Level: 7
Blinds: 300/600
Ante: 75
2011 World Series of Poker
Event #1: $500 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold'em
Day: 1
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2011 World Series of Poker
Buy-in
$500
Prize Pool
$382,500
Entries
850
Level
23
Blinds
20,000 / 40,000
Ante
5,000
Level 7
: 300/600, 75 ante
We caught the action with about 8,500 in the pot and a flop of 
. The small blind bet 4,750, and Mike Thomas called from the button. The turn was the 
and the small blind thought for a minute before going all in. Thomas called fairly quickly and showed 
for top pair and a flush draw. He was well ahead of his opponent who showed just 
. The river was the 
, bringing an unnecessary flush, and Thomas doubled through to around 47,000, which is amongst the chip leaders.
![[user198205]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
Level 7
: 300/600, 75 ante
While Genae Gucciardo may be one of the few women left in the tournament she is making sure the men at her table know that she means business. She and another player got all their chips in the middle pre-flop with Gucciardo's 
dominating her opponent's 
. The board ran out 
and Gucciardo nearly doubled her stack to end up around 26,000. When one of the other players commented on her hand she coyly said, "Us girls gotta stick together!"
Level 7
: 300/600, 75 ante
A player in middle position raised to 1500 and from the big blind Bobby Schindler went all in for his last 4,550. The raiser called and turned over 
which was crushed by Schindler's 
.
The board ran out 
and Schindler, from the Horseshoe Southern Indiana, took down the pot.
Level 7
: 300/600, 75 ante
As if the start of the 2011 World Series of Poker wasn’t enough news in the poker world today, Phil Ivey just dropped a bomb on the industry. As first reported by Wicked Chops Poker, Ivey issued a statement earlier this evening on his Facebook page that he will not be playing in the WSOP this year and has filed suit against Tiltware.
According to Wicked Chops, the statement is real as confirmed through Ivey’s manager. Below is the entire statement from Ivey’s Facebook page.
For many years, I have been proud to call myself a poker player. This great sport has taken me to places I only imagined going and I have been blessed with much success. It is therefore with deep regret that I believe I am compelled to release the following statement.
I am deeply disappointed and embarrassed that Full Tilt players have not been paid money they are owed. I am equally embarrassed that as a result many players cannot compete in tournaments and have suffered economic harm.
I am not playing in the World Series of Poker as I do not believe it is fair that I compete when others cannot. I am doing everything I can to seek a solution to the problem as quickly as possible.
My name and reputation have been dragged through the mud, through the inactivity and indecision of others and on behalf of all poker players I refuse to remain silent any longer. I have electronically filed a lawsuit against Tiltware related to the unsettled player accounts. As I am sure the public can imagine, this was not an easy decision for me.
I wholeheartedly refuse to accept non-action as to repayment of players funds and I am angered that people who have supported me throughout my career have been treated so poorly.
I sincerely hope this statement will ignite those capable of resolving the problems into immediate action and would like to clarify that until a solution is reached that cements the security of all players, both US and International, I will, as I have for the last six weeks, dedicate the entirety of my time and efforts to finding a solution for those who have been wronged by the painfully slow process of repayment.
This is a developing story and once more information becomes available, we’ll be bringing it to you straight away.
Level 7
: 300/600, 75 ante
On a hand at Defending Casino Employees Event Champion Hoai Pham's table, we missed the pre-flop action but there was at least 7,000 in before the flop of 
was dealt. Pham in late position bet 2,600 on the flop and was called by the player in the cutoff.
The turn came 
and went check check.
The river was a and again went check check. The cutoff showed down 
and a clearly disgruntled Pham hung his head and mucked.
The defending champ made a big early run up to 30,000 and was undoubtedly one of the chip leaders but he is now down to just under 14,000 and will need alot of help if he wants to go back-to-back.
Level 7
: 300/600, 75 ante
Lammert Westerveen was barely clinging on with a stack around 5,000 when he pushed all in from the cutoff. The button called his all in and the blinds folded leaving Westerveen's 
trailing to the button's 
. His chances of staying alive dwindled as the flop and turn brought the 
but the miraculous on the river gave him the win and a slightly healthier stack.
Level 7
: 300/600, 75 ante
With only 1,900 chips left in his stack, David Scharf went all in from early position with . The big blind woke up with and quickly made the call.
The door card was the , but was completed with the and which left Scharf drawing very slim. The 
turn was no help, but the miracle river made him quads and doubled him up to about 5,000.
Level 7
: 300/600, 75 ante
We reported earlier that Pham was knocked down to 14,000, and now his run at defending his title has officially ended. We missed the action as Pham was getting up from his seat, but Robert Gullickson, the man who knocked him out, was kind enough to give us a brief recap of the hand. The two players got it all in on a 
flop with Gullickson holding 
, and Pham's hand wasn't able to improve by the river.
Since that KO, Gullickson has gone on to win five of the next six hands, including another knockout. A short stack and him got the money in preflop with Gullickson holding and his opponent showing 
. The board ran out 
and Gullickson collected the chips to boost his stack to around 46,000.
Level 7
: 300/600, 75 ante
From early position, Alex Alashkar raised the pot to 2,550. The hand folded around to a player in the big blind who raised to 9,550 which at the time was more than half of his stack. Alashkar tanked for about a minute and called.
The flop came 
and after almost no thought the big blind player went all in for his remaining 7,000. Alashkar snap called and flipped over . The big blind said, "Wow, sick call" and turned over
After the came on the turn, the players were set to split the pot and Alashkar confidently boasted about his read saying, “I knew you’d make a move on the flop, I just had a hunch.”
The river came an inconsequential 
and the players split the pot and moved on.
Alashkar is sitting middle of the pack with about 30,000.