James Van Alstyne put in the first raise pre-flop to 700. He was called in position by Andrew Moreno and by the player in the cutoff. Van Alstyne and Moreno both checked a ten-high flop, . The cutoff player took the opportunity to bet 1,275 into the 2600-chip pot. Van Alstyne went for a check-raise to 4,000 that folded Moreno. The cutoff thought things over, then shoved for 17,775 total. Van Alstyne tanked for about a minute before sliding his cards towards the dealer.
That's it for Dennis Phillips. He opened with a standard pre-flop raise that was called by only one person. On a rainbow flop of , Phillips continued for half-pot after his opponent checked. That player called to see a jack hit the turn. With first action, Phillips' opponent led out. Phillips raised, then called all in with , the second nuts, after his opponent shoved. Phillips' opponent, it turned out, had the nuts with . That left Phillips looking for a board pair on the river that didn't come.
David Steicke found himself in a heads-up pot on a flop of . Steicke had to act first and checked to the player immediately on his left. That player bet 2,000; Steicke check-raised to 6,000. It didn't take long for his opponent to call. Steicke tanked for about a minute when the turn paired before betting 7,000. His opponent moved all in. Steicke quickly said, "I call, I call."
Showdown
Steicke: , sevens full of nines
Opponent: , aces and nines
The board blanked out to ship Steicke a double-up to 44,000.
Frank Kassela was the 2010 WSOP Player of the Year. Today he's out in Level 4. Sitting in the big blind, he got his whole stack into the middle on a flop of holding . His opponent showed , but kings dragged the pot when the river paired sixes to make a bigger two pair.
"Nice hand," said Kassela as he collected his belongings. "Well played."
At a nearby table, a river pair saved Brandon Cantu's tournament. He was all in on the turn of a board with against an opponent's . Cantu looked like he was going to push away from the table after a river until he realized that it was a chopped pot.
Jamie Gold may not play many tournaments a year but he's showing no hesitation to mix it up today. He opened to 450 pre-flop and was called by two players. Action checked to the last player to act on a board of . That player bet 500; only Gold called. Both players checked the turn. Gold fired a bet of 1,000 on the river and was called. He collected the pot by tabling , two pair aces and sixes.
With all of the events that have shaken the poker industry in the last two weeks, one question that's been on people's minds is regarding what will happen to sponsorships. Although we certainly don't have any answers, we can report on what we see here at Caesars. None of the Full Tilt Red pros in today's field (Allen Cunningham, Mandy Baker, Eric Froehlich and Erica Schoenberg) are patched. Of the three PokerStars Team Pros -- David Williams, Chad Brown and Dennis Phillips -- only Phillips is wearing his patches.
"Hollywood" Dave Stann is decked out in UB patches as a member of Team UB.
![[user75032]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
. The cutoff player took the opportunity to bet 1,275 into the 2600-chip pot. Van Alstyne went for a check-raise to 4,000 that folded Moreno. The cutoff thought things over, then shoved for 17,775 total. Van Alstyne tanked for about a minute before sliding his cards towards the dealer.
, Phillips continued for half-pot after his opponent checked. That player called to see a jack hit the turn. With first action, Phillips' opponent led out. Phillips raised, then called all in with 
. That left Phillips looking for a board pair on the river that didn't come.
. Steicke had to act first and checked to the player immediately on his left. That player bet 2,000; Steicke check-raised to 6,000. It didn't take long for his opponent to call. Steicke tanked for about a minute when the turn paired 
before betting 7,000. His opponent moved all in. Steicke quickly said, "I call, I call."
, sevens full of nines
, aces and nines
holding 
. His opponent showed 
, but kings dragged the pot when the river paired sixes to make a bigger two pair.
board with 
against an opponent's 
. Cantu looked like he was going to push away from the table after a river 
. That player bet 500; only Gold called. Both players checked the 
turn. Gold fired a bet of 1,000 on the 