2010 WSOP Main Event Day 2A- Semi-Live Blog

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

We're back with Day 2A of the Main Event. Survivors from Day 1A and Day 1C are in today's field. Featured players will included former champion Chris Moneymaker and Colorado's Louie Cohen. The likes of The Grinder, Johnny Chan, and Lauren Kling started the day with healthy stacks, but on Day 2 that doesn't mean much unless they can keep the momentum going.

Let's get down to it...

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Quick Numbers

Entrants: 7,319
Players on Day 2A: 2,412
Players on Day 2B: 2,734

Players will play four levels today. We're starting with 1 hour left in Level 5.

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Break Times and Meal Times

The start of Day 2A was delayed by ten minutes while they figured the break situation. Once that was sorted out, cards went in the air but without any special celebrities doing the honors. Man, I would love to see Snoop roll in and do the honors one day. Could be a heady kick off.

Editor's Note: Due to the extreme length of the live blog, if you're reading this on the front page of Tao of Poker, then you have to click through READ MORE link below to read more.

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Louie Cohen Watch: Pre-Game

I found Louie Cohen, Northwestern alum and all-around cool guy. He's sitting at the crossroads of the Amazon Ballroom, which means he might get some random spectators wandering up. Without a named pro at his table, the chances of an ESPN crew doing a flew by is slim to none, but that's why the Tao is important to give a nice guy like Louie a little coverage. He started the day with 57,200 and in good spirits. We chatted more about Widespread Panic's show at Red Rocks than poker.

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Mike Sexton Eliminated By Douchenozzle

It wasn't pretty and a borderline slow roll but Mike Sexton was eliminated in a three-way hand. His opponent kept yelling, showboating, gloating, and slow rollin' that it was really embarrassing. And the thing is -- there were no cameras around so he can't use the "shticking it up for TV" defense.

Sexton shook his head in disapproval -- not at the outcome but at his opponents blatant display of disrespect. The consummate pro, Sexton shook his opponent's hand and made a silent exit out the side door. I happened to be heading his way and kept an eye on him as he walked down the hall and met up with his brother, Tom.

"I'm out," he said.

That was it. No rant. No raving about his opponent's disrespectful behavior. Just the simple fact. A fan wandered up and asked for an autograph. Sexton happily obliged.

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Bad News: No Side Boob

The last time I wrote about side boobs, I got into trouble, so I'm going to go out of my way to write about side boobs as much as possible. As you know, I'm partial to side boob more so than a nipple slip. A good nip from time to time is acceptable and enjoyable, but it cannot compare to side boob action.

With that said, Sara Underwood was sporting some serious side boob on Day 1A if you had waited long enough for her strap to slide off her shoulder. The braless Underwood definitely gave a few of us a a gratuitous peep show -- something a lot more edible than the average overweight dude in seat pants get his buttcrack massaged.

Today, I'm sad to report that the terrorists have won. Yes, there is no more side boob today. We will have some pics shortly of her more "conservative" garb. Stay tuned.

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Louie Cohen Coolered

Rough hand for Louie Cohen to start the day. His Kings ran into Aces! He doubled up an opponent but is sitting on a 26K stack.

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Orange Douchenozzles

What's up with all the slowrolling in the orange section today? I was keeping an eye on Table 370 with included Action Bob, Jesse Martin, Luca Pagano, and Mr. Kotter himself, Gabe Kaplan!

I was chatting with Jesse and Action Bob as players went on a break. Two at their table were still in a hand so they kept on eye on the action. Some guy named Brant (no bullshit) slowrolled Italian pro Luca Pagano. Luca had a nine-high club flush against Brant's King-high flush, except Brant went for the low brow slowroll.

A couple of the reporters mentioned that Brant has been acting like a douchenozzle since Day 2A began, and I got to see him close up and personal. Stay classy.

