Six separate World Series of Poker events took place on a busy Monday at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino. In Event #29: $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold’em Championship, Allyn Jaffrey Shulman became the first woman since 2008 to win a bracelet in an event that wasn’t ladies only, defeating Dennis Phillips heads-up. Carter Philips defeated Joe Cada to take down Event #31: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em and the Event #32: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. bracelet went to David “Bakes” Baker. Event #33: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em moved on to its final 14 players. Finally, Event #34: $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha — Six-Handed and Event #35: $2,500 Mixed Hold’em got under way.
Event #29: $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold’em Championship
The final four returned at noon local time on Monday to play to a winner. It was an interesting group: Dennis Phillips, third place finisher in the 2008 WSOP Main Event; Hoyt Corkins, two-time bracelet winner; Allyn Jaffrey Shulman, matriarch of the poker dynasty Shulmans; and wildcard Bob Phelps, the eldest of the seniors and least known. In the end, Shulman emerged as the last person standing from a record-breaking field of 4,128. She becomes the winner of the largest single-day field, as well as the first woman since 2008 to win a bracelet in an event that wasn’t ladies only.
Just by reaching the final table, Shulman made history as the third member of her family to make a WSOP final table in the same week. But unlike husband Barry and stepson Jeff, Allyn emerged victorious from the final table. Second-lowest in chips going into the final table, and short-stacked for most of Monday, Shulman used a combination of patience, tight play, and a bit of luck to propel herself to the top.
Corkins came into the day third in chips, with 1.9 million, and blinds at 80,000/160,000. In the small blind, action folded over to Corkins and he moved all-in for his last 1.4 million. Phelps called out of the big blind, and Corkins was behind with 
to 
. The board ran out 
and Corkins was out in fourth place for $199,023.
It looked as if Shulman would follow Corkins to the rail just a few hands later as she got it all-in against Dennis Phillips with 
versus 
. She was only seen with 44 percent odds to win the hand, and when the flop came 
, her odds went down to 38 percent, and she was looking for a club to stay alive. The 
on the turn gave her just the help she needed. Phillips was knocked down to second place in chips and Phelps was the new chip leader.
Shulman found another double-up, this time against Phelps, to take the chip lead, but not without a sweat. Shulman raised, Phelps reraised to one million, she moved all-in for 2.53 million and Phelps tank-called. She was dominating, to Phelps’ 
. The flop changed nothing as it came 
, but the looked like a suck out for Phelps, until the 
river gave the pot right back to Shulman.
Phelps ended his deep run two spots shy of the bracelet. Shulman had raised to one million from the button and Phelps moved all-in from the small blind for around 3.5 million. Phillips folded, Shulman insta-called and showed . Phelps had just pocket sixes and when the board ran out, he was on his way to pick up the third-place prize money of $270,727.
Heads up, Shulman had a 4:1 chip lead over Phillips, but the former November Niner vegan to mount a comeback. He managed a huge double up to move to over 10 million in chips, shoving preflop with pocket nines and getting called by Shulman who held jack-ten, and Shulman was down to 2.3 million.
Phillips was one card away from his first bracelet, but his elusive win stayed just out of reach. Shulman moved all-in with 
and Phillips called, turning over . Phillips had a big advantage. He dodged a king on the 
flop, but the 
gave Shulman additional outs with the gunshot straight draw. When the river brought the , Shulman had spiked her straight to double up.
They were virtually even in chips, but the match was almost over. Phillips got it all-in with only to see that he was dominated by Shulman’s 
. The flop only moved her farther ahead, coming down . The turn and river ran out 
and 
, and Phillips would have to console himself with second place and $372,895.
For her first place finish at this year’s WSOP, Shulman gets not only bragging rights at the Shulman family get-togethers, but $603,713, a gold bracelet, and her name engraved on the Seniors Event championship trophy.
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Allyn Jaffrey Shulman | $603,713 |
| 2 | Dennis Phillips | $372,895 |
| 3 | Bob Phelps | $270,727 |
| 4 | Hoyt Corkins | $199,023 |
| 5 | Williams Stabler | $147,605 |
| 6 | Stuart Spear | $110,416 |
| 7 | William Thomson | $83,332 |
| 8 | Harold Lilie | $48,669 |
To see how the final day played out, make sure you check out all the action on the PokerNews live reporting blog.
