We've spotted a few more late arrivals as Level 2 winds down.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
9,000 | |
|
9,000 | |
|
9,000 | |
|
9,000 | |
|
9,000 |
These words were spoken by Phil Laak following a hand he just played. A player in middle position limped and Laak raised on the button. Chris Tryba joined from the small blind as the player in middle position called. On the 
flop, it was checked to Laak who led out. Both players called and the 
got checked around. This was the case on the 
as well and the player in middle position flipped up 
for top pair. Laak and Tryba mucked and both were down to below the starting stack in the early going.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
7,300 | -1,700 |
|
6,800 | -2,200 |
We were able get to Daniel Negreanu's table just as three players were being shown a flop of 
. After a check from the the small blind, Negreanu fired out a bet, and a player in late position three bet. The small blind then check-raised. Which both his opponents called.
The turn brought the 
where again the small blind checked and Negreanu bet out. The other two players quickly made the call.
The 
came on the river and again Negreanu bet out, only to receive a call from one of the two remaining players in the hand. Negreanu exclaimed "caught it!" and showed the table 
.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
9,500 | 2,900 |
We saw Phil "The Unabomber" Laak with headphones on and intently watching his iPad. We made our way over to discover him watching AMC's hit series Breaking Bad. It is one heck of a show and no doubt a good way to pass the time here in the early levels of the $3,000 Limit Hold'em event.
Matt Hawrilenko raised on the button and was three-bet by Chad Brown from the small blind. Hawrilenko called as the players saw a 
flop where Brown led out and was called. On the 
turn however, Brown slowed down and checked. Now it was Hawrilenko’s turn to take control of the betting which he did and was called. On the 
river, Brown checked again and folded to one last bet. Hawrilenko had around 7,300 after the hand while Brown had dropped down to 6,800.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
7,300 | |
|
6,800 |
This limit tournament is reminiscent of most WSOP events in that it has drawn players from all over the world. Players from both the Southern and Northern hemispheres are all seated together throughout the gigantic Amazon Room, making the WSOP one of the most international events ever. Don't believe us? Check out the following stats:
| Year | # of Nations |
|---|---|
| 2004 | 24 |
| 2005 | 41 |
| 2006 | 54 |
| 2007 | 87 |
| 2008 | 124 |
| 2009 | 115 |
| 2010 | 117 |
With around 2,000 in the pot and a board reading 
, a middle-position player bet and was called by Todd Witteles on the button. When the spiked on the river, the middle-position player bet, Witteles raise, and his opponent shook his head in disgust. He ended up making the call only to muck when Witteles rolled over 
for two pair.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
12,700 | 3,700 |
We caught up to the action at David Chiu's table to find him mixing it up. After a raise from late position and a three bet from the button in front of him, Chiu smooth called. Three players got to see a flop of 
, which the late position player bet after Chiu checked. The button then folded and Chiu simply called.
The turn brought a and Chiu took control with a bet, which the late position player called . The 
on the river brought with it checks from both players. Chiu showed which was good enough to take down the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
13,000 |
Images from the Amazon
When you think of Tom "durrrr" Dwan, you no doubt think of online poker and fast-paced action. With that said, it is somewhat of a surprise to see Dwan playing a limit tournament. It is only an hour in, but the slow pace of the game already seems to be getting to Dwan as he recently Tweeted: "Playing 10 handed limit poker. #nothappy."
The bad news is, even if he tried to donk off his chips it's going to take some time.
