Friday, July 9, 2010 10:00 PM Local Time
After eight levels of intense tournament poker, Day 2a has come to a close in Event #57: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Championship!
At midday, 2,412 wide-eyed and poker-ready players walked eagerly through the doors of both the Amazon and Pavilion Rooms to see what fate awaited them throughout the course of the day.
Corwin Cole began the day as the tournament chip leader, but only saw his stack slide downward as many around him began closing ground. Multiple WSOP bracelet holder Jesper Hougaard, cash game specialists Patrik Antonius and Cole South along with Robert Mizrachi were just a few of those that rose up the leaderboard.
Unfortunately, many would find themselves on the rail including previous champions Carlos Mortensen, Berry Johnston, Tom McEvoy and Bobby Baldwin, along with 2010 bracelet winners Dutch Boyd and Daniel Alaei. The international brigade shrunk slightly with James Akenhead, Marcel Luske, Rob Hollink and Luca Pagona a few to book their flight home early.
Approximately 1,260 players have booked themselves a place on Monday for Day 3, and currently it seems as though Boulos Estafanous will be leading the charge with an amassed 344,100 in chips. Snapping on his heels however will be Randy Dorfman (337,000) Jesper Hougaard (316,200), Rodney Sherry (316,000), Sam Abueid (314,000) and Cole South (304,200).
Throw in a chipped-up Sammy Farha and Patrik Antonius, the dangerous Jason Somerville and Carter Phillips, along with previous champion Johnny Chan and a load of tournament veterans and amateurs, and it is truly still every players tournament to win!
Make sure to join the PokerNews Live Reporting Team tomorrow from 12:00 p.m PST as the cards hit the air for Day 2b where players will again begin jostling for a position where they can mount a challenge for the prize everyone is chasing; the coveted gold bracelet, title of champion and $8,944,138 in first prize money!
Friday, July 9, 2010 9:52 PM Local Time
Van Marcus was all in preflop for his last 24,000 with and was in bad shape against his opponent's . The board ran out and Marcus' tournament came to an end late on Day 2a.
Friday, July 9, 2010 9:51 PM Local Time
Antonio Esfandiari was all in with the against the for his opponent. The flop came down and Esfandiari pumped his fist because he hit a jack. A player at another table asked Esfandiari if he doubled and Esfandiari said, "I'm on my way."
The turn brought the and then the river the . Esfandiari's opponent made a straight on the turn and river and he eliminated Esfandiari on one of the last hands of the night.
Friday, July 9, 2010 9:50 PM Local Time
Eli Elezra made his last stand with a pair of cowboys, but unfortunately, his was met with his opponent's . The board ran out , and Elezra hit the rail just before the end of the night.
Friday, July 9, 2010 9:41 PM Local Time
Following a flop, a player in the blinds checked, and Johnny Chan, in early position, bet 5,300. His opponent check-raised all in for 20,200. Chan was there with the call.
Chan showed for top pair, while his opponent tabled for a diamond draw. The turn was the and the river the , and Chan has sent another player packing.
Chan moves well up over the 200,000-chip mark as we near the end of play for the night.
Friday, July 9, 2010 9:36 PM Local Time
"All in and a call," came the cry from Annie Duke's table. The camera crew and others quickly gathered. Curious, we went over, too.
Duke had an opponent all in for his last 55,000 or so. The board read . Duke held for the wheel and a flush draw. And her opponent had for two pair.
Once given the go-ahead from the camera crew, the dealer burned a card and dealt the turn -- . A collective pause. Then, action.
Down came fifth street -- the . "Ooooh!" went the crowd at the sight of the board pairing. "I have the straight flush," said Duke calmly, and all realized that indeed she had not been outdrawn.
Another hits the rail. Duke's still stacking, though appears to have something in the neighborhood of 165,000 now.
Friday, July 9, 2010 9:35 PM Local Time
Dewey Tomko, ye formidable poker foe of old, was on the button. Realizing he had the advantage of position, he strategically raised 3,000. Not too be bullied, Van Marcus, defender of the big blind, reraised to 10,000. Not one to back down from a gentleman's duel, Tomko made the call.
Spectators watched in bedazzlement as the flop came down . Marcus, much like the former emperor of Rome, Marcus Aurelius, courageously took the fight to his opponent with a bet of 11,000. Tomko, who had more chips than Marcus, valiantly stared down his opponent and uttered the most dreaded words in poker, "All in."
It was at this point Marcus realized he was up against a true legend. Tomko, who has had such success in past Main Events, was to be the victor this day. Marcus admitted defeat and honorably laid down his hand. In the process, he kept 17,000 in reserve while Tomko bolstered his stack to 65,000.
Friday, July 9, 2010 9:32 PM Local Time
David Williams opened for 2,400 and was met with a three-bet to 8,100. Williams shoved and his opponent called all-in for 36,700.
Williams' pocket queens were up against pocket tens, but his opponent made tens full on the board, leaving Williams with only 42,000 in chips.
Friday, July 9, 2010 9:25 PM Local Time
Michael Mizrachi just busted a player with the on a board of . The all-in player had pocket tens. We're not sure when the money went in, but we are sure that Mizrachi is now up to 200,000 in chips.
