PokerNews got to the table as things were heating up in a heads-up pot between Jeremy Becker and four-time bracelet winner Julien Martini.
The board read J♥A♦3♠7♦K♣ and while the full river action wasn't clear, Martini has put out 26,000 before Becker raised to put the Frenchman all in. Martini gave it some thought and called for around 35,000 more.
Becker could only show a bluff as Martini revealed K♥J♠ to double up with two pair.
In the 819th episode of the PokerNews Podcast sponsored by sponsored by PokerStars, Chad Holloway welcomes two new co-hosts to the show in poker players Kyna England and Mike "Brock Lesnar" Holtz. The new PN Pod crew dives into the latest news, gossip, and stories from the poker industry.
That includes Chad sharing why Maurice Hawkins, who made headlines after cashing for six figures only to have his past backing situations resurface, is pissed at both him and PokerNews; why poker is being banned in the world's largest retirement community down in Florida; and who they all like in the cross book bet between Jeremey Becker & Daniel Negreanu and Landon Tice & Matt Berkey.
Plus, hear about Kyna England's experience on the hit show Game of Gold, the crew's experiences with Uber Eats ghost kitchens, and learn who won the signed copy of Lexy Gavin-Mather's new poker book Mastering Small Stakes No-Limit Tournaments.
Maria Ho opened to 4,000 from under the gun and a middle position player three-bet jammed a stack of 48,000. Last's year's runner-up, Andrew Esposito, then four-bet jammed a stack of around 100,000 to bring a fold from Ho.
Middle Position: A♦K♣
Andrew Esposito: J♥J♦
The flop of K♠J♠8♦ gave Esposito a set of jacks to have his opponent drawing nearly dead before the runout of 3♥10♠ confirmed the opponent's elimination with less than 15 minutes left in the evening.
Another starting flight of the $3,500 Wynn Millions Championship in Las Vegas wrapped up after ten levels of play with Mitchell Halverson leading the 116 remaining players with a stack of 629,000.
Day 1b of the Wynn Millions Championship drew 403 runners, nearly double the 236 players who bought into the previous starting flight. Players who bagged on Day 1b include Maria Ho, Cherish Andrews, Farah Galfond, Mike Holtz, Blake Bohn, Shannon Shorr, Adam Hendrix, Eric Baldwin, inaugural Wynn Millions champion Andrew Moreno and last year's runner-up Andrew Esposito.
Day 1b Top 10 Chip Counts
RANK
NAME
COUNTRY
CHIP COUNT
BIG BLINDS
1
Mitchell Halverson
United States
629,000
252
2
Jared Hemingway
United States
474,500
190
3
Spencer Champlin
United States
414,500
166
4
Jake Ripnick
United States
373,500
149
5
John Khoury
United States
297,000
119
6
Yevgeniy Minakrin
United States
288,000
115
7
Chris Frank
United States
274,000
110
8
Hal Rotholz
United States
250,500
100
9
Shannon Shorr
United States
243,000
97
10
Adam Hendrix
United States
242,000
97
Day 1b Action
Just like on Day 1a, there were no shortage of notable names as action kicked off at noon inside Wynn Las Vegas. That included 2023 WSOP Main Event final tablist Adam Walton, who had busted in brutal fashion the previous flight but managed to ran up a stack on the second starting flight.
Another player who failed to bag Day 1a but found success on Day 1b was inaugural Wynn Millions champion Andrew Moreno, who got a boost late in the evening when he doubled through Wynn daily dominator Jeremy Becker.
PokerNews spent an orbit with Becker, and it happened to be an active one filled with flat calls, three-bets, and three-street call downs. Unfortunately, Becker's Day 1b reign reached an end as he unsuccessfully attempted to bluff Julien Martini before hitting the rail shortly after.
Fittingly enough for International Women's Day, there were several notable women in the Day 1b field, including Women in Poker Hall of Famer Maria Ho, soap opera star Farah Galfond, poker coach and author Lexy Gavin-Mather and 2022 GPI Female Player of the Year Cherish Andrews, who less than 24 hours earlier was holding up a trophy she won in the $2,200 NLH 6-Max event.
Those who bagged on Day 1b will join the Day 1a survivors that include Day 1a chip leader Fikret Kovac and the likes of Steven Jones, Landon Tice, Alex Foxen, Kristen Foxen, John Riordan and David "ODB" Baker.
Before that happens, there is still one more starting flight left to play out with Day 1c, which will get underway on Saturday, March 9 at noon local time.
Stay tuned as the PokerNews live reporting team will be back on-site at Wynn Las Vegas tomorrow for continued coverage of the Wynn Millions Championship.