Event #57: The $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop Day 2 | 2014 World Series of Poker

06-30-2014 12:00 UTC-7

The Chase For The Money is On

Happy_Freaked

Antonio Esfandiari's Still Alive For Back-to-Back Titles

After a spectacular first day in which 42 players came to play, it's Sam Trickett who holds a big chip lead over the remaining field of 31 in Event #57: The $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop. Trickett finished second in the first-ever Big One for One Drop and will look to improve on that score this year, but he's still got a long way to go.

In total, just eight places will get paid and the players will be chasing down that $1,306,607 min-cash for eighth place. Meanwhile the winner of this tournament will ultimately walk away 15,306,668 richer, and none other than Phil Ivey sits among the biggest stacks as the tournament heads into the second day of play.

Defending champion Antonio Esfandiari is also among the contenders to pull off an improbable back-to-back run. Esfandiari started off slow on Day 1, but recovered and managed to finish fifth in chips. Other players with big stacks heading into Day 2 include Tom Hall, Daniel Colman, Noah Schwartz, and Rick Salomon.

While this won't be an easy day for anyone, it will be tough in particular for the short stacks of Jean-Robert Bellande, Guy Laliberté, Scott Seiver, and 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event champion Greg Merson. These players will look to gain some ground quickly, and as long as they are in anything is possible.

Play will resume at 1 p.m. local time and PokerNews will be out in full force to cover this event from start to finish.

06-30-2014 13:12 UTC-7

Get to Know "Hong Kong" Tom Hall

Chad Holloway

Level 10 : 25,000/50,000, 5,000 ante

Players have come from around the world to take part in this year's $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop, but few have come as far as "Hong Kong" Tom Hall. His nickname gives away his hometown, but it hasn't always been that way; in fact, Hall was born in Farnham, Surrey to a German mother and a Eurasian father from Hong Kong.

It wouldn't be until 1989 that Hall moved to Hong Kong, which is where he met his wife, with whom he has two daughters. It’s also where, in 2002, he and two partners, Chris Parker and Kan Tang, founded AsianLogic, for which he currently serves as Non-Exec Vice Chairman. The company started as a gaming consultancy firm assisting people hoping to do business in the Asia market, which led to relationships with companies like Betfair, DrHo888, and Playtech.

So how did the successful businessman find poker? That'd be when his friends Nam Le and JC Tran introduced him to the game.

“They taught me how to play the game properly,” Hall previously told PokerNews of his poker origins. “I learned tournament poker first from them and later on after the first time I played the Macau Big Game and lost they really worked on my cash-game strategy.”

Hall was one of the original players in the “Big Game,” which began at Wynn Macau back in 2008. Back then the stakes were much smaller at HK$1,000/$2,000 (~USD$130/$260), but that didn’t stop Hall from losing his HK$1,000,000 (~USD$130,000) buy-in that first session.

“I had no idea what I was really doing. I got really annoyed with myself as I felt that I was a better player than most at the table in those days. So Nam and JC developed a particular strategy for that game which they fine tuned as we went along,” Hall expounded. “I gave them a piece of my action in exchange for the training and we made a lot of money in the early days. I also played in the session during the 2010 APT, which really catapulted the awareness of the game to the poker community when the table was Paul Phua, Richard Yong, myself, Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Phil Ivey, John Juanda, Johnny Chan, and a few others. Matt Savage posted about it on TwoPlusTwo."

Nowadays that same game plays as high as USD$4,000/$8,000 to USD$12,500/$25,000, and due to stiffer competition and a busier work schedule, Hall doesn't play as much as he used to. However, he made it a point to clear his schedule for the Big One for One Drop.

“I wanted to play two years ago, but for business scheduling conflicts was unable to play. I don’t have the patience to play five-day or longer tournaments, but the chance to play in a capped-player, three-day event with some significant prize money at stake is a buzz for anyone,” Hall said of this tournament.

“Whilst I would still be a significant underdog in that event, with a bit of luck who knows what could happen…. All I will say is that if I do end up... [cashing] a decent amount of money, there will be some serious partying going on in Vegas after!”

