Event 11 - $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout Day 1 | 2008 World Series of Poker

06-06-2008 03:57 UTC-7

$5,000 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout Slated for Noon Start

[user33020]

Perhaps a young gun such as Andrew Robl will take down Event #11, $5,000 NLHE Shootout

One of the new events on this year's WSOP makes its debut on Friday. It's the $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout, in which each starting table is essentially a single-table tournament and the winner of that table moves on to the following round. With a $5,000 buy-in, this one should combine many of the game's biggest names with a healthy smattering of young, Internet-savvy players. Action gets underway at the crack of noon from the Amazon Room at the Rio.

06-06-2008 11:59 UTC-7

Mere Minutes Away

[user38368]

We are close to starting this shootout, and the small crowd here means we're looking at another tough, pro-heavy event.

Unlike other events, it doesn't pay to show up late to this one. Essentially a group of sit-and-gos, every hand is important to bust opponents and be the last one standing.

06-06-2008 12:06 UTC-7

Shuffle Up and Deal

Shamus

They are spreading entrants around the 36 tables that have been set up for today's event. As the first hand is being dealt, it looks like most tables have six or seven players seated, though more are continuing to show up and take those empty chairs.

A number of recognizable faces here today. We'll pass along some names in a moment.

Level: 1

Blinds: 100/200

Ante: 0

06-06-2008 12:17 UTC-7

Level 1 begins

Shamus

Blinds are starting at 100/200 today (no ante), and players are starting with 10,000 chips. Each level lasts one hour. Before the start of play, the announcer explained how the shootout format works, and as he did he described today's structure as "slow." (You can see the schedule of play by clicking "Betting Structure" over on the right-hand column.)

So while we are only playing one round, we may well have a long day ahead of us.

06-06-2008 12:22 UTC-7

First Eliminations

Shamus

A couple of players have already been eliminated, one by Evelyn Ng.

Player names coming in just a sec.

06-06-2008 12:23 UTC-7

Lots of Notable Players

[user38368]

Here is a good list of the notable players in this event. Since there's not a whole lot of competition for the players' time today, expect most of the best to be here.

Andy Bloch
Cecilia Reyes
Tom Dwan
Dimitri Nobles
Thayer Rasmussen
Chris Lee
Hevad Khan
Alex Kravchenko
David Benyamine
Joe Sebok
Barny Boatman
Phil Laak
Barry Shulman
Evelyn Ng
Scott Fischman
Jonathan Little
Patrik Antonius
Andy Black
David Pham
Shane Schleger
Clonie Gowen
John Phan
Dario Minieri
Isaac Haxton
Jason Somerville
Mike Sexton
Phil Ivey
Chris Ferguson
David Williams
Amir Vahedi
JC Alvarado
Nenad Medic
Daniel Negreanu
Ram Vaswani
Barry Greenstein
John Juanda
Phil Hellmuth
Toto Leonidas
Chad Brown
Humberto Brenes
Mike Matusow
Beth Shak
Erik Seidel
Vanessa Selbst
Brandon Adams
Jordan Morgan
Brett Richey
Jerry Yang
Marco Traniello
Mark Seif

06-06-2008 12:36 UTC-7

Slow or Fast?

Shamus

Not everyone would describe today's structure as "slow," it appears.

Mark Seif arrived a few minutes after the start, and immediately asked the table why they were already at 100/200 blinds. Others at the table echoed his complaint.

06-06-2008 12:38 UTC-7

Princes of the Universe

[user38368]

These tables are even more deadly than usual, by virtue of the fact that by the end of the day, there can be only one. Like that movie we saw one time.

Table 1
Andy Bloch
Tom Dwan

Table 2
Danny Wong
Dimitri Nobles
Thayer Rasmussen

Table 5
Alex Kravchenko
David Benyamine
Joe Sebok

Table 6
Michael Binger
Barny Boatman
Mats Rahmn
Phil Laak

Table 7
Alan Smurfit
Barry Shulman
Evelyn Ng
Scott Fischman

Table 9
Andy Black
David Pham
Shane Schleger

Table 13
Dario Minieri
Isaac Haxton
Jason Somerville

Table 35
Jerry Yang
Marco Traniello
Mark Seif

06-06-2008 12:39 UTC-7

Jennifer Tilly Busts a Player

Shamus

A middle-position player limped, Jennifer Tilly reraised to 600 from late position, and a short-stacked player in the small blind pushed all in. Both the MP player and Tilly called.

The flop came {6-Hearts}