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Cuz Update: Still In Front

Steve "Cuz" Buckner was one of the chipleaders on Day 1C. He's a trip and an old school goodfella from Brooklyn. He worked the Hunts Point Markets back in the day and reminds me of Paulie Walnuts from The Sopranos. Buckner always has an unlit cigar in his mouth and loves to call people "Cuz." Today he was wearing Bruno Mali shoes (most made famous by OJ Simpson) but he doesn't have any socks on. Normally I would bust on him for that fashion faux pas, but since I don't want to end up a floater in the East River, I'll keep my mouth shut.

Buckner started the day with an impressive 123K stack and is currently holding court in the Pavilion. His table will break soon, which is too bad because he's such a colorful character that all you have to do is just listen to his table chatter. In one hand that I caught him in, he had tanked on the river when a Queen of spades hit filling in a potential flush.

"Fucking spades," he muttered as he tossed his cards towards the muck and complimented, "Nice hand Cuz!"

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Day 2 Casualties

Recent Eliminations: Marcel Luske, Newhizzle, November Niner James Akenhead, Ted Lawson, Veronica Dabul, Rob Hollink, and David Allen Grier from In Living Color.

Supposedly, Marcel Luske and Carlos Mortesen have a prop bet. They will play a heads-up match to determine the winner of the prop. Their home countries (Holland and Spain) are playing each other in the World Cup final. The loser of their heads up match will have to wear the opposing jersey on Day 1 of the Bellagio Cup.

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Thanks for the Booze

Kudos to Maureen from Canada who picked up a bottle of Glenfiddich for me and the Tao of Pokerati crew. She loved our podcast so much that she wanted to thank us with a bottle of hooch, straight from the duty free shop at Toronto's airport. Much appreciated!

You too can get your name in the Tao of Poker. Please give me your leftover pharmies, particularly painkillers. Even if I don't take them, I will happily share them with my colleagues in the press box. They are wounded souls.

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Side Boob Malaise

Sara Underwood is wearing a tight white dress with plenty of potential for "nipping out" today, especially since she's in the always frigid Pavilion. Alas, I think she's decided to convert to some sort of religious sect because she's covering up her high beams with a jean jacket. Dammit. That concludes our Side Boob snippet of the hour. According to official media guidelines, I am unable to post information about side boobs only once an hour. It's a total bullshit rule, but nothing in the fine print prevents me from talking about nipples. Hard ones. Rock solid.

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Louie Cohen Watch - Still Alive...

Louie Cohen chipped up slightly to over 31K. He hasn't had too much movement since he ran his Kings into Aces.

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The Recently Departed

Recent Eliminations: Liz Lieu, Luca Pagano, Terrance Chan, Dutch Boyd, Jamie Rosen, Abe Mosseri, Ray Davis, and Julian Thew.

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Featured Table Update - Danny Boy Holding Court, Silent Antonius

Patrik Antonius is sitting quietly on the beef jerky secondary table. It seems that a high percentage of female railbirds have been stopping by to snap his photo.

Over at the TV table, Negreanu's appearance has packed the stands. A couple of hired model hawking UB are sitting in the crowd trying to get TV time, but they are spending more time with their faces buried into their Crackberrys than actually flashing smiles and seductive glances at the cameras.

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Moon Sweat

Darvin Moon was on the rail chatting with two people who I originally thought were fans. They turned out to be supporters of Joe Cada, who was sitting right in front of the rail. Moon was keeping an eye on his fellow November Niner.

While I was sweating Cada and Moon on the rail, one of the players at an adjacent table blew his nose while using his shirt. Disgusting. I only say one other person do that before at the poker table -- Steve Diano.

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The Recently Departed, Vol. 2

Recent Eliminations: Hollywood Dave, strip club owener, Mike Beasley, and French pro Thomas Bichon

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Break Time Musings: Starbucks Porn Watch

I headed to Starbucks a few minutes before the break began. Best decision of the day. I happened to be standing behind Benjo's favorite masseuse/porn star. I hardly recognized her with her clothes on.

While at Starbucks I was snubbed by an fourth-rate agent. LOLagentments. This one has used me for info, but as soon as it's a social situation, they act like I'm invisible. Oh, well, thanks for confirming your ultimate doucheyness. Go eat a bag of dicks.

