Friday, January 19, 2018 9:38 PM Local Time
Action folds to Jeff Fielder (pictured) on the button and he raises to 3,000. The player in the small blind calls and the player in the big blind moves all-in for 17,000. Fielder quickly calls and the small blind folds.
Fielder tables , ahead of his opponent's .
The flop comes and Fielder pairs his ace while his opponent pairs his king. The turn is the and the river is the , sending Fielder the pot.
Jeff Fielder - 57,000
Friday, January 19, 2018 9:33 PM Local Time
Nick Pupillo
Nick Pupillo raises to 2,700 from under the gun and the player in the big blind calls. The flop is and the big blind checks. Pupillo bets 3,000 and the big blind moves all in for 20,500. Pupillo mulls it over for about 30 seconds and then calls.
Pupillo is in the lead with his up against the big blind's .
The turn is the , which leaves the big blind with just two outs, and the on the river seals his fate. Pupillo wins the pot with jacks and threes, sending the big blind to the rail halfway through the level.
Nick Pupillo - 88,000
Friday, January 19, 2018 9:11 PM Local Time
Level: 12
Blinds: 600/1,200
Ante: 200
Friday, January 19, 2018 9:11 PM Local Time
There is about 30,000 in the pot on the river with a completed board of and Erick Lindgren bets enough to put his opponent all in for his last 18,000.
After about a minute of contemplation, the button calls and is all in. He shows and wins the pot with bottom set against Lindgren's . Lindgren loses most of his stack with his river bluff and the two-time bracelet winner is left with about half of a starting stack.
Erick Lindgren - 10,500
Friday, January 19, 2018 9:06 PM Local Time
LaVonne Joyce raises to 2,500 from under the gun and Kao Saechao calls from middle position. The flop comes and Joyce opts to check. Saechao bets 3,000 and Joyce quickly moves all-in for 10,000 total. Saechao asks the dealer to pull in the initial bet and eventually decides to call for the remaining 7,000.
Joyce tables , ahead of Saechao's . Saechao is the only one with a club, and the turn is the while the river is the , giving Joyce a much-needed double-up.
LaVonne Joyce - 28,000
Kao Saechao - 105,000
Friday, January 19, 2018 9:03 PM Local Time
Allen Kessler was last seen with around 45,000 in chips but appears to be gone from his seat. Kao Saechao explained how he scooped most of his chips in a big pot.
Saechao raised to 2,200 and Kessler three-bet to 6,000. Saechao called. The flop came ten-high with two diamonds and Saechao checked. Kessler bet 6,000 again and Saechao check-raised to 21,000. Kessler moved all-in for about 35,000 total and Saechao called for slightly less.
Kessler tabled two aces, in great shape against Saechao's kings. The turn was a brick, but the river was one of two remaining kings and Kessler was left with crumbs before losing the rest of his stack soon after.
Kao Saechao - 100,000
Allen Kessler - Eliminated
Friday, January 19, 2018 8:59 PM Local Time
The player in the hijack raises to 3,000 and the cutoff moves all in for 4,300. Valentin Vornicu calls out of the big blind and the original raiser calls as well.
The flop is and Vornicu leads out for 3,000. The hijack raises to 6,000 and Vornicu makes it 33,000, which would put his opponent all in. The hijack folds face-up, leaving Vornicu and the all in player battling for the main pot.
The cutoff shows and needs a king, an ace or a jack to stay alive against Vornicu's . The turn is the and the river is the . Vornicu wins the pot with two pair and has chipped up nicely during this level.
Valentin Vornicu - 78,000
Friday, January 19, 2018 8:41 PM Local Time
The player under the gun moves all-in for 7,000 and action folds to World Series of Poker Colossus champion Ben Keeline. He wastes no time and tosses in some chips to call, while the blinds get out of the way.
The under-the-gun player tables , well ahead of Keeline's .
The flop comes and it looks pretty safe for the under-the-gun player. Keeline pairs his seven when the hits the turn, and improves to aces up when the comes on the river. Keeline rakes in the pot and his opponent makes a beeline for the rail.
Ben Keeline - 103,000
Friday, January 19, 2018 8:36 PM Local Time
Level: 11
Blinds: 500/1,000
Ante: 100
Friday, January 19, 2018 8:30 PM Local Time
Erick Lindgren raises to 2,000 from under the gun and is called by two players in middle position, along with Valentin Vornicu out of the big blind.
Action is checked to the river as the board runs out . Vornicu leads out for 2,500, Lindgren folds, the next player calls and the fourth player folds.
Vornicu shows , giving him a queen-high straight, and his opponent mucks his hand.
Valentin Vornicu - 22,000
Friday, January 19, 2018 8:28 PM Local Time
The player in the hijack opens the pot and Ron Brown is in the big blind. He takes a look at his cards and moves all-in for 20,000 effective. His opponent quickly calls.
Brown tables , racing against .
The board runs out and Brown takes down the pot.
Brown has now hit six figures, sitting on 100,000 chips.
Ron Brown - 100,000
Friday, January 19, 2018 8:10 PM Local Time
There is about 16,000 in the pot on the river with a completed board of . Jed Hoffman bets 6,500 from the hijack and the player on the button calls.
Hoffman shows and his opponent mucks his hand. Hoffman, one of top ranked players in Nevada on WSOP.com, wins the pot with tens and deuces. .
Jed Hoffman - 36,500
Friday, January 19, 2018 7:54 PM Local Time
On a board reading , with about 8,000 in the pot, the player in the small blind checks. A player in middle position bets 3,200, William Higgins calls from the cutoff and the small blind tank-folds.
The river is the . The middle-position player bets 6,000 this time. Higgins thinks for a moment before raising to 13,800. His opponent calls.
Higgins tables for fours full of queens, and his opponent flashes for fours full of eights before sending his cards into the muck.
William Higgins - 45,000
Friday, January 19, 2018 7:47 PM Local Time
Just three levels remain before registration closes at 10:00 p.m. Cards are back in the air on Day 1A of the Main Event.
Friday, January 19, 2018 7:46 PM Local Time
Level: 10
Blinds: 400/800
Ante: 100
Friday, January 19, 2018 6:31 PM Local Time
Players are on a 75-minute dinner break. Play will resume at ~7:45 p.m.
Friday, January 19, 2018 6:30 PM Local Time
Brett Murray raises to 1,400 from middle position and a player in late position three-bets to 2,900. Murray smiles slyly and moves all-in for 11,100 and his opponent calls.
Murray tables , well behind his opponent's .
The flop comes and Murray pairs his ace to take the lead. The turn is the and the river is the to give Murray a double.
Brett Murray - 23,000
Friday, January 19, 2018 6:27 PM Local Time
Lee Markholt raises to 1,700 from early position and the player in the cutoff three-bets to 3,600 from the cutoff. Action folds back to Markholt, who calls, and the flop is .
Markholt checks and the cutoff bets 4,700. Markholt calls and the turn is the . Markholt leads out for 5,200 and the cutoff doesn't waste much time before folding. Markholt mucks his hand and wins a pot just before the end of the level.
Lee Markholt - 47,000
Friday, January 19, 2018 6:13 PM Local Time
Ben Keeline
The player under the gun raises and Ben Keeline calls from the cutoff. They are heads-up to a flop of and the under the gun player bets 2,100. Keeline calls.
The turn is the and under the gun checks. Keeline bets 4,400 and his opponent calls. The river is the and both players check.
Ben Keeline - 47,000
Friday, January 19, 2018 5:56 PM Local Time
Level: 9
Blinds: 300/600
Ante: 100