Brad Helm, who was in the small blind, got his last 1,900 all in preflop against the big stack of Matt Kelly, who was on the button.
Kelly:
Helm:
The flop kept Helm in the lead, though Kelly picked up the better low draw. "Keep it high," Helm told the dealer after the turned. The dealer obliged and put out the . Helm held and doubled through Kelly.
Despite losing that hand, Kelly is still sitting pretty with 37,000. He told us that if he makes Day 2, which he more than likely will, it'll be the fourth time he's done so at the 2013 WSOP. It's impressive, but what isn't is that he's failed to cash each time. It's even more heartbreaking considering he's busted one table from the money three of the four times.
The buzz inside the walls of the Rio extends beyond just the tournaments on the 2013 World Series of Poker schedule. Online poker in Nevada is a very, very hot topic right now, and WSOP.com is making a lot of noise.
While the site has yet to launch, you can head to the Lambada Room of the Rio or look for one of the beautiful and friendly WSOP.com ladies walking the hallways to sign up for a free, personal WSOP.com online poker account. This is a great way to get a jump on the site's registration, and plenty of people have already taken this opportunity.
What's more is that the WSOP will be hosting daily raffles for everyone that has taken the time to register for WSOP.com at the Rio. What can you win? Plenty of fantastic prizes including 36 WSOP seats!
Players 21 years of age and older who sign up for a WSOP.com account will automatically be entered into the “36-Seat Giveaway” where a randomly-selected winner will win a seat into the next day’s first WSOP gold bracelet event. One of the events eligible in this promotion is the $111,111 One Drop High Roller No-Limit Hold’em tournament that is expected to feature a $10,000,000 prize pool and allow you to play poker with the biggest names in the game. In total, $182,333 in WSOP seats, including a seat to the WSOP Main Event, are being given away during this one-of-a-kind WSOP.com promotion.
In addition to the 36-Seat Giveaway, a “Hot Seat” promotion will allow any player who signs up for a WSOP.com online account and wears their WSOP.com patch on their chest at the table while playing an event to be randomly selected to receive 500 bonus dollars deposited directly into their WSOP.com online account once the site has received all regulatory approvals and launches.
With 62 WSOP gold bracelet events and three winners promised for the Main Event, this promotion includes $32,000 worth of value to those participating.
Mike Vedraska raised under the gun and received calls from Dmitrii Valouev and Maria Ho on the button and big blind respectively. The flop saw Ho take the initiative and lead out with a bet, which both her opponents called.
The same action occurred after the dealer burned and turned the , leading to the on the river. With no qualifying low, Ho led out for a third time and Vedraska moved all in for just 400 more. Valouev responded by completing the raise and Ho thought for about 30 seconds before making the call.
Valouev:
Ho:
Vedraska:
All three players made a flush, but Valouev's was best.
"Why did a heart even have to come?" Ho asked rhetorically. Meanwhile, Vedraska was eliminated from the tournament. He was clearly a fan of poker because he politely asked Todd Brunson if he'd sign an autograph on a playing card. Brunson obliged by signing the Vedraska had provided.
While he didn't leave with a cash, Vedraska, who told us he played in between Mike Sexton and Greg Raymer earlier in the day, seemed excited to have had the chance to play along some of his poker idols.
David Chiu, who has four bracelets to his name, was short stacked not long ago. Things seemed to have turned around for the man with $3156,500 in career WSOP earning as he now sits with 25,500.
In a recent hand, Chiu brought it in with a raise from the cutoff and David Chiu defended from the big blind. Anderson checked the flop and then check-raised after Chiu bet. Chiu made the call and then both players checked after the dealer had burned and turned the . When the completed the board on the river, Anderson checked for a third time and Chiu bet 1,200. Anderson thought for a solid minute before making the call, which constituted about half his remaining chips.
"Aces up," Chiu said and tabled the . Anderson double checked his own cards and then sent them to the muck.
We walked up to the table to find Dutch Boyd all-in on the river against Chico Pho. Boyd had been short-stacked through the past few levels, and had committed the few chips he had left to the pot. Pho showed , and Boyd mucked when the board revealed . Boyd mucked and Pho's stack is around 24,000.
Level 8 is in the books, and that means it's time for the last 20-minute break of the night. When the players return they'll play two more levels before bagging and tagging for the night.
flop kept Helm in the lead, though Kelly picked up the better low draw. "Keep it high," Helm told the dealer after the 
turned. The dealer obliged and put out the 
flop saw Ho take the initiative and lead out with a bet, which both her opponents called.
, leading to the 
on the river. With no qualifying low, Ho led out for a third time and Vedraska moved all in for just 400 more. Valouev responded by completing the raise and Ho thought for about 30 seconds before making the call.
Vedraska had provided.
flop and then check-raised after Chiu bet. Chiu made the call and then both players checked after the dealer had burned and turned the 
. Anderson double checked his own cards and then sent them to the muck.
, and Boyd mucked when the board revealed 
