Friday, May 29, 2015 8:10 PM Local Time
It was a short day on the felt for both Billy Pappas and Soi Nguyen as both former members of the November Nine have been eliminated from play.
Billy Pappas - Eliminated
Soi Nguyen - Eliminated
Friday, May 29, 2015 8:05 PM Local Time
Walking through the amazon room we noticed Aaron Massey heading out of the tournament area, as the seat that he once occupied is now empty.
Aaron Massey - Eliminated
Friday, May 29, 2015 8:04 PM Local Time
There are a surprising amount of name players taking part in the action here at the Rio tonight. Antonio Esfandiari and Vanessa Selbst are two of the biggest names in poker and they headline the number of pros that are taking on the large contingent of amateurs in pursuit of poker glory.
Joining those two on the felt are Athanasios Polychronopolous, T.J. Cloutier, Barry Greenstein, Dennis Phillips, and Jesse Sylvia. Ryan Riess is also playing but is already in danger of being eliminated as he has just 300 in chips sitting in front of him. "I might not be here when you get back," Reiss said to a cocktail server after ordering a drink.
Friday, May 29, 2015 7:58 PM Local Time
Four players see a flop of , including WSOP Circuit Grinder Ashly Butler. Action checks to Butler, who fires out 600. Two players call, and the dealer puts the on the turn. Butler bets 2,200, and after a few moments of thought, Dave Stann moves all in for 1,600 more. The third player folds, and Butler drops in the call.
Butler:
Stann:
It's a set over set cooler for Butler, who is looking for the case three to win, or a deuce to chop. The board completes with a six though, and Butler sends a chunk of chips over to Stann. Butler isn't quite crippled though, still sitting on 2,800 from his starting stack of 5,000.
Friday, May 29, 2015 7:58 PM Local Time
David Levi invests a few chips before the flop in position and sees the hit the middle. A 350 bet from his opponent and Levi quickly calls. The turn card is the and Levi’s opponent slows down with a check and they see the complete the board.
There is no further action as the dealer indicates it’s time to show and Levi turns over his . He missed his flush but hit his pair on the end. But it’s no good against the flopped top pair of .
David Levy – 4,400
Friday, May 29, 2015 7:52 PM Local Time
The latest to take his seat in the amazon room is no other than five time bracelet winner and 1998 Main Event champion Scotty Nguyen. Nguyen has 46 WSOP cashes combining for more than $5,100,000 in earnings along with biggest score coming in the 2008 $50,000 buyin Poker Players Championship.
Scotty Nguyen - 5,000
Friday, May 29, 2015 7:51 PM Local Time
Another aspirant has their Colossus hopes dashed, this time at the hands of Vince Navarro.
The money all goes in on the flop with the board showing , and Navarro tables for bottom two pair.
That's good enough to best his opponent's top pair/top kicker combination, and finds no further help on the turn ( ) or river ( ).
Friday, May 29, 2015 7:48 PM Local Time
A few more WSOP mainstays have been spotted among the masses, including David "The Dragon" Pham, Matt Salsberg, Brian Yoon, Ravi Raghavan, former Main Event champion Jerry Yang, Leif Force, Faraz Jaka, Will "The Thrill" Failla, and Nick Rampone.
Friday, May 29, 2015 7:43 PM Local Time
Leif Force is one of the many notable faces in this sea of millionaire hopefuls. He is extremely competitive, taking the bracelet in 2012 for the first ever No Limit Hold 'Em/Pot Limit Omaha tournament. "Jungle Boy" had his first major cash in the 2006 Main Event when he placed 11th and took home over one million dollars. He has over two and a half million in career winnings.
Friday, May 29, 2015 7:41 PM Local Time
Level: | 2 | | Blinds: | 50/100 | |
Friday, May 29, 2015 7:40 PM Local Time
Five players call a 150 raise preflop. The flop comes and the small blind leads out 550. Michael Moed and another player call. The comes on the turn and the bet is 1,500 for Moed who calls. The next player to act folds and the two remaining are heads up going into the river.
The comes on the river and the bettor now checks to Moed who shoves all in and gets a call. Moed shows for an open-ended straight draw. His opponent shows for a set.
Moed now has 12,000 chips.
Friday, May 29, 2015 7:33 PM Local Time
There are a surprising amount of name players taking part in the action here at the Rio tonight. Antonio Esfandiari and Vanessa Selbst are two of the biggest names in poker and they headline the number of pros that are taking on the large contingent of amateurs in pursuit of poker glory.
