Paul Volpe opened the action with a raise from middle position and found one caller. It was folded to Corey Hochman in the small blind , and he made it 16,000 to go. Volpe re-raised to 35,000 and the caller folded. Hochman moved all in and Volpe called. The hands:
Hochman:
Volpe:
Volpe was unable to improve his hand and Hochman doubled up to over 300,000 in chips while Volpe slipped to 115,000.
After Matt Glantz opened for 3,500 from under the gun, professional football player Mile Austin tossed two baby blue chips out for a three-bet to 10,000.
Glantz sized up Austin's stack before flatting to see the flop fall .
A check to him prompted Austin to c-bet for 21,000, and Glantz rapped the felt in acknowledgement before sliding his cards to the dealer.
Harrison Gimbel raised from middle position, Greg Merson three-bet to 8,400 two spots to his left in the hijack, and the action folded back to Gimbel. The 2010 PCA Main Event champion four-bet shoved for effectively 76,100, and Merson went deep into the tank.
"I don't think I'm folding," he said, counting down his stack.
After a minute or so of deliberation, he committed the rest of his stack and revealed . He dominated Gimbel's .
The flop gave both players a pair, but Merson remained ahead with a pair of aces. Neither the nor the improved Gimbel further, and Merson doubled through.
The dealer counted down the stacks to confirm the amount, and it was a bit higher than tablemate Jared Bleznick expected.
"Wow," he said.
"That's why I didn't snap-call," Merson said, smiling.
Once the dealer was finished, he asked Merson to confirm the count.
"Yeah, yeah whatever," Merson told him, leading the entire table to break out into laughter.
"YEAH, BABY!" Abraham Korotki yelled from across the Signature Room. "YEAH!"
We rushed over to see what had the 2009 Borgata Poker Open Ladies Champion all hot and bothered, and when we arrived, we saw that he had doubled through Bart Dowling.
Korotki was all in and at risk for 112,900 on a flop of with , and Dowling was drawing to a flush with . Neither the turn () or the river () produced hearts, and Korotki doubled through.
He now sits with 270,000 chips, while Dowling was down to 30,000 and busted shortly thereafter.
We caught the tail end of a collision between World Series of Poker bracelet winners, and after consulting with a fellow member of the esteemed press corps, we can fill you in on the identity of the tournament's new hero.
Matt Waxman opened to 4,000 to start the action and Matt Glantz flatted from the button. Athanasios Polychronopoulos then three-bet to 14,000 from the small blind, with both of his fellow pros coming along to take the flop three ways.
Waxman led out for 18,700 to fold Glantz, but Polychronopoulos stuck around to take the on the turn. Polychronopoulos siezed the initiative with a 40,000 wager on fourth street, prompting a tank-call from Waxman. The river card came to
complete the board and Waxman made a 41,500 wager after deliberating for a long moment.
A long tank later saw Polychronopoulos look Waxman up, with the latter tabling for a busted bluff. Polychronopoulos - who his friends know as "Tommy" - tabled for bottom pair (and a huge pair when you really think about it).
A short-stacked Matt Salsberg moved all in for the last of his stack with and was up against Roland Israelashvili and his .
The screenwriter/poker player would flop good when it came but he was unable to hit any of the straight draws or a seven as the turn came and the river and that would be the end of the day and tournament for him.
Salsberg is still the record holder for most cashes earned by a World Poker Tour ("WPT") Player of the Year winner with six. This is also the current record for most cashes in a single WPT season, although he shares that record with three others (Abraham Gray, Barry Greenstein, and Lee Markholt).
It was Brits who claimed every chip in play though, putting on a performance to remember for South Africa's burgeoning poker community - one which owes much its current vigor to Raymond Rahme, member of the 2007 World Series of Poker Final Table. While Rahme has receded from the game somewhat in recent years, emerging stars like Brits and Chamani are ready and willing to take up the mantle.
Both were in the house here today trying to reach another WPT final table in this World Championship event, and while Chamani went bust earlier in the day, a recent hand saw Brits chip up in style.
The final board read and Brits led out for a 25,000 bet, with Harrison Gimbel tanking a bit before making the call. Brits rolled over bullets though, and his was good for the winner.
After unknown action on a flop of , there was a three-way all in involving Harry "ugotabanana" Kaczka, Daniel Brits, and Harrison Gimbel. Gimbel had both players covered, and crushed.
Kaczka:
Brits:
Gimbel:
The turn and river bricked , respectively, and both Kaczka and Brits hit the rail. Before leaving, Brits took a nice photo with 2012 WSOP Main Event champ Greg Merson.
Maurice "Mo" Hawkins is one of the more entertaining players in the room today - and that's saying a lot, what with the brash and boisterous Will "The Thrill" Failia and Phil Hellmuth holding court in their inimitable way.
Hawkins is known for his active play and aggressive style, and with the trio of table-talkers all sitting together, the scene resembles a home game more than the WPT World Championship.
"This is a $300 tournament to me," said Hawkins during a recent pass by the table. "This isn't serious... it's fun."
While that bit of boasting may or may not be true (he is playing for more than million dollars after all), Hawkins is showing his serious side on the felt. He doubled through two-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner John "World" Hennigan recently, making eights full over sixes full to push his stack up over 250,000. A few blind steals later have propelled Hawkins over 280,000 just before dinner break, giving him one of the largest stacks in play midway through the evening.
Imagine Wong's surprise when he came back from dinner and found none other than Phil Hellmuth being moved to his table. Wong raced over to the PokerNews Live Reporting team, a glazed look on his face as he told us of this. The excitement and nervousness on his face was obvious.
We walked over to Wong's table. It's not an easy one. In addition to Hellmuth there is Justin Young, Amit Makhija, Christina Lindley, Byron Kaverman, and Kevin Choe. "He's a professional. He's a professional," Wong said to us, nodding at the players at the table. "This is very exciting. My heart is beating so fast."
Wong stood, unable to remain still, as a hand went down where Justin Young five-bet shoved with . He'll have to calm down if he's going to contend with these sharks, but he's already been proving that he could do that for over 12 levels. It could be Wong teaching the pros a thing or two before all is said and done.
![[user272102]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
.
. He dominated Gimbel's 
.
flop gave both players a pair, but Merson remained ahead with a pair of aces. Neither the 
nor the 
improved Gimbel further, and Merson doubled through.
with 
) or the river (
) produced hearts, and Korotki doubled through.
flop three ways.
to
for a busted bluff. Polychronopoulos - who his friends know as "Tommy" - tabled 
and the river 
and that would be the end of the day and tournament for him.
was good for the winner.
. He'll have to calm down if he's going to contend with these sharks, but he's already been proving that he could do that for over 12 levels. It could be Wong teaching the pros a thing or two before all is said and done.