Saturday, July 9, 2011 12:25 PM Local Time
The following players have taken their seats in the Orange Section and are now in action!
| Shaun Deeb | 30,000 | |
| David Singer | 30,000 | |
| Scotty Nguyen | 30,000 | |
| Steve Billirakis | 30,000 | |
| Marcel Luske | 30,000 | |
| Jeff Sarwer | 30,000 | |
Saturday, July 9, 2011 12:23 PM Local Time
After an under-the-gun player raised to 275 and received three callers, Bernard Lee called from the big blind to make it five-way action to the flop. The UTG continuation bet 1,000, only Lee called, and the hit the turn, which both players checked.
The river saw Lee lead out for 1,725, and the UTG call with ; however, Lee rolled over for a straight and the win. For those keeping counts, Lee has managed to crack aces twice in the last hour of play!
| Bernard Lee | 37,000 | 3,000  |
Saturday, July 9, 2011 12:18 PM Local Time
We mentioned 1978 World Champ Bobby Baldwin earlier, and we thought that might be our opening to present you with the following charts that highlight the WSOP in the 1970s. It's no wonder Baldwin is labeled a living legend, considering he graces all three charts:
Top 10 1970s WSOP Most Money Won
| Place | Player | Money Won |
|---|
| 1 | Doyle Brunson | $776,250 |
| 2 | Bobby Baldwin | $458,500 |
| 3 | Johnny Moss | $366,150 |
| 4 | Hal Fowler | $270,000 |
| 5 | Sailor Roberts | $245,850 |
| 6 | Puggy Pearson | $219,200 |
| 7 | Billy Baxter | $155,000 |
| 8 | Perry Green | $154,800 |
| 9 | George Huber | $114,000 |
| 10 | Bobby Hoff | $108,000 |
Top 10 1970s WSOP Most Bracelets
| Place | Player | Bracelets |
|---|
| 1 | Johnny Moss | 7 |
| 2 | Doyle Brunson | 6 |
| 3 | Bones Berland | 5 |
| 4 | Puggy Pearson | 4 |
| " | Bobby Baldwin | 4 |
| 6 | Perry Green | 3 |
| " | Lakewood Louie | 3 |
| " | Bill Boyd | 3 |
| " | Jimmy Casella | 3 |
| 10 | 6 players tied | 2 |
Top Six 1970s WSOP Most Cashes
| Place | Player | # of Cashes |
|---|
| 1 | Johnny Moss | 9 |
| 2 | Doyle Brunson | 6 |
| " | Puggy Pearson | 6 |
| " | Bones Berland | 6 |
| 5 | Bobby Baldwin | 5 |
| 6 | 10 Players Tied | 3 |
Saturday, July 9, 2011 12:15 PM Local Time
Ryan Laplante, who has already picked up one cash and one final table at this year's WSOP, has been taking control over on table 282 and is now up to 35,000 in chips.
On a board that read , the player in the cutoff led out for 600 before Laplante raised to 2,150 from the button. The cutoff player called, then checked to Laplante on the river of the . Laplante bet out 2,750 and after two minutes in the tank, the cutoff player folded. Laplante flashed before raking in the pot.
One of the trademarks of Laplante is his love of pink. Every time he's played here at the Rio, he's been wearing a pink hoodie and a pink Burberry cap. Between hands, Laplante also told us that he's donating 1% of his winnings to OneDrop and Bad Beat on Cancer, the official charities of the WSOP. Run deep, sir!
| Ryan Laplante | 35,000 | 5,000 |
Saturday, July 9, 2011 12:15 PM Local Time
"Bob... are they doing a promotion for beef jerky... four jacks?!?"
So called out one of the tournament directors just now after being asked at one of the tables. A player had made quad jacks, and memories of last summer's Jack's Links Beef Jerky promotion -- free jerky for quad jacks -- prompted the question.
Sadly for Mr. Four Jacks, no free jerky comes with the chips he earned for the hand this time around.
Saturday, July 9, 2011 12:15 PM Local Time
| Julien Brecard | 30,000 | |
| Arnaud Mattern | 30,000 | |
| James Akenhead | 30,000 | |
Saturday, July 9, 2011 12:14 PM Local Time
Vitaly Lunkin raised to 250 preflop and received calls from the players in the blinds. It went check-check on the flop and Lunkin fired out 500. The small blind folded, but the big blind opted to make the call.
