Jazzar Mouron
Jazzar Mouron opened the pot with a raise before an opponent further down the line moved all in for 17,675. When it came back to Mouron, he paused for a moment while the dealer began to count down the all-in stack, and he would eventually flick the calling chips into the pot to put his opponent in danger of being eliminated.
Showdown
At-risk Player:
Mouron:
It was no fun for the player at risk, and it would only get worse as the dealer ran a flop of . The on the turn was useful, but he would need to find the last seven in the deck to stay alive. The on the river was indeed not a seven, and Mouron has sent another player off to the rail. After adding those chips to his own stack, Jazzar is up dangerously close to the century mark, sitting now with 98,000.
Danny Wong
Three-time WPT final tablist Danny Wong is making waves here at the end of Day 1a, having recently chipped up to 73,000 in chips.
Wong and two unknown opponents played a recent pot all the way to the showdown, as the board filled out . When the action was complete, both of Wong's opponents tabled different variations of Big Slick. Wong's rivered flush () proved plenty good against his opponents' kings and he raked in the pot to move to 73,000.
Soren Kongsgaard put it all on the line. With 12,000 chips in the middle, he and one other player took a heads-up flop of . Kongsgaard's opponent had first action and bet 10,000. Kongsgaard's response was to move all in for 30,025 total. It was a bet that eventually caused his opponent to fold.
Jonathan Little
The big pots are the glamorous ones, but it's wining all those little pots that really helps build a stack to weather some rough times. Jonathan Little just dragged one of those pots. It was four-ways on a flop of ; everyone checked. When the turn came the , Little bet out 2,000. Only one of his three opponents called.
The river brought another round of checks from Little and his remaining opponent. Little's top pair, , carried the day.
"Action Dan" Harrington
On a flop of , Dan Harrington took the lead with a bet of 1,200. His lone opponent came along with the call, and the turn card revealed the . Harrington kept the heat on with another bet, 3,100 this time. Once more, his opponent made the call to see the river bring the . Harrington fired 4,000 chips into the pot, and his opponent matched the bet for the final time.
Harrington tabled , and his straight to the ten was good enough to earn him that nice little pot. After stacking up his new chips, Harrington has moved himself up to about 59,000 just as the final break of Day 1a approaches.
Jonathan Little and the now-extinct Shaun Deeb
A few hands ago, Jonathan Little and Shaun Deeb were chit-chatting about the button and the blinds, and Little announced that he was raising with any two cards the next time he was in second position.
Sure enough, a few hands later, he opened the pot with a second-position raise to 1,100, and the short stack of Shaun Deeb went into the middle from the next seat over. When it folded back around to Little, he quickly made the call for about 8,000 total to put Deeb at risk of elimination.
Showdown
Little:
Deeb:
Deeb hadn't caught a break all day, and this race would be no exception. The dealer ran out a board full of blanks: , and that's the end of the road for the young pro.
During the last level, Deeb was lamenting the fact that he failed to win a single showdown today, and the largest pot he pulled in was only worth 1,300 chips. It didn't seem to be of much concern to him though as he quickly made his way out the door in search of the nearest internet connection for another long session of grinding.
Antonio Esfandiari
We caught up with a hand in progress as the dealer was running out a flop of . It was a heads-up raised pot, and there were just about 10,000 chips in the middle after the first betting round. Action was on Antonio Esfandiari, and he sat motionless for a minute or so.
"I'm supposed to fold, I think," he said to the dealer, drawing a slight smirk from the attractive young lady. Not heeding his own advice, Esfandiari overbet the pot with 15,000 chips which was enough to cover his opponent. After some quick deliberation, the short stacked foe made the call, turning over . It was bad news for him as The Magician tabled .
The turn card was a useless , and the that filled out the board would provide no help either. Esfandiari has claimed another victim, pushing his chip count up to a very healthy 110,000 now.