Wednesday, June 1, 2016 8:29 PM Local Time
The players are on a 20-minute break while the black 100-value chips are being colored up and removed from play. Action will resume shortly.
Wednesday, June 1, 2016 8:28 PM Local Time
Eric Narciso has built his stack towers tall. Action folds to him on the button and he bets 6,500.
Dominique Mendez, meanwhile, is short-stacked in the big blind. When the small blind folds, Mendez shoves for 9,600, and Narciso calls the extra 3,100.
Mendez shows and he's ahead of Narciso's .
The flop is . The turn is and the river is . Neither player pairs, and Mendez wins the hand.
Dominique Mendez - 24,000
Eric Narciso - 150,000
Wednesday, June 1, 2016 8:27 PM Local Time
Bryan Walter is all in and at risk with against a player with . Both players hit sets on the flop, and Walter doubles up when his opponent fails to make quads on the turn or the river .
Walter is sitting at about 12 big blinds with the next level approaching quickly.
Bryan Walter - 33,000
Wednesday, June 1, 2016 8:21 PM Local Time
Chris Minton explained that his final hand in the Casino Employees event occurred when he and another player got it all in for Minton's last 30,000 or so on a flop of with two diamonds. Minton held pocket nines for the overpair, while his opponent had for overcards and the nut flush draw.
The on the turn completed the other player's flush, but left Minton drawing live for a full house. It didn't come though, as the river was the and he was eliminated on one of the last hands before break.
Chris Minton - Eliminated in 78th place for $941
Wednesday, June 1, 2016 8:21 PM Local Time
Preflop action brings a small all-in bet of 3,200 from middle position.
The button calls, as does Richard Glabman in the small blind. The big blind joins the fray as well.
The flop comes . All three players check.
The turn card is the and three players check again.
The river card is the .
Now Gladman bets 7,100, and both remaining players fold. The all-in player shows . Richard Glabman announces that he has a small-blind special and reveals the to take down the pot.
Richard Glabman - 120,000
Wednesday, June 1, 2016 8:20 PM Local Time
Wednesday, June 1, 2016 8:12 PM Local Time
Defending champion Brandon Barnette shoves all in from the cutoff and the button calls. The blinds get out of the way and Barnette tables to his opponent's .
Barnette stays in the lead on the flop, but the turn gives his opponent a pair, leaving Barnette in need of help on the river to survive.
However, the river gives Barnette a Broadway straight and he scores the double-up.
Brandon Barnette - 29,000
Wednesday, June 1, 2016 8:06 PM Local Time
With the preflop action folded around to Tanja Vujanic in the small blind, she chooses to raise to 10,000. The big blind shoves for 8,000 more and she calls. He confidently shows . Vujanic holds the .
The flop comes and she has a flush draw. The pocket kings have a sweat.
The turn brings the giving her a gutshot-straight draw as well.
The river is the giving her the straight and a kings-cracker (and some chips to add to her increasing stack).
Tanja Vujanic - 124,000
Wednesday, June 1, 2016 7:53 PM Local Time
A short-stacked player moves all in for 3,900, and Kirk Blahuta re-shoves for 12,800 in the cutoff. Planet Hollywood media hostess Jacqueline Gonzalez-Higgins calls all in for about 10,500 in the small blind, resulting in a three-way showdown with two ladies at risk.
Short stack:
Blahuta:
Gonzalez-Higgins:
"Oh, it's not so bad," Gonzalez-Higgins says, realizing she has slightly the best of it. The board runs out , though, and Blahuta earns the double knockout with jacks up.
Kirk Blahuta - 31,000
Jacqueline Gonzalez-Higgins - Eliminated in 97th place for $850
Wednesday, June 1, 2016 7:53 PM Local Time
Shaun Harris shoves from the button for 4,300, Matthew Tyler calls from the small blind, and the player in the big blind also calls.
Following a flop of , the player in the big blind isolates the pot with , trailing Harris' . The turn and river complete the board, safe for Harris to triple up with his ace high and six kicker.
On the following hand, Harris raises all in from the cutoff for about 16,500 and the player in the small blind calls all in for less with , trailing Harris' .
The board comes down , giving Harris the nut flush to eliminate his opponent.
Shaun Harris - 27,000
Wednesday, June 1, 2016 7:47 PM Local Time
Eric Narciso raises from the cutoff, making it 4,500 to go. The player in the small blind reraises to 10,000 and Narciso calls.
The flop is and the small blind puts his chips in a single stack and slides the stack into the pot. Narciso calls and shows his hand at once. He has for a flopped two pair against the of his opponent.
The board brings no help for his opponent and Narciso stacks the chips while his opponent heads home with a min-cash.
