2011 World Series of Poker

Event #11: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better Championship
Day: 1
Event Info

2011 World Series of Poker

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
aj73
Prize
$465,216
Event Info
Buy-in
$10,000
Prize Pool
$1,898,800
Entries
202
Level Info
Level
32
Blinds
130,000 / 250,000
Ante
0

Break, A Little Bit Longer Now

Level 4 : 200/400, 0 ante

We're four levels down, four to go. It's that good ol' midday break here in the 5:00 P.M. event, and the players have a half hour to try and choke down some food from the poker kitchen.

A Face in the Crowd

Level 4 : 200/400, 0 ante
Phil Tom and his 2008 bracelet
Phil Tom and his 2008 bracelet

We just spotted Phil Tom in the field, and that's big news for any of you who (used to) play online poker. Tom was reportedly the main investor behind Absolute Poker, funneling money through his son and founder Scott to build one of the largest online poker rooms in the world.

There's some drama though, and we'd imagine there are a few people who aren't so happy to see Tom today. Long after Absolute was sold in 2006, his son Scott Tom's name resurfaced in connection with an alleged cheating scandal on the site. Father Phil came to his son's defense, fervently arguing that the allegations were ridiculous. Still, the poker community came to know Scott Tom as one of the cheaters behind screen name like "POTRIPPER" and "GREYCAT". In late 2008, rumors surfaced that both Scott and Phil Tom were under a sealed indictment from the federal government in connection with the scandal, rumors that never materialized.

Earlier this year, Scott Tom was indeed indicted, but not for cheating. His name came up as one of the 11 roped into the Department of Justice's crackdown on online poker, courtesy of the UIGEA. For now, nobody really knows where Scott is, but we've got Phil in the field with us today. He's not just a middle-aged guy with lots of money to throw around on poker, either. In 2008, at the height of the speculation about the cheating at Absolute Poker, Tom won his first bracelet in the $5,000 Shootout event, beating Greg Mueller heads up at a stacked final table. He has close to $700,000 in career earnings.

Tags: Phil Tom

Mercier Slipping

When we reached his table, Mercier was in a three-way pot with the board reading {10-Spades}{5-Spades}{q-Clubs}. Mercier and another player called a bet from a third opponent, and the turn brought the {7-Hearts}. Again, one player led, and Mercier and the third player called.

The river was the {5-Clubs}, and the player in first position slowed down, checking to Mercier who bet. The third player was his only caller, and Mercier mucked when he tabled {a-Diamonds}{q-Hearts}{10-Diamonds}{7-Clubs} for two-pair: queens and tens.

Player Chips Progress
Jason Mercier us
Jason Mercier
19,000
-4,000
-4,000

Brown Chopped by Case Ace

Level 4 : 200/400, 0 ante

Alex Kostritsyn, Andrew Brown and a third opponent saw a flop of {10-Spades}{8-Spades}{k-Diamonds}. The action checked to Brown who bet, and his two opponents called. There was a repeat performance after the {7-Hearts} turned, but when the {a-Clubs} fell on the river, Kostritsyn led out. Both the unknown player and Brown called.

Kostritsyn: {a-Hearts}{8-Clubs}{2-Clubs}{4-Hearts} - low
Brown: {a-Diamonds}{2-Spades}{10-Hearts}{10-Clubs} - high
Third Opponent: Mucked

Brown said after the hand that the river was the, "case ace," and had to settle with half of the pot.

Tags: Alex KostritsynAndrew Brown

Dags Raises River, Forces Fold

Level 4 : 200/400, 0 ante

When we reached the table, John D'Agostino was heads-up with an opponent, and the board read {4-Hearts}{9-Spades}{2-Spades}. Both players checked. The turn was the {10-Diamonds}, and D'Agostino called a bet from his opponent. The river brought the {j-Clubs}, D'Agostino's opponent led again, but this time D'Agostino raised. His opponent mucked, and D'Agostino shipped the pot, pushing his stack to 36,000 chips.

