Nacho Barbero completed his small blind and the big blind tapped the table and checked. Barbero then bet 200 and was called on both the flop and turn of a board, with both players checking the river.
Barbero showed and split the pot as his opponent held for the same straight.
Joining the action on a flop, Phil Hellmuth bet 1,400 from the big blind. His only opponent, three seats to Hellmuth's left, considered all of his options before settling on a fold.
"I wish I had ace-jack so I could bust you," said Hellmuth's opponent to which Hellmuth burst out laughing.
Hellmuth then turned over and said, "I always have an overpair or a set there."
Hellmuth is sharing a table with Jake Cody so it will be interesting to see if they get into any battles in the next few hours.
Nick Abou Risk called the 200 big blind from early position with only 150 behind. A middle position player made it 625 followed by the button announcing all in. It folded back to Abou Risk who called and the middle position player folded.
Abou Risk:
Button:
The board came giving Abou Risk a slight infusion of chips but he is still short and has his work cut out for him.
Phil Hellmuth sat down for the first time in this tournament just after break. He opened to 500 from the hijack on his first hand and was called by the big blind. He said "Last time I busted on my first hand. Maybe this time I will double up on my first hand."
The big blind led for 500 on the flop and Hellmuth called. The big blind led for 2,000 on the turn. This time Hellmuth quickly shoved all in and his opponent called. Hellmuth tabled for a flopped set and was happy to see his opponent with for second pair. The river did not change a thing and Hellmuth did indeed double up on his first hand.
Antonio Esfandiari will not be winning Event #18 of the 2013 WSOP because he has been eliminated. We did not see Esfandiari's exit hand, but we did see him heading to the exits implying that his tournament has ended.
Nicky Evans is down to 1,550 chips after losing pot to Dylan Cunningham.
Cunningham open-shoved for 1,650 from the hijack and Evan re-shoved from the button. Both of the blinds folded and the cards were turned onto their backs.
Cunningham:
Evans:
Evans was nicely in front of his opponent's hand and stayed ahead as the flop came into view. Evans' hand quickly became second best when the dealer brought the into play on the turn and when the landed on the river Cunningham doubled up.
It is every presenter's nightmare. You are waiting on a player for an interview. Then, he loses a huge pot and declines your request for an interview. But don't worry, here at the Rio you can always find big name pros wandering the halls. After being rejected, Sarah finds solace in Marvin Rettenmaier.