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Playing today…Six Events…Confused? You won’t be after this episode of…
First up on the menu, Event 35 a $1.500 No Limit Hold’em Extravaganza scheduled for a noon start.
FISH IN A BARREL
It’s been a little while since we’ve seen the Amazon room filled to capacity. We know the kids love to play those No Limit Hold’em tournaments, so whenever one with a small buy-in comes along people come in droves. The Amazon room is packed to capacity and the mayhem has spilled into the tent. BUT something new is going on today…
The players battle with the dull noise of slot machines and casino patrons in the background.
A little while ago a small corral of tables was set outside of Buzios, the seafood restaurant down the hall. The lobster tank sits near as the casino traffic strolls by. Not only that, but there are tables in the main poker room as well, which is about a 4.5 mile walk from the Amazon room. What next, tables in the gents?
WILLIAM THORSON FIGHTS DAN DRUFF
No Limit Hold ‘em
There are too many people in the Rio.
A vast majority of tables have no recognizable faces; a few pros are sprinkled like too few marshmallows in the day’s hot chocolate.Then, a score: William Thorson is at the same table with Internet legend Todd ”Dan Druff” Witteles who is sporting his trademark mini-bottle of Head ‘n’ Shoulders shampoo.
Whereas the other day William shuffled his chips about on the table in rapid motion, today he’s jiggling them in the upturned palm of his hand, grinding his way to what he hopes will be yet another final table and perhaps tourney win.
It isn’t long before William and Todd get involved in a pot, William being two to Todd’s right means when it’s folded to him on his button, he jacks the $50 and $100 blinds up to $275 and it’s folded to Todd in the big blind.
Todd caps his cards with his bottle of shampoo and stares down the European sensation.
In a motion, he retrieves his $100 big blind and replaces it with two light blues: a re-raise to $1000.
William eyes Todd through his shades and spins his checks in his palm; this will be resolved but it won’t be completed soon.
A minute passes and William folds, staring down at the table and then sipping a bit of his coffee.
Over the next half hour, he cannot get any groove and his chips are whittled away to $1500. Then, under the gun, he open-raises to $250 and it’s folded around to an older lady in the big blind who pushes all-in for $1300. William calls, leaving himself with $200 in chips, and he has the woman dominated with pocket Tens versus pocket Fours. Of course, on the river, a four is spiked and William is crippled.
The next hand, on his big blind, after two limpers William pushes in for the additional $100 and is called. The two players check it down against him and one of them rivers a pair to best his King-Queen offsuit.
William Thorson is eliminated; Dan Druff is scratching away at the chips of his opponents.
THE RACE IS ON
Jeff Lisandro wanted this one finished in time to play the 5pm tournament. But, at 4pm local time he might be more interested in a bracelet. He still has work to do though…
THIS IS THE WAY THE WORLD ENDS
No Limit Hold ‘em
They say that limit hold ‘em is a science and no limit hold ‘em is an art.
In that spirit, Marcus Golser is an artist even if some of his brush strokes aren’t to be appreciated yet.
A wild, unpredictable player, he gets action on his big hands and can push mediocre ones past superior holdings.
But the sweet of success cannot be understood without the counterpart sour bite of failure.
Not even four hours into this event, he has a handsome $10,000 in chips.
With $75 and $150 blinds and $25 antes, Marcus pushes out his big blind; his opponents have now realized that whilst others might be robbed sans fight, he will defend.
Because of this image (and some poor cards, I’m sure) everyone folds to the button who open-limps for $150 leaving himself about $1400 behind. The small blind completes.
Marcus, seeing an opportunity, attempts to seize it: he raises to $3000 which covers both the button and the small blind. With $700 in money on the table beforehand between the antes, the limp, and the blinds, this seems like a good spot to add almost 10% to his stack with little worry due to the actions of the players and their apparent dislike of their cards.
The button thinks for a moment and then calls off the rest of his chips, pushing his $1400 into the pot. The small blind folds.
Button: 
Marcus: 
Marcus gets no help on the board and this impressive manoeuvre knocks him down to about $8500 in chips.
How will this affect his table image? Will others give him further action or will they assume now that he knows that they know what’s he’s capable of doing, therefore, they’ll think him less likely to try something now that they will have an apparent prejudice to call him down with whatever.
Levels. Marcus’ game adds levels to the table texture.
An orbit and two hands later, on Marcus’ button, with the antes and blinds the same, the under-the-gun player open-raises to $600. He is cold-called by three people. Marcus looks at his cards, sees all the delicious chips waiting to be devoured, and calls as well. The blinds jump into the party as the pot odds sing their sweet song in their ears.
There is almost $4000 in the pot between the bets and antes with six people wanting to take it down. Marcus, after his cold-call, has about $7000.
is the flop.
