Level 23
: 10,000/20,000, 3,000 ante
Players have left the room for a 20-minute break.
2013 World Series of Poker
Event #42: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em
Day: 3
Event Info
Level 23
: 10,000/20,000, 3,000 ante
Hand #35: Chris DeMaci raised to 40,000, and that was enough to win the pot.
Hand #36: Ariel Celestino raised to 41,000, and Norbert Szecsi raised to 85,000. Celestino folded, and Szecsi took the pot.
Hand #37: Celestino made it 41,000 again, and nobody called him.
Hand #38: Szecsi opened for a raise, and Rory Mathews and Celestino called him. The 
flopped, and action checked to Mathews, who bet 70,000. Celestino jammed for 410,000, and Szecsi folded. Mathews gave up the pot.
Hand #39: Celestino raised to 50,000 from the small blind, and Bryce Landier folded his big blind.
Level 23
: 10,000/20,000, 3,000 ante
Hand #30: Norbert Szecsi opened to 40,000 from middle position and picked up the blinds and antes.
Hand #31: Rory Mathews opened to 40,000 and collected the blinds and antes.
Hand #32: Rory Mathews made it 40,000 from the hi-jack and he picked up the blinds and antes.
Hand #33: Rory Mathews opened to 40,000 from the lo-jack only to have Chris DeMaci move all in from the cutoff for 310,000. Mathews deliberated for over two minutes before folding his hand.
Hand #34: Ariel Celestino moved all in from the cutoff for 401,000 and he picked up the blinds and antes.
Level 23
: 10,000/20,000, 3,000 ante
Hand #29: Chris DeMaci raised to 40,000 under the gun, and Rory Mathews reraised to 110,000 from the small blind. DeMaci came back over the top for 200,000. Mathews jammed, and DeMaci called immediately.
DeMaci: 
Mathews: 
The flop came 
, and a 
turn officially ended things for DeMaci. He was forced to ship 661,000 over to Mathews.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,350,000
542,000
|
542,000 |
|
350,000
-320,000
|
-320,000 |
Level 23
: 10,000/20,000, 3,000 ante
Hand #28: Bryce Landier opened to 55,000 only to have Dana Buck move all in from the button for 283,000. Landier made the call and the cards were tabled.
Landier: 
Buck: 
The flop was spread 
to keep Landier out in the lead, and when the landed on the turn, Buck was drawing to just a ten. The river landed the 
and Buck was sent to the rail in 8th place.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,060,000
565,000
|
565,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 23
: 10,000/20,000, 3,000 ante
Hand #24: Norbert Szecsi opened to 40,000 from under the gun and collected the blinds and antes.
Hand #25: From the small blind Bryce Landier limped and Norbert Szecsi checked his option to see a 
flop fall. Landier checked and Szecsi bet 22,000 to prompt a fold from Landier.
Hand #26: Denis Gnidash limped under the gun and Bryce Landier limped the button also. Norbert Szecsi and Dana Buck also came along from the blinds as the dealer delivered a 
flop.
Gnidash led for 45,000 to prompt a fold from Landier, a call from Szecsi and a fold from Buck as the 
fell on the turn. Both players checked as the 
landed on the river. Szecsi pushed out 95,000 and Gnidash called tabling his 
to best Szecsi's 
for just jack-high.
Hand #27: Rory Mathews made it 40,000 from under the gun only to have Norbert Szecsi three-bet to 85,000 from the button to win the pot once Mathews folded.
Level 23
: 10,000/20,000, 3,000 ante
Hand #21: Chris DeMaci raised to 40,000 from under the gun. Ariel Celestino called, as did Rory Mathews and Kirby Martin in the blinds. Mathews and Martin checked the 
flop, and DeMaci checked behind them. Celestino took the opportunity to bet 75,000. Only DeMaci came along. A fell on the turn, and DeMaci check-raised all in after Celestino fired 175,000. Celestino wasted little time folding.
Hand #22: Bryce Landier raised to 60,000, and nobody called.
Hand #23: Dana Buck raised to 45,000. Martin reraised to 100,000 from the button. Buck four-bet to 200,000. Martin moved all in for 886,000, and Buck called. Martin held , and Buck had 
. The flop ended the suspense, and Buck threw his hands in the air. The and finished out the board.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,800,000
1,040,000
|
1,040,000 |
|
|
320,000
-860,000
|
-860,000 |
Level 23
: 10,000/20,000, 3,000 ante
Hand #20: Jonathan Bennett moved all in for 249,000 before Chris DeMaci moved all in next to act.
Bennett:
DeMaci: 
With Bennett dominated, the 
flop saw him drawing to just a jack, but when the 
landed on the turn, he now opened up outs to a chop with a five.
Unfortunately for Bennett, the river landed the to end his tournament in 9th place for a $25,392 payday as DeMaci climbed to 670,000 in chips.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
670,000
58,000
|
58,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 23
: 10,000/20,000, 3,000 ante
Hand #12: Bryce Landier made it 55,000 to go. Nobody gave him any action.
Hand #13: Dana Buck raised to 45,000. Everyone folded.
Hand #14: Kirby Martin bumped it to 52,000 after action folded to his button. Both blinds got out of the way.
Hand #15: Norbert Szecsi raised to 40,000, and he took the pot.
Hand #16: Denis Gnidash raised to 40,000. Nobody called.
Hand #17: Rory Mathews made it 40,000, and he took yet another preflop pot.
Hand #18: Landier raised to 55,000, and he took the pot down.
Hand #19: Gnidash got a walk.
Level 23
: 10,000/20,000, 3,000 ante
After two eliminations early in the day, a final table was reached here in Event # 42. One of the nine remaining players is Chris DeMaci, who has nearly $1.5 million in live tournament winnings plus $1.4 million in online tournament cashes to his credit.
Before the final table began we chatted with DeMaci about his transition into live tournaments, his fear of flying, and his plan of action for the day.
PokerNews: How did online poker compare to live poker for you?
DeMaci: I exclusively played tournaments online (before Black Friday). I played live cash for the first five-to-six years of my career at Commerce. I got bored of that scene and so one of my friends suggested to give online poker a try. He sent me $5,000 online to play and from there I kept running it up. It was what led me to keep honing my skills with tournaments.
You mostly stick to WSOP and World Poker Tour events; why not branch out to European Poker Tour events or other circuits?
It’s embarrassing to say but I don’t like to travel because I am afraid of flying. I’ve never been to the Bahamas for the PCA, or to London, or anywhere else really. It sucks because I think of all the equity I’ve missed over the years. It’s interesting though because there are different ranking systems and I’m consistently in the top 100 with only playing maybe 25 percent of tournaments compared to everyone else. There is no punishment for when you play more and do bad but it’s only good results; so I take pride in knowing I play less than everyone else and still on the top.
You’re probably one of the most recognizable names at the final table. Do you think you have an edge over the other players?
I’m just going to play my game. I do think I have an edge in these tournaments but I’m still going to pay attention to every move and pick my spots.
You’re sitting in the middle of the chip counts. Do you have a plan of action for the rest of the day?
The guy on my left (Ariel Celestino) is someone I’ve never played with and he seems to be a really aggressive Brazilian player with a big rail. So I’ll analyze the moves he makes and see what his tendencies are. I’ll also try to pick on some players on my right and take it from there.
Would you say Celestino is your toughest competitor?
I actually don’t know any of the players on my table, including him. I won’t really worry about who my competitors are. It’s the final table, the other eight guys are my competitors so I just have to focus on playing my best game I can.