2011-12 World Series of Poker Circuit Event - Caesars Palace

Day 2 completed

Posted 01-30-2012 05:32 GMT-7 by tayke2

Wilbur Leads As Day 2 Closes

Posted 01-30-2012 05:30 GMT-7 by tayke2 • Level 25: 10,000-20,000, 3,000 ante

We had an action-packed night and early morning on Day 2 of the World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event at Caesers Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. We started the day with 133 competitors remaining and over half of them got paid when the money bubble burst at 72 players. They just kept rolling on though, and after ten levels of play we are down to just 15 finalists. When play resumes tomorrow they’ll all be chasing chip leader Nicholas Wilbur, who bagged up 1,541,000 chips.

Scott Clements, William Reynolds, Dan O’Brien and James Carroll were some of the unfortunate players today who were unable to cash. Andreas Hoivold, Kathy Liebert, and Gavin Griffin all made the money but none were able to strike it big with an especially deep run.

Wilbur earned most of those chips when he got his all in preflop against the of Brandon Riha. In a pot worth over 1.4 million chips, it took until the river for Wilbur to catch up when the board ran out . After that, Wilbur used his big stack to chip up for the better part of a level and a half.

Wilbur’s run is especially impressive when you consider who he is looking down upon. Jeff Madsen, Dutch Boyd, Sean Getzwiller, and Kevin Calenzo are all still in contention and each have a very healthy stack. Madsen was one of the chip leaders virtually all day. He took a tough hit towards the end though when he was unable to catch up to the of Rellie Sigua holding . Madsen will resume play tomorrow with 917,000. Boyd was also consistently chipping up throughout the day before he hit a one-outter on the river against Sam McGrath. His luck didn’t last though as he was unable to fade the flush draw of Joe Kuether on the very last hand of play to finish with 726,000. Kuether is just shy of the chip lead after winning that hand holding 1,519,000.

Getzwiller bagged up 989,000 in large part due to his Jacks holding against the Ace-King of Brandon Riha and the King-Four of short stack Mark Kroon late in the night. Calenzo got most of his 695,000 chips towards the end as well when he was dealt pocket aces against the pocket queens of Joshua Pollock.

It was a fun day here at Caesers Palace but that only makes us more excited about what is in store for tomorrow. With such an impressive field and so much on the line, you won’t want to miss a single hand of tomorrow’s coverage, right here on PokerNews

Tags: Nicholas Wilbur.

Three More Hands

Posted 01-30-2012 05:03 GMT-7 by tayke2 • Level 25: 10,000-20,000, 3,000 ante

The two remaining tables will play three more hands before wrapping up play for the night.

Sigua Doubles Through Madsen

Posted 01-30-2012 04:59 GMT-7 by tayke2

Jeff Madsen opened the pot with a raise before Rellie Sigua three-bet shipped for his last 227,000. Madsen made the call to put his fellow competitor at risk.

Madsen:
Sigua:

The flop was and the turn was the . That left Madsen still just drawing six outs. He hit none of them with the river and Sigua earned his double up.

Chip Counts
	Jeff Madsen		750,000	-250,000
	Rellie Sigua		500,000	270,000

Tags: Jeff Madsen, Rellie Sigua.

Mark Kroon Eliminated in 16th Place ($9,960)

Posted 01-30-2012 04:50 GMT-7 by tayke2

Mark Kroon was under the gun and moved all in for his last 61,000. Action folded to Brandon Riha in the small blind and he attempted to isolate Kroon by raising to 125,000. However, Sean Getzwiller was in the big blind and had other plans. He moved all in for about 650,000 and was called immediately by Riha.

Kroon:
Riha:
Getzwiller:

It was Jacks against Ace-King again, except this time it was Riha that needed to catch up. He failed to do so when the board ran out and all of the sudden Getzwiller was vaulted to the top of the leaderboard.

Chip Counts
	Sean Getzwiller		1,400,000	745,000
	Brandon Riha		640,000	-660,000
	Mark Kroon		Busted

Tags: Sean Getzwiller, Brandon Riha, Mark Kroon.

Joshua Pollock Eliminated in 17th Place ($9,960)

Posted 01-30-2012 04:45 GMT-7 by tayke2

Second to act, Joshua Pollock moved all in for his last 320,000 or so. Kevin Calenzo was next to act and moved all in over the top for about the same amount. Action quickly folded around and the cards were placed on their back.

