We caught up with Dan Smith and Kathy Lehne involved in a pot on a board of . Smith had checked to Lehne who put out a bet of about 4,000, which Smith called.
The turn was the and Smith decided to lead out with a bet of 9,500. Lehn called.
On the river Smith led for 24,000. Lehne went into the tank for a bit and placed her hand on her chin while thinking about the decision. After about a minute she settled on a fold and Smith was able to take down the pot which has put him in a good spot early on Day 1.
We caught the action with the flop reading , as the player in the big blind checked his option. JP Kelly was the other player in the hand, and bet out 1,800. His opponent thought for a moment, before raising it up to 4,800, which was called. The fell on the turn, as the player on the big blind reached for some chips, and bet out another 7,200. Kelly made the quick call, as the completed the board.
This time there was a longer pause, before a bet of 13,600 was placed in the middle, which was enough to see Kelly’s hand go into the muck.
While not in an event as prestigious as Event #47: $111,111 One Drop High Rollers No-Limit Hold'em, President and CEO of SunCoast Resources Kathy Lehne is taking a second shot here in Event #52: $25,000 No-Limit Hold'em (Six Handed).
For those who don't know SunCoast Resources is a petroleum distributor. Lehne founded the company with her savings of $2,000 back in 1985 when she was just 23 years old. Fast forward to 2009 and the company had more than $1.2 billion in revenue, 400 employees and was named No. 12 on 2008's Entrepreneur’s 50 Fastest-Growing Women-Led Companies.
At this point, Lehne is the only woman in the tournament. We'll be keeping an eye on Lehne as she progresses here through Day 1.
We're just about ready to begin here in Event #52: $25,000 No-Limit Hold'em (Six Handed). It just so happens that outside of Event #47: $111,111 One Drop High Rollers No-Limit Hold'em, and Event #55: The $50,000 Poker Players' Championship, this event represents the largest buy-in tournament for players looking test their skills.
Every year's the high buy-in six handed events bring in the best of the internet wizards and old school pros. This year should be no different. Last year Event 57: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em - Six-Handed took place just before the Main Event and it was none other than Greg Merson who took it down for $1,136,197. Immediately following his win in that, he proceeded to take down the biggest prize in poker, the Main Event where he locked up another $8,531,853. We'll be keeping a close eye on the field tonight to see if Merson does in fact come to defend his first title.
Could this year have a similar story? Will the person who takes down this event take down the Main Event once again? While unlikely, only time will tell. If you want to find out, make sure you stay with us here at PokerNews.com where we'll be bringing you updates from all throughout the day, here on Day 1 of Event #52.
Play begins in just under an hour with the players starting with 75,000 in tournament chips and we'll be here for the whole day, so make sure to stay tuned.