Day one has finally ended at 2:15 a.m. The field is down to 111 players, with a few big names still around vying for a bracelet. Play will resume tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. with the blinds at $1,000-$2,000 and a $300 dollar ante.
Here is an approximate chip count for the end of Day 1:
Dan Monroe $130,600
A.J. Kelsall $105,000
Mike Matusow $104,600
Scott Fischman $82,100
David "Devilfish" Ulliott $65,000
Cyndy Violette $30,000
Greg Raymer $19,000
Phil Hellmuth $12,200
Sat Jun 04 01:57:00 -0700 2005
"Devilfish" knocks out two
With two players all in in front of him, David "Devilfish" Ulliott calls in late position. Player A shows pocket tens, and Player B shows the 5s-6s. Ulliott turns over the As-Jd.
The flop comes 9h-8h-3h. Player A holds on to the lead, but player B picks up an inside straight draw, and Ulliott a backdoor straight draw to go with his two overcards. The turn is the Qc, giving Ulliott a higher inside straight draw. However, with two of the tens already out, it's eight outs to the river for "Devilfish."
All three players are standing, as they await the river. It's a nightmare for the "Devilfish"'s opponents as the Ac spikes on the river, and both players are sent packing after over thirteen hours of grueling play.
Sat Jun 04 01:46:00 -0700 2005
Hellmuth vs. Matusow
With about 23 minutes left in the final level of play for day 1, Mike Matusow and Phil Hellmuth slip into a friendly banter across tables. Matusow ($117,000) was joking with Hellmuth ($17,000) that he needs to stick around so they can eventually meet at the final table in heads up play. Hellmuth made the comment that if he won this event, he would buy 40 bottles of Dom Perignon for the crowd. Matusow responded by saying that he was going to buy everyone in the room a bottle of champagne if he beat Hellmuth heads up for the bracelet.
Sat Jun 04 01:29:00 -0700 2005
Senthil Kumar's suck out
Senthil Kumar raises to 6,000. Hellmuth asks him how much he has left. Kumar stays silent as the dealer counts out approximately $8,500 in chips. Hellmuth is on the button, and reraises about $10,000 more to go. This blows everyone in between them out of the pot. Kumar takes a moment to size up his remaining $8,000 in chips, and then calls all in.
Hellmuth flips up the Kc-Kh, and Kumar shows the Ad-Ks. The flop comes Ac-3h-2h, and the "poker brat" begins his rant. Starting off as a 2.3-1 favorite, Hellmuth is now a huge underdog, needing the case king or running hearts to bust Kumar. The turn brings the 4c, and the river the 5c, and Hellmuth ships approximately $14,000 in chips to Senthil Kumar.
Sat Jun 04 01:15:00 -0700 2005
Day One of Event #2 Will End After This Level of Blinds
They've just announced that day one will come to a close after the current level of blinds (Level 11: $800-$1,600, $200 ante). With 55 minutes left on the tournament clock, that works out to a 2:10 am finish.
Sat Jun 04 01:02:00 -0700 2005
Current Chip Count
Phil Hellmuth
$33,600
Mike Matusow
$75,700
Greg Raymer
$14,000
C.K. Hua
$40,000
Scott Fischman
$80,000
Cyndy Violette
$37,000
Evelyn Ng
$22,000
David "Devilfish" Ulliott
$50,000
Sat Jun 04 00:55:00 -0700 2005
Players take a break at 12:55pm
The players are taking a 15 minute break and when they return they will find that the blinds have risen to $800-$1,600 and the ante remains at $200. The tournament clock shows that the player field is currently 160 strong.
Making the money in this event, Phil Hellmuth now shares the record for most times in the money (47) in a World Series event with Barry Johnston, thus solidifying his status as one of the strongest World Series of Poker tournament players.
Sat Jun 04 00:20:00 -0700 2005
In the Money
Elliot Lee's As-Jc couldn't hold up against Keith Love's Ah-Kd, and when neither hand improved from the board, Lee was eliminated in 201st place, just barely missing the money. Spectators and players alike broke out in a round of applause, as our seemingly insurmountable field has been grinded down to 200 players.
Hand for hand play has ceased, and the blinds remain at $600-$1,200, with a $200 ante. The survivors are guaranteed at least $2,225 in prize money. The bracelet, and the $725,405 for first place are still up for grabs, but there's a long way to go.
The next prize break is at 170 players, with 141st-170th place earning $2,865.
Fri Jun 03 23:18:00 -0700 2005
Scott Fischman Deals a One-Two Punch
Scott Fischman pushes all in preflop, and he's called by the player in Seat 2. Fischman shows pocket aces, while Seat 2 leans back, grunts, and flips over pocket nines. Another player comments about Fischman, "All he plays are aces." The flop comes Ac-7h-2c, and Fischman improves to a set of aces, and Seat 2 needs a miracle (running nines). The miracle never comes, with the last two cards falling 4h-2h, and Fischman doubles up.
Seat 2 had the button on the next hand, and raised all in preflop. Fischman quickly calls from the big blind with pocket jacks. Seat 2 shows the A-9 of clubs, and again finds himself trailing Fischman. Hoping for an ace, he sees a flop of Qc-9s-4c, which increases his outs to 14 (2 nines, 3 aces, and 9 clubs). The turn card is the Ks, and Seat 2 needs to catch something on the river to stay alive. The river card is the 5d, and Seat 2 is sent to the mat, losing all of his chips to Fischman.
Fischman has built himself up from roughly $13,000 to about $30,000 in chips in two consecutive hands, and takes some time to stack and smooth out his intimidating wall of chips.
Fri Jun 03 23:15:00 -0700 2005
Mike "The Mouth" Matusow Knocks Out Another
Mike Matusow knocks out another player with his mouth running, holding true to form. Matusow entered the hand with a preflop raise of $2,100 and an unknown player in position 8 went all in with his $3,900. Matusow, with the luxury of a very large chip stack, called and flipped over 10h-5h. The unknown player in position 8 turned over a pair of 7's. The flop comes Qd-10c-2h. Another deuce on the turn helps nobody, the river falls Jd and Matusow takes the hand and eliminates another.