Anyway, while I was amusing myself with the high school antics from some of the lowest forms of scum in the poker industry, I ran into Tony "Bond18" Dunst. He was sporting a pinstripe suit and a tie. He's always one of the best dressed twenty-somethings in the room and is still alive in the Main Event. He told me that he was feeling well because he got sleep last night instead of going out to drink with friends.

"I'm no longer going with the degen behavior."

With $9 million on the line, he could sit it out one night and opted for a relaxing evening.

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1,900 and Counting...

Over 500 players have already busted out and we're not even halfway through today.

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Louie Cohen Watch: 40K

Colorado's golden boy Louie Cohen is up to 40K after banging away a couple of small pots against a Polish player to his right. He still has a long way to go, but at least he's moving upward...

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The Recently Departed, Vol. 3

Recent Eliminations: Former World Champion Tom McEvoy, Jason Young, and Haralabos Voulgaris

The eliminations are starting to pick up a but. I had bet 1,111 would be today's final number. At this pace, we might pass that.

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4:20 Smoke Break - Sponsored by Lost Vegas

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Louie Loses Pot; Jesus Freak on Rail Rejoices

I caught a hand with Louie Cohen. He opened for a standard raise and the small blind three-bet shoved. Louie tanked for forty seconds before he folded. I stood on the rail next to a woman in her late 60s. She made a praying motion and uttered, "Thank you, Lord!"

Louie has his hands full. Not only does he have to fade variance, he's going up against a Jesus Freak on the rail who is constantly praying. I put in a call to a local witch doctor who can come over and perform a cleansing ceremony by cutting off the head of a live chicken.

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Random Shit

I have a few orphaned notes that I want to share with you...

- David Williams has a hottie on the rail sweating him, and his mom is there as well. A ginger with a fro is sitting to his right. No shinola.

- The Devil is wandering the halls. Otis is staying away.

- I used a $10 food comp on two bottles of 20 oz. water and a bag of M&Ms. I actually had to pay 50 cents because the total was $10.50.

- I had odd conversation with a railbird from Australia and wore a jacket that is over 25 years old... "1984 Australian Spearing Fish Team." I had no idea who he is. I didn't get into spearfishing until the mid-90s.

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Rail Chatter - Afternoon Report

I heard lots of random things when I embed myself with railbirds...

- "I don't know who any of these people are, unless they are baseball players. I know who they are."

- "He's an honorable guy. Just like Phil Hellmuth."

- "Why don't they just cash out now and go home?"

- "I saw that Darvin Moon, you know, that fuck guy with the Saints hat. He's an amateur but he's got millions in the bank now."

- Sweating the Godfather of Scandi Poker Thor Hansen's table, two Norwegians were engrossed in conversation... "Har Gus Hansen hatt hvor mange stripperkjønn med denne uken?"

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The Recently Departed, Vol. 4

Recent Eliminations: Former world champions Berry Johnston and Carlos Mortsensen, Andre Akkari, David The Dragon Pham, Daniel Alaei, Ted Forrest, David Oppenheim, and Amnon Filippi.

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Louie Cohen Report: Ups and Downs

Louie Cohen got as high as 52K before he ended up with 32K during the color up break. He missed a couple of flops with A-K and lost some chips. The husband of the old lady Jesus Freak on the rail has been three or four-bet shoving every time that Louie has been raising.

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Eurodonk = Chipleader

Get a good look at this guy...


Dragan Gallic
Dragan Gallic was the first player to pass the 300K mark. He's the current chipleader. The European press don't think he's very good. They even gave me permission to call him a Eurodonk. So by the end of the day, he'll have 1M in chips or be out of the tournament.

Photos courtesy of Harper & Benjo.

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Side Boob Report: Busto

I'm sad to say that this will be final side boob report. Sara Underwood is out. Now horndogs in the media will have to find a different table to visit every 15 minutes (Lacey Jones is in the Orange section).

