Freddy Deeb's seat is empty at the moment as the two-time bracelet winner is presently serving a penalty.
He'd been in a hand against Venkatesh Gupta that had reached the turn at which point Gupta was betting all in for a little over 20,000.
As Deeb was contemplating what to do he was also fiddling with his phone, then after he folded a floor person assessed the penalty, telling Deeb he could not use his phone while in a hand. Deeb asked what would've happened had he called the all-in bet, leading to some further discussion before Deeb took his unscheduled break.
We just watched a big three-way all-in hand take place over on Table 359 involving Timo Pfutzenreuter, Ville Mattila, and Blake Barousse.
The hand began with a raise from Matilla from under the gun, then a reraise from a short-stacked Barousse from the button. Pfutzenreuter put in a four-bet from the small blind, prompting Sammy Farha to tank for a while in the big blind before letting his hand go. Subsequent betting, however, saw both Barousse and Matilla all in, with Pfutzenreuter only covering Matilla by a little.
Pfutzenreuter:
Matilla:
Barousse:
"I like his hand," said Farha, pointing across at Barousse's just before the flop came to put Barousse in front. The then landed on the turn, with another player noting that a river six would alter the balance.
Then came fifth street… the ! Matilla had made a straight, knocking out Barousse and leaving Pfutzenreuter with about a half-dozen big blinds. That pot looks to have pushed Matilla past Daniel Negreanu and into first position at the moment.
Brian Rast has eliminated Hai Chu after the latter got the last of his chips in with against Rast's . The board came , then , then , nearly missing both entirely except for the deuce in Rast's hand.
A nice first half-hour for Daniel Negreanu here in Event #41. Early on he managed to win a big one versus Phil Galfond in a hand in which both players had been dealt , but Negreanu managed to make a flush. And just now he added still more after a hand in which he knocked out Erik Cajelais.
The latter hand began with an early position limp by Tony Cousineau, then Negreanu raised to 3,000 from the cutoff. Both Cajelais (button) and Cousineau called, then the flop came . It checked to Negreanu who bet 5,500, Cajelais called, and Cousineau stepped aside.
The turn then brought the and a pot-sized bet of 21,200 from Negreanu. Cajelais counted up his remaining chips to discover he had but 100 more, and the pair joked for a moment about him saving the extra chip and just calling. Finally Cajelais put it all in, though, and Negreanu called.
Negreanu:
Cajelais:
Aces again for Negreanu. The river brought the to knock out Cajelais, and Negreanu suddenly rushes past the leaders into first position.
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.
The story has begun well for Failla, as he's earned a double on one of the first hands of the day.
After a Brant Hale open from under the gun, Failla reraised all in and when it folded back around to Hale he called. Hale had and Failla , and when the board came the Failla's first chapter ended well.
to put Barousse in front. The 
then landed on the turn, with another player noting that a river six would alter the balance.
! Matilla had made a straight, knocking out Barousse and leaving Pfutzenreuter with about a half-dozen big blinds. That pot looks to have pushed Matilla past Daniel Negreanu and into first position at the moment.
. The board came 
, then 
, then 
, nearly missing both entirely except for the deuce in Rast's hand.
, and when the board came 
the Failla's first chapter ended well.