Tags: John D'Agostino

Chippies

FTW

Player Chips Progress
Barry Greenstein us
Barry Greenstein
44,000
2,000
2,000
George Lind III
George Lind III
39,000
5,000
5,000
Freddy Deeb lb
Freddy Deeb
38,000
3,000
3,000
WSOP 2X Winner
Matt Hawrilenko us
Matt Hawrilenko
35,500
2,500
2,500
Scott Clements us
Scott Clements
35,000
5,000
5,000
WSOP 3X Winner
Matt Savage us
Matt Savage
35,000
5,000
5,000
Yuval Bronshtein il
Yuval Bronshtein
34,000
-1,000
-1,000
WSOP 2X Winner
David Steicke au
David Steicke
33,000
3,000
3,000
Steve Billirakis us
Steve Billirakis
33,000
-5,000
-5,000
WSOP 2X Winner
Joe Cassidy us
Joe Cassidy
33,000
3,000
3,000
WSOP 1X Winner
John D'Agostino us
John D'Agostino
33,000
2,000
2,000
Yueqi Zhu cn
Yueqi Zhu
32,100
2,100
2,100
WSOP 1X Winner
Dan Heimiller us
Dan Heimiller
31,000
-1,000
-1,000
WSOP 2X Winner
Pat Pezzin
Pat Pezzin
31,000
1,000
1,000
Chau Giang us
Chau Giang
30,500
500
500
WSOP 3X Winner
Todd Brunson us
Todd Brunson
30,000
-4,000
-4,000
WSOP 1X Winner
Poker Hall of Famer
James Dempsey gb
James Dempsey
28,500
-1,500
-1,500
WSOP 1X Winner
Erik Sagstrom se
Erik Sagstrom
28,000
-2,000
-2,000
Vanessa Selbst us
Vanessa Selbst
27,000
-5,000
-5,000
Eugene Katchalov ua
Eugene Katchalov
26,800
-1,200
-1,200
Michael Mizrachi us
Michael Mizrachi
26,500
-1,500
-1,500
WSOP 5X Winner
Matt Glantz us
Matt Glantz
26,000
-4,000
-4,000
Daniel Negreanu ca
Daniel Negreanu
25,300
1,300
1,300
Derek Raymond us
Derek Raymond
24,200
-2,800
-2,800
WSOP 1X Winner
Allen Cunningham us
Allen Cunningham
24,000
-1,000
-1,000
WSOP 5X Winner

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Bolden Brings One In

Level 4 : 200/400, 0 ante

Three players including Amnon Filippi and Gary Bolden saw a flop of {k-Clubs}{j-Hearts}{2-Hearts}. The third player checked, Bolden bet, and he received two calls. The turn was the {9-Diamonds}, and the same action ensued except that the third player opted to fold.

The river was the {k-Hearts}, Bolden led, and Filippi folded. Bolden flashed {k-Diamonds}{j-Diamonds} for a full house, and raked in a pot to push his stack to 41,000 chips.

Tags: Amnon FilippiGary Bolden

Updated Chip Counts

Player Chips Progress
Jean-Robert Bellande us
Jean-Robert Bellande
44,000
-2,000
-2,000
WSOP 1X Winner
Barry Greenstein us
Barry Greenstein
42,000
2,000
2,000
Robert Mizrachi us
Robert Mizrachi
40,000
WSOP 4X Winner
Steve Billirakis us
Steve Billirakis
38,000
8,000
8,000
WSOP 2X Winner
Eli Elezra il
Eli Elezra
38,000
WSOP 5X Winner
Poker Hall of Famer
Dario Alioto it
Dario Alioto
37,000
WSOP 1X Winner
Dan Kelly us
Dan Kelly
36,000
6,000
6,000
Mike Matusow us
Mike Matusow
36,000
6,000
6,000
WSOP 4X Winner
Mike Sexton us
Mike Sexton
35,000
5,000
5,000
WSOP 1X Winner
Poker Hall of Famer
Men Nguyen us
Men Nguyen
35,000
5,000
5,000
WSOP 7X Winner
Freddy Deeb lb
Freddy Deeb
35,000
WSOP 2X Winner
George Lind III
George Lind III
34,000
-1,000
-1,000
Amnon Filippi us
Amnon Filippi
34,000
3,000
3,000
WSOP 1X Winner
Todd Brunson us
Todd Brunson
34,000
4,000
4,000
WSOP 1X Winner
Poker Hall of Famer
Jeffrey Lisandro au
Jeffrey Lisandro
34,000
500
500
WSOP 6X Winner
Matt Hawrilenko us
Matt Hawrilenko
33,000
-3,000
-3,000
John Hennigan us
John Hennigan
33,000
3,000
3,000
WSOP 6X Winner
Poker Hall of Famer
Justin Bonomo us
Justin Bonomo
33,000
3,000
3,000
WSOP 3X Winner
Jerry Buss
Jerry Buss
33,000
3,000
3,000
Vanessa Selbst us
Vanessa Selbst
32,000
6,000
6,000
Alex Kostritsyn
Alex Kostritsyn
32,000
2,000
2,000
Dan Heimiller us
Dan Heimiller
32,000
4,000
4,000
WSOP 2X Winner
John D'Agostino us
John D'Agostino
31,000
1,000
1,000
Chau Giang us
Chau Giang
30,000
WSOP 3X Winner
Scott Clements us
Scott Clements
30,000
WSOP 3X Winner

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