Eric Narciso - 157,000
Wednesday, June 1, 2016 7:47 PM Local Time
Richard Glabman is under the gun and calls the 2,000 big blind. Action folds around to the cutoff, who calls for his remaining 1,700 and is all in. The small blind calls and the big blind checks. The flop is and both blinds check. Glabman grabs a stack of yellow 1,000 chips and moves them forward. The blinds quickly fold and Glabman tables , which is well ahead of his opponent's .
The turn and river are no help and Glabman's opponent is eliminated.
Richard Glabman - 110,000
Wednesday, June 1, 2016 7:46 PM Local Time
The hand-for-hand bubble period is thankfully short-lived at the first WSOP event of 2016 with Tanja Vujanic besting the 111th-place finisher in the Casino Employees $565 No-Limit Hold'Em .
The unfortunate soul was all-in on a flop of and when floor staff arrives to complete the action in the hand, he turns over for middle pair. Vujanic displays the for the nut flush.
The eventual loser loudly announces to the room that "Everyone left in the room is in the money!"
The comes on the turn, leaving the bubble boy drawing dead.
The appears on the river and all the remaining players are now guaranteed at least $834.
Vujanic takes down the pot and sits in good standing near the top of the leaderboard.
Tanja Vujanic - 110,000
Wednesday, June 1, 2016 7:45 PM Local Time
On the first hand after the dinner break, Becky Kaatz is all in for 200, less than the ante. There's a side pot before the cards are even dealt.
A player in middle position raises to 4,500 and everyone else folds. One of the tournament directors tells the dealer to push him the side pot and wait for a go-ahead before continuing the hand. Kaatz turned over , the hand she was forced to play for her tournament life with just two players left to the money, and her opponent shows .
The flop is , and Kaatz has a pair. She's ahead of the ace, and with a turn and river , she stays ahead to win the hand, taking in the main pot of 2,000 chips.
On the next hand, Kaatz folds after paying her ante, leaving her 1,700.
The third hand after the break, Kaatz is under the gun with only 1,400 after paying the ante, less than the amount of the big blind. She puts her chips into the middle and action moves to the button, who calls the big blind. The small blind calls. The big blind checks. Again, there's a preflop side pot.
The flop is , both of the blinds check, and Ricky Schattel checks from the button.
On the turn, the blinds check again and Schattel bets 3,000. Both blinds fold, and Schattel is heads up against the all-in Kaatz.
The side pot gets pushed to Schattel, then the players show down. Kaatz has , Schattel has for trip queens. An ace could give Kaatz another big boost with a full house, but a shows on the river, and Kaatz just misses the money.
Ricky Schattel - 29,000
Wednesday, June 1, 2016 7:45 PM Local Time
Level: 14
Blinds: 1,200/2,400
Ante: 400
Wednesday, June 1, 2016 7:35 PM Local Time
During hand-for-hand play, an early-position player raises to 5,000 and CJ Sand calls from the cutoff. The original raiser checks the flop, Sand bets 6,500, and his opponent calls.
The turn, the , checks through.
On the river , the original raiser checks again. Sand methodically bets 11,000 and his opponent folds.
CJ Sand - 58,000
Wednesday, June 1, 2016 7:30 PM Local Time
Matt Tyler raises from the hijack to 5,000 preflop and the player in the small blind calls. The flop comes and the small blind checks to Tyler. Tyler bets 6,500. The small blind check-raises to 14,000 and Tyler asks for a look at his remaining stack. The small blind has just under 60,000 behind after the check-raise. Tyler, who has about 120,000, behind calls.
Both players check the on the turn and the small blind checks again when the hits the river. Tyler bets 18,000 and the small blind folds.
There are 111 players remaining and play is still hand-for-hand.
Matthew Tyler - 135,000
Wednesday, June 1, 2016 7:16 PM Local Time
The 112 remaining players are back from dinner, and the cards are back in the air. Since they're just two away from the money bubble, action is being dealt hand for hand. The next two players eliminated will go home empty-handed, while the 110 who survive the bubble will earn at least $834 apiece.
Wednesday, June 1, 2016 7:15 PM Local Time
Level: 13
Blinds: 1,000/2,000
Ante: 300
Wednesday, June 1, 2016 5:44 PM Local Time
With the money bubble tantalizingly near, the field has been dismissed for a 90-minute dinner break. Matthew Tyler appears to be the chipleader as they depart, one of three players who've amassed a six-figure stack so far.
Blinds will be 1,000/2,000 with a 300 ante when the field returns, and the average stack is about 32,000 chips (16 bb) with 112 players remaining. Only 110 of them will finish in the money.
Play resumes just before 7:15 p.m. and will continue until the end of Level 20, at about 11:30 this evening.