With the board showing , Bertrand Grospellier checked his option from the big blind. Scott Freeman was his opponent in the hand, and bet out 27,500 from the hijack. Grospellier made the call. The completed the board, and another check saw Freeman bet out 53,500.
Grospellier thought about his decision for over a minute, before finally making the call. Freeman tabled his for a flush, as Grospellier’s hand flew into the muck.
The breaking of the money bubble is a highly anticipated part of any poker tournament. In the World Series of Poker Main Event, that anticipation is elevated with the amount of money on the line and the excitement in the Amazon Room.
Poker pro Farzard Bonyadi is this year's "bubble boy".
Here are some images from the bubble by Jayne Furman and Joe Giron
The hand on which Farzad Bonyadi was eliminated in 649th
The first level of Day 4 is done and what an exciting two-and-a-half hours it was. The extra time was due to the fact that the cash bubble burst and players in the 2013 World Series of Poker Main Event are at last making their way to the cashier as the first to get paid in the tournament.
Play resumed with 666 players left, meaning 18 more eliminations were needed to reach the money. Age Ravn, Jarod Ludemann, and Mark Nguyen were among the first to fall today, with Iain Brassell falling shortly thereafter in a nasty hand that saw his outrun by .
The eliminations picked up considerably thereafter, with 80 players hitting the rail before the level completed. One player still here and with chips, however, is Doyle "Tex Dolly" Brunson, who today has cashed in the Main Event for the fifth straight decade (!).
The focus will soon return to the big stacks when play resumes, with Max Steinberg having moved to the top of the counts to join Bryan Pellegrino, Nick Schwarmann, Jonathan Lane, Maxx Coleman, Matthew Huey, and a few others in the million-chip club. Meanwhile, Luke Schwartz lost a massive hand right near the end of the level to Josh Pollock that would have catapulted him ahead of everyone into first position.
The break is scheduled to take 20 minutes, but a color-up is needed as well which will add some extra time. Back when play resumes for more from the WSOP Main Event!
Bryan Pellegrino has joined the chip leaders after a very productive first level. According to Pellegrino's Twitter account, he won a massive pot when he rivered a straight against a set of tens, and now stands at 1,265,000. We'll certainly be keeping an eye on Pellegrino going forward.
J.C. Tran just got a very important double right after break. Here's what happened:
Tran told us that he jammed all in from the button for just about 120,000 chips and Josef Monro called him from the small blind. The big blind folded and the two men went to a showdown.
Tran:
Monro:
The board ran out making Tran's tens the best hand and allowing him to lock up the double up on the first hand after break.
After break, Max Steinberg continued what he's been doing all day: gathering chips.
Alex Smith pushed all in preflop, and Steinberg was the only caller. Smith turned over , and Steinberg held . The board ran out , and Steinberg's pair of threes won the pot, sending Smith to the payout window.
, Bertrand Grospellier checked his option from the big blind. Scott Freeman was his opponent in the hand, and bet out 27,500 from the hijack. Grospellier made the call. The 
completed the board, and another check saw Freeman bet out 53,500.
for a flush, as Grospellier’s hand flew into the muck.
.
making Tran's tens the best hand and allowing him to lock up the double up on the first hand after break.
. The board ran out 
, and Steinberg's pair of threes won the pot, sending Smith to the payout window.
