Event 25: $1,500 Limit Hold'em Shootout
Day 2 Started
2012 World Series of Poker
Event 25: $1,500 Limit Hold'em Shootout
Day: 2
Time to Play Down to Ten
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Welcome back to the Rio for continued coverage of Event 25: $1,500 Limit Hold'em Shootout. Yesterday saw 366 players whittled down to 50 and that's how many will be returning today. By the end of the day, we will have another World Series of Poker final table.
The day will start with ten tables each playing five-handed and of course, as this event is a shootout format, only one survivor from each table will advance through to the final table.
The likes of Victor Ramdin, Mike Leah, Justin Bonomo, JJ Liu, Ari Engel and Brock Parker will be all at the felt today and looking to take down their table and advance to the third and final day. Interestingly Ari Engel was at the final table of this event in 2011.
Also returning and in with a chance to take down their shootout table will be Scott Seiver and Greg Mueller. Both of these players made a deep run in Event 9: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Re-Entry, with Mueller going on to win six-figures for finishing in 7th place. Don't forget Matt Matros either as he already won a bracelet this summer in Event 16: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em - Six-Handed.
Make sure to take note of Table 408 today as Liu, Ramdin, Bonomo and Mueller will be seated together, of course, only one of these big names can make it through, so it should be fiercely fought battle.
It's all set to begin at 1:00 PM and PokerNews will be here every step of the way. By the end of the day only ten will remain. Stay tuned to find out who they will be!
Final Fifty Seating Draw
Table 402
| Seat | Player |
|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Koral |
| 2 | Fabio Khouri |
| 3 | Christopher Vitch |
| 4 | Xavier Kyablue |
| 5 | Byron Kaverman |
Table 403
| Seat | Player |
|---|---|
| 1 | Ian Johns |
| 2 | Jason Papastavrou |
| 3 | Hooman Nikzad |
| 4 | Jon Spinks |
| 5 | Chris McClung |
Table 404
| Seat | Player |
|---|---|
| 1 | Matt Matros |
| 2 | Matt Sterling |
| 3 | Millie Shiu |
| 4 | Thomas Corrigan |
| 5 | Preston Derden |
Table 405
| Seat | Player |
|---|---|
| 1 | Todd Jackson |
| 2 | Jerid Zewin |
| 3 | Daniel Walker |
| 4 | Darin Thomas |
| 5 | Mike Leah |
Table 406
| Seat | Player |
|---|---|
| 1 | Sean Rice |
| 2 | Jared Mahoney |
| 3 | Scott Seiver |
| 4 | Joseph Couden |
| 5 | Harry Bolger |
Table 407
| Seat | Player |
|---|---|
| 1 | Ari Engel |
| 2 | Jesse Yaginuma |
| 3 | Chad Layne |
| 4 | Omar Mehmood |
| 5 | Brian Meinders |
Table 408
| Seat | Player |
|---|---|
| 1 | JJ Liu |
| 2 | Victor Ramdin |
| 3 | Brian Aleksa |
| 4 | Justin Bonomo |
| 5 | Greg Mueller |
Table 409
| Seat | Player |
|---|---|
| 1 | Jim Geary |
| 2 | Leonid Bilokur |
| 3 | Matthew Schreiber |
| 4 | Roland Israelashvili |
| 5 | Michael Reed |
Table 410
| Seat | Player |
|---|---|
| 1 | Mike Thorpe |
| 2 | Stephanie Nguyen |
| 3 | Juijen Chang |
| 4 | Brock Parker |
| 5 | Brandon Meyers |
Table 411
| Seat | Player |
|---|---|
| 1 | Robert Albrecht |
| 2 | Tam Hang |
| 3 | Christopher Hartman |
| 4 | Alexander Keating |
| 5 | Blake Cahail |
Level: 1
Limits: 600/1,200
Ante: 0
Go, Go, Go
Level 1
: 600/1,200, 0 ante
The cards are in the air on all ten tables and the players are ready to go. Each table starts five-handed and will of course play down to just one. Let's do it!
Three-Time Bracelet Winner Off to a Good Start
Matt Matros opened with a raise from the cutoff only to find Matt Sterling three-bet on the button. Millie Shiu called from the small blind and it folded back to Matros who also decided to tag along.
The dealer pounded the table and spread out a flop of 
. Shiu and Matros checked to Sterling who continued out with a bet. Both players called and the turn brought the 
. Two checks back to Sterling and he tossed out yet another bet. Once again, he received two calls.
The 
completed the board on the river and all three players checked. Matros tabled 
for a rivered pair of queens and both of his opponents mucked their hands, allowing Matros to drag in a sizable pot early.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
44,000 | 12,900 |
A Couple of Hands
Here are a few early hands from a couple of tables.
Table 408
Folded to Brian Aleska on the button, he raised it up and received the call from Greg Mueller in the big blind. A 
flop would see Mueller check and then call the bet of Aleska. When the hit the turn, Mueller would again check, but this time let it go when Aleska flicked out a bet.
Table 407
Jesse Yaginuma opened up the action with a raise from the cutoff and was greeted with a call from Chad Layne on the button. On the 
flop, Yaginuma would bet and Layne would promptly make it two bets to go. Yaginuma then put in the third bet and a call from Layne would see a 
dealt on the turn. This time Layne would simply call when Yaginuma bet and a 
completed the board on the river. Again Yaginuma bet and Layne called as Yaginuma turned over his 
. It wasn't good enough for Layne's 
as he raked in the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
38,000 | 3,900 |
|
37,000 | 2,000 |
|
33,000 | -1,700 |
|
27,000 | -4,100 |
Leah Off To Harrowing Start
After running into Daniel Walker's on a four club board a few hands earlier, we caught up to find Mike Leah looking down at a board of 
. Leah checked to Jerid Zewin who bet out. Leah called and the two players were off to fifth street.
The 
peeled off on the river and Leah checked once again. Zewin put out one last bet and Leah let out a sigh before tossing in a call. Zewin showed 
and Leah flung his hand to the muck. Leah, after defeating internet sensation Viktor Blom heads up to win his table yesterday, is now down to only 9,000 in chips.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
38,000 | 7,000 |
|
9,000 | -21,400 |
Keating Struggles Early
"I left hockey early for this!" exclaimed Alexander Keating after he lost a chunk of his stack. When we arrived at Table 11, Keating's stack was already a little slimmer than the start of the day, but it got even worse after the following hand played out.
Folded to Keating in the cutoff, he made it two bets to go and only Tam Hang in the big blind made the call. The 
flop would see Hang lead out with a bet. Keating then quickly made it another bet to go and Hang made the call as a landed on the turn. This time both players would check and a would hit the river. Hang fired out a bet here and after some deliberation, Keating opted to let his hand go, sending the pot to Hang.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
42,200 | 10,800 |
|
13,000 | -21,400 |
Engel Low
We caught up with Table 407 to see Brian Meinders and Ari Engel looking down at the flop of 
. Meinders check-raised Engel who reluctantly tossed out a call.
The turn brought the 
and Meinders fired out another bet. Engel called and the 
came on the river. Both players checked and Meinders showed . Engel angled his cards to the muck and Meinders was able to scoop the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
47,000 | 12,200 |
|
6,000 | -25,100 |