[user37786]
After seeing a flop with four other players, Norm MacDonald was the only caller of the UTG player's 500 bet. MacDonald also called a 450 bet when the hit on the river, and when the fell on the river the other player bet 1,000. MacDonald raised to 3K, was called, and he turned over for the flush.
[user24788]
1986 WSOP Champion - Berry Johnston
Hailing from Oklahoma, Berry Johnston is a true poker legend with almost 30 WSOP final table appearances. At one time he held the record for most WSOP cashes at 48. He currently has 51. In one of the most remarkable stats in the history of poker, Berry Johnston has cashed at least once a year in a WSOP event since 1982. For over 25 years, he's picked up at least one money finish. That's simply an amazing feat.
Johnston has won five bracelets in three different decades including the 1986 Main Event, where he won $570,000 for first place. He also earned bracelets in Match Play (1983), Limit Hold'em (1990), Limit Omaha (1995), and Razz (2001). He has won over $2.8 million in career tournament earnings.
Johnston was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2004.
[user10554]
Joe Sebok (his king's cape is draped over the back of his chair)
Last year, one of the most memorable sights of the opening days of the Main Event was Joe Sebok dressed in various superhero costumes, including Spiderman, Wonder Woman, and ... a baby bear in a diaper.
This year, they modified the bet by more clearly indicating which events counted, and coming up with their own point system. They also increased the stakes and added another player -- Jeff Madsen, last year's WSOP Player of the Year.
Joe Sebok remembers the humiliation of last year, particularly the bear costume with the diaper. Spiderman is cool, but a bear in diapers? Not so much.
Sebok got his revenge and won the prop bet this year with five cashes, including finishes in 11th and 14th places. (Gavin Smith made a final table this year, finishing second, but it was in an event that didn't count toward the bet.)
The bet this year had a courtly theme. The winner would be dressed as a king, with a crown and a cape, and the losers would be dressed as his minions, carrying the winner into the Main Event each day that he played. The losers would also dress as court jesters on the days that they play.
Jeff Madsen begrudgingly wore his jester costume yesterday, suffered through dozens and dozens of photographs, and managed to survive the day with 80,000 in chips.
Joe Sebok is playing today, and he entered the room wearing his cape, indicating he was king of the bet. But he walked in on foot. Wasn't he supposed to be carried?
Yes, he was. But Gavin Smith isn't here today. He's golfing in Lake Tahoe.
Sebok was humiliated last year, and this year the stakes were supposed to be higher, with the losers physically carrying the winner into the Main Event. With Gavin gone, Sebok gave Madsen a free pass -- he couldn't be expected to carry Sebok on his own.
So Gavin will need to pay some kind of penalty (and no, it won't be monetary). Joe Sebok hasn't decided what the punishment will be yet, but he is thinking about it as he plays today. If I were Gavin, I'd be rooting for Sebok to have a very good day, because he'll be in a much better mood when he chooses the penalty.
Gavin Smith plays on Day 1d (Monday), so stay tuned.
[user37786]
In a five-way pot Alan Smurfit led out for 500 after the flop, and when another player raised to 1,000 it chased out the other limpers. After Smurfit called, he and his opponent both checked the on the turn. The arrived on the river and Smurfit bet 3,500. "That's a big bet," his opponent said before deciding to make the call with pocket tens. Smurfit turned over A-8 for trips and took the pot.
After a huge pot was built preflop and on the flop, Mike Wattel pushed all-in after the turn was the . His opponent called and Mike said, "Well, I've got two aces," and turned over pocket rockets. His opponent, surprised by the strength of his hand, sighed heavily as he turned over . Unfortunatly for Mike, the river was the , giving his opponent the nut flush.
[user26127]
Nolan Dalla took a moment today to spotlight Dan Shak, who was one of the co-winners of the 'Ante Up for Africa' tournament and (along with Brandon Moran) donated 100% of his $200,000 winnings back to the charity.
Nolan said it best himself - "You sir, are a true poker champion."
[user24788]
1983 WSOP Champion
Former WSOP Champion Tom McEvoy is among the players in today's field. He won his championship in 1983, way before 2007 WSOP bracelet winner Steve Billirakis was even born.
When McEvoy won the WSOP Championship in 1983, he beat out Poker Hall of Famers Doyle Brunson and Crandall Addington. He won $540,000. At that time, it was the highest payout for any poker tournament. McEvoy won his seat into the 1983 main event from the first-ever satellite held at Binion's Horseshoe.
McEvoy has four WSOP bracelets in his collection. He won bracelets in NL Hold'em, Limit Omaha, Limit and Hold'em Razz. He has made 17 final tables at the WSOP. McEvoy also won an event on the PPT.
Originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan, McEvoy's grandmother taught him how to play penny ante poker. According to McEvoy's Team PokerStars bio, he "took quite a beating in those days."
McEvoy got into trouble a lot after he'd shark all the kids in school and take all of their money. The kids would run home to their parents and complain. They'd call up McEvoy's mother hoping to get their children's money back. That never happened.
"If little Johnny is dumb enough to lose his money," his mother said in defense of the future WSOP Champion, "There is nothing I can do about it."
McEvoy switched to playing poker full time after he was laid off from his accounting job int he late 1970s. When he realized that he was making more money than his accounting gig, he eventually moved to Las Vegas.
Over the last twenty years, McEvoy has been the author of over a dozen books. He has also co-authored many books with TJ Cloutier.
If you are a non-smoker, thank Tom McEvoy for smoke-free poker rooms in Las Vegas. He helped organize the first non-smoking tournament in 1988. In 2002, he bribed Becky Binion Behnen to make the WSOP a smoke-free tournament. She agreed to prohibit smoking, only if he would give her poker lessons.
[user25067]
Jason Holbrook
Close your eyes and imagine playing the Main Event of the WSOP... completely in the dark. Jason Holbrook is doing it right now.
Watching Holbrook play poker is an amazing feat to behold. He is blind and has a female assistant who sits beside him to whisper in his ear what his hole cards are and give him a running commentary on the flop, turn, and river. Beyond that, she relates what each player is doing in hands he is not involved in so he can get an understanding of the flow of the game. Holbrook is focused, with his head down, and is listening to everything, with his chips lined up in front of them, organized by denomination.
Our hats are off to one of the Main Event's most amazing players.
[user38971]
Pat Fleming is a poker player from Bement, IL and is playing in today's Main Event Day 1b.
Fleming was kind enough to notify us about his town, and what today means to him.
"I am from Bement, IL, population of 1,500. Over 2% of the population there has a piece of me (30 people) and are following the progress online. I've only played two hands so far, and sit at 22,000 in chips."
![[user37786]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
flop with four other players, Norm MacDonald was the only caller of the UTG player's 500 bet. MacDonald also called a 450 bet when the 
hit on the river, and when the 
fell on the river the other player bet 1,000. MacDonald raised to 3K, was called, and he turned over 
for the flush.
flop, and when another player raised to 1,000 it chased out the other limpers. After Smurfit called, he and his opponent both checked the 
on the turn. The 
arrived on the river and Smurfit bet 3,500. "That's a big bet," his opponent said before deciding to make the call with pocket tens. Smurfit turned over A-8 for trips and took the pot.
. His opponent called and Mike said, "Well, I've got two aces," and turned over pocket rockets. His opponent, surprised by the strength of his hand, sighed heavily as he turned over 
. Unfortunatly for Mike, the river was the 
