Event 59: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em
Day 2 Started
2012 World Series of Poker
Event 59: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em
Day: 2
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2012 World Series of Poker
Buy-in
$1,000
Prize Pool
$4,158,000
Entries
4,620
Level
28
Blinds
30,000 / 60,000
Ante
10,000
726 Return for Day 2
Welcome back to Day 2 of Event 59: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em.
The first of the two Day 1s saw 1,740 players join the fray. That group played down until about 15% remained — eight one-hour levels plus 18 minutes of Level 9 — at which point Ronald Lee then bagged the most chips with 79,325. Dominik Nitsche was next highest Wednesday night with 67,800, and Phil Ivey had accumulated 50,000 to find a spot just outside the Day 1a top ten.
Thursday saw an even bigger group assemble for Day 1b, with 2,880 players spread all over the Rio in the Brasilia, Amazon, and Pavilion rooms. Following the Day 1a group's lead, they, too, played eight levels plus part of a ninth, after which 471 of them survived.
At night's end it was Alex Cordero counting out several stacks of chips to discover he'd crossed the 100,000-chip mark, ending the night with 100,475 to become our overall leader heading into today's Day 2. Meanwhile, Jake Cody had nearly reached Lee's Day 1a total to secure third position to start today with 77,600. Owen Crowe is also hovering near the lead pack, too, with 67,000.
Today the remaining 726 come together for Day 2, with the plan being to play 10 one-hour levels. The average chip stack to begin today's play is 19,091. Here's a look at the 10 players who'll begin today with the most chips with which to proceed:
| Position | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alex Cordero | 100,475 |
| 2 | Ronald Lee | 79,325 |
| 3 | Jake Cody | 77,600 |
| 4 | Warren Russell | 68,625 |
| 5 | Dominik Nitsche | 67,800 |
| 6 | Owen Crowe | 67,000 |
| 7 | David Stefanski | 65,400 |
| 8 | Ravneet Johal | 60,050 |
| 9 | Jed Friedman | 58,675 |
| 10 | Alin Pandilica | 58,500 |
As mentioned, Phil Ivey, too, returns to a nice-sized stack, good for 25th position currently. Other notables returning to above average chips include Steve Sung, Konstantin Puchkov, Cherish Andrews, Ben Yu, Leo Margets, Nam Le, Jim Collopy, Deanna Dozier, J.J. Liu, and Sam Grizzle.
Those lasting until the field is trimmed to 468 will guarantee themselves a profit in this one, with a minimum cash equaling $1,860. All are eyeing the $654,797 up top for the winner, however, the lion's share of the event's $4,158,000 prize pool.
Play begins at 1:00 PM local time. Come back here for coverage of Day 2 as we see who makes the money as well as who secures a strong position to make a final table run and a shot at the next World Series of Poker gold bracelet.
Day 2 Drawing Close
They opened the doors to the Amazon a few minutes ago, and hundreds of players swiftly streamed in to take their seats for today's Day 2. Looks like we'll be getting things going just a few minutes after the scheduled 1 PM start.
We have an especially large group to start the second day of play, and expect the winnowing to begin in earnest soon as they race to the final 468 and the cash.
Level: 9
Blinds: 300/600
Ante: 75
Let's Play Some Poker
Level 9
: 300/600, 75 ante
Play has begun. There are about 42 minutes left to go in Level 9.
Konstantin Constantly Cashing
Konstantin Puchkov is among the 726 returners, hoping like everyone else he'll still be around when the field gets trimmed to 468 and the money bubble bursts.
For Puchkov to make it that far will be an extra special achievement, as that will mark his 11th cash of the WSOP, breaking Nikolay Evdakov's record of 10 cashes in a single summer.
Just now Puchkov was involved in a hand against Reinaldo Vicentini with the pair having built a small pot by the turn and the board showing 
. It checked to Puchkov who bet 2,000, and Vicentini check-raised to 4,000. Puchkov studied a moment and called.
The river brought the 
and another bet of 7,500 from Vicentini, and after a recheck of his cards Puchkov let it go.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
29,500 | -9,300 |
Fives Fail Chan
Speaking of players with multiple cashes this summer, Terrence Chan came into Event 59 with nine cashes under his belt, although his quest for a 10th has been abruptly halted here at the start of Day 2.
We caught up to Chan's final hand today with all the chips already in the middle, the cards tabled, and the five community cards dealt. Chan had 
, his opponent 
, and the board read 
, meaning Chan's pair was second best and he hits the rail as one of the 50 or so who have already busted today.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted |
Resnick Out
Anna Resnick was one of the several players in Event 59 participating in the Onnit Labs Last Sticker Standing Contest. Unfortunately for Resnick, her hopes of being the last player sporting an Onnit sticker to survive today's event have ended early on Day 2.
In her final hand, Resnick was all in versus two opponents before the flop. Both checked the 
flop, then one pushed his short stack all in on the 
turn, getting a fold from the other. Resnick tabled for top pair, but she was behind her opponent's 
. The river was the 
, and Resnick is out.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted |
Brenes Eeks One Out
We didn't catch the exact amounts as the dealer was scooping in the pot when we arrived, however, it appeared that Humberto Brenes had opened from middle position and was called by one opponent directly behind him in the hijack seat.
Both players then proceeded to check down the 
flop, 
turn and river.
Brenes announced, "Two pair," and his opponent showed pocket sixes. Humberto then tabled pocket sevens and went, "Oooohhhh," as in - that was close! He then scooped the pot.
Brenes is up to 19,000 in the early going of Day 2.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
19,000 | 3,975 |
Beware Yu, the Knockout King
Ben Yu raised to 1,225 from middle position and got two callers from the button and big blind. The flop came 
and it checked to Yu who continued for 2,500, getting a relatively quick fold from the button, and a somewhat delayed one from the big blind.
"Would you have folded to a preflop shove?" asked the big blind as he showed his 
, adding how he had 8,000 left. "No," said Yu quickly. "Of course he wouldn't," said Yu's neighbor to the right. "He's the knockout king!"
Speaking of knockout kings, sitting at the same table is Brian Ali, whom we remember for his win in the 2011 WSOP Circuit event at Atlantic City where he knocked out most of a final table that also included another player whose name reminded us of boxers, Ellis Frazier.
Ali currently has a stack that rivals Yu's, meaning both are positioned to knock out others at the table, should they come to blows.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
42,000 | 900 |
|
41,000 | 4,250 |