2009 World Series of Poker

Event 2 - $40,000 No Limit Hold'em
Day: 1
Event Info

2009 World Series of Poker

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
aa
Prize
$1,891,012
Event Info
Buy-in
$40,000
Entries
201
Level Info
Level
30
Blinds
100,000 / 200,000
Ante
30,000

Hellmuth Joins an Already Stacked Table

No race car crash. No crazy get up. In fact, no publicity stunt at all. A simple entrance of handshakes and Phil Hellmuth starts playing poker.

He joins the following lineup at table 70:

Seat 1: Scott Seiver
Seat 2: Scotty Nguyen
Seat 3: Phil Ivey
Seat 4: Brett Richey
Seat 5: David "The Dragon" Pham
Seat 6: Alan Sass
Seat 7: Phil Hellmuth
Seat 8: Corwin Cole
Seat 9: Unfortunate unknown player

Tags: Phil Hellmuth

Lindgren Rockets Back

Erick Lindgren
Erick Lindgren
There was about 60,000 in the middle and the board showed {3-Spades}{3-Hearts}{10-Hearts}{2-Diamonds} when a player in Seat 1 shoved all in and was called by both Erick Lindgren and Sandor Demjan. Lindgren was the short stack in this encounter, while Demjan had both covered.

Lindgren showed {A-Hearts}{A-Diamonds}, better than the pocket jacks of the initial all in and the {K-Hearts}{J-Hearts} of Demjan. The river was the {10-Diamonds}, and Lindgren took the main pot, more than tripling up to about 200,000 in the process. Demjan, meanwhile, has slipped to 140,000.

Tags: Erick LindgrenSandor Demjan

Who ISN'T here?

We've spent the last few hours talking about who's here and how they're doing. Let's take a moment and look at some of the notable players who are missing from this elite field.

Lyle Berman - He made the final table of the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event last year but the WPT chairman is nowhere to be found in the Amazon Room.

Erik Seidel - He apologized on Twitter to everyone who picked him in their fantasy pool, but the eight-time bracelet winner is attending one of his children's graduations today.

Gus Hansen - We've heard rumblings that the Great Dane planned to skip this event as he has a rather substantial wager on the French Open.

Patrik Antonius - He's in town and has been golfing with the high-stakes crowd over the last few days but is not playing today.

Minh Ly - "Big Game" regular Ly is nowhere to be found.

Todd Brunson - Big Papa is playing over at Table 58, but his bracelet-winning son is notably absent from this event.

Cliff "JohnnyBax" Josephy - Though the online contingent is out in force at this event, Bax didn't join them.

Scotty Gets Sassed

Alan Sass opened for 2,800 from early position, Scotty Nguyen bumped it to 9,000 from the button and Sass made the call. The flop came down {10-Spades} {8-Hearts} {3-Diamonds} and Sass check-called a 9,000 bet from Nguyen. The turn fell the {8-Spades} and this time Sass led out for 20,000. Nguyen smooth-called and they went to the river, the {J-Spades}. Sass bet 48,000 and after a lengthy tank, Nguyen flashed {Q-Clubs} {Q-Diamonds} and tossed his hand into the muck, conceding the pot.

"I put you on pocket jacks!" said Scotty as Sass raked in the pot, increasing his stack to 137,000. The "Prince of Poker" was left with 71,000.

A Welcome Turn for Shorr

The table folded around to Nicolas Levi who raised to 4,200 from the small blind. Then Shannon Shorr reraised to 11,200 from the big blind. Levi shoved all in for 70,000 total, and Shorr called with his remaining 33,000. Levi showed {A-Spades}{J-Hearts} and Shorr {9-Diamonds}{9-Hearts}.

Things looked bleak for Shorr after the flop came {8-Diamonds}{A-Hearts}{4-Hearts}, but the {9-Clubs} came on the turn, giving Shorr his set. The river was the {K-Clubs}, and Shorr doubled up to 77,000. Levi slipped to 36,000.

Tags: Nicolas LeviShannon Shorr

Eric Liu Eliminated by Mark Seif

Eric Liu
Eric Liu
It was unfortunately a short day for CardRunners pro Eric Liu, who just busted courtesy of Mark Seif.

With the board reading {7-Clubs} {6-Diamonds} {2-Spades} {9-Hearts} on the turn, Seif led out for 22,000, Liu moved all in and Seif made the call. Liu showed {6-Diamonds} {9-Diamonds} for two pair while Seif flipped up {8-Clubs} {8-Diamonds} for a pair and an open-ended straight draw. A third eight spiked on the river for Seif, making him a set and eliminating Liu from the tournament.

Seif is now up to 290,000 and is among the chip leaders.

Tags: Eric LiuMark Seif