In the first hand after the break, Ionel Serbu moved all for 47,000 and was called by Gregory Luttke-Grech. Shlomi Malka was in the small blind and three-bet to 188,000, and Luttke-Grech got out of the way.
Ionel Serbu: K♠K♦
Shlomi Malka: A♠A♣
In a brutal cooler on the bubble, Serbu had run kings into aces, and no unlikely escape was provided by the 10♠8♠2♦J♠6♣ runout.
Mehdi Dhouimer opened to 12,000 in early position and was faced with a three-bet to 38,000 by Andrew Hawkins on the button. Action folded back to Dhouimer, who made the call.
On the 9♠6♠2♥ flop, Dhouimer check-called a bet of 27,000 from Hawkins.
The 10♠ rolled off on the turn, and Dhouimer again check-called versus a bet of 65,000 from Hawkins.
The J♠ river completed the board, and Dhouimer asked to see his opponent's stack, before checking. Hawkins immediately shipped his remaining 95,000 into the middle, and Dhouimer quickly folded.
Hawkins showed A♣K♥ for ace-high and raked in the pot.
Around 35,000 was in the middle on a completed board of 6♦Q♥10♣8♠J♥, in a hand between Mehdi Dhouimer in early position and Yurii Zabrodotskyi in the big blind.
Zabrodotskyi led out with a bet of 21,000, only to be faced with a jam from Dhouimer for 64,000, sending the Ukrainian deep into thought.
Zabrodotskyi peered at the board, counted his chips, and glanced at his opponent repeatedly. After a while, he said to Dhouimer, "I have the nine", which would mean he had the queen-high straight, albeit not the nuts.
Eventually another player called the clock, and Zabrodotskyi let it get down to five seconds before announcing he was folding, flashing the 9♠ as he sent his cards to the muck.
Dhouimer raked in the pot and didn't give his opponent any indication as to whether his fold was a good one.
Action folded to Wim Verhaegen on the button, who opened to 3,000. Romain Le Dantec was in the small blind, and he reached for chips and produced a three-bet to 11,500. After some thought, Verhaegen called.
On the K♦5♥Q♣ flop, Le Dantec continued with a bet of 8,000, which Verhaegen called.
The A♥ rolled off on the river, and Le Dantec continued with the aggression, firing out a bet of 15,500. Verhaegen again made the call.
The 10♦ river completed the board, bringing one-card straight possibilities. Le Dantec slowed down and checked to his opponent. Verhaegen promptly moved all in for around 40,000, and after a brief period of thought, Le Dantec made the call.
Verhaegen showed Q♦5♦ for the flopped two pair queens and fives, but Le Dantec had A♠Q♠ for the higher turned two pair, aces and queens.
Giorgio Bernasconi opened to 1,200 from middle position and was called by Julien Bolimowski on the button and Elie Saad in the big blind.
On the J♠8♥5♥f flop, Saad checked, Bernasconi slid out a bet of 3,100, and both of his opponents called.
The 7♥ turn was checked to Bolimowski, who fired out a bet of 5,000. Saad reached for chips and produced a check-raise to 15,000, however neither of his opponents were deterred, both making the call.
The 2♣ river was checked through. Saad mucked his hand, Bernasconi showed K♣K♥ for a pair of kings, but Bolimowski had 8♥8♠ for the flopped set, sending him a chunky pot.
Roman Le Dantec opened to 800 under the gun and received calls from Natale Polizzotto and Tal Sardal in the blinds.
On the A♦3♥J♦ flop, action was checked to Le Dantec, who slid out a bet of 1,200. Polizzotto reached for chips, and produced a check-raise to 6,000. After some thought, Le Dantec called.
The 8♠ rolled off on the turn, and Polizzotto continued with a bet of 13,000. Le Dantec called.
The 2♣ river completed the board, and after some thought Polizzotto moved all in with the covering stack. Le Dantec, clasped his hands behind his head, blew out his cheeks, and sat up on his haunches, muttering to himself, running through the previous action.
After about two minutes, he flicked in a calling chip. Polizzotto turned over 8♦7♦ for a pair of eights with the missed flush draw, while Le Dantec had J♥10♥ for second pair jacks.
The table was quick to congratulate Le Dantec on his superb hero call, with Polizzotto looking shocked at the turn of events.
We are onto the second day of the €1,100 WPT Prime Sanremo Championship Event, here at the stunning Casino Sanremo, featuring Day 1b, kicking off today, June 7, at noon local time.
Day 1a took place yesterday and attracted 85 entries, with 11 players progressing to Day 2. Roberto Armato (873,000) of Italy bagged the chip lead, closely followed by fellow countrymen Michael Uguccioni (745,000) and Lorenzo Arduini (576,000).
Roberto Armato
End of Day 1a Chip Counts
Place
Player
Country
Chip Count
1
Roberto Armato
Italy
873,000
2
Michael Uguccioni
Italy
745,000
3
Lorenzo Arduini
Italy
576,000
4
Dominik Ostrowski
Poland
510,000
5
Marcel Lerbs
Germany
318,000
6
Bartosz Wesolek
Poland
228,000
7
Bradley Moore
South Africa
227,000
8
Iryna Tsikhanskaya
Belarus
207,000
9
Marco Regonaschi
Italy
202,000
10
Tomasz Kardas
Poland
195,000
11
Maxime Tantaro
France
121,000
Adrian Chua was the unlucky player to bust on the bubble, after he called off in the big blind preflop for his remaining 5 big blinds with ace-high, but could not hold versus Bartosz Wesolek's king-high.
Adrian Chua
Day 1b features 40-minute levels. Players begin with a 50,000 starting stack at blinds of 100/200, with a 200 big blind ante. Play will continue until 12.5% of the field remains, with all players through to Day 2 guaranteed to be in the money.
Late registration closes at the start of Level 10, with a 30-second shot clock in play from Level 15. Each player will receive four time extensions at the start of Level 15, with a further four provided to players who progress to Day 2.
Days 1c and Day 1d are scheduled for Saturday June 8 at noon and 8:00 p.m. local time respectively. Day 1c will follow the same structure as Days 1a-1b, while Day 1d is is a turbo flight featuring 20-minute levels, but otherwise following the same structure as previous flights.
Days 2 and 3 are due to take place on June 9 and June 10 respectively at 1:00 p.m. local time, and will feature 60-minute levels.
Be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews for your coverage of all the action in what is sure to be an exciting weekend of poker.
