We heard a bit of commotion going on at a nearby table and headed over to see what was going on. A player was all in holding the against Hanny Kiroloss' and the flop had already come , much to Kiroloss' dismay. The came on the turn but then the dealer slowly turned the river card over, the . Kiroloss jumped from his chair, let out a loud whoop, and yelled "YES!" He then calmed down a bit and shook the other player's hand who took the whole situation very well considering he had just been eliminated.
As a result of his celebration Kiroloss was assessed a one-hand penalty but he took it willingly and with a huge grin on his face. "I don't mind" he said as he stacked up his new chips.
On a flop reading , Antonio Esfandiari led out from the big and was raised by his lone opponent on the button to 4,800. Esfandiari tanked for a couple minutes, but decided to slide out a call.
Both players checked when the fell on the turn. However, when the completed the board, Esfandiari deliberated and asked how much his opponent had behind (about 30,000) before pushing out a 13,500 bet. Esfandiari's opponent agonized for several minutes before finally announcing, "I fold," and dejectedly mucked his hand.
We passed by a table and found James Whalen all-in for his tournament life. Henri Bisson decided to call and showed down his . Whalen flipped up and found himself ahead in the hand.
When the dealer flashed the flop of , Whalen shot his hand up with frustration and sighed. After the arrived on the turn, his raised hand turned into a fist pump and he said "Yes!" in celebration.
The dealer then burned and turned, revealing the on the river. Whalen was still in the throes of victory and needed a moment to process the implication of the river card. With his fist still clenched in triumph, Whalen sunk in his seat, succumbing to the inevitability that he had been eliminated on the river.
We missed the preflop betting action but we know that Mark Herm and Ryan Pochedly got all their chips in preflop.
Herm:
Pochedly:
Pochedly looked poised to make a big double up until the flop came giving Herm a set. To add insult to injury, the turn brought the leaving Pochedly drawing dead. The river was an inconsequential and Herm started building a large fortress of chips while Pochedly headed to the payout desk.
We missed exactly how the hand went down, however, it appeared that Antonio Esfandiari had fired three barrells and was reluctantly called on the river. Esfandiari's opponent revealed two-pair and Esfandiari mucked.
During the single hand played in the hand-for-hand portion of Day 2, we managed to witness three bustouts, in addition to Phil Hellmuth's ouster mentioned below, that combined to burst our money bubble.
First, a player in the cutoff shoved all-in for his last 10,200 and Clayton Hamm, sitting in the small blind, quickly moved all-in over the top. The action folded around and the players revealed their holdings, with Hamm's in a commanding position over his opponent's . The board ran out safe for Hamm and his opponent was eliminated.
Next, we watched what proved to be a crushing example of poker's cruelty. Crisoldo Bautista woke up with and, despite the impending arrival of prize money, he did what any self-respecting poker player would do: he moved all-in. Unfortunately for Bautista, he was called by a player holding and he would have to survive five board cards to earn his cash.
The dealer spread a flop of across the felt and Bautista was safe so far. After the came on the turn, he was one card away from securing the win, along with assuring himself of a WSOP cash. Bautista stood and watched the dealer burn and turn to decide his fate.
River:
The players at the table gasped in astonishment as the dagger of cut Baustita's heart out. He staggered away from the table in silence as his stack was slid across the table. He appeared fated to share the ignoble distinction of "bubble boy" with a few other players, but after after the final accounting was conducted, Bautista's stack size when he went broke enabled him to slide into 297th place, good for a minimum cash of $1,898.
The money bubble has burst and players are now shoving all in like crazy in an attempt to build back up short stacks that had slid through to the money. It seems every few seconds a dealer yells, "Payout!" meaning another player has busted. We caught a lot of the bust-out hands during hand-for-hand play and will have the details posted shortly.
The action is likely to remain fast and furious for quite a bit so stay tuned for more of the excitement!
With play already hand-for-hand due to the impending money bubble, we watched Phil Hellmuth do what pros do best: exploit the situation to his advantage.
After a player in early position pushed his short stack of 1,100 into the middle, Hellmuth reraised from the small blind to isolate the vulnerable player. The action was folded around and the short-stack said "I'm gonna get 'em" before turning over his .
The Poker Brat smiled and said "You're way good here" and turned over his with a sheepish grin.
The flop fell and the all-in player was poised to score the double and slide into the money. The turn card dashed his hopes, however, coming , and after a blank on the river, he tapped the table and offered a "nice hand." Hellmuth padded his stack a bit with the win and will be looking to climb even further as Day 2 continues.
Dealers are now pitching up the cards across the table and the money bubble will be bursting very quickly. As soon as we are in the money we'll let you know!
against Hanny Kiroloss' 
and the flop had already come 
, much to Kiroloss' dismay. The 
came on the turn but then the dealer slowly turned the river card over, the 
. Kiroloss jumped from his chair, let out a loud whoop, and yelled "YES!" He then calmed down a bit and shook the other player's hand who took the whole situation very well considering he had just been eliminated.
, Antonio Esfandiari led out from the big and was raised by his lone opponent on the button to 4,800. Esfandiari tanked for a couple minutes, but decided to slide out a call.
fell on the turn. However, when the 
. Whalen flipped up 
and found himself ahead in the hand.
, Whalen shot his hand up with frustration and sighed. After the 
arrived on the turn, his raised hand turned into a fist pump and he said "Yes!" in celebration.
in a commanding position over his opponent's 
. The board ran out safe for Hamm and his opponent was eliminated.
and, despite the impending arrival of prize money, he did what any self-respecting poker player would do: he moved all-in. Unfortunately for Bautista, he was called by a player holding 
and he would have to survive five board cards to earn his cash.
across the felt and Bautista was safe so far. After the 
and the all-in player was poised to score the double and slide into the money. The turn card dashed his hopes, however, coming