As the Seniors Championship entered its first twenty-minute break of the day, many players were marking the milestone with phone calls home to family and friends.
While PokerNews provided instant internet updates on the day's proceedings, the halls and aisles of the Pavilion Room were filled with the sounds of seniors calling home to update their supporters the old fashioned way: with a leisurely recount of the day's action.
One player was heard excitedly telling his wife about the minor miracle of his pocket kings holding up not once, but twice against the ace-king of an opponent. Another was just glad to have made the break at all, telling his own wife over the phone that he had "made it farther than last year by a long shot." One thing is for sure, for many of the seniors competing in their own version of the WSOP Main Event, surviving two levels of play is certainly something to celebrate.
With nearly 4,000 players to monitor in the beginning stages of this Seniors Championship, the interesting hats worn by many players have repeatedly caught our eye.
Many seniors are sporting the classic cowboy hat, no doubt influenced by the poker playing attire of their heyday. Other seniors seem to prefer the simple elegance of the fedora, while baseball caps of all teams and colors are also a popular choice.
We spotted a lady with a bright green cowboy hat adorned with the and stamped with dollar signs for good luck. One player, who PETA would be happy to know busted early on in the day, was wearing an alligator skin hat in addition to his snakeskin boots. Another was seen wearing a simple Superman logo hat, while hometown casino hats are also being noticed.
For whatever reason, the seniors here at this year's WSOP Seniors Tournament seem to be using their heads to stand out along with their poker hands.
We caught up on a hand involving three players and a board reading . One player had moved all-in from late position for 2,500 and another did the same for a little under 2,000. Richard Lee thought things through and then made the call with his bigger stack, putting both opponents at risk.
Showdown:
Lee:
Opponent # 1:
Opponent # 2:
The first all-in player had flopped two-pair, aces and queens and the second player pushed with his flush draw. Lee held a royal flush draw and combined with his open ended straight draw he had plenty of outs to work with.
Turn:
River:
Lee clapped his hands after making his Broadway straight but the opponent holding two pair sat back down and clapped as well, apparently only having seen the other player's flush draws. The dealer showed him the winning straight and the player cursed in frustration before hitting the rail.
Lon McEachern, widely known for his commentary on ESPN's coverage of the World Series of Poker is off to a slow start. We caught him in a hand on a flop of . McEachern led out with a bet of 75 and two other players called.
The fell on the turn and McEachern bet 150. One player folded and the player on the button called. The hit on the river and McEachern opened up with a 200 bet. His opponent raised to 400 and McEachern made the call.
His opponent turned over and McEachern folded his cards into the muck. He is down to around 1,700 in chips.
After an opponnent in the cutoff went all-in for his last 1,050, Al Grieve made the call from the small blind and tabled . His opponent held and was in bad shape, and a final board of offered no help. Grieve eliminated the other player and built his stack to around 4,500 chips in the process.
Among the thousands and thousands of players who may consider themselves underdogs while playing in this years Seniors Tournament, we spotted one player who really was Underdog.
Tim LaRoache began today's tournament dressed up in what we must admit is a perfectly rendered costume of any cartoon connoisseur's favorite canine character, Underdog. Complete with a bright red, pajama-style suit, a flowing blue cape and even a hat with dangling dog ears, LaRoache's get-up couldn't help but draw our attention.
When we caught up with LaRoache to ask what inspired him to dress up as Underdog, he told us that it all started back at his home casino of Foxwoods in Connecticut. According to LaRoache, he played in one of the casino's signature $10,000 WPT events and went into competition as the decided underdog. Since then, people know him by that name and he decided that once he turned 50, he would play in the Seniors Tournament dressed as his namesake.
LaRoache told us "If I'm going to do this, I'm going to go all out," and that living up to that Underdog spirit is what this event is really all about.
and stamped with dollar signs for good luck. One player, who PETA would be happy to know busted early on in the day, was wearing an alligator skin hat in addition to his snakeskin boots. Another was seen wearing a simple Superman logo hat, while hometown casino hats are also being noticed.
fell on the turn and McEachern bet 150. One player folded and the player on the button called. The 
hit on the river and McEachern opened up with a 200 bet. His opponent raised to 400 and McEachern made the call.
and McEachern folded his cards into the muck. He is down to around 1,700 in chips.
. His opponent held 
offered no help. Grieve eliminated the other player and built his stack to around 4,500 chips in the process.