Crystal Quibell had been riding a shortish stack for most of the second half of the day, and she was looking to find a double up to end the day, but she was unable to dodge a majority of the deck. Quibell riased to 3,800 in early position, and Shu Ho was the only caller. The flop came down , and Quibell continued with a bet of 5,500. As soon as she put her bet in, Ho announced all in, and Quibell went into the tank. After about 30 seconds, she said "I can't fold this" and called. The cards were flipped, and it was a virtual race.
Quibell:
Ho:
Ho had flopped a monster open ended straight flush draw, and he could hit half the deck to win the hand. The turn came the , somehow giving Ho more outs. The river brought the , completing Ho's flush and sending Quibell to the rail. Ho won the pot, upping his stack to 78,000.
Today was the start of the 43rd annual World Series of Poker, and it went off without a hitch. It was the casino employees who got to enjoy the inaugural launch of the 2012 World Series of Poker with Event 1. 732 hopeful casino employees came out today for the chance at this year’s first bracelet. Chip Saechao ended the day with 150,600 for a meaningful chip lead. James Routos isn’t too far behind, ending the night with a respectable 146,900.
With the money bubble bursting late in the 9th level, all players returning tomorrow will be leaving with more than they came with. We will have plenty of people fighting for contention tomorrow as 46 will be returning. The executive director of the WSOP Ty Stewart will have 69,900 to start day two. Stewart, who played and was eliminated on day one last year, is poised to make a great run. Matthew Wilmot has consistently been one of the top stacks throughout the day and will join us tomorrow with a 122,800 stack. Three women had a great showing today and will be joining the field tomorrow. Amy Brady will come back tomorrow with 31,000, Trish Baker ended the day with 36,400 and Carisa Schweisberger bagged 76,400.
Matt Savage was the biggest name to join us today, but unfortunately a yo-yoing chip stack and a lack of cards caused him to exit early. Last year’s champ Sean Drake also took an early leave when his wasn’t able overcome his opponent’s .
Play will continue tomorrow until a winner is crowned and the first place $70,859 is awarded to the last person standing. Make sure to check back tomorrow at 1:00 pm local time when play is set to resume.