Saturday, January 20, 2018 12:26 AM Local Time
Michael Scott
After his first World Series of Poker cash, a win in the $365 no-limit hold'em monster stack event just a few days ago, Michael Scott admitted that his wife didn't think he could win the whole tournament. She might want to rethink her attitude towards her husband's poker game.
At the end of 15 scheduled levels for Day 1A of the main event, Scott finished the day with one of the heaviest bags of the 36 players that survived the day's action. The medical consultant from California finished the day with 219,000 in chips and finished second in chips behind Sam Nagar. Nagar bagged 246,000 and the day 1A chip lead. Harun Begic (213,500), Ben Keeline (184,500) and John Chase (163,500) round out the top five Day 1A chip stacks.
Other notables players to put chips in a bag at the end of the day include Sean Yu (158,000), Kathy Stahl (151,500), Alex Greenblatt (129,500), Jordan Meltzer (102,000), and Jeff Fielder (63,500).
When registration closed at the start of level 13, there were 207 entries in the first of two starting flights, which generated $310,500 towards the $500,000 guaranteed prizepool. With Day 1B expected to draw more entries and set to kick off at noon on Saturday, the field is set to crush the guarantee.
Not everybody was lucky enough to survive the day, however. Three time bracelet winner Rep Porter, two-time bracelet winner Erick Lindgren, Lee Markholt, Kevin O'Donnell, 2016 WSOP.com Nevada Online Player of the Year Ian Steinman, Bob Mather, Pat Lyons, Dan O'Brien, Kindah Sakkal, Jed Hoffman, Brett Murray, Allen Kessler and last September's main event champion Nick Pupillo were among the notables that were unable to survive the day.
Everybody who busted will have another shot to fire on Day 1B. The players who survived today's action will have tomorrow off and come back on Sunday at noon to merge with the Day 1B survivors for Day 2. Complete chip counts can be found in the 'Reports Tab' above.
Saturday, January 20, 2018 12:25 AM Local Time
Saturday, January 20, 2018 12:09 AM Local Time
Play has wrapped up for the day and the players are in the process of putting their chips in bags. A complete recap of the day's action will be posted shortly.
Saturday, January 20, 2018 12:03 AM Local Time
With 10 minutes left on the clock, the tournament staff paused it and the remaining players will deal four more hands before bagging up chips for the night.
Friday, January 19, 2018 11:35 PM Local Time
Michael Scott was chipping up a chip-leading stack of 220,000 and explained what happened. Brian Borst grabbed his things and headed for the rail after getting one-outted on the river.
On a flop reading , both Scott and Borst got some bets in and saw on the turn. At that point, all of the chips went in the middle.
Borst tabled king-jack for kings full of jacks, while Scott tabled pocket eights for eights full of kings. Sure enough, the river was the fourth eight and Scott made quads to send Borst to the rail in dramatic fashion.
Michael Scott - 220,000
Brian Borst - Eliminated
Friday, January 19, 2018 11:26 PM Local Time
A player in early position moves all in for just over 26,000 and LaVonne Joyce moves all in from middle position for about 110,000. Everybody else gets out of the way.
Joyce tables and is in good shape against her opponent's . The board runs out clean for Joyce as it comes . Her aces hold up, a player is eliminated and she climbs the leaderboard.
LaVonne Joyce - 140,000
Friday, January 19, 2018 11:21 PM Local Time
Level: 15
Blinds: 1,200/2,400
Ante: 400
Friday, January 19, 2018 11:11 PM Local Time
There is about 15,000 in the pot on a flop of and Jeff Fielder moves all in for 9,000 out of the big blind. The player in the cutoff calls.
Fielder is in the lead with against his opponent's . The turn is the and the river is the . Fielder's top pair holds to double up near the end of the level.
Jeff Fielder - 35,000
Friday, January 19, 2018 10:59 PM Local Time
With 35,000 in the pot, on a board reading , LaVonne Joyce leads out for 7,000. Kao Saechao raises to 21,000 and Joyce pauses for a moment before moving all-in for 51,000 total. Saechao is visibly torn and after a couple of minutes in the tank, he opts to fold. "Queens?" he asks. Joyce doesn't respond and he asks again, "Queens?" Joyce continues to remain unresponsive while raking in the pot.
LaVonne Joyce - 100,000
Kao Saechao - 60,000
Friday, January 19, 2018 10:54 PM Local Time
On a flop of , Michael Scott checks from the hijack and the player on the button bets 8,000. Scott calls and the turn is the and both players check to the river.
