Still sporting the glorious mustache that has garnered praise from poker fans and fellow pros alike, Justin Young check-called a bet of 650 with the flop reading .
After the dealer turned the , both players opted to check, and the completed the board on the river.
Young checked a third time, and he quickly called when his opponent bet 1,625. Young's hand went into the muck, however, when he saw the tabled for a runner-runner flush.
We caught the action on a board with around 3,000 chips in the middle, just as Tommy Vedes checked his option over to David “Doc” Sands to his left. Sands was enjoying a massage during the hand, and casually placed out a bet of 1,550, as Vedes went into the tank. A minute or so passed, before Vedes mucked his hand, exposing the on the way.
After a player opened to 350, Antonio Esfandiari three-bet to 825, and a player in the big blind elected to squeeze with a four-bet to 2,100.
This power move folded the original bettor, but "The Magician" simply heaped a pile of chips on top of his initial raise, making it about 4,350 to play.
The big blind player couldn't stand the heat, and his fold sent a fairly large pot to Esfandiari.
Meanwhile, Jennifer Tilly's former seat was unoccupied, meaning she has been eliminated from the tournament early on the first day of play.
The player seated under the gun plus one, opened to 525, and was called by Shane Schleger in the cut-off, as well as Erica Schoenberg on the button. The flop came down , as the original better threw out a continuation bet of 825. Schleger snap called, as the decision was on Schoenberg. She stared blankly at the flop, but opted to fold shortly after.
The fell on the turn, and instantly Schleger’s opponent threw out a bet of 1,225. It was met with a small raise to 2,700, which was called, as both players saw the complete the board. The player under the gun plus one, finally slowed down, checking over to Schleger, who placed out a bet of 3,600. His opponent tanked for about a minute, before making the call and tabling his .
It wasn’t enough, however, as Schleger casually turned over his for the over-pair.
We noticed an unusual situation brewing over at Jonathan Duhamel's table, with the former Main Event champ doing his best to assist the tournament staff in handling the dispute.
From what we can gather, Laz Hernandez went to a showdown against Dan Gannon, on the board. After Hernandez got his chips into the middle against Gannon, the two tabled their holdings.
Showdown:
Hernandez:
Gannon:
With identical middle pairs, but a higher kicker, the pot was won by Gannon. He must have misread the board however, or perhaps Hernandez' hole cards, because Gannon immediately exited the Brasilia Room despite holding the winner.
Other players at the table were incredulous at the development, asking "who doesn't check their cards?," while others surmised that Gannon must have thought that the river completed a straight or flush draw for Hernandez.
The issue was complicated when the dealer mistakenly pushed the pot to Hernandez, no doubt assuming that he was the winner when Gannon left the table. Hernandez began adding the pot to his stack, before it was discovered that he actually had not won the hand.
After sorting through the situation, the pot was finally awarded to Gannon's empty seat, where a lonely pile of chips now resides to be blinded off with every orbit.
Hernandez, meanwhile, was forced to surrender the 7,000 or so chips he earned with the second-best hand, and after a tweet from the tournament staff, Gannon is on his way back to the Brasilia Room.
We arrived at the table to see Carlos Mortensen open to 650 from middle position, before Lauren Kling opted to move all in for her remaining 1,775 in chips. The player on the big blind stalled the table for a minute, agonising over a potential call. He ended up mucking his hand, as Mortensen made the call.
Kling:
Mortensen:
The board ran out , to see Kling dodge a club flush draw heading to the river, as she moves back up to 3,850 in chips.
We caught Eric "E-Fro" Froehlich flipping up his after calling a short-stacked opponent's all in of around 1,850. The vulnerable opponent turned over a dominated , and he was left to look for eights or straights to down "E-Fro" and his bigger ace.
The flop fell to solidify Froehlich's position, and when the dropped on the turn his opponent knuckled the felt in defeat. The made things official on the river, and the pot was pushed to Froehlich, a two-time WSOP bracelet winner, as well as the top-ranked Magic the Gathering player in the world.