Day 2 of the 2013 World Series of Poker Event #7 $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em began with 148 players from a 1,837-player field returning to action in the Amazon Room at the Rio All-Suites Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. After ten levels of intense play, just ten players remained to comprise the “Unofficial Final Table” (official WSOP final tables are at nine) including chip leader Amit Makhija, Matt Waxman, Brent Hanks, Jason Koon and Eric Baldwin.
As far as the survivors go, Makhija was relatively quiet until late in the evening when he suddenly vaulted up the chip counts after eliminating Ronald Crabtree (16th place), Kelvin Gates (13th place) and Cole Jackson (11th place). On the other hand, Matt Waxman was busy building a stack, first by cracking the queens of Joe Nadal and then being involved in the most controversial hand of the tournament (one that could very well have save his tournament).
Who will take down the $305,952 first-place prize and seventh gold bracelet of the 2013 WSOP? We’ll find out tomorrow starting at 1:00 p.m. PST, which is when Day 3 of Event #7 $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em kicks off. Join us then as we bring you all the action on the way to a winner!
Cole Jackson went all in for his final 125,000 from under the gun holding . It folded around to Amit Makhija, in the big blind, who called with . The flop of was good for Jackson and after the turn card, it looked like he might double up. The river, however, dashed Jackson's hope, giving Makhija a set and eliminating Jackson in 11th place.
Rajaee Wazwaz went all in for his final 150,000 from under the gun. Jess Dioquino called from the hijack and the rest of the table folded. Wazwaz tabled and he was up against the of Dioquino. Wazwaz had some hope on the flop but the turn and river did not improve Wazwaz's hand and he was eliminated in 12th place.
After action folded to Kelvin Gates, who hails from Holladay, Utah, he raised to 30,000. Amit Makhija then three-bet all in from the small blind, the big folded and Gates called off his remaining 50,000.
Gates:
Makhija:
Gates got it in good, but there was paint to be had on the flop. Makhija found a lady to take the lead and leave Gates in need of an ace. The turned opened a bunch of other doors as Gates picked up a straight and flush draw, but he'd miss all his outs when the blanked on the river.
After taking a big hit post break, James Beard had been struggling as a short stack for the last and final level of today's play. He pushed all-in a few times before he was eventually called by Brent Hanks and eliminated from the tournament.
Beard got it in under the gun with , lofting in his remaining 6,800 into the pot. He was called by Hanks, who showed . The board came , giving Hanks a pair of queens and missing Beard, who was awarded $13,805 for 14th-place finish.
Scott Yelton limped into the pot from mid position, Amit Makhija, the small blind, called and Ronald Crabtree, the big blind, checked his option.
Makhija led for 25,000 on a flop of . Crabtree went all in for his final 70,000 and Yelton folded. When the hands were tabled, Makhija had and Crabtree . The turn and the river did not improve Crabetree's hand and he was eliminated in 16th place.
Nick Abou Risk raised to 20,000 and Amit Makhija reraised to 46,000. Abou Risk went all in and Makhija immediately called. Abou Risk tabled and was up against Makhija's . The board came giving Makhija the double up and crippling Abou Risk.
Abou Risk was eliminated on the very next hand when he went all in under the gun for his final 50,000. He found a caller in Eric Baldwin from the big blind. Abou Risk held and Baldwin showed . Baldwin hit a pair on a board of to eliminate Abou Risk in 17th place.
Paul Wasicka knows a thing or two about going deep in large no-limit hold'em field; after all, he did finish runner-up to Jamie Gold back in the 8,773-player strong 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event for $6,102,499. Wasicka barely missed out on his first gold bracelet then, and his hopes of attaining it now, seven years later, has come to an end.
It happened when he moved all in from the cutoff with and was called by Cole Jackson, who held in the small blind. The board ended up containing three paint cards, but they were all jacks. Jackson made jacks full of fours to send Wasicka to the rail.
Matt Waxman has been on an up-and-down ride throughout Day 2, but it just hit a high note when he cracked Jose Nadal's pocket queens.
It happened when Waxman opened for 8,000 from early position only to have Nadal three-bet all in for 51,000 from the cutoff. The button and blinds folded, Waxman called and the cards were turned up.
Waxman:
Nadal:
It was a flip, and according to the PokerNews Odds Calculator, Nadal had a 56.55% chance of surviving the hand. With that said, Waxman had a 43.03% chance of winning the hand so it was essentially a flip.
The flop was disaster for Nadal as it took his lead away by pairing Waxman's ace. Nadal's chances of survival dropped to a meager 8.78%, and went down to 4.55% when the dealer burned and turned the . Nadal needed a queen on the river to stay alive, but it wasn't in the cards as the peeled off.
. It folded around to Amit Makhija, in the big blind, who called with 
. The flop of 
was good for Jackson and after the 
turn card, it looked like he might double up. The 
river, however, dashed Jackson's hope, giving Makhija a set and eliminating Jackson in 11th place.
and he was up against the 
of Dioquino. Wazwaz had some hope on the 
flop but the 
turn and 
flop. Makhija found a lady to take the lead and leave Gates in need of an ace. The 
turned opened a bunch of other doors as Gates picked up a straight and flush draw, but he'd miss all his outs when the 
. The board came 
and Crabtree 
river did not improve Crabetree's hand and he was eliminated in 16th place.
. The board came 
and Baldwin showed 
to eliminate Abou Risk in 17th place.
while Flores showed 
, and Yelton's jacks held up against Flores's tens.
and was called by Cole Jackson, who held 
flop was disaster for Nadal as it took his lead away by pairing Waxman's ace. Nadal's chances of survival dropped to a meager 8.78%, and went down to 4.55% when the dealer burned and turned the 
peeled off.
