The six-handed final table of the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Celebrity Invitational was determined on Sunday and Sean Urban leads the pack. The tournament won’t play down to a winner until March 3rd.
As you’d expect in an invitational tournament, the final table is rather eclectic. Headlining the group is Thor Hansen, who holds two World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets and is considered to be one of the top Norwegian players in the game. Hansen finished eighth in the $50,000 HORSE Championship during the 2007 WSOP for $188,000. His first bracelet win came in 1998, when Hansen took down a $5,000 Limit Seven Card Stud event for $158,000. Four years later, he was up to his winning ways yet again, this time coming out on top in a $1,500 No Limit Deuce to Seven Lowball tournament for $62,000.
Also seated at the final table is Absolute Poker personality Trishelle Cannatella, who was a former cast member of the “Real World: Las Vegas.” Cannatella sent Michael Heslov packing in tenth place from the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles, the site of the WPT Celebrity Invitational, when Heslov ran Q-J into A-J. The board came 9-9-2-4-2 and that was all she wrote for Heslov, who walked away empty-handed. Cannatella amassed a stack of 1.5 million chips, which will be good for fourth place when play resumes next month.
Also at the final table is LeRon Washington, who won his way into the invite-only tournament after taking down a satellite through ClubWPT, the WPT’s subscription-based online poker site. Washington tripled up on Sunday to stamp his ticket to the final table. He held A-K of clubs against A-Q and pocket fours and the board ran out 7-5-3-K-8 with three clubs, giving him the nut flush and the win in the hand. His chip stack grew to 250,000 as a result and he finished with 1.8 million, the third largest total overall.
“Dexter” Actor David Zayas was the tournament’s bubble boy, hitting the rails in seventh place to set up the final table. Urban and Hansen checked the action down to the river against Zayas, who flipped up Q-8 for a pair of eights on a J-8-7-5-K board. Hansen turned over 6-4 for a straight and scooped the pot, sending Zayas to the rails. Zayas also appeared in the show “Oz.”
Here are the chip stacks entering the final table in the WPT Celebrity Invitational:
1. Sean Urban – 2,090,000
2. Neev Baram – 1,900,000
3. LeRon Washington – 1,790,000
4. Trishelle Cannatella – 1,540,000
5. Steven Elliott – 1,520,000
6. Thor Hansen – 1,480,000
Actor and comedian Marlon Wayans was knocked out on Sunday when he pushed all-in on the river only to see his opponent table A-K for trip kings. Meanwhile, Cannatella sent talk show host Ricki Lake packing when Cannatella drew out on A-Q with A-J. The flop gave Cannatella two pair and the Absolute Poker pro never looked back. Cannatella was also the executioner of William Fay, the Executive Producer of the blockbuster hit “The Hangover.” Fay was all-in with pocket fives up against Cannatella’s pocket sevens and the flop of Q-5-4 gave him a set. However, his elation was short-lived, as a seven on the turn gave Cannatella a set of her own. The river blanked out and Fay was eliminated to begin work on his next Bradley Cooper film.
Also ousted during the play down day were L.A. Lakers owner Jerry Buss, poker pro Jeff Madsen, and “The Notebook” director Nick Cassavetes. Next up for the WPT is the $10,000 L.A. Poker Classic, which kicks off on Friday from the Commerce Casino.
