Despite saying that he wouldn't be playing any World Series of Poker events this year, "Texas Dolly" Doyle Brunson has had a change of heart. Not only did he end up playing the $50,000 Poker Players' Championship last week, he is now playing the 2013 WSOP Main Event.
ESPN is featuring the ten-time bracelet winner up on the feature stage. PokerNews is certainly glad to see the living legend back in action under the bright lights, and we're sure poker fans are too. Rest assured we'll be keeping an eye on Brunson as the day progresses.
Scotty Nguyen Never Fails to Sport the Gold of a True Champion
The Amazon Room is home to the World Series of Poker's equivalent of the Boston Garden's rafters, with dozens of banners hanging to honor past and present generations of Main Event champions.
Scotty Nguyen's smiling face adorns one of those banners, as he became one of the more memorable Main Event champs by foretelling his opponent's doom before rolling over the winner.
"You call, it's gonna be all over baby!," Nguyen told Kevin McBride on that fateful day, convincing the unfortunate runner-up to call off the rest of his stack while playing the board. This iconic moment remains one of the most indelible scenes in the grand history of the WSOP, and Nguyen is in the building here today looking to recapture that Main Event magic.
Greg Raymer also become a mainstay of the Main Event, winning poker's most coveted crown in a dominant display during the 2004 WSOP, and finishing in 25th place the following year in a spirited defense of his title.
Raymer has a choice spot along the rail today for adoring "Fossilman" fans to take in the action, just a few tables over from Nguyen, and with two former Main Event champions trying to navigate the minefield known as Day 1, we will make sure you know when their chips begin to move.
We heard a player announce his intention to raise with gravity in his voice, and turned to see amateur Abe Berry with a bet of 2,100 strewn in front of his stack.
His opponent had bet the river on the board, and called when Berry upped the stakes. The caller revealed for trip aces, but he was surprised to see Berry roll over the goods, as he tabled for a full boat.
Well, it didn't take long for the first elimination of the day to occur; in fact, it took just 22 minutes.
It happened when Mehrdad Danialifar opened for 400 only to have Terry Fleischer three-bet to 2,000. Danialifar responded with a four-bet to 7,400, Fleischer called and the flop came down all low cards. Danialifar checked, Fleischer bet 7,000 and Danialifar check-raised all in. Fleischer called and tabled , which dominated the of Danialifar. Neither the turn nor river helped Danialifar, and he became the first player eliminated from Day 1b of the 2013 World Series of Poker.
Minutes later, Samuel Gregory became the second player to hit the rail. He fell in unknown action.
We arrived at the table, with the board spread out , and 6,500 chips already in the middle.
2012 WSOP Main Event runner-up, Jesse Sylvia, checked his option from the small blind, as did the player in the big blind, before their oppoentn on the button bet out 2,500. Sylvia thought about his decision for over a minute, before making the call, as the player on the button did the same.
The player on the button then turned over his for the winning hand, as Sylvia upsettingly mucked his hand, followed by the third player in the hand.
Sylvia has dropped to 12,500, and will be looking to recover quickly, if he wants to make back-to-back deep runs in the Main Event.
Every year the World Series of Poker Main Event draws celebrities, and one of them in today's field is MMA fighter Georges St-Pierre, also known as "GSP." Considered by many to be one of the greatest welterweight fighters in the world, as well as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters overall, the 32-year-old GSP is looking for a poker title to go with his current Welterweight Championship.
St-Pierre holds an impressive 24-2 record in the Octagon with his only losses coming to Matt Hughes by submission and Matt Serra by TKO. He later went on to avenge both of those losses, defeating Hughes twice and knocking out Serra just one year after their first fight.
"I'm new to the game. It's just a hobby of mine and I recently discovered it," GSP told PokerNews while playing in last year's Main Event, which was his first outing into the big one. "I like it a lot, but I still have a lot to learn."
When speaking of the similarities between fighting and poker, GSP said, "Yeah there are definitely a few similarities, but I think the biggest one for me is controlling your emotions. When you are at the table you have to be calm and leave your ego behind, and it's just like that when you are fighting."
For more on GSP, check out the interview he did with Kristy Arnett during last year's Main Event:
board, and called when Berry upped the stakes. The caller revealed 
for trip aces, but he was surprised to see Berry roll over the goods, as he tabled 
for a full boat.
, and 6,500 chips already in the middle.
