Robert Ford - end of day 1 chip leader

Day 2 will begin at 1:15pm EDT Monday. Here are the end of day 1 chip counts for the 40 survivors, with their day 2 seat assignments, sorted by chip counts (to see this list sorted by day 2 table and seat, go to the day 2 blog):

On the last hand of the day, Dan Spear got his last few chips in with K6 off against the pocket 9s of Steve Gross. The board came out A 8 4 2 K and Dan caught a pair on the river to double up to over 6k.

End of level 5 and end of day 1. 40 players remain.

	Nick Schulman - shafted

I noticed Nick Schulman's seat was empty and he was across the room. I went up and asked "What happened to you?" "I played bad" was his reply. I pressed for details and he said he got all in on a flop of T 6 3. Nick held pocket Kings, but his opponent held pocket 6s and had flopped a set. That doesn't sound so bad to me, just unlucky. At any rate, Nick is out and 40 players remain.

	Griffin Abel

Four players limped to the flop of A 9 6 then checked to Eugene Castro on the button. Eugene bet 700 and Griffin Abel (ep) was his only caller. Turn was the T.  Abel checked, Eugene fired 1,200,  Abel raised to 3k and Eugene tanked for a bit. He finally made the call and the river was the A.  Abel checked and Eugene took his time sizing his bet. He finally decided on 4k. Abel called and Eugene showed A6 off for Aces-full. Abel mucked.

	Rick Austin - Ace magnet

Four players took the flop for a raise. On the flop of Q 6 2 it was checked to Rick Austin (button) who bet 14,500. John Kolaski moved all in for just a wee bit more. Matt Stout folded (pocket 4s) as did Eric Panayiotou. Rick called, showing pocket Aces, yet again. John held pocket Kings. The turn was a 4, which propelled Matt out of his seat. River was a 3 and John was busted. For those of you keeping score at home, this is the 5th time today Rick Austin has had pocket Aces. Four times those pocket Aces were up against pocket Kings. The Aces have held up every time except once against Wooyang Lin, who flopped a set of Kings to crack them.

Brian Lemke has also busted out. 41 players remain.

	Eric Panayiotou

On a final board of J T 3 3 8, Eric Panayiotou (big blind) fired 3,500. Rick Austin (utg) raised to 10k. Eric took about a minute, then called, showing T3 for 3s full of Tens. Rick rolled over pocket Jacks for Jacks full to take the pot.

Level 5: Blinds 150/300 with 25 antes. Play has resumed. This will be the last level of the day.

43 players remain. Average stack is almost 36,300.

	Michael Leah

On the turn with a board of J 9 8 9, Michael Leah bet 7k and got called by Brian Lemke. River was a 5 and Michael tossed his last chips in. Brian made the call, showing pocket Aces for Aces-up. Michael rolled over pocket 9s for quads to take the pot and double-up.

End of level 4 and 43 players are taking their final break of the day.

	Robert Ford

In the recent table break, Robert Ford got moved to Matt Stout's table. After arriving there, Robert has gone on a complete rush. First he flopped a set with pocket 2s. On the turn with the board showing 9 5 2 J, Robert got all-in against Michael Leah, who held J9 for top two pair. The ducks were good and Robert doubled up. That was just the beginning.

On a flop of K T 4, Paul Brenneman got all-in with AK (top pair, top kicker) only to run into Robert's pocket 4s (bottom set). The set held up and Paul was busted while Robert continued stacking chips.

Then Ralph Pecorale raised and Robert said 'call' but he was not aware of the raise. He was forced to call the raise. On the flop of 8 8 7, Ralph got all-in with pocket Queens, only to see Robert's 87 suited. Robert had flopped a full-house. Ralph needed a Queen to survive, but the last two came 7 5 and Ralph was busted.

With those three pots in rapid order, Robert Ford has chipped up to ~126k and taken a huge chip lead.

	Chris Reslock - locked out

in a battle of the blinds, Jordan Rich (sb) and Alex Jacob (bb) got to the river with a board of 9 7 5 A 4. Jordan checked, Alex bet 5k (leaving himself with only 5,200) and Jordan moved all-in. Alex thought about it, but eventually let it go. He's been bleeding chips slowly ever since and is now down to less than 3k.

After three limpers, Nick Schulman (bb) popped it to 1,200. Chris Reslock made the call and the others bowed out. On the flop of 8 6 3 with two diamonds, Nick moved all in. Chris called all-in with T 9 for the flush draw with gutshot straight draw. Nick held pocket 9s for an overpair to the board. Chris was actually a mathematical favorite to win this hand with his one overcard, gutshot, and flush draws (15 outs twice). So much for the math as the board blanked out and Chris was busted.

