Tuesday, July 12, 2011 2:03 PM Local Time
Lars Bonding began the day with 93,950 but has been stuck in reverse here on Day 2b. In a recent hand, there was about 10,000 in the pot and a flop of when Bonding bet 5,025 from the big blind. His opponent called from the button and the duo watched the dealer burn and turn the .
Bonding checked, the button bet 9,000, and Bonding released his hand, dropping to 40,000 in the process.
| Lars Bonding | 40,000 | -7,000  |
Tuesday, July 12, 2011 2:02 PM Local Time
A player in Seat 1 at Table 349 opened for a raise, Michael Lavin three-bet near the button, and the original raiser put in a fourth bet to 15,000. Lavin five-bet shoved for effectively 45,000, and the original raiser put his head in his hands. After a beat, he called, and turned over two red kings.
Lavin turned over , and did not improve as the board ran .
Tuesday, July 12, 2011 2:02 PM Local Time
We caught up to the action to find Salvatore Bonavena on the button playing a raised pot against an unknown player in the cut-off on a flop. The cut-off had put out a bet of 6,000 and the decision was on Bonavena who after a few moments moved all in for around 15,500. His opponent begrudgingly called and cards were tabled.
Bonavena:
Cut-Off:
Bonavena's trumped his opponent's pair of jacks for the moment, but there were still two cards to come. With the turn and the river Bonavena was granted safe passage to his double up and now sits with over 40,000.
| Salvatore Bonavena | 43,000 | -2,575 |
Tuesday, July 12, 2011 2:01 PM Local Time
"I thrive in casinos, though…"
So said Aaron Massey, responding to Vincent Baldassano once their table talk drifted to the topic of home game heroes. "You win in casinos, then?" said Baldassano. "Oh, no, no... I lose all the time," said Massey with a grin. "I'm talking about picking up waitresses. I do well with them. As far as poker goes I'm a real loser..."
The table laughed, perhaps knowing Massey was having fun with them. Massey may be underselling himself just a tad. After all, he did final table Event No. 45 this summer ($1,000 NLHE), finishing eighth.
The conversation continued, with Massey eventually dubbing Baldassano "The Sultan" and the latter liking the idea of having obtained a new poker nickname. Meanwhile John Racener and an opponent became involved in a hand, at which point the table talk ceased.
Racener and his opponent had reached the turn with the board showing and about 9,000 in the middle. Racener's opponent bet 6,000, and Racener called. The river brought the and both players checked. Racener tabled , better than his opponent's , and he quietly claimed the pot.
"He's the real Sultan," said Baldassano afterwards, jerking a thumb toward Racener. Racener now has 122,000.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011 2:00 PM Local Time
We rolled up on the table just in time to see Laurent Pech all in for his last 7,500 or so and called by a player in middle position.
Showdown
Pech:
Opponent:
The board ran out an uneventful and Pech was sent to the rail.
On another note, Amanda Musumeci is sitting on about 190,000 and was recently moved to the Amazon Orange section to take the place of the recently-relocated Eric Mizrachi, who is no longer seated at the same table as his brother Donny.
| Amanda Musumeci | 190,000 | |
| Laurent Pech | 0 | |
Tuesday, July 12, 2011 1:56 PM Local Time
| Justin Bonomo | 165,000 | 105,050  |
| Patrik Antonius | 151,000 | 61,900 |
| Jamie Gold | 128,000 | 33,000 |
| Sam Stein | 110,000 | 8,175 |
| Phil Galfond | 88,000 | 49,325 |
| Huck Seed | 85,000 | -2,000 |
| Maya Geller | 61,000 | 1,000 |
| Dario Minieri | 59,000 | -11,000 |
| Maxim Lykov | 37,000 | -28,000 |
| Allen Cunningham | 36,000 | -7,500 |
| Andy Frankenberger | 33,000 | 14,775 |
| Garry Gates | 31,000 | 500 |
| David Sklansky | 12,500 | -17,675 |
Tuesday, July 12, 2011 1:50 PM Local Time
Garry Gates opened to 1,100 from middle position and was three-bet to 3,350 from Maya Geller in the hi-jack. Action folded back around to Gates, who flatted.
The flop came and Gates checked to Geller, who bet 6,500. Gates fell into the tank and counted his remaining chips a couple times before finally giving his hand up.
Geller graciously showed him and mucked.
