Level: 8
Blinds: 200/400
Ante: 50
2010 World Series of Poker
Event #3: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em
Day: 1a
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2010 World Series of Poker
Buy-in
$1,000
Prize Pool
$3,910,500
Entries
4,345
Level
33
Blinds
120,000 / 240,000
Ante
30,000
Kobe Advances, KingKobeMVP Does Not
It was a good day for Kobe Bryant, as his Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Phoenix Suns to secure a spot in the NBA Finals versus Boston. Not such a good day for Sam “KingKobeMVP” Stein, as the NAPT Venetian Main Event runner-up was just eliminated here near the end of Level 7.
With the board showing 
, Stein’s opponent checked from middle position, and Stein pushed all in from the cutoff with his last 4,275. Stein’s opponent called, turning over pocket kings. Stein flashed a seven before leaving, and after a check with the floor by the dealer his full hand was revealed to the table -- 
.
Wert's Up
![[user46392]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
There were three players in the hand when we caught up with the action, and a 
flop out. Dmitry Stelmak in the small blind checked to David van Wert under the gun, who bet a roughly pot-sized 2,700. The gentleman in the cutoff folded, but Stelmak tilted his head to one side before making the call.
Stelmak checked again on the 
turn and this time van Wert checked behind, but when Stelmak checked a third time on the 
river, van Wert bet 4,500. Stelmak thought about it for a long, long time and eventually he silently called - but van Wert turned over an extremely premium 
for a set of queens, and Stelmak mucked his hand.
Current standings - Stelmak 16,000, van Wert 40,000.
Number Crunching
We were just passing by the table of Mohsin "Chicagocards1" Charania and Thomas "Thunder" Keller where they and their tablemates were speculating about the total number of entrants we'll see for this event.
Sounds like Charania and another player have made an even money bet of $200 on an over/under line of 6,000. When they asked our reporter his thoughts on the matter -- he surmised we'd see more than 6,000 ultimately -- the discussion immediately turned toward the idea of a buy-out.
The total entrants right now is nearing 4,000, and that number will keep rising overnight and through the start of tomorrow's Day 1b. Meanwhile, of the 2,601 who showed up today, 680 are still with chips.
Grigorian Gone
After two players had limped in from middle position, Chris Grigorian pushed all in from late position for his last 3,575. It folded back around to the first limper who folded, but the second was glad to make the call, tabling 
. Grigorian would need help with his 
.
But no help came as the board went 
, and Grigorian is out.
Not Much for Little
There was a limp under the gun and the action subsequently folded around to Jon Little in the cutoff who made it 1,000 to go. Everyone else folded but the limper shoved for 2,450; Little made the call and they turned the cards over.
Under-the-gun limper: 
Little: somewhat behind with 
Board: an uneventful 
Little was left with, well, very little. He shoved to a raise the next hand and picked up a few chips that way, but is still in a spot of bother on just 5,000.
Slim Stack Gets Fatter
We arrived tableside quite late in the hand but it looked as though Amarillo Slim had bet out on the turn of the 
board and his opponent called.
Either way, both players checked the river and Slim turned over 
. "I needed a spade," said his disgruntled opponent, and the rather frail Slim took his time over stacking his chips - after that, he's on an up-there 35,000.
Baxter Bounces Back
Billy Baxter had slipped back down to a short stack, but a recent hand has somewhat improved his prospects.
The board showed 
, at which Baxter found himself all in with 
versus an opponent's 
. The river brought the 
, improving Baxter's hand to a straight and ensuring his tourney life. He's now up to 10,500.
After Dinner Discussion
Over at Lisa Parsons' table they are discussing how the plan tonight is to play four more one-hour levels, and not two as some had thought. That's the plan, anyway.
Parsons mentioned how the schedule tended to go at the Main Event, and her neighbor asked her how deep she had gone in there. "I finished 76th in '08," she explained, and her tablemate expressed his admiration. Indeed, Parsons made it to the next-to-last day of play in 2008, earning $77,200 after outlasting over 6,700 players.
"Well, this is the furthest I've ever made it," he added. "I've never made it to the dinner break before."
We'll see how much further he makes it. Parsons looks as though she'll be around for a while, having built a nice stack of 34,000 thus far.
Back to Work
Players have presumably dined, and are now back at the felt. 788 of the 2,601 who started the day currently remain.
Shuffle up and deal!