Thursday, June 23, 2011 7:19 PM Local Time
Thomas Middleton | 1,850,000 | 485,000  |
Alexis Bouchiouane | 1,225,000 | -150,000  |
Thomas Miller | 1,080,000 | -270,000  |
John Zentner | 1,065,000 | 720,000  |
Mikhail Lakhitov | 970,000 | 205,000  |
Kent Padgett | 715,000 | -295,000  |
Michael Michnik | 535,000 | -27,000  |
Richard Gryko | 325,000 | -115,000  |
Thursday, June 23, 2011 7:13 PM Local Time
Matthew Berkey opened for 55,000 on the button and James St. Hilaire called from the big blind. The flop fell , St. Hilaire bet 63,000, Berkey raised to 180,000 and St. Hilaire moved all in.
This is where the hand got into problems. Berkey asked the dealer twice what the count was and was told that St. Hilaire's all in bet was 323,000. Berkey counted out 323,000 and called.
St. Hilaire tabled and Berkey turned over . The board finished and St. Hilaire won the hand. The dealer went to count St. Hilaire's stack and came up with 423,000 not 323,000. Berkey was adamant the called 323,000 and not a 423,000 bet.
The floor ruled that since St. Hilaire was all in and Berkey said call that he needed to pay 423,000. Berkey was clearly upset at the decision, stating that it wasn't his fault and was told 323,000 twice. The floor listened to his argument but did not change his ruling. Berkey reluctantly tossed the extra 100,000 chips across the table.
Thursday, June 23, 2011 6:56 PM Local Time
Cards are back in the air following the hour long dinner break.
Thursday, June 23, 2011 6:04 PM Local Time
The players have been sent on a one hour dinner break.
Thursday, June 23, 2011 5:50 PM Local Time
Matthew Berkey opened for 40,000, James St. Hilaire called from the button and Conrad Monica called from the big blind. The flop came and all three players checked. The turn came and all three players checked again. The river fell , Monica bet 70,000, Berkey called and St. Hilaire folded.
Monica turned over pocket threes for a rivered set and Berkey mucked his cards.

Thursday, June 23, 2011 5:38 PM Local Time

Thomas Miller made it 45,000 to go from early position, and Alexis Bouchiouane reraised to 110,000 in position. When it came around to the big blind, Barry Woods four-bet all in for about 500,000, maybe just a bit less. Miller tanked and folded, but Bouchiouane quickly made the call wit red aces, . Woods could only muster , but he'd at least get to sweat it.
The first four cards off were , and Woods was still live to nine outs. The river was his pair, though, and the did nothing to keep him alive. Woods has fallen out in 16th place, and Bouchiouane is clawing his way toward the top of the counts over the last couple levels. He's closing in on 1.4 million now.
Thursday, June 23, 2011 5:33 PM Local Time
Matthew Berkey | 1,550,000 | 0  |
Thomas Middleton | 1,365,000 | -75,000  |
Thomas Miller | 1,350,000 | -150,000  |
Eddy Sabat | 1,030,000 | 30,000  |
Kent Padgett | 1,010,000 | 5,000  |
Alexis Bouchiouane | 915,000 | 185,000  |
Mikhail Lakhitov | 765,000 | -365,000  |
Barry Woods | 700,000 | -245,000  |
Dwyte Pilgrim | 575,000 | 275,000  |
Hassan Babajane | 565,000 | -360,000  |
Michael Michnik | 562,000 | 252,000  |
Conrad Monica | 520,000 | 10,000  |
James St. Hilaire | 480,000 | -230,000  |
Richard Gryko | 440,000 | -160,000  |
John Zentner | 345,000 | -65,000  |
Thursday, June 23, 2011 5:31 PM Local Time
Hassan Babajane raised under the gun, and Michael Michnik three-bet shoved for 259,000 from the big blind. Babajane called pretty quickly with , but Michnik's were well ahead.
The board ran clean: , and Michnik has found his double. He's up to 562,000 now, now just about dead even with Babajane.
Thursday, June 23, 2011 5:27 PM Local Time
Current 2011 WSOP Player-of-the-Year Leaderboard
Player | Points | Cashes | Final Tables | Bracelets | Winnings |
Phil Hellmuth | 393.75 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $500,140 |
Sam Stein | 385.75 | 3 | 2 | 1 | $690,451 |
John Juanda | 336 | 2 | 1 | 1 | $410,067 |
Amir Lehavot | 330.75 | 2 | 1 | 1 | $578,454 |
Sean Getzwiller | 325 | 2 | 2 | 1 | $647,854 |
Jason Mercier | 323.45 | 4 | 2 | 1 | $670,471 |
Mark Schmid | 317.75 | 3 | 1 | 1 | $499,861 |
Steve Landfish | 317.70 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $330,044 |
Viacheslav Zhukov | 315 | 1 | 1 | 1 | $465,216 |
Jake Cody | 313.13 | 2 | 1 | 1 | $856,427 |
Eric Rodawig | 311.50 | 2 | 1 | 1 | $446,954 |
Daniel Idema | 309.50 | 2 | 1 | 1 | $384,738 |
*Standings through Event #35
Thursday, June 23, 2011 5:24 PM Local Time

From the cutoff seat, Matthew Berkey opened the pot with a raise. We don't know how much it was, because it was already pulled in by the time we walked up. The reason? Yun Fan had three-bet shoved for an additional 411,000 from the big blind. Berkey would spend the next several minutes toying with the decision with an amused look on his face. After a long while, he plunked the calling chips into the pot, committing about 40% of his own chips. Cards up, gents:
Showdown
Berkey:
Fan:
The flop was no fun for Fan, and he needed to catch up in a hurry to stay alive. The turn was a blank, though, and so was the that filled out the board on fifth street. Fan can't win with the ace-jack, and this loss has cost him the rest of his chips. He's out in 17th place, and Berkey appears to have crept into the chip lead.
We badly need a color-up, though.

