Legends of Poker Set to Award $1.1 Million

Level 29: 150,000-300,000, 40,000 ante

WPT Bicycle, Day 1b Recap By BJ Nemeth With both starting days complete in the books, the official numbers for the WPT Legends of Poker at the Bicycle Casino are in: Number of Players: 373 Prizepool: $3,545,738 Places Paid: 36 First Place: $1,116,428 Of course, many of the players who paid their $10,000 entry fee have already seen their tournament come to an end, and there are only 248 who will return Monday for Day 2. There were 11 players who survived the two starting days with more than 100,000 in chips: 1. Ali Eslami - 158,525 2. Adam Weinraub - 154,750 3. John Smith - 134,125 4. Freddy Deeb - 125,450 5. Armen Momjian - 116,700 6. Justin Scott - 107,325 7. Evan McNiff - 105,675 8. Neal Wang - 103,600 9. Steven Graham - 101,925 10. Sami Rustom - 101,100 11. Mark Seif - 100,050 The big story early was the departure of Phil Ivey, who was moving all in as if he were late for a Lakers game. Less than half an hour into the first level, he moved all in under the gun without even looking at his cards, and Brian Rast called with K-K. Ivey checked his cards to find 3-2 offsuit, and the kings held up to free up Ivey's schedule for whatever it was he seemed so eager to get to. Even without Ivey, that table remained the center of attention most of the day, featuring a tough lineup that included Allen Cunningham, Phil Laak, Maria Ho, Michael Binger, and Van Nguyen. Ivey's empty seat was soon filled by David Williams, who busted later in the day to create an opening for Kathy Liebert. Late in the fourth level, Laak took a break from the table to entertain the room with a prop bet against Cunningham. Laak bet $200 that he could juggle three apples for a full minute, without dropping any of them. Laak joked and warmed up for a bit before completing the task on his first try (he had a time limit of 20 minutes). Cunningham paid, saying that Laak looks so clumsy, he didn't think he could do it. You can find video of the prop bet further down in the live updates. But the tournament plays on, and 248 players are still battling for the $1.1 million first prize. Return to WorldPokerTour.com at 2:00 pm PT on Monday afternoon for live coverage, chip counts, photos, and video interviews with Amanda Leatherman.

Day 1b Comes to an End

Level 29: 150,000-300,000, 40,000 ante

With five levels in the books, Day 1b comes to an end with approximately 140 players left. Day 2 begins tomorrow (Monday) at 2:00 pm PT, and the field will play six levels (one more than today). Official chip counts will be posted later tonight when they are released by the Bicycle Casino.

Phil Laak on Juggling Apples, Motorcycles, Web Toes, and Cats

Level 29: 150,000-300,000, 40,000 ante

How You Like Them Apples

Level 29: 150,000-300,000, 40,000 ante

Bagging Chips and Schedule Changes

Level 29: 150,000-300,000, 40,000 ante

With seven minutes left in the day the tournament director is announcing to the dealers to collect seating cards and get ready for the chip bags to be delivered to their tables. A follow up announcement is also being made that tomorrow the players will be playing six levels instead of the usual five. The starting time will be at 2pm finishing the day up at around 12:15 am.

Shane "Shaniac" Schleger Doubles Up

Level 29: 150,000-300,000, 40,000 ante

Shane "Shaniac" Schleger moves all in for 7,250 from late position and the player on the button makes the call. Everyone folds and both players turn over their cards. Schleger: 44 Button: AQ Board: 766KJ Schleger got it all in with the best hand and managed to fade an ace and a queen, doubling up to just over 15,000 right before the end of the night.

Griffin Eliminated

Level 29: 150,000-300,000, 40,000 ante

With a raise on the button by Gavin Griffin to 1,000 the small blind in seat 2 raises to 7,000. Possibly still tilting from a bluff shown by Seat 2 earlier, Griffin moves all in for 37,000. Seat 2 insta-calls tabling Q-Q to Griffin's A-K. The board runs out nine high and Gavin hits the rail.

Allen Cunningham Is a Bully

Level 29: 150,000-300,000, 40,000 ante

|:img:5808,R:|Allen Cunningham raises from late position, Michael Binger reraises from the cutoff, and Cunningham reraises to put Binger all in. Binger thinks for several minutes before somebody calls the clock, and then Binger quickly makes his decision -- he folds. Cunningham pulls in the pot without showing his cards, and Kathy Liebert says, "Allen is quite the bully. I never knew it, but he's a bully." Phil Laak says, "It was the correct fold, Michael. Even though he didn't have A-K that time, it was the correct fold." After the hand, Cunningham is up to about 80,000 while Binger drops to about 17,500.

Maria Ho vs. Phil Laak

Level 29: 150,000-300,000, 40,000 ante

|:img:5812,L:|With about 9,000 already in the pot and the board showing KK39 on the turn, Phil Laak (in the cutoff) faces a raise from Maria Ho (under the gun) to 6,000. Laak thinks for a while before he calls. The river card is the 8, and Maria Ho pauses for a moment before she checks. Laak starts talking, and after a while, he says, "I guess I have to check." Maria shows AA, but Laak shows KQ for trip kings to win the pot. Laak says he was thinking about betting the river, thinking she might have had a high pocket pair, but he didn't think he'd get a call anyway.

Jackie Chan and Tournament Poker

Level 29: 150,000-300,000, 40,000 ante

With twenty-five minutes left in the day, most players are beginning to relax and prepare to close up shop. Looking around the room the large majority of players are watching the closing ceremonies for the olympics, featuring Jackie Chan singing next to a group of cartoon characters.