William John Leads Day 1a of the $10:00 WSOP Main Event
Here are the top five finishers in the Day 1a Main Event.
- William John – 266,700
- Gerardo Lubas – 165,825
- Daniel Strelitz – 164,125
- Dane Lomas – 157,600
- Cary Katz- 154,850
Twenty-four qualifiers or team pros from both PartyPoker and Bwin made it through to Day 2a including both PartyPoker team pros Mike Sexton (15,200) and Bodo Sbrzesny (32,500), and Bwin team pro Thibaud Guenegou (20,950).
Here are the top five performers from PartyPoker and Bwin.
- Manos Foudlouakis – 89,375
- David Scherzer – 60,475
- Andreas Nasvall – 54,150
- Christopher Kolla – 54,025
- Robin Roths – 49,175
Last Level News: Hellmuth is Out!
We have lost the most successful player in the history of the World Series of Poker (WSOP). Here is Hellmuth’s tweet signifying the end of his World Series.
‘I’m out of the Main Event! Feeling tortured: Feeling sick…Maniac winning every pot w K-9 + Q-8 KNEW he would implode, BUT he busts me 1st.’
The player Phil Hellmuth is referring to as a ‘maniac’ is the former European Poker Tour (EPT) Copenhagen champion Michael Tureniec. Tureniec flopping a set of treys on a 
board when Hellmuth was holding [Ax] [Jx].
Felix Lambertz is Out; Frankland on Fumes
Following Phil Hellmuth out of the door is Felix Lambertz. Lambertz, who cashed for $40,350 in a $1,000 WSOP event in 2009, looked furious with himself (or his opponents actions) after the following hand. We caught the action on a flop of 
and there were three players in the hand. The action checked to Lambertz, who bet 5,500, and one player made the call. The turn was the 
and when the action checked to Lambertz he moved all-in and was called instantly. Lambertz turned over 
and his opponent showed down 
. The river was not the card that Lambertz wanted and he was out.
One more player inconspicuous by his absence, and assumed out, is Marko Ritter, and Mathew Frankland only had 2,000 in front of him as his table broke.
Robert Schultz Blinded By Bling
One player who was doing rather well, until a few moments ago, was Robert Schultz. This is the hand that punctured our ‘doing rather well’ statement. The action folded around to Schultz on the button and he raised to 850. Sitting in the small blind was a man with dreadlocks, more bling than Mr T, a jewelled personalised goblet and what looked like his own personalised bottle of wine and he called instantly. The pair of them shared a 
flop and the man with the goblet check-called a 1,350 bet before Schultz’s chips had even hit the felt. Onto the turn and we swear blind that the goblet man guessed how much the bet was going to be by Schultz, counted it, placed it to one side and checked. Schultz bet 2,650 and BOOM snap call went the goblet man!
“I check in the dark,” said the goblet man before drinking from said goblet.
Schultz bet 7,350.
“I am all-in,” said the goblet man who was now on his feet.
The count was made and Schultz refused to pay the additional 900 and mucked his hand to leave himself with 35,000 chips.
PartyPoker & Bwin Crew’s Chip Counts
Our own chip leader does not have a personalised goblet, but he does have 84,000 chips and they belong to Manos Fountoulakis. The rest of the counts look like this, Robin Roths (46,000), Pablo Fernandez (38,000), Redmond Toth (24,200), Michael Kanaan (22,000), Christian Glissman (30,000), Stefan Lehner (47,000), Kai Kassebaum (24,000), Artur Koren (13,000), Daniel Kaiser (14,250), Chris Kolla (62,000), Simon Guenther (14,000), Mike Sexton (16,200), Damir Alidzanovic (37,000), Andreas Nasvaal (65,000), Bodo Sbrzesny (37,000), Markus Dittrich (43,000), Johann Busing (34,000), Neil McFayden (47,000) and Alexander Debus (47,000).
Day 1a Leaders
The actual leaders of Day 1a proper are William John (180,000), Jamie Armstrong (150,000), David Randall (146,000), Patrick Coughlin (126,000), Alain Roy (125,000), Fabio Luongo (104,000) & Jonathan Cuevas (100,000).
Dan ‘Jungleman’ Cates WSOP Main Event Competition Winner Dan Suava
Level Four Update
The Day 1a field has filled their faces and they all look like they could do with a good kip! Not Johann Busing though, instead he looks like he could do with a punching bag. He is down to his last 8,000 after we saw him laying a hand down to a check-raise on a flop of 
. After the dealer took his cards Busing took to his feet and started to prowl up and down the table like a lion staring at a wounded zebra.
