Friday, July 12, 2013 3:48 PM Local Time
Hudson Takes One Down
James Hudson opened to 12,000 and Sergio Castelluccio called from the small blind before Ami Alibay three-bet the big blind to 18,000. Both Hudson and Castelluccio called as the dealer dropped a flop and all three players checked.
The turn of the saw Hudson bet out 22,000 with only Alibay calling as the completed the board on the river and both players checked.
Alibay tablid , but it would be Hudson's that would see him take the pot and move to 230,000 in chips.
| Sergio Castelluccio | 875,000 | 205,000  |
| Ami Alibay | 535,000 | -118,000  |
| James Hudson | 230,000 | -6,000 |
Friday, July 12, 2013 3:47 PM Local Time
Wong Over a Millie
Mark Redding pushed all in for about 100,000, and Ying Wong called him.
Wong:
Redding:
The drama ended quickly when the flop came , and the and completed the board. Redding wished his tablemates good luck as he left the area.
| Ying Wong | 1,005,000 | -35,000 |
| Mark Redding | 0 | -97,000 |
Friday, July 12, 2013 3:46 PM Local Time
Kroon Gets a Walk, Starts to Talk
Mark Kroon — leader of this tournament after both Day 1 and Day 2 — is continuing to have fun despite having slipped back to below average chip status during Day 3 and the start of Day 4.
Just now Kroon received a walk in the big blind, and as the next hand was dealt he became animated, telling the table they needed to fold around. "You could make history… two walks in a row at the World Series of Poker Main Event!" he cried.
But Aditya Agarwal had picked up a hand with which he wanted to raise, and so he did. It folded to Kroon in the small blind. "I would have folded, but now I have to look," he said. When he saw his cards he continued to talk.
"I would have mucked this but now… oh well, I'm all in."
The table laughed as the big blind quickly ditched his hand and Agarwal did the same. "Hey I got an extra 15,000 because of my table banter!" said Kroon with a wide grin. "I'm back!"
| Mark Kroon | 210,000 | 15,000 |
Friday, July 12, 2013 3:41 PM Local Time
Kling Catches Her Double
Lauren Kling put her tournament life at risk preflop holding , and she would have to win a race against Carla Sabini, who held . The board didn't make Kling sweat too much, as it ran down . Kling jumped back up to 175,000 after that hand, while Sabini dropped to 300,000.
| Carla Sabini | 300,000 | -33,500 |
| Lauren Kling | 175,000 | 80,000 |
Friday, July 12, 2013 3:40 PM Local Time
No Pearls For Turner This Time
We caught up to Jon "PearlJammer" Turner on a board of . There was roughly 100,000 chips in the pot and Turner was faced with a bet of 68,000 from Christopher Whitall who was just a few seats over.
Turner was on the button and he thought about his decision for nearly a minute after we got to the table. Eventually he put in the chips for the call. Whitall turned over for the nut flush and Turner mucked his cards.
Turner was knocked down just just about 400,000 chips after the hand.
| Jon Turner | 400,000 | -158,500 |
Friday, July 12, 2013 3:39 PM Local Time
Elder Doubles
The action started with Igor Rabinovich opening to 13,000 from middle position, before Rupert Edler moved all in for 125,000 from the small blind. With the decision back on Rabinovich, he tanked over his decision for nearly two minute, before finally making the call.
Rabinovich:
Elder:
Rabinovich had made a great call, until the flop came down . Elder took the lead with his set, and won the hand, when the board ran out the and .
| Rupert Elder | 265,000 | 75,500 |
| Igor Rabinovich | 45,000 | -202,000 |
Friday, July 12, 2013 3:39 PM Local Time
H@££INGGOL Rising
Fredrik " H@££INGGOL" Halling raised to 12,000 in the cutoff and Stewart Lovelace three-bet to 30,000 on the button. Action folded back to Halling who four-bet to 60,000. Lovelace five-bet shoved for 190,000, Halling called, and the hands were revealed.
Halling:
Lovelace:
The board ran out , giving Halling quads and eliminating Lovelace.
| Fredrik Halling | 869,000 | 216,500 |
| Stewart Lovelace | 0 | -202,000 |
Friday, July 12, 2013 3:30 PM Local Time
Finne Aces Liu
Timothy Finne opened to 14,000 from late position. Cheng Liu was on the button, and raised it up to 42,000, as the blind got out of the way. With the action back on Finne, he bumped it up to 77,000. Liu asked for a count of his whole stack, before moving all in for more chips. Finne snap called and the cards were tabled.
