So the running stack at table one actually belongs to Konstantin Puchkov. There is a specific reason why he is not here yet ... the Russian is on the final table of the Omaha Hi Lo event!!! In case he busts there, an above average stack will be waiting. But not for long.
While more and more players slip into the red zone there are a few players who have made good use if the first 6 levels and are now sitting pretty on a very healty stack looking to make a run at the money. One was Kevin Detienne who declined to give an all in player a call and conserved his chips.
Donna Rosenthal was another big stack who was happy to three-bet an early position opener and used her stack to get a fold and take the pot down without the need to see a flop.
We arrived on the river of a board and Roland Reparejo led out for 900. The opponent managed to find a fold and Reparejo turned over for the wheel with the words "nice fold Sir." He bounced back a little and is slightly above average at the moment with 1,550 players remaining.
The winner of this year’s Casino Employees event, Roland Reparejo, is wearing his WSOP Gold Bracelet at the table but from the last few hands we saw him play he may as well have worn a target on his chest.
Reparejo opened from the cut-off for 750 and faced a raise to 2,775. The blinds folded and Reparejo at least gave it some thought before folding. On the next hand he again opened for 750 and it was looking promising until the small blind went in the tank before announcing that he was all in for nearly 9,000. Reparejo didn’t look happy and folded face up. His opponent kept his cards to himself.
We noticed bracelet winner and longtime pro Blair Rodman mixing it up in a preflop all-in confrontation, with Rodman's trailing badly against Jim Siple's .
Siple was poised to double his last 3,700 or so if the rockets held up, when the board ran out he did just that.
On the very next deal Siple watched the player to his right open for 600 from late position, so he decided to apply a little pressure with a three-bet to 1,800.
The other player had just seen Sipleshow down the goods with bullets in the hole, so he respected the reraise and laid down accordingly, telling Siple "my ace-jack's no good here, huh?"
Siple only smiled in response while tabling his with a flourish, cementing his image as a card-rack while scooping his second consecutive pot on the strength of the best hand in Hold'em.
We have a total of 4,425 players confirmed to make it yet another record attendance of the Seniors Event. The top 468 players will share the $3,982,500 prize pool and the min cash is worth $1,752 with a stunning $627,462 up for grabs when you finish first. The full payout structure will be available shortly.
Konstantin Puchkov must have busted the Omaha Hi Lo final table or they are on dinner break at the moment. Either way, he is now on his seat on table one and we see him betting 1,500 on the turn. His opponent in the cutoff called and both then checked the river. Puchkov showed and that won the pot.
The player on the button decided to limp and John Duthie in the small blind completed. The big blind was happy to see a flop too so the dealer put out . The three players checked. The came on the turn and once more there were three checks.
The fell on the river and Duthie led out for 500. The player on the button called but when Duthie said, “Queen.” and turned over he nodded his head sadly and mucked his cards.