It's no secret that Seven Card Stud is one of the most popular poker games played on the East Coast; in fact, it's hard to picture Atlantic City without thinking about their bounty of Stud games. For years East Coast grinders have been making the trek across the country to test their skills in the desert, and they continue to prove their mettle time and again.
Chris Reslock, a former Atlantic City taxi driver, took down this event in 2007 for $258,453, and then two years later a 74-year-old real estate broker by the name of Freddie Ellis captured the bracelet and $373,751 first-place prize. Both of these men are in action today and looking to capture the title for a second time, while a pair of East Coast newcomers are looking to stop them.
Bill "Bumpereno" Munley of Pennsylvania has been playing at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs recently, even hosting a $150/$30 H.O.S.E. game, but he's been playing for much longer at the Borgata in Atlantic City. Last night Munley satellited his way into today's event by winning a 72-player tournament, and by winning we mean he finished in the top six. It was a great investment, but only time will tell if he can parlay it into a big payday.
Likewise, Jim "Mailman" Paluszek is an East Coast grinder who has put in many hours at the Borgata. The mailman from Philadelphia bought his way into today's tournament and is looking to impress his girlfriend, Susan, who is back in Philly sweating the action.
With so many players from out East in action today, we wouldn't be surprised to see at least one of them make a run at the bracelet.
You may have noticed that the first four levels of this tournament are 200/400 with a 50 ante. That's to give the players plenty of play, a change that at least one player likes:
RealKidPoker Daniel NegreanuIntroducing new limit structures in #wsop10 5k Stud starting with 15k in chips and open with 4 hours of 200-400 Love the change.June 03 2012
Allen Cunningham put out a bet on the turn and received calls from the two other players in the hand. He kept the lead on fifth and fired out another bet, driving his opponent in Seat 2 out of the hand while Seat 3 looked him up.
Cunningham bet for a third time on sixth, but this time Seat 3 opted for a raise. Cunningham eyed him suspiciously before making the call and checking seventh. Seat 3 squeezed out his final card and put in a bet, which proved enough to get Cunningham to lay down his hand.
Despite losing that hand, the five-time bracelet winner is still up a bit from the starting stack.
devopoker Bryan DevonshireBored playing poker with two cards and no antes? Come try stud! You ante every hand, get seven cards, and there's 5 rounds of betting!June 03 2012
Action started with the player who had the , and he brought in. Frank Kassela raised it to 200, and everyone else folded back to the original bring in, and he called. Kassela bet out again on fourth street, and his opponent raised. Kassella refused to slow down, raising again, and his opponent called. Kassela led out again on fifth, and his opponent raised again. This time, Kassela just called. He check called on sixth and seventh street.
Kassela's opponent showed in the whole for trips, but it was no good, as Kassela showed for better trips. He took down the pot, and has upped his stack to over 20,000.
The start of the new level meant it was time for some late entrants to take their seats. Two new tables were started, though some players from other tables were brought in to balance things. Here are some of the new faces we recognize:
Every summer massage therapists flock to the Rio to make a fortune putting their hands on poker players. Right now we have four players utilizing the massage service: Daniel Negreanu, David Bach, Timothy Finne and Victor Ramdin.
We're going to play a little game and guess who gets the longest massage. If history is any indication, we're going to say it'll be David Bach. We'll keep you updated.
It's worth noting that Allen Bari, one of the newcomers at the start of Level 2, is fresh off a 15th-place finish in Event #8 $1,500 Omaha Hi-Low Split 8-or-Better for $11,957. The final table of that event is happening right now, and you can follow the live updates simply by clicking here.
Freddie Ellis is having some early trouble winning a pot.
In the last hand, Ellis called the bring-in with the up, and Brett Richey completed with the . A third player joined the hand with the , and off they went to fourth.
Richey paired his queen with the , and a big bet of 400 was enough to scare the other two men out of the way.
Ellis has dipped back to half his starting stack with 7,500 chips left in front of him.
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in the whole for trips, but it was no good, as Kassela showed 
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