We noticed MSPT Ho-Chunk champ Daniel Bekavac wasn't in his seat, and a quick check with Justin Rice confirmed that he had been eliminated.
According to Rice, Bekavac opened under the gun and then called when Brandon Tharp three-bet from the small blind. The flop saw Tharp bet 5,000 and then call when Bekavac moved all in for a little more than that.
Bekavac had for jacks and nines, nut it was no good as Tharp held pocket queens. Neither the turn nor river changed a thing, and Bekavac hit the rail.
Day 1a and 1b attracted a combined 233 entries, which means the 167 that have thus participated in Day 1c has brought the field up to 400 entrants! That's an incredible increase over last year's 301, plus registration is still open.
Because attendance hit the 400 mark, 45 spots will be paid. Consequently, more spots are being paid so the first-place prize won't be over $100K... that is unless six more entries come in. With late registration and reentries open until the end of Level 9, there's a real possibility that could happen.
A short-stacked player moved all in from early position for 3,400 and received a call. When action reached Nick Smith, he moved all in over the top for not much more, which the other player also called.
Smith:
Shorter Stack:
Bigger Stack:
Smith woke up with Big Slick at just the right time as he had both his opponents dominated. He was rewarded too as the board ran out a safe . Smith nearly tripled on the hand while eliminating the short-stacked opponent.
World Series of Poker bracelet winner and Heartland Poker tour champ Adam Friedman just stopped by our desk with coat in hand. He informed us that he had just been eliminated from the tournament.
As Friedman told it, someone raised to 1,000 preflop and the button called. Friedman then three-bet to 3,625 from the small blind with . The original raiser folded, the button called, and it was heads-up action to the flop, which contained two spades.
Friedman bet 2,500, his opponent called, and the dealer burned and turned the . Friedman bet 4,400, the button moved all in for 17,000, and Friedman called. The button rolled over the for a flush, and Friedman was crippled.
The rest of his chips disappeared a short time later, marking the second time Friedman has busted the MSPT Main Event (his first ever). However, we haven't seen the last of Friedman as he plans to reenter after he takes a breather.
It's been a dream start for Brandon Tharp here on Day 1c. He's playing well, hitting cards, and is the early chip leader. His heater is bound to cool, but right now he's soundly taking care of any and all who stand in his way. Take Jason Smith for instance.
In a recent hand, there was around 15,000 in the pot and a board reading when Tharp bet 7,000 and Smith moved all in for 16,500. Tharp tanked for a bit before making the call, and his was ahead of Smith's . The river was a blank, and Tharp's nines held to give him another big pot while sending Smith to the rail.
Well, that's all she wrote for 2012 World Series of Poker bracelet winner Nick Jivkov. He was on his second bullet today (fifth overall), and just fell at the hands of another bracelet winner, Adam Friedman.
We missed the hand, but Friedman was kind enough to fill us in on the details. It happened when Jivkov opened for 500 from early position and Friedman three-bet to 1,125. The button called, as did Jivkov, and three players saw a flop of with two spades. Jivkov checked, Friedman bet 1,375, and the button folded. Jivkov made the call an offsuit hit the turn.
Jivkov checked for a second time and Friedman bet 2,875. Jivkov tanked for a solid two minutes before check-raising all in, and Friedman snap-called with . Jivkov tabled for a gutshot, which he wouldn't hit as the river blanked.
That does it for Jivkov's time at the MSPT FireKeepers, though there is a good chance we'll see him next month at the Venetian stop in Las Vegas.
for jacks and nines, nut it was no good as Tharp held pocket queens. Neither the turn nor river changed a thing, and Bekavac hit the rail.
. Smith nearly tripled on the hand while eliminating the short-stacked opponent.
. The original raiser folded, the button called, and it was heads-up action to the 
flop, which contained two spades.
. Friedman bet 4,400, the button moved all in for 17,000, and Friedman called. The button rolled over the 
for a flush, and Friedman was crippled.
was ahead of Smith's 
. The river was a blank, and Tharp's nines held to give him another big pot while sending Smith to the rail.
with two spades. Jivkov checked, Friedman bet 1,375, and the button folded. Jivkov made the call an offsuit 
for a gutshot, which he wouldn't hit as the river blanked.
