An early-position player limped, the small blind called and Sherman Elliott checked his option in the big blind. The flop was . The blinds checked and the EP player bet 225. The small blind folded and Elliott called. The turn was the and both players checked. The river was the . Elliot bet 700 and the EP player called.
Elliott showed for two pair and his opponent mucked angrily. After taking a few early hits, Elliott is back up to 18,600.
Donna Varlotto, better known as the girlfriend of Steve Wong, but also a great poker player in her own right, is here among the 15 tables at Buzio's Seafood Restaurant. She has 17,000 at the moment.
On a flop of Nikolay Evdakov checked from the small blind, his middle-position opponent bet 500 and Evdakov called. The turn was the and both players checked. The river was the . Evdakov led out for 500 and his opponent folded.
Evdakov, who has cashed a record-breaking 10 times at this year's WSOP, is now up to 24,000.
Carlos Mortensen opened with a preflop raise to 600 and the small blind made the call.
The flop of was checked around, before the fell on the turn. The small blind led out for 1,300 and Mortensen raised to 3,400. The small blind made the call.
The river was the and both players checked. The small blind showed , which was good to take it down. Mortensen slips to 17,000 chips.
Shane "Shaniac" Schleger, a bit breathless following the break, after having been outside watching the arrival of Phil Hellmuth -- about which, stay tuned -- was just involved in a hand with Joe Pelton. With the board reading , Pelton had fired out a bet of 3,200 and Schleger called without much hesitation.
Pelton showed 8-7 for sevens and fours, while Schleger held A-J for the better two pair. Schleger is up to 27,000, while Pelton has 19,000.
The Poker Brat, Phil Hellmuth has just arrived here at the Rio, in style as he always does. Phil was standing up in the front vehicle of a three-truck convoy of camouflage army vehicles. Mark "P0ker H0" Kroon assisted General Hellmuth out of his vehicle and ordered the eleven UB Army girls (one for each bracelet he's won) to "Attention!" Phil walked up and down the line of girls, inspecting them for duty. When they met his satisfaction, the General made his way up the red carpet, greeted by a throng of curious onlookers and shutterbugs.
After shouldering his way through the masses, Hellmuth has just taken his seat in the ESPN Featured Table, alongside Mark Seif and UFC'er Chuck Liddell.
On the turn, with the board showing , Jennifer Tilly checked to a player in the cutoff, who bet 1,000. Tilly called. On the river of the , the cutoff player bet out 1,250 and Tilly again made the call.
The cutoff showed and Tilly mucked. She told the player, "I knew you had the flush. I pay you off on the turn and the river." She looked clearly disappointed.