Mark "Pegasus" Smith, Winner of Five WSOP Circuit Rings, is Playing Today's Seniors Championship
The WSOP Circuit has become a proving ground for many of poker's most accomplished tournament players, providing a steady stream of low buy-in events for grinders to hone their skills, and Mark "Pegasus" Smith has earned his reputation as one of the Circuit's shining stars.
We caught up with former November Niner Dennis Phillips, who finished second in this event last year, as he was still reeling from a bad cooler.
According to Phillips, he raised preflop, and Mitch Garshofsky called. The flop was . Phillips bet out 200, and Garshofsky raised to 500. Phillips called, and the turn brought another . The players ended up getting all their chips in the middle on the river. Phillips held for a flopped middle set which became a full house on the turn. Garshofsky, though, held for a flopped bottom set which grew into quads on the turn.
Fortunately for Phillips, he had Garshofsky outchipped at the beginning of the hand, and he still has 2,000. Garshofsky, after doubling up, sits with 7,000. Phillips, despite the raw deal, was still in good humor at the table and was looking to start building his stack again.
We just spotted "Miami" John Cernuto in the Brasilia Room. With 3 bracelets to his name and one cash already in this series (Event #8 $2,500 Eight Game Mix), Cernuto has his eye on adding to his jewelry collection. He is considered "old school" in the poker world but he has no problem hanging with the best of the best. We will see if his best is good enough today,
One of the staples at every poker tournament is the use of sunglasses to shield one's eyes, and while there are many types of shades to choose from, players in the know have made Blue Shark Optics the recognized leader in the industry.
As the official poker eyewear provider of the World Series of Poker, Blue Shark Optics designs cutting edge sunglasses designed specifically for the game, and today Blue Shark owner Kerry Karoutsos is hoping to see through his fellow seniors.
We caught up with Karoutsos recently and watched him drop a small pot with the board showing , after he checked the river holding . His opponent took it down with for a flopped pair, but despite the early setback, Karoutsos' appeared to be in good spirits, conversing amiably with the player who dragged the pot.
We heard a burst of oohs and ahhs from Table #11 in the Brasilia Room's Gold section, and rushed over to find the aftermath of a brutal bad beat.
Apparently Tommy Vinas, who placed 14th in a $2,500 WSOP event in 1991, had all of his chips in the middle before the flop against an opponent who held .
Vinas was in front with his , but when the flop fell his kings were overcome by a set of eights. With another player informing the table that he folded , Vinas was down to one out in the deck, and the on the turn was not one of them.
River:
A poker hand is never decided until the river has arrived, and even 98% favorites can be beaten, as illustrated by Vinas' improbable catch on fifth street.
"I've been playing the World Series for 37 years," said Vinas as he happily counted his chips, no doubt believing that his good fortune was simply a byproduct of putting in the work for nearly four decades.
Marcel "The Flying Dutchman" Luske raised to 350 preflop, and the small blind was the only caller. Both players checked the flop, the Luske bet 300 on the turn. Luske looked ready to ship the rest of his stack on the next street, but it turned out not to be necessary as his turn bet prompted a fold. After raking in the pot, Luske is up to 1,900.
They are breaking tables in the Pavilion room quickly. Almost half the room is gone as they are sending players to Brasilia when seats open up. Here are some counts of people we were able to track down:
With over 4,000 seniors packing every room in the Rio here on Day 1, some of the WSOP's regular players may be a bit agitated by the longer bathroom lines and crowded halls, but at least one poker pro has expressed his appreciation for their presence here today.
Layne "Back-to-Back" Flack, who earned that nickname by winning consecutive events at the 2002 WSOP, recently took to Twitter to thank the seniors for coming out for their Main Event. Flack's sentiments ring true, as the health of the poker community has always depended not on the young millionaires making moves, but the recreational players plunking down a buy-in or three to play for fun.
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. Phillips bet out 200, and Garshofsky raised to 500. Phillips called, and the turn brought another 
, after he checked the river holding 
. His opponent took it down with 
for a flopped pair, but despite the early setback, Karoutsos' appeared to be in good spirits, conversing amiably with the player who dragged the pot.
.
, but when the flop fell 
his kings were overcome by a set of eights. With another player informing the table that he folded 
, Vinas was down to one out in the deck, and the 
on the turn was not one of them.
flop, the Luske bet 300 on the 
