We'll start with the obvious. We're fans of Antonio Esfandiari's bright yellow button-down shirt-- the color looks great on him and the cut is perfect, but the matching headband (which also poofs his hair up into a mini-afro) isn't doing him any favors. However, Esfandiari isn't the most brightly-dressed player at this featured table, not by a longshot. Those honors go to Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, who paired his white sequined hoodie with a black shirt bearing a sequined logo. There are also sequins covering the back pockets of his jeans and a fair amount of bling around his neck. Annie Duke has pulled her Che Guevara jacket out of retirement (though thankfully not the matching khaki hat), while Scotty Nguyen went with an all-white ensemble today, accented with enough gold chains to strangle a rhinoceros.
It's been an up-and-down orbit for Barry Shulman. Greg Raymer checked a flop, and Shulman bet 1,000. Raymer called to get to the turn. Raymer again check-called a bet, this one 2,000. The river earned a third check from Raymer, and this time, Shulman checked behind. "Two pair," said Raymer. Shulman showed for a flopped set and took the pot.
A few hands later, Shulman checked a board, and Sammy Farha bet 400. Mike Matusow minraised to 800, and Barry Shulman surprised the table by check-raise three-betting to 2,600. Farha was sufficiently scared away, but Matusow called. Shulman checked the turn, and Matusow checked as well. Barry checked again after the river, then called when Matusow bet 2,500. Matusow showed , and Shulman unhappily mucked pocket jacks.
He is down to 16,500 while Matusow is up to 48,500. The Mouth gets louder as his stack grows, so we may be breaking out the ear plugs soon. Barry, on the other hand, has stopped participating in the conversation entirely.
Antonio Esfandiari opened for 600 from under-the-gun and both Annie Duke and Daniel Negreanu called from the blinds.
The flop came down . Duke and Negreanu checked to Esfandiari, who bet 1,525. Duke called and Negreanu called as well. The turn fell the and this time, Duke led out for 2,800. Negreanu called and Esfandiari folded. The river was the and Duke made it 5,300 to go. Negreanu leaned back, stretched his arms over his head and screwed his face up as he tanked. Finally, he made the call.
Negreanu showed for the flush, and the win, taking down the 23,000 pot-- the largest we've seen so far on the ESPN featured table.
Allen Cunningham (yes, we'd forgotten he was sitting here too) raised to 600 from middle position, and Mike Sexton called. Barry Shulman and Sammy Farha both called out of the blinds as well. The flop fell , and Shulman checked. Farha bet 1,000, and Cunningham, the original raiser, folded and went back to pretending he's invisible. Sexton was the only caller to join Shulman to the turn. Farha fired 2,500, and Sexton made a quick call. Farha slowed down with a check on the river, and when Sexton checked behind, Sammy turned up for top two on the flop. That was good enough for the win.
The two big stacks in the tournament to this point just tangled. The final board read and Jen Harman check-called bets of 1,000, 2,300, and 6,625 from Erik Seidel every step of the way after the flop came down.
Seidel tabled for a full house to win the pot. He is up to about 60,000 while Harman slips to roughly 57,000.
Barry Greenstein raised to 300 under the gun, and next to act, Barry Shulman flatted. Sammy Farha, Greg Raymer, Mike Matusow, and big blind Dan Harrington all called too. The six-handed flop came , and Harrington started things off with a 1,100 bet. Only Raymer made the call. The on the turn earned a check from Harrington. Raymer bet 2,000, and Harrington check-raised him to 8,000. Fossilman snap-folded. Harrington took the pot, moving to 35,000. Raymer continues to head in the downward direction and is now working with 20,500.
"We need TWO cocktail waitresses, baby!" Scotty Nguyen said, slurring his words just a tad.
Despite the early hour, Nguyen already appears to be halfway in the bag and he just motioned to the audience, declaring that he'd buy a round for everyone in the stands and up in the Jack Link's Lounge. When the waitresses failed to instantly materialize, Nguyen staggered over to media row where he asked the floor staff if they could call over a few cocktail servers before gingerly returning to the table.
When the servers did arrive, they were greeted with a hearty cheer from both Nguyen and the audience.
Greg Raymer limped under the gun, Barry Greenstein followed suit, and Barry Shulman completed the small blind. From the big blind, Sammy Farha raised the price of poker to 500. He didn't succeed in getting anyone to fold though, and they were four handed to a flop. It checked to Greenstein, who bet out 800. Shulman and Raymer both called while Farha gave up on the steal attempt.
The turn was the , and all three checked it. The river brought the , and once again, it checked to Greenstein. He bet 5,000, and Shulman folded. On its way to the muck, the was exposed. "It's kinda hard to call if you can't beat the mucked hand," laughed Raymer, folding his hand as well.
The other two tardy players have been settled in their seats for a few minutes, leaving only Phil Hellmuth's seat empty. Mike Matusow, who's still upset about his friend's absence, finally got him on the phone. He berated Hellmuth for a minute, telling him to get out of bed and get down to the Rio. Hellmuth apparently said he disagreed with Mike's assessment and was in no hurry to get here.
"The next time there's a freeroll, they won't invite you," Matusow told him. He might not want to bet on that.
![[user25067]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
flop, and Shulman bet 1,000. Raymer called to get to the 
turn. Raymer again check-called a bet, this one 2,000. The 
river earned a third check from Raymer, and this time, Shulman checked behind. "Two pair," said Raymer. Shulman showed 
for a flopped set and took the pot.
board, and Sammy Farha bet 400. Mike Matusow minraised to 800, and Barry Shulman surprised the table by check-raise three-betting to 2,600. Farha was sufficiently scared away, but Matusow called. Shulman checked the 
turn, and Matusow checked as well. Barry checked again after the 
river, then called when Matusow bet 2,500. Matusow showed 
, and Shulman unhappily mucked pocket jacks.
. Duke and Negreanu checked to Esfandiari, who bet 1,525. Duke called and Negreanu called as well. The turn fell the 
and this time, Duke led out for 2,800. Negreanu called and Esfandiari folded. The river was the 
for the flush, and the win, taking down the 23,000 pot-- the largest we've seen so far on the ESPN featured table.
, and Shulman checked. Farha bet 1,000, and Cunningham, the original raiser, folded and went back to pretending he's invisible. Sexton was the only caller to join Shulman to the 
turn. Farha fired 2,500, and Sexton made a quick call. Farha slowed down with a check on the 
, and Harrington started things off with a 1,100 bet. Only Raymer made the call. The 
on the turn earned a check from Harrington. Raymer bet 2,000, and Harrington check-raised him to 8,000. Fossilman snap-folded. Harrington took the pot, moving to 35,000. Raymer continues to head in the downward direction and is now working with 20,500.
, and once again, it checked to Greenstein. He bet 5,000, and Shulman folded. On its way to the muck, the