While the queue for late or re-registration continues to snake through the corridors of the Rio Convention Centre, offering tantalising glimpses into the Amazon, Brazilia and Pavilion Rooms on the way, players take seats as soon as they’re vacated in an impressively smooth process. In fact, the mood of the late entrants is good; all credit to the staff dealing with such an unprecedented field.
With thanks to Chad Holloway’s player radar, here are a few more notables battling through the mid-stages of Day 1d. Chip count updates following next round of the Pavilion and Amazon Rooms.
Edward Kinnibrew raised to 2,800 from early position and picked up a caller to his immediate left. The action folded around the Je Wook Oh in the big blind who moved all in for his remaining 21,000.
Kinnibrew thought for a good while before deciding to call. The third player in the hand also went into the tank to consider the situation before throwing in 21,000 for the call. There was a lengthy discussion between the dealer and the players as it was not abundantly clear whether Oh had shoved for 21,500 or 21,000 before eventually 21,000 was decided upon.
The flop came and Kinnibrew swiftly declared all in which forced the third player to reluctantly fold his hand.
Oh's stack was at stake and he turned over the which trailed Kinnibrew's pocket pair of . The turn was the and the river was the which was not enough to save Oh from busting while Kinnibrew added a significant chunk of chips to his stack to put him in a healthy position.
Below: the recently located Pavilion Room players' chip counts. Barbara Enright, in particular, is having a productive mid-day period, winning several small pots without showdown in the five minutes it took to count the area's notable stacks. With over $1.7 million in live earnings, this poker Hall of Famer was the first woman to win an open WSOP event and the only female player to make the final table of the $10,000 Main Event. She already holds three bracelets and looks to have started Level 7 in high gear.
With a board reading , after it was checked to him, John Phan bet 2,500 over to Carlos Avila who raised to 10,000. Phan thought for a while before calling to grow the pot.
The turn was the . Avila moved all in for his remaining 27,000. Phan mulled over the decision briefly before making the call. Avila was ahead with the but needed to fade several outs as Phan held the for a nut flush draw.
The river would be kind to Avila when it came peacefully in the form of the to give Avila a big double up through the still large stack of Phan.
Three players’ stacks found their way into the middle in the Brasilia Room just before the level change. Kyle Parker had raised, a short stack moved all-in, and Joel Thomas three-bet a tower of purple 5,000 chips from the blinds to give Parker his own decision regarding his tournament life. A short while later, that decision was made, his 25,000 or so going in too.
Short stack:
Parker:
Thomas:
The flop made a double elimination seem the most likely outcome (Joel was also the only player with a spade in his hand) but the turn and river rolled out completing a broadway straight for Parker. Joel’s tower lost a couple of stories but is still over 140,000.