 of 1,371

Chastity Fowler-Lee raised from the button to 600,000, Serge Dergham moved all in from the big blind for 2,975,000, and Fowler-Lee called with . Dergham turned over , and he needed his hand to hold to stay alive.

The board came , and Dergham won the pot with his ace to double up in chips.

Serge Dergham  –  6,325,000  (25 bb)
Chastity Fowler-Lee  –  2,800,000  (11 bb)

Abdelouahed Bouanani moved all in from the button for 5,375,000, and Alon Eldar called from the big blind with . Bouanani turned over , and needed his hand to hold to stay alive.

The board came , and the pocket aces held up for Bouanani to win the pot and double up in chips.

Abdelouahed Bouanani  –  11,125,000  (45 bb)
Alon Eldar  –  1,925,000  (8 bb)

Robert Cheung raised under the gun to 550,000, Chastity Fowler-Lee called from the cutoff, and Alon Eldar moved all in from the button for 1,800,000. Cheung tanked for a while before he moved all in over the top for about 4.5 million.

Fowler-Lee folded, and Eldar showed . Cheung turned over , and Eldar needed his pocket fives to hold to stay alive.

The board came , and Cheung flopped a gutshot straight draw and turned a pair of jacks to win the pot and eliminate Eldar in sixth place.

Robert Cheung  –  7,000,000  (28 bb)
Alon Eldar  –  Eliminated in 6th Place  ($14,086)

With five players remaining, the average chip stack is about 8,225,000 (33 big blinds), and the next player to bust will earn $18,367.