Tags: Macau Tom Hall

06-30-2014 13:57 UTC-7

HongKongTom888

[user101598]

Level 10 : 25,000/50,000, 5,000 ante

Tom Hall raised to 125,000 from middle position, John Juanda three-bet to 375,000 in the cutoff, and Hall called.

The dealer fanned , Hall checked, and Juanda fired out another 375,000. Hall called.

The pair both checked on the turn, and the completed the board. Hall led out, tossing forward three lavender T250,000 chips, and Juanda made a quick call. Hall ripped over for a flopped full house, and Juanda grinned.

"I'm glad I checked the turn," he said, mucking.

"Aces?" Connor Drinan asked from across the table.

"Something like that," Juanda responded.

Player	Chips	Progress
Tom Hall	10,100,000	1,800,000
John Juanda	2,050,000	-1,165,000

Tags: John Juanda Tom Hall

06-30-2014 14:14 UTC-7

Katz Fades Straight Draw and Busts Morgan

donpeters

Level 10 : 25,000/50,000, 5,000 ante

Christoph Vogelsang raised from under the gun to 100,000, Cary Katz called on the button, and John Morgan called from the big blind. After the dealer put out the flop, Morgan led with a bet of 175,000, Vogelsang folded, and action moved to Katz. He thought for a little bit, then raised all in. With 1.07 million behind after betting the flop (1.145 million total), Morgan quickly made the call.

"I'm drawing," said Morgan, as he tabled for an open-ended straight draw. Katz had for top two pair.

The turn was the , leaving Morgan needing to hit a nine or a four on the river to double up and stay alive.

The final card to the board was the , and that wasn't what Morgan needed. He was left playing the board, and ultimately was second best to Katz's aces and eights. They call aces and eights the "dead man's hand," and that's exactly what killed off Morgan in this one.

Katz scooped the pot and moved to 4.8 million in chips.

Player	Chips	Progress
Cary Katz	4,800,000	1,400,000
John Morgan	Busted

Tags: Cary Katz Christoph Vogelsang John Morgan

06-30-2014 14:24 UTC-7

Merson Doubles Through Vogelsang

donpeters

Level 11 : 30,000/60,000, 10,000 ante

From the hijack seat, Christoph Vogelsang raised to 120,000. Action folded to Greg Merson in the small blind, and he reraised to 300,000. After Cary Katz folded in the big blind, Vogelsang took a short time to think and then moved all in. Merson quickly double-checked his hole cards, and then stuck his chips in to make the call and put his tournament life on the line.

Merson tabled the third-best preflop pocket pair with the . He was all in for 1.23 million and would be in the "classic race situation" against Vogelsang's .

The flop, turn, and river ran out , and the 2012 World Series of Poker Player of the Year and Main Event champion successfully doubled up to nearly 2.6 million. Vogelsang was left with 1.21 million.

Player	Chips	Progress
Greg Merson	2,590,000	1,270,000
Christoph Vogelsang	1,210,000	-850,000

Tags: Cary Katz Christoph Vogelsang Greg Merson

06-30-2014 14:25 UTC-7

Seiver Sends Shakerchi to the Rail

Chad Holloway

Level 11 : 30,000/60,000, 10,000 ante

On Hand #26 of the feature table, Talal Shakerchi opened for 145,000 from the hijack only to have Scott Seiver three-bet to an unknown amount from the small blind. Shakerchi responded by immediately moving all in for 1.56 million and Seiver snap-called.

Shakerchi:
Seiver:

The flop didn't do much for Shakerchi, but the turn gave him some hope as another lady on the river would keep him alive. Unfortunately for him, that didn't happen as the useless peeled off. Shakerchi was eliminated in 31st place while Seiver chipped up to 4.26 million.

