Afternoon and Into the Night

Barry Greenstein was one of the name pros selecting Day 1A to get started at the World Series of Poker Main Event. It wasn’t the crazy online donkfest of maybe two years ago, but the room was slam-filled with players, railbirds, and alternates.

One of the pros playing today was Greenstein’s protege, Mimi Tran. It’s good to get a massage right before the dinner break; it means that you’re still in and relaxed enough to sit through someone grinding away at your muscles. Tran was a freight train at the table after a slow start.

Matt Matros isn’t a solid, tight player. He’s just a sound player, sound meaning that he has anything you might need in your arsenal to succeed at the felt. He was in no rush but had doubled up by the afternoon.

Bad beat stories weren’t as prevalent so far, as the thick starting stack allowed players to be as patient as they liked. This guy knows there are some good beat stories out there, too.

After snapping this photo, the 8s (out of picture) says, “We should start charging for taking her picture.” Without missing a beat, she said, “I do during the day.”

Minh Ly held a good stack after the dinner break, no stranger now to anyone at the table after his play on High Stakes Poker. There were some casualties today. Tony G had a rough day, just not getting anything going. Dan Harrington had his trademark cap and the respect literally of the entire room. He left to a round of applause as Mike Sexton busted him late in the day. His books on holdem have advanced play over the last year, but he’ll have to watch from the sidelines for the rest of the Main Event.

Clonie Gowen had high hopes for the World Series of Poker. She cashed in the Main Event last year, but her expectations were high. She’s been featured recently in Maxim, and FullTilt Poker would have liked a string of cashes and final tables in the 2006 WSOP. She only cashed once this year for $2,274 in Event #2 $1.5k NLHE. Gowen’s struggled through the day today, chips slipping away hour after hour. She left right before the dinner break. Hopefully her World Series experience this year will accelerate her development, steeling her resolve to realize her full potential.