20:03
Day 1b Completed: Wanny Piazza Leads
Day 1b has come to an end after four 90-minute levels and it is Wanny Piazza who leads the way with 373,500 chips, around 100,000 more than anyone else in the tournament. Of the 95 players who started the day with high hopes, only 40 of them survived to make it through to Day 3 tomorrow.
Looking at his Hendon Mob database reveals Piazza spends a lot of his time playing tournaments in Slovenia and that he recently won a €330 buy-in six-max tournament for €7,449. He is now on course to completely eclipse that here in Venice.
Other big stacks include Taylor Von Kriegenbergh with 326,900, Michele Caroli on 279,000, Fernando Cimaglia with 266,200 and “Mad” Marvin Rettenmaier with a stack of 258,000.
Play resumes at 1300CET on Friday and we will play down to 18 players, meaning the money bubble will burst! Until then why not have a look at what some of our players want for Christmas:
19:40
Four More Hands
The tournament director has informed the dealers to play four more hands then call it a night.
19:35
Dovzhenko Relieves Rizzo Of Some Chips
From the hijack seat Alexander Dovzhenko min-raises to 4,000 and both Steve O’Dwyer (button) and PartyPoker pro Giovanni Rizzo (big blind) make the call. A flop reading 
sees Rizzo check, Dovzhenko continue to 6,600, O’Dwyer fold and Rizzo call.
The turn brings another ace into play, the 
and now both players check. The river is the 
and Rizzo check-calls a 12,000 bet, but mucks when Dovzhenko shows 
.
18:46
Sun Not Shining On Romanello
Roberto Romanello has not been his usual vocal self today and he will probably be a little quieter after losing some chips to Liwei Sun.
Romanello opened the betting with a raise to 4,500 from UTG+1 and after a player folded Sun three-bet to 11,500. The action folded back to Romanello and he made the call. The flop came down 
and both players quickly checked. The turn was the 
and Romanello check-folded to an 8,000 bet from Sun.
18:37
Bardah Takes On Benelli
On a flop reading 
Andrea Benelli checks from the small blind and it is the American Ronnie Bardah that now has to act. It does not take him long to bet 6,600 and it does not take long for Benelli to call either. Our turn card is the 
and Benelli checks again. Bardah makes it 17,000 to play and Benelli snap-folds.
18:19
Last Break Of The Day
The players are busy eating and drinking during their last break of the day. We will play 90-minutes more or stop when only 36 players remain.
18:15
Salvatore Bonavena Busts From WPT Venice
Salvatore Bonavena has left the Casino Di Venezia after clashing with Alejandro Sanchez. We caught the action on a flop of 
and both players got the chips into the middle.
Sanchez: 
Bonavena: [Tx][Tx]
Salvatore Bonavena was ahead but not for long because the on the turn completed the flush of Sanchez so when the 
landed on the river it was inconsequential. Good game Sal Bon.
18:02
All Male Affair As Tabet Is Busted
Giorgia Tabet has been eliminated by Steve O’Dwyer over on Table 1 and the WPT Venice Main Event is now an all male affair.
In the hand previous to her elimination she completed the small blind and O’Dwyer checked in the big blind. The pair checked down the 
flop and the turn but when Tabet checked the 
river O’Dwyer bet 100,000, though the effective bet was just 20,700. Tabet folded and through Giovanni Rizzo’s translation told O’Dwyer it was difficult folding a nine there.
The very next hand the action folded to the tiny Italian on the button and she moved all in for her 20,500 with 
and O’Dwyer made the call with 
. The 
flop hit both players but the 
on the river locked up the hand for O’Dwyer and Tabet was already shaking the hands of her former opponents by the time the 
landed on the turn.
17:39
Maximum Of One More Level
The tournament director has just announced that we will play just one more level and pause the tournament or play will come to an end when 36 players remain, whichever comes first.
17:29
Woman Down
We are down to a single female player in the WPT Venice Main Event after Madga Barczak was sent to the rail by Heinz Kamutzki.
We joined the action on flop reading 
Kamutzki had check-raised to 56,500 over a 13,000 bet by Barczak. She had a very long, hard think about it before eventually moving all-in and Kamutzki calls. The hands were flipped over.
Kamutzki: 
Barczak:
The turn was 
and the river 
and Barczak was eliminated.. Kamutzki is now armed with approximately 145,000 chips and is a real threat in this tournament.
17:15
Romanello Pays Off Domi
We joined the action on a flop reading and Leonard Domi seated in the UTG+1 seat facing a 50,000 chip bet from Roberto Romanello that has put him all in. He tanks for almost three minutes before moving a stack of chips forward and announcing his intention to call.
Romanello: 
Dude: 
Domi is nicely in front but still needs to avoid an ace or king. He manages to do this on the 
turn and again on the river and he doubles to 65,000.
17:03
Kristijonas Andrulis Talks Us Through A Hand
16:52
Another Huge Pot For Rettenmaier
Some may say Marvin Rettenmaier is on a lifetime heater but he is certainly riding one right now that is for certain. Johan Guilbert opened the betting with a 3,500 raise from middle position and his only customer is the aforementioned Rettenmaier in the big blind.
