Three players saw a flop of 
and both Pat Pezzin and Greg Raymer checked from the blinds to Nick Binger, who was more than happy to bet 2,800. Pezzin got out of the way but Raymer check-called the bet. Both players proceeded to check the 
turn and 
river, at which point Raymer revealed 
. Binger mucked while Raymer took down the small pot. He is still in trouble sitting with just 16,000.
James Mackey raised to 1,200 from the cutoff only to have Michael Binger make it 3,000 on the button. The blinds folded and Mackey popped it to 12,200. Binger grabbed a stack of chips, enough to put Mackey all in, and pushed them in the pot. Mackey called for his remaining 3,000 and the cards were turned up:
Mackey: 
Binger: 
Mackey was in a dominating position as the flop came down 
. Binger was still far behind but picked up some out when the peeled off on the turn. Mackey needed to fade a five, ten and eight on the river. Unfortunately for him, it was the 
and Binger hit a pair. Mackey was eliminated while Binger chipped up to 40,000.
"Pretty lucky," said Anh Van Nguyen from across the table.
"Skill, all skill," Binger responded. It is worth noting that Nguyen and Binger were both final tablists at the NAPT-Los Angeles Main Event final table back in November.
![[user66118]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
Winner, winner!
Dario Minieri has just finished off Henrik Tollefsen to earn the first payout of this Bounty Shootout. The board showed 
when we walked up, and there was right at 20,000 in the pot. Minieri plunked out a big stack of covering blue chips, and Tollefsen tanked and called all in for his last ~34,000.
Minieri pulled his headphones off one ear and asked, "You said call?!" Tollefsen nodded, and Minieri announced his hand, "Trips. Sorry." He rolled over 
, and Tollefsen knocked the table and mucked his hand.
Minieri collected all five $1,000 bounties at his table, and he's earned a spot in tomorrow's second round.
Level: 5
Blinds: 400/800
Ante: 100
Darren Elias has just become the second winner to punch his ticket to the second round, besting a table that included Ronnie Bardah, Thomas Fuller, Kyle Frey, Simon Charette, and Eric Froehlich.
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On a board of 
, Amichai Tzvi Barer bet 2,325 and Daniel Negreanu called behind. When the hit the river, Tzvi Barer bet another 3,100 and Negreanu tank called. Tzvi Barer showed 
for a rivered pair of fours, but Negreanu tabled to win the pot. He is up to 56,000.
Faraz Jaka just defeated Cliff Josephy in heads-up action to win Table 10. He collected three bounties for $3,000 and will win an additional $10,000 for taking down the table. He'll be back in action tomorrow for Round 2.
Nick Binger raised to 2,000 under the gun only to have PokerStars Team Pro (USA) Greg Raymer move all in from the big blind for around 21,000. Binger called and the cards were turned up:
Binger: 
Raymer: 
It was off to the races, but the 
gave Binger a hammerlock on the hand. The 
on the turn changed nothing and Raymer needed a ten on the river to stay alive. It was not meant to be however as the 
appeared. Raymer was eliminated from the tournament while Binger increased his chip lead at the table.
Michael and Nick Binger share the same last name, they drew adjacent tables, and they're both currently heads up for a spot in Day 2. That's where the similarities end, however.
Nick is heads up with Todd Terry, and he has just about 120,000 chips of the 150,000 on the table. In the few hands we watched, Binger was really putting the pressure on the short-stacked Terry with big raises and shoves.
Michael, on the other hand, is heads up with Darren Kennedy, and things aren't going so well for him. Michael's stack has just 18,000 chips left in it, and his seat was vacant as we walked by. Kennedy told us Binger needed a quick break, and we see that the two men have now resumed their duel. It may be a short one.