Both players then checked the turn, leading to the river. The big blind tried to take control of the pot by betting 750, but Lunkin wrested it back with a raise to 2,000. The big blind thought better of it and tossed his hand to the muck.
| Vitaly Lunkin | 31,000 | 1,000 |
Saturday, July 9, 2011 12:05 PM Local Time
Adam Junglen raised to 375 only to have the player on the button pop it to 1,200. Action folded back to Junglen and he made the call, leading to a flop. After both players checked, the dealer burned and turned the , which prompted Junglen to bet 1,650.
The button came along to see the spike on the river. Junglen fired out another bet, this time 4,200, and again his opponent called. Junglen confidently rolled over for a straight and took down the pot.
| Adam Junglen | 36,000 | 6,000 |
Saturday, July 9, 2011 12:04 PM Local Time
Comedian Ray Romano just took his seat in the Black section of the Pavilion Room. The table was all smiles when Romano showed up with a box of cupcakes courtesy of the Cupcake Wars finalists.
Saturday, July 9, 2011 12:00 PM Local Time
Bobby Baldwin is not a familiar face on the poker circuit, but he is still one of the most recognizable and accomplished players in the game. Baldwin, who is nicknamed "The Owl," has four World Series of Poker bracelets and 18 cashes totaling $681,811.
Baldwin's bracelets:
- 1977 Event #2 $10,000 No Limit Deuce to Seven Lowball ($80,000)
- 1977 Event #3 $5,000 Limit 7 Card Stud w/ rebuys ($44,000)
- 1978 Event #11 $10,000 World Championship Main Event ($210,000)
- 1979 Event #1 $10,000 No Limit Deuce to Seven Lowball ($90,000)
While it has been three decades since Baldwin captured a bracelet, he continues to demonstrate his ability to go deep in large events. For example, since his World Championship win in 1978, Baldwin has managed to cash in seven Main Events, most recently a 352nd-place finish in 2009.
While Baldwin, who was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame back in 2003, may not have played a lot of tournaments in recent years due to his job (He was CEO of Mirage Resorts in 2000 before becoming the president and CEO of CityCenter), he always seems to make an appearance in the Main Event.
Saturday, July 9, 2011 11:59 AM Local Time
There's a term we like to use in the industry for that dreaded "all-in-with-kings-versus-aces". It's known as the über-cooler and it's just one of things you cannot avoid. Jason Young was the victim of said cooler and as a result has now busted from the Main Event.
All the money was in the middle before the flop; Young had the , but it was Sorel Mizzi that had woken up with the . The dealer spread the board of to give both players two pair, but as they say, "Just like that, huh?"
As Young took his leave, he spoke to our field reporter. "If it was anyone else on the table, I can fold that," before adding, "Sorel leads a blessed life."
| Sorel Mizzi | 70,000 | 40,000 |
| Jason Young | 0 | -30,000  |
Saturday, July 9, 2011 11:49 AM Local Time
Just like last November, 2010 WSOP Main Event winner Jonathan Duhamel is the center of attention today, sitting squarely in the five-seat beneath the spotlights at the feature table on the main stage. The seats are starting to fill in the surrounding bleachers to see how the first day of Duhamel's title defense goes.
Also at Duhamel's table is Michael DeMichele, best known for his runner-up finish in the 2008 WSOP $50K H.O.R.S.E. event. We'll keep an eye on the proceedings over there.
| Seat | Player |
| 1 | Markus Ritt |
| 2 | Nathan Amar |
| 3 | Peter Holder |
| 4 | Rory Monahan |
| 5 | Jonathan Duhamel |
| 6 | Scott Guetschow |
| 7 | Michael DeMichele |
| 8 | William Kassouf |
| 9 | Ryan Moriarity |
Saturday, July 9, 2011 11:48 AM Local Time
With 9,000 in the pot and a board reading , an unknown player fired out 5,050 and was called by Cody Slaubaugh, who ended up mucking after seeing his opponent's flush.
| Cody Slaubaugh | 27,000 | -3,000 |
Saturday, July 9, 2011 11:46 AM Local Time
This is the Main Event, so we thought it might be fun to sprinkle in some interesting facts on poker's most prestigious tournament.
