A new lineup moved over to the ESPN feature table after dinner, and bracelet winner Matt Waxman has just joined the fun. Here's the new table draw:
| Seat | Player |
|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Midena |
| 2 | Dan Smith |
| 3 | Tony Ruberto |
| 4 | Griffin Benger |
| 5 | Jeffrey Chang |
| 6 | Benjamin Gold |
| 7 | Chad Eveslage |
| 8 | Matt Waxman |
| 9 | Jeffrey Loiacono |
After a big preflop raising war Soon Hwang's full stack worth 925,000 ended up in the pot on one of the first hands after the break. Hwang was up against Dan Sindelar and the showdown went as following.
Sindelar: 
Hwang: 
The board ran out 
and Sindelar raked in a very big pot. Hwang looked very disappointed as he was taken to the payout desk, as he finished in 144th place.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
3,200,000
954,000
|
954,000 |
|
|
Busted |
Following a raise from Isaac Baron, Simon Charette moved all in for 230,000 from the small blind and Baron made the call.
Baron: 
Charette: 
The board ran out 
and Charette doubled through to 520,000 as Baron slipped to 2.2 million in chips.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
2,180,000
288,000
|
288,000 |
|
||
|
520,000
235,000
|
235,000 |
|
|
||
Huy Nguyen opened from the hijack seat with a raise to 55,000, and then action folded over to Timothy Reilly in the big blind. He moved all in for 330,000, and Nguyen called.
Reilly was at risk with the 
and dominated by the for Nguyen. Despite that, though, Reilly came from behind after the board ran out 
and doubled up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
708,000
371,000
|
371,000 |
|
100,000
330,000
|
330,000 |
Raymond Ezzie found himself all in against Alexios Zervos.
Ezzie: 
Zervos: 
The board ran out 
and Ezzie hit the rail as Zervos climbed to 1,150,000 in chips.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,150,000
353,000
|
353,000 |
|
Busted |
On dinner break we caught up with Kane 'NASCAR_1949' Kalas who's going deep in his fifth World Series of Poker Main Event. Kalas enjoys the spotlights and with an above average stack he's in the hunt for a spot at the final table.
The cards are back in the air with 146 players returning to battle it out for two more levels.
Level: 23
Blinds: 12,000/24,000
Ante: 4,000
With 146 players remaining at the dinner break in the 2014 World Series of Poker Main Event, we decided to take a look at how the current field and pace of play stacks up against that of recent years. The table below depicts how the field and average stack looked for each year following the completion of the 10,000/20,000/3,000 level of play, with the average big blinds being based on the start of the next level where the big blind will be 24,000.
| Year | Entrants Remaining | Field Size | Percentage of Field Remaining | Average Stack | Average Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 146 | 6,683 | 2.18% | 1,373,219 | 57.22 |
| 2013 | 137 | 6,352 | 2.16% | 1,390,949 | 57.96 |
| 2012 | 139 | 6,598 | 2.11% | 1,424,029 | 59.33 |
| 2011 | 142 | 6,865 | 2.07% | 1,450,352 | 60.43 |
Since 2011, the percentage of the field remaining has risen each year, the average stack has gotten smaller, and the amount of big blinds per stack heading into the next level will be less.
What this information tells us is that the pace of play has slowed from year to year over the recent four years of the Main Event. With a smaller average stack, a smaller amount of big blinds per stack going into the 12,000/24,000/4,000 level, and a greater percentage of the field remaining, 2014 looks to be the field playing the "slowest" — with our definition of "slowest" being the field that loses players at the slowest rate.
As poker, and specifically no-limit hold'em tournaments, become filled with more and more players with an increased level of skill and awareness, it's proving to be a lot more difficult to bust people. The evolution of small-ball strategy and more post-flop play lends itself to a more cautious standard in events these days, and when you couple that with such a player-friendly structure like the WSOP Main Event, fields are learning there is much more maneuverability available and less of a need to put all of one's chips on the line and risk busting.
Inside the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino isn't the only place for you to satisfy your World Series of Poker appetite. WSOP.com is the leading online poker site in Nevada and has plenty of action running around the clock, seven days a week.
All summer long, a special promotion labeled Multi-Table Madness will be running from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. PT each night. The promotion will select one random hand at a random cash-game table during those hours that will award every player dealt into the hand with a cash bonus up to $100.
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For complete information regarding WSOP.com's Multi-Table Madness promotion, please click here.