Event #31: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em
Nineteen players returned on Monday to play down to a winner. They were led by 2009 WSOP Main Event winner Joe Cada. If Cada won, he would become the first Main Event winner since Carlos Mortensen in 2001 to win a second bracelet. But Cada came up one spot short, falling to Carter Phillips after a long heads-up battle.
Dwyte Pilgrim went out in 11th place, but that alone does not tell the story. He called the four-bet all-in of Huy Quach with pocket queens versus pocket tens, and was poised to bring a big stack to the unofficial final table. That was until Quach spiked a ten on the flop for a huge double up. Pilgrim went all-in a few hands later after waking up with Big Slick, only to be called down by Michael Aron who held pocket fours. A four on the flop ended Pilgrim’s run just short of the final table.
The official final table bubble boy was Jim Kasputis Jr. He shoved for 445,000 from early position and was called by Huy Quach in the hijack. Quach held and Kasputis Jr. was in trouble with just . The board ran out 
and the official final table was set.
Going into the final table, Tom Chambers had the chip lead with 2,575,000 and Cada was the short stack with 720,000. But it was Quach who was the first to be eliminated. He lost almost all of his chips after moving all-in with ace-king against Cherish Andrews, who held pocket jacks. Andrews’ jacks improved to a set on the flop and Quach was all in the next hand with just the ante. Jonathan Poche earned the KO, eliminating Quach in ninth place for $49,333.
There was a very loud and enthusiastic group railing Maximilian Lehmanski, but the final table area became much quieter when he was eliminated in sixth place. Short-stacked, he moved all-in from the hijack for his last 415,000 and Carter Phillips isolated him with a three-bet shove on the button. The blinds folded and Lehmanski was in trouble with 
to Phillips’ 
. The flop was spread out 
and the turn gave Lehmanski additional outs, but the river wasn’t one of them, and he was sent to the cage to pick up his $113,618.
Aside from Cada, the other big story going into the final day was Cherish Andrews, poised to be the first female to win an open bracelet since 2008. Andrews held the chip lead for much of the day but ended up falling in fourth place. In her final hand, Cada opened to 205,000 from the cutoff, and she pushed all-in for about 1,900,000 from the button. Action folded around to Cada who insta-called.
Andrews held to Cada’s . The flop was good for Andrews, coming 
but the turn was the 
, giving Cada four more outs. The river brought the 
and Cada’s wheel sent Andrews to the rail in fourth place and propelled Cada to the chip lead with just three players left.
Cada woke up with another monster hand and just that fast, he was heads-up. Phillips had raised to 200,000 on the button and Tom Chambers moved all-in from the small blind. Cada moved over the top from the big blind, Phillips released, and the cards were turned up. No coin flip for Cada this time, he had his opponent dominated — 
versus . The board ran out all blanks and Chambers was the third-place finisher and Cada was heads-up against Phillips — each looking for his second WSOP bracelet.
Going into heads-up, Cada was in the lead 8.9 million to 3.7 million and quickly extended his lead to a 3:1 chip advantage. But he relinquished the lead when he four-bet all-in with only to see his Phillips sitting with 
. Phillips improved to a pair on the 
flop and then faded the turn and 
river to take the chip lead 7,730,000 to 4,870,000.
The two battled for two more hours, each taking the lead, with Cada all-in twice on a coin flip and surviving both times. In the end, though, Phillips came out on top. He took a massive lead when Cada moved all-in for the win on the turn after flopping top pair only to see that Phillips had turned a set. Cada was on the ropes, but managed one double up before succumbing. In that final hand, Cada went all-in on the button for his last 1,350,000 and Phillips called. Cada showed and Philiips was ahead with . The board ran out 
and Phillips was the winner.
Joe Cada earned $412,424 for the three days work. Carter Phillips, who had been knocked out by Cada in the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $25,000 High Roller event in 12th place, came out on top this time. Phillips won his second bracelet, following his 2010 win in the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed event, and the $664,130 first-place prize money.
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carter Phillips | $664,130 |
| 2 | Joe Cada | $412,424 |
| 3 | Tom Chambers | $290,875 |
| 4 | Cherish Andrews | $210,083 |
| 5 | Najib Kamand | $153,578 |
| 6 | Maximilian Lehmanski | $113,618 |
| 7 | Michael Aron | $85,043 |
| 8 | Jonathan Poche | $64,399 |
| 9 | Huy Quach | $49,333 |
Follow all the double ups and knockouts by reviewing the live reporting blog.
One of the most prestigious events of the summer is the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. It brings out a star-studded field of the game’s best, as the spectators crowded around the tables from Day 1 on will attest. After three days of play, the winner of this event was David “Bakes” Baker. He defeated John Monnette heads-up to take home the top prize and the coveted gold bracelet.
