Jeff Madsen has just won a nice sized pot after betting and getting called on every single street. After seventh street, Madsen flipped over the , and his pair of aces was enough to take down the pot and put him at 6,100, amongst the early chip leaders.
Alexander Kravchenko has entered the field late, but is off to a bit of a slow start. He recently completed with the showing, and was called by an opponent with the . Kravchenko bet after receiving the on fourth street, and his opponent called with the . Kravchenko again led after being dealt the on fifth, but this time his opponent raised with the . Kravchenko tank-folded, and is now below 4,000 chips.
With an showing, David Bach check-called a bet from an opponent with the showing. On fourth street Bach was dealt the , and check-called another bet from his opponent who also was dealt a three - the . On fifth street, Bach check-called yet another bet (sensing a trend yet?) after he was dealt the and his opponent the .
On sixth street Bach was dealt the , and check-called yet another bet from his opponent who was dealt the suicide king - the . Both players received a down card, Bach check-called one final time, and his opponent rolled over for kings and sixes. Bach mucked and is down to 3,650.
We caught the action on sixth street with Singer betting and his opponent calling the whole way. After another bet and call on seventh street, Singer revealed in the hole for a nine high straight, and his opponent mucked. Singer is up to 5300.
Ylon Schwartz completed with the showing, and was called by an opponent with the . On fourth street, Schwartz received the and checked to his opponent who bet after being dealt the . Schwartz called. Schwartz again checked after receiving the on fifth street, his opponent was dealt the and bet. Schwartz again called.
The on sixth street paired Schwartz, and for the first time he led out. His opponent raised with the , and Schwartz called. The dealer then began to deal seventh street face up (it was the ) but stopped before the entire table could see the card. Only the reporters and an anonymous player in the one-seat saw the card, so play continued as usual. Schwartz check-called one more big bet, and mucked his hand when his opponent opened for aces-up.
Dutch Boyd and Steve Billirakis are sitting next to each other to start the tournament, and the two of them just got involved in an early pot. The two players each put in 100 chips on every street until seventh, where they both checked. Boyd revealed , and his pair of aces was good enough to take the pot and give him a nice boost to start the tournament.
There are some more familiar faces in the field tonight, including David Bach (winner of the 2009 $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship), Freddie Ellis (winner of the 2009 $10,000 Seven Card Stud World Championship), Tom McEvoy, Matt "SamENole" Smith and Bryan Devonshire.
A quick scan of the room shows that the following big names are in the field, though there are sure to be many more as several tables are playing three and four handed.
Amnon Filippi
Brett Jungblut
Jeff Lisandro
Frank Kassela
Marco Traniello
Steve Billirakis
Max Pescatori
Jerry Buss
Allen Kessler
Jennifer Harman
Dutch Boyd