There was a bit of controversy brewing at the table as we arrived, and we didn't get the full details, but here's what we know. Eli Elezra was facing a bet of 4,000 from Juijen Chang and an all-in raise of 4,900 from Adam Spiegelberg, and Elezra was unsure if he could raise it up to 6,000 or to 6,900. The floor came over to rule that 6,000 would be the bet, and Chang called as well. Both Elezra and Chang stood pat, while Spiegelberg drew one card. Both Elezra and Chang checked, then the exact same thing happened, both with the draws and the bets, on the final draw.
Elezra announced "ninety-seven", and Chang tabled . Spiegelberg's arms shot up in the air after he peaked down at his final card, and he mucked his hand, getting us down to our final 31 players. With one more elimination, we will be in the money.
Two more players have fallen, meaning just 32 are left. Two more eliminations and the money bubble will burst. Shun Uchida went out a short while ago in 34th, with Justin Bonomo following him not long after in 33rd.
Bonomo's last hand began with him raising all in for exactly 4,000 from under the gun. It folded back to Calvin Anderson who called from the small blind, Daniel Negreanu raised again from the big blind, and Anderson called.
The first draw saw Anderson take three, Negreanu two, and Bonomo one, and Anderson check-called a Negreanu bet. On the second draw both Anderson and Negreanu took two cards, and this time Anderson check-folded to Negreanu's bet.
Negreanu drew one card, and Bonomo went ahead and showed his . Negreanu flipped over his , then avoiding any undue stretching out of the proceedings he quickly showed his newly-drawn card — the . Negreanu had outdrawn Bonomo, who wished the others luck before hitting the rail a couple of spots shy of the cash.
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.
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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.
Action folded to Timothy Finne in the small blind, and he limped in. Konstantin Puchkov raised it up from the big blind, and Finne called, then drew three cards. Puchkov drew two, and bet out after Finne checked. Finne called, then both players drew two cards. Puchkov bet out again, and Finne kicked his hand in.
On the next hand, Finne raised it up from the button, and Puchkov put out three bets from the small blind. Mike Watson cold called the bet, and Finne called as well. Puchkov and Finne drew one card, while Watson drew two, and Puchkov fired right out. Both his opponents called, and while Watson and Finne drew one, Puchkov patted. He bet out again, and this time, Watson was the lone caller. The drawing action was the same, and after Puchkov bet, Watson let out a sigh, and tossed his hand in.
As Leonard Martin was losing the last of his short stack to fall in 35th on one table, Daniel Negreanu found himself engaged in an interesting battle against Ali Sarkeshik at another.
The hand began with a Dale Townsend raise from under the gun, with Negreanu reraising from the button. "Four," said Sarkeshik as he reraised again from the big blind. Townsend stepped aside and Negreanu called.
Before Negreanu could even discard any cards, Sarkeshik was patting the table and placing a bet before him. "Really?!" said Negreanu, who then tossed two cards and called the bet. Sarkeshik quickly patted the felt and again and set out another bet.
"It's a train, Daniel," said Sarkeshik with a grin that was part friendly, part I'm-about-to-run-you-over.
Daniel discarded one, and soon he was the one grinning as he was raising. "Come on!" said Sarkeshik as he called.
Both stood pat on the third draw, Sarkeshik checked, and Negreanu bet. Sarkeshik tanked for a while before calling.
"Number two," said Negreanu, turning over . Sarkeshik showed an and mucked, and the pair continued to discuss the hand as the next one was dealt.
Just now Ali Sarkeshik leaned over to Justin Bonomo, sitting on his right, and eyeing his short stack said "You gotta win a hand." He was alluding to the fact that they are now only a few spots from the money, but Bonomo's stack wasn't healthy enough to withstand a few more rounds without picking up some chips.
Doug Booth had just been eliminated in 36th — meaning they are five from the cash — when Calvin Anderson raised from the cutoff and Bonomo called from the small blind. Bonomo took two cards and Anderson three, then Bonomo bet, Anderson raised, and Bonomo called. Both took one on the second draw and then both checked.
On the last draw both took one card again, and Bonomo bet all in with his last 2,600. Anderson called, and Bonomo tabled . Anderson flashed his cards — showing he'd made an — and Bonomo survived.
Jon Turner raised it up under the gun, and Ryan Tepen three bet it next to act. It folded back around to Turner, and he didn't take long to put out a fourth bet. Tepen called, and in what is a rare site in this game, Turner stayed pat before the first draw. Tepen drew one, and called a bet from Turner, who stayed pat again on the second draw. Tepen drew one card again, then took the hint to fold after Turner fired out another bet.
Turner showed the table for one of the best possible hands you could have, amazingly without drawing any cards.
Kevin Iacofano, Richard Ashby, and Wes Self are recent eliminations. Here's a snapshot of the remaining 36 players' chip counts at the moment as they near the end of Level 13. Just six more eliminations, and the money bubble will burst.
Another table has been broken, meaning that we have just 36 players left. Once we lose one more table worth of players, the players will be in the money.
. Spiegelberg's arms shot up in the air after he peaked down at his final card, and he mucked his hand, getting us down to our final 31 players. With one more elimination, we will be in the money.
