Kenny Nguyen is having no problems accumulating chips today. He called us over to tell us how he picked up another 50,000. Nguyen opened with pocket aces and his opponent reraised him. Nguyen four-bet to 3,700 and his opponent five-bet to 10,700.
Nguyen called and the flop came . The turn was a queen and Nguyen's opponent moved all in. Nguyen called and saw bad news when his opponent turned over for a set. But when you're running that good, of course an ace came on the river for Nguyen.
The rate of eliminations has been impressive so far. The board reads that 830 players are left of 911 entrants. Eight tables have already been broken and the pace doesn't seem to be slowing. With players able to enter tomorrow's Day 1b flight it seems that they are willing to gamble a little more.
When we were doing a pass through the room, we noticed the seat formerly occupied by Steve Brecher was empty. We talked with Stephen Kats, who was seated at the table, and he was kind enough to inform us of Brecher's demise.
According to Kats, Brecher raised to 550 under the gun and the next player to act made it 1,400 to go. Action folded all the way back around to Brecher, and he promptly moved all in for about 6,000. His opponent made the call and it was off to the races.
Showdown
Brecher:
Opponent:
Brecher was ahead, but not after the {X} flop. Both the turn and river blanked, and Brecher became an early Day 1a casualty. We're guessing he'll be back in action tomorrow.
Action folded to an unknown player in the cutoff and he put the pressure on with a raise to 600. Chris Tryba decided to defend from the big blind with a call, and then both players proceeded to check it down as the board ran out . "Nines," Tryba proclaimed as he rolled over . It was good as the cutoff sent his hand to the muck.
We saw Allen "The Chainsaw" Kessler picking up his phone and making his way out of the tournament area. The players at the table were nice enough to fill us in on Kessler's elimination.
Kessler opened to 500 preflop, John Hayes called from the cutoff and the big blind called as well. The flop fell , the big blind checked, Kessler bet 700 and Hayes raised to 1,600. The big blind got out of the way and Kessler raised to 3,200. Hayes four-bet shoved and Kessler called.
Kessler:
Hayes:
The turn gave Hayes the flush coming and Kessler needed the board to pair or catch the case ten. He bricked when the river came and Kessler was eliminated.
An under-the-gun player opened for 600 and Dwyte Pilgrim made the call from the hijack. The player in the cutoff then made it 2,500 to go, which both his opponents called. It then went check-check to the cutoff on the flop, and he quickly threw out an orange T5,000 chip. The UTG then moved all in for 6,375 and Pilgrim eyed both suspiciously before releasing his hand. The cutoff made the call and Pilgrim discovered he had made a good lay down.
Cutoff:
UTG:
After the was put out on the turn, followed by the river, Pilgrim congratulated himself on the lay down and then counted down his stack, which totaled 35,000.
It seems that every time we pass by Kenny Nguyen's table his chip stack is growing. Although we can't seem to catch him in a hand, he's chipped up to 70,000 and seems to be the chipleader by wide margin.
With 900 in the pot and a board reading , Josh Brikis checked and opened the door for his opponent to bet 700. Brikis, donned in his patented shades and backwards cap, shook his head and said, "I should have bet the flop," before sending his cards to the muck.
It was a small hand, and Brikis seemed content to move on to the next with his 28,000 stack.
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. The turn was a queen and Nguyen's opponent moved all in. Nguyen called and saw bad news when his opponent turned over 
. "Nines," Tryba proclaimed as he rolled over 
, the big blind checked, Kessler bet 700 and Hayes raised to 1,600. The big blind got out of the way and Kessler raised to 3,200. Hayes four-bet shoved and Kessler called.
and Kessler needed the board to pair or catch the case ten. He bricked when the river came 
and Kessler was eliminated.
flop, and he quickly threw out an orange T5,000 chip. The UTG then moved all in for 6,375 and Pilgrim eyed both suspiciously before releasing his hand. The cutoff made the call and Pilgrim discovered he had made a good lay down.
river, Pilgrim congratulated himself on the lay down and then counted down his stack, which totaled 35,000.
, Josh Brikis checked and opened the door for his opponent to bet 700. Brikis, donned in his patented shades and backwards cap, shook his head and said, "I should have bet the flop," before sending his cards to the muck.
