It was a beautiful day in the City of Commerce on Day 4 of the Los Angeles Poker Classic and judging from the tempo of play in the Commerce Casino the majority of the field had better things to do than sit around indoors all day.

The fourth day of play at this World Poker Tour staple brought 58 players back to the upstairs ballroom at the Commerce, with each returning contestant guaranteed at least a $22,020 payout after the bursting of the bubble during Day 3′s play on Monday.

Leading the field into the stretch drive was Kyle Burnside, whose $781,000 put him well ahead of runners-up Phil Ivey ($656,000) and Jennifer Tilly ($656,000). As it turned out, however, not even a $125,000 head start could ensure Burnside would last through even the first level of play on Tuesday.

Right from the beginning it was a madhouse at the tables, with a series of quick eliminations as the post-bubble rush (abbreviated the night before after substantial hand-for-hand play meant players experienced only 17 minutes of in-the-money action) played out in full.

Among the eliminatees was casino tycoon and would-be mayor of Las Vegas Bob Stupak, who ducked out of the tournament area ostensibly to retrieve his ID and upon his return found himself embroiled in something of a controversy.

Stupak busted in 56th place when he pushed on a raggedy flop with bottom pair and was looked up by Brian Taylor with an open-ended straight draw and two overcards. Taylor rivered a better pair and Stupak was eliminated, but nobody on the tournament staff appeared to witness the elimination or see the Stratospheric One leave the tournament area.

A few minutes later, Stupak returned to the ballroom to claim his prize money. Such had been the pace of eliminations, however, that only 46 players remained by the time he returned. That being the case, the man was paid out 47th-place money – worth $4,150 more than 56th.

Whether due to attempted angle-shoot or simply confusion, Stupak neglected to tell the tournament officials of their error and was set to walk away with a little extra in his payout slip before the media caught wind and, after much negotiation, set the record straight, with officials left scrambling to find 54th-place finisher James Lee and award him the benefit of the payout jump.

As the Stupefying negotiations were playing out, the field was thinning itself considerably, such that by the end of the first level of play a total of 18 players had been eliminated. Among them was Svetlana Gromenkova, official spokeswoman of frowning, who fell when she lost a race with Ad-8c to an opponent’s pocket sevens. Gromenkova would receive $26,170 for her 50th-place finish.

Also eliminated before the first break was erstwhile chip leader Kyle Burnside, who lost a massive pot to Michael Watson when both players got all the money in pre-flop in a classic race scenario. Burnside held pocket queens while Watson tabled big slick, and after the flop brought a king and the turn and river bricked, Burnside was out in 41st place for an undoubtedly disappointing $31,280 payday.

Any idea that play would slow after the first madcap 90 minutes was quickly proved wrong with the quick elimination of Shawn Buchanan in 39th place and then the double elimination of Alan Goehring and Noah Schwartz in 36.5th place. Goehring, the 2006 LAPC champ, found himself crippled and all-in for his last $2,000 from the small blind before the cards were even dealt. Schwartz limped in to the pot and called a raise from Weikai Chang to see a flop come Jc-8c-6s.

Chang bet out $40,000 and Schwartz flat-called. The turn was the Jh and Chang fired out $125,000, prompting Schwartz to come over the top all-in, pinning his tournament life to the strength of his 9d-8d. Chang, with As-Js, was happy to call, and after the river was a brick both Schwartz and Goehring were busto, chopping the difference between 36th- and 37th-place money and each taking home $33,835.

Toto Leonidas and Andrew “good2cu” Robl would also find themselves among the 12 players consigned to the rail in the day’s second level. Robl took something of a gruesome beat, learning firsthand the dangers of slow-playing after flopping trip kings and letting opponent Theo Tran catch up enough to hit the ace-high flush. Thus was the ShipitHolla Balla busted in 30th place for a $36,390 score.

The third level of the day would see the action slow somewhat, with 23 left standing by the end of the Day 4′s 270th minute of play and 22 left standing as the field broke for dinner about 15 minutes later. Among those eliminated in the third level was 2007 champ Eric Hershler, who followed up his $2.4 million win last year with a respectable 26th-place finish in this year’s event, to the tune of $42,250.

The return from dinner break left only three eliminations remaining before play was concluded for the day and it wouldn’t take more than an hour or so for those bustifications to occur, with Mike Hampersomian, Lance Allred and Paul Smith hitting the bricks in rapid succession to reduce the field to the final 18.

