We came to action on the flop, with the board showing . The player in the small blind bet out for 1250, and the always entertaining Scotty Nguyen raised all-in for over 4,000. The button put in his last 3,000 for a call, and the small blind, with an anguished look on his face, pushed his stack forward as well. Scotty turned over for an overpair to the board, and the button turned over for a nut flush draw. The small blind, who was obviously worried he had been outflopped, turned over for a better overpair than Scotty's. The board ran out , and the blind let out a huge sigh of relief when he saw his aces held up.
When all the chips were counted, the blind had nearly tripled up, the button had been eliminated, and Scotty was left with just 50, not even enough for a big blind. When he saw what he had left, Scotty gave a good-humored chuckle, and let out his trademark "Yeah, Baby!" The 1998 Main Event champion was eliminated two hands later.
With the 3rd level underway here at Day 1b of the "Millionaire Maker" event, the field is beginning to thin as the shorter stacks are forced to make their move. Calls of "All-In" and "Seat Open" are ringing through the Pavilion area, and players can be heard regaling their railbirds with bad beat horror stories as they exit the tournament floor.
A record-setting field for low buy-in events, however, means we still have a long ways to go, and many savvy pros are just now taking their seats via the late registration process.
As the field migrates in a mass exodus to the restrooms for a 20-minute break, I have had the pleasure of listening in on a conversation between poker legends T.J. CLoutier and Tom McEvoy.
The pair huddled near our PokerNews Live Reporting station to exchange notes on the "Millionaire Maker" event, the state of one another's bankroll, and miscellany relating to the Internal Revenue Service.
Sufficed to say, we eagerly absorbed the collective wisdom of these two gentlemen, who have combined to win a total of 10 WSOP bracelets throughout their storied careers.
Of all of the infinite possibilities within every poker hand, chopping a hand can sometimes be more painful than losing.
Dave Kirsch was holding on a board of when the fell on the turn, giving him a set of sixes the overwhelming lead against Jon S. and his cracked . The river card came , however, and both players earned half of the pot with a six-high straight on the board.
James Dempsey raised to 150 pre-flop, the player to his left called, and everyone else folded. Dempsey continues with 225 on a the flop, and his opponent called again. Both players checked the turn, and then Dempsey led out for 425 after the the fell on the river. His opponent hesitated but ended up calling pretty quickly. Dempsey told him, "You're probably going to win this hand" as he turned over . His opponent tabled and took the pot.
After grinding the tournament circuit for a few years, Michael "Life" Taylor finally broke through this year by winning a WSOP Circuit ring at this year's edition of the Bicycle Casino event. With his win in Event # 6, $365 No-Limit Hold'em, Taylor added to his eclectic mix of accomplishments by becoming a poker champion.
Now the former WSOP dealer and aspiring musician is in the room today, playing the "Millionaire Maker" event in hopes of continuing the rush. Taylor is still sitting with an average stack at the moment, but as this year's Circuit ring winners try to add to their jewelry collections. we will continue to track his progress.
We noticed Dexter Tantardini in distinctive blue Toronto Blue Jays gear as he pondered an all-in move by an unknown opponent. The board read and a call would require the commitment of a large portion of his chip stack.
After musing to himself that "it's up to the poker gods now," Tantardini slid forward enough chips for the call, putting his opponent at risk.
Showdown:
Tantardini:
Opponent:
Both players were drawing to make their hands, with Tantardini holding an open-ended straight draw and his opponent holding a flush draw, along with a gutshot straight possibility.
When the river fell , however, neither player connected, and the befuddled dealer had to examine the board for a moment before shipping the pot to Tantardini with his winning nine-high. His tablemate Kenna James was highly amused by the proceedings, saying "crazy hands happening at this table."
We caught up with the action on the turn, and the board read . Steve O'Dwyer faced a bet of 300, and he raised to 1,050. His opponent called, and then checked after the rolled off on the river. O'Dwyer fired out 1,800, and his opponent quickly folded. O'Dwyer is now up to about 6,800.
![[user253053]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
. The player in the small blind bet out for 1250, and the always entertaining Scotty Nguyen raised all-in for over 4,000. The button put in his last 3,000 for a call, and the small blind, with an anguished look on his face, pushed his stack forward as well. Scotty turned over 
for a nut flush draw. The small blind, who was obviously worried he had been outflopped, turned over 
, and the blind let out a huge sigh of relief when he saw his aces held up.
on a board of 
when the 
, however, and both players earned half of the pot with a six-high straight on the board.
turn, and then Dempsey led out for 425 after the the 
fell on the river. His opponent hesitated but ended up calling pretty quickly. Dempsey told him, "You're probably going to win this hand" as he turned over 
and took the pot.
, however, neither player connected, and the befuddled dealer had to examine the board for a moment before shipping the pot to Tantardini with his winning nine-high. His tablemate Kenna James was highly amused by the proceedings, saying "crazy hands happening at this table."
rolled off on the river. O'Dwyer fired out 1,800, and his opponent quickly folded. O'Dwyer is now up to about 6,800.
