Australian pro Oliver Gill Gaber is up near 150,000 after a recent hand he relayed to us.
A player raised to 1,050 and Gill Gaber and two others called. The flop came down , and someone bet 3,000. Gill Gaber raised to 7,000, another player raised to 17,600, and Gill Gaber was the only caller. The turn was a , and Gill Gaber's opponent check-raised all in after Gill Gaber bet 20,075. Gill Gaber called with for a flush, and his opponent had for a weaker flush.
For the second time today, we found a player who flopped quads.
We arrived at the table on the river with the board reading to see Martin Staszko bet 17,000 into a pot that already had over 25,000 in it. The only other player in the hand thought for a few moments, then tossed out a call. Staszko turned over for flopped quads, and he obviously won the pot.
After the hand, Staszko was up to 59,000 in chips.
Dominik Nitsche opened from middle position to 1,100 and the player in the cutoff made the call. The player on the button made it 3,100 and both Nitsche and the other player came along.
The flop came and Nitsche and the player in the cutoff checked to button, who bet 4,200. Nitsche called and the player in the cutoff folded.
Both players checked the turn and the river was dealt. Nitsche checked to his opponent who bet 8,500. Nitsche raised to 23,000 and his opponent seemed surprised and puzzled. He eventually folded to the pressure but not after giving it some serious thought.
The first level of the day has brought plenty of action, with the survivors of Day 1a duking it out in the Amazon room, while the players from Day 1b are battling in the Brasilia and Pavilion rooms. Here are some of the highlights so far.
Doyle Brunson has had a great start to his day, building his stack up from 81,000 to 118,500 in the first level.
Mike “The Mouth” Matusow has also added to his stack thanks in large part to a two outer on the turn to beat his opponent’s queens.
And lastly, we have a new chip leader in today’s play: Sergio Castelluccio, who is over in the Amazon room. We caught him in a hand just before the break that saw his stack go up to 245,000.
The players are taking their first break of the day. Cards will be back in the air in 20 minutes.
Prior to the break, Olaoluwa Okelola tossed out a bet of 15,500 into a pot of around 22,000. Sovron Meas moved all in for 65,900, and after two minutes of internal debating, Okelola called.
Okelola:
Meas:
Meas had flopped a straight, and turned Broadway, but needed to fade a nine, jack, queen, or ace on the river. The completed the board, giving Meas the double up, and he hopped out of his chair excitedly.
"I knew you had a set!" Meas exclaimed.
He doubled to 155,000 chips, while Okelola slipped to 31,000.
Defending WSOP Main Event champion Greg Merson maintained his big stack through the first two-hour level today. Here are a few other counts from the Day 2a half of today's play.
We were taking our first run through of the tables after the break and saw that Eugene Katchalov's seat was empty. We asked Andrew Moreno if he remembered the details, and it turned out that he was the one that did Katchalov in. He gave us a breakdown of the hand.
According to Moreno, he raised it up to 1,200 in middle position. Katchalov called from the small blind, as did the player from the big blind. The flop came rainbow, and it was checked to Moreno, who fired out 2,200. Katchalov check raised to 5,600 from the small blind, and the big blind folded. It was back to Moreno, and he moved all in for 20,000 effective. Katchalov made the call, putting his tournament life at risk.
Katchalov:
Moreno:
Katchalov had flopped top pair top kicker, but Moreno was still drawing very live, as a king, queen, or nine would work for him. A came on the turn, givin Moreno two more outs, and the on the river gave him a winning two pair.
Katchalov's WSOP came to an end with that hand, while Moreno jumped back up to 49,000.
Darren Elias opened from under the gun to 1,325. A player in middle position called as did Elio Fox, from the button, and the player in the big blind.
The flop came and the player in the big blind and Elias both checked. The player in middle position bet 5,000, Fox made the call and the big blind and Elias both folded.
The player in middle position moved all in and Fox quickly called.
Fox:
Opponent:
Fox flopped the nuts but his opponent had outs that didn't materialize once the river hit the felt. Fox had his opponent covered and he was eliminated from the tournament.
, and someone bet 3,000. Gill Gaber raised to 7,000, another player raised to 17,600, and Gill Gaber was the only caller. The turn was a 
, and Gill Gaber's opponent check-raised all in after Gill Gaber bet 20,075. Gill Gaber called with 
for a flush, and his opponent had 
for a weaker flush.
for flopped quads, and he obviously won the pot.
and Nitsche and the player in the cutoff checked to button, who bet 4,200. Nitsche called and the player in the cutoff folded.
river was dealt. Nitsche checked to his opponent who bet 8,500. Nitsche raised to 23,000 and his opponent seemed surprised and puzzled. He eventually folded to the pressure but not after giving it some serious thought.
rainbow, and it was checked to Moreno, who fired out 2,200. Katchalov check raised to 5,600 from the small blind, and the big blind folded. It was back to Moreno, and he moved all in for 20,000 effective. Katchalov made the call, putting his tournament life at risk.
and the player in the big blind and Elias both checked. The player in middle position bet 5,000, Fox made the call and the big blind and Elias both folded.
river hit the felt. Fox had his opponent covered and he was eliminated from the tournament.
