Chris Bjorin -- he of the 60 WSOP cashes and two more WSOP final tables this summer -- has been eliminated. He'd been crippled in a hand just before we arrived, left with just 450 chips after posting his big blind. A raiser pushed out everyone else, and Bjorin called, showing to his opponent's .
The board came , and the two pair of Bjorin's opponent were best, sending the two-time WSOP bracelet winner to the rail.
We just witnessed Will "The Thrill" Failla in all his outspoken glory over in the white section of the Pavilion Room.
A player on the button opened for 525, the small blind called, and Failla in the big blind, started nudging the dealer who was discussing the break and he said, "Dealer, worry about the break later, we got a big pot goin on here." Failla put his final 1,225 in the pot (he had two lammers behind), the button re-potted, and another animated character in the small blind said, "ALRIGHT, if you guys want me, you got me, I pot I'm all in" Everyone at the table cheered and Failla said, "that's right, put it in you filthy animal."
Right before the flop came down Failla looked over at this reporter and asked, "Benjamin, who do you think has the nuts right now?" Seeing as every event I've seen Will "The Thrill" in he's gone deep, I had to assume it was him.
Failla:
Small Blind:
Button:
The flop came down and Failla called for the King of Spades. Sure enough, the turn came Failla said, "THAT'S RIGHT, make sure PokerNews knows I called for the king of spades right there." The river came to eliminate the possibility of a low and Failla banged the table and cheered, "YEAHHHH, SHIP IT ALLLL OVER HERE."
Jonathan Aguiar then jokingly called for the floor saying, "Floor, can we get a 10 round penalty over here for excessive, excessive celebration?? This guy won't calm down."
Failla was up to 6,600 after the hand, but he didn't stop there though as he said, "Real nice hand there" (talking to the small blind and rolling his eyes) Aguiar then chimed in, "Yeah, the nine is a real important card in 8 or better."
It was all in good fun though and the table is all laughs and having a good time tearing it up and playing some PLO 8.
We're not sure of the details, but the seat formerly occupied by Phil "Unabomber" Laak has a new player in it, which usually means the former occupant has been eliminated.
A short-stacked Noah Boeken had raised from the cutoff and got a somewhat reluctant caller from the small blind, creating a pot of 1,125. The flop came , the SB checked, and Boeken committed his last 500 chips.
His opponent rechecked his cards, saying "Hard to miss some of that board" as he did. Finally he called, tabling . Boeken showed -- he had in fact missed that flop, although he still had hopes for a low or some other runner-runner run good.
The turn was the , making that low for Boeken, the river the , and the pair split the pot. "That's some pretty light action," someone from across the table told the SB, who smiled in response. "Hey, I'm just a tourist from Chicago," he said. "I came here to have a good time."
Boeken isn't necessarily having such a good time today, as he is presently down under 1,500 and with no more add-on chips.
Tom Dwan's bracelet quest here at Event No. 51 had ended. "Had qjt9 vs qj98 on a kt5 flop, he didn't have a flushdraw," reports Dwan via Twitter on his demise. "Gg me."
Nenad Medic has arrived, taking a seat right between Tom Dwan on his left and Bill Chen on his right. Medic has one WSOP bracelet and Chen two, while Dwan continues to seek his first.
"Bracelet bets this year?" Medic asked Dwan. "Not as many as last," came the reply, and Dwan proceeded to explain that he still has some two- and three-year bets ongoing. "Had a sweat yet?" asked Medic. "Fifth in the $10K H.O.R.S.E.," answered Dwan, referring to his final table appearance in Event No. 37. "Had 25% of the chips in play," he added, a what-might-have-been tone in his voice.
As Dwan spoke a hand was dealt in which a player raised from middle position to 525, and Dwan called from the big blind. The flop came , and Dwan bet the pot -- 1,125 -- leaving himself just a few chips behind. His opponent folded, and Dwan's quest for that first bracelet continues for now, though perhaps not for long as he sits with less than 2,000 and no add-ons left.
During the last level of registration, it is not uncommon for us to see a barrage of big name players sitting down together so start their Day 1. New tables are forming and we have already seen some tough players and we are sure there will be more to come before the end of the level