Event 2 - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Day 1a | 2008 World Series of Poker

05-31-2008 12:25 UTC-7

Jeff Shulman Eliminated

[user40108]

Jeff Shulman was just sent home when he found himself on the losing end of an all-in hand. The board was eight high with two diamonds and Shulman put his tournament life on the line holding {J-Hearts}

against the {A-Diamonds}

of his opponent. The turn came the {K-Hearts}

and Shulman sat reactionless. The river blanked for Shulman and he casually made his way to the exit.

Tags: Jeff Shulman

05-31-2008 12:25 UTC-7

Bed Head

[user66118]

With his recognizable bandana and sunglasses, Dutch Boyd just came ambling into the Tropical Room, scanning the tables for his seat. In the back corner, right in front of us, he found his vacant spot at Table 20. Don't expect the table to be intimidated by his presence, though -- Jeff Lisandro is just a few seats to Boyd's left.

05-31-2008 12:36 UTC-7

Jeff Madsen Doubles Up

[user40108]

Jeff Madsen, the wonderboy of the 2006 WSOP, just doubled up when his {K-Diamonds}

cracked the {A-Clubs}

of his opponent. The chips were all in preflop and Madsen, who was covered by his opponent, hit the {K-Hearts}

on the turn to double up to 4,750 chips.

05-31-2008 12:36 UTC-7

Many Players Making Memories

[user42991]

Just a Few of the Tables In the Amazon Room

For many people, playing in the World Series of Poker for the first time is a dream come true. But many people wonder what it’s like to play in your first WSOP event. First, the sight of the room is just astounding. The Amazon Room is a sea of poker tables. Posted along the walls are the pictures of past main event champions and players of the years. This is enough to overwhelm some players.

Next comes actually sitting down to play. Many people experience nervousness, excitement, fear, and a whole gambit of other emotions. For some players, they will come face to face with a big name pro. Unlike other sports, poker allows even the most inexperienced amateur to play against the best in the world. Some like the challenge, while others like the thrill. Most of the players that come out today will leave with nothing but a story, but the stories and memories of their first event will last a lifetime.

05-31-2008 12:37 UTC-7

"Rain" Khan Eliminated

[user38971]

After getting short-stacked to 500, Hevad "Rain" Khan shoved all in preflop with pocket nines. An unknown player called, showed pocket kings, and Khan was sent to the rail.

Tags: Hevad Khan Rain

05-31-2008 12:39 UTC-7

Power Poker

[user75032]

The dominant theme of the tournament so far is that many pots are being played, especially by name pros such as Gavin Smith and Greg Mueller. Mueller is steamrolling his table and has already doubled his stack by seeing lots of cheap flops and then pushing his opponents out of the pot.

Tags: Gavin Smith Greg Mueller

05-31-2008 12:45 UTC-7

Keith Ferrera Off To a Good Start

[user40108]

Despite its distant proximity to the action here in the Amazon Room, there is no shortage of action in the Rio poker room where overflow tables have been set up. A monster pot just developed which Keith Ferrera stacking a pot worth close to 11,000. Action was four handed to the river and Ferrera's flopped set of sixes was enough to take it down. Ferrera, is a possible chip leader with 10,725.

05-31-2008 12:47 UTC-7

Mimi Tran Eliminated

[user38971]

From middle position Mimi Tran led out for 200 and was called by a late-position player. Ed Hansen, in the small blind, raised to 700 and was called by both players.

Flop: {7-Spades}

The small blind made it 600 to go and Tran moved all in. The late-position player folded, while Hansen instantly called and turned over {A-Diamonds}

, which held up against Tran's {Q-Hearts}

.

Tags: Mimi Tran

05-31-2008 12:47 UTC-7

Smith Not Confident

[user67765]

After a rocky start to today's event, we’ve just overheard that Gavin Smith has made a prop bet with the player seated directly next to him. Smith has bet $50 that he will bust out sometime in the next 40 minutes!

Tags: Gavin Smith

05-31-2008 12:56 UTC-7

Vast Array of Players in Today's Field

[user42991]

As is typical with any large-field poker tournament, there is a wide array of players and personalities in today’s event. Among the players one can spot your stereotypical cowboys, current and former military personnel, poker bar league players, and players of all different nationalities. It will be interesting to see which players and personalities start to emerge from this field as we move through today’s event.