"Whatever, her boobs are not that big," lamented Benjo. "There are bigger boobs left in the tournament."

Well said, sir.

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Red 370

Red 370 started out as a table of note with Action Bob, Jess Martin, Luca Pagano, and Gabe Kaplan. Pagano busted earlier and now Voitto Rintala is at their table. He's a Finnish heavy metal musican and plays bass in the band Random Eyes, and if you ever came across him, you were probably freaked out the first time you saw his eyes -- obviously contact lenses but spoooooky nonetheless.

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Money Massage

We got a new tertiary table in front of the press box. Chris Moneymaker is the latest former champion to sit at Red 372. He's currently deep into a massage and just doubled up a French player. He's still alive and currently sitting under his mural -- kinda eerie. Very Citizen Kane-esque.

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The Recently Departed, Vol. 5

Recent Eliminations: Sarah Underwood, Max Pescatori, David 'Gunslinger' Bach, Garry Gates, Kristy Gazes, Dennis Phillips, Fatima De Melo, Steve O'Dwyer, Brock Parker, Noah Scwartz, Yuval Bronshtein, and Miami John Cernuto.

Miami John was blinded out due to a medical issue -- he never showed up on Day 2A. He had health issues last summer when he passed out during an event and had to be carted out by paramedics.

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Famous, But Quiet


Snoopy's model friend... Patrik Antonius
I dunno what Patrik Antonius is on the secondary table. He's from Finland, which by birth means he doesn't speak much, if at all. Sure, if this was a Full Tilt nosebleed cash game, Antonius' table would be a top draw, but this is real life (well as real as you can get in Las Vegas) and Antonius is excessively stoic, plus he's Finnish and they never talk. I have to keep saying that because it's true. He's pretty to look at (if you're a woman or happen to bat for the other team and like guys), but not much in the chatterbox department. I wonder if they move him off the feature table for the rest of the night.

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Dinner Break

Players are on dinner break until 8:50pm local time.

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Louie Update

Louie Cohen got up to 65K just before the dinner break. He doubled up with Aces against A-K. He's looking good with two hours of play to go.

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New Tao of Pokerati Episodes - Scents & Subtle Sounds and Team Pokerati/Beast Light Update


Stop the presses! Michalski actually showed up for two episodes of Tao of Pokerati.

Episode 56: Team Pokerati/Beast Light Update - Dan showed up unexpectedly at the Rio and Pualy quizzed him on his meeting with the folks from Milwaukee's Best. Pauly wonders where all the inflatable six-foot tall Beast beer cans went.

Episode 57: Scents and Subtle Sounds with Snoopy - Our British colleague Snoopy joins us to discuss different scents that we encounter during our rounds on the floor of the WSOP. Flatulence, body odor, and highly aromatic marijuana were among the scents discussed.

Listen to more episodes at the Tao of Pokerati Archives.

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Sorry You Didn't Make It to Day 3

Recent Eliminations: Former WSOP Champion Bobby Baldwin, Soren Kongsgaard, Matt Glantz, Quinn Do, Lee Markholt, and Dani Stern.

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Louie Crippled

Didn't catch the hand, but Louie is down to under 15K. He had his Big Slick snapped off by K-Q. While I was checking out his table, the Devil walked by and my CrackBerry froze up. No bullshit.

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Louie Cohen Eliminated

On one of the last five hands of the night, Louie Cohen busted out. He got it all in on a flop of 8-6-6 with A-8. His opponent held 6-6 for quad sixes. Ouch. His WSOP Main Event has come to a close. That A-K vs K-Q hand really did him in.

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Day 2A Complete

That's it. The day began with 2,412 runners (consolidated from flights 1A and 1C) and 50% of the field was wiped out in only four levels of play. 1,202 players remain.

Click here for end of Day 2A chipcounts.

Keep an eye on WSOP.com or check them out on twitter (@WSOP) to get a link to the chipcounts when they get posted, not to mention links to Day 2B table draws.

Unofficial Day 2B table draw is here.