Allen "Chainsaw" Kessler had bet out 1,500 on a board of 
and watched his opponent raise to 4,000. Kessler called, and both players checked the 
turn. Kessler led out 5,000 on the 
river, and his opponent folded after some thought.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
23,000
5,000
|
5,000 |
|
||
Level: 9
Blinds: 300/600
Ante: 75
The table folded around to Alex Masek in the small blind, and he raised to 1,700. Drazen Ilich called from the big blind and the blind battle commenced between the two tournament regulars, who boast well over $1,000,000 in cashes combined.
After seeing a 
flop, Masek fired 2,000. Ilich called, and they took in a 
on the turn. Masek checked, Ilich bet 3,200, and Masek folded after a minute of thought.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
28,700
3,700
|
3,700 |
|
18,300
-3,700
|
-3,700 |
We didn't catch how the chips went in, but Robert Cheung was all in for 13,000 holding the 
against his opponent's 
. He was in great shape to double up until the 
peeled off on the flop. After some sighs around the table, Cheung found hope when the 
came on the turn and gave him a flush draw.
"Justice," said Cheung as the 
came on the river to make him the nut flush.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
26,000
13,000
|
13,000 |
|
||
Ting Ho had some success here at the WSOP Circuit Council Bluffs yesterday when she finished as runner-up to Nathan Bjerno in Event #9 $580 No-Limit Hold'em for $16,302. It was an impressive performance for the woman dating the current National Leaderboard points leader, Rex Clinkscales. Unfortunately for her, she wouldn't find the same success here on Day 1a.
Ting got her last 5,250 all in preflop holding the 
and was racing against the 
of Tony Hartman. According to the PokerNews Odds Calculator, Ting had a 45.63% chance of surviving the hand, though that dropped to just 12.73% on the 
flop. The turn gave Ting just a 9.09% chance of doubling, and the 
river dropped it to zero. Ting took her leave from the Day 1a flight and opted not to fire another bullet.
Meanwhile, Eddie Blumenthal was left with just 3,400 after he ran his 
into the of an opponent who was all in for 10,050. The board ran out an uneventful 
and Blumenthal was left with five big blinds.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
3,400
-10,400
|
-10,400 |
|
Busted |
An under-the-gun player raised to 1,500, and Phil Mader made it 4,000 to go from late position. "This is going to be a big pot," said the under-the-gun player as he rubbed his temples before calling.
The players saw a flop of 
, and the first player checked. Mader continuation bet 5,000 and his opponent called. After seeing his opponent check a turn, Mader didn't slow down, firing 7,000. The player UTG folded, and Mader is near the century mark in chips.
Meanwhile, Jeff Heiberg is also hovering near 100,000 chips, and he and Mader appear to be among the chip leaders.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
100,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
100,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
The players are breaking once again, and dealers are racing off the green T25 chips. More than 80 players have busted out, though they can still enter the Day 1b portion of the tournament if they choose.
In the last hand before the break we caught Alex Masek raising preflop back and forth with his opponent. Masek reraised to 4,300, his opponent fired back 9,000, and Masek thought for a minute before making it 16,000. There was a quick "all-in" from his opponent and even a quicker "call" from Masek they both tabled their cards:
Masek: 
Opponent: 
The board ran out small cards and Masek will start level 10 with 44,000 chips.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
44,000
25,700
|
25,700 |
Level: 10
Blinds: 400/800
Ante: 100
Ari Engel, in the small blind and down to about 15 big blinds, three-bet to 4,400 after the button opened to 1,800. Scott Stanko made it 12,000 to go from the big blind, and the button mused about how he was too short to be on a steal before letting his hand go. Engel pushed the rest of his chips into the middle and the players showed their cards.
Engel:
Stanko:
Stanko's dominating position quickly disappeared on the flop: 
. The 
and brought him no help, and Engel doubled up to around 25,000.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
40,000
-12,000
|
-12,000 |
|
25,000
13,000
|
13,000 |
|
||