Pollock:
Calenzo:

Pollock was in a lot of trouble and received no help when the board ran out . The river made Calenzo jump a bit but it secured his win. The chips were counted out and it was Calenzo that had slightly more in his stack.

Chip Counts
	Kevin Calenzo		710,000	260,000
	Joshua Pollock		Busted

Tags: Joshua Pollock, Kevin Calenzo.

Kroon Crippled After Losing Race to Riha

Posted 01-30-2012 04:41 GMT-7 by tayke2

Mark Kroon opened the pot with a raise in middle position to 57,000. Brandon Riha was waiting in the big blind and moved all in for 627,000 total. Kroon wasted no time making the call, leaving himself just 3 big blinds if he lost the hand.

Kroon:
Riha:

In a classic race situation, it was Riha technically at risk. The flop was . Kroon walked away from the table, unable to look at the turn and river. And in the end, it was probably best. The turn left him drawing thin and the river made Riha gasp just a bit as it looked an awful lot like a king.

Chip Counts
	Brandon Riha		1,300,000	770,000
	Mark Kroon		65,000	-935,000

Tags: Brandon Riha, Mark Kroon.

Gray Rolling Along

Posted 01-30-2012 04:35 GMT-7 by tayke2

Fresh off his win over Jeff Madsen, Joseph Gray found himself in another big pot, this time with chip leader Nicholas Wilbur. We missed the preflop action, but there was about 150,000 in the middle when the dealer fanned out a flop of . Wilbur checked, and Gray fired out 80,000. Wilbur counted out the chips for the call, and slid them into the middle. The turn came the , and Wilbur checked again. Gray responded by moving all in for 474,000, and Wilbur became clearly frustrated. He checked his whole cards a few times, and then said "I was planning on check raising you." After about 90 seconds of thinking, he open folded , said "I'm the worst" then left the table for a few moments to clear his head.

Chip Counts
	Nicholas Wilbur		1,340,000	-95,000
	Joseph Gray		930,000	303,000

Tags: Joseph Gray, Nicholas Wilbur.

Madsen Visibly Upset

Posted 01-30-2012 04:24 GMT-7 by tayke2 • Level 25: 10,000-20,000, 3,000 ante

On a flop, Joseph Gray led from the big blind position for 40,000. Jeff Madsen made the call from middle position. The turn was the and Gray led again, this time for 50,000. Madsen once again called. When the turn hit the Gray quickly checked. Madsen was much slower in his check but finally tapped the table. Gray tabled and Madsen twitched a little with frustration.

Over the next couple of hands, Madsen lightly pounded his chips into the table, clearly upset at either how he or Gray played the hand. In the next couple of minutes a couple of jokes were made at the table and the normally light-hearted Madsen was locked in the zone and didn't budge, clearly still thinking about his run-in with Gray.

Tags: Jeff Madsen, Joseph Gray.

Sam McGrath Eliminated in 18th Place ($9,960)

Posted 01-30-2012 04:11 GMT-7 by tayke2

Sometimes its better to be lucky then good. Dutch Boyd is easily one of the most accomplished players left in the field, but as he and many other poker players will surely tell you, you have to have alittle luck in this game. This was on display as Boyd hit a one outer on the river to drag a massive pot that puts him at second on the leader board.

Action started with Sean Getzwiller raising to 41,000 in early position. Action folded to Sam McGrath in the small blind, who reraised to 110,000. Dutch Boyd was in the big blind, and he put a reraise to 300,000 total! Getzwiller got out of the way, and McGrath went all in. Boyd made the call, and the cards were flipped. McGrath was in great position to take down a monster pot.

McGrath:
Boyd:

The flop and turn were safe for McGrath, coming out . However, the slammed down on the river, giving Boyd the improbable win. As if it weren't bad enough, another player at the table claimed to have folded the case queen! McGrath, who benefited from a fortunate river earlier in the day, took the beat in stride and wished everyone luck. Boyd is now sitting on over 1.2 million.

Chip Counts
	Dutch Boyd		1,250,000	575,000
	Sam McGrath		Busted

Tags: Dutch Boyd, Sam McGrath.