"I've been trying to figure this out all day," said Nader Arfai to Steve Gross a little earlier. He pointed to the felt in front of him where the letters "WSOP" were written and from the perspective of the pair were turned upside down.
He pointed to the first two letters. "I've been wondering… what does 'SM' stand for"?
Gross looked over with a grin. "Are you serious?" he asked, and Arfai laughed to signal he was not.
We've heard Arfai mention both yesterday and today how he'd come out to the WSOP a few different times, but business had always called him away before he'd been able to play an event. This time he did get to play, though, and he's certainly making the most of his first WSOP event so far.
It looked a moment ago like the experience might be about to conclude for Arfai in a hand involving Gross and Lee Goldman, but thankfully for him it did not.
We picked up the action on the turn with the board showing and a relatively small pot in the middle. Gross led from the small blind with a bet of 35,000 and Goldman called from one seat over. Then Arfai set his stack of 134,000 out as an all-in raise, and after Gross folded Goldman called.
Arfai had for an eight-high straight, better than the five-high straight Goldman had with . It was the best way to be all-in before the river for Arfai, as his opponent was drawing dead.
Of course, one gets the sense Arfai's kind of been freerolling for a while now.
The buzz inside the walls of the Rio extends beyond just the tournaments on the 2013 World Series of Poker schedule. Online poker in Nevada is a very, very hot topic right now, and WSOP.com is making a lot of noise.
While the site has yet to launch, you can head to the Lambada Room of the Rio or look for one of the beautiful and friendly WSOP.com ladies walking the hallways to sign up for a free, personal WSOP.com online poker account. This is a great way to get a jump on the site's registration, and plenty of people have already taken this opportunity.
What's more is that the WSOP will be hosting daily raffles for everyone that has taken the time to register for WSOP.com at the Rio. What can you win? Plenty of fantastic prizes including 36 WSOP seats!
Players 21 years of age and older who sign up for a WSOP.com account will automatically be entered into the “36-Seat Giveaway” where a randomly-selected winner will win a seat into the next day’s first WSOP gold bracelet event. One of the events eligible in this promotion is the $111,111 One Drop High Roller No-Limit Hold’em tournament that is expected to feature a $10,000,000 prize pool and allow you to play poker with the biggest names in the game. In total, $182,333 in WSOP seats, including a seat to the WSOP Main Event, are being given away during this one-of-a-kind WSOP.com promotion.
In addition to the 36-Seat Giveaway, a “Hot Seat” promotion will allow any player who signs up for a WSOP.com online account and wears their WSOP.com patch on their chest at the table while playing an event to be randomly selected to receive 500 bonus dollars deposited directly into their WSOP.com online account once the site has received all regulatory approvals and launches.
With 62 WSOP gold bracelet events and three winners promised for the Main Event, this promotion includes $32,000 worth of value to those participating.
Gary Bolden has been knocked out following two hands in which he lost first to Steve Gross, then to Nader Arfai.
In the first, Bolden raised to 50,000 from the button and Steve Gross called from the big blind. They checked the flop, then Gross bet 35,000 on the turn and Bolden called. The river then brought the and a bet of 61,000, and after tanking for three minutes Bolden called.
Gross showed for aces and kings, and Bolden mucked, leaving himself about 170,000 behind.
Soon after Bolden was all in before the flop with against Nader's , and when the board ran out , Nader's trip tens sent Bolden out in eighth.
There will be a short delay as they redraw for the seven-handed not-quite-final final table.
The final seven have assembled around the last table of the tournament. As they were positioning themselves in their seats, the tournament director was assuring them they didn't need to move the chairs around from where they were positioned.
"What if someone else wants to sit in?" cracked Nader Arfai, and the others chuckled.
The action has slowed down once again as the seven remaining players are trading small pots here in Level 24. In another half-hour they'll reach the end of the level and the dinner break.
One recent hand saw Timo Pfutzenreuter open-raise to 68,000 from the small blind and Joseph Leung called from the next seat. The flop came and Pfutzenreuter checked. Leung bet 72,000, and Pfutzenreuter called. Both then checked the turn, then the fell on fifth street. Pfutzenreuter checked again, and when Leung fired 180,000, Pfutzenreuter folded.
Nader Arfai limped from the button, Steve Gross called from the small blind, then Lee Goldman raised to 94,000 from the big blind. Arfai called and Gross folded.
Both remaining players checked the flop. The turn then brought the and another check from Goldman, and when Nader bet the pot — 214,000 — Goldman folded. As he's frequently done, Arfai showed two of his cards — — before gathering the chips.
It was a very slow half-hour of small pots and minimal conflict to conclude Level 24, and now the final seven players are taking the scheduled one-hour dinner break.
![[user38338]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
and a relatively small pot in the middle. Gross led from the small blind with a bet of 35,000 and Goldman called from one seat over. Then Arfai set his stack of 134,000 out as an all-in raise, and after Gross folded Goldman called.
for an eight-high straight, better than the five-high straight Goldman had with 
. It was the best way to be all-in before the river for Arfai, as his opponent was drawing dead.
turn and Bolden called. The river then brought the 
and a bet of 61,000, and after tanking for three minutes Bolden called.
for aces and kings, and Bolden mucked, leaving himself about 170,000 behind.
, Nader's trip tens sent Bolden out in eighth.
and Pfutzenreuter checked. Leung bet 72,000, and Pfutzenreuter called. Both then checked the 
turn, then the 
and another check from Goldman, and when Nader bet the pot — 214,000 — Goldman folded. As he's frequently done, Arfai showed two of his cards —