2018 WinStar River Poker Series

Main Event
Day: 1a
Event Info

2018 WinStar River Poker Series

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
73
Prize
$249,310
Event Info
Buy-in
$2,500
Prize Pool
$2,000,000
Entries
807
Level Info
Level
30
Blinds
60,000 / 120,000
Ante
20,000

Eyster Shoves on Minkin

Level 6 : 250/500, 75 ante
Kelly Minkin (L) and Kevin Eyster
Kelly Minkin (L) and Kevin Eyster

Kelly Minkin opened to 1,400 from early position and Kevin Eyster called on her left. The big blind also came along to see a flop of {q-Hearts}{10-Hearts}{8-Hearts}. The big blind checked and Minkin continued for 2,000. Eyster shipped all in for 9,650 and the big blind went into the tank for over a minute.

He eventually let his hand go and Minkin wasted little time before sending her cards to the muck as well. Eyster dragged in the pot to keep his tournament hopes alive.

Player Chips Progress
Kelly Minkin us
Kelly Minkin
46,000
-16,900
-16,900
Kevin Eyster us
Kevin Eyster
16,500
-6,000
-6,000
WSOP 1X Winner
WPT 2X Winner

Tags: Kelly MinkinKevin Eyster

Level: 6

Blinds: 250/500

Ante: 75

Romero Scores a Big Double Up

Level 5 : 200/400, 50 ante

Anton Kruit limped in from early position and Scott Davies raised to 1,600 from the small blind. Orlando Romero just called from the big blind and Kruit also called. The flop fell {10-Spades}{6-Clubs}{3-Diamonds} and both Davies and Romero checked. Kruit pushed in a bet of 4,500 and Davies quickly folded. Romero check-raised to 14,000 and Kruit quickly called.

The turn was the {8-Spades} and Romero shipped all in for 19,525. Kruit snap-called and turned over {10-Clubs}{8-Diamonds} for two pair which was ahead of Romero's {k-Clubs}{k-Diamonds}. However, the {3-Spades} on the river gave Romero a bigger two pair and he scored a big double up at the hands of Kruit.

Player Chips Progress
Orlando Romero us
Orlando Romero
73,000
11,500
11,500
Scott Davies us
Scott Davies
36,100
11,100
11,100
WSOP 1X Winner
Anton Kruit us
Anton Kruit
13,400

Tags: Orlando RomeroScott Davies

Staats Can't Hold

Level 5 : 200/400, 50 ante
Christopher Staats, pictured at a different event.
Christopher Staats, pictured at a different event.

Chris Staats got his last 11,500 or so in with {10-}{10-} on a flop of {8-Hearts}{5-Hearts}{4-Hearts} and was up against the {a-Hearts}{9-Spades} of a lone opponent, who had plenty of outs. He got there immediately when the {7-Hearts} fell to leave Staats dead to a chop and he took his leave when the river brought the {a-Clubs}.

Player Chips Progress
Chris Staats us
Chris Staats
Busted

Tags: Chris Staats

More Notables in

Level 5 : 200/400, 50 ante
DJ Alexander, pictured here last year.
DJ Alexander, pictured here last year.

Viet Vo just grabbed a seat on the left of Thayer Rasmussen. Vo ran deep in this in 2016 with a 31st-place finish, and he's coming off of a very strong result with second place in WPT Choctaw just a month ago for $302,725.

Another recent entry is DJ Alexander. The Houston native got 16th in this event last year in the midst of a career year, and he'll look to better that result here in 2018.

Meanwhile, Jeff Banghart and Jim Carroll are among those who have been forced to reenter after busting their first bullets.

Player Chips Progress
Thayer Rasmussen us
Thayer Rasmussen
57,100
Steve Ma us
Steve Ma
43,000
Viet Vo us
Viet Vo
25,000
Jim Carroll us
Jim Carroll
25,000
16,000
16,000
Jeff Banghart us
Jeff Banghart
25,000
-4,000
-4,000
DJ Alexander us
DJ Alexander
25,000

Tags: DJ AlexanderJeff BanghartJim CarrollThayer RasmussenViet Vo

Ho Barrels Three Streets

Level 5 : 200/400, 50 ante

The action folded around to Maria Ho in the small blind who limped in and Michael Simpson checked his option. The flop came {9-Diamonds}{6-Clubs}{2-Clubs} and Ho led out for 400. Simpson called and the {a-Hearts} fell on the turn.

Ho fired in another 1,400 and Simpson still called to see the {j-Spades} on the river. Ho reached back for a bet of 3,500 and Simpson wanted to see her cards. Ho turned over {j-Diamonds}{8-Diamonds} for a pair of jacks on the river and that was good enough to earn her the pot.

Player Chips Progress
Maria Ho us
Maria Ho
65,700
-6,300
-6,300
Michael Simpson us
Michael Simpson
11,500

Tags: Maria HoMichael Simpson

Level: 5

Blinds: 200/400

Ante: 50

Minkin Gets a Three-Bet Through

Level 4 : 150/300, 25 ante

Kevin Eyster opened to 700 from under the gun and was called by three players. Kelly Minkin was in the big blind and tossed in a three-bet to 3,800. Eyster quickly folded as did two other players. The button was the only player left to act and he thought about it for a minute before sending his cards to the muck as well.

Minkin raked in the pot and added to her ever-growing stack, climbing above 60,000 after stacking her new chips.

Player Chips Progress
Kelly Minkin us
Kelly Minkin
62,900
7,900
7,900
Kevin Eyster us
Kevin Eyster
22,500
3,500
3,500
WSOP 1X Winner
WPT 2X Winner

Tags: Kelly MinkinKevin Eyster

Updated Chip Counts

Level 4 : 150/300, 25 ante
Player Chips Progress
Maria Ho us
Maria Ho
72,000
47,000
47,000
Lou Garza us
Lou Garza
70,000
Jason Gooch us
Jason Gooch
62,000
62,000
62,000
Kelly Minkin us
Kelly Minkin
55,000
30,000
30,000
Greg Jennings us
Greg Jennings
30,000
30,000
30,000
John Reading us
John Reading
29,000
29,000
29,000
WSOP 1X Winner
John Richards us
John Richards
24,000
24,000
24,000
Patrick Eskandar us
Patrick Eskandar
24,000
24,000
24,000
Joe Elpayaa us
Joe Elpayaa
22,000
22,000
22,000
Day 1B Chip Leader
Ben Keeline us
Ben Keeline
19,700
19,700
19,700
Eric Rivkin us
Eric Rivkin
19,500
19,500
19,500
Kevin Eyster us
Kevin Eyster
19,000
-6,000
-6,000
WSOP 1X Winner
WPT 2X Winner
Ben Zamani us
Ben Zamani
16,000
-9,000
-9,000
Defending Champion
Cory Smith us
Cory Smith
15,000
15,000
15,000
Jim Carroll us
Jim Carroll
9,000
9,000
9,000