Those 18, headed up by chip leaders Phil Ivey and Blair Hinkle and hotly pursued by Phil Hellmuth, Jennifer Tilly, Nam Le, David Singer and Theo Tran, among others, will return to the Commerce at 12:30 p.m. (PST) to play down to the final six. As usual, PokerListings.com will be on-scene to bring you the most scintillating coverage of this epic event, so tune in throughout your day and together we’ll make it rain on them pros. That’s a promise.

Six players sat down at the 2008 WPT Borgata Poker Classic Final Table but only one of them had a shot at making history.

Gavin Griffin, with titles at both the WSOP and EPT, had a chance to complete the hat trick of tournament poker by winning the WPT Borgata Poker Classic. Griffin had his work cut out for him, however, with chip leader David “The Big Dragon” Tran, 2007 WSOP Main Event finisher Lee Watkinson, online sensation Noah “fourUhaters” Schwartz and two more able players all standing in his way.

The final table started with a bang and just five hands into the contest we had our first casualty. In the hand David Tran raised to $120,000 and local player Ervin Prifti shoved all-in from the button. Prifti came to the final table with only $285,000. It wasn’t that hard a call for Tran who flipped over Ad-Kc.

Prifti was, indeed, behind with Ks-Qd. The board came Jc-7h-6c-9d-5c and there were no miracle comeback stories for Prifti on this day. He finished sixth for $233,000. Not a bad score to be sure.

Ervin Prifti – the first to go.

Early in the day Griffin and Tran tussled in a somewhat minor hand that would be a sign of things to come. Griffin fired out $100,000 from under the gun and Tran re-raised to $475,000 from the button. Griffin decided to make it $1.5 million to play and Tran eventually laid it down. It was the first volley fired in what would become an all-out war between the two players.

The next player to take his leave was Watkinson. Watkinson also came to the table with a short stack and knew he had to act fast if he wanted a serious shot at winning the tournament.

It looked like Watkinson might be on the comeback trail as very early on he doubled against Schwartz. Unfortunately for Watkinson, Schwartz would take it all back several hands later when both players got it all-in. Watkinson held 7-7 to Schwartz’ 8-8 and the eights would hold up as the board whiffed.

Watkinson had to settle for fifth place but who knows what would have happened had he been able to double up a couple more times early.

Lee Watkinson never quite found his footing at the final table.

After those two eliminations action began to slow considerably. Local Thomas Hare, Schwartz, Tran and Griffin all seemed to be feeling each other out for the next hour or so.

It was during this time that Tran and Griffin once again did battle. In one important hand Schwartz raised to $175,000 from under the gun and Griffin called from the small blind. Tran called from the big blind.

The flop came Ac-Jd-2d and was checked by all three players. The turn came Js and both Tran and Schwartz opted to check, but Griffin bet out $275,000. Schwartz got out of the way and Tran called. The river fell the 5s and Tran checked while Griffin once again bet out. He made it $525,000 and Tran had to think for a minute but eventually called. Griffin flipped over pocket sixes but Tran had him beat with an ace for two-pair aces and jacks.

Tran raked the pot, worth over $2.1 million.

Noah Schwartz got into a race situation and the cards didn’t cooperate.

The action slowed down again after that and it was anybody’s guess who would bust next. It turned out that Schwartz would be the first player to blink when he shoved all-in with pocket nines against Tran, who held Kd-Qs. The board came Kh-Jd-2d-Jc-8s and Schwartz’ heroic run at the 2008 Borgata Poker Classic came to an abrupt end.

Local success story Hare started making some moves around this time and for a period of time things looked bad for Griffin. Tran was crushing the table with $9 million while Hare had $3.6 million and Griffin was in last with $2.6 million.

Down but not out, Griffin proved that he could also play short-stack poker. In one of the most important hands of the night Hare bet $180,000 pre-flop and Griffin called. The flop came Ac-9c-7c and Griffin checked but Hare made a massive bet of $800,000. Griffin decided to shove all-in for a total of $2.7 million and Hare called.

Thomas Hare made the hometown crowd proud.

Hare had Ah-7d for two pair which was a good hand but not as good as Griffin’s Qc-10c for the flush. No miracle cards hit on the turn or the river and suddenly Griffin was right back in the game while Hare was crippled.