When Day 3 began, 15 players remained, led by two-time WSOP bracelet winner Monnette. Five hours later, the official final table of eight was established. The bubble boy was Mori Eskandani, who lost to Monnette during a round of stud 8, flush to full house with no qualifying low.
Going into the final table, Monnette was the chip leader, with just under 1 million, and Dan Kelly was short-stacked with under 300,000. Still in the hunt for the gold, Phil Ivey, second in chips; Phil Hellmuth, fourth in chips; and a stacked field including David Baker and Abe Mosseri.
Dan Kelly was out in eighth place during a round of stud 8. By fifth street, just Hellmuth and Kelly were left and on sixth, Hellmuth bet enough to put Kelly all-in and he called. Hellmuth had / and Kelly showed 
/. On seventh street, Hellmuth picked up the , Kelly was unable to improve with the and he headed to the rail, to pick up $45,360.
Matt Waxman was the next to be eliminated. Crippled in a hand of razz, he was out in the next hand, the start of a round of stud. In his final hand, he had just one big bet left. He committed it during the first round of betting with an showing against Abe Mosseri and John Monnette. Mosseri and Monnette stayed in until fifth street when Mosseri folded. Monnette showed 
for two pair and Waxman could muster just ace-high with . Waxman collected $58,093 for his seventh-place finish.
It looked like Ivey would be out in sixth place, but he hit runner-runner to make a flush against Abe Mosseri in a round of Omaha 8. Mosseri then moved all-in on the next hand against David Baker. Mosseri had and was up against Baker’s . The dealer spread out and Baker scooped, sending Mosseri out in sixth with $75,511.
Ivey did not find his ninth gold bracelet in this event and ended up as the fifth-place finisher. He lost an Omaha 8 hand to Hellmuth, who turned an ace-high flush. Then Monnette finished him off in a hand of razz. Ivey brought it in with a 
up, and the action folded to Monnette, who completed with a 
. Ivey raised, putting most of his stack at risk, and Monnette reraised all-in. Ivey called and turned over 
and Monnette showed 
. Ivey ended up double pairing on a () / 
/ {x} board and Monnette made a nine-seven to take down the pot and send Ivey out, and on his way to another event — $99,739 richer.
Out in fourth place, falling short of his goal of adding a 13th bracelet to his collection, was Phil Hellmuth. Following the dinner break, Hellmuth starting bleeding chips, sending most over to Monnette. His final hand came during Omaha 8 after Hellmuth posted the big blind, with just a few chips remaining. Monnette open-raised from under the gun, and Hellmuth called. Hellmuth check-raised for his tournament life after the flop came . Monnette called and the two players turned their hands over. Monnette had 
and Hellmuth was in trouble with . The board ran out and Hellmuth was off to collect his $134,056 payout.
Monnette delivered his third knockout blow, eliminating Paul Sokoloff in third place. After crippling Sokoloff in a stud 8 hand moments earlier, the two went heads-up in a round of limit hold’em. Monnette called Sokoloff’s preflop three bet and they saw a flop of . Monnette led out, Sokoloff raised, Monnette re-raised enough to put Sokoloff at risk and he called. Cards turned over, Monnette had an open-ended straight draw with and Sokoloff had ace-high with . Monnette went ahead on the turn and the 
was a blank for Sokoloff and he was sent to the rail.
But Monnette was unable to make it four in a row, David Baker coming out on top. Going into their heads-up battle, Monnette had the chip advantage, but Baker started chipping away at Monnette’s lead almost immediately, picking up most in a quick succession of hold’em hands. Monnette pulled back to even, then briefly took a 2:1 chip lead. But in the end, Baker took back the lead after making a straight in a stud hand and then finished Monnette off hitting a set of sevens on seventh street.
Monette now has a first-, second-, and third-place finish in this year’s WSOP and sits atop the Player of the Year leaderboard. And David Baker has another gold bracelet to go along with the one he won in the 2010 $10,000 2-7 Draw Lowball event.
