Statistics Posted Following MPT 2009 Las Vegas Spectacular

Notable observations following the third event of the 2009 season.

• The 16 player field bested the previous largest MPT turnout, surpassing the previous record of 13 players, at the July 2008 Showboat House of Blues event
• 7 players made their MPT debut in this event, bringing the total number of different players in MPT events to 33
• Trojanrabbit became the 11th different MPT event winner
• Trojanrabbit's $185 cash was the biggest payout in MPT history
• Sionow, Stan, and Trojanrabbit became the 16th, 17th, and 18th players to cash in MPT history
• Trojanrabbit became the second consecutive California-based winner of the Las Vegas MPT event
• Harv29 is the only player to cash in both Las Vegas MPT events
• Hammah became the 10th different player (in 17 MPT events) to finish last
• RowanB extended his "cashless" streak to 7, dating back to his third place finish in last year's Las Vegas event
• Trojanrabbit took over the Sealy Cup point lead by earning a record 30 points in the Las Vegas event
• Sass took the points lead among series regulars, upping her season total to 29 points with her 6th place finish
• The large field and revised scoring system for 2009 meant that both first place finisher, Trojanrabbit, and second place finisher, Stan, surpassing the previous record for most points in a single event, previously held by Amazon during the July 2008 Showboat House of Blues event
• Harv29's third place finish, combined with the early exit of Bigfus, meant he moved back into the all-time MPT points lead
• Harv29 also tied Bigfus for best average finish among MPT regulars
• Harv29's $70 cash moved him into second place on the all-time MPT money list
• RowanB broke a streak of 4 consecutive tournaments without eliminating a player (he does hold the all-time record drought for "kills" at 6, a mark he shares with Sass and Harv29)
• The 7 players eliminated by Trojanrabbit set a new record for "kills" in a single event, surpassing the previous record of 6, set by Baccarat King and Amazon

Pictures from MPT 2009 #3

Pictures from MPT 2009 Event #3, held in the Rio Las Vegas Masquerade Tower Rooms 32020 and 32022.

Pre-game talk with Kill Phil Forum folks, Trojanrabbit, JTinLV, and Hammah
(Photo courtesy of Judykq)


NMChop talks shop with Noahcat, while Dorianmac listens in
(Photo courtesy of Judykq)


NMChop, Sass, Bigfus, Noahcat, and the back of Harv29's head as play begins at the feature mattress
(Photo courtesy of Sionow)


On the feature mattress, Tennis_bum looks set to rake in a pot, while Betdponies and NMChop watch and Harv29 looks puzzled
(Photo courtesy of Sionow)


Away from the feature mattress at the start of the tournament, where Janek13, Trojanrabbit, Hammah, Stan, and RowanB started off
(Photo courtesy of Sionow)


Early action from Table 2, as Stan, RowanB, Sionow, and JTinLV look on
(Photo courtesy of Sionow)


The more modest traveling MPT bar, after a few bottles of champagne and wine were consumed


Ever wonder what a Rio suite would look like with the furniture removed? This is what happens when you need the chairs, couch, and table in the adjoining room


The MPT Monkey guards JTinLV's chip case


Betdponies watches the board while he has Bigfus on the ropes
(Photo courtesy of Judykq)


...and Bigfus is apologetic when her AJ beats Betdponies' AK, while NMChop looks on
(Photo courtesy of Judykq)


The always smooth MPT Monkey tries his luck with the ladies
(Photo courtesy of Judykq)


The tournament pauses for some additional monkey business, as RowanB helps cover for the MPT Monkey's shenanigans


The "Final Four", Stan, Harv29, Sionow, and Trojanrabbit, right after the bubble burst late in the tournament


Harv29 deals late in the tournament, as Sionow and Trojanrabbit wait to see the flop


The hand that eliminated our Tournament Director, as Trojanrabbit "re-sucked" on the river when Harv flopped a pair after his short-stacked all-in


The trophies and prize money, dwarphed by Trojanrabbit's massive chip stack as heads-up play begins


Stan watches Harv29 deal a flop as he is blinded all-in against Trojanrabbit


The winning hand!


