WSOP Circuit grinder Paul Hendee just took down a decent sized pot holding the on a board of . Hendee hit his gutshot straight draw, and padded his stack in the process, putting him at 11000 as Level 3 continues onward.
Scott Seiver raised to 200 from middle position. The player in the three seat and the big blind both called. The dealer spread a flop of . The big blind checked, and Seiver continued for 300. Seat 3 called, and the blind folded. When the fell on the turn, Seiver tanked for a minute before he shoved for his remaining 1,650. His opponent indicated he wanted to call, but was holding himself back. The two players chatted and laughed a minute, then Seiver's opponent counted out how many chips he'd have left if he called and lost. Eventually, he reluctantly folded, and Seiver took the pot.
With the board reading Tommy Santana forced an unknown opponent to the test with an all-in bet, and after standing to assess the situation, the player called and turned over .
Calls of 'flush draw" filled the air as players tried to guess Santana's likely holding, but he calmly revealed the for a flopped top set. His opponent could only sigh in resignation as the and completed the board, and a pot of over 13,000 chips was shipped Santana's way.
Scott Seiver limped in from middle position, and action folded to the big blind who put in a minimum raise to 300. Seiver called, and the two players saw the . Both players checked, then they both checked again when the fell on the turn. The river was the , and the big blind checked a third time, but Seiver put out a minimum bet of 150. His opponent quickly called, and Seiver mucked his cards without showing.
After the flop fell , Hoomam Depars' had materialized into the mother of all draws, and his holding improved slightly after the on the turn.
Depars was still trailing the two pair of his opponent, however, and was looking for a seven, deuce, or spade to complete his hand. The river brought the best of both worlds in the , and Depars scooped a pot of 8,500 chips.
We came to the action on the turn with the board showing , and John Racener was facing a bet of 250. He raised all-in for his remaining 1675, and his opponent called. Racener tabled . His opponent showed , and he was drawing dead to a chop. The on the river secured the pot for Racener.
Five hands after running his into an opponent's to lose half of his stack, WSOP Circuit ring holder Michael "Life" Taylor picked up and wagered the rest of his chips.
His opponent snap called, leaving Taylor to fear that he had ran into an overpair once again, but he was actually ahead of the .
The flop fell and Taylor's opponent took the lead with top two pair, but a on the turn gave him a Broadway straight and the lead.
Before he could even pump a fist in celebration, however, the dealer burned and turned the last board card.
River:
Although his tournament life had come to an end in particularly brutal fashion, the man known as "Life" showed why he earned such an optimistic nickname, smiling and shrugging his shoulders before saying "We'll get 'em tomorrow."
Among a sea of anonymous players toiling away to build their stacks, a table of death has emerged in the Pavilion's White section.
Professional players Bryan Devonshire (Seat 1), Tony Dunst (Seat 2), Dan Fleyshman (Seat 3) and Griffin Benger (Seat 5) can all be found at Table #131, and judging by their growing chipstacks and free flowing conversation, these sharks are feasting on the dead money present in every low buy-in event.