Thursday, June 23, 2011 5:15 PM Local Time

Alessio Fratti only had about 55,000 chips left when he took his stand with . In a case of unfortunate timing, he only had one live card as Thomas Miller called with the dominating . The board came down , and that's all she wrote for Fratti.
Just a few hands after his aces went under, Fratti goes under as well. He's out in 18th place, and he'll take home a pay bump up to almost $27,000.
Thursday, June 23, 2011 5:12 PM Local Time
Matthew Berkey raised to 36,000 from middle position, and Conrad Monica three-bet to 106,000 from the big blind. Berkey eyeballed the chips behind before splashing in the call.
The flop came , and Monica continued out with a bet of 133,000. Berkey called quickly once again, and the turn and river came and with the two men checking it down.
Berkey tabled , and it was the winner. Dragging that pot moves him up to 1.15 million now, while Monica takes a step back to 510,000.
Thursday, June 23, 2011 5:08 PM Local Time
Richard Gryko open shoved in late position and Alesio Fratti insta-called behind him, showing immediately. Gryko turned over .
The board ran and Gryko made an eight high straight, cracking Fratti's aces and leaving him with just three big blinds.
Richard Gryko | 600,000 | 345,000  |
Alessio Fratti | 59,000 | -261,000  |
Thursday, June 23, 2011 4:56 PM Local Time

Alexis Bouchiouane opened to 32,000 from the cutoff seat, and Mikhail Lakhitov three-bet to 72,000 on the button. When it passed back around to Bouchiouane, he made another raise to 156,000. Lakhitov looked like he really didn't want to, but he waved the white flag of surrender and slid his cards into the muck.
Thanks to an ally in the french media, we gleaned a little bit of information about Bouchiouane while the hand was playing out. He's "lesuperpanda" online, and he's beginning to make quite a name for himself as a member of the young French elite players. He intended to play only the Main Event, entering this tournament on a whim. It's his first-ever WSOP event, and he's putting his buy-in to good use, working his stack up over 800,000 with that four-bet pot.
Thursday, June 23, 2011 4:36 PM Local Time

Thomas Miller opened for 39,000 and Lars Bonding moved in behind him. Miller called and tabled and Bonding held . The board ran and Miller's small pair held sending Bonding to the cashier's cage.
Thomas Miller | 1,500,000 | 465,000  |
Lars Bonding | 0 | -260,000  |

Thursday, June 23, 2011 4:26 PM Local Time
As we expected, our comment about the 'brisk pace' did not go unpunished. We've hit a wall in the action here, so have a look at a round of chip counts while we all wait for some significant movement.
Thomas Middleton | 1,440,000 | 120,000  |
Mikhail Lakhitov | 1,130,000 | -20,000  |
Thomas Miller | 1,035,000 | 25,000  |
Kent Padgett | 1,005,000 | -125,000  |
Eddy Sabat | 1,000,000 | -100,000  |
Barry Woods | 945,000 | 195,000  |
Hassan Babajane | 925,000 | 175,000  |
Conrad Monica | 790,000 | 165,000  |
Alexis Bouchiouane | 730,000 | -35,000  |
James St. Hilaire | 710,000 | 10,000  |
Matthew Berkey | 555,000 | -20,000  |
Yun Fan | 505,000 | 75,000  |
John Zentner | 410,000 | 25,000  |
Alessio Fratti | 320,000 | -170,000  |
Michael Michnik | 310,000 | 30,000  |
Dwyte Pilgrim | 300,000 | 60,000  |
Patrick Smith | 280,000 | -70,000  |
Lars Bonding | 260,000 | -20,000  |
Richard Gryko | 255,000 | 10,000  |
Thursday, June 23, 2011 4:08 PM Local Time

Hassan Babajane opened to 34,000 under the gun, and the table passed all the way around to the small blind where Edgar De La Torre reraised all in for 260,000 total. Eddy Sabat gave it a long look in the small blind, but he eventually folded, and Babajane quickly did the calling to put De La Torre at risk. Flip a coin.
Showdown
Babajane:
De La Torre:
The flop was a good one for De La Torre, pairing up to take a big lead with two to come. The turn was dangerously close to a two-outer, and it only served as foreshadowing of the river card. The dropped like a hammer, and Babajane sets up to tally the knockout.
Both men complimented each other on their play and their final hand, but it's De La Torre who comes up short in this one. He's out in 20th place, good for $21,933.
Thursday, June 23, 2011 3:58 PM Local Time
Cards are back in the following the first 20 minute break of the day.
Thursday, June 23, 2011 3:38 PM Local Time
The players have completed the first two levels of the day and are going on their first 20 minute break of the day.
Thursday, June 23, 2011 3:32 PM Local Time
A few short hands after Dorfman was down to 48,000 he moved all in from middle position and Thomas Miller called from the big blind. Dorfman showed and Miller held . The board ran and Dorfman headed to the payout desk.
Thomas Miller | 1,010,000 | 40,000  |
Randy Dorfman | 0 | -48,000  |