Two days of play are in the books at the 2009 Ultimate Bet Aruba Poker Classic. The $5,500 buy-in tournament will award $753,000 to first place, while the top four finishers will earn six-figure paydays. The final table will take place on Saturday.
A total of 86 players remain in the Ultimate Bet Aruba Poker Classic, which attracted 475 entrants this year. Last time out, the marquee island event drew 551 runners, meaning attendance dropped 14% in 2009. Nevertheless, the action was fast and furious at the Radisson Aruba Resort, Casino, and Spa. After two days of play, Robert Mizrachi, brother of well-known pro Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi, leads the pack with a chip stack of 353,200. The younger Mizrachi holds nearly a 100,000 chip lead over the second place tally of Jon Favaloro, who has 255,300.
Mizrachi made two final tables during Season V of the World Poker Tour (WPT), recording a sixth place finish at the Mirage Poker Showdown for $129,000 and a fourth place effort at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure for $409,000. Mizrachi is a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet holder to boot. He won the World Championship of Pot Limit Omaha during the 2007 WSOP for $768,000, besting a final table that included Doyle Brunson, Patrik Antonius, and Marco Traniello. Mizrachi will headline Table 8 on Thursday during Day 3, where Johan Storakers will join him.
Here’s a look at the Top 10 chip stacks in the Ultimate Bet Aruba Poker Classic after Day 2:
1. Robert Mizrachi – 353,200
2. Jon Favaloro – 255,300
3. Ty Reiman – 226,900
4. Matthew Ross – 222,300
5. James Mordue – 207,700
6. James Czarnecki – 197,300
7. David Perkins – 191,500
8. Eric Baldwin – 166,400
9. Max Greenwood – 152,800
10. Ryan Caldwell – 146,900
Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin is a WSOP bracelet winner, having taken down the accolade this year by virtue of winning a $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event for $521,000. He nearly won a second bracelet in the World Championship of Pot Limit Hold’em, but ultimately grabbed third in that tournament for $259,000. Baldwin won the $750,000 Guaranteed, the flagship weekly tournament on Full Tilt Poker, for $132,000 in December. In May of 2008, he won the Bodog $100,000 Guaranteed twice in the same month.
Travis “TravestyFund” Rice, who won the Aruba Poker Classic in 2007, remains in contention this year. Rice outlasted a field of 548 players for his Aruba title and earned $800,000. Rice holds the 12th largest stack entering play on Thursday at 128,600. Reigning Aruba Poker Classic champion Matt Brady also remains in the hunt for the $753,000 first place prize. Brady sits at 67th on the leaderboard entering Day 3 with a stack of 34,500. He’ll have his work cut out for him, however, as just 86 players remain.
Other notable pros who survived two days of play include:
17. Matt Vengrin – 116,700
33. David Sands – 82,400
53. Johan Storakers – 50,600
59. Gavin Smith – 45,700
64. Scott Ian – 40,300
78. Tim West – 29,400
81. Shawn Rice – 23,500
85. Hunter Frey – 18,500
The action kicked off today at Noon ET with blinds of 800/1,600 with a 200 chip ante and will likely conclude when 36 players remain. Then, the field will play six-handed down to a winner. Here are the paydays that are up for grabs at the final table:
1st Place – $753,330
2nd Place – $414,680
3rd Place – $218,860
4th Place – $126,710
5th Place – $92,150
6th Place – $66,810
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from the Ultimate Bet Aruba Poker Classic.