The blinds and the initial pre-flop raiser all check. The first cold-caller bets half the pot: $2000.
The next two cold-callers all fold. Marcus has a decision. He looks at his opponent, gauging his strength, then he verifies the size of the pot by asking the dealer to spread it out. He then raises to $5000 total, leaving himself with about $2000 in tourney chips.
The blinds and the under-the-gun player fold. The first cold-caller, having Marcus just covered, announces that he’s all-in.
There’s now about $16,000 in the pot and Marcus shakes his head.
”There’s too much to fold but I’m drawing to a runner-runner and a gutshot,” he says. ”I don’t think I can fold. Here,” he says, holding out the rest of his chips high in the air and then drizzling them onto the table, ”it’s a gift.”
Marcus flips over 
for two overcards, the gutshot straight draw, plus the back-door flush draw.
His opponent has a set of Fives.
Marcus gets no help, he taps the table, wishes everyone good luck, and leaves the tourney area in silence.
$1,500 POT LIMIT OMAHA
Englishman Ram Vaswani creeps up on the lead in the Pot Limit Omaha event, the re-buy period now just a happy memory from long ago. Chau Giang has done more than bought the chip lead though…
$1,500 NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
After four hours, the leaders of the latest $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event would together look like the cover of a magazine. It will change of course… there are about 2,500 players after top spot…
DEVILFISH SETS HOOK
I watched Devilfish for about forty-five minutes. He was low on chips when I got there, and very low when I left, but he was fighting to stay alive. On one hand he got all in against David Williams and managed to survive by making trip sixes. ”Look, I doubled up with three sixes. The Devil’s number!” he said to whoever would listen.
The bait was a beautiful girl next to his table watching. He kept winking at her non stop. It seemed like he had a nervous eye twitch. During the break the Fish began to circle around her. The circles became smaller and smaller until he finally reached her and said, ”Would you mind stepping into my office for a minute?”
She obliged and the Fish said, ”You’re the prettiest girl in Las Vegas. I’m going to a boxing match tonight, a show tomorrow, and dinner the next, all with different girls, but they should all be you.”
After he touched her hands to signify his undying devotion, she later commented, ”He does have really soft hands.”
A DEVIL OF A HAND
$1,500 Pot Limit Omaha
The Pot Limit Omaha tournament is overflowing with familiar faces.
Andreas Krause
Johnny Chan, Brad Berman, Chris Bjorin, Mike Sexton, Chau Giang, Devilfish, Mike Binger, David Williams, Brandon Adams, Erick Lindgren, Marc Goodwin, Al Cunningham,
and Ralph Perry
This is looking like it might develop in one hell of an interesting final table.
IS THERE A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE?
Apparently poker is a more treacherous activity than we had imagined. For the fifth time this World Series paramedics were seen on site. This time it was due to a hot coffee being spilled all over a players back. The paramedics showed up at one of the tables in the tent. There was a man sitting on a chair and he was being tended to. One of the people at the other tables mentioned that one of the waitresses had spilled coffee all over his back and down his pants. He felt injured enough to request medical attention and, after a short while, he left with the paramedics.
I caught up with a floorman to see what would happen with his chips. He said he wasn’t positive, but was pretty sure that the proper procedure for something like this would be to refund the cost of the tournament to the player and remove the chips from play.
THE PHIL SHOW CONTINUES
$3,000 Limit Hold’em
With $500 and $1500 blinds and no antes, Phil open-raises to $3000 on the button.
The small blind folds and the big blind is thinking.
”Going to make another move?” Phil asks. ”You won’t always get away with what you did earlier.”
Phil is a historian of all things Phil-related.
The big blind folds saying, ”Okay, this time I lay down.”
”Don’t worry, buddy,” Phil says. ”It’s not like I had much.” He flashes his signature hand — black Nines — and picks up the small pot.
The next orbit, everyone folds to Phil in his small blind. He raises and stares down the big blind, who folds after a few seconds.
”Smart move, kid,” Phil says to the youngster. ”Lose a little now, is a lot better than losing a lot during the hand because you know you will.”
Hands pass until the lady to Phil’s right two bets and Phil rockets out three bets. She calls and we get a Queen high flop that she check-raises, Phil three-bets, and she four-bets. Phil calls her down the rest of the way to discover she has pocket Queens for a set of Queens to his pocket Aces.
The dealer reaches for his hand and he yells, ”Wait! Don’t touch my cards! Let me see the hand!” He storms around the table. ”She calls me with Queens and sucks out. Typical. No one can lay down a pair.”
A player from another table shouts over, ”Hey, are you Phil Hellmuth?”
Phil doesn’t reply, so the kid comes over. ”Can I shake your hand? I’m sure a big fan.”
”Call the floor, dealer,” Phil says.
The floor comes over and finds out what’s going on.
