A player opened and the cutoff three-bet to 2,500, called by Ben Grise in the small blind and the initial raiser.
The flop revealed 6♠4♣8♦ and it checked to the cutoff who bet 3,200. Only Grise stayed interested and called. The duo checked on the 5♥ turn.
A 9♣ appeared on the river and after some thinking, Grise fired 15,000 in the middle. His opponent took a minute and called, but only to muck when Grise tabled 9♠9♦ for a set of nines.
Three players headed to a flop of A♣Q♥9♥ and the action checked to Joe Hachem who bet 2,000 from the hijack. Derek Davis called on the button and Charles Leonard check-raised to 7,000. Both Hachem and Davis called to see the 7♥ on the turn.
Leonard fired out a bet of 7,500 on the turn and Hachem raised to 20,000 which got Davis to fold but Leonard snap-called. The river was the J♦ and Leonard checked to Hachem who bet 25,000. Leonard thought for a moment but decided to dump his Q♠Q♦ into the muck and Hachem collected the pot.
Meanwhile, just across the aisle in the Horseshoe ballroom, Daniel Hachem has already doubled his starting stack. Joe is famously known for winning the 2005 WSOP Main Event for $7.5 million but Daniel also made a deep run in 2019, finishing in 79th place for just shy of $100,000.
Gene Calden, the 100-year-old World War II veteran who was the oldest player in Main Event history, was just sent to the rail at the hands of Michael Carr.
According to Carr, Calden made two pair with Kx8x on a flop of Kx8x7x and check-raised from the big blind. Carr, on the button, called and made a straight on the 4♣ turn holding 6x5x. Calden got his last 19,000 in the middle but couldn't improve on the river.
The players at adjacent tables gave Calden a round of applause as he made his way to the exit, while Carr got out of his seat to shake his hand. Calden made Main Event history here today, but his run came to an end on the second level.
Erick Lindgren raised from late position to 700 and was called by the player on the button and the big blind. The flop came out 4♠J♦Q♠ and all players checked.
The turn 10♣ brought some action as the big blind checked and Lindgren bet 1,400 and the button made a move and raised to 3,000. The big blind folded and Lindgren made the call.
On the river J♣ had Lindgren check and the button bet 5,000. Lindgren made the call. The button turned over Q♣8♣ for a miss and Lindgren turned over A♥A♣ for two pair.
It's the spectacle that many people wait for at the World Series of Poker Main Event. Always on the final starting flight, Phil Hellmuth makes his grand appearance midway through the day while everyone else has their heads down trying to grind away in the biggest poker tournament of their lives.
In the 2023 rendition, Hellmuth entered the Horseshoe grand ballroom as the Stage Master while Daniel 'Jungleman' Cates accompanied him as a lion. Hellmuth also brought in 17 models that were in lion costumes, representing the 17 WSOP bracelets he has won in his career. The 17th bracelet came earlier this year in Event #72: $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty.
Both players have taken their seats with a fresh starting stack of 60,000 chips just prior to the players going on break. As usual, many of the Hellmuth fans were lined up to grab a picture with the 1989 WSOP Main Event champion. Hellmuth will be making his way to the feature table when the cards go back in the air and Cates will be not far off in the distance, seated in the Gold section.
Players have been sent on their second 20-minute break of Day 1d as entry numbers continue to steadily grow.
The latest WSOP Main Event number stands at 9,089 total entries, with registration open until the start of Level 8 on Day 2.
Level: 3
Blinds: 200/400
Ante: 400
Heads-up on a board of 10♣8♠6♠K♦ and around 15,000 in the pot, a player in the small blind bet 4,000 and Sean Legendre called from the cutoff.
The river came the 9♣ and the small blind led out for another 11,000. Legendre leaned over the table and tanked for a moment before flicking in a chip to signify a call.
His opponent turned over A♥Q♣ and Legendre had A♣K♥ for top pair to win the pot.
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