Vitaly Lunkin raised to 1,050 from under the gun and action folded around to Galen Hall in the big blind, who quickly tossed in a call.
The flop came and Hall donk-bet for 1,400, sending Lunkin into the tank. After about a minute, Lunkin slid his hand into the muck - conceding the pot to Hall.
Brian Rast has had a good Day 1b, chipping up steadily and maintaining an above average stack all day. About a half-hour ago he tweeted the following:
tsarrast Brian RastPlaying out of my mind today, I feel like I can see their cards.July 08 2012
Just now we went over to check out Rast's table, and saw a hand that appeared to prove Rast is indeed playing his "A" game.
The button had raised and the blinds both called, with Rast playing from the big blind. The flop came and all three checked. The turn was the , and when it checked to Rast he bet 1,200. The button called, and the small blind folded.
The river was the . This time Rast fired a bet of 3,700. His opponent sat for about a half-minute, rechecked his cards, then suddenly tossed out two orange (5,000) chips for a raise to 10,000.
Rast looked up at the ceiling and exhaled, thought for about 15 seconds, then folded his hand face up — for two pair. His opponent likewise showed his hand — for a set of fives.
"When I want you to call you don't and when I don't want you to, you do!" complained Rast's opponent. He nodded and smiled, turning his attention to the next hand.
Jeff Beckley raised to 1,100 from early position. Shawn Buchanan called from middle position and the player in the big blind called as well.
The flop came down and the big blind checked it to Beckley who bet 2,500. Buchanan was the lone caller to see the turn where Beckley bet 5,000. A call from Buchanan landed the river where once again Beckley bet 5,000. Buchanan popped it to about 12,000, Beckley called, and the hands were revealed.
We heard the announcer from the main stage say that Scotty Nguyen was all in, so we ran over to investigate. When we got there, we saw that Nguyen got it in with on a flop of . However, Nguyen was up against the of Marc Karam. Nguyen would need a ton of help to survive, but the board ran dry for him, coming and .
Nguyen wished everyone good luck, and as he left the stage, a spectator yelled "Love you Scotty." Nguyen quickly responded "Love you too baby!" as he left the mothership.
Bryan Pellegrino raised to 925 from early position, then an opponent in late position pushed all in for her last 7,700. It folded back to Pellgrino who called, turning over to his opponent's .
The dealer spread the flop and a seven appeared in the window, the cards coming out . The turn was the and river the , and Pellegrino takes a small hit though still sports a 100,000-plus chip stack.
Scott Seiver just called out for cocktail service for his table. Once the attendant arrived Seiver politely asked for a noose. Seiver seems to be having a pretty rough day. He recently tweeted this.
scott_seiver Scott Seiver1 hour left, down to exactly starting stack. An absolutely torturous day so far. Trying to overcome this.July 08 2012
With around 40 minutes left in the day maybe Seiver can turn it around, or the cocktail waitress can scrounge up a noose for the pro.
David Diaz raised from middle position and got one caller from the big blind. The flop came . The big blind checked, Diaz bet 1,300, his opponent raised to 2,950, and Diaz called. The turn was the , and this time the big blind led out for 3,900. Diaz then raised to 10,000, and his opponent called with his remaining chips, totaling 8,900.
Diaz had for trip nines while his opponent had for the straight. The dealer then burned a card and delivered the river... the ! Diaz had made a full house to scoop the pot and send another player to the rail.
For some, playing in the World Series of Poker Main Event is one of those rare opportunities, perhaps a "bucket list" item or once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. It's also a daunting proposition for some, especially if their experience at the WSOP is at all limited.
Perhaps those factors are inspiring the conversation over at Table 417, where the table talk has turned to discussing other, similarly risky adventures, such as running with the bulls at Pamplona, Spain.
"Now you can run with the bulls and not even see the bulls," explained one player. "Or you can run with them and try to pet their noses."
"What do you mean?" asked another. "Well, have you ever gone swimming with sharks?" "No." "But you've swam in the ocean, right?" "Right." "Well you've swam in shark-infested waters, then."