Event #73: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em MAIN EVENT - World Championship Dia 1c | 2019 World Series of Poker

2019-07-05 11:08 UTC-7

One of the Biggest Days of the Summer Lies Ahead; Time for Day 1c of the Main Event!

KaleGozer

John Cynn pictured celebrating his Main Event win in 2018

With the Independence Day festivities wrapped up, everyone's full focus will be on poker again as Day 1c of the 2019 World Series of Poker Main Event kicks off at 12 noon today. A total of 3,248 entries have been made across the first two starting days and following tradition, the final starting day will provide the biggest field of them all. 2019 will certainly be no exception to that rule as every table in the building is being prepared to house the players.

Last year, the single-day record in the World Series of Poker Main Event got shattered with no fewer than 4,571 players showing up for Day 1c. This number is certainly up to be challenged today, as the queues at the registration line in the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino have been packed over the last few days. It seems no one wants to miss out on the Main Event this year, and while yesterday's field was relatively small due to Independence Day, there's a buzz going around the room that the 8,000-player mark will be eclipsed for the first time since 2006.

Here's what the numbers look like so far.

Starting Day	Entrants in 2017	Entrants in 2018	Entrants in 2019
Day 1a	795	925	1,334
Day 1b	2,164	2,378	1,914
Day 1c	4,262	4,571	TBD*

* - can register at start of Day 2ab and Day 2c as well

Day 1c will see defending champion John Cynn take his seat to try and become the first player since Johnny Chan to win the Main Event in back-to-back years. "The Master" himself will likely also be one of the former Main Event champs taking a seat in the 4,000+ player field today.

Cards will be in the air at 12 noon and players start with 60,000 in chips. Levels are 120 minutes long throughout the event, with a 20-minute break after every level for players to clear their heads. The dinner break will be 85 minutes long and is held after level 4, which is around 9 p.m. local time. The day is expected to wrap up around 12:30 a.m.

New this year is late registration being open up until the starts of Day 2ab and Day 2c. Therefore, it could very well be that those anticipating 15-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth's great entrance will have to wait just a little bit longer. Hellmuth darted off to Machu Picchu during the height of summer, and given his preference for late starts, he'll likely be among those opting for the latest of registrations.

2019 WSOP Main Event Day 1c Blind Structure

Level	Duration	Small Blind	Big Blind	Ante
1	120 minutes	100	200	200
	20-minute break
2	120 minutes	200	300	300
	20-minute break
3	120 minutes	200	400	400
	20-minute break
4	120 minutes	300	500	500
	85-minute dinner break
5	120 minutes	300	600	600

Players who survive today will return to the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino on Sunday, July 7, to play another five levels on Day 2c. The full structure for this event can be found here ^(PDF).

PokerNews will have an all-star team present on the floor, bringing live updates from the Amazon, Brasilia, Pavilion, and Miranda poker rooms, as well as any other table in the building housing Main Event players. There will be a live broadcast on ESPN from 5.30 p.m. - 9.00 p.m. Make sure to check back regularly and don't miss anything as the 2019 World Series of Poker Main Event rolls on!

Tags: John Cynn Johnny Chan Miranda Phil Hellmuth World Series of Poker WSOP

2019-07-05 13:09 UTC-7

Ivey Busted by Chang

Nível 1 : 100/200, 200 ante

Phil Ivey's 2019 Main Event run is over in Level 1, as the 10-time bracelet winner was just sent to the rail in the bowling alley overflow room. Ivey was already below 25,000 chips at the start of the hand, and those remaining chips went to Jeffrey Chang in the aftermath of a three-way pot.

Chang opened to 500 in early position, Hirotaka Nakanishi three-bet on his immediate left, and Ivey cold called the three-bet from the button. Chang came along, and the flop came .

Chang checked, Nakanishi bet 1,600 and Ivey called. Chang then put in the check-raise to 6,500, Nakanishi called, and Ivey went all in over the top for his last 17,500.

