During our rounds throughout the massive tournament area for today's record-setting Day 1, we spotted one chip stack that towered over any that we have seen so far.
Paul Gobbons has built his initial starting stack of 3,000 to over 17,000 chips in just the first three levels of play. When asked how he accomplished this, Gibbons reported that he "got lucky with against a guy with ."
According to Gibbons, the player was extremely tight and after his three-bet from the button before the flop, Gibbons nearly decided to make his standard play of shoving all-in with this hand. He flat called, however, because "in this tournament, against the mainly non-internet players, I have to narrow his range much more here." Gibbons saw a flop with two diamonds and when he caught a third on the turn, his flush had cracked pocket rockets and the rush had begun.
After hearing Gibbons recount the hand in extreme detail, complete with dead-on strategic analysis, we have a feeling he will be more than capable of turning his big stack into a deep run here at the WSOP Seniors Championship.
With a raise to 550 from an under the gun player, the action folded round to a player in the one seat.
One minute. Two minutes. Three minutes. The clock kept ticking as the older gentleman starred into space possibly dreaming of how to alter his beautiful garden when he gets home.
"You know it's on you right?" asked another player on the table.
"Oh shit! I folded in mind" the gentleman chuckled as he pushed his cards to the muck.
"You guys have done that before? Fold in your mind but forget to do it properly!" continued the gentleman.
The table chuckled as play continued with the older gentleman a little embarrassed.
While the twenty-minute break continues, the PokerNews reporting desk has been deluged with seniors seeking to plug their electric scooters into our handy power strip. With wall outlets in short supply around the sprawling Pavilion Area, players competing in the Seniors Championship have swamped our little corner of the world to charge up their transportation devices.
A few seniors became a little frustrated that we did not know how their vehicle's plug-ins functioned, but other than that everything went smoothly during the break. While most tournaments usually produce a few young guns wanting to charge up their iPads, for this event making sure their scooter has enough juice is many players top priority.
Mike Matusow (Event # 25), Fan Favorite of Seniors Everywhere
During the first half of Day 1 here at the Seniors Championship, we have been lucky to meet plenty of poker enthusiasts who are here at the WSOP not to play cards, but simply to enjoy the festivities. With summertime at the Rio serving as a once in a lifetime chance for many poker fans to rub elbows with their favorite players, railbirds are congregating in hopes of spotting a name player or two.
We ran into one couple who were here in Las Vegas specifically to "see T.J. Cloutier and all the other greats" play the game in the world's premiere tournament series. They were disappointed to learn that Cloutier had busted early in Day 1, saying "well now, I just can't believe T.J. would go broke just yet, he's the best there is."
While this reporter made his way to the Amazon Room, the poker fan couple followed and asked some questions about the WSOP and where they might find notable players to watch. Fortunately for both myself and the couple, Mike "The Mouth" Matusow was quickly spotted among the crowded hallways, and the couple pounced on the pro for a photo opportunity.
While keeping an eye on Amarillo Slim Preston's table, we caught an interesting hand involving Terry Meyers and an unknown opponent. The final board read and Meyers had pushed all-in for his last 2,100 chips. His opponent studied the cards for a few minutes before committing her tournament life with the call.
Meyers flipped up for trip aces and apparently sitting next to the one and only Amarillo Slim has paid dividends, as Meyers is the one playing like a champion.
The oldest player in the field is also one of the most entertaining to watch. Claude Smithern checked his option in the big blind after one player limped in preflop from early position.
The flop ran out . Smithern bet 250 and his opponent called. The turn brought the and Smithern led out with 450 and his opponent called. The hit on the river and Smithern moved all in for his remaining 375 chips. His opponent made the call and turned over pocket nines.
Smithern turned up his hand saying he "had the Doyle Brunson" and revealed . When he was scooping up his chips he looked around and said "Hey Doyle, where the hell are you at?"
In a repeat of what had become a common occurrence today, we witnessed a hand which needed dealer supervision to assure that the players had things sorted out correctly.
After getting it all-in with his for king-high on a board of , Bill Ellis was discouraged to see he was trailing the of his opponent. Looking for a king or ten on the river to take the pot, Ellis watched as the dealer delivered the and stood up to depart the table.
It took the dealer's patient explanation, and the encouragement of his fellow players, to convince Ellis that he had actually chopped the pot with the full house on board. Ellis retook his seat with a sheepish grin and exchanged a friendly fist pound with his opponent before resuming his tournament.
against a guy with 
![[user80015]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
and Meyers had pushed all-in for his last 2,100 chips. His opponent studied the cards for a few minutes before committing her tournament life with the call.
. Smithern bet 250 and his opponent called. The turn brought the 
and Smithern led out with 450 and his opponent called. The 
hit on the river and Smithern moved all in for his remaining 375 chips. His opponent made the call and turned over pocket nines.
. When he was scooping up his chips he looked around and said "Hey Doyle, where the hell are you at?"
, Bill Ellis was discouraged to see he was trailing the 
and stood up to depart the table.