Sunday, July 5, 2009 2:41 PM Local Time
Evelyn Ng was all in preflop with
against her opponent's pocket jacks. The board ran out
, failing to help improve Ng's hand and sending her to the rail.
"Nice hand, good luck guys." were the departing words from Ng.
Sunday, July 5, 2009 2:40 PM Local Time
After a few limps and a raise to 1,200 from the player on the button, Maya Gellar moved all in for about 16,000 total from the big blind. The raiser made the call and showed two red kings. Gellar had two red cards of her own,
.
The board ran out
to give Gellar the double-up. She now has over 35,000 chips.
Sunday, July 5, 2009 2:37 PM Local Time
Doug Lee raised to 575 from under-the-gun and got three callers, including Matt Savage from the small blind.
Everyone checked the flop of
and Savage bet 1,500 when the turn brought the
. Lee and one other player called. The river brought the
and this time, Savage checked and Lee led out for 4,000.
Lee showed
while Savage showed
to chop the pot when the third player mucked his hand.
Sunday, July 5, 2009 2:32 PM Local Time
Bob Lauria raised to 525 and was called in position by the player in Seat 8, whom we have sometimes heard nicknamed "The Devil". On a flop of
, Lauria bet another 600 and was called.
Both players checked the
turn. At the river
, Lauria check-called a 500-chip bet from his opponent. Lauria's opponent showed down top pair, top kicker with
. Lauria rivered two pair,
, to take down the pot and increase his count to 26,000.
Sunday, July 5, 2009 2:31 PM Local Time
Matt Hawrilenko made it 900 to play from the button and the big blind moved all in for 4,300. Hawrilenko made the call.
Big Blind:
Hawrilenko:
A flop of
gave the big blind top set and Hawrilenko a gut shot, which he filled with the
on the turn. Just when it looked like the hand was locked up though, the river changed things again, pairing the board with the
and giving the big blind a full house.
Hawrilenko slipped to 19,000 after the hand.
Sunday, July 5, 2009 2:23 PM Local Time
A player opened the pot for a 600 chip raise from middle position and Frank Kassela called from the button. David "The Maven" Chicotsky reraised to 1,700 from the big blind and both of the other players called.
The flop came down
and Chicotsky led out 2,025. The player in middle position raised to 6,200 and Kassela got out of the way. Chicotsky reraised all in for around 20,000 total and his opponent quickly called.
Chicotsky:
Middle Position:
The board filled out
giving the player in middle position a full house, eliminating Chicotsky from the Main Event.
Sunday, July 5, 2009 2:17 PM Local Time
It's been a tough day for a man used to getting bloodied in the boxing ring, Antonio Tarver. Preflop, he reraised to 1,250 after Andrew Youngblood opened for 525. Youngblood called.
Both players checked an ace-high flop,
. Youngblood took a stab with a bet of 1,500 on the
turn. Tarver called, then checked behind after Youngblood checked the river
. Tarver's
, queens and tens, was enough to win the pot. He's up to 14,000 in chips. Youngblood is down to 20,000.
Sunday, July 5, 2009 2:15 PM Local Time
On a board of
a player under the gun bet 1,300, another player in the pot folded and Ylon Schwartz made the call.
The river brought the
abd after a check from the player under the gun, Schwartz bet 2,500.
His opponent called and showed
for two pair, fours and fives, without a kicker that played. Schwartz couldn't beat it and mucked his hand.
Ylon Schwartz - 14,000
Sunday, July 5, 2009 2:12 PM Local Time
When you see people wearing identical shirts at the WSOP, there's often a story involved. In the case of Frankie Gay and Shea Walker, the story is a tragedy.
The shirts that Gay and Walker are wearing read "Playing for Pruitt" and display a photo of a U.S. Army unit along with the names of each member of the unit. One name on the shirt is that of Gay's son, Pruitt Rainey.
"He was supposed to leave Afghanistan in a few days," Walker said of Rainey. "He was on his second tour and was supposed to be coming home."
Rainey was a corporal in the U.S. Army's 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade when the outpost his unit was defending in Wanat, Afghanistan came under attack from more than 200 Afghan insurgents on July 13, 2008. Rainey and eight of the other ten members of the unit died in the attack.
"He loved poker so much," Walker said as she watched Gay play. "He played poker with the soldiers in his unit every night. It got to the point where he won so much from them, he had to pay them for them to let him play with them."
Gay, who has a small glass card capper with a photo of his son inside it, is joined at the 2009 WSOP Main Event by four other players from his Tuesday night home game in Vaoldosta, Georgia who are all "Playing for Pruitt". Bill Sineth amassed 71,000 chips on Day 1b; Earl Holmes, Roy Swindle and Allen Kennedy (who took 50th in the Main Event last year for $135,100) are also in the field today as well.
Our deepest condolences and best wishes for a deep run go out to Gay, Walker and each of the other members of the Playing for Pruitt team.
Sunday, July 5, 2009 2:11 PM Local Time
With about 10,000 in the pot on a board of
Todd "Dan Druff" Witteles checks to a player in late position.
