Episode 13 of PokerStars’ The Big Game on Tour Season 2 brought about the end of the line for Loose Cannon Luke Wakelin.
After struggling to pick up meaningful pots through the first two episodes of his appearance, Wakelin committed the remainder of his staked stack on the turn with a no-good pair and gutshot straight draw. Rania Nasreddine gave him a spin with her flopped top pair, but the river brought no help to the Loose Cannon and, like many before him, his time on The Big Game drew to a close.
With Wakelin’s departure, the table was in need of fresh blood – and it arrived in the form of none other than Phil Laak.
An awkward reunion
Laak’s arrival was… a bit awkward. With longtime friend Antonio Esfandiari at the table, you would think Laak might receive a warm welcome. Instead, the two exchanged an uncomfortable half-handshake, half-fist bump as Laak made the rounds. After one strange greeting, another followed – and another and another.
Rob Gronkowski, a 6’6” four-time Super Bowl Champion and one of the most recognizable athletes in the world, was an unknown entity to Laak – nowhere to be found on his intergalactic radar. Nick Wright, co-host of one of the most popular sports talk shows on the air, did ring a bell – though perhaps only because they had met in the green room.
And then Gronkowski took it to the next level.
“Is that your friend that you were really good friends with for fifteen years, and then you guys just stopped seeing each other?” he asked Esfandiari, sending the table into a fit of semi-nervous laughter.
Hellmuth goes nuclear
The final hand of the episode brought audiences a vintage Phil Hellmuth blow-up. From the cutoff, Hellmuth raised to $600 with 
and picked up a call from Nasreddine in the big blind with 
.
On the 
flop, both players connected – Hellmuth with top pair, top kicker and Nasreddine with an open-ended straight draw. With $1,500 in the middle, Hellmuth fired out a pot-sized bet, and Nasreddine made the call. The 
turn was a relative brick and Hellmuth kept his foot on the gas with a bet of $4,000.
Nasreddine opted for aggression with a min-click raise to $8,000 and Hellmuth called instantly.
With $20,500 in the pot, the river 
was gin for Nasreddine as she made her straight and bet $15,000. Hellmuth hemmed and hawed for a moment, but then tossed in calling chips – only to see the bad news.
"You're gonna be mad," Nasreddine warned before turning over her cards.
Hellmuth remained silent – for a moment – as he absorbed the reality of the bad beat.
"I mean, I called her with a f**king seven. I know she's going to give her money away to me. I know she's going to give her money to me," he said.
"But she didn't," Esfandiari cut in. "You gave your money to her."
"I watched her put a million dollars in with top pair all day, and I've been just waiting for her to f**k up and then she f**king hits a miracle," Hellmuth ranted. "Let's try to bluff Phil."
"That was so beautiful, I really enjoyed it," Esfandiari added.
"That's what tilts me about poker. When you've been waiting for someone to pick them off and they hit a miracle," Hellmuth concluded.
The Big Game on Tour will be back next Sunday.