Several hands later Hare was essentially forced all-in with Ks-3c and eventually busted by Griffin who held a dominating Kc-Qd.

We had a major battle on our hands with Griffin vs. Tran. Tran held the chip leading going into heads-up play with $8.7 million to $6.5 million but Griffin was definitely stacking enough chips to hold his own.

After testing the waters for several hands Griffin started to build some momentum and then fortunes changed in one hand dramatically.

Griffin raised to $200,000 from the button and Tran re-raised to $800,000. Griffin re-popped to $2.5 million. Tran decided to just go all-in and with this much on the line apparently Griffin felt he could fold. It was a classic race situation by the time the players had flipped over their cards:

Griffin: As-Qs

Tran: 9c-9d

The situation was tense as we headed to the flop with what must have been the biggest pot of the entire tournament on the line. The flop came Qd-8d-8h and inside Griffin must have been jumping for joy. He had hit a queen and taken the lead. The board finished with 7h and then 5c and all of a sudden Griffin was the overwhelming chip leader with $13.3 million to Tran’s $1.9 million.

It was not the end for Tran, however. The Big Dragon was far from finished and proved how resilient he could be while playing with the short stack.

David Tran refused to go down without a fight.

Within the next few hands Tran doubled up with pocket aces and a few hands after that he appeared to be on his way to another double-up.

In the hand Tran raised to $380,000 from the big blind. Griffin re-raised to $4 million; Tran quickly called. Griffin was in bad shape once the players had shown their cards. Griffin held Ad-8d to Tran’s As-Kh.

Incredibly the board went Tc-5h-2s-3c-4c and the players split the pot with the wheel-straight.

Despite his tenacity Tran was finally dealt a crippling blow when Griffin held J-9 on a 10d-6h-2d-7s-8s board for the straight. Griffin bet $475,000 on the river, Tran re-popped to $1.1 million and Griffin re-raised to $3.6 million. Tran made the call and then mucked his hand when Griffin showed the nuts. Tran was left with under $1 million chips after the epic hand.

Gavin Griffin triumphant!

In the final hand of the tournament Tran moved all-in from the button and Griffin called. Tran flipped over Ks-8s to Griffin’s Qc-Jc. The flop went Ac-9d-8d and Tran was poised for another double-up. The room was tense as the dealer turned… Qd. Griffin was suddenly the favorite and the entire tournament would be finished on the next card – 10d!

From the early days of the tournament Griffin seemed to destined to win and take his place in the history books as the only player to complete the Triple Crown of poker tournaments – WSOP, WPT and EPT.

Destiny would not be denied on this day and Griffin is your 2008 WPT Borgata Poker Classic champion.

We here at PokerListings.com congratulate Griffin and everybody who took part in the epic tournament. We’ll see you at the next big one!

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The 2008 PokerStars European Poker Tour German Open is over and 18-year-old Mike McDonald has solidified his status as a rising star in the world of professional tournament poker, defeating Andreas Gülünay in heads-up play to capture the title.

That McDonald, who crushes online games under the now rather unsuitable tag “Timex”, should emerge from the eight-handed final table the victor shouldn’t come as a surprise. McDonald has strung together an impressive five cashes in the last six weeks, including three final tables at the Aussie Millions in Melbourne and a 14th place at the EPT tournament in Prague in early December.

McDonald, who briefly studied at Canada’s collegiate poker haven at the University of Waterloo (also home to 2006 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure champ Steve Paul-Ambrose) before online poker became too profitable, entered the fourth and final playing day of the German Open chipleader at a final table that also included German maniac Johannes Strassmann and American online pro Christian “charder30″ Harder.

So, uh, do you guys like…stuff?

Early on the proceedings, Timex would flex his formidable poker chops by making the first of the many sick calls he’d make throughout the day, though it wouldn’t work out quite in his favor in the early going as after openly admitting to bluffing a min-raise on a king-high flop he called Gülünay’s all-in when a jack hit the turn, claiming he felt his hand (AJ) was good. It was, with Gülünay having third pair and a spade flush draw, but the German made two pair on the river and doubled through young McDonald.

It would prove to be only a minor setback, as on the next hand Timex was dealt aces and saw Christian Harder dealt Big Slick. In a hand that more or less played itself, all of Harder’s money got in preflop and though the American flopped a king and turned a flush draw, the river bricked out and Harder was eliminated in eighth place. He earned €85,500 to complement the $200,000 USD he won at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in early January.

