On its annual conference call, the WSOP announced the return of the Carnivale of Poker to the tables inside the Rio. Originally taking place from 1998-2000, the Carnivale of Poker was at one time the second largest poker event in the world.
The series is set to run alongside the 2013 WSOP and offer plenty of options on its schedule including events in hold'em, Omaha, H.O.R.S.E. and Chinese poker. To further juice up the events, a special point system will be in place that allows players to earn points as they go for seeding on an overall leader board. That overall leader board will see the top players net their share of an exclusive $100,000 prize pool.
The Carnivale of Poker events are a step up from the Rio Daily Deepstacks that will be running each day, taking place inside the massive Rio Pavilion and the Rio Convention Center every day at 3 p.m., 6 p.m., and 10 p.m. from May 29 through July 12. Along with winning the cash in each event, winners of each event will receive a specially crafted gold and diamond medallion. It is now more than ever that there is really no reason whatsoever to miss out on the largest poker festival in the world this summer.
Robert Cheung open-shoved for 224,000 from the hijack seat, and Claudia Crawford went into the tank on the button.
"I'm all in," she finally announced, pushing her stacks forward.
Both blinds released, and Cheung turned over .
"I have three outs?" he asked Crawford.
She shook her head, rolling over .
"You called me with pocket fives?" Cheung said, astonished. "I'm sorry ma'am, but that's a terrible call."
Cheung's comments were still lingering in the air as the dealer rapped the tabled and spread . The Canadian took the lead with a pair of aces, and held when Crawford was unable to connect with the turn () or the river ().
Cheung doubled to 460,000 chips, while Crawford was crippled down to 95,000.
Action folded around to Ben Reason in the cutoff and he opened for 33,000. Tripp Kirk then three-bet to 76,000, Reason moved all in for 365,000 and Kirk snap-called.
"F***," Reason deadpanned before revealing the . He must have known he was behind and sure enough he was as Kirk tabled the . While Reason got it in bad, the flop gave him the lead with a pair of aces. The turn and river failed to provide Kirk with a jack and he was left with 241,000.
In the very next hand after he doubled Ben Reason, Tripp Kirk moved all in after action folded to him on the button. After the small blind folded, WSOP Circuit River Rock (Vancouver) Casino Champion Sandra Wong called off for 216,000 from the big.
Kirk:
Wong:
"I thought you were weak," Wong said upon discovering Kirk had the best hand. She held two overs, but neither would come as the board ran out a dry . Wong finished in 23rd place and earned $8,161 for her efforts.
Action folded around to Abraham Abud in the small blind and he raised to 32,000. Parwez Nawabi was in the big and responded by moving all in for 219,000, which Abud called.
Robert Cheung opened to 38,000 from under the gun, Claudia Crawford three-bet shoved for 167,000 from the hijack seat, and the action folded back to Cheung who waited for a second or two before calling.
Crawford:
Cheung:
The board ran out , and Crawford was eliminated in 22nd place.
Sean Winter was all in and at risk for 300,000 or so on a flop of holding . His flush draw was live, but Joseph Hebert held a pair and two diamonds with .
Both the turn () and the river () were black bricks, and Winter hit the rail in 21st place.
Benjamin Reason opened for a standard raise in middle position, and 2012 World Series of Poker bracelet winner Nick Jivkov three-bet jammed for 330,000 from the small blind. Reason tank-called.
Reason:
Jivkov:
Kevin Saul tried to will an ace or a jack from the deck for his good friend Jivkov, but Reason held as the board rolled out . Jivkov hit the rail in 20th place, earning $9,681, while Reason now has around 770,000 chips.
![[user101598]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
.
.
. The Canadian took the lead with a pair of aces, and held when Crawford was unable to connect with the turn (
) or the river (
).
. While Reason got it in bad, the 
turn and 
and Nawabi doubled on the hand.
, and Crawford was eliminated in 22nd place.
