Stanislav Kriventsov open-shoved in late position for 121,000 to put himself at risk, prompting Norman Engelke to go into the tank in the small blind.
"I don't really want a call but I'm strong," commented Kriventsov.
After some time, Engelke folded pocket queens face up and Cymbre Colon folded in the big blind.
Kriventsov showed pocket nines as he dragged in the pot.
Players were heads-up and on a 3♦8♣10♣ flop with Ricardo Gonzalez in a middle position and Rolf Weisshaupt in the small blind. The pot stood at around 200,000.
Gonzalez jammed the flop for 210,000 and Weisshaupt made the call.
Ricardo Gonzalez: J♥J♦
Rolf Weisshaupt: A♣K♥
Gonzalez stayed ahead on the 9♠ turn and 10♠ river, securing him the double up just before the money bubble.
Max Pinnola opened the action under the gun with a raise to 25,000. Pinnola was immediately raised in the next seat over by Justin Geronimo to 75,000, which led to a call from Pinnola.
A round of checks met the J♣J♥9♥ flop and the Q♣ turn.
Pinnola checked the 6♠ river. Geronimo bet 50,000 and was called by Pinnola. Geronimo showed K♦Q♥ for queens up as Pinnola mucked.
The bubble is approaching rapidly after a flurry of early eliminations.
The cards were already on their backs and the K♣2♦6♦3♥J♥ board was showing.
Shawn Privat was all in from middle position and at risk of elimination against Paolo Tana in the small blind.
Shawn Privat: 8♦8♠
Paolo Tana: 10♣10♦
Privat's eights weren't good enough against Tana's pocket tens, and Privat was eliminated just a couple of hands into the day.
Li Chengbei was under the gun and got it all in preflop against Peter Gross in the hijack who had the covering stack.
Li Chengbei: A♣K♦
Peter Gross: Q♥Q♠
Chengbei pulled ahead on the 8♠10♣A♠ flop, pairing his ace. The turn landed the 9♣ and the river brought the 9♦, earning Chengbei the double up.
Play has resumed in the $500 SALUTE to Warriors. Blinds are at 6,000/12,000.
Level: 18
Blinds: 6,000/12,000
Ante: 12,000
Yesterday saw 3,937 entries into Day 1 of Event #45: $500 SALUTE to Warriors No-Limit Hold'em at the Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas, creating a $1,614,170 total prize pool. The bubble is expected to burst early in the day today, as just 591 players will make the money. All will have their eyes set on the first place prize of $187,937 and a coveted WSOP gold bracelet.
Ofer Saha leads the way with a huge 1,145,000 stack. Arnaldo Gordon (1,100,900) is close on Saha's heels returning second in chips. Gordon is no stranger to the World Series of Poker, as he cashed four bracelet events last year. He will be looking to ladder-up and add to his impressive $490,925 total recorded live earnings.
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ofer Saha | United States | 1,145,000 | 95 |
| 2 | Arnaldo Gordon | United States | 1,100,900 | 92 |
| 3 | Christopher Cornell | United States | 1,090,000 | 91 |
| 4 | Danserban Borlan | Romania | 1,080,000 | 90 |
| 5 | Joey Couden | United States | 1,080,000 | 90 |
| 6 | Daniel Muniz | United States | 1,070,000 | 89 |
| 7 | Ran Yi | Canada | 1,066,000 | 89 |
| 8 | Harry Johnson | United States | 999,000 | 83 |
| 9 | Pete Chen | Taiwan | 984,000 | 82 |
| 10 | Andres Vasquez Fajardo | Columbia | 903,000 | 75 |
Many notables are still in the mix, including WSOP bracelet winner and 25K Fantasy player Joey Couden. He will start Day 2 fifth in the counts (1,080,000) and will be looking to hold his rank and make it through to Day 3, and overtake Phil Ivey in the 25K Fantasy Ranking as they both currently sit with a Score of 21. Couden is the only remaining 25K Fantasy player in this event, and has a good chance to add to his team “Brown’s Bargain Bin” score, as players are nearing the money bubble.
There are eight WSOP bracelet holders still in the mix and are due to return to the felt today, including two-time winners Barry Shulman, Brett Shaffer, and Tony Ma. Arkadiy Tsinis, Dalibor Dula, Safiya Umerova and Jason Young will also be returning and all have one WSOP bracelet to their name.
Play resumes today at 11 a.m. local time at the Horseshore at Level 18 with 6,000/12,000 blinds and a 12,000 big blind ante. Levels are 40-minute long and there is a scheduled dinner break after Level 26 (at approximately 5.30 p.m.).
Stay with PokerNews to keep up with all of the Day 2 action!
Event #45: $500 SALUTE to Warriors
Day 2 Started
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