Sbrzesny Discovers a Calling Station
In other news PartyPoker team pro Bodo Sbrzesny has moved from the Brasilia room, and now sits at a new table in the Amazon. We caught him as he lost a big pot, which was partly due to the lack of information he had on his new opponent. We caught the action on the turn, with the board showing 
and the lady in the big blind bet 1,000. Action on Sbrzesny and he raised to 3,700 before his opponent made a very quick call. The river card was the 
and once again the big blind made a paltry 1,000 bet.
“I am all-in,” said Sbrzesny.
The lady just said, “ok,” and had to be told how to call correctly by Toby Lewis.
“Really?” said Sbrzesny before mucking his hand.
The lady turned over 
for exactly the type of hand Sbrzesny thought she was holding. The lack of information on his opponent proving costly for Sbrzesny who now has 32,000.
Fernandez Flops Quads
Pablo Fernandez had spent most of the morning seated with Sbrzesny in the Brasilia and he too now resides in the Amazon room. We just caught Fernandez flopping quad aces on a board but couldn’t get a single chip’s worth of action. Fernandez has 27,000 chips.
Two-Pair For Kassebaum
Kai Kassebaum has just found himself playing scared. We caught the action on a flop of 
. Kassebaum had bet 900 out of the big blind and his opponent had raised to 2,000 from under the gun. Kassebaum was in the tank, but eventually called. The turn was the and Kassebaum quickly check-called a 2,000 bet, before both players checked the river. Kassebaum turned over for two pair and his opponent turned over for a worse two pair.
“I thought I was beaten at the river,” said Kassebaum who now has 37,000 chips.
Day 1a Attendance Confirmed
The WSOP number crunchers have confirmed that 1,066 entrants have each paid $10,000 to take part in today’s festivities. This is an 18% increase on last year’s starting figure of 897, however, last year’s Main Event consisted of 4-day 1’s and this year we only have 3. Here are the Day 1a attendance figures for the past 4-years:
2011: 897
2010: 1,125
2009: 1,116
2008: 1,297
Chips Galore
Robert Schulz (50,500), Mathew Frankland (19,000), David Scherzer (47,000), Robin Roths (57,000), Redmond Toth (54,000), Artur Koren (12,000), Daniel Kaiser (20,600), Christopher Kolla (59,000), Simon Guenther (23,500), Mike Sexton (34,000), Damir Alidzanovic (33,600), Andreas Nasvall (40,000), Stefan Lehner (40,000), Neil McFayden (37,000), Felix Lambertz (40,000), Markus Dittrich (37,000), Thibaud Guenegou (29,000), Alexander Debus (57,000), Christian Glissman (30,000) and Manos Fountoulakis is leading the group with 60,000.
Welcome to the WSOP!
News at the Dinner Break
As we approach the end of Level 3 Phil Hellmuth has taken his seat in the Amazon room (minus the big regal entrance). This must be the first time in a very long time that Hellmuth has not entered the poker arena in the style of a prizefighter. We assume as he no longer has no sponsor there is no real need for the man to doll himself up? Either way the great man is sparring with none other than Swedish poker machine Michael Tureniec.
Bastien and Rahme Bust!
Just as one World Series of Poker (WSOP) was arriving we saw one leaving – 2005 champion Joe Hachem has busted in the third level of play. Talking about eliminations, we have lost two of our own players. Bastian Trachte moved his last 3,200 into the middle holding pocket sevens and was beaten in a flip against ace-queen when the over-cards actually hit a four flush on the river, and Raymond Rahme will not be repeating his 3rd place finish of 2007 because he is also out, unfortunately we do not know the exact circumstances of his demise.
We Have Found Bodo!
We have found our PartyPoker pro Bodo Sbrzesny, he his seated on one of the few remaining tables in the Brasilia Room, where he is sat next to PartyPoker qualifier Pablo Fernandez. Here is Sbrzesny talking to us about his WSOP Main Event history.
How many years have you been playing the Main Event?
This is my 5th or 6th year.
Do you have any abiding memories?
I have bubbled nearly every year, always in horrible circumstances. I remember losing AA v QQ for four times the average and nut flush versus straight flush. But it is fun to play deep and the people are not waiting to get their chips in. They want to invest their chips early making it easier to gather chips.
You are a great poker coach. Are any of your students playing the main event?