Finne:
Liu:
The board ran out to see Finne hold with his aces, moving up to 474,000 in chips.
| Timothy Finne | 474,000 | 216,000 |
| Cheng Liu | 220,000 | -288,500 |
Friday, July 12, 2013 3:29 PM Local Time
Bjerno Picked Off
Alexander Kuzmin bet 50,000 on the turn with the board reading . Nathan Bjerno put him all in for about 320,000 total, and Kuzmin went into the tank. After a couple of minutes and a shrug, he made the call.
Bjerno:
Kuzmin:
Kuzmin was well in front with the nut flush draw and a pair of jacks, and Bjerno needed one of the two remaining nines in the deck. The river was a , and Bjerno shipped Kuzmin more than half of his stack.
| Alexander Kuzmin | 700,000 | 130,000 |
| Nathan Bjerno | 225,000 | -273,500 |
Friday, July 12, 2013 3:28 PM Local Time
Erik Seidel Eliminated
Erik Seidel will have to wait another year to chase his first WSOP Main Event title. Seidel, who famously finished runner-up in this event to Johnny Chan in 1988, barely hung on with a short stack during the first level today. But the eight-time bracelet winner was just eliminated after losing a flip to Marius Pospiech.
Seidel shoved all-in for 57,000 from under the gun, and action folded to Pospiech on the button. He called, and both blinds released.
Seidel:
Pospiech:
"That's the best I could hope for," Seidel said as he viewed his opponent's middle pair.
The cameras sprinted over to catch the board run out , and the full house of Pospiech sent Seidel to the rail with his fourth career cash in this event.
| Erik Seidel | 0 | -39,000 |
Friday, July 12, 2013 3:26 PM Local Time
Kramer Folds Top Two To Lang
With roughly 70,000 in chips in the pot on the , Bruce Kramer had bet 25,000. His opponent was Steve Yang, and he raised all in for 109,000 total. Kramer tanked for a couple minutes, then folded the face up. Yang scooped the pot without showing or saying what he had.
| Steve Yang | 205,000 | 94,500 |
| Bruce Kramer | 125,000 | -100,500 |
Friday, July 12, 2013 3:25 PM Local Time
Cerminara Knocks Out Dorrance-Bowman
Dustin Dorrance-Bowman open-raised all in with his remaining stack, then Frank Cerminara reraised all in a couple of seats behind him, and everyone else folded.
Dorrance-Bowman tabled and Cerminara . The board then ran out , and Dorrance-Bowman was eliminated.
| Frank Cerminara | 176,000 | -95,500 |
| Dustin Dorrance-Bowman | 0 | -198,500 |
Friday, July 12, 2013 3:23 PM Local Time
577th - 587th Place
These players earned $19,106 for their Main Event min cash, rounding out the first level of payouts. Keep an eye on the payouts tab for exact-place finishes.
| James Barger | 0 | -276,000 |
| Kyle Susala | 0 | -279,000 |
| Sean Bermingham | 0 | -269,500 |
| Andrew Touchette | 0 | -84,500 |
| Troy Sprungl | 0 | -285,000 |
| Daniel Landriault | 0 | -104,000 |
| Mark Napolitano | 0 | -46,500 |
| Rory Rees Brennan | 0 | -102,000 |
| Humberto Brenes | 0 | -132,500 |
| Benjamin Barrows | 0 | -73,000 |
| Darrell Ticehurst | 0 | -40,000 |
Friday, July 12, 2013 3:21 PM Local Time
Steinberg Busts Smith
After break, Max Steinberg continued what he's been doing all day: gathering chips.
Alex Smith pushed all in preflop, and Steinberg was the only caller. Smith turned over , and Steinberg held . The board ran out , and Steinberg's pair of threes won the pot, sending Smith to the payout window.
| Max Steinberg | 1,525,000 | 70,000 |
| Alex Smith | 0 | -83,000 |
Friday, July 12, 2013 3:19 PM Local Time
Tran Gets A Crucial Double Just After Break
J.C. Tran just got a very important double right after break. Here's what happened:
Tran told us that he jammed all in from the button for just about 120,000 chips and Josef Monro called him from the small blind. The big blind folded and the two men went to a showdown.
