Argentine pro tops chip count in World Series of Poker Main Event

Professional poker player Richard Dubini of Argentina owned the chip lead at the conclusion of Day 1B of the World Series of Poker’s Main Event.

Dubini scored a double knockout late Sunday in one of the biggest pots of the $10,000 buy-in No-limit Texas Hold ’em World Championship thus far and bagged 254,00 chips.

Lawrence Bayley of Great Britain is second with 247,400, followed by France’s Serge Chechin with 229,800.

Day 1B attracted 2,164 runners, including several notable pros, and was the largest second-day field in the past six years.

The Main Event continues at 11 a.m. Monday with Day 1C, traditionally the largest of the three starting flights.

“I ran like God, really. I think that I play good,” Dubini said. “I don’t really play a lot of big pots, except the last one. That was a hard call for me, but the chip leaders are so aggressive, I have to call.”

Dubini, a regular on the European Poker Tour with more than $1 million in live tournament earnings, eliminated two-time bracelet winner Abe Mosseri and another player in the key hand.

Dubini called two all-in bets after tanking for several minutes and turned a full house to leave his opponents drawing dead.

“I got barbecued,” Mosseri told an acquaintance at a nearby table as he recounted his demise.

High-stakes pro Brandon Adams is in 1oth place and one of several notables near the top of the leaderboard.

Also, Tex Barch, the third-place finisher in the 2005 Main Event, sits 11th and is followed closely by Lebanese pro Albert Daher, who led the chip count for most of the day.

Early cooler

The Main Event has seen some sick hands so far after two days. But one in particular had the tournament floor buzzing well into the evening.

Three-time bracelet winner Vanessa Selbst was eliminated during the first level by Gaelle Baumann when the Frenchwoman made quad sevens against Selbst’s full house.

The hand was shown during ESPN2’s same-day coverage of the Main Event and spread quickly over social media, as well.

Selbst took the beat in stride, as evidenced by this series of tweets.

Daily quads

It’s rare for a player to make four-of-a-kind in Hold ’em. Fatima Nanji did it on two occasions Sunday.

The resident of Vancouver, British Columbia, tripled up during the first level of play when she made quad 10s on the river against two opponents each holding the nut straight. Later, Nanji made quads again when three jacks came out on the board and Nanji was holding king- jack.

Those two hands helped Nanji bag 110,000 chips, which put her in 213th place out of 1,643 remaining Day 1B players.

Hall of Fame

Phil Ivey headlines the list of 10 nominees for the Poker Hall of Fame.

Ivey, a 10-time WSOP bracelet winner, is joined on the ballot for the first time by poker TV producer Mori Eskandani. Also up for nomination are David Chiu, Ted Forrest, Thor Hansen, Mike Matusow, Max Pescatori, Matt Savage, Huckleberry Seed and David “Devilfish” Ulliott (posthumous).

Voting by the 27 members of the Hall of Fame and an 18-person panel of media members will take place this month.

DAY 1B CHIP COUNTS

1. Richard Dubini (Rio Gallegos, Argentina), 254,500

2. Lawrence Bayley (Great Britain), 247,400

3. Serge Chechin (France), 229,800

4. Naoya Kihara (Tokyo), 220,700

5. Sergio Fernandez (Barcelona), 218,800

6. Alan Schein (Fort Washington, Pennsylvania), 218,000

7. Brandon Meyers (Henderson), 216,000

8. Tobias Ziegler (Bruhl, Germany), 215,300

9. Yisheng Cheng, 214,400

10. Brandon Adams (Pensacola, Florida), 203,500