2019 World Series of Poker

Event #1: $500 Casino Employees Event
Day: 1
Event Info

2019 World Series of Poker

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
k8
Prize
$62,345
Event Info
Buy-in
$500
Prize Pool
$297,975
Entries
685
Level Info
Level
33
Blinds
125,000 / 250,000
Ante
250,000

Aces for Anderson

Level 4 : 200/300, 300 ante

A player raised to 700 from the hijack, and Bemidji, Minnesota native Eric Anderson three-bet to 1,900 from the cutoff. The hijack confirmed the amount, then tossed in a call.

The hijack checked a {9-Clubs}{3-Clubs}{k-Hearts} flop over to Anderson, who bet 3,000. His opponent thought briefly before folding, and Anderson slowly turned over {a-Clubs}{a-Spades} before taking down the pot.

Player Chips Progress
Eric Anderson us
Eric Anderson
42,000
3,800
3,800

Tags: Eric Anderson

My Stack App Activated

Level 4 : 200/300, 300 ante
MyStack My Stack
MyStack My Stack

PokerNews has activated the My Stack App for this event, allowing you to directly adjust your chip counts in our live reporting blog using your iPhone or Android phone.

You can download the app for iPhone or Android now to get started. Then, create a new PokerNews account or update your current one to start updating your status immediately. Your followers can see all the live action that you're involved in.

Click here to download the My Stack app for iPhone, or click here to download the My Stack app for Android.

Wilson Rips the Turn

Level 4 : 200/300, 300 ante

With 3,000 already in the pot, Lesa Wilson bet 2,800 on a {7-Diamonds}{6-Diamonds}{8-Hearts} flop from the small blind. The button tanked for about two minutes, then tossed in a call.

The {8-Spades} fell on the turn, and Wilson quickly jammed for 10,500. The button gave it considerably less thought before pushing his cards to the dealer, awarding the pot to Wilson.

Player Chips Progress
Lesa Wilson us
Lesa Wilson
19,100

Tags: Lesa Wilson

Bishop's Nines Checkmate Aces

Level 4 : 200/300, 300 ante
Paul Bishop
Paul Bishop

Paul Bishop, a table games dealer from the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, limped in from under-the-gun, and the lojack raised to 1,300. The cutoff called, as did Bishop.

Bishop checked a {k-Diamonds}{10-Hearts}{9-Hearts} flop, and the lojack bet 3,000. The cutoff called, and Bishop check-raised all in for 35,000. The lojack called off his last 28,700, and the cutoff folded.

Paul Bishop: {9-Diamonds}{9-Spades}
Opponent: {a-Hearts}{a-Clubs}

Bishop's set of nines would improve to a full house after a {5-Spades} turn and {10-Diamonds} river, and he scooped in the massive pot and eliminated his opponent.

Player Chips Progress
Paul Bishop us
Paul Bishop
71,400
71,400
71,400

Tags: Paul Bishop

Duggan Gets There

Level 4 : 200/300, 300 ante
Phill Duggan
Phill Duggan

From under-the-gun, Phill Duggan, a WSOP Circuit dealer, bet 6,000 into a pot of around 10,000 on a {5-Diamonds}{q-Spades}{7-Diamonds}{a-Hearts} board, only to met with a raise to 12,000 from an opponent on the button. Duggan tossed in a call.

Duggan checked the {4-Hearts} river over to the button, who bet 15,000. Duggan didn't take long to make the call.

The button tabled {a-Spades}{k-Diamonds}, but Duggan's {a-Diamonds}{4-Diamonds} rivered two pair and earned him the pot.

Player Chips Progress
Phill Duggan us
Phill Duggan
80,000
80,000
80,000

Tags: Phill Duggan

Level: 5

Blinds: 200/400

Ante: 400

Trenholm's Fours Score a Pot

Level 5 : 200/400, 400 ante

A player in the lojack checked a {2-Diamonds}{9-Diamonds}{8-Clubs} flop over to PokerNews Live Reporter Brandyn Trenholm on the button, who tossed in a bet of 3,000 into a pot of around 7,000. His opponent called.

The {9-Clubs} fell on the turn, and the lojack checked. Trenholm bet 3,000, and his opponent called again.

The lojack checked the {q-Diamonds} river, and Trenholm sighed and said, "That's probably the worst card in the deck for me," before checking back.

The lojack tabled {7-Clubs}{5-Clubs} for a busted draw, and Trenholm won with his {4-Spades}{4-Clubs}.

