Day 1 of Event #39: $1,500 Seven-Card Stud Hi-Low 8-or-Better has come to an end, with Raul Paez of Spain, ending as the chip leader, finishing with 58,400 in chips. Paez went fairly unnoticed throughout the day, accumulating his stack in the last two levels to put him in the box seat to not only add to his 11 career WSOP cashes, but also give him the best chance to win his first gold bracelet. He’ll lead a returning field of 160 survivors, after 558 started today.
Some of the big names who’ll be joining Paez on Day 2 include Phil Hellmuth (40,200), Issa Tadros (38,700), Matt Vengrin (31,600), Mike Leah (31,600), Phil Ivey (28,500) as well as four PokerStars Team Pros Jason Mercier (25,100), Dario Minieri (14,400), Barry Greenstein (9,000) and Alex Kravchenko (2,600).
Some of the player who werent so fortunate today include PokerStars Team Pros Marcel Luske, Vanessa Selbst, Daniel Negreanu, Jake Cody, Betrand Grospellier, George Danzer and Chad Brown as well as David Bach, Dan Kelly, Brandon Cantu and Nick Schulman.
Be sure to join PokerNews at 1:00pm local time on Saturday, as we bring you all the action from Day 2, as we close in on the money and final table.
Kirk Morrison may not be a household name when it comes to poker ... but back in the day it certainly was!
Morrison's career can be traced all the way back to 1994 when he recorded a 3rd place in the WSOP $1,500 Limit Holdem, however it wouldn't be until 1998 when he collected his first and only bracelet in the $1,500 Seven Card Stud for $148,185 that his name would be truly etched into the WSOP record books.
Although basing his time in New Zealand, Los Angeles and here in Las Vegas, Morrison was known for honing his skills in mixed games and frequently playing the highest limit mixed games most notably in Bobby's Room. One of Daniel Negreanu's friend's from back in the day, it would be Negreanu himself that would pull Morrison out of New Zealand to come back on the poker trail once the game started to boom in the early 2000's.
In early 2007 the Morrison name began hitting the headlines three big WPT scores before taking 2nd in the WPT Championship to Carlos Mortensen for $2,011,135 - the biggest WPT Championship to date! Morrison would then go on to the WSOP where he would cash six times, make two final tables and have an exceptionally deep run in the Main Event where his play was highlighted by his , friendly demeanour, contagious laugh and American/New Zealand-inspired use of the word "Mate!"
Over the past few years however Morrison has slowly drifted off the radar, and although he has notched a few WSOP cashes - including a direct bubble of the $50,000 Poker Players Championship - it still isn't the same Morrison that many have come accustomed too.
However, this all could be changing as Morrison has been spotted - albeit with a longer hairdo, and a scruffy goatee - in today's field, and hopefully will be making a run at his second WSOP Seven Card Stud gold bracelet today.
Attention players and fans, if you frequent the PokerNews Live Reporting blog, then you've probably noticed a new tab here at the 2013 World Series of Poker. If you haven't yet, or you're new to our live coverage, then let us be the first to introduce you to the Player Updates tab powered by the PokerNews My Stack app.
You can download the app for iPhone or Android now to get started. Then, create a new PokerNews account or update your current one to start updating your status immediately. Your followers can see all the live action that you're involved in.
Be forewarned, however, any abuse of the app will result in account suspension or termination. We look forward to your updates throughout the 2013 WSOP in Las Vegas!
Welcome back to the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino and the 2013 World Series of Poker for Event #39: $1,500 Seven-Card Stud Hi-Low 8-or-Better!
Last year Cory Zeidman collected his first gold bracelet after defeating Chris Bjorin heads up and a total of 622 players to walk away with the $201,559 first prize. That final table also consisted of Michael Mizrachi, Xuan Liu and Todd Brunson, and with the way the mixed game results have been going so far this series, it is more than likely that a well-known pro will capture the Event #39 title in just a few days time.
Make sure to join us at 5:00 p.m. local time as the PokerNews live reporting team provides continuous live updates of every scoop, wheel, and rolled down trips live from the 2013 World Series of Poker!