One play is doing well (Christopher Kroll), well he is not like a student – we learned together – but I know he has over 60,000.
Sbrzesny has 45,000 and Fernandez has 7,000.
Ritt Wins a Pot From Eames
Markus Ritt has been playing in the Brasilia Room as well. He is sharing a table with John Eames and we caught the two of them involved in a hand that took Ritt to 40,000.
Eames raised to 700 from the hijack seat, Ritt called on the button as did the big blind. The flop was 
and it was Eames with the c-bet for 1,100 and both players called. The turn 
was checked through before Ritt won the pot with a 3,800 bet.
Debus With a Set
Alexander Debus continues to grow his stack and now sits on 47,000 courtesy, in part, to the following hand. There was an early position open before Debus called in the cutoff as did the small blind. The flop was [Ax] [Tx] [2x] and the initial raiser made a standard c-bet and both players called. The turn was the [4x], the small blind bet 1,000, the original raiser called, Debus raised to 5,000, the small blind called and the original raiser folded. Finally we had the [Qx] on the river, the small blind bet 2,000, Debus raised to 11,000 and his opponent called before showing [Ax] [Tx] for two-pair and Debus showed [2x] [2x] for a set.
Kolla Still Going Strong
Thibaud Guenegou has 38,000, Damir Alidzanovi has 52,000, Markus Dittrich has 32,000, Neil McFayden has 36,000, Simon Guenther has 35,000, Artur Koren has 18,500, Redmond Toth has 64,000, Robin Roths has 58, 000 (after winning a flip [Qx] [Qx] v [Ax] [Kx]), Kai Kassebaum has 27,000, Daniel Kaiser has 21,000, Mike Sexton has 42,000, Manos Fountoulakis has 55,000, David Scherzer has 47,000, Mathew Frankland has 32,000, Robert Schulz has 46,500 but the biggest stack of the PartyPoker and Bwin clan still belongs to Christopher Kolla with 70,000 chips.
Some of the bigger stacks in the room belong to David Randall with 135,000, Faraz Jaka with 110,000 & Patrick Coughlin also with 110,000.
End of Level 2 Report
Alexander Debus Talks to us About His WSOP Experience
As we ebb into the final few minutes of Level 2 here is a quick update on how the PartyPoker & Bwin family are doing (those I can find anyway).
Artur Koren Has Been Cut in Half!
Our former World Poker Tour (WPT) Spanish Championship final tablist, Artur Koren, is not doing well. He has around 15,000 and would rather I didn’t report the reasons why. Let’s assume he was less than happy with his actual play in the hands involved.
Spurts of Growth
Those that have grown their stacks into the forties include David Scherzer (48k), Manos Fountoulakis (46k), Alexander Debus (43k), Redmond Toth (42k), Mathew Frankland (41k) and Thibaud Guenegou (40k).
Mathew Frankland in Action
Mathew Frankland earned a chunk of his additional chips in the following hand. Frankland raised to 500 in first position and the hijack called. The flop was [Ax] [Jx] [6x], Frankland bet 900, his opponent raised to 2,000 and Frankland called. The turn was the [4x] and Frankland check-called a 2,600 bet. Then finally we had the [Ax] and Frankland check-raised to 9,000, after his opponent had bet 2,600, and he folded his hand.
The Big Stack – Christopher Kolla
The biggest story of the first two levels concerns Christopher Kolla. We reported earlier that Kolla did not get off to the best start due to an ill-timed bluff, but since then he has just moved up and up and currently has 60,000 chips. Kolla, who has 4 previous WSOP cashes, earned his chips through some great value betting (once with a flopped set and once with a turned flush). He is doing so well we considered interviewing the lad until Tatjana Pasalic slinked past us wearing a catsuit and heels and so we decided to interview her instead (pictures and interview to follow).
The Best of the Rest
Other chip counts include Bastian Trachte (29k), Kai Kassebaum (36k), Markus Dittrich (23k), Raymond Rahme (38k), Robin Roths (25k, Mike Sexton (37k), Neil McFayden (30k), Damir Alidzanovic (31k) and Michael Kanaan (33k).
A Quick Interview With Mike Sexton
The first level of play has been and gone in the blink of an eye. At the break we caught up with the man, the legend, the one and only, Mike Sexton. Here is what he had to say.
How are you feeling and how has your start been?
I have had a pretty good start. I have 38,000 chips so far so I am happy with that.
Is there anybody on your table that you recognise?
Not at the moment.