Joining those two on the felt are Athanasios Polychronopolous, T.J. Cloutier, Barry Greenstein, Dennis Phillips, and Jesse Sylvia. Ryan Riess is also playing but is already in danger of being eliminated as he has just 300 in chips sitting in front of him. "I might not be here when you get back," Reiss said to a cocktail server after ordering a drink.
Friday, May 29, 2015 7:28 PM Local Time
It was an early second flight for Maryland native Christan Harder, who just tweeted that he has been eliminated. He doesn't seem too upset about it though, as he has a good fall back plan: railing one of his best friends Greg Merson who is currently seven handed at the $5,000 Event #2 Final Table.
Friday, May 29, 2015 7:26 PM Local Time
Before the cards were in the air the Tournament Director told the assembled players for Flight B that there are 21,500 confirmed entrants for the Colossus so far generating a prize pool of over $10m.
There are likely to be a number of players in this flight who have either busted earlier today or have forfeited their stack and with just a short break are now preparing to play another 11 levels of poker.
One of those is David Vamplew who busted the first flight and is ready to go again. He confirmed that he has registered to all four flights in his quest for his first gold bracelet. Vamplew has 10 WSOP cashes to his name for close to $1,000,000 but would surely love to break his duck and take this one down.
Friday, May 29, 2015 7:26 PM Local Time
Arman Tyfekchyan drags a huge pot his way, and with displayed near his newly doubled stack, it's clear he benefited from a big cooler.
Sure enough, a disappointed opponent has ace-king offsuit sitting near a now paltry pile of chips.
Friday, May 29, 2015 7:21 PM Local Time
As players continue to file into the amazon room, it is no surprise to see quite a few familiar faces. Among those taking their shot here in flight 1B of the Colossus are four players that all have one very big accomplishment in common. The WSOP Main Event final table.
The 2004 Main Event Champion, Greg "The Fossilman" Raymer is here taking his second shot in Colossus after being eliminated late in the Day 1A flight, along with 2011 November Niner Soi Nguyen, 2012 November Niner Steven Gee, and last year's 5th place finisher, Billy Pappacontantinou.
Greg Raymer - 5,000
Soi Nguyen - 5,000
Steven Gee - 5,000
Billy Pappacontantinou - 5,000
Friday, May 29, 2015 7:16 PM Local Time
The board reads by the turn, and the pot is already piled with a motley assortment of pink 500 and yellow 1,000 chips.
After two checks his way, Nobert Ram moves all in for his last 3,000, and one of his two opponents calls off the rest of his own stack. The third player in the hand makes a reluctant laydown, shaking his head as he does so.
"Kings are good," the caller says to Ram while turning over .
Ram says nothing in response, simply tabling his in a silent confirmation and waiting for the river, which comes .
The player who folded on the turn immediately shakes his head and points at the river card, telling his tablemates that he folded pocket tens.
Ram, meanwhile, doubled his stack and then some early in Level 1, getting off to that dream start every amateur in attendance hoped for to begin their starting flight.
Friday, May 29, 2015 7:15 PM Local Time
Stephen Deutsch moves all-in on his first hand after a preflop raise. The player calls and shows . Deutsch shows his . The board comes . Deutsch doubles up early and is sitting a little more comfortable at the beginning of Flight B of the largest tournament in poker history.
Stephen Deutsch - 10,000
Friday, May 29, 2015 7:00 PM Local Time
Level: | 1 | | Blinds: | 25/50 | |
Friday, May 29, 2015 6:18 PM Local Time
At 7 p.m., Flight B of the Colossus is scheduled to get underway, This is the second starting flight of what is sure to be the largest live poker tournament in history.
There will be 11 levels tonight - each 40 minutes - before remaining players bag up their chips for the night. Those who survive are scheduled to return on Sunday at 5 p.m. for Day 2.
This morning at 10 a.m., over 5,300 players took their seats for the first flight of this tournament. That number of players alone would make this a massive tournament by any standard, but there are 3 flights to go. After Flight B tonight, there will be two more flights on Saturday (10 a.m. and 7 p.m.). We don't yet have an official number of players who survived, but updates will be posted when official numbers are available.
All indications are that Flight B will be just as massive as Flight A, and we'll keep bringing you updates throughout the night.