Gates is down to his last 30,500 while Geller is currently sitting with 60,000.
| Maya Geller | 60,000 | -10,000 |
| Garry Gates | 30,500 | -13,500 |
Tuesday, July 12, 2011 1:50 PM Local Time
Team PokerStars Pro David Williams busted when he played on Day 1 so we were surprised to see his name in the official start of day chip counts. When we roamed over to his supposed seat at the start of the day, it definitely wasn't the aforementioned Williams.
Instead, it was another player named David Williams who we spoke to for a bit and got to know from Sykesville, Maryland. He told us that he's been confused for the PokerStars Pro in the past. In fact, he said that PokerStars Williams has been credited with some of his past cashes.
In any case, Williams, who started the day with 49,325, has steadily chipped up to 104,000 so far today. If he is able to cash in this tournament, hopefully he gets the credit on his poker resume.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011 1:49 PM Local Time
| Dax Mellon | 122,000 | -40,325 |
| Taylor Caby | 120,000 | 56,225 |
| Lars Bonding | 47,000 | -46,950 |
Tuesday, July 12, 2011 1:48 PM Local Time
We have another great story over in the Pavilion today. At Table 16 is our friend Ray Del Cueto, better known around the tournament trail as "Tampa Bay Ray". He's a gregarious 68-year-old fellow from Bradenton Beach, Florida, and he's here today chasing the dream.
Del Cueto started this Day 2 with 57,600, but based on a quick chat, it sounds like he's really just glad to be here regardless of his chip count. In 1997, Del Cueto was diagnosed with bladder cancer, which he caught early and soundly beat. Three years later, though, the disease tried again, and Del Cueto was forced to fight another battle, this time with prostate cancer. Once again, an early catch led to a full recovery, and Del Cueto has been cancer free for more than ten years now. In the last fifteen years, he's become quite a proponent of screening and early detection, and he's always more than happy to give a quick prostate lesson to anyone willing to listen.
It was during his recovery period that Del Cueto took to poker, grinding online at first, then joining in the Florida poker rush that has been building for the last couple years. In February of this year, he played the first World Series of Poker Circuit event held in Florida, hosted by the Palm Beach Kennel Club. Del Cueto notched his first-ever live tournament cash there, earning himself a gold ring and $28,800 for a win in a $345 event. He cashed once more down there in Palm Beach, and he won a $500 online satellite to qualify his way into this 2011 Main Event.
Del Cueto's Day 2 has started off well enough, and his stack has increased up over 60,000 after the first break. His daughters Julie and Kristy are watching from back home with his grandchildren Elly and Matthew, and they're likely not the only ones rooting for Tampa Bay Ray today. He's got a tough table, but he does have direct position on Allen Cunningham.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011 1:46 PM Local Time
Matt Stout and Guillaume Rivet were heads-up with the board reading . Both players checked, and the turn was the . Stout led for 2,000, and Rivet called.
The river was the , and Stout leg again - this time for 4,750. Rivet mucked, and Stout took the pot.
The very next hand, Rivet opened to1,300 from the cutoff, a player on the button called, and Stout called out of the small blind. The flop fell , Stout checked, and Rivet continued for 2,200. Only Stout called, and the turn was the . Both players checked.
The two knuckled again after the completed the board, and Stout tabled . Rivet mucked, and Stout raked in another pot.
| Guillaume Rivet | 145,000 | 13,825 |
| Matt Stout | 85,000 | 58,725 |
Tuesday, July 12, 2011 1:40 PM Local Time
| Shawn Keller | 136,000 | 11,000 |
| Mark Kroon | 134,000 | 34,000 |
| Jeff Bryan | 126,000 | 9,000 |
| Phil Laak | 123,000 | 37,000 |
| Iulian Jacob | 118,000 | 2,250 |
| Sam Simon | 116,000 | 14,125 |
| Freddy Deeb | 112,000 | 2,475 |
| John Racener | 90,500 | 500 |
| - | 56,000 | 12,000 |
| Leo Fernandez | 37,000 | 4,150 |
| Al Barbieri | 32,000 | -36,300 |
| Mike Sexton | 27,000 | -19,200 |
| Veronica Dabul | 26,000 | -1,850 |
| Roland de Wolfe | 25,400 | -16,425 |
| Jake Cody | 23,500 | -10,500 |
| Joe Cassidy | 8,800 | -14,300 |
| Thomas Koo | 7,075 | |
| Patrick Hanoteau | 0 | |
Tuesday, July 12, 2011 1:40 PM Local Time
It was folded around to Jorge Arias who raised to 1,500 on the button and Jeff Shulman called from the big blind. We're not quite sure how the betting went on the flop as the action was quick but Shulman ended up all in and at risk for his last 11,000 or so.
