2012 World Series of Poker

Event 55: $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop
Day: 1
Event Info

2012 World Series of Poker

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
75
Prize
$18,346,673
Event Info
Buy-in
$1,000,000
Prize Pool
$42,666,672
Entries
48
Level Info
Level
22
Blinds
400,000 / 800,000
Ante
100,000

Palihapitiya Among the Pros

Chamath Palihapitiya
Chamath Palihapitiya

Daniel Negreanu opened for 52,000 from middle position and got no less than five callers. "Wow!" said Negreanu, as Phil Hellmuth in the big blind became the fifth opponent to see the flop with him.

That flop came {9-Spades}{3-Spades}{4-Diamonds}, and when it checked to Negreanu he bet 162,000. Chamath Palihapitiya then raised from a couple of seats over, and when it folded back to Hellmuth he asked how much the raise was for.

A count revealed Palihapitiya had only put 305,000 forward — not enough for a minimum-raise — and so he added chips to make it 325,000. Hellmuth called, and Negreanu folded.

Hellmuth and Palihapitiya both checked quickly when the turn brought the {3-Diamonds} and river the {8-Diamonds}. "Ace-nine," said Palihapitiya, showing {A-Clubs}{9-Clubs}. "You got lucky," said Hellmuth, turning over {5-Spades}{2-Spades} for busted straight and flush draws. "I had you beat," he added, referring to their relative chances after the flop.

The pair continued the banter a little, with Palihapitiya noting he'd "misclicked" when he raised, not seeing Negreanu's bet clearly. When Hellmuth continued his dissertation on why he is the better of the two players, Palihapitiya had a quick response.

"I'll see you at the final table," he retorted with a smirk. "Where I will mock you!"

The table chuckled, and Palihapitiya got up to walk over to the next table where he put a couple of hands on Phil Ivey's shoulders. Ben Lamb stood up. "You must be winning if you're walking," he said to Palihapitiya, who proceeded to relate the previous hand to Lamb while still massaging Ivey.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Phil Hellmuth us
Phil Hellmuth
8,250,000
-1,100,000
-1,100,000
WSOP Main Event Champion
WSOP 17X Winner
Poker Hall of Famer
StakeKings
Profile photo of Chamath Palihapitiya us
Chamath Palihapitiya
3,080,000
1,313,000
1,313,000
Profile photo of Daniel Negreanu ca
Daniel Negreanu
715,000
-351,000
-351,000

Tags: Chamath PalihapitiyaDaniel NegreanuPhil Hellmuth

Phua Triples Back

Robert Bright raised to 60,000 from under the gun and Daniel Negreanu flat-called from middle position. Action folded to the button where Paul Phua sat just one hand after he doubled up Negreanu. Phua moved all in for 222,000 and play folded to Bright. He called and Negreanu also called.

"Going to let you get right back in it," said Negreanu as he tossed the chips in.

The flop came down {A-Hearts}{7-Spades}{6-Hearts} with Bright and Negreanu checking to see the {6-Clubs} pair the board on the turn. Both checked again and the river was the {A-Clubs}. Bright fired 425,000 and Negreanu folded the {K-Hearts}{Q-Hearts} face up.

Bright held the {K-Diamonds}{K-Clubs}, but lost to Phua's {A-Diamonds}{8-Clubs}. Phua held a full house and tripled back up.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Robert Bright
Robert Bright
2,475,000
25,000
25,000
Profile photo of Daniel Negreanu ca
Daniel Negreanu
1,066,000
-230,000
-230,000
Profile photo of Paul Phua my
Paul Phua
746,000
520,000
520,000
WSOP 1X Winner

Tags: Paul PhuaRobert BrightDaniel Negreanu

Banjout Flirting With 9,000,000

Bill Perkins and Frederic Banjout took a flop of {10-Diamonds}{7-Clubs}{2-Hearts}. They both checked.

The turn was the {9-Diamonds}, and Perkins led out for 175,000. Banjout called. The river was the {8-Hearts}, and Perkins led again - this time for 200,000. Banjout made the call, and turned over {k-Diamonds}{10-Hearts}.

Perkins mucked, and saw his stack dip to 1.63 million.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Frederic Banjout
Frederic Banjout
8,720,000
330,000
330,000
Profile photo of Bill Perkins us
Bill Perkins
1,630,000
-760,000
-760,000

Tags: Bill PerkinsFrederic Banjout

Shakerchi Thwarts Schwartz

Talal Shakerchi
Talal Shakerchi

Talal Shakerchi raised to 57,000 from middle position and Noah Schwartz called from one seat over. Gus Hansen then reraised to 242,000 from the cutoff seat, and when it folded back around both Shakerchi and Schwartz called the reraise.

The flop came monotone — {Q-Clubs}{A-Clubs}{9-Clubs} — and Shakerchi and Schwartz both quickly checked. Hansen took a moment to recheck his cards, and he checked as well.

The turn brought another club — the {2-Clubs} — and this time Shakerchi bet 365,000. Schwartz called, and after muttering a little Hansen folded.