Chang shoved the rest of his stack, and Nakanishi got out of the way.

Jeffrey Chang:
Phil Ivey:

Chang was a 67% favorite with top two against Ivey's nut flush draw, and when the and completed the board, Ivey was eliminated.

Jogador	Fichas	Oscilação
Jeffrey Chang	83,500 83,500	83,500
Hirotaka Nakanishi	66,000 66,000	66,000
Phil Ivey	Eliminado

Tags: Hirotaka Nakanishi Jeffrey Chang Phil Ivey

2019-07-05 13:11 UTC-7

Player Disqualified from the Main Event

KaleGozer

Nível 1 : 100/200, 200 ante

Over at 2015 World Champion Joe McKeehen's table in the Brasilia Red section, George Belianin has been disqualified in the 2019 WSOP Main Event after not even one hour of play on Day 1c.

According to several players at the table, after winning a small pot, the #5 seat George Belianin reached out to his left-hand neighbor's stack as well and scooped up his entire stack in the process to add it to his. Allegedly, Belianin did so with a smile on his face.

Belianin subsequently got disqualified for stealing another person's chips at the table and will not be active in the 2019 Main Event anymore. It was the Vice President of the World Series of Poker Jack Effel who came over and escorted Belianin out of the tournament area. His chips will be taken out of play, while his buy-in stays in the prize pool.

Effel later spoke with PokerNews and weighed in on the decision:

“Here’s the thing, you’re playing the Main Event you can’t touch other player’s chips. The chips that you have in front of you are the ones that belong to you, you shouldn’t be touching chips that don’t belong to you. Plain and simple. Discussing beyond what was seen at the table, everybody saw the exact same thing – he took the chips that were next to him, they didn’t belong to him and you can’t do that when you’re playing the Main Event.”

When asked if Belianin was also 86ed from all Caesars properties Effel added the following: “I’m not going to speak on security concerns, but obviously if you break the rules and take chips you’re not going to be allowed to play in the tournament and you can face all consequences as a result of being disqualified from the tournament per our rules.”

Another player at the table, Tom Peterson, also gave a first-hand account of what transpired:

“The guy came in and sat down at Seat 6. The dealer told him to get in Seat 5. He didn’t speak a lot of English, he was from another country because he had a passport,” Peterson explained when asked to recount what happened. “He said, ‘I want to play. Deal.’ The dealer said, ‘No you need to move.’ …He finally moves, plays a couple of hands, plays them well, loses both of them. Then like in the seventh hand he wins the pot: 1,600 in the pot - one black chip, one pink chip, one yellow chip. The dealer pushes it to him and he just grabs the other pile and puts it right into his without hesitation. The floor came over and they DQed him.”

2019-07-05 13:54 UTC-7

Cada Bluffs Nearly Everything Off

KaleGozer

Nível 1 : 100/200, 200 ante

Joe Cada at the 2018 Main Event final table

2009 Main Event champion and four-time bracelet winner Joe Cada, who just missed out on his fifth bracelet last night in Event #70: $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed, was active in a hand against Yoshiya Agata with action already on the river. The board was reading and Agata had a bet of 7,000 in front of him. Cada check-raised all in, putting Agata to the test for his entire stack of 48,100.

After thinking for several minutes, Agata called it off with . Cada showed for a pair turned into a bluff, tapped the table, put his gold headphones on and made his way out of Pavilion White.

The dealer and several players at the table quickly urged Cada to get back; he had, in fact, Agata covered by 5,800 and is still alive in the 2019 Main Event. After finishing 5th in the Main Event last year, he has his work cut out for him if he's to make a similar run this time around.

Jogador	Fichas	Oscilação
Yoshiya Agata	115,000 115,000	115,000
Joe Cada	5,800 -54,200	-54,200

Tags: Joe Cada Yoshiya Agata

2019-07-05 15:19 UTC-7

Another DQ; Player Moons Opponent, Throws Shoe

KaleGozer

Nível 2 : 200/300, 300 ante

Over at table #317 in the Pavilion Yellow section, a massive incident occurred just before the break involving a player that subsequently got DQ'd from the tournament. According to the table, the player went all in blind before flipping over his hand, revealing the .