Shulman:
Arias:
Shulman had Arias dominated preflop with a bigger ace and although they both paired that ace on the flop, Arias paired his eight as well to make two pair and the lead. Shulman wasn't dead yet though but the on the turn and on the river were of no help to him and sealed his fate as he was eliminated.
| Jorge Arias | 78,000 | 9,000 |
| Jeff Shulman | 0 | -12,900 |
Tuesday, July 12, 2011 1:38 PM Local Time
| Ben Lamb | 225,000 | 43,000 |
| Amnon Filippi | 90,000 | -15,000 |
| David Chiu | 88,000 | 6,000 |
| Emil Patel | 85,000 | 15,000 |
| - | 71,000 | -15,500 |
| Robert Varkonyi | 71,000 | 24,000 |
| Kristy Gazes | 70,000 | -3,375 |
| Andrew Lichtenberger | 68,000 | -17,450 |
| David Levi | 65,000 | 1,425 |
| Dan Kelly | 63,000 | 175 |
| David Ulliott | 62,000 | -23,000 |
| - | 60,000 | -8,000 |
| Randy Dorfman | 49,000 | |
| Darvin Moon | 49,000 | 5,325 |
| Tim West | 35,000 | -3,450 |
| Mike Matusow | 34,000 | 1,900 |
| Ted Lawson | 31,000 | -9,000 |
| Jonathan Aguair | 17,000 | |
| Terrence Chan | 15,500 | -17,350 |
| William Thorson | 11,000 | -39,225 |
| Eric Mizrachi | 8,500 | -2,950 |
Tuesday, July 12, 2011 1:31 PM Local Time
Counts from White.
| Victor Ramdin | 165,000 | 82,925 |
| Lyle Berman | 111,400 | -16,175 |
| Vanessa Rousso | 83,000 | 17,625 |
| Joseph Cheong | 79,000 | 24,850 |
| Matt Savage | 71,000 | 19,350 |
| David Bach | 68,000 | -4,650 |
| Tony Hachem | 61,000 | -33,000 |
| Blair Hinkle | 52,150 | -4,100 |
| Raymond Davis | 51,000 | |
| - | 46,800 | -6,200 |
| Jennifer Harman | 42,000 | 1,400 |
| David Sands | 38,400 | -5,675 |
| George Lind | 33,000 | 2,500 |
| Dani Stern | 29,000 | 29,000 |
| Erik Cajelais | 28,800 | -12,200 |
| Liv Boeree | 14,600 | -1,400 |
| Barry Greenstein | 12,400 | -175 |
Tuesday, July 12, 2011 1:26 PM Local Time
The players are back in their seats, and the cards are in the air.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011 1:26 PM Local Time
Level: 7
Blinds: 300/600
Ante: 75
Tuesday, July 12, 2011 1:06 PM Local Time
We are two hours into play today, meaning that the players are taking their first 20-minute break of the day.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011 1:05 PM Local Time
Some Notable and Big Stacks from the Amazon Blue Section
| Ryan D'Angelo | 162,500 | 17,500 |
| Javier Martinez | 161,000 | -4,200 |
| Shawn Cunix | 120,000 | -48,000 |
| Bryan Colin | 79,000 | -24,850 |
| Steven Kelly | 74,500 | 34,475 |
| Jorge Arias | 69,000 | 7,000 |
| Chad Batista | 59,300 | -4,200 |
| Jean-Robert Bellande | 53,000 | 25,500 |
| Greg Mueller | 44,000 | 14,700 |
| Kathy Liebert | 38,000 | -13,000 |
| Pascal Lefrancois | 33,000 | -30,200 |
| J.C. Tran | 30,500 | -24,500 |
| Berry Johnston | 24,000 | -4,850 |
| Jeff Shulman | 12,900 | 1,400 |
Tuesday, July 12, 2011 1:04 PM Local Time
Amazon Tan Chip Counts
| David Vamplew | 105,000 | 0 |
| Todd Brunson | 100,000 | 0 |
| Carlos Mortensen | 85,000 | 0 |
| Rupert Elder | 75,000 | 0 |
| Vivek Rajkumar | 60,000 | 0 |
| Mohsin Charania | 38,000 | 0 |
| Ray Henson | 20,000 | 0 |
| Erick Lindgren | 10,500 | 0 |