WSOP Top 25 All-Time Main Event Final Tables
| Rank | Player | # of Main Event Final Tables |
|---|
| 1 | Doyle Brunson | 5 |
| " | Jesse Alto | 5 |
| 3 | Johnny Moss | 4 |
| " | Stu Ungar | 4 |
| " | Johnny Chan | 4 |
| " | T.J. Cloutier | 4 |
| " | Dan Harrington | 4 |
| " | Berry Johnston | 4 |
| 9 | John Bonetti | 3 |
| " | Steve Lott | 3 |
| " | Bill Smith | 3 |
| " | Hamid Dastmalchi | 3 |
| " | Al Krux | 3 |
| " | Jack Keller | 3 |
| 15 | Erik Seidel | 2 |
| " | Huck Seed | 2 |
| " | Sailor Roberts | 2 |
| " | George Huber | 2 |
| " | Dave Crunkleton | 2 |
| " | Brad Daugherty | 2 |
| " | Fernando Fisdel | 2 |
| " | Donnacha O'Dea | 2 |
| " | Rod Peate | 2 |
| " | Phil Hellmuth | 2 |
| " | Jay Heimowitz | 2 |
| " | Noel Furlong | 2 |
| " | Perry Green | 2 |
| " | Mike Matusow | 2 |
| " | Masour Matloubi | 2 |
| " | Hans "Tuna" Lund | 2 |
| " | Bobby Baldwin | 2 |
| " | Dewey Tomko | 2 |
| " | Jeffrey Shulman | 2 |
| " | Jim Bechtel | 2 |
| " | Mickey Appleman | 2 |
| " | Tom Jacobs | 2 |
| " | Tom Franklin | 2 |
Saturday, July 9, 2011 11:45 AM Local Time
Jason Somerville's summer got off to a great start - the American pro picked up two cashes in this series, but one of them was particularly special, because it came with his very first gold bracelet.
He's also managed to pick up an early pot off Barny Boatman over on table 280. Our field reporter picked up the action heads-up on a flop that read , where Boatman led out for 425 from the hijack position. Somerville called, then Boatman checked to Somerville when the dealer produced the turn of the .
Somerville bet 650, but Boatman check-raised to 2,050. Somerville called, then both players elected to check down the river . Boatman showed for two pair, but Somerville was best with for the flush!
| Jason Somerville | 33,000 | 3,000 |
| Barny Boatman | 27,000 | -3,000 |
Saturday, July 9, 2011 11:42 AM Local Time
| Getty Mattingsley | 30,000 | |
| Mike Caro | 30,000 | |
| Dan O'Brien | 30,000 | |
| Maria Mayrinck | 30,000 | |
| Steven Watts | 30,000 | |
| Dan Smith | 30,000 | |
| Joe Cada | 30,000 | |
| Greg DeBora | 30,000 | |
| Jimmy Fricke | 30,000 | |
| Paul Pierce | 30,000 | |
| Jordan Morgan | 30,000 | |
Saturday, July 9, 2011 11:41 AM Local Time
When we happened upon the table, five players were involved in a hand with a board reading . Bernard Lee had checked in the small blind, and the player in the big blind followed suit. A middle-position player then bet 800, which only Lee called.
When the peeled off on the river, Lee check-called a bet of 1,150 and revealed for a straight. It was good as his opponent showed before mucking.
| Bernard Lee | 34,000 | 4,000 |
Saturday, July 9, 2011 11:40 AM Local Time
We caught the action on the flop between Justin Schwartz, who was in the under the gun position, and his opponent in the cutoff heads up. The board read and Schwartz led for 300. His opponent called and the turn was the . Schwartz bet 750 and once again his opponent called.
The river was the which brought one more bet from Schwartz, this time for 1,600. This time the player in position threw out a raise to 5,000. Schwartz thought a bit before mucking his hand and falling to 27,000.
Saturday, July 9, 2011 11:37 AM Local Time
And not looking to hit the sack.
| Neil Channing | 30,000 | |
| Christophe de Meulder | 30,000 | |
| Jason Mercier | 30,000 | |
| David Benyamine | 30,000 | |
| Allen Bari | 30,000 | |
| Gavin Griffin | 30,000 | |
| Matthias de Meulder | 30,000 | |
| Jon Turner | 30,000 | |
| Michael Greco | 30,000 | |
| Dennis Phillips | 30,000 | |
| Chad Brown | 30,000 | |
| Robert Mizrachi | 30,000 | |
Saturday, July 9, 2011 11:35 AM Local Time
The dealer at Table 362 -- where Brad Garrett lives -- has just been pushed out, and the comic gave her a loud ovation as she slid her chair out and stood up. She didn't leave immediately, however. She walked around the table and paused beside Garrett in the eight seat while the gentleman in the five seat took her camera and snapped a quick souvenir photo for the lady. You never know who you might be sitting next to -- or dealing to -- in the Main Event.
As a reminder to the gentleman in seat five, though, there is no flash photography permitted anywhere inside the Amazon Room.
Bang!