Event #62: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event
Day 1a Completed
2013 World Series of Poker
Event #62: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event
Day: 1a
Level 5
: 200/400, 50 ante
The first day of the 2013 World Series of Poker Main Event has come to a close, and what a way to kick off the greatest event on the face of the planet. Nearly 1,000 players took to action today, but it was Evan Panesis finishing on top of them all with 190,975 in chips. A couple hundred or so hit the rail before day's end, and official chip counts will be posted once received.
Day 1a is often known as the smallest and least star-studded of the starting days, but there were plenty of big names out in the field nonetheless. Arguably the most important player in the field today was the reigning champion Greg Merson, who delivered the "shuffle up and deal" speech before jumping in his seat for his title defense. Merson went on to finish with 81,650, giving him a very healthy stack moving forward.
Other notables in the field today were Joe Cada, Pius Heinz, Olivier Busquet, Brian Rast, Justin Bonomo, Elio Fox and Ivan Demidov, just to name a few. Heinz, the 2011 WSOP Main Event champion, was eliminated on the day when his opponent had rivered a Broadway straight against his trip sevens.
Things moved along nice and smooth in the event with not too much craziness happening, but then in the last level of the night, an insane five-way all-in pot went down on Table 443 in the Amazon Room that resulted in Mac Sohrabi winning a big main pot, Yurel Eminogla scooping a nice side pot, and the three other players being eliminated. You can read about that hand here. As if that wasn't enough fun in the final level, a three-way all-in clash was won by Brendan Flaherty over in the Orange Section of the room.
The advancing players will reconvene with those that survive from Day 1b for a joint Day 2 on Tuesday at 12 p.m. In the meantime, get some rest and come right back here tomorrow for more coverage from the 2013 WSOP Main Event right here on PokerNews. For now, we'll leave you with Lynn Gilmartin who had an exclusive invitation to the unveiling of the 2013 WSOP Main Event bracelet, valued at a whopping $500,000:
![[user80015]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
Level 5
: 200/400, 50 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
190,975
190,975
|
190,975 |
|
184,075
184,075
|
184,075 |
|
180,575
22,575
|
22,575 |
|
175,825
52,825
|
52,825 |
|
170,325
4,825
|
4,825 |
|
158,150
1,650
|
1,650 |
|
147,425
-2,875
|
-2,875 |
|
146,875
48,875
|
48,875 |
|
|
137,075
137,075
|
137,075 |
|
137,075
137,075
|
137,075 |
|
136,850
-18,150
|
-18,150 |
|
130,400
130,400
|
130,400 |
|
129,900
56,900
|
56,900 |
|
129,450
129,450
|
129,450 |
|
|
127,425
127,425
|
127,425 |
|
126,750
126,750
|
126,750 |
|
125,500
125,500
|
125,500 |
|
|
124,400
124,400
|
124,400 |
|
122,550
122,550
|
122,550 |
|
116,850
116,850
|
116,850 |
|
114,050
114,050
|
114,050 |
|
113,100
43,750
|
43,750 |
|
112,900
-14,100
|
-14,100 |
|
||
|
111,725
111,725
|
111,725 |
|
|
110,725
110,725
|
110,725 |
Level 5
: 200/400, 50 ante
Nick Crisp has added more chips to his impressive total and is now approaching 200,000 chips.
On a 
flop the big blind checked and Crisp tried to bet 2,000. However,he made the motion as if to check and the floor ruled he had checked. The button checked, too.
The turn was the 
and the big blind led for 2,000 and only Crisp called. The river brought the 
into play and the big blind checked. Crisp bet 6,000 and his opponent check-raised to 16,900. Crisp studied the board for 5-10 seconds before calling with 
and the big blind mucked.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
190,000
29,000
|
29,000 |
Level 5
: 200/400, 50 ante
The Tournament Director has announced that there will be just four more hands remaining in today's flight.