Flop: 
– Rettenmaier checks to his opponent who makes it 4,800 to play and the German calls.
Turn: – “Mad” Marvin checks again and again Guilbert bets, setting the price to continue at 7,100. Rettenmaier pauses for 30 seconds before making the call.
River: 
– For the third time in the hand Rettenmaier checks and for the third time Guilbert bets, now Rettenmaier will have to call 11,100 chips if he wants to get to showdown. But instead of calling he check-raises to 34,200, something Guilbert does not look happy about at all.
He screws his face up as if there is a bad smell on his moustache / goatee beard combination and starts to mutter to himself under his breathe. He continues gurning for around a minute before reluctantly making the call, almost resigned to losing.
Rettenmaier turns over for a full house and a disgusted Guilbert shows the but then acknowledges Rettenmaier’s “nice hand.”
16:36
Rusconi Shoves Again
On a flop that reads Steve O’Dwyer bets 9,000 from the hijack turning the action over to Dario Trasi in the cutoff seat. He calls and it is now up to Dario Rusconi to act. He has already shown a willingness to get his chips in and he does so again, making it 36,200 to play.
Unsurprisingly both opponents snap-fold.
16:02
Alioto Caught With Fingers In The Cookie Jar
The board reads 
over on Table 4 and Fernando Cimaglia has checked to World Series of Poker bracelet winner Dario Alioto and he has bet 12,500 into the 37,000 pot. We have been waiting for Cimaglia to act for well over five minutes so it is no surprise when the clock is called on him.
“Tempo tavolo quattro,” shouts the dealer and the one of the floorstaff makes his way to start the countdown. Before he has even started counting Cimaglia calls and Alioto snap-folds his hand, leaving Cimaglia to win the pot without having to show his hand.
15:51
Marvin Wins Monster Pot
“Mad” Marvin Rettenmaier has just found himself in contention at WPT Venice after a mssive pot went his way after a clash with Luca Maccatrozzo.
Ronnie Bardah raises to 2,700 in early position and four players call, talk about not respecting the raise! The flop comes down 
and the action checks to the original raiser, Bardah, and he bets 3,800, Rettenmaier calls, Nicola Potenza calls and then Luca Maccatrozzo goes into the tank before moving all-in.
Both blinds folds and Bardah takes his shades off to survey his surroundings, and eventually he folds. Rettenmaier is next and he switches off his music and rises to his feet.
“Can I have a count?” He asks the dealer.
The dealer does his job and informs the table that the all-in is for 65,700 extra. Rettenmaier counts out the call and pushes them over the line.
“I have ace high but I think it is good,” says Rettenmaier after Potenza folds.
Ace high was indeed good but Maccatrozzo had a few outs with his 
. The turn was the and Rettenmaier could suddenly rest easy because his had made the nuts. The river was the and Maccatrrozzo’s exit was confirmed.
Rettenmaier ~ 195,000
15:38
Rusconi Doubles Through Berti
From early position Dario Rusconi raises to 2,500 and after the player to his direct left folds Leonardo Berti three-bets to 5,500. Giorgia Tabet is in the big blind and she stares down the three-bettor but ultimately folds. Rusconi calls and the dealer puts the flop onto the felt. Rusconi checks to Berti who also checks behind.
The turn brings the into play and Rusconi counts to five, not out loud, and moves all in for 31,700. Berti takes his eyes off the board for the first time in the hand and looks at his opponent. Forty-five seconds later he says call and the cards are revealed.
Berti: 
Rusconi:
Berti needs a two outer to stop himself doubling up Rusconi, but it does not appear as the river is the 
and Rusconi doubles to around 76,000.
15:24
Quiet Romanello Helps Himself To Small Pot
Roberto Romanello is a lot quieter than usual over on Table 5 but he is still efficient in his accumulation of chips. A raise of 2,600 from the Welshman looks like it is going to go uncalled but Patrizio Riato peels back his cards, then rechecks them before waiting for over a minute then calling.
The flop comes down Riato checks to Romanello, who makes it 3,000 to play. Riato folds and the WPT Bratislava champion wins the pot.
15:16
Current Chipleader Ronnie Bardah Talks To PartyPoker
15:02
Lorenzo Five-Bets All In
Aldo Lorenzo opens the betting from UTG+1 to 1,600 and the player to his direct left, Xia Lin, calls. Two players fold and PartyPoker Pro Giovanni Rizzo tries to squeeze by four-betting to 9,100 but everyone folds when Lorenzo moves all in for 35,000 chips.
As they folded Lin showed whilst Rizzo turned over 
14:47
Mazzia Busts On First Hand Back From Break
Daniele Mazzia has not exactly been flush with chips so far and now he is busto. He open shoved for what looked like 12 big blinds with and was called by Leonard Domi and his . The final board ran out and the four flushed board coupled with in Domi’s hand gives him a flush and Mazzia is no more.