Viet Nguyen has also busted out, bringing the player count to 45. They have broken a table so now there are five 9-handed tables remaining.

	Vinny Pahuja

After two players limped, Rick Austin raised to 1,100 from the small blind, then Vinny Pahuja kicked it up to 2,100 smooth from the big blind. The limpers folded and Rick made the call. The flop came J 8 4 and Rick quickly looked back at his hand (the suit-check).  He finally checked and Vinny checked behind.  The turn was the 4. Rick bet 6,500. Vinny tanked for a while, then raised to 15k. Rick took his turn in the tank, then moved all in for another ~15k. Vinny returned to the tank. The call would put him all in. After a few minutes, he called the floor over to ask what the rule was if he turned up his hand before acting. He was basically told that he would be given a penalty after the hand played out. After a couple more minutes, Vinny mucked his hand. Rick showed his pocket Aces (with the A). Vinny got up and walked away from the table. He had shown his hand to the player next to him, who said Vinny had pocket Kings with the K.  Nice laydown, Vinny.

This is the third pocket Aces versus pocket Kings confrontation on this table today. So far, the Aces are ahead 2-to-1.

Level 4: Blinds 100/200. Play has resumed.

	Eugene Castro

On a flop of 9 6 5 Eugene Castro checked, Jordan Rich bet 750, and Eugene called. Turn was the 6 and both players checked. River was the 7 and both checked. Eugene showed A 5 for a pair of 5s to go with the pair of 6s on board. Jordan mucked his hand and Eugene pulled the pot.

That's the end of level 3 and 47 remaining players have been sent on a 60-minute dinner break. Play will resume at about 9:25pm.

Matt Stout is still the chip leader with 78,500. Duane Hunton is second with ~75k.

Just a few hands after doubling up with a set, Wooyang Lin again tangled with Rick Austin. This time Wooyang had the worst of it with pocket Kings against Rick Austin's pocket Aces. Nevertheless, the flop came K 4 4 and Wooyang flopped Kings-full, leaving Rick in need of an Ace. No such luck and Wooyang doubled through again. With that pot he was up to ~43k while Rick was down to ~36k.

	Wooyang Lin

On a flop of 8 5 x, Wooyang Lin (button) got his short-stack all-in and called by Rick Austin (bb). Rick held 85 for two pair, but Wooyang held pocket 8s for the set. The board bricked out and Wooyang doubled up.

Mike 'Little Man' Sica has quietly ground his way up to ~51k in chips. With 47 players remaining, the average is just under 33,200.

	Jason Gray - goner

Jason Gray and Rick Austin got into a raising war, getting all their chips in pre-flop. When they rolled over their hands, Jason's pocket Kings were crushed by Rick's pocket Aces. There was no two-outer suckout here and Jason was sent to the rail, just the fifth player busted out of this event. Rick was up to about 67k with that pot.

	Rick Austin

On a flop of 8 7 4 Ryan Young bet 350. Rick Austin called, Vinny Pahuja called, and Tom Dobrilovic called from the button. Turn was the 3 and Ryan fired 3,000. Rick called quickly, Vinny folded slowly, and Tom bowed out also. River brought the 2 and Ryan launched 7k. Rick took a few seconds, but made the call, showing pocket Queens. Ryan mucked his hand and Rick pulled a nice pot.

	Matt Stout

Picking up the action on the turn. The board read Q 5 2 6 and Vijay Aggarwal (middle) moved all-in. Matt Stout (cutoff) insta-called, showing 43 off for the straight and the current nuts. Vijay held pocket 2s and had flopped a set of ducks, but let Matt catch his open-ender on the turn. Vijay needed the board to pair to survive, but the river was the 3 and Vijay was busted.

On the very next hand, Matt raised it up to 600, then Benedetto Bianco on his immediate left re-raised to 1,500. All folded back to Matt, who made the call. On the flop of 9 8 4 Matt moved all-in and Benedetto insta-called, showing pocket Kings. Matt said "nuts" and rolled over pocket 9s for top set. Benedetto needed to catch a King to survive, but no two-outer this time. The last two were 7 6 and Matt sent another player to the rail.

With that pot, Matt was up to ~77k, good for the chip lead.

Level 3: Blinds 75/150. Play has resumed.

End of level 2 and the players are enjoying another ten minute break.

Duane Hunton has extended his chip lead. He's now up to ~75k.

