Bobby Miller had over 200,000 before he moved tables. In about 40 minutes of play Miller was down to his last 48,000. Adrian Buckley had placed a bet to put Miller all in if he called. The board read .
" A set, really?" said Miller.
Buckley didn't respond. He was still and quiet. The loudest thing, besides his pink Kingdom Hearts hoodie, was the stack of orange chips in front of him. It seemed Miller could not get away from his hand and he eventually called. Buckley quickly snapped over and Miller showed . The river was the and Buckley silently fist pumped and took the pot. Miller was eliminated with 110 players remaining.
Allen Kessler was all in against Brian Green, and Kessler had Green covered on this hand. Kessler had the , but Green had the . The board ran out , and Green doubled through Kessler.
Then, on the next hand, Kessler doubled through Green by making a flush despite getting his money in behind once again, but he couldn't keep the momentum going.
Shortly after, Kessler stopped by the media desk to tell us he was busted. He said he flopped two pair with , but his opponent had a set of kings.
In 2009, Bobby "Shooter" Hempkins won this event for $710,000 after he topped a field of 1,500 entries. One of the players he beat was Kelli Shields, and she was the last one Hempkins outlasted. Shields finished in second place for $370,000.
Now, six years later, the two are seated at the same table in the same WinStar River Poker Series Main Event. They're also seated right next to one another, with Hempkins in Seat 2 and Shields in Seat 3 at the table.
Right now, Hempkins has Shields out-chipped with 76,000 to her 25,000.
A player limped in from under the gun and five others also limped before the big blind checked his option. That brought seven players to the flop and all of them checked.
The turn was the , and it took one 10,000-chip bet from JP Phan to whittle the field down to just two, as Brandon Steven was the lone caller.
The came on the river, and both Phan and Steven checked. Phan showed the for a pair of aces, and Steven mucked.
Each starting field plays down to 10% remains. With 484 entries in the Day 1c field, that means the players will stick around until there are 49 remaining. Given how long it took to reach 10% of the field on Day 1a and Day 1b, that should come sometime between 2-3 a.m. tonight.
After Day 1a, 27 players advanced with Maury Solano finishing with the biggest stack. At the end of Day 1b, there were 42 players remaining with Cord Garcia emerging as the overall chip leader.
All players that reach Day 2 will be in the money and return on Monday to play for the guaranteed top prize of $1 million.
Barry Hutter has moved over 300,000 in chips, and he did so thanks to two recent hands to boosted his stack.
On the first of the two, Hutter opened with a raise to 5,000 from under the gun, and he was called in three spots. On the flop, Hutter fired a continuation bet of 10,500 and all of his opponents folded.
Then, on the next hand, Hutter picked up two aces in the big blind and had a short-stacked player at risk with the . The flop, turn, and river ran out , and Hutter won the pot.
From early position, Barry Hutter raised to 5,000. Steve Buckner reraised to 22,000 from middle position, and then Calaeb Roland called on the button. Play folded back to Hutter, he gave it up, and it was Buckner versus Roland going to the flop.
After the came out, Buckner checked. Roland also checked, and the dealer added the to the board on the turn. Buckner fired 22,000, and Roland raised it up to 48,000.
"Call," announced Buckner a few seconds after getting the raise amount confirmed.
.
and Miller showed 
. The river was the 
and Buckley silently fist pumped and took the pot. Miller was eliminated with 110 players remaining.
, but Green had the 
. The board ran out 
, but his opponent had a set of kings.
flop and all of them checked.
, and it took one 10,000-chip bet from JP Phan to whittle the field down to just two, as Brandon Steven was the lone caller.
came on the river, and both Phan and Steven checked. Phan showed the 
for a pair of aces, and Steven mucked.
. The flop, turn, and river ran out 
, and both players checked.