Welcome back to Day 2 of Event 51, the $1,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold'em Championship! Late last night play was extended just a couple of hands beyond Level 10 to ensure the bursting of the cash bubble, meaning all 117 who survived from the original field of 936 to today have made the money.
There's a lot left be determined, of course, including whether Gaelle Baumann of France will continue to accumulate chips as she did for most of the day on Friday.
Baumann ended the day atop the counts, with Lara Boutros — also hailing from France — about a big blind behind, and Sweden's Anna Lundholm and the American Myra Thompson close on their heels.
Plenty of other notables will be returning today as well, including J.J. Liu and Erica Schoenberg (in the top ten), and Leo Margets, Mandy Baker, Sarah Grant, Lisa Parsons, and many others returning to above average stacks. Defending champion Marsha Wolak also made the money again this time around, picking up some chips near the end of play on Day 1 to assist in her efforts to make another deep run.
As proceedings went a little later than planned last night, today's start time was pushed back an hour to begin at 2 PM local time. Join us then for all the coverage as the final 117 players start working on how they'll be dividing up the $842,400 prize pool, as well as who among them will emerge as the next recipient of a gold WSOP bracelet.
A player raised to 3,700 from the cutoff, then Brandon Uhl pushed his short stack all in from the button and Jana Delacerra called from the big blind. After some thought the original raiser folded, showing as she did.
Uhl showed and de la Cerra . The flop then came , pairing Uhl. The turn was the , meaning there were just two kings left in the deck that could win her the hand.
The dealer then burned and turned over the river… the ! Uhl is out, and with Gaelle Baumann having lost a few chips of late, it appears de la Cerra has grabbed the chip lead.
A player raised to 3,600 from under the gun, and Barbara Rega called from one seat over. J.J. Liu called as well from the cutoff seat, as did Yen Dang in the big blind.
The four players saw a flop come . Dang checked, Rega bet 8,000, and all three of Rega's opponents called. The turn was the . This time it checked to Rega who pushed her last 7,700 forward, and Liu called behind her. That's when Dang reraised to 27,700, getting a call from the original raiser and a fold from Liu.
The river brought the , and when Dang checked her lone remaining opponent pushed all in, and Dang called with the 33,200 she had left. Dang turned over for two pair, which was better than her opponent's as well as Rega's .
Rega is out, and with that huge pot Dang becomes our new chip leader, soaring to 186,000.
We just saw a big hand develop between a couple of the big stacks, Yen Dang and Jana de la Cerra, with the result being one elimination and a new chip leader.
After a button raise from de la Cerra and a call from the big blind by Dang, the flop came and both checked. The turn was the . De la Cerra bet 12,000, and Dang called.
The river brought the and a bet of 21,500 from de la Cerra. Dang minimum-raised to 43,000, then de la Cerra made it 81,000. Dang responded with an all-in shove, and de la Cerra called with her remaining chips.
de la Cerra:
Dang:
The toughest of flops for de la Cerra, who goes out in 34th, and the most perfect for Dang, who now sits with just over a quarter million.
Two more eliminations to report, both coming on the same hand.
Things began with Ayesha Carmody open-raising all in for 18,500 from under the gun, then Anna Lundholm called from the hijack seat. It folded to Debra O'Neill who reraise-shoved herself for a bit more than Carmody, and when it folded to Lundholm she called that raise as well. The cards were turned on their backs…
O'Neill:
Carmody:
Lundholm:
Lundholm had the preflop edge, and that edge became a lot greater following the flop. The turn was the and river the , and Lundholm claimed the pot and a couple of knockouts. O'Neill finishes a notch higher than Carmody thanks to starting the hand with more chips.
Erika Weinstein found herself all in from middle position before the flop for her last 16,000 against three opponents — Yen Dang, Monica Hinojosa, and Peg Ledman.
The flop came . Dang was first to act and checked, then Hinojosa bet 35,000, forcing a fold from Ledman. Dang responded with a reraise-shove, and Hinojosa called with her remaining chips.
Dang:
Hinojosa:
Weinstein:
Weinstein had flopped trip eights and was ahead for the main pot, while Hinojosa had the current lead for the side pot with her aces. Meanwhile, Dang was looking for a non-pairing diamond to beat them both.
The turn was the . "Deuce of clubs!" requested Weinstein for a river card. Alas for her — and for Hinojosa — fifth street brought the , giving Dang the flush and a double-knockout.
Myra Thompson just committed her short stack before the flop with and was hoping to catch versus Peg Ledman's . The flop was good for Thompson, coming to give her the better pair between the two. The turn was fine for Thompson, too, coming .
But the river brought the to improve Ledman to trips, and Thompson is out in 16th.
Gaelle Baumann entered today as the chip leader with 117 players remaining, and managed to outlast more than 100 of her opponents before finally falling in a hand versus Angela Moed.
All in with versus Moed's , the community cards came , meaning Moed's eights were still best and Baumann was out in 15th.
We're seeing a rush of eliminations here as Level 18 comes to a close, with the short stacks putting their chips at risk frequently.
Just now Mona Harb opened for 15,000 from under the gun, then Candida Ross-Powers reraised all in from the cutoff. It folded back to Harb who called right away, turning over . Ross-Powers had , and five cards later — — her sevens were still best.
Debbie Pechac opened with a raise to 20,000 from under the gun, and it folded to Peg Ledman in the cutoff who reraised to 50,000. The action back on Pechac, she reraised all in and Ledman called for her entire stack of 155,000.
Pechac:
Ledman:
The flop came , pairing Pechac's queen though actually giving Ledman an extra out. But the turn was the and river the , and just a dozen players remain.
as she did.
and de la Cerra 
. The flop then came 
, pairing Uhl. The turn was the 
, meaning there were just two kings left in the deck that could win her the hand.
! Uhl is out, and with Gaelle Baumann having lost a few chips of late, it appears de la Cerra has grabbed the chip lead.
. Dang checked, Rega bet 8,000, and all three of Rega's opponents called. The turn was the 
. This time it checked to Rega who pushed her last 7,700 forward, and Liu called behind her. That's when Dang reraised to 27,700, getting a call from the original raiser and a fold from Liu.
, and when Dang checked her lone remaining opponent pushed all in, and Dang called with the 33,200 she had left. Dang turned over 
for two pair, which was better than her opponent's 
and both checked. The turn was the 
. De la Cerra bet 12,000, and Dang called.
and a bet of 21,500 from de la Cerra. Dang minimum-raised to 43,000, then de la Cerra made it 81,000. Dang responded with an all-in shove, and de la Cerra called with her remaining chips.
flop. The turn was the 
. Dang was first to act and checked, then Hinojosa bet 35,000, forcing a fold from Ledman. Dang responded with a reraise-shove, and Hinojosa called with her remaining chips.
. The flop was good for Thompson, coming 
versus Moed's 
. Ross-Powers had 
, and just a dozen players remain.
