Noah Schwartz, Dan Kelly On Top with 18 Left at WPT L.A. Poker Classic

Poker News / Short-Stacked Shamus / 28 February 2012 / Leave a Comment

Noah Schwartz after eliminating Larry Lipman in 27th to take the chip lead at the WPT LAPC (Photo: World Poker Tour)

Tuan Phan began the day as the chip leader with 54 left, though a rough start soon left him short-stacked and all in with ace-king versus Sean Jazayeri's pocket aces. Phan couldn't outdraw his opponent, and was swiftly eliminated in 43rd place.

They've played down to 18 at the Commerce Casino near Los Angeles, California, where Noah Schwartz leads the World Poker Tour L.A. Poker Classic with a slight edge over Dan Kelly heading into Day 5. A.J. Jejelowo, Stephen Chidwick, Jason Dewitt, Sean Jazayeri, and Jason Somerville will all return to above-average stacks on Tuesday as well.

Just 54 players from the starting field of 549 returned to chips on Monday, the cash bubble having burst with the elimination of Phil Ivey in 55th place at the end of Day 3.

Among the first eliminations on Monday were Amit Makhija (50th), Matt Marafioti (49th), and Jordan Lewis (47th), all of whom earned minimum payouts of $21,080. Meanwhile short stacks Jason Dewitt and Joe Hachem enjoyed early double-ups to move back up the leaderboard as the field shrunk below 45.

The day didn't begin so well for Tuan Phan, who entered Day 4 as chip leader but endured some rough poker early to fall swiftly to short-stacked status. Soon he found himself all in before the flop holding A-K, but had run into Sean Jazayeri's pocket aces and was eliminated in 43rd place ($23,720).

Others hitting the rail over the next stretch included Bryce Yockey (39th, $23,720), David Baker (32nd, $28,990), and Michael Aron (28th, $28,990). With 27 left, Dan Kelly had pushed out in front with 1.6 million chips, a little over 2.5 times the average stack at the time.

Kelly's lead would be taken away soon after, however, by Noah Schwartz after a huge hand in which Schwartz eliminated Larry Lipman to claim a pot worth more than 2 million. The pair got all of Lipman's chips in on a 5c-4c-3s flop with Lipman holding Ah-Kd (overs and a gutshot to a wheel) and Schwartz 3d-3h (a set of treys). The turn brought another four to fill up Schwartz, and Lipman was out in 27th ($34,260).

The last eliminations of the day included Tom Marchese (25th), Joe Tehan (23rd), Bob Bounahra (22nd), Casey Stewart (20th), and Sergey Pevzner (19th), each of whom earned $34,260 paydays.

With 18 left, here are the leaders heading into Day 5:

1. Noah Schwartz -- 1,770,000
2. Dan Kelly -- 1,749,000
3. A.J. Jejelowo -- 1,573,000
4. Stephen Chidwick -- 1,420,000
5. Jason Dewitt -- 1,182,000
6. Sean Jazayeri -- 1,126,000

As mentioned, Jason Somerville also currently has above-average chips with 1.025 million (7th). Others still in the hunt include David Pham (8th), Doc Sands (9th), and Hachem (10th), with Sorel Mizzi (14th), Nick Binger (16th), and Dan Idema (17th) also returning to short stacks.

The tournament will play down to a final six-handed table on Day 5, with the champion -- and winner of the $1,370,240 first prize -- to be determined on Wednesday.

Join Betfair Poker Now.