Natasha Barbour was facing a tiny bet of 5,000 into a pot north of 25,000 when we got to her table. The board read , and she flipped in a chip to call. Her opponent turned over quads and took the pot. Barbour was left very short and folded the next orbit or so down to about 2,000.
At other tables, Aaron Mermelstein and Kush Patel went bust.
Following the river of a board with about 12,000 in the pot, the player in the small blind was all in for 10,575. Fatima Moreira de Melo tanked for about a little while in the cutoff before she called.
Her opponent showed , but it was second best to Moreira de Melo's for queens and nines to give her the pot.
Some 73 players have qualified for this event through online satellites on the PokerStarsNJ client.
Another three even pushed through qualifiers on the global PokerStars site, including one from Liverpool, England.
Although many of those qualifiers are expected to join in the fun on Day 1b Thursday, PokerNews caught up with 60-year-old UK qualifier Peter Smyth, who is playing today, to chat a little about the experience, and how he ended up in a bit of a Pokerstars Pro sandwich.
Vanessa Selbst put in 1,500 from under the gun against four opponents on a flop. John Gulino called in middle position, and a player in the small blind came along as well. The turn was a , and action checked to Gulino. He bet 3,200. The small blind mucked fairly quickly, but Selbst took more time. After capping her cards and thinking a minute or two, she announced all in and received a snap-call.
Gulino turned over for a set, and Selbst just mucked. Her stack looked to be about 16,000, and Gulino could easily cover it.