Two players who have made headlines in this young 2013 World Series of Poker, Dan Kelly and Mark Radoja, have seen their stacks move in different directions in the few hands played since returning from break.
Meanwhile, Dan Kelly was seen tapping away on his phone, a seat open card in the place where his stack formerly resided. Despite not cashing here today, Kelly is on a tear at the 2013 WSOP, and he is a threat to final table seemingly every event he enters.
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.
John Racener got the last of his money in good with pocket aces against the suited for Matt Marafioti. Unfortunately for Racener, he wasn't able to hold as Marafioti went on to make a flush and send the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event runner-up to the rail.
Randy Lew is Using His Big Stack Effectively Here on Day 1
We caught Randy "nanonoko" Lew playing a pot on the turn, with over 15,000 already sitting in the middle. The board read , and Lew bet 9,400 into Nicolas 'Legazdo' Cardyn, who thought things over for a minute or so before making the call.
When the hit the board on the river, Lew quickly announced himself all in for his big stack, putting Cardyn to the test for his tournament life.
Cardyn tanked for over three minutes, but eventually released his hand to fight another day.
On the paired board, Eddie Ochana bet 1,750. His opponent, Marvin Rettenmaier, made the call to see the land on the river. Ochana bet 2,650, and Rettenmaier raised to 8,325. After some tanking, Ochana called, but mucked after seeing the that Rettenmaier turned over for a flush.
After a raise from the player in the cutoff seat, Kyle Julius three-bet to 1,900 on the button. Action then folded to Jack Schanbacher in the big blind, but before he could act, the original raiser in the cutoff seat had four-bet to 3,500.
The floor was summoned to the table, and it was ruled that Schanbacher could act on his hand accordingly, either to fold, call or raise. If he altered the action by raising, the player in the cutoff seat could take his four-bet back and act in turn. If Schanbacher just called, the reraise from the cutoff seat would stand. Schanbacher decided to just call the 1,900 from Julius, making the four-bet from the cutoff seat stand.
Julius was back up, and he called the four-bet. Schanbacher then moved all in for 13,400. The cutoff seat re-shoved, and Julius folded.
Schanbacher tabled the and was up against the for the cutoff seat. The flop, turn and river ran out , and Schanbacher doubled up.
Olivier Busquet Just Bounced Defending Main Event Champ Greg Merson
A hand that recently went down illustrated the high caliber of play reserved for the WSOP's big buy-in events, with defending Main Event champion Greg Merson, Borgata WPT Poker Open champ Olivier Busquet, and Nick Schulman, the winner of WPT and WSOP events, all playing a pot together.
The action started when a player opened to 900 from under the gun, and the entire six-handed table called for a family pot filled with pros. On the flop, Merson led out for 2,325, and next to act Schulman popped it to 6,400.
This folded the preflop raiser and another player, but Busquet decided on a reraise to 15,000. Merson immediately shipped his last 13,500 or so into the middle, and Schulman then went deep into the tank. After a minute of pondering his options, Schulman elected to fold and save his last 30,000, leaving Busquet and Merson to battle it out.
Merson:
Busquet:
Both players had flopped a good piece, with Merson's top two pair giving him a slim advantage over Busquet's pair and a flush draw.
The on the turn left Merson out in front, but when the fell on the river he grabbed his stack and handed it across the table, offering a "good game everyone" to the table as he departed. Busquet now has more than double the average stack, and is cruising along as the day nears its conclusion.
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suited for Matt Marafioti. Unfortunately for Racener, he wasn't able to hold as Marafioti went on to make a flush and send the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event runner-up to the rail.
, and Lew bet 9,400 into Nicolas 'Legazdo' Cardyn, who thought things over for a minute or so before making the call.
hit the board on the river, Lew quickly announced himself all in for his big stack, putting Cardyn to the test for his tournament life.
board, Eddie Ochana bet 1,750. His opponent, Marvin Rettenmaier, made the call to see the 
land on the river. Ochana bet 2,650, and Rettenmaier raised to 8,325. After some tanking, Ochana called, but mucked after seeing the 
that Rettenmaier turned over for a flush.
and was up against the 
for the cutoff seat. The flop, turn and river ran out 
on the turn left Merson out in front, but when the 