Both of the remaining players then checked the {7-Spades} river. Shakerchi showed {8-Clubs}{8-Diamonds} for a flush, and now Schwartz was the one muttering as he mucked.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Talal Shakerchi gb
Talal Shakerchi
3,450,000
960,000
960,000
Profile photo of Noah Schwartz us
Noah Schwartz
1,967,000
-996,000
-996,000
WSOP 1X Winner

Tags: Gus HansenNoah SchwartzTalal Shakerchi

Negreanu Finds a Double

Daniel Negreanu
Daniel Negreanu

From the hijack seat, Daniel Negreanu raised to 52,000 before action folded to Paul Phua in the small blind and he asked how much Negreanu had. Negreanu said he had 620,000 total and Phua said he would like to raise to that amount. He made it 620,000 and Negreanu thought for a minute before calling all in.

Negreanu: {A-Spades}{Q-Hearts}
Phua: {9-Spades}{9-Clubs}

The flop, turn and river ran out {Q-Spades}{J-Spades}{2-Clubs}{K-Spades}{4-Clubs} and Negreanu won the pot to double up. He moved back to nearly 1.3 million while Phua was knocked down to 226,000.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Daniel Negreanu ca
Daniel Negreanu
1,296,000
616,000
616,000
Profile photo of Paul Phua my
Paul Phua
226,000
-503,000
-503,000
WSOP 1X Winner

Tags: Daniel NegreanuPaul Phua

Trickett Ticking Up

Sam Trickett and Richard Yong were heads up with the board reading {5-Clubs}{4-Diamonds}{9-Clubs}{6-Clubs}. Trickett led out for 105,000, and Yong quickly called.

The {2-Hearts} completed the board, and Trickett slowed down, checking to Yong who fired 251,000. Trickett grabbed enough chips to make the call, sat in the tank for fifteen seconds or so, then tossed then forward.

"King," Yong announced, showing the {k-Hearts}.

Trickett tabled {8-Spades}{8-Hearts}, and Yong's second card - a queen - was turned face up.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Sam Trickett gb
Sam Trickett
5,950,000
165,000
165,000
Profile photo of Richard Yong my
Richard Yong
2,350,000
-755,000
-755,000

Tags: Richard YongSam Trickett

Laliberté Picks Up Where He Left Off

Guy Laliberté hasn't been afraid to mix it up today, and getting some food in his belly hasn't slowed him down. In a recent hand, Laliberté opened for 67,000 from middle position and received calls from Cary Katz and Tobias Reinkemeier in the small and big blinds respectively.

Action went check-check to Laliberté on the {2-Clubs}{Q-Spades}{10-Hearts} flop, and he fired out a bet of 157,000. Both his opponents quickly folded and Laliberté took down the pot with ease.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Tobias Reinkemeier de
Tobias Reinkemeier
4,430,000
-70,000
-70,000
Profile photo of Guy Laliberté ca
Guy Laliberté
4,074,000
124,000
124,000
Profile photo of Cary Katz us
Cary Katz
2,305,000
-70,000
-70,000
$25K Fantasy

Tags: Guy LalibertéTobias ReinkemeierCary Katz

Shak Adds to Stack

Dan Shak opened for 70,000 from the cutoff and got one caller in Mikhail Smirnov on the button. The flop came {7-Diamonds}{6-Clubs}{3-Hearts}. Shak paused a beat, then flipped out a single lavender chip for a bet of 100,000, and Smirnov quickly called. The turn was the {3-Diamonds}. Shak again waited a few seconds, then bet 400,000. Once again, Smirnov called immediately.

The river was the {Q-Clubs}. This time Shak was the one acting quickly, declaring he was all in. He began pushing forward his remaining chips, and Smirnov placed a single chip on his cards and sat back in contemplation.

Finally Smirnov folded, and when Shak flashed his cards to Smirnov the dealer informed the table what he had: "Pocket aces."

Subsequent conversation between Shak and Smirnov revealed the latter had {A-Diamonds}{6-Diamonds} and was looking for a six or a diamond. "So you weren't calling anything, then?" said Shak, and Smirnov nodded.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Mikhail Smirnov ru
Mikhail Smirnov
4,650,000
-427,000
-427,000
Profile photo of Dan Shak us
Dan Shak
2,050,000
478,000
478,000

Tags: Dan ShakMikhail Smirnov

Ten Hands Per Hour

Level 7 : 12,000/24,000, 4,000 ante

On the first hand back from break, Paul Newey raised to 74,000 from under the gun, David Einhorn called, and as the action folded to Talal Shakerchi, Gus Hansen came storming into the Amazon Room.

"F*** me! My big blind!" he shouted. "Motherf***er!"

Shakerchi called, and the flop came down {3-Diamonds}{7-Diamonds}{6-Clubs}. Newey led for 74,000, and only Einhorn called.

The turn was the {7-Hearts}, and Newey led out for 230,000. Einhorn tanked for the better part of four minutes, then folded.

"Let's try to play more than ten hands per hour," Jason Mercier said after the hand.

Tags: Paul NeweyTalal ShakerchiGus HansenJason MercierDavid Einhorn