What are your special memories of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event?
The first memory for me was 1992, because it was the first time that I ever played in the event. $10,000 was a big thing for me back then and I so I won my seat through a satellite. It was the first time that the WSOP paid out thirty-six places and we were hand for hand at thirty-seven for over 2 and a half hours. I was sat next to the eventual winner (Hamid Dastmalchi) during that hand for hand and he raised every pot. He went from an average stack to several hundred thousand during that hand for hand phase.
But I eventually cashed and got my $10,000 back, which was a big thing for me at the time.
I have made the money 8 times in the WSOP and my big chance came in 2000, the year that Chris Ferguson won it. I finished twelve that year after losing a huge flip. So that was my shot and I lost my race.
With WSOP fields reaching multiple of thousands of people these days, do you have to change your game?
I have to gamble a little bit more. You need chips to win these things so hanging on, might get you in the money, but it won’t get you the win. I have watched every final table of the World Poker Tour (WPT) for the past ten seasons and I have learned from them that I need to be more aggressive. I see who wins and why, so you have to take it up a notch. The three and four betting in the past six years is the biggest thing. You need to put pressure on people.
How did it feel to play in the One Drop?
It was an amazing experience. The competition is great for the poker world. Primarily for the charitable aspect, because despite $18 million going to first place, we made $5.3 million for charity in just one tournament. The charity gets the publicity and raises the eyebrows for poker sponsorship and it great for the game in general. I also finished in the money (9th place), which is also nice.
What next Mike?
This Main Event. Your picture goes on the world and you are playing for millions more once again, only this time you have to beat many more players!
Let’s Get This Party Started!
Welcome to the World Series of Poker (WSOP) $10,000 Main Event, the greatest poker tournament in the world. The WSOP tournament director Jack Effel couldn’t have said it better, “You are sitting on a table like no other and you are playing in a tournament like no other.”
As usual Effel had a special guest to open the event and it was none other than Ellen Deeb, the ninety-two year old Grandmother of Shaun Deeb. Ellen Deeb broke the record for being the eldest person to participate in a Main Event when she played last year, and this year she increases that record.
“It’s all in the cards…and you are all playing for second place,” said Granny Deeb.
It’s a shame poker heaters are not genetic because Shaun Deeb has had a superb series. He had cashed in 3 events, earnings over $100,000 in prize money, before finishing 2nd to Gus Hansen in the One Drop Mega Satellite for the none too measly sum of $1,000,000! Granny Deeb is going to have to get to the final table to match that, and we wish her the very best of luck!
Day 1A will be spanning all three major tournament areas here at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino. We have spent the first level trawling through the Amazon area where we have Purple, Orange and Tan sections. It’s early days and not too much action to report but we do have a littler of PartyPoker and Bwin players all ready to rock n roll.
Alexander Debus has over $500,000 in live tournament earnings that includes a one hundred and thirty-seventh place finish at last years Main Event for $54,851. Debus is seated at Table four hundred and thirty-six.
Raymond Rahme finished 3rd for $3,048,025 in the Main Event in 2007 (the Jerry Yang year). Rahme had a barnstorming start to last years Main Event when he was the early chip leader, but unfortunately he ran out of steam. Rahme will be looking to improve upon that performance this year and sits at Table four hundred and thirty-five.
The Swedish qualifier Andreas Nasvall has just one WSOP cash to his name and he has not gotten off to a great start. We caught him bluffing on a board of 
and his opponent had called him down with 
. Nasvall is sharing a table with fellow qualifier Felix Lambertz and the dangerous Italian player, World Poker Tour (WPT) champion Alessio Isaia.
One qualifier we will be keeping a very close eye on is Mathew Frankland. Frankland finished in one hundred and twenty-first place in last years Main Event for $54,851and then finished 6th in the PartyPoker.com Premier League Poker V where he once again won his $125,000 seat through the online qualification method. Frankland is plying his trade in the Tan Section.
2011, WPT Spanish Championship final tablist Artur Koren quickly found himself up to 40,000 and then back to 29,000 but Kai Kassebaum is faring a little better. We just caught Kassebaum four-betting pre flop and then firing two barrels on a 
board before his opponent eventually gave up.
Mike Sexton is looking as cool as a cucumber in the Orange Section, and why not, after finishing in a very respectable 9th place in the $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop where he earned a prize of $1,109,333. We will be grabbing a few words with Sexton during the break so stay tuned for that.
WSOP Day 1a Photo Gallery
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