Tran:
Monro:
The board ran out making Tran's tens the best hand and allowing him to lock up the double up on the first hand after break.
| JC Tran | 245,000 | 28,000 |
Friday, July 12, 2013 3:17 PM Local Time
588th - 605th Place Finishers
These players earned $19,106 for their Main Event min cash. Keep an eye on the payouts tab for exact-place finishes.
| Yan Lee | 0 | -131,500 |
| Stephen Cremin | 0 | -73,000 |
| Alistair Hill | 0 | -81,500 |
| Jonas Lauck | 0 | -100,000 |
| Michael Trivisonno | 0 | -88,500 |
| Jordan Scott | 0 | -97,000 |
| Mike Watson | 0 | -30,000 |
| Hui Sam | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Ebanks | 0 | -75,500 |
| Alan Jehamy | 0 | -53,000 |
| Larry Wells | 0 | -126,500 |
| Stephen Cesaro | 0 | -136,000 |
| Samuel Welbourne | 0 | -97,500 |
| Christopher Choi | 0 | -63,500 |
| Mehran Farhadi | 0 | -148,000 |
| Dmitrijs Meless | 0 | -100,500 |
| Fredrik Lindberg | 0 | -105,500 |
| Aaron Brackmann | 0 | -201,000 |
Friday, July 12, 2013 3:13 PM Local Time
Level 17 started
Level: 17
Blinds: 3000/6000
Ante: 1000
Friday, July 12, 2013 2:52 PM Local Time
Some Chip Counts At Break
| Max Steinberg | 1,455,000 | 467,500 |
| Nick Schwarmann | 1,210,000 | -20,000 |
| Dick van Luijk | 950,000 | 10,000 |
| Yann Dion | 512,000 | -27,000 |
| Age Spets | 501,000 | 62,500 |
| Melanie Weisner | 446,000 | -19,000 |
| Greg Merson | 395,000 | -80,000 |
| Court Harrington | 372,000 | 372,000 |
| Anthony Forsyth Forrest | 238,000 | 238,000 |
| Matt Marafioti | 234,000 | 32,000 |
| Duane Blanchard | 108,000 | -65,500 |
Friday, July 12, 2013 2:50 PM Local Time
Big Stacks in Amazon Purple
Bryan Pellegrino has joined the chip leaders after a very productive first level. According to Pellegrino's Twitter account, he won a massive pot when he rivered a straight against a set of tens, and now stands at 1,265,000. We'll certainly be keeping an eye on Pellegrino going forward.
| Bryan Pellegrino | 1,265,000 | 0 |
| Jon Lane | 1,165,000 | 206,500 |
| Kevin Williams | 1,085,000 | -15,000 |
| Ying Wong | 1,040,000 | 0 |
| Dale Roesel | 925,000 | -1,000 |
| Rachid Ben Cherif | 845,000 | 98,500 |
| Chris Johnson | 810,000 | -52,000 |
| Marius Pospiech | 791,000 | 387,500 |
| Guilherme Garcia | 790,000 | -63,500 |
| Robert Koss | 770,000 | 8,500 |
Friday, July 12, 2013 2:35 PM Local Time
Bubble Bursts, Steinberg Takes Lead, and Tex Dolly Cashes Again as Break Arrives
The first level of Day 4 is done and what an exciting two-and-a-half hours it was. The extra time was due to the fact that the cash bubble burst and players in the 2013 World Series of Poker Main Event are at last making their way to the cashier as the first to get paid in the tournament.
Play resumed with 666 players left, meaning 18 more eliminations were needed to reach the money. Age Ravn, Jarod Ludemann, and Mark Nguyen were among the first to fall today, with Iain Brassell falling shortly thereafter in a nasty hand that saw his outrun by .
Soon hand-for-hand play arrived, and after Yuri Dzivielevski was crippled and then busted in 650th, it would take just a couple of hands more for Farzad Bonyadi to be eliminated in 649th and the bubble to burst.
The eliminations picked up considerably thereafter, with 80 players hitting the rail before the level completed. One player still here and with chips, however, is Doyle "Tex Dolly" Brunson, who today has cashed in the Main Event for the fifth straight decade (!).
The focus will soon return to the big stacks when play resumes, with Max Steinberg having moved to the top of the counts to join Bryan Pellegrino, Nick Schwarmann, Jonathan Lane, Maxx Coleman, Matthew Huey, and a few others in the million-chip club. Meanwhile, Luke Schwartz lost a massive hand right near the end of the level to Josh Pollock that would have catapulted him ahead of everyone into first position.
The break is scheduled to take 20 minutes, but a color-up is needed as well which will add some extra time. Back when play resumes for more from the WSOP Main Event!