Level 5
: 200/400, 50 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted | |
|
|
||
|
Busted | |
Level 5
: 200/400, 50 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
79,600 | |
|
79,000
58,400
|
58,400 |
|
||
|
74,300
17,700
|
17,700 |
|
||
|
73,800
-12,200
|
-12,200 |
|
|
||
|
73,500
5,500
|
5,500 |
|
66,000
8,000
|
8,000 |
|
61,150
38,850
|
38,850 |
|
|
||
|
60,300
18,050
|
18,050 |
|
50,400
-7,600
|
-7,600 |
|
||
|
48,700
-2,300
|
-2,300 |
|
|
||
|
48,000
8,000
|
8,000 |
|
44,000
-8,000
|
-8,000 |
|
||
|
39,400
-600
|
-600 |
|
|
||
|
32,000
-7,000
|
-7,000 |
|
|
||
|
31,700
14,300
|
14,300 |
|
||
|
30,025
-15,975
|
-15,975 |
|
||
|
23,825
2,525
|
2,525 |
|
|
||
|
23,625
-13,075
|
-13,075 |
|
|
||
|
20,100
2,100
|
2,100 |
|
|
||
|
17,075
-4,375
|
-4,375 |
|
||
|
16,600
-22,200
|
-22,200 |
|
|
15,550
-10,050
|
-10,050 |
|
|
||
|
10,800
3,400
|
3,400 |
|
8,500
700
|
700 |
|
||
Level 5
: 200/400, 50 ante
Following a raise to 1,100 and a call from the lo-jack, Michael Wehner three-bet to 3,250 from the button. Both his opponent's made the call before checking the 
flop to Wehner.
After taking a few moments to deliberate, Wehner dropped in a bet of 4,150 to prompt two quick folds as Wehner collected the pot to move to 157,000 in chips.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
157,000
157,000
|
157,000 |
Level 5
: 200/400, 50 ante
When we arrived at the table, a flop of 
was in the middle of the table and Abdulaziz Almashal had 8,000 in front of him. His opponent had shoved all in for 23,050, and Almashal tank-called. Almashal had the 
, and his opponent held the 
.
The turn was the 
and the river the 
. With the ten on the river, Almashal smashed a full house and won the pot. He eliminated his opponent and moved to 158,000 in chips.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
158,000
34,500
|
34,500 |
Level 5
: 200/400, 50 ante
We just heard the tell tale signs of a bad beat in progress, as one player screamed out in exultation in one moment, before crying out in anguish when the river card fell.
Brendan Flaherty, meanwhile, shot out of his chair in unadulterated joy, pumping his fist and knocking his chair over as he celebrated what has to be one of the more improbable victories of the day.
According to multiple sources at the table, the drama began when a short-stacked player moved all in over the top of a 1,000 opening raise, putting his last 7,000 at risk. Another player decided to isolate in position, and he reraised all in for 20,000, putting the action on Flaherty.
The boisterous Flaherty checked his cards and snapped off with a call, putting the majority of his own chips at risk in the process. With three players all in for their tournament lives, we arrived to see the most of the players at the table stand as one, expecting to witness a momentous showdown of premium hands.
Short-Stack Raiser: 
Isolation Raiser: 
Flaherty: 
While both of his opponents showed up with the goods, Flaherty went to war with a cap gun against two cannons. The dealer burned and turned one card, before revealing the players' destinies with the flash of three board cards.
Flop: 
The short-stacked player had survived the flop, and his pocket pair was in the lead in its race against the overcards. Flaherty, meanwhile, was left grasping for straws, as his ragged hand failed to connect in any meaningful way.
Turn:
With a third spade on board, the ace-queen added a slew of additional outs, while Flaherty's slim draw was drawn and quartered, leaving him with only non-spade tens, eights, and threes as potential saviors.
River: 
Just like that, a blind squirrel found his nut in the form of a backdoor straight, while two players were eliminated from the Main Event in particularly brutal fashion.
For his part, Flaherty explained that he misread his hand, thinking he held rather than a three-gap unsuited connector. Despite this lapse in vision, Flaherty can now see a seat at Day 2 on the horizon, as he has built a healthy stack with just thirty minutes to play here tonight.
"Can I just go home now?," Flaherty wondered aloud, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he had nearly stamped that ticket just minutes before.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
103,500
103,500
|
103,500 |