End of Day 1A
May 31, '08
It took only 8 hours and 15 minutes of play today to whittle the day 1A field of 2,000 down to 225. Officials were forced to halt play early in order to ensure that day 1A and day 1B each produce a similar number of survivors, especially with the money bubble rapidly approaching.
With a fast structure and shallow starting stacks, the chips were flying fast and furious today. As a result, big-name players became hard to find as the daylight dwindled. Shane "shaniac" Schleger, second in chips, and Todd Brunson are two notables who will have deep stacks to work with on day 2. Also returning on Monday will be Asher Derei, John Murphy, Johannes Strassmann, and Matthew "all in at 420" Stout.
The players will all receive a much needed day off tomorrow and come back Monday to try and claim the first no-limit hold'em bracelet of the 2008 World Series of Poker.
Day 1B of this event will begin at noon tomorrow.
Player Tags: Asher Derei, Todd Brunson, John Murphy, Shane Schleger, Matt Stout, Johannes Strassmann
No Limit Hold 'Em Level 9 - Down to 225
May 31, '08
Blinds: 500-1,000-100
Players Remaining: 225
Average Stack: 27,200
Chip Leaders:
Shane Schleger - 117,000
David Robertson - 108,400
Grant Hinkle - 77,000
Ryan D'Angelo - 75,000
Jeff Carris - 71,000
Henry Tran - 70,000
Cesar Flores - 60,000
Asher Derei - 60,000
Eric Hicks - 55,000
Paul Lee - 46,000
Mark Ketteringham - 45,000
Eliminations:
Bill Gazes
Big Hands:
Older Hinkle Brother Makes His Move
It has just come to our attention that Grant Hinkle, older brother of Blair "blur5f6" Hinkle, has vaulted up the leaderboard and currently sits with just over 75,000 in chips. Blair is playing in tommorow's field, but will have a long way to go to match his big brother.
Griffin Continues His Comeback
Gavin Griffin and his opponent were racing as Griffin flipped over 9
9
and his opponent had AK
. The board ran out 77434 and Griffin's stack gained a much needed boost. He currently sits at 41,000.
Gazes Gone
At the same table where Griffin continued to stage his comeback, Bill Gazes met his demise. A shortstacked player moved his stack of 9,400 into the middle and Gazes was quick to call. The two revealed their cards:
Gazes: A-K
Opponent: T-T
the board was of no help to Gazes and he was eliminated.
Murphy Hanging in There
John Murphy raised to 2,500 in the cutoff. Only the big blind called and they saw a flop of 9
83. The big blind checked and, without much thought, Murphy stuck in a stack of yellow chips totalling about 15,000, putting his opponent all-in. After a bit of posturing the big blind folded, and Murphy's stack crept up to 35,000.
Strassmann Wins Blind Battle
After a button raise to 3,000, European Poker Tour final tablist Johaness Strassmann of Germany three-bet to 9,000 total, leaving himself only a few thousand behind. His opponent folded A-J face-up, earning a placative, "Nice fold" from Strassmann. The pot took Strassmann up to 34,000 in chips.
All-in at 10:45
Matt "All in at 420" Stout found aces at the right time to increase his stack to 36,000. After an under-the-gun raise, a player in middle position shoved all-in for 16,200. In the big blind, Stout looked down at two black aces and wasted little time before getting his money into the pot. The under-the-gun player folded and the middle position player showed AQ. The board came 55283 and Stout chipped up to 36,000. After the hand the under-the-gun raiser claimed to have folded AK, drawing equal amounts of plaudits and skepticism from the table.
Player Tags: Asher Derei, Bill Gazes, Gavin Griffin, John Murphy, Shane Schleger, Matt Stout, Johannes Strassmann, European Report
