We noticed an especially large stack in the Amazon Room's orange section, and discovered none other than Italian pro Sergio Castelluccio in possession of more than 120,000.
As this Day 1a of the Main Event comes to a close, Castelluccio should be considered among the more dangerous players in contention, as his huge stack gives him a decided advantage over opponents who are unlikely to outplay him after the flop. We will be sure to let you know if Castelluccio notches any more eliminations as the last two levels of the day wind down.
With the board reading by the turn, Eric Froehlich called a bet of 3,600 made by a player in the big blind.
When the completed the board on the river, his opponent paused for a minute before tapping the table in silence. Froehlich stared his man down for a bit, before checking behind, but he angrily flicked his cards into the muck when he saw the player roll over for a rivered pair of aces.
British pro Sebastian Saffari has crashed out of the 2013 World Series of Poker Main Event during Day 1a and plans to head back to the UK to continue his grind online.
In his Tweet, Saffari mentions that he's had a successful summer, which it has. Saffari cashed five times, including finishing second in the 10-Game Mix event.
We don't have details of the bustout hand, but Robert Iler, the actor best known for playing A. J. Soprano on The Sopranos, has been eliminated from the tournament.
Facing a preflop raise to 1,000, Ivan Demidov three-bet to 3,000. His opponent thought for a minute, then reraised to 7,600. Demidov then went into the tank, and after thinking for a couple minutes he put in a five-bet to 14,500, and his opponent quickly folded.
Demidov has now more than doubled his starting stack.
A player in early position opened to 1,500 and Nick Maimone called on the button along with dana Castaneda from the large blind.
Castaneda bet out 3,000 on the flop with both players calling as the landed on the turn. Castaneda quickly tossed in 3,000 again and was called in both spots as the landed on the river.
Castaneda fired out 4,000 and the preflop raiser folded while Maimone quickly made the call tabling his to better Castaneda's for rivered trips.
It's almost time to play legal, real-money online poker in Nevada on WSOP.com. To celebrate, a mega cash tournament has been organized, and you're invited!
Starting October 25, 2013 and running through November 2, 2013, the WSOP.com Online Championships will take place. A whopping $500,000 in added prize money will be available, including a special $100,000 Freeroll to kick off the series.
The $100,000 Freeroll will be available only to those who register and verify their WSOP.com account by August 31, 2013, and it will take place October 25 at 7 p.m. Las Vegas time.
Raymond Rahme, the third-place finisher in the 2007 WSOP Main Event, has been eliminated.
Rahme pushed all in preflop, and was called by Valeri Savov. Rahme showed , and Savov turned over . The flop was grim for Rahme, coming and pairing Savov's ace. The turn was the , giving Rahme some hope with an inside straight draw. The river, however, was the , no help to Rahme. Savov raked in the chips, and Rahme made his exit.