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | David "Bakes" Baker | $451,779 |
| 2 | John Monnette | $279,206 |
| 3 | Paul Sokoloff | $183,784 |
| 4 | Phil Hellmuth | $134,056 |
| 5 | Phil Ivey | $99,739 |
| 6 | Abe Mosseri | $75,511 |
| 7 | Matt Waxman | $58,093 |
| 8 | Dan Kelly | $45,360 |
Event #33: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em
Day 2 began with the 231 players who had survived the starting field of 2,795. Everyone who came back on Monday was already in the money. Leading at the start of Day 2 was Brad Libson with 117,100 chips. After 10 levels of play, 14 were left. They will return on Tuesday to play down to the bracelet. Leading the final day will be Russia’s Vitaly Meshcheriakov with 946,000 chips.
Jared Vengrin, Zimnan Ziyard, Andy Frankenberger, Erik Seidel, Humberto Brenes, Aussie Millions winner Tom Middleton, Daniel Idema, Amanda Baker, Mark Radoja, Faraz Jaka were just some of the players who were eliminated as the field narrowed.
Day 1 chip leader Libson fell in 111th place, taking home $2,767. He was in a three-way pot for his tournament life holding and was up against pocket kings and pocket tens. The case ten on the flop gave his opponent a set and Libson’s day was over.
The first person eliminated on Tuesday will take home $19,847, but whoever comes out on top will collect $440,238 and the gold bracelet. In addition to chip leader Meshcheriakov, Matt Stout (462,000), recent WSOP bracelet winner Vincent van der Fluit (301,000), Ryan "Protential" Laplante (272,000), Justin Zaki (283,000) and Dylan Hortin (939,000) are still in the running.
To follow all the exciting day three action as play moves toward a winner, make sure you check out the PokerNews live reporting blog for regular updates throughout the day.
Event #34: $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha — Six-Handed
Event #34 attracted 419 players, creating a prize pool of $1,969,300, to be shared among the top 42 finishers. Players began with 5,000 in chips and received two additional 5,000 chip add-ons they could take anytime during the first four levels. Any player who had not taken his/her add-ons by the end of the fourth level automatically received them.
Jason Mercier, last year’s winner, returned to defend his title. Also in Monday’s starting field were Jonathan Duhamel, Vanessa Selbst, Phil Galfond, Mike “Timex” McDonald, Galen Hall, Jeff Lisandro, Brian Hastings, Jason Senti, Yevgeniy Timoshenko, Viktor Blom, and Ben Lamb. Unfortunately, none moved on to Day 2.
Of the 71 players coming back on Tuesday, the chip leader is David Benyamine. Also returning with above-average chip stacks: Shaun Deeb, Kevin MacPhee, Joseph Cheong, Jason DeWitt, Tom Marchese and Ryan Lenaghan. They and the rest of the field will first play down to the money, where the minimum guaranteed payout is $9,748, and then continue to battle to see who will take home the top prize of $512,029 and the gold bracelet.
Make sure you don’t miss any of the Day 2 action by checking our PokerNews live reporting blog for regular updates throughout the day.
Event #35: $2,500 Mixed Hold’em
Last year, Matt Matros topped a field of 580 to win the bracelet and first-place prize of $303,501. This year, 393 players entered the field, creating a top prize of $210,107. Matros will not be repeating because he was eliminated early in the day, but 85 others will return Tuesday.
A number of notables entered the field but were eliminated on Day 1, including Antonio Esfandiari, Scott Seiver, Jean-Robert Bellande, Barry Greenstein, Chad Brown, David Sklansky, Jeff Madsen and John Juanda. Daniel Negreanu was knocked out late in the day after moving all-in on a board with the only to see Bryan Devonshire sitting with the . The river was a 
and Negreanu hit the rail.
Leading the Day 2 field is Andre Akkari with 108,700 chips. Also coming back with above-average chip stacks will be David Williams, Frank Kassela, Isaac Baron, Bryan Devonshire, James Dempsey, and Phil Ivey, fresh off his fifth-place finish in the $10K H.O.R.S.E. event.
To keep up on all the latest action, make sure you check out the PokerNews live reporting blog throughout the day.
On Tap
Only one bracelet is scheduled to be handed out on Tuesday — Event #33: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em. Day 2 action will bring us past the money bubble and close to a final table in two other events — Event #34: $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Six-Handed and Event #35: $2,500 Mixed Hold’em.
Two more events will get under way: Event #36: $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em Shootout and Event #37: $2,500 Eight-Game Mix.
Make sure you stay up to date on all the action with the PokerNews live reporting blog.
Video of the Day
Sarah Grant talks to Allyn Jaffrey Shulman after her win in the $1,000 Seniors event. Shulman discusses how she felt to beat the stellar field, what she learned from watching her husband take down the WSOPE Main Event, and making her key move against Dennis Phillips.
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