His opponent bets 5,000 and Witteles thinks for a few minutes before making the call. Dan Druff's opponent says "Ace high" turning over
.
Witteles proudly shows
and a tablemate complements him on his call as he rakes in the pot.
Todd Witteles - 40,400
Sunday, July 5, 2009 2:10 PM Local Time
Daniel Negreanu has been sliding down the board since play began, and we recently overheard the "All in," announcement from the microphone over on the featured table.
Action is hard to catch at that table, but it appears Negreanu called a raise before the flop. When we walked up to the hand, the first three cards were already out on the table, showing
. The unknown opponent led out with 4,200, and Negreanu moved all in for 6,075. His opponent considered for about thirty seconds before making the call.
[u]Showdown[/u]
Negreanu:
Opponent:
The turn was the
, and Negreanu's opponent let out a big, "Whoa!" Negreanu chuckled and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "A six? You're scared of a six?!" With one card separating him from the exit, Kid Poker watched a blank
land on the river, ending his day and his WSOP for this year.
Sunday, July 5, 2009 2:05 PM Local Time
We caught up with the action on the turn when Darus Suharto check-called a bet of 3,000 on a board of
.
Suharto and his opponent both checked the
on the river and Suharto won the hand when his
bested his opponent's
. The hand lifted Suharto's stack to 28,500.
Sunday, July 5, 2009 2:03 PM Local Time
David Saab was all in on the turn holding
for 15,725 total. His opponent held
. The board read
when all the money went in. The river was another eight with the
and that would be it for Saab.
Sunday, July 5, 2009 2:01 PM Local Time
The cutoff made it 500 to play and got called by the small blind and by Dennis Phillips in the big.
Everyone checked the flop of
and the small blind bet 850 when the
came on the turn. Phillips called and the cutoff folded. The river brought the
, a 3,000 bet by the small blind, and another call by Phillips who showed
for a higher two pair than his opponent's
.
Phillips now has 42,000.
Sunday, July 5, 2009 2:00 PM Local Time
Keith Lehr raised to 550 from middle position. The next player called and then the button called as well. The flop came down
and Lehr checked. The next player bet 1,300 and the button called. Lehr check-raised to 4,000 and the first player folded. The button made the call though.
The turn brought the
and Lehr stuck in the last of his chips, totaling 11,225. His opponent asked to spread the pot and the dealer did so. He then mucked his hand a few moments later.
Lehr - 22,500
Sunday, July 5, 2009 1:57 PM Local Time
When a player in middle position raised to 600, Court Harrington re-raised to 1,700 from the small blind. He got the call and both players checked down the board that came
.
Harrington turned over
while his opponent showed
to chop up the pot.
Sunday, July 5, 2009 1:57 PM Local Time
As another successful WSOP nears its completion, we think it's important to take a moment to recognize an epic milestone for the Series.
In its 40th year of existence, the WSOP has just officially crossed the $1,000,000,000 mark for total prize money awarded. That's one billion dollars, in case you're having trouble counting zeros. Though the complete numbers for this year's prize pool are still in the works, running tallies from today's entries confirm the milestone.
"It’s nice to reach this milestone during the 40th annual WSOP," said Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack. "What’s most remarkable is that nearly two-thirds of this amount has been awarded in just the last four years. Poker is alive and well and here to stay."
For the fourth consecutive year, the total prize pool for 2009 will eclipse $155,000,000, making this far and away the most lucrative sporting event in the world. For the sake of comparison:
- Since 1959, the Daytona 500 has awarded $21,327,256 in prize money. Over the last three years, the Main Event champions at the WSOP have earned a combined $29,402,416
- Wimbledon has just finished up for 2009, paying out about $20,500,000 to its participants. That's less than one quarter of the total WSOP prize pool this year.
- Since 2001, the Kentucky Derby has paid its winners a total of about $16,700,000. The last two Main Event champions have earned a combined $17,369,517.
Our sincere congratulations go out to the WSOP and the entire staff over the past forty years for making this the premier gaming event in the world.
Sunday, July 5, 2009 1:56 PM Local Time
Brandon Cantu raised to 600 and the big blind called. The flop came down
and after his opponent checked, Cantu fired out 625. The player made the call.
The turn brought the
and both players checked. The river fell the
and Cantu's opponent checked. Cantu fired a bet and his opponent folded, moving Cantu up to 32,000.
Sunday, July 5, 2009 1:56 PM Local Time
There is one clearly overjoyed individual over on Table 14 right now. Not only did he eliminate his short-stacked opponent when his
held up against
, but he earned $100 worth of Jack Link's beef jerky for making quad jacks on the
board. Ship the beef nuggets!
Sunday, July 5, 2009 1:52 PM Local Time
With the final board reading
, Maya Gellar was faced with a bet of 4,500 from her opponent after she had checked. She ended up making the call. Her opponent showed her
to scoop the pot.
Maya is down to 15,000 chips.