Action folded around to Michael Martin in the cutoff seat. Martin raised to 15,000. Howard Wolper moved all in from the big blind and Martin called immediately. The players showed:
Martin:
Wolper:
The flop missed Wolper, coming down . The crowd cheered, clearly on Martin's side. The turn brought the . Again a collective sigh of relief was heard from the gallery. The on the river sealed the deal and Martin's pair of threes were best. Wolper casually headed for the payout table where he will collect $14,508 for his strong finish in this event.
Action folded around to Keith Murrell and he limped in from late position. Dan Jensen passed from the small blind and Bernard Lee checked his big blind option. They went heads up to the flop of . Lee led out for 23,500 and Murrell folded. Bernard Lee took down the pot.
Of the 20 hands seen thus far, only three have seen a flop. With the exception of the Koenemann double-up, we've yet to see a showdown or even a turn card.
Ron Koenemann raised to 18,000 from middle position. Action folded around to Samuel Shamburg in the big blind who moved all in. Shamburg had Koenemann covered so it was Koenemann at risk. He made the call and the players showed:
Koenemann:
Shamburg:
Shamburg had Koenemann in a bad spot, but the flop of gave Koenemann outs. The on the turn was just what he needed to take the lead. The on the river helped neither player and Koenemann's flush was best. He doubled through Sam Shamburg.
Of the eight hands played thus far, only one has seen a flop. Preflop raises have been successfully winning the blinds and antes. Nicholas Manganaro took the only pot to see a flop when his lone opponent, Bernard Lee, folded to Manganaro's continuation bet.
Just before play began, the tournament staff brought out the nearly $500,000 and the coveted WSOP Circuit Gold Ring that are up for grabs just to remind everyone what they're playing for.