We caught the action on a flop when Tom Dwan had bet 31,000 from the small blind and then called a raise to 80,000 from John Morgan. The dealer burned and turned the , which is when action really heated up.
Dwan checked, Morgan bet 100,000, Dwan check-raised to 335,000, and Morgan slid out a stack of lavender T100,000 chips constituting a three-bet to 2,000,000. Dwan simply moved all in and Morgan snap-called.
Showdown
Dwan:
Morgan:
The fans in the bleachers were on their feet to catch a glimpse of the excitement, but it was all for naught as both players held the same hand and were destined to chop, which is exactly what they did after the was put out on the river.
The action folded to Paul Phua, who raised in late position. Mike Sexton called on the button, and the flop fell . Phua continued for 22,000, and Sexton quickly raised to 50,000. Phua called.
The turn was the , both players knuckled, and the completed the board. Phua haphazardly grabbed three green T25,000 chips, and tossed them forward. Sexton didn't call the 75,000-chip bet, and Phua raked in the pot.
Brian Rast, winner of the 2011 Poker Players Championship, opened with a raise, and was met with a three-bet to 36,000 from 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event winner Jonathan Duhamel.
The rest of the field got out of the way, Rast made the call, and it was heads-up action to the flop. Rast was first to act and checked, opening the door for Duhamel to bet what looked like 71,000. At that point, Rast woke up with a check-raise to 161,000, Duhamel called, and the turned.
Rast kept the pressure on with a bet of 245,000, but it didn't shake Duhamel as the Quebecker put in the call. Both players then checked the river and Rast showed , which was no good against Duhamel's .
Fresh off his $50,000 Poker Players Championship win, Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi has been involved in the first two hands at his table.
On the first hand, Paul Phua and Mizrachi saw the flop come down in a blind-versus-blind confrontation. After Phua fired 30,000, Mizrachi tossed in a raise to 75,000. Phua quickly folded and Mizrachi won the pot.
On the next hand, Mizrachi was involved with Rick Salomon on the flop. Mizrachi checked and Salomon bet 25,000. Mizrachi put in a check-raise to 60,000 and Salomon called.
Fourth street brought the and Mizrachi fired 80,000, which Salomon called to see the pair the board on the river. Mizrachi bet 75,000 and Salomon tossed in three lavender T100,000 chips for a raise to 300,000. Mizrachi tanked, but wound up folding the face up and Salomon won the pot.
There was a rumor floating around that Guy Laliberté was going to move all in blind the first hand, so when the first hand was dealt, we were watching intently. The action folded to Tobias Reinkemeier, who opened for a raise, and Phil Ruffin mucked his hand.
We couldn't hear exactly what Laliberté said to his tablemates, but it looked like: "I said I was going to go all in the first hand."
He looked at his cards and mucked however, and Reinkemeier took down the blinds.
The player introductions have been made and Guy Laliberté has given the traditional, "Shuffle up and deal." With that, this historic tournament is underway.
Born in Kiev, Ukraine, Eugene Katchalov is a 31-year-old professional poker player who has been residing in Brooklyn, New York, since he moved there with his family at the age of 10. Katchalov graduated from New York University with a degree in business and has been playing poker professionally since 2003. He is a very successful tournament poker player, with lifetime career earnings of more than $7 million.
Katchalov is the winner of the largest payout (up to the start of the 2010-11 season) for a non-championship event in the World Poker Tour (WPT), earning $2,482,605 with a win of the 2007 Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic. He’s cashed at the World Series of Poker 25 times, including a third-place finish in a 2010 $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. event for $248,831, four more final table appearances and a Top 40 finish in the 2009 Main Event. In 2011 he took it to the next level, earning a World Series of Poker winner’s bracelet when he took down a $1,500 Seven Card Stud event for $122,909.
Biggest Win: Won 2007 Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic — $2,482,605
Currently residing in Las Vegas, Nevada, Cary Katz is the Chief Executive Officer of the seventh-largest student loan company in the United States, the College Loan Corporation (CLC). In 1999, Katz founded the CLC and has helped more than 800,000 students providing them with over $19 billion in college loans. This 41-year-old is the acting chairman of a Stop Child Predators, nonprofit organization founded to help protect children and hold their victimizers accountable. Katz has a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from the University of Georgia and currently lives with his wife and six children. Katz is also a successful poker player. He made his first appearance in the winner’s circle on the tournament trail in 2004. Since then he has cashed 41 times, made 21 final tables, won two titles and racked up $681,203 in career earnings.
A well-known and established professional poker player, Phil Ivey currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada. At 35-years of age, Ivey is an eight-time World Series of Poker gold bracelet winner, good for fifth all-time. Known in the poker community as one of the best all-around players in the world, Ivey is adept at both tournament and cash game poker.
Born in Riverside, California, Ivey’s family moved to New Jersey when he was a young child. Ivey started to play poker with co-workers in New Jersey and has since accumulated more than $16 million in lifetime tournament winnings. He is the youngest player to attain eight WSOP gold bracelets, all of which were in events other than no-limit hold’em. Ivey plays in the world’s highest stakes cash games and has a room named after him at the Aria Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. This year, Ivey has made five WSOP final tables to push his WSOP career earnings to $6,249,783.
Biggest Win: Won 2012 Aussie Millions High Roller Challenge — $2,058,948
flop when Tom Dwan had bet 31,000 from the small blind and then called a raise to 80,000 from John Morgan. The dealer burned and turned the 
, which is when action really heated up.
was put out on the river.![[user101598]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
. Phua continued for 22,000, and Sexton quickly raised to 50,000. Phua called.
, both players knuckled, and the 
completed the board. Phua haphazardly grabbed three green T25,000 chips, and tossed them forward. Sexton didn't call the 75,000-chip bet, and Phua raked in the pot.
flop. Rast was first to act and checked, opening the door for Duhamel to bet what looked like 71,000. At that point, Rast woke up with a check-raise to 161,000, Duhamel called, and the 
turned.
river and Rast showed 
, which was no good against Duhamel's 
.
in a blind-versus-blind confrontation. After Phua fired 30,000, Mizrachi tossed in a raise to 75,000. Phua quickly folded and Mizrachi won the pot.
flop. Mizrachi checked and Salomon bet 25,000. Mizrachi put in a check-raise to 60,000 and Salomon called.
and Mizrachi fired 80,000, which Salomon called to see the 
