WSOP Day 1C: Can you bring back a new house, dad?
By Simon Young
It’s normal for a father to take a present home for the kids when he’s been away. A new toy, clothes or music would be the norm. But Phil Green is on no ordinary trip, so his young daughter felt justified in asking for a slightly extravagant present, announcing: “I’d like a new house, please.”
“I guess that puts the pressure on a bit,” joked Phil, a lawyer from Essex in the UK. “But all I can do is try my best. All I ask is that if and when I get busted, I had the best hand when the money went in.”
Phil Green feeling at home on his table
Phil qualified on PartyPoker for this $10,000 marathon with just a $7 satellite. It could be the best $7 he ever spent. But first he has to beat a likely total field of 6,300 to get to the enormous first prize that will almost certainly rocket through the $8 million mark.
After two two-hour levels he was slightly down on his 20,000 starting stack. “I really have not had any cards,” he said at the break. “Only a couple of times, aside from when I’m in the big blind and checking, have I been involved in any pots.”
Things took a turn for the better in level three when his stack had gone back above 20,000 – hence his cheery grin on the picture above.
Meanwhile, Swedish qualifier Bo Christiansen is going along really nice – half way through level three he was up to over 80,000 and looking a real threat to the rest of the table.
Sven Kasehube got to Vegas for just $2 on PartyPoker
Another PartyPoker qualifer, Sven Kasehube from Hamburg, Germany, is not getting great hands and is still on about 15,000.
He qualified on Party for just $2, so he recognises he’s onto a winner no matter what happens in the tournament itself. “I play online for a hobby only, so to get here is brilliant. I’m a little nervous, but who wouldn’t be playing the world’s biggest tournament? All I can ask for is a good mix on my table and the chance to beat a few pros.”
Sven, 31, is in Vegas with his wife Yvonne, and both say they are having a fantastic time. Like our other qualifiers, they are staying at the swish MGM Grand Hotel right on the Strip.
Not such a good time for PartyPoker ambassador Mike Sexton, however, who busted just before the end of level two. Down to just 3,000 chips, he tossed them all in with his strong A-K. He looked likely to double up when his opponent called, flipping over the dominated K-J. The poker gods had other ideas, and the flop of J-J-5 sent him spinning to the exit.