14:24
Ronnie Bardah Eliminates Fasolis
Alessandro Fasolis’ horrendous WPT Venice Day 2 has come to an early end. He started the day with over 100 big blinds but he has lost the lot in just one level. When his death arrived Ronnie Bardah was his executioner and here is the hand.
Bardah raises to 2,400 in the hijack and Fasolis three-bets to 5,300 on the button. The blinds fold and Bardah four-bets to 13,900 before Fasolis five-bets to 26,000. Bardah is looking cool in his shades and scarf and he doesn’t move anything except for his lips and they murmur the words, ‘all-in.” Fasolis heard these words because he called and we had a showdown with Fasolis being the man at risk.
Bardah:
Fasolis:
Board:
Fasolis shook Bardah’s hand, thanked the table and left. Meanwhile, Bardah, has become our chip leader with 225,000 chips.
14:14
Nitsche Down To Nought
Dominik Nitsche has been eliminated from the Main Event. We missed the hand but saw the German on the sidelines where he informed us he shoved 15 big blinds with ten-nine suited and ran into [Jx][Jx].
14:02
Tabet Pushes Dovzhenko Around
The action folds to the Christmas jumper wearing Alexander Dovzhenko and he min-raises to 2,000 from the button. Giorgia Tabet is in the small blind and she three-bets to 4,600. Steve O’Dwyer folds the big blind but Dovzhenko quickly four-bets to 11,500.
The tiny framed Mrs Tabet riffles some chips for around a minute before five-betting to 26,500 and her lone opponent almost instantly folds.
13:47
Calabro The River Rat
Bruno Umberto Calabro is in possession of the button and he is the first to act. He min-raises to 2,000 and gets called by both Dominik Nitsche in the small blind and Daniele Mazzia in the big blind.
Flop: – Nitsche checks, Mazzia checks and Calabro makes it 3,000 to play. Nitsche calls but Mazzia has seen enough and he folds.
Turn: – Nitsche checks again, and Calabro bets again, making it 7,000 to play. Nitsche calls.
River: – Nitsche checks and Calabro checks behind before turning over . Nitsche mucks with a wry smile on his face.
13:35
Promising Start Fails To Deliver
We are stood at Table 7 where Marvin Rettenmaier opens the betting with a raise to 2,100 from early position. Now we know the young German has a loose image but we did not expect Alessandro Fasolis (next to act), Xia Lin (cutoff), Luca Maccatrozzo (button), Angelo Tarallo (small blind) and Giovanni Rizzo (big blind) to all call his bet!
The dealer puts out the flop and everyone checks to Maccatrozzo who bets a single red 5,000 chip. Tarallo then check-raises to 15,500 and amazingly absolutely everyone folds!
13:27
Bardah Scoops Big Preflop Pot
Alessandro Fasolis opens to 2,200 and the player to his direct left makes the call. The action then folds around the shaven-headed Ronnie Bardah in the small blind and he pauses for a few moments before reaching for chips and raising to 6,800. The big blind instantly gets out of the way but Fasolis is not done with his hand just yet.
He waits for around 30 seconds before coming over the top of Bardah’s raise with one of his own, 15,100! The other active player gets out of the way but Bardah rechecks his cards, replaces a chip on top of them and waits for at least 90, possibly 120 seconds before taking his initial bet back and replacing it with 30,400. He then places his hands over his nose and mouth as if he is about to catch a sneeze and Fasolis has a real decision to make, it could be a decision that costs him his stack.
After 45 seconds he decides not to continue with the hand and he mucks.
13:20
Mattern Wins Early Pot
On a flop reading 
Giovanni Rizzo, in the hijack, bets 5,100 and Arnaud Mattern, seated in the cutoff, makes the call. The dealer puts out the on the turn and Rizzo checks its arrival. Mattern bets 8,000 and Rizzo gets out of the way.
“Wasn’t my ten good?” asks the PartyPoker pro but he receives no response.
13:05
Ziyard Shoves First Hand
Last year’s champion Alessio Isaia opens to 2,300 from under the gun and the recent EPT Loutraki winner Zimnan Ziyard is next to act and he moves all in for 19,200. The action folds back to Isaia and he is really thinking about calling but after a minute of pondering his options he folds.
13:02
Welcome back to the Casino Di Venezia Ca’noghera where the World Poker Tour Venice Main Event has reached the official Day 2. A total of 95 players will soon take to their seats and will be riffling chips, running bluffs and hoping to make it through to Day 3 of this great event.
The plan today is to play five 90-minute levels meaning we will probably be wrapped up around midnight. The money bubble could burst if we reach 27 players and if it does each player will leave the casino knowing they have locked up at least €5,705.
The man everyone has to catch is Andrea Dato, the only player to surpass 200,000 chips. His 217,300 is more than 40,000 more than Raffaele Bertolucci (164,900) and nearly 60,000 more than American Steve O’Dwyer (159,000).
Other notables still in the field include Roberto Romanello (133,200), Roger Hairabedian (120,600), Arnaud Mattern (92,900), and Marvin Rettenmaier (76,700.)
Stay with us as we bring you all the action from Day 2 of the WPT Venice Main Event.
