While the Cards Look Nice Face-Up, Their Much More Effective Turned Upside Down
Every so often we pass by a table and see a sight that, frankly, doesn't make any sense. A recent hand involving Ken Shin and an unfortunate opponent fit that bill to a tee.
Shin's opponent had his face up on the table, with the board reading . Apparently, the player had bet out for 3,000 and the table folded around to give him the win. Except Shin still had a hand in play, a hand which had been concealed behind his chip stack and covered with two open palms.
The player tabled his queens thinking the pot was his, but Shin objected and showed the table that he had not yet folded. After a floorperson determined that Shin's actions were not deliberately deceptive, no penalties were issued and the hand continued.
Shin applied the pressure with a raise to 6,000, a move which prompted his opponent to stand up and contemplate the bind he had put himself in. With his hands on his head, the player tried his best to determine whether or not Shin was raising with the goods, or if he was a thief on the prowl for an easy score.
Eventually, after a two-minute long dive into the tank, the player finally relented and mucked his face-up queens. With the heist completed, Shin turned the needle just a bit, tabling his for a plunder with pure air.
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.
Antonio Esfandiari is Stretching His Chip Lead at His Table Hand by Hand
We caught Antonio Esfandiari playing a heads-up pot with the board reading by the turn.
The winner of the first ever Big One for One Drop led out for a bet of 2,550, and his opponent quickly called.
On the river, Esfandiari kept the pressure up with a wager of 5,300, and once again his opponent called without hesitation. Soon enough, his cards went into the muck, as "The Magician" tabled for a turned spade flush.
With the win, Esfandiari continued his climb up the leaderboard, and he now holds one of the larger stacks in the room.
We've counted Joseph Cheong's stack as containing 29,400 chips and that puts him in the top 10 chip counts in our book. Although we're unsure of how he came about such a large stack, the fact Jon Spinks and his 15,000 stack are no longer present at the table and there's an "open seat" card where Spinks' chips once were, suggests Cheong sent Spinks to the rail.
We overheard Greg "FBT" Mueller engaging a new arrival to his table in a bit of table talk, as the player wearing a Philadelphia Eagles jersey tried to use some of that famous Philly tough guy talk to intimidate the seasoned pro.
After the player took his seat he brusquely asked Mueller to move over, with the ten-handed tables being a bit crowded. The man who dubbed himself "Full Blown Tilt" online complied with this request, but when the player told him to be quiet, Mueller was having none of it.
"Don't tell me to be quiet man, you just got here and all you've doing is complaining," Mueller told the man, who obviously didn't recognize who he was dealing with. "Just play your game and leave me alone."
"Your being too loud, I can't hear when people raise," the man shot back, trying to save face as Mueller continued to lay down the law. "I don't care who you are."
Mueller, who played professional ice hockey in a former life and towers over most other players he encounters, had the perfect response ready and waiting.
"How many chips do you have sir?," he asked, before delivering the dagger. "Because I'm gonna bust your ass."
The clash of brash personalities soon simmered down, however, and the player is lucky it did. Mueller has had himself a terrific WSOP, with three final tables and two 3rd place finishes, and he is more than capable of felting a Philly fan when they mouth off.
We walked past Dan Kelly's table where we witnessed the dealer chopping up the ample pot. Kelly was sat with pocket tens in front of him, another player had tens, too and a busted player who was heading to the rail held . The board was jack-high and Kelly is now back in business.
![[user253757]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
face up on the table, with the board reading 
. Apparently, the player had bet out for 3,000 and the table folded around to give him the win. Except Shin still had a hand in play, a hand which had been concealed behind his chip stack and covered with two open palms.
for a plunder with pure air.
by the turn.
river, Esfandiari kept the pressure up with a wager of 5,300, and once again his opponent called without hesitation. Soon enough, his cards went into the muck, as "The Magician" tabled 
for a turned spade flush.
. The board was jack-high and Kelly is now back in business.
