Pokernews caught this hand on a flop of 10♥9♦8♥ with about 2,500 in the middle and all five players at the table involved. After the action checked around to Ramon Espejo on the button he fired over a pot-sized bet of 3,000. Only the under the gun player made the call and they headed to the turn.
The 7♦ on the turn got checked through, and the 3♣ fell on the river. After it was checked to him, Espajo put out a bet of 1,000 only to instantly announce that he had misread the chip denominations and had intended to bet more. It didn't seem to matter though as the under the gun player folded to the small bet. Espajo dragged in an early pot to settle those World Series of Poker nerves.
PokerNews arrived at the table to see D'Angelo Boyland, who started the hand under the gun, had moved all in for his last 6,100 on a board of Q♥6♣5♣. His opponent made the call from early position to put Boyland at risk.
D'Angelo Boyland: 8♣8♥
Early Position: A♠5♠
Boyland was on his feet pleading with the dealer to keep him alive in the event. The 6♦ turn and 4♦ river gave Boyland the double as he announced to the room "This is my first World Series of Poker Double".
There was one limp from the Wen Li in the hijack. Gregory Darcelin raised to 600 from the big blind, and both the hijack and Sean Balfour in the small blind called.
The flop came down 6♦8♣A♣ and the blinds checked to the hijack who bet 100. Both the small blind and the big blind called.
The river was the 5♦ and it checked around.
When the river brought a 7♠ Balfour led out for 1100 and was called by both Darcelin and Li.
At showdown Darcelin tabled Q♦Q♣ and Li flipped over A♦10♥. Balfour mucked and Li took down the 5200 chip pot.
Will Shillibier
Casino Employees Event Defending Champion Peter Thai
Welcome back to PokerNews, the official media partner of the 2024 World Series of Poker and home of live updates from all bracelet events.
Today sees the start of Event #2: $500 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold'em here at Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas.
This two-day event gets underway at 2 p.m. local time with late registration open for nine levels. This event allows for one reentry. There will be 15-minute breaks every three levels, with a 60-minute dinner break at the end of Level 9 (~8:30 p.m.)
The starting stack is 25,000 chips with the plan for Day 1 to play 15 40-minute levels or down to 15 percent of the field, whichever is later. For the surviving players, Day 2 resumes at 1 p.m. Wednesday and plays down to a winner.
Last year’s event was the third-largest Casino Employees Event in history, with a field of 1,015 entries generating a prize pool of $426,300. The winner was Peter Thai who defeated James Urbanic heads-up to win $75,535 and his first WSOP bracelet.
"I never expected to win," Thai told PokerNews. "I came here just wanting to have fun and one thing led to another. It was an unforgettable experience.”
Year
Entries
Winner
Country
Payout
2023
1,015
Peter Thai
United States
$75,535
2022
832
Katie Kopp
United States
$65,168
2021
419
James Barnett
United States
$39,013
2020
-
Not held
-
-
2019
686
Nicholas Haynes
United States
$62,345
2018
566
Jordan Hufty
United States
$61,909
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The Casino Employees is the second event getting underway on the first day of the 2024 WSOP, with Event #1: Champions Reunion getting underway at 12 p.m.
Two-time WSOP Player of the Year Daniel Negreanu (pictured) went for a whopping $132 in the $25,000 Fantasy Draft last night. Catch up with all the picks, actions and more in our recap article.
Speaking of Player of the Year, new rule changes may lead to a shake-up in this year's contest. Players will now need a minimum of five results to qualify for the title. Furthermore, only their top ten points results will count towards their final score
