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Jason Lavallee Holds Chip Lead at the WPT Festa al Lago

Poker player Jason Lavallee is considered a cash game player but the fantastic run the 23 year-old Canadian poker player is on the world poker tour (WPT) Festa al Lago may go a considerable way towards convincing him to participate in more poker tournaments.

With just eleven poker players left in the hunt got one of the six slots at the final table of the Festa al Lago, heading into the poker event's second to last day on October 24th, 2009 at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Nevada, the Montreal, Quebec native has amassed a considerable chip lead.

This being his first serious run at World Poker Tour glory, Lavallee admits that he is not one hundred percent comfortable in the lead but he is also ready to accept and answer whatever challenge that he will face. Regardless of his nervousness and outlook in the tournament, Lavallee still has his eyes firmly set on the $1,218,225 1st place cash prize at Festa al Lago.

Lavallee said that he really wants to win the tournament and not just settle for 2nd or 3rd place. Lavallee started playing poker five years ago on online casinos but has since made the shift to live poker tournaments. He spend most of the summer participating in $25/$50 No-Limit Hold'em at Bellagio before travelling the poker tournament circuit in Europe the past few months participating in cash games and a few poker events.

Lavallee said that there is more of a skill factor in cash games compared in poker tournaments. He said that in tournaments, you have to sit in the table for eight straight hours, 5 days in a row. In a cash game, you have the opportunity of playing poker thirty six hours straight and then choosing to take a week off. He added that he enjoys the challenge of poker tournaments and the opportunity to switch it up once in a while especially when things are going as plan as they at Festa al Lago.

Lavallee will come into the play down to the final six with close to four million in total chips and only Freddy Deeb is close to Lavallee's chip total. The remainder of the final eleven includes Tommy Vedes, Shawn Cunix, Kido Pham, Larry Berg, Richard Sciuto, Jason Burt, Aaron Jones, Craig Crivello and Chris Bjorin.

With such a considerable chip lead, Lavallee feels comfortable with his stack but has no plans to be the bully on October 25th, 2009. He said that his game plan for the final does not really change that much and his chip stack will just serve as a cushion to take some hits.

11/15/2009, Sunday
Sherry Barlow

Jason Lavallee Holds Chip Lead at the WPT Festa al Lago

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