Matthew Hollinger has been in rough shape for a little while. With only 73,000 chips, he went all in preflop from the cutoff and was called by Arthur Vea in the big blind.
Hollinger: 
Vea: 
Vea bested Hollinger with a board reading {aj}
2010 World Series of Poker
Event #1: $500 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold'em
Day: 2
Event Info
2010 World Series of Poker
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Buy-in
$500
Prize Pool
$324,450
Entries
721
Level
22
Blinds
15,000 / 30,000
Ante
4,000
Players Left 1 / 721
Filter
(1)
Arthur Vea has built his stack up to 785,000. Sitting in the small blind, he called Chris Reider's button raise to 90,000. When Reider bet 90,000 into the 
flop, Vea went all in for 481,000, and Reider folded.
Hoai Pham raised 50,000 in the small blind and Chris Reider re-raised, putting himself all in preflop. Pham, who had less chips than Reider going into the hand, snap-called.
Pham: 
Reider: 
The board came down 
and Pham's kings held, sending his chip count to 1,020,000.
Arthur Vea limped on the button and Hoai Pham folded in the small blind. Next door in the big blind, Christopher Reider shoved and Vea snap-called.
Vea: 
Reider: 
Reider didn't get any help from the board that came down 
and was escorted to the cage to collect his winning.
Level: 22
Blinds: 15,000/30,000
Ante: 4,000
After less than a dozen hands played heads-up, Pham opened to $80,000 on the button. Arthur Vea called.
The flop was a scattered 
. Vea checked and Pham went all in. Vea tanked for a moment before calling.
Vea: 
Pham: 
The on the turn and the 
on the river could not save Vea, who was eliminated in second place.
Throughout Day 2 Hoai Pham remained focused and determined to do his best. With every decision he was deliberate and it didn't hurt that he picked up some big hands. Fittingly he ended the day with pocket aces.
At the same time he wasn't afraid to make big lay downs. He folded ace-king face up with just two tables left in a spot where he could have raced for the chip lead, opting to play it safe. His patience clearly paid looking at his first-place finish and new World Series of Poker bracelet.
Pham was born in Vietnam and is a dealer at the Village Club Poker Room in San Diego, California. He traveled to Las Vegas to try his luck on the other side of the felt and is proud to be the last player standing.
"This is magical," he told reporters after taking pictures. "I knew I could win."
Over seven hundred casino employees arrived at the Rio on Day 1 searching for a WSOP bracelet, but only one could be crowned. Hoai Pham bested the 721 player field and after two days of grueling action he is the champion of Event #1.
Pham will be presented his bracelet tomorrow at 2 p.m. in the Pavilion Room and, per his request, the Vietnamese National Anthem will be played. He also told our friend Nolan Dalla that he will be singing the lyrics aloud.
Congratulation to Hoai Pham for his first WSOP bracelet and a cool $71,424!
Event #1: $500 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold'em
Day 2 Completed