”I just asked him if I could shake his hand,” the player says.
”This person is antagonizing me after I lost a big pot after getting sucked-out on and I demand that he is warned.”
”I’m not issuing an official warning,” the floor says, ”but I do want you both to return to your seats and stop talking to each other.”
Phil almost says something (”he started it” perhaps?) then opts to remain silent.
Not too long later Phil is crippled when his Ace-King is bested by an Ace-Ten on the river. ”You don’t even know how bad you are, pal,” Phil berates. ”Soon you’ll learn, that when I raise you don’t call me with Ace-Queen off suit, never mind Ace-Ten off.”
Phil is down to $2000, which is what the big blind now is as the blinds have just been bumped.
He folds all his hands until his big blind when somehow only one person attacks it. Phil’s in with Ten-Five offsuit and beats an Ace-Jack suited when a Five comes on the turn.
”Yes!” Phil screams as he’s now up to $5000.
Phil more than doubles up on the next hand he plays, as well as the next.
Then, after raising and re-raising Phil finds himself with pocket Queens but, unbeknownst to him, his opponent has Kings. They both like the King-Jack-Ten flop but Phil’s opponent hates the Ace on the turn, giving Phil the straight which is ahead of the set, and stays ahead through the river.
”Even when they suck out on me and get me down to $2000 I still play this game so well that I can work my way up to $50,000 without much effort.”
OMAHA FAMILY REUNION
The Omaha tournament is in full swing and the scene is the polar opposite of the $1,500 that went off earlier. Instead of walking by ten plus tables without seeing anybody, in this tournament you’re basically tripping over well knowns.
Over at Doyle’s table, he has a bit piece of paper sticking out of his front pocket. He’s playing props again, and rumor has it he’s stuck a little over $100,000 in bets for the night.
I noticed his ‘Casper’ (as he calls it) card protector. I said,”Hey Doyle can I get a shot of the most famous card protector in the world?”
He smiled and said,”Sure.” Men the Master was at his table and he was intrigued by what I was taking pictures of. He went over to Doyle and asked to see the thing. He looked a little bit puzzled.
Over at Mike Sexton and Nick Schulman’s table there is a little bit of prop betting going on as well. They have $10,000 each on ten picks for who will go deepest in the $50,000 HORSE event. Sexton was discussing other bets with Nick and Nick just said,”You’re trying to take advantage of me! I’ll do this when I’m not drunk!”
Phil comes over and laughs as Nick and Mike solidify their bets on paper.
DEDICATION
As the days wind down, the tables get pushed further and further from the rail. The railbirds sometimes stretch and get on their tip toes to see whatever they can. Some railbirds show extreme dedication, such as this woman, who stood against the rail and watched for over an hour with her spyglass.
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM HEADS UP CHAMPIONSHIP
The Heads Up Championship came to a close earlier today. The last eight started the day three rounds from a bracelet.
Dan Schreiber won his first match against Toto Leonidas and was followed shortly after by Vanessa Selbst, who eliminated Shannon Shorr.
Mark Muchnik was next through against Jared Davis before. Keith Block eliminated Steve Sarrafzadeh. That set up the final four.
After a slight delay the semi finals it took less than half an hour for Dan Schreiber to dispatch Vanessa Selbst. Vanessa took fourth place but had had surely the toughest route, getting past Amir Vehedi, Doyle Brunson, Layne Flack and Paul Wasicka along the way.
Then Mark Muchnik ended Keith Block’s dreams of a bracelet, winning his heat, setting up a clash with Schreiber in the final. After just over two hours, and often total domination by Schreiber, he took the title, the bracelet and $425,594 for first place.
$2,000 SEVEN CARD STUD
This photograph courtesy of Imagemasters
It may not have been his biggest payout for a tournament win, but who cares when it means that finally you have your first World Series bracelet. Jeff Lissandro might be thinking that, right now after winning the Seven Card Stud event today
Second to Allen Cunningham a few days ago, Lisandro finally has the jewellery he sought for so long…
POT LIMIT OMAHA W/RE-BUYS
Qushqar Morad leads the field going into the final of the Pot Limit Omaha event. Chris Bjorin, having a good World Series, is in second place ahead of Brandon Adams and Chau Giang.
Chris Bjorin
Play continues at 2pm local time (8.00pm GMT).
Among those who fell short…
Erick Lindgren
Ralph Perry
Jorge Arias
Michael Binger
Allen Cunningham
Julian Gardner
Devilfish
David Williams
Mike Sexton
Marc Goodwin
Johnny Chan
Ram Vaswani
Dave Colclough
Robert Williamson III
Humberto Brenes
Padraig Parkinson
Jeff Madsen
Dewey Tomko
Eli Elezera
$1,500 NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
Sean Chen has the lead at the end of the first day of the latest $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event. 147 players remain.