Friday, July 9, 2010 9:23 PM Local Time
The cutoff seat raised to 2,800 and Yevgeniy Timoshenko flatted on the button. The flop came down and the preflop raiser checked. Timoshenko bet 4,400 and the cutoff seat called.
The turn brought the and the cutoff checked again. Timoshenko bet 6,400 and then his opponent raised to 13,500. Timoshenko tanked for a minute, but ended up folding his hand and slipping back to 251,000 in chips.
Friday, July 9, 2010 9:19 PM Local Time
On the flop of , Sandra Naujoks fired 5,200 into Court Harrington. He opted to raise to 13,700. Naujoks made the call.
The turn brought the and both players checked. They also checked the on the river.
Naujoks tabled the and Harrington the . The two both played the two pair on board with their ace kicker and chopped up the pot.
Friday, July 9, 2010 9:18 PM Local Time
Martijn Schirp opened with a raise to 2,600 from late position, and it folded around to the big blind who checked his cards, gathered his chips, and reraised all in for 16,700 total.
Schirp peered over to see how much it would take to call, then quickly did so. Schirp turned over and his opponent .
The board came , and another player has been eliminated here with about a half-hour left in Day 2a. Schirp adds more to his stack, pushing up to 297,000 after that hand.
Friday, July 9, 2010 9:17 PM Local Time
Heather Sue Mercer hasn't had many chips all day, but when she picked up queens, she found herself in the position to eliminate a player with even fewer. He was all in with , and she called with . The flop didn't help her opponent, and he was drawing dead with the on the turn. ESPN's cameras crowded around, and one of the other players dropped a few f-bombs in the background. "There goes your tv time," someone said to Mercer's victim. He tried to salvage it, however, with a handshake and a smile for Mercer. After his graceful exit, Mercer is up to 42,000.
Friday, July 9, 2010 9:10 PM Local Time
There was about 7,000 in the pot with a flop reading when the small blind bet 5,000. David Grey was the only other player in the hand and he seemed perplexed by the bet. He thought about it before tossing his cards into the mucking, accidently flipping over .
Grey is sitting with around 54,000.
Friday, July 9, 2010 9:09 PM Local Time
Antonio Esfandiari was all in for 26,500 preflop holding , and he was racing for double or nothing against an opponent with .
Things were not so good for The Magician on the flop, but he smoke-and-mirrored an on the turn to pull him into a big lead. The river was safe and sound, and Esfandiari has pulled in a double up to 55,000.
Friday, July 9, 2010 9:03 PM Local Time
Chris Moneymaker just had an opponent all in before the flop, with Moneymaker holding to his opponent's .
The flop came , putting Moneymaker behind. The turn was the , giving Moneymaker's opponent a full house.
"Ace!" yelled a Moneymaker fan from the rail as the river was dealt. The table chuckled in response. "Ace doesn't do much good," said Moneymaker with a weary grin at the too-little-too-late show of support as the meaningless fell.
Moneymaker slips to 57,500.
Friday, July 9, 2010 9:02 PM Local Time
On the flop of , Sandra Naujoks fired 2,500 after her opponent checked. The player made the call and the two were off to a turn of the . The player check-called a bet of 4,200 from Naujoks before the river completed the board with the . The player checked again. This time, Naujoks didn't bet and just checked behind.
Naujoks tabled the and her opponent mucked. She's now up to 105,000 in chips.
Friday, July 9, 2010 8:59 PM Local Time
Ralph Perry just had the ultimate doomswitch pulled on him when he woke up with two kings and got them all in against two aces. The board didn't pan out in favor of Perry and he was left with just 11,000 in chips.
Friday, July 9, 2010 8:53 PM Local Time
With three and a half of today's four scheduled levels complete, over 1,000 of today's 2,412 starters have already been eliminated. Dennis Phillips, Matt Glantz, Lee Markholt, Greg "FBT" Mueller, Brock Parker, David Bach, Quinn Do, and Playboy model Sarah Underwood all ended their tournament in the last level and approximately 1,400 players remain in the Day 2A field.
Lex Veldhuis was cruising with close to 100,000 in chips but fell all the way to 42,000 after losing a few unfortunate hands, including a coinflip where his pocket sixes fell to ace-jack. Michael Mizrachi, however, took his stack up to 142,000 in a hand that you're sure to see on television later this summer. Mizrachi was all-in against two players, his pocket aces holding up against pocket kings AND pocket queens! Allie Prescott is also climbing the leaderboard-- he's up to 155,000 after eliminating Soren Kongsgaard.
The plan is to play one more hour, finishing off half of Level 9 before we bag and tag for the night.
Friday, July 9, 2010 8:52 PM Local Time
With about 19,000 already in the pot, the opponent of Praz Bansi moved all in preflop for an additional 37,700 to send Bansi into the tank.
He eventually found a call and the cards were on their backs.
Bansi:
Opponent:
A gambling call by Bansi but it paid dividens when the board ran out to pair his kicker to eliminate his opponent and climb up to 205,000.