In seat one, Patrick Eskandar contemplating his decision holding , a favorite with information about the exposed hand, although there was still another player behind him who had limped. Eskandar opted to fold.

"I'm all-in blind! Look, I'm blind everybody" the all-in player yelled as he covered his eyes and turned around. He then lowered his pants and mooned the table. While Eskandar was still considering his decision, the all-in player then took off his shoes and threw them around, with one of them actually hitting Eskandar as he was in the tank.

Shortly after, the player in question got DQ'd from the tournament, allegedly splashed his chips across the felt, and was escorted off the premise.

2019-07-05 15:27 UTC-7

Oddschecker Competition Winner Chris Dotson Living His Poker Dream

Nível 2 : 200/300, 300 ante

Earlier this summer, 35-year-old Chris Dotson, a boiler operator from New Jersey, won a competition hosted by PokerNews’ sister company, Oddschecker. Today, he’ll live his poker dream of playing in poker’s premier event.

Dotson flew cross country last night and immediately headed to the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino to register. While there, he got to meet 2003 WSOP champ Chris Moneymaker and was interviewed by Joey Ingram on PokerNews social media channels. It’s been a whirlwind experience even before he fired the tournament, and believe it or not it almost didn’t happen.

“I saw a tweet from PokerNews mentioning the giveaway, clicked through the article and decided not to bother,” Dotson revealed. “Then a couple of hours later I saw the tweet again, figured what the heck, and filled out the giveaway. I’m sure glad I changed my mind.”

Chris Dotson meeting Chris Moneymaker at the 2019 WSOP

A World of Experience

Dotson grew up with two younger brothers, sons of a father in the Air Force. As such, they moved a lot and lived in locales such as Hawaii, Japan, and New Zealand.

“I moved back to the USA from New Zealand, and the family continued on to Australia, where my mom and youngest brother are still living,” said Dotson. “The old man is retired now, working as a contractor for the Air Force up in Alaska.”

"I guess I first learned to play poker while living in New Zealand, but never really played much until moving back to New Jersey."

For Dotson, he entered the workforce straight out of high school and is on a career trajectory to become an operating engineer. As for his love of poker, the seed was planted half a world away from the bright lights of Las Vegas.

“I guess I first learned to play poker while living in New Zealand, but never really played much until moving back to New Jersey,” said Dotson, who also revealed he’s a big fan of video games, board games, and escape rooms. “I then started playing tournaments in my local poker league and would play a bit online. That’s when I started taking things more seriously and progressed to taking trips to Atlantic City to play in the local casinos.”

Eyes on Vegas

Dotson first visited Las Vegas for the WSOP back in the mid-2000s, though back then it was just as a fan and to meet friends from the Full Contact Poker (FCP) forums. It wasn’t until 2014 that he fired a trio of bracelet events, all no-limit hold’em at the $1,000, $1,500, and $2,500 price points. Until today, those marked the biggest buy-ins he’s ever played.

“I’ve never played the Main Event,” he said. “It has always been a dream. This will be my first time, I’m so excited.”

When asked about his proudest poker accomplishment to date, Dotson thought for a bit before answering.

“Not really sure what my proudest accomplishment would be,” he said. “I would probably say finishing runner-up in the poker league end-of-year finals, but no one remembers second place.”

Dotson often roots for the Indianapolis Colts, Miami Heat, and Team USA, and when it comes to poker he has some favorites.

“This is a hard question to answer, I certainly have a bunch of players I could pick as a favorite,” he responded when asked about his favorite poker player. “Tom Dwan, Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, but if I had to choose one it would probably be John Racener.”

Interestingly, Racener is also in action on Day 1c meaning there's a chance Dotson will get to square off against his favorite poker pro.

