Mike "The Mouth" Matusow has long been known for his loquacious ways at the table. He has a seat at the edge of Amazon Purple, and with the lull in early-level action, we thought we'd hang around his table for an orbit and see if he would drop any choice quotes. He didn't disappoint, as he had plenty to say.
In the first hand we saw, Matusow was in the big blind and someone opened early. While waiting his turn, Matusow reflected on the modern chip structure of the WSOP Main Event, which sees 50,000 starting stacks, up from 30,000 recently and 10,000 before that.
"That was the best part of the old days," Matusow said. "People lost a few chips and thought they were short. They'd have 10,000 and lose 700 and start panicking."
Matusow added that he didn't think there was any need for the 50K stacks.
The Mouth continued to fold the next few hands, engaging in conversation with Pratyush Buddiga.
"You've had a pretty good summer, right?"
Buddiga said he has, and they discussed Buddiga's sixth-place finish in the $300K Super High Roller Bowl for $1 million and then his fourth-place finish in a $1,500 event here at the WSOP for $124,615.
"I knew I had a good table when I saw you were here," Matusow mused. "Old school wizard, Donkey Kong bomber, and new school wizard."
Matusow was referencing Tom "DonkeyBomber" Schneider, who is in Seat 1 at their table.
Shortly after that, Matusow played the only hand he voluntarily entered while we were at his table. He opened for 400 in middle position and got callers on his immediate left and in the big blind. Everyone checked the flop, and Matusow bet 1,000 on the turn. That won him the pot.
With his big blind coming up, Matusow discussed his thoughts on the Main Event at large.
"It's the only tournament in the history of poker you never have to bluff," he said, folding his under-the-gun hand. "You just have to stay alive and wait for the idiots to give you their chips."
Matt Savage has entered the field in Day 1a of the WSOP Main Event. Savage is a world-renowned tournament director having officiated the World Series of Poker from 2002-2004. Savage has also worked at stops throughout the WPT and founded the Tournament Directors Association.
Savage has five WSOP cashes in his career and is looking for another here in the 2017 Main Event. He got off to a strong start when he raised to 350 from the cutoff. The small blind reraised to 1,275 and Savage made the call. The flop was and the small blind checked to Savage who bet 1,500. His opponent folded and Savage raked in the pot.
Among the early highlights is Barny Boatman's stack which has seen a significant boost. But that was topped by some action that recently unfolded involving Iraj Parvizi.
First off was a minor pot with Fred Goff III, who finished 223rd in last year's World Series of Poker Main Event. Goff raised to 350 from the cutoff and Parvizi called in the small blind. The board of was checked through entirely and Goff won the pot with .
But right after, Goff made it 300 to go and Parvizi three-bet to 1,600 on the button. Victor Cianelli four-bet to 4,100 in the small blind and Parvizi was the only caller. On the flop, both players checked. Cianelli bet the turn for 7,000 and Parvizi called before Cianelli's bet of 12,000 on the river seemingly shut down the action.
However, Parvizi announced a raise and put in 19,000, which was then turned into a mandatory min-raise to 24,000. Cianelli quickly moved all in for more than that and Parvizi asked for a count. Cianelli's all-in was for 32,850 and, after the 24,000 were pulled in from both players, Parvizi gave it one minute of consideration and folded.
In the very next hand, Parvizi lost another 2,000 when his ended up second-best to an opponent's and the stack of the Brit melted to just 11,000.
As for Cianelli, he finished 78th in the 2013 WSOP Main Event for a career-best score of $ 84,786 and is set for another deep run in the most prestigious tournament of the year.
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The second Saturday in July brings about the biggest tournament in poker: the World Series of Poker $10,000 Main Event. The first starting flight gets underway at 11 a.m. with players from around the world converging on the Rio for a shot at the most coveted title in poker. Over the next three days, names like Hellmuth, Moneymaker, Chan, Raymer, Brunson, and Nguyen will bring about a bit of nostalgia in rounders from all walks of life.
The Main Event began as an idea hatched in Texas gambler Benny Binion’s mind to promote his casino. In 1970, a small group of Texas rounders gathered at Binion’s for 10 days playing for high stakes in games like five-card draw, 2-7 lowball, seven-card stud, razz, and no-limit hold’em. Players voted on the winner at the end — Texan and future Poker Hall of Fame member Johnny Moss. By 1972, no-limit hold’em became the premier game and the $10,000 buy-in tournament that players now know as the Main Event was introduced.
In the intervening 47 years, the event has grown to mammoth proportions with numerous preliminary events. The championship bracelet was introduced by Binion in 1976 and has become the ultimate trophy in poker. Owning one has become the litmus test for poker greatness. The series has even expanded beyond Las Vegas with numerous circuit and bracelet events around the country and the world.
Binion surely couldn’t have imagined the scope that the game would become since his showcase began in 1970. In 2016, the WSOP drew 107,833 total entrants in 69 total events — the most in its history. The 2016 series awarded $221 million in prize money too, and the events brought in players from 107 countries — a sign of the international growth the game has undergone, fueled by the growth of internet poker and its popularity on television.
The venue has changed and numerous games and tournaments added, but the history remains. In recent years, some of those original games played in 1970 have even been worked back into the WSOP festivities in games like dealer’s choice and some of the mixed-games events. And the foundation of that remains the Main Event.
When players take their seats beginning today in those first starting flights, they are not just attempting to win a poker tournament; they are attempting to become part of the game’s history — a history that traces its roots from the Revolutionary War to Civil War battlefields to 19th Century steamboats floating on the Mississippi River to scorching Las Vegas summers. Win that bracelet and your name becomes synonymous with some of the best in the game. Thousands will try, but only one will raise that shiny gold bracelet in victory.
Structure
At 11 a.m., players start with 50,000 in chips. Levels are 120 minutes long throughout. After every level, players have a 20-minute break. The dinner break, 90 minutes long, takes place after Level 3, which should be around 5:40 p.m. Late registration for Day 1a of the 2017 WSOP Main Event is open until the end of the dinner break, registration closes around 7:10 p.m. If you're too late, there's always tomorrow (Day 1b) and Monday (Day 1c). Day 1a wraps up around 11:40 p.m.
Level
Duration
Small Blind
Big Blind
Ante
1
120 minutes
75
150
-
20-minute break
2
120 minutes
150
300
-
20-minute break
3
120 minutes
150
300
25
90-minute break
4
120 minutes
200
400
50
20-minute break
5
120 minutes
250
500
75
Players to survive today return to the Rio All Suite Hotel & Casino Tuesday, July 11, 2017, to play another five levels.
Today's action starts at 11 a.m. PokerNews will be there the entire day with live updates from around the convention center of the Rio All Suite Hotel& Casino. Besides live updates, you can follow along via ESPN2 and PokerGo.
Start time
End time
Where to watch
11 a.m.
1 p.m.
PokerGo
1 p.m.
5 p.m.
ESPN2
5 p.m.
6:15 p.m.
PokerGo
A Long Summer
While the Main Event is just about to get underway, a plethora of events are already in the books. The 2017 WSOP kicked off May 31st with the $565 Employees Event and $10,000 Tag Team Event. Bryan Hollis took down the first event, and popular poker duo Igor Kurganov and Liv Boeree received the second bracelet of the summer. Since then, dozens of events have been played, and PokerNews.com was there for each and every one of them. Millions in prize money has been rewarded, hundreds of thousands of hands have been dealt. Take a look at all the results up until now: