On a flop of , JJ Liu called a 3,000 bet from her opponent. On the turn card of the , Liu's opponent bet 5,000 and Liu made the call. When the river card fell the , Liu moved all in for 3,450 and her opponent made the call.
Liu showed for a set of eights and her opponent showed .
There were 1,287 runners in day 1a in last year's main event. So far this year, there are 1,310 registrants, with registration still open until the end of this level.
On a flop of Blair Hinkle led out for 700 and the button called. The turn was the and Hinkle tossed out another 2,000. The button called again. The river was the . Hinkle fired a third bullet for 4,500 and the button called.
Hinkle turned up for a set of nines and raked in the 15,000 pot. He's now up to 39,000.
Blair Hinkle, of course is one half of the Hinkle brothers. Both he and his brother Grant won bracelets in NLHE preliminary events.
Having slipped below 10,000 in chips, David Benyamine raised to 550 from early position and Avdo Djokovic called behind him.
The flop came . Benyamine bet 825, and Djokovic called.
The turn was the . Benyamine went into the tank for a couple of minutes. "Check is not a bad word," said Djokovic. Finally Benymaine bet out 2,500. Djokovic responded by raising to 6,500. Benyamine, with not much left behind, made the call.
The river was the , and Benyamine pushed the last of his chips in the middle. Djokovic called.
Benyamine showed A-J for aces and jacks, but Djokovic had for the full house. Benyamine is out.
A player in middle position raised it up to 1,000 and Dan Harrington made the call in the big blind.
They took a flop of and Harrington led out for 1,300. His opponent then announced a raise to 5,000. Harrington considered his options but eventually decided to muck his hand as his opponent flashed pocket deuces for a set!
Harrington gets away cheaply but slips to 18,000 chips.
Michael Craig raised to 700 and got two callers. The flop was . The action checked to Craig who made a 1,100 continuation bet. The big blind called. The turn was the . The big blind led for 1,500 and Craig called. The river was the . The big blind fired out 3,000 and Craig made the call.
The big blind turned up for a rivered set and Craig mucked, his stack down to 13,500.
For all of you out there with over-under bets on the total number of Main Event runners, we've got some preliminary information for you for:
According to Assistant Tournament Director Jimmy Sommerfeld, the current Day 1a registrant list stands at 1,310, though that number is subject to change due to voids and the possibility of a few late registrations. Players have until the end of Level 2 to sign up for Day 1a, so we'll get you an official count as soon as the number is released by the tournament staff.
Mekhi Phifer made a straight when he called down Axel Arvidsson on a board that read . On the river, Phifer bet 3,125 and Arvidsson called.
Arvidsson showed for trip kings while Phifer showed for a straight to the eight.
On the next hand, Arvidsson raised and Phifer reraised. Arvidsson put in another raise and Phifer called. The two players saw the flop come down . Arvidsson checked and Phifer bet 4,025. Arvidsson moved all in for 11,075 and Phifer made the call.
Phifer held and Arvidsson had pocket kings again, .
The turn came the and then the river came the . Phifer eliminated Arvidsson and moved up to 42,000.
On a flop of , Mori Eskandani bet out 1,100 and his opponent min-raised to 2,200. On the turn of the , Eskandani bet out 3,200 and his opponent called. When the river fell the , Eskandani bet out 4,000 and his opponent called.
Eskandani showed for a pair of queens and his opponent showed .