2008 World Series of Poker

Event 29 - $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em
Day: 1
Event Info

2008 World Series of Poker

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
a9
Prize
$434,789
Event Info
Buy-in
$3,000
Entries
716
Level Info
Level
25
Blinds
30,000 / 60,000
Ante
5,000

Event 29 - $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em

Day 1 Completed

Official Day 1 Chip Counts Released

John Phan is among the Day 1 leaders
John Phan is among the Day 1 leaders
81 of an initial 716 players survived Day 1 action in Event 29, $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em. With the chip counts as reported by the players now tabulated by WSOP staff, the overnight leader is Alex Zaslavsky at 187,100 in chips. The overnight top ten is as follows:

Alex Zaslavsky 187,100
Ryan Young 148,500
Matt Vengrin 147,000
Hjalti Jacobsen 132,800
Alex Melnikow 130,100
John Phan 127,400
Earl Plyler 118,100
Douglas Miranda 111,100
Roberto Romanello 107,600
Vincent Peraino 100,600

Action resumes in this event at 2pm PDT in the Amazon Room, as the players close in on the 72-player money bubble early on. After that, it's a long day of winnowing down to the nine-player final, scheduled for Tuesday.

Tags: John Phan

Day 1 Concludes

That brings an end to our coverage of Day 1 of Event 29 - $3,000 No Limit Hold'em. We saw 716 players enter today which was down a little on last year's number and perhaps a little below expectations. However the action was fast and furious as the field was dwindled down to only 81 by the conclusion of play.

We'll have some anxious moments for a few players tomorrow afternoon as we approach the money bubble.

Those who will sleep easy include Alex Zaslavsky, Ryan Young, Alex Melnikow, Matt Vengrin and John 'Razor' Phan who ended the day with the healthy stacks in the field.

We'll be back tomorrow at 2 p.m. as we battle down to a final table. We hope you will join us again then!

Phan's Late Surge

John 'Razor' Phan has taken down a huge late pot with pocket aces against an opponent's A-K. All the money was in preflop and the board bricked out queen-high as Phan flies into day two with around 125,000 to be amongst the chip leaders.

Tags: 'Razor'John Phan

Melnikow Doubles With Rockets

Jonas “Nebuchad” Danielsson opened with a raise to 3,400 from the cutoff position before Alex Melnikow re-raised to 11,000 from the big blind. Danielsson made the call.

They took a flop of {3-Diamonds}{3-Spades}{A-Diamonds} and Melnikow led out with a bet of 8,000 which was called by Danielsson.

The {6-Clubs} landed on the turn and Melnikow fired out a second bullet worth 20,000. Danielsson again made the call.

The river was the {10-Clubs} and Melnikow moved all in for his last 29,800 in chips. Danielsson thought for a moment before making the call. Melnikow tabled {A-Clubs}{A-Hearts} for the flopped full house to take down the monsterous pot to elevate himself to over 130,000 in chips!

Tags: Alex MelnikowJonas Danielsson

The Dance of the Poker Player Has Begun

There is about 30 minutes left for this Day 1, and the dance of the poker player has begun. For those of you unfamiliar with this dance, around this time of night, players will get out of their seats and start walking around and checking out the action. They will also start talking to other players, pacing, and doing whatever they can to stay awake. This dance tends to spread throughout the room. It is similar to the bubble dance, but this one is much more random.