The 2012 World Poker Tour L.A. Poker Classic closed the books for another year after an amazing final table completed on Wednesday night at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles, California. Walking away with the title and the $1,370,240 first-place prize was start-of-the-day chip leader Sean Jazayeri.
When play began, Jazayeri led a tough final table. Joining him was a very strong cast of characters that included David Sands, Noah Schwartz, Dan Kelly, Jason Somerville and Jason Burt. Somerville and Burt were essentially tied as the two shortest stacks returning to play.
Somerville’s final table lasted just a couple of hands. According to the WPT Live Updates Team, on the second hand of play Somerville shoved all-in for 820,000 from under the gun with the blinds at 30,000/60,000/10,000 in Level 28. Jazayeri called from the button and everyone else folded. Somerville was at risk, and turned over 
, against Jazayeri’s 
.
The flop produced three clean cards for Somerville as the 
rolled out. The turn was the 
and left him with just one more punch to dodge on the river. When the 
was turned over on the end, it gave Jazayeri the winning hand and sent Somerville out the door in sixth place. His payday was worth $202,910 and Jazayeri increased his chip lead with over five million in his stack.
Not too long after Somerville fell, Burt made his exit in fifth place. With the blinds the same, the dealer pitched Burt his 12th hand of the final table, and it turned out to be his last.
Burt had built his stack up to nearly two million after entering the day with 835,000. When action folded to him in the small blind, he raised to 160,000. Kelly made the call from the big blind and the flop come down 
. Burt continued with a bet of 180,000, and Kelly made the call.
The turn card was the 
and Burt fired 370,000. Kelly paused briefly and then moved all-in. Burt tanked for a few minutes and then called holding 
for top pair. He was at risk with fewer chips and up against Kelly’s 
, who had turned an open-ended straight draw. The river brought the and successfully completed the straight Kelly needed to win the hand. Burt was eliminated and earned $252,980.
Noah Schwartz was the next player to go. He fell at the hands of Jazayeri on the 34th hand of the final table and earned $355,750.
With the blinds up to 40,000/80,000/10,000 in Level 29, Jazayeri raised from under the gun to 210,000. Kelly flat-called from the button and then Schwartz reraised all-in from the small blind for 1.555 million. Jazayeri reshoved his stack of nearly eight million and that knocked Kelly out of the way. Schwartz tabled 
and Jazayeri showed 
.
“I played so bad this tournament,” said Schwartz. “Jeez. I’m the worst!”
From there, a flop, turn and river of 
ran out and Schwartz was second best. Jazayeri collected the chips and moved to slightly under 10 million.
With three players out in the first 34 hands of the final table, things were moving along in rapid succession. It took a little bit longer to determine the third-place finisher, who fell on the 69th hand of play.
During Level 30 with the blinds at 50,000/100,000/10,000, Sands raised from the button to 200,000 and Kelly reraised all-in from the big blind for 1.655 million. Sands requested a count, received it, then made the call with 
. Kelly held two Broadway cards — 
— but was behind.
The 
flop gave Kelly some more outs, because he could now counterfeit Sands’ hand by hitting a seven on the turn or river to make a better two pair, but he was still behind. The turn didn’t change a whole lot of things and Kelly was now looking for a king, a jack or a four to win the pot, while spiking a seven could chop it. The river failed to give him what he needed and Kelly exited the tournament in third place for $521,770.
When heads-up play began, the chip counts were 9.47 million to 7 million in favor of Sands. At the time, only 24 big blinds separated the two, but Sands went to work right away at widening the gap. During the first 20 hands of the duel, Sands was up as high as 11.365 million, but ended that batch on the wrong side of a big flip.
Jazayeri knocked Sands back down to 10 million on the 88th hand of play before the two got all of the money in on the very next hand. Sands opened from the button to 280,000 with the blinds at 60,000/120,000/20,000 and Jazayeri three-bet to 800,000. Sands four-bet to 1.84 million and Jazayeri jammed for 6.925 million. Sands snapped holding and Jazayeri tabled 
.
The flop gave Jazayeri the lead when it fell 
. The turn 
and river kept him in front and allowed Jazayeri to double through. Sands was whacked all the way back to 2.58 million. From there, things only lasted one more hand.
The blinds jumped to 75,000/150,000/25,000 and Jazayeri raised to 400,00 from the button. Sands moved all-in for a little over 2.5 million and Jazayeri made the call holding 
. Sands held .
The flop was exciting for Sands’ fans because it came down 
, and put him in front for the double up. The turn, , kept Sands in the lead. The river landed with a miracle 
and Jazayeri smacked the winning trips to win the hand. Along with winning the hand, Jazayeri won the tournament. Sands was eliminated in second place for $806,370, the largest score of his live poker career.
2012 World Poker Tour LAPC Final Table Payouts
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sean Jazayeri | $1,370,240 |
| 2 | David “Doc” Sands | $806,370 |
| 3 | Dan Kelly | $521,770 |
| 4 | Noah Schwartz | $355,750 |
| 5 | Jason Burt | $252,980 |
| 6 | Jason Somerville | $202,910 |
The L.A. Poker Classic has wrapped up and the WPT is on to the next stop, which will be the Bay 101 Shooting Star beginning on March 5, 2012. PokerNews will once again be providing daily recaps of the event, so be sure to stay tuned.
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*Photo courtesy of the World Poker Tour.