Tags: Chris Dotson Oddschecker

2019-07-05 17:10 UTC-7

Dickerson Eliminates Opponent to Contest for Chiplead

Nível 3 : 200/400, 400 ante

Geramy Dickerson is sat with one of, most likely the biggest stack in the field to date. In an incredible run, Dickerson has amassed more than four times what he started the day with, and players are not long into Level 3.

He eliminated an opponent just now after they got it all in on the turn with on the board. When the cards were turned over, Dickerson needed to hit, holding a two-way draw with against his opponent's set of . The river made Broadway for Dickerson and a big pile of chips went his way, whilst his opponent exited early.

Jogador	Fichas	Oscilação
Geramy Dickerson	249,000 249,000	249,000

Tags: Geramy Dickerson

2019-07-05 18:17 UTC-7

Rheem Shoves the River and Shows a Bluff

[user139916]

Nível 3 : 200/400, 400 ante

Chino Rheem (pictured in an earlier event)

Picking up the action after a flop of with about 6,000 in the pot, Chino Rheem checked from the under the gun and the player in the hijack bet 2,500. Rheem called.

The turn was the , Rheem checked, his opponent bet 5,000, Rheem check-raised to 16,800 and his opponent called.

The river was the , Rheem shoved for effectively 66,000 and his opponent tanked for a while.

"Will you show if I call?" asked Rheem's opponent.

"I'll absolutely show if you call. I'll show if you fold, too, but you'll owe me a show," said Rheem.

After a few moments, Rheem's opponent open folded .

"I put you on ace-king," Rheem said as he showed . "Felt like I could get you off of it."

Jogador	Fichas	Oscilação
Chino Rheem	121,000 26,200	26,200

Tags: Chino Rheem

2019-07-05 18:41 UTC-7

Cynn Finally Gaining Traction

[user139916]

Nível 3 : 200/400, 400 ante

Defending champion John Cynn's day has been anything but smooth, dipping to a low point of about 10,000. However, a pot late Level 3 has pushed Cynn above 20,000.

The flop read and action checked to the player on the button who bet 1,700. Cynn check-called from the small blind and the player in the hijack check-folded.

The turn was the and both remaining players checked.

The river was the , Cynn bet 4,200 and his opponent called.

Cynn tabled , his opponent mucked and Cynn collected the pot.

Jogador	Fichas	Oscilação
John Cynn	21,000 9,900	9,900

Tags: John Cynn

2019-07-05 19:34 UTC-7

Ramos' Main Event Ends in the Gutter

KaleGozer

Nível 4 : 300/500, 500 ante

The by now infamous abandoned bowling alley at the Rio has claimed a second high-profile victim on Day 1c of the 2019 Main Event. After Phil Ivey struck out in the early stages, it was Brazilian star Felipe Ramos who had to part ways from the same room during the third level of the day.

"I lost two big hands during the first level of the day," Ramos told PokerNews. "Old gentleman to my left, very friendly, super nice guy, makes it 1,000, one player calls, I call from the big blind. Flop comes with two hearts. I check, he bets 3,000, other guy calls, I check-raise to 10,500, he calls, and then the other guy raises to 30,000!

I tank for five minutes and fold, other gentleman goes all in with and the third guy had ," Ramos explained how he got away relatively unscathed after flopping set under set.

Ramos then picked up on the button and raised to 500. An opponent made it 1,300 from the small blind and he called to see an all-heart flop appear. Ramos' opponent bet 2,300, Ramos raised to 6,000 and his opponent instantly shoved all in.

"I tank forever but I cannot fold this hand, even when it's Day 1 of the Main. I call and he shows the dream!" Ramon excitingly said about his opponent's , making him a 97% favorite to win the hand. However, the turn and river ran out and to improve his opponent to an unlikely boat and Ramos was left with 13,100 in level 1.

Short stacked, he continued for two more levels before losing his final chips with to and busted out of the Main Event early.

Jogador	Fichas	Oscilação
Felipe Ramos	Eliminado

Tags: Felipe Ramos