If you have chips you’re still technically in contention going into Day 2…
Antonio Esfandiari has some…
So do…
Kathy Liebert
Kevin Song
Joe Sebok
Joe Tehan
Travis Green
John Juanda
Aaron Kanter
Clonie Gowen
Jimmy Tran
Frank Sinopoli
Dutch Boyd
David Wells
and Juha Helppi
But the list of eliminations is always long…
Noah Boeken
Chris ‘Jesus’ Ferguson
Eugene Todd
Tom McEvoy
Nick Binger
Tony Ma
Brian Micon
Ted Lawson
Joe Reitman
Paul Wolfe
Sabyl Cohen
Vanessa Rousso
Justin Bonomo
David Pham
Bertrand Grospellier
Jared Hamby
Men Nguyen
Young Phan
Rolf Slotboom
Greg Raymer
Bill Edler
Erica Schoenberg
Shannon Elizabeth
Michael Mizrachi
Alex Jacob
Roland de Wolfe
Gavin Smith
Phil Laak
J.J. Liu
Lee Watkinson
Steve Paul-Ambrose
Michael Gracz
T.J. Cloutier
Jennifer Tilly
ALL ELIMINATED…
$5,000 OMAHA HI-LOW SPLIT 8 OR BETTER
Kiril Garasimov leads the way at the end of day 1 ahead of Greg Jamison. Frenchman Patrick Bueno also appears among the leaders.
The field is not short of big names…
Scotty Nguyen and Linda Johnson
Mel Judah
Allen Kessler
Randy Jensen
Huck Seed
Robert Williamson III
Mike Matusow
Patrik Antonius
Chris Reslock
Scott Clements
Annie Duke
Andy Bloch
Jerrod Ankenman
David Benyamine
Nick Schulman
David Chiu
Tony ‘G’ Guoga
Hasan Habib
Layne Flack
Brett Jungblut
Tex Barch
Rafi Amit
Chris Ferguson
Thor Hansen
Gavin Smith
Todd Brunson
Raymond Davis
Greg Raymer
Jennifer Harman
Kirk Morrison
Tony Cousineau
Josh Arieh
Mike Wattel
Mike Sexton
Erik Seidel
John D’Agostino
Lee Watkinson
Barry Greenstein
Justin Bonomo
Men Nguyen
David Levi
The rest were out in line…
Kristy Gazes
Michael Keiner
Daniel Alaei
Phil Ivey
Chad Brown
Howard Lederer
Freddy Deeb
Berry Johnston
John Gale
Minh Ly
Dan Shak
Jesse Jones
Doyle Brunson
Marcel Luske
Andrew Black
Jeff Madsen
Blair Rodman
James Van Alstyne
C.K. Hua
Marco Traniello
Bill Chen
Sherkhan Farnood
Toto Leonidas
Alex Kravchenko
Captain Tom Franklin
Barney Boatman
Ted Lawson
Michael ”The Grinder” Mizrachi
Joe Cassidy
Roland De Wolfe
Bill Gazes
Eli Elezra
Davidson Matthew
Humberto Brenes
Daniel Negreanu
Amir Vahedi
ALL ELIMINATED…
$3,000 LIMIT HOLD’EM
The final of the $3,000 Limit Hold’em event has been decided, with chip leader from day 1 Alexander Borteh still out in front with just nine players remaining.
It was the last event of the day to finish and left a long list of causalities in its wake, including…
Jonathan Tamayo
Chad Brown
Max Pescatori
Greg ”FBT” Mueller
Richard Brodie
Tom Dobrilovic
Phil Hellmuth
Linda Drucker
Joseph Dressner
J.C. Tran
Gary Leibovitz
Ted Forrest
Pat Pezzin
Theo Jorgensen
Dan Alspach
Ed Smith
David Levi
Mike DeMichele
Jan Sjavik
Kenna James
Bryan Devonshire
Jason Newburger
Thor Hansen
Marco Traniello
Annie Duke
Anh Van Nguyen
David Plastik
Barry Greenstein
Minh Ly
William Jensen
Justin St. John
Matt Matros
Alex Kravchenko
Phil Cordano
ALL ELIMINATED…
PLAY CONCLUDES
Day 21 draws to a close; two more bracelet winners in Dan Schreiber and Jeff Lisandro, and four tournaments still in full swing.
Add to that more events tomorrow; another Mega Satellite for the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. later this month, and a $2,000 Pot Limit Hold’em bash tomorrow at Noon, or 8pm GMT.
That will kick off Day 22. Join us then…
We’ll leave you today with a teaser…Who does the Card Protector belong to?…Morticia Adams in the PLO…Marylin Manson in the Limit event…or the delightful and charming ‘wouldn’t hurt a fly’ Canadian Isabelle Mercier in the NLH?
