Phil Hellmuth Still a No Show
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We will have full details of his late arrival. He should be showing up shortly.
2007 World Series of Poker
Event 55 - $10,000 World Championship No Limit Holdem
Day: 1d
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2007 World Series of Poker
Buy-in
$10,000
Prize Pool
$59,784,954
Entries
6,358
Level
36
Blinds
400,000 / 800,000
Ante
100,000
We will have full details of his late arrival. He should be showing up shortly.
Gavin Smith Keeping the Pots Small Early
, and all three players check. The turn card pairs the board with the 
, and they check again. The river card is the
, the big blind checks, and Smith finally decides to bet 1,200. The player in middle position raises to 3,000, and the big blind folds. Smith calls, and his opponent shows A-K. Smith, seeing the ace, briefly thinks it's a chop and shows his A-Q as if he expects half the pot. But his second glance sees that his opponent has a full house, kings full of aces, and Smith quickly turns his hand back over and mucks.
If nothing else, this shows that Gavin Smith is playing some small ball early in the tournament. Many of the players in this field would have lost a lot more in this situation.
Robert Williamson III
But he's not the only player who doesn't mind a late start. Pot-limit Omaha specialist Robert Williamson III has just shown up and taken his seat.
Hal Lubarsky: Blind Ambition
Lubarsky played successful live poker at the Mirage for years, and used to be able to see his cards if he held them right up to his face. However, over the last 5-10 years, his vision has deteriorated so much that he now requires an assistant to sit behind him and whisper his hole cards in his ear, as well as the action on the flop, turn and river--much like Jason Holbrook, another blind player who competed on Day 1B of the Main Event.
Donna Harris, the poker room manager at Mirage, gave Lubarsky special permission to continue to play there with the help of his assistant. He's still there nearly every night and does quite well for himself, much to the chagrin of some of his sighted opponents. He estimates he's up over $20,000.
Today, Hal Lubarsky is tackling the WSOP Main Event. He is seated at Table 70 in the one seat, his assistant right behind him. He tells us that he much prefers playing live poker over online poker "because you get more interaction with people."
Our hats are off to Hal Lubarsky for being a great inspiration to all of us in the poker world.
Erick Lindgren Drops a Bit
, and all four players check. The turn card is the 
, the small blind checks, the big blind bets 750, the original raiser folds, Lindgren calls, and the small blinds folds. The river card is the 
, the big blind bets 1,200, and Lindgren folds. Erick Lindgren is down to about 15,700.
Players on a 20-Minute Break
Gavin Smith Rakes in a Nice Pot
, and about 5,400 in the pot, Gavin Smith was up against two opponents. They all checked the 
on the turn and Smith bet out 2,500 when the 
came on the river. Both his opponents folded, and Smith raked in a nice-sized pot.
Vinnie Vinh Sighting
I tracked down Tournament Director Jack Effel for confirmation -- Vinnie Vinh is playing in today's field.
Vinh originally had a chip stack in play early on Day 1a, but it was removed from play when word got out that Vinh was in a hospital. His money would be refunded, and he would be allowed to re-enter the tournament on a later day.
Today, Vinh showed up just minutes before registration closed. He gathered the money together for a new entry fee (there apparently wasn't time to process the refund, or it was in a non-negotiable form like a check), and got in the tournament under the deadline.
We all hope that he is healthy and focused, ready to give 100% of his concentration and skill to the biggest poker tournament of the year.
Vinnie Vinh, the enigma of this year's World Series of Poker, is in the field. Follow his progress with us throughout the day at PokerNews.com.
Play Resumes
Level: 2
Blinds: 100/200
Ante: 0