Scott bets 12,000 and the button calls. Scott tables , giving him a full house, and his opponent mucks. Scott wins the pot with a full house.
Michael Scott - 125,000
Friday, January 19, 2018 10:42 PM Local Time
Level: 14
Blinds: 1,000/2,000
Ante: 300
Friday, January 19, 2018 10:41 PM Local Time
With about 10,000 in the middle, on a board reading , Jordan Meltzer (pictured) checks from under the gun. A player in late position bets 5,100 and Meltzer calls.
The turn is the and Meltzer checks again. His opponent thinks for about a minute before moving all-in, putting Meltzer to the test for his remaining 23,700 chips. Meltzer is visibly unhappy, but asks for a count before making his decision. Eventually, he piles his chips in to call.
Meltzer tables for a pair of tens with a king kicker with both flush and straight draws, while his opponent shows for a pair of tens with a straight draw and no club.
The river is the and Meltzer holds on to double-up.
Jordan Meltzer - 70,000
Friday, January 19, 2018 10:35 PM Local Time
Action folds to the player in the small blind and he raises to 3,800. Valentin Vornicu is in the big blind and decides to defend.
The flop comes , the small blind checks and Vornicu bets 4,000. The small blind calls.
The turn is the . The small blind checks, Vornicu bets 7,000 this time and the small blind calls again.
The river is the and the small blind checks for a third time. Vornicu pauses for a moment and bets 13,000 this time. The small blind wastes no time and tosses in chips to call.
"If you just call I must be good" says Vornicu as he tables for nines full of aces. His opponent flashes a black king before sending his cards into the muck. "The only reason I bet again is because I turned equity" says Vornicu, speaking of his turned flush draw.
Vornicu remains the chip leader with close to 200,000.
Valentin Vornicu - 190,000
Friday, January 19, 2018 10:26 PM Local Time
Ian Steinman raises to 3,000 from the hijack and Valentin Vornicu calls on the button. The flop is and Steinman checks. Vornicu bets 3,000 and Steinman moves all in for about 8,000. Vornicu quickly calls.
Vornicu shows , giving him middle pair, and needs to improve against Steinman's . The turn is the and Steinman gets up from his seat, knowing he has two outs after Vornicu turned trip eights.
The river is the and Vornicu eliminates the 2016 WSOP.com Nevada online Player of the Year.
Valentin Vornicu - 170,000
Ian Steinman - Eliminated
Friday, January 19, 2018 10:23 PM Local Time
On a flop of , Sean Yu gets all in from the big blind against a player in middle position. Yu tables and has a lot of equity with two overs and a flush draw against his opponent's .
The turn is the , giving Yu the lead with a flush, and the river is the . Yu wins the pot with a flush and doubles up.
Sean Yu - 47,000
Friday, January 19, 2018 10:21 PM Local Time
Monster Stack winner Michael Scott raises to 3,500 from under the gun and gets calls from Brian Borst in early position as well as the player on the button and the player in the big blind.
The flop comes , the big blind checks and Scott bets 5,000. Borst folds, the button snap-calls and the big blind folds.
The turn is the and Scott looks back at his cards before betting 12,000. The button thinks for a brief moment and then folds.
Scott now sits as one of the top stacks.
Michael Scott - 130,000
Friday, January 19, 2018 10:05 PM Local Time
Cards are back in the air for the last three levels of the night.
Registration is now closed for Day 1A with a total of 207 entries. Day 1B picks up on Saturday at Noon and registration will close at the same time at ~10:00 p.m.
Day 2 continues on Sunday at Noon.
Friday, January 19, 2018 10:04 PM Local Time
Level: 13
Blinds: 800/1,600
Ante: 200
Friday, January 19, 2018 9:45 PM Local Time
Players are taking their final 15-minute break of the night. When they return, they will play three more levels before bagging and tagging chips for the night.
Friday, January 19, 2018 9:45 PM Local Time
There is already 17,000 in the pot on a flop of . Sean Yu checks from the cutoff and Ray Marchi bets 8,500 on the button. Yu calls and the comes on the turn.
Both players check the turn and the comes on the river. Yu checks and Marchi bets 22,500. Yu immediately calls. Marchi tables , giving him top set, and Yu just as quickly sends his cards into the muck.
Ray Marchi - 126,000
Sean Yu - 52,000