	Frank Vizza

Frank Vizza has finally arrived and taken a seat behind his stack, which has been blinded down to about 29k. Bobby 'Wiz' Wisiak thought he could register through the end of level 2 and they have decided to let him in late, along with another late-comer. That changes the official player count to 52 (with 50 remaining) and changes the prize pool to $504,400. Here are the adjusted payouts:

	Lance Funston - first player to depart

The board showed A 7 4 3 and Viet Nguyen (middle) fired 3,400. Duane Hunton moved all-in, having everyone covered, and Nicholas Sliwinski tossed in his last ~6k. Viet flashed his AQ (top pair) and folded. Duane held 6 5 for the straight. Nicholas held 5 3 for bottom pair with the flush draw. He would need a heart on the river to take the pot or a 6 to chop. The river was the 9 however, and Nicholas was the second player busted out of today's tournament.

Lance Funston was the first player to depart, who busted out so early I missed it.

Chris Reslock has been moved away from his tough starting table, but is still the short-stack with only ~5,200 chips.

Did I forget to mention that the Gray brothers are seated a the same table?? Table 6 has turned into an interesting mix with Jason Gray in the 3, Ryan Young in the 4, Rick Austin in the 5, Vinny Pahuja in the 6, Craig Gray in the 7, and Tom Dobrilovic in the 8 seat.

	Brian Haveson

On the river with a board of Q 9 5 3 6 Adam Gerber (middle) bet 5k into the ~6k pot. Brian Haveson (button) went into the tank. "He's either got a set of sixes, or nothing" Brian said. Adam did not respond, even after Brian repeated his read. Finally, Brian surrendered. The table pleaded with Adam to show and sure enough, he rolled over pocket 6s. Nice read, Brian.

Registration has closed and the final player count is 50. That makes the prize pool $485,000 and the final six players will get paid:

	Matt 'Allinat420' Stout

Over on table 35, Matt 'Allinat420' Stout (cutoff) fired 625 on the turn when it was checked to him with the board showing K 5 4 4.  Seat 2 (middle) took about a minute, then made the call.  River was the 9  putting four hearts on the board.  Seat 2 checked again.  Matt waved the white flag and showed his A 4  for trip fours.  Seat 2 showed A 7  for the flush to take the pot. 

Level 2: Blinds 50/100. Play has resumed.

Eric Panayiotou and Ryan Young have arrived and taken their seats. 

	Duane Hunton

Level 1 came to an end and players were sent on a 10 minute break. Duane Hunton has moved into the chip lead with ~60k. Matt Glantz is second with ~49k. On the other end of the spectrum, Chris Reslock is down to a bit less than 10k and is currently the short stack.

No one has busted out yet. The player count is currently at 50 -- not sure when they are closing registration.

	Matt Glantz

Jordan Rich has taken his seat at table 34, which is the action table so far today. Seated at table 34 are 1 - Alex Jacob, 2 - Chris Reslock, 4 - Paul Hill, 8 - Matt Glantz, and 9 - Jordan Rich.

On a final board of T 9 4 T K Matt Glantz (sb) checked to Paul Hill, who fired 6k. Matt only took a few seconds before deciding to call. Paul showed J 8 for the missed open-ender. Matt showed A 9 for a pair of 9s to make two pair with the pair of Tens on the board. Matt chipped up to ~43k and has taken over the chip lead from Paul.

	Paul Hill

About an hour into play and it looks like Paul Hill is the chip leader with ~47,000 chips. Rough estimate of players is 45, but registration is still open. Jordan Rich just walked into the room and it looks like he's trying to decide if he wants to commit his $10k for this event.

	Alex Jacob - 2006 USPC Champ

With about 8,000 in the pot on the river, the board read 9 8 7 J 8. Alex Jacob (small blind) checked, Chris Reslock (big blind) checked, and Paul Hill fired 3,000. Alex tanked for about a minute, then made the call. Chris then took his turn in the tank for a couple of minutes, also deciding to commit his 3,000 chips. Paul showed J 8 for the full house to take the ~17k pot when the other two mucked.

More late arrivals: Alex Bolotin and Ralph Pecorale.

	Adam Gerber - 2007 USPC Champ

More late arrivals: Alex Jacob, (who won this event in 2006) Matt Glantz, Nick Schulman, Rick Austin, and defending USPC champion Adam Gerber.

	Craig Gray and Jason Gray

Level 1: Blinds 25/50. Cards are in the air. Players start with 30,000 chips.  Levels will be 90 minutes long.

There is now a short line at registration as players are arriving late. Among those already in action are Chris Reslock, Matt Stout, Mike 'Little Man' Sica, Brian Haveson, Lance Funston and the Gray brothers, Jason and Craig. They are wearing matching hoodies, just to mess with my head.

Buzz in the hallways here at the Taj Mahal is that today's turnout is expected to be very light. They are still about half an hour away from start time and the line at registration is, well, there is no line at registration.  Cards will hit the felt at 3:15pm EDT here in Atlantic City.

	Kaelaine in the 2006 WSOP Main Event

Kaelaine Minton Reporting

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