Hour One Recap
Jul 14, '07
Day five started like any other day in this year's Main Event, slow and steady. The comfortable pace didn't last long however and play has progressed to a pace that can only be described as chaotic. Since the first "all in and a call" cry came from a dealer, a plethora of all ins and bust outs followed. The field is down to 105 players and having a million in chips is no longer such a big deal. The day started in level 20 with blinds of $10,000-$20,000 and a $3,000 ante. This blind level is significant because now every big blind represents the buy in of one player in this year's Main Event.
Scotty Nguyen Baby
The fast pace of play has benefited some players, one of which has been crowned the champion of the Main Event before. Scotty Nguyen has built his stack to over $2,000,000 in the first hour of play and did so at the expense of Cory Carroll. Nguyen raised to $104,000 under the gun and Carroll was the only caller. The flop came A
9
7
and both players checked. The turn was the 5
and Nguyen fired out $125,000. Carroll counted out the appropriate amount and threw it into the middle to call. The river brought the Q
and Nguyen led out with a $300,000 bet. Carroll bumped it up to $750,000 total and put Nguyen in a decision for almost all of his chips. Nguyen counted out the $450,000 extra and had only $120,000 more. "I call" said Nguyen and showed Q
Q
. Carroll exposed A
Q
and realized that the river had not helped him like he had thought. Nguyen took down the massive pot and is now sitting with $2,100,000 in chips.
Chipleader Continues to Crush
Dag Martin Mikkelsen came into day five as the chip leader and now has $4,200,000 in chips. Only recently passed by Avi Cohen who has $4,700,000, Mikkelsen has been on a tear in the first hour of level 20. Mikkelsen picked up a cool $500,000 his opponent Chris Lovelace in the following hand. Mikkelsen raised to $60,000 and was reraised by Lovelace to $150,000. Mikkelsen reraised and Lovelace came back over the top all in for his last $400,000. Mikkelsen made the call and showed A
K
. Lovelace turned over 8
8
and was the slight favorite. The flop came J
J
10
and Mikkelsen picked up several more outs. The turn was the 6
giving Mikkelsen the flush he was looking for. Lovelace was not out though with the possiblity of the full house still in the deck. The river brought the Q
and gave Mikkelsen the royal flush to eliminate Lovelace. Seated at the featured table, Mikkelsen was happy to hear the roar of applause from the crowd when the Q
hit on the river.
Who Wants to be a Millionaire?
Well obviously everyone wants to be a millionaire, but Bill Edler wants it to be official. Edler pushed all in before the flop for a little more than $400,000. His opponent in the four seat, Jimmy Blevins, called. Edler turned over Q
J
and Blevins had called with 5
5
. The flop came Q
J
10
and Edler needed only to dodge two more cards to double up. The turn was the 2
and Edler looked comfortable. The river brought the 8
and Edler built his stack to $985,000. Edler's table broke after the hand and when asked his chip count in transit, Edler said he didn't know. "'Bout a million Bill?" asked a member of the media. "Don't give me a million yet. Not until it's official" replied Edler.
Chad Brown Crippled
Chad Brown limped into the pot and Richard Crowell pushed all in for $225,000 two seats to his left. Matt keikoan and Ken Smith both called and Brown was left with a decision. Brown eventually called and there were four players to the flop. The flop was K
4
2
and Smith checked. Brown bet out $200,000 and Keikoan got out of the way. Smith called the bet with his last $183,000 and the three remaining players turned over their cards. Crowell had pushed with 3
3
, Brown was holding 9
9
and Smith had called with J
J
. The turn was the 7
and the river brought the 7
, no help to any of the players. Smith's jacks held up and he collected the main pot and the side pot. Brown was left with only $315,000 after the hand.
Watkinson Chips Up
Julian Gardner raised to $60,000 from early position and Lee Watkinson was the only caller. The flop came K
J
8
and Gardner bet out $80,000. Watkinson again made the call and the turn was the A
. Gardner fired out $125,000 this time and again Watkinson smooth called. The river brought the 6
and both players checked. Gardner showed A
2
for top pair but Watkinson showed A
Q
and had him outkicked. Watkinson took down the pot and now has $1,700,000.
Players of Interest
| Huckleberry Seed |
1,950,000 |
| Daniel Alaei |
1,850,000 |
| Lee Watkinson |
1,700,000 |
| Kenny Tran |
1,600,000 |
| David Tran |
1,510,000 |
| Kirk Morrison |
1,500,000 |
| Gus Hansen |
1,450,000 |
| Bill Edler |
1,100,000 |
| Humberto Brenes |
1,000,000 |
Pokerstars Online Qualifiers
| Hevad Khan |
2,000,000 |
| Jeff Banghart |
2,000,000 |
|
|
| Ryan Lawrence |
1,300,000 |
| Jason Welch |
900,000 |
pokerstars.com
Player Tags: Scotty Nguyen, Matt Keikoan, Bill Edler, Jimmy Blevins, Cory Carroll, Ken Smith, Dag Martin Mikkelsen, Chris Lovelace, Richard Crowell
