Event 54 - $5,000 No Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball w/ rebuys Day 1 | 2007 World Series of Poker

07-04-2007 11:22 UTC-8

Empty Chairs at Empty Tables

Though the cards went in the air on time for this event, players have been taking their time getting into their seats, electing to chat it up with each other instead. On one of the first hands dealt, Andy Black raised it up with 2-3-5-6-K only to not get a single customer as there was only one other guy at his table at the time.

Steve Zolotow and Erik Seidel had four empty chairs at their table. After Zolotow raised it up and collected the 650 in blinds and antes he said to the dealer "hurry up and deal fast before these guys get here."

07-04-2007 11:14 UTC-8

Tables of Death

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Practically every table in play today is a table of death-- check out these examples:

Table 1: Erick Lindgren, Andy Bloch, Chad Brown, Lyle Berman, David Chiu

Table 7: Mickey Appleman, Freddy Deeb, Scotty Nguyen, Barry Greenstein

Table 8: Steve Zolotow, Todd Brunson, Erik Seidel

Table 12: Thor Hansen, Chip Reese, Michael Binger

07-04-2007 11:11 UTC-8

So . . . How Do You Play This Game?

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No-limit 2-7 single draw is played just like 2-7 triple draw with two key differences -- it is played no-limit, and there is only one draw. Straights and flushes count against a players hand, and aces play for high only, hence the best hand (a wheel) being 2-3-4-5-7. Additionally, players must open the pot for a raise. No limpers allowed!

A literal who's who of poker is gathered at the twelve tables we have in play for this event, including Barry Greenstein, $50K H.O.R.S.E. champion Freddy Deeb, Erik Seidel, Men "The Master" Nguyen, Ted Forrest, Minh Ly, Scotty Nguyen, Mickey Appleman, Chip Reese and Billy Baxter.

Play will start out seven-handed today, gradually working down to six-handed.

Level: 1

Blinds: 100/200

Ante: 50

07-04-2007 11:07 UTC-8

Cards are in the Air!

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Nolan Dalla just started off the tournament by announcing he had the only two-time winner of this event, John Bonetti, on the phone from Houston. Bonetti was feeling ill and unfortunately had to skip the event. Via cell-phone held to mic, Bonetti told everyone in the Amazon Room that he hoped to be back to play next year, and to "shuffle up and deal!"

07-04-2007 07:18 UTC-8

The Last Preliminary Event

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This event should be a lot of fun. An elite field will assemble today at Noon for the $5,000 Deuce to Seven single draw (with rebuys) event. This is a great format, and the players should be prepared to gamble. We'll see you at Noon to kick things off.