Player Chips Progress
Brandyn Trenholm us
Brandyn Trenholm
42,100
PokerNews

Tags: Brandyn Trenholm

DraftKings Software Engineer Asad Abdullah Enters The WSOP For The First Time Ever

Level 5 : 200/400, 400 ante
Asad Abdullah
Asad Abdullah

The 50th Annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) kicks off today with $500 buy-in Event #1: Casino Employees Event. The tournament is open to those who either work in casinos or in the gaming industry, and thanks to their sportsbook in New Jersey, DraftKings personnel are permitted to play.

They’ll be well represented in their first year of eligibility as a team of six players traveled from the East Coast to compete for the summer’s first bracelet. PokerNews caught up with each DraftKings employee – one of which is already a WSOP bracelet winner – talk about the opening event of the 2019 WSOP.

Asad Abdullah
Age: 25
DraftKings Position: Software Engineer

Having worked at DraftKings for a little under a year and a half, the Casino Employees event will be Asad Abdullah’s first-ever WSOP tournament.

“I’m pretty excited to play in the Casino Employee event,” said Abdullah, who graduated from California State University Northridge with a bachelors in Computer Science. “I do frequently play $1-$2 NLHE and occasionally $2-$5 NLHE, mostly at Chaser’s Poker Room in New Hampshire and Twin River Casino in Rhode Island. I will also venture a little further out and play at Foxwoods on occasion. I also plan on spending a good amount of time at the Encore in Boston once it opens up.”

According to Abdullah, who enjoys both board and video games, he first learned poker with some childhood friends.

“We didn’t really play for money, just tried to see who could build up the biggest stack,” he explained. “I started actually learning and understanding poker strategy about a year ago … I read a bunch of books, joined some training sites and really started to understand poker from a strategic point of view, all while discussing what I’d learnt with [the DraftKings team].”

So aside from himself, which DraftKings team member does he expect to last the longest?

“This is a tough question. I think I’d have to go with Steve Rose,” he said. “He is a very solid player and has the patience and discipline to make a deep run in this event.”

Player Chips Progress
Asad Abdullah us
Asad Abdullah
19,000
-6,000
-6,000

Tags: Asad Abdullah

Epskamp Shows One

Level 5 : 200/400, 400 ante

A player raised to 1,100 from under-the-gun, and PokerNews Live Reporting Manager Yori Epskamp three-bet to 2,800 in middle position. His opponent called, and the two saw a {q-Hearts}{8-Hearts}{6-Diamonds} flop together.

Both players checked to the {6-Hearts} turn, where the under-the-gun player bet 3,200. Epskamp called.

The under-the-gun player bet 4,000 on the {7-Diamonds} river, and Epskamp responded with an all in shove for 17,200. His opponent tanked, then folded, and Epskamp flashed the {a-Hearts} before bringing in the pot.

Player Chips Progress
Yori Epskamp nl
Yori Epskamp
38,000
11,000
11,000
PokerNews

Tags: Yori Epskamp

Assorted Chip Counts

Level 5 : 200/400, 400 ante
Player Chips Progress
Phill Duggan us
Phill Duggan
84,000
4,000
4,000
Paul Bishop us
Paul Bishop
78,000
6,600
6,600
Kevin Mathers us
Kevin Mathers
56,000
600
600
PokerNews
Katie Kopp us
Katie Kopp
36,100
3,100
3,100
WSOP 1X Winner
Stephen Rose us
Stephen Rose
31,500
6,500
6,500
Dutch Boyd us
Dutch Boyd
28,000
-1,500
-1,500
WSOP 3X Winner
Jonathan Aguiar pt
Jonathan Aguiar
27,000
-4,200
-4,200
WSOP 1X Winner
Yori Epskamp nl
Yori Epskamp
26,900
-100
-100
PokerNews
Valerie Cross us
Valerie Cross
26,500
2,000
2,000
PokerNews
Eric Anderson us
Eric Anderson
26,500
600
600
Leo Contreras us
Leo Contreras
24,600
-400
-400
PokerNews
Benjamin Valder us
Benjamin Valder
24,000
-10,000
-10,000
Sumanth Reddy us
Sumanth Reddy
23,900
-1,100
-1,100
Jesse Capps us
Jesse Capps
22,000
Chad Holloway us
Chad Holloway
20,600
-6,400
-6,400
WSOP 1X Winner
PokerNews
Asad Abdullah us
Asad Abdullah
19,000
Teng Zheng us
Teng Zheng
15,000
-10,000
-10,000
Samuel Cosby us
Samuel Cosby
6,400
-15,800
-15,800