Player	Chips	Progress
Scott Seiver	4,260,000	1,580,000
Talal Shakerchi	Busted

Tags: Scott Seiver Talal Shakerchi

06-30-2014 14:37 UTC-7

Galfond Spikes an Ace to Double Up

Happy_Freaked

Level 11 : 30,000/60,000, 10,000 ante

It's not been Sam Trickett's day so far as he just doubled up Phil Galfond and dropped below the 10-million chip mark.

Galfond raised to 130,000 and the action folded to Trickett who three-bet from the button to 400,000. Both blinds folded and Galfond moved all in for 2,290,000. Trickett called right away and the showdown went as follows:

Galfond:
Trickett:

The board ran out and Galfond found himself a way to double up.

Player	Chips	Progress
Sam Trickett	9,400,000	-1,100,000
Phil Galfond	4,650,000	2,120,000

Tags: Phil Galfond Sam Trickett

06-30-2014 14:43 UTC-7

Broke Living Jean-Robert Bellande

[user101598]

Level 11 : 30,000/60,000, 10,000 ante

The action folded to Jean-Robert Bellande on the button, and he moved all in for 725,000. Tony Gregg folded out of the big blind, and Connor Drinan tank-called in the big blind.

Bellande:
Drinan:

"I'm going to have the best hand hold up for one time," Bellande announced, standing out of his chair. "One time for the One Drop."

There was a delay before the flop as the cameras shifted to capture the right shots, and Bellande started to call for cards even though he was ahead.

"Ace, baby, baby," he said. "Or two sixes. Or an ace with two clubs."

Finally the dealer rapped the felt, and she fanned two clubs, but the flop gave Drinan a leading pair of jacks. The on the turn then gave Drinan two pair, while also giving Bellande a Broadway draw. But the bricked off on the river, giving Bellande a meaningless pair of aces.

Dejected, Bellande gazed at the board for a few seconds before taking Drinan's hand. The satellite winner had immediately stood up to shake JRB's hand, but he didn't see it initially. Bellande then grabbed his backpack and exited the tournament area.

Player	Chips	Progress
Connor Drinan	4,400,000	715,000
Jean-Robert Bellande	Busted

Tags: Connor Drinan Jean-Robert Bellande Tony Gregg

06-30-2014 14:45 UTC-7

Laliberté Eliminated by Haxton

Josh_Cahlik

Level 11 : 30,000/60,000, 10,000 ante

Action folded around to Guy Laliberté on the button and he pushed out a raise to 140,000. Phil Galfond called from the small blind and action fell upon Isaac Haxton in the big blind. Haxton thought for about 30 seconds before dropping out a three-bet to 515,000. Without any hesitation, Laliberté instantly moved his stack all in for his last roughly 1.185 million. Galfond got out of the way and Haxton called.

Haxton:
Laliberté:

The dealer produced a flop, pairing Haxton's ten but keeping Laliberté's queens in the lead.

"That's a pretty good flop for me," said Haxton. "Let's see the five of spades."

Rather than the turn giving him a sweat, it gave him the lead with the for trip tens. Laliberté winced at the sight of Haxton's third ten and called for a queen on the river. Alas, it was the , giving Haxton a winning full house to eliminate Laliberté from play.

With this victory, Haxton is now up to 4.76 million in chips.

Player	Chips	Progress
Isaac Haxton	4,760,000	1,390,000
Guy Laliberté	Busted

Tags: Isaac Haxton Phil Galfond

06-30-2014 15:42 UTC-7

The Doc is Out of Business

Chad Holloway

Level 12 : 40,000/80,000, 10,000 ante

Phil Ivey opened the action for 185,000 from the hijack only to have David "Doc" Sands three-bet all in for 1.325 million from the button. Doug Polk then moved all in over the top from the small blind, which inspired Ivey to fold.

Polk:
Sands:

It was a bad spot for Sands, and the flop provided little help. The turn actually left Sands drawing dead, and after the was put out on the river for good measure, Sands exited the tournament in 26th place.

Player	Chips	Progress
Doug Polk	4,810,000	1,650,000
David Sands	Busted

Tags: David Sands Phil Ivey Doug Polk