Durand: Duran’d.

At this point in the proceedings, the cracks started showing for 22-year-old pro Johannes Strassmann, who played an increasingly erratic game marked by a number of rather eccentric hands, including hands in which he mistook players raises for all-in shoves and nearly flipped over his cards prematurely, hands in which he trash talked opponents Gülünay and Diego Perez incessantly before folding to their raises, and an hand with Thibaut Durand that saw Strassmann, who had position on Durand, move all-in in the dark preflop with Durand yet to act.

Despite this, Strassmann managed to at least refrain from self-bustification, while Durand wouldn’t be so lucky. The Parisian found himself short-stacked and had to shove with As-4d. Strassmann finally found a hand he liked enough to call and turned up pocket eights, and after an eight fell on the turn it was over for Durand, who busted in seventh place and earned €120,200 for doing so.

All you broke players, don’t hate.

It would prove to be only brief respite for Strassmann, who would hit the bricks in sixth place in a characteristically unusual hand that saw him shove all-in for $550,000 over the top of a $57,000 opening raise from McDonald. Timex, holding pocket kings, was more than happy to call and Strassmann could only muster 8h-7h in his defense. A king on the flop ended things early and Strassmann was eliminated, sent home with €152,000 to add to the €39,200 he earned at EPT Prague in December.

Then it was dinner break, and the players were released to the ample bounty of the Casino Hohensyburg buffet for the last time. Upon their return after an hour’s worth of gorging, the carnage that followed constituted an after-dinner rush the likes of which have rarely been seen.

€193,000, what it do?

First it was Claudio Rinaldi, who got his short-stack all-in preflop against Gülünay’s pocket sevens to his own Ad-9d. The board ran Kh-4d-3s-Kd-5s and the sevens held, consigning Rinaldi to the rail in fifth place, where he collected €193,000 in prize money.

A few hands later and Diego Perez Marco was signing for his check, the victim of another incredible call from McDonald. The young Canadian had raised to $75,000 from the button and saw Perez move all-in for $610,000 from the small blind. Gülünay folded out of the big blind and the action was back on McDonald, who thought for a few moments before making the call and showing a measly pocket pair of twos.

Perez: Hilton’d.

His read was incredible, however, as Perez could only muster Jd-Tc, and after the board came Ac-9h-4h-6h-Qc the deuces held, sending Perez to the rail in fourth place for a €234,200 haul and giving McDonald full share of the chip lead once more.

Then it was Torsten Haase’s turn to get cute with McDonald and pay the ultimate price. Haase raised to $75,000 from the button and was called by both McDonald and Gülünay in the blinds. The flop came Qh-5h-3s and the action checked to Haase, who bet out $150,000. McDonald, holding Ks-Qs, check-raised him all-in and Haase insta-called with Ac-5c for middle pair. The board finished out 3c-4d and that was the end for Haase, who burned down in third place with €307,000 to show for his efforts.

What what, put ‘em up!

That left only McDonald and Gülünay to do battle for the title, with Gülünay holding a sizeable advantage when it came to fan support but McDonald holding a $3 million to $1 million chip lead. Despite reasonably healthy stacks compared to the blinds, it wouldn’t take very long for the two players to clash.

In the final hand of the tournament, McDonald raised to $80,000 preflop and Gülünay made the call. The flop came Kh-Jd-7c and Gülünay check-raised McDonald’s $120,000 bet to $300,000, which McDonald flat-called. The turn was the Kc and Gülünay fired out $300,000. Again Timex simply called and the river was the 2h. Now Gülünay shoved all-in for the last of his stack and McDonald paused only briefly before making the call, turning up Ac-Ks to Gülünay’s Tc-7d. Trip kings were good for the pot and it was game, set, and match for McDonald as the young Canadian had clinched the title.

Ship the chips, eh?

For the win, McDonald takes home €933,600 as well as a shiny EPT vase and the rare honor of two back-to-back PokerListings.com interviews. Runner-up Gülünay earns €528,500 for his efforts. Congratulations are in order to both finalists, as well as the staff at Casino Hohensyburg, PokerStars and everyone at the EPT who pulled off yet another incredible tournament. See you in Copenhagen!

For complete live updates from the EPT German Open check here. For comprehensive results check here.

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