In a battle of the blinds, Will "The Thrill" Failla led out at a flop from the small blind. Kenny Nguyen called from the big blind to see the hit the turn.
Failla checked to Nguyen who bet 400, but Failla popped it to 1,000. A call from Nguyen led to the river which Failla fired 2,000 at. Nguyen called, only to see Failla table for the queen-high straight.
"Flopped it baby, flopped it. How do I lead at that flop?" asked Failla.
"Chop," said Nguyen jokingly, showing for an inferior straight.
An amused Failla laughed, "Chop your balls man, chop your balls. Getting ready for June baby."
Charlie Hook (better known as "Cha-lie") just joined the party at table Failla/Nguyen.
The East coasters have plenty of friends in the room, and a handful of these players call this casino home. Failla and Hook know each other well, and they exchanged quick pleasantries in between hands. Then Failla piped up, yelling across the room.
"Jeez. Don't any of you guys have mothers?!" The only response was the sound of 250 players shuffling their chips, and Failla shrugged and mumbled, "Guess not..." as he returned to his cards.
After seeing two limpers in front of him, Ari Engel raised to 525 from the cutoff. He was called by the player in the small blind and one of the original limpers from middle position.
The flop came down and the player in the small blind checked. The middle-position player bet 1,400, only getting called by Engel. The hit the turn and middle position fired 2,000, but was still unable to shake Engel. The fell on the river and middle position man checked to Engel who fired 4,200. After about a minute the middle-position player gave it up and surrendered the pot to Engel.
A healthy pot between La Sengphet and Chris Reslock was taken down by Sengphet after the turn of an board. Reslock had bet 4,000, but Sengphet re-raised all in. Reslock folded pretty quickly, showing as he watched the chips pushed toward Sengphet.
When play began with about 180 players registered, there was a lot of chatter about a potential overlay of the $400,000 guaranteed prize pool. Well, the word must have gotten out, because that whole overlay thing looks like a longshot now.
Registration is still open for a half hour, and the board shows 259 players registered. Another eight players, and the overlay disappears. We'd expect to see that continue to tick upward between now and the time the window closes, and it looks like we'll meet the guarantee after all. So if you're near Philadelphia with $1,600 burning a hole in your pocket, get yourself down here and get in this race for the ring!
We arrived at Bernard Lee's table just as he check-called a bet of 2,525 on the river of a board. His opponent could only muster , while Lee tabled to win the pot.
Those were the words of a staff member to tournament director Jimmy Sommerfeld behind us just a moment ago. Indeed, the board shows 267 players in the field, and the overlay has vanished. Mark the prize pool down at $400,500 for now with registration still open for another 15 minutes.
On a board, Matt Iles' bet of of 1,575 was called by an opponent, leading to the river. Iles fired again, this time for 2,300, but his opponent called again and tabled . Iles mucked and gave up the pot.
A player in middle position opened to 650, and Ari Engel three-bet to 3,050 right next door. The initial raiser was the only caller, and the two men went off to a flop. The unknown gentleman promptly pushed all in for 8,950, and Engel took about two minutes to consider before splashing in the call for about half of his own stack.
Showdown
Engel:
Opponent:
It was going to be a split pot unless Engel could find running diamonds. They were both red, but the turn and river means the two men take their money back and chop up the blinds on the last hand of the level.
flop from the small blind. Kenny Nguyen called from the big blind to see the 
hit the turn.
river which Failla fired 2,000 at. Nguyen called, only to see Failla table 
for the queen-high straight.
for an inferior straight.
![[user66118]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
and the player in the small blind checked. The middle-position player bet 1,400, only getting called by Engel. The 
hit the turn and middle position fired 2,000, but was still unable to shake Engel. The 
board. Reslock had bet 4,000, but Sengphet re-raised all in. Reslock folded pretty quickly, showing 
as he watched the chips pushed toward Sengphet.
board. His opponent could only muster 
to win the pot.
board, Matt Iles' bet of of 1,575 was called by an opponent, leading to the 
river. Iles fired again, this time for 2,300, but his opponent called again and tabled 
flop. The unknown gentleman promptly pushed all in for 8,950, and Engel took about two minutes to consider before splashing in the call for about half of his own stack.