We arrived to find Rasmus Nielsen in the process of doubling up, the board reading . We didn't see what his opponent had, but to be honest it hardly mattered as Nielsen was holding for the absolute, stone cold, straight-flushing nuts.
Nielsen, who's best known for finalling EPT Copenhagen two years in a row (2008-9) and finalling the Amsterdam Master Classics in 2008 as well, doubled to around 27,000, nearly his starting stack. With a hand like that, though, he will probably be wishing he'd had more chips at the start of the hand.
We've been trying to wring a number out of the registration staff for a while now, but we're well accustomed to the disappointment that comes with not getting a straight answer after yesterday's drama.
We walked up to the registration desk to see the following scrawled on a bit of paper:
339 514
853
The number 853 was circled very officially, but, once more that is not the correct number. We continued to prod for information, and we were finally told that 510 is now the number for today's runners. Just as it changed to 509 on the screen...
We're now told that 509 runners have turned up for Day 1b. Do you see a pattern here?
"Is that number still changing?" we asked.
"No... Well. It shouldn't change. Shouldn't change much... No, I can't think it'll change very much now."
We're calling it 848 runners unofficially for this event, though we may still have one or two more names voided before it's official. At some point, they have to pick a number and call it official, we just don't have a guess when that might be.
One of the most curious table draws today was the one featuring Liv Boeree and Sebastian Ruthenberg - but they weren't the curious thing about it.
Tablemates Ronald Lee and Danny Steinberg will be familiar with each other's game after spending some hours together at the WSOPE Main Event just a few days ago. Steinberg came sixth there, and Lee finished in third - and bizarrely, their stacks almost exactly reflect their respective finishes last time around, Lee on 33,000 and Steinberg on half that at 15,400.
We'll be honest with you, though - Liv Boeree is altogether pleasanter to look at than some of the other chaps these two shared their last table with.
As we were checking on Table Duhamel/Affleck, we walked into a big pot brewing between Affleck and Claire Renaut. When we joined the action, there was a board of out in the middle of the table and about 25,000 chips in the pot already.
Renaut checked, and Affleck slid out 16,000 chips. It represented nearly all of Renaut's remaining stack, and she tanked for a long while before pump-faking, then committing the chips to the pot. "If you have queen-nine, you're good," she said.
Affleck did not have queen-nine. Instead, he flipped up , and Renaut craned her neck with a puzzled look on her face, trying to figure out what the hand was. "Bluff," someone finally said, and Renaut tabled her . She was bright red and all nervous and giggly after making the correct call, and Affleck will double her up to about 60,000. That knocks him down a peg, but he's still got 57,000. And position on Jonathan Duhamel.
It's so hard to get around in this room that we're just now noticing a few things for the first time.
We went over to snap a photo of Matt Affleck after spotting his familiar blue-and-yellow Mariners retro jersey. When we got there, lo and behold, we see that Jonathan Duhamel is sitting to his direct right.
The last time these two men played together, they tangled up in a pot worth 42 million chips, significantly more than are in play in this entire room right now. You may remember the hand from our WSOP coverage, the brutal cracking of Affleck's aces that eliminated him in 15th place. It was an emotional moment for Affleck after running deep with big chips in the Main Event for two consecutive years.
Affleck's got a shot at revenge here today, and he once again has a big stack of about 75,000.
An early position raise to 800 was called by Nicolas Levi only with everyone else running for cover. Levi called a continuation bet of 1,100 on the flop before both players checked the turn. The river was the and the original raiser checked a third time, Levi bet 1,500 and was rewarded with an instant muck.
We found Max Pescatori all in for 15,775 on a flop of , up against Dan Heimiller. The two men exchanged a few quick words as the cameras were called over, ending with Pescatori asking, "You got a flush draw??"
Heimiller nodded, and Pescatori flipped up his , needing to hold against his opponent's to stay afloat.
The turn and river were both frighteningly red but the wrong shade to do any damage. That double pushed Pescatori all the way up to 41,000, leaving Heimiller with a still-very-healthy 47,000.
. We didn't see what his opponent had, but to be honest it hardly mattered as Nielsen was holding 
for the absolute, stone cold, straight-flushing nuts.
out in the middle of the table and about 25,000 chips in the pot already.
, and Renaut craned her neck with a puzzled look on her face, trying to figure out what the hand was. "Bluff," someone finally said, and Renaut tabled her 
. She was bright red and all nervous and giggly after making the correct call, and Affleck will double her up to about 60,000. That knocks him down a peg, but he's still got 57,000. And position on Jonathan Duhamel.
flop before both players checked the 
turn. The river was the 
and the original raiser checked a third time, Levi bet 1,500 and was rewarded with an instant muck.
board with Nikolay Evdakov check-calling from the big blind.
which had missed the flush but hit running two pair.
to stay afloat.
and river 
