The 716 players who bought in this afternoon for $5,000 are playing for some pretty sweet cash. The total prize pool is $3.2 million, an impressive chunk of change the first major tournament held at the Mohegan Sun casino. The top 104 players get paid (a giant 14.5% of the field). That means one in five of the remaining players will at least walk away with a $2,500 profit. Here's how the payouts break down.
2009 November Niner James Akenhead has had a productive Day 1. He's currently sitting behind approximately 70,000 chips and encountering little resistance from his table.
Akenhead, sitting in position, called a pre-flop raise to 1,900. His opponent continued for 2,800 on a flop of , a bet that Akenhead called. Both men checked the turn. When Akenhead's opponent also checked the river, Akenhead took the opportunity to bet 7,200. The bet produced a fold, allowing Akenhead to claim the pot.
From early position, Danny Suied raised to 2,000 and got called by both players in the blind. The flop came down and the small blind checked. The big blind checked as well and then Suied fired 3,500. The small blind got out of the way, but the big blind made the call, bringing the two players to a turn of the .
The big blind checked and then Suied fired again, this time for 6,600. His opponent tanked for a few moments and then made the call.
The river completed the board with the and the big blind checked. Suied didn't fire a third barrel and checked behind. His opponent tabled the and Suied mucked his cards, dropping back down to 23,700.
With between 15,000 and 20,000 chips in the middle, Jason Somerville was first up in a pot against Matt Woodward. The final board read and Somerville had a bet of 11,000 laid out in front of him. Woodward tanked for long time, looking pained about his decision. Eventually, he tossed in the call, but looked sick about doing so. Somerville tapped the table and then Woodward showed the for a pair of tens. Somerville mucked and Woodward was pushed the pot. With the new chips, Woodward is up to about 155,000.
David Levi raised to 2,100, and Christian "Charder30" Harder three-bet to 5,100 from the cutoff. Levi called, and they went heads up to a flop. Levi checked, and Charder bet 3,100. Levi made the cal, leaving himself about 17,000 behind. The turn brought the . David checked one more time, and then gave it up after a 6,100 bet from Charder.
It's been a little up and down for Sorel Mizzi today. The latest trend is down to 41,000 chips after losing a pot at showdown. Sorel was the only caller of a pre-flop raise to 2,400. He had position on his opponent.
A ragged flop of brought a bet of 3,200 from Sorel's opponent. He called there, and then called another 7,500 on the turn. Both players checked the river, then played the "chicken" game of "you show first. no you show first." Mizzi's opponent eventually showed for a pair of aces. That was the winner.
The player under the gun raised to 2,200 and Lars Bonding made it 6,500 to go on the button. The blinds folded and the under-the-gun player called, leading to a flop.
The mystery opponent led out 6,000 and Bonding popped it to 16,500. The opponent called and checked when the hit the turn. Bonding bet a big stack of blue (5,000) chips, and his opponent called all in for about 25,000.
Bonding's were dominating his opponent's and the river was a safe for Bonding, up to 175,000.
Vanessa Selbst opened to 2,100, and both the button and the big blind called. The flop came a perfect rainbow. The big blind checked to Vanessa, who bet 5,000. The button folded, and the big blind decided to check-raise to 14,000. Selbst made it 31,000, and her opponent put all of his 60,000 in the middle. She called, and the Deuces Cracked pro showed her set of ducks. Her hapless opponent tabled for top two. The turn and river didn't rescue him, and he headed to the rail in disbelief.
Selbst raked in the giant pot, boosting her to around 200,000. "I stacked him, that's what I did," she said with a sly smile after the hand.