A rare look at the MPT Photographer in action, while the winner celebrates and JTinLV puts away his chips
(Photo courtesy of Judykq)

MPT 2009 #3 - Rio Las Vegas (8/2/2009)

LAS VEGAS, NV - A record setting field of sixteen players gathered for last weekend's Mattress Poker Tour Las Vegas Spectacular II and when all the cards were dealt, online poker star and Kill Everyone co-author Trojanrabbit emerged victorious. Trojanrabbit was one of seven players making their MPT debut during this event, as was second-place finisher Stan. Tournament Director, Harv29, became the only player to cash in both Las Vegas MPT events with a third place finish.

The tournament got off to a fast start for Trojanrabbit, when he caught veteran poker player and MPT rookie, hammah, attempting to resteal and his A-K held up to put him into the early chip lead. By the first break, all of the chip leaders were at the satellite table 2, while play was more steady at the feature mattress, particularly after Noahcat's aggressive play in the early stages did not pay off. Defending MPT champion, Janek13, also busted early in the tournament, helping Stan hold the chip lead with over 5,100 chips at the break. Trojanrabbit and dorianmac also had added substantially to their chip stacks, while Harv29 and Sass were dominated the early action on the mattress, before Sass moved to table 2.

As the tournament continued, the poker author showed a textbook example of how to bully players with a big stack. While he admittedly "ran good" and had strong enough hands to call a few times when re-raised, he kept pressure on his opponents throughout the tournament, steadily accumlating chips while carefully avoiding confrontations that could have put a big dent in his stack. Trojanrabbit took a commanding lead in the tournament, one that he would never relinquish, while playing 6-handed when MPT veteran RowanB moved all-in preflop against a short-stacked Sass in the big blind, only to be called by 'rabbit's pocket aces. The rockets held up and knocked both Sass and RowanB out, while bursting the bubble.

Sionow, returning for his second MPT after playing in last year's Las Vegas event, played a patiently aggressive tournament, catching his opponents attempting to steal blinds on a few occasions and lasting long enough to earn his first MPT cash. The MPT host and defending season champion, Harv29, earned his first cash of 2009 after chipping up early and hanging around to finish third. Stan, who built a big early chip stack and continued to accumulate chips when he moved to the more passive feature mattress, took some hits at the final table that put him far behind when heads up play began, but prooved he was no novice in his first MPT outing. Still, the night belonged to Stan's brother-in-law, who taught the MPT field how to play like a pro.


The participants:

• Betdponies - Three-time Main Event Champion, in search of his first regular season MPT cash since March, 2007
  
• Bigfus - The most successful player in series history, but coming off a rare out of the money finish following her breakthrough win in June
  
• Dorianmac - Returning for his second MPT and looking to improve on last year's early exit
  
• Hammah - World Series of Poker veteran and California cash game specialist, making her MPT debut
  
• Harv29 - Tournament Director and defending Sealy Cup champion, in search of his first cash of the 2009 season
  
• Janek13 - Winner of the last MPT event
  
• JTinLV - Las Vegas local and cash game specialist; also supplied the chips for this event
  
• Judykq - Video Poker star, making her MPT debut
  
• NMchop - Actually awake for this year's Las Vegas event, making him sure to improve on last year's finish (or non-start)
  
• Noahcat - A true wildcard in the field, moving on the MPT stage after practicing in local cash games and during her last trip to Las Vegas
  
• RowanB - A Sealy Cup leader at one point during last season, who has fallen into a record-setting slump for failing to cash
  
• Sass - One of the most consistent players in recent events, but feeling the pressure of most MPT starts without a win
  
• Sionow - Professional vacationer, taking time during his 55 days away from home to join the festivities
  
• Stan - A late addition to the tournament roster, accompanying Trojanrabbit to the event
  
• Tennis_bum - Long-time Las Vegas Advisor forum contributor and veteran poker player who is finally available to buy into a MPT event
  
• Trojanrabbit - Online poker pro and co-author of Kill Everyone: Advanced Strategies for No-Limit Hold 'Em Poker Tournaments and Sit-n-Go's, meeting some of the folks from the Kill Phill online forum that he contributes to
  

The results:

• Trojanrabbit
• Stan
• Harv29
  
• Sionow
• RowanB
• Sass
• Tennis_bum
• NMchop
• Dorianmac
• Judykq
• Bigfus
• Betdponies
• JTinLV
• Janek13
• noahcat
• hammah