The Buzio's Contigent
The 2014 World Series of Poker takes place in the convention center of the Rio All-Suite Casino in Las Vegas. The sprawling complex is actually located out back of the Rio and is connected by a long hallway. It really is its own little world.
Occasionally, that world gets too big for its britches, such as here on Day 1c, when the field was so large that a spillover area was needed. That spillover area, which is located near the Rio — up the hall, past the Penn & Teller Theater, and just beyond Hash House A-Go-Go — is known as Buzio's. That's because the area, which is comprised of twelve poker tables, is just outside the Rio's seafood restaurant Buzio's. Makes sense, right?
Anyway, this area, while necessary, is a little inconvenient, especially when it comes to tournament reporting. As such, the players there haven't received as much love as those in the Amazon, Pavilion and Brasilia Rooms. In an attempt to pacify those players, we took a stroll through the Buzio's section where we discovered a half dozen notables, none with more chips than Daniel Alaei.
Alaei, who was sitting on around 100,000, was kind enough to tell us of a big hand that helped him chip up. As he told it, he held 
and defended from the big blind after the player on the button had raised. The 
flop was kind to Alaei, and he ended up check-raising the button's bet of 1,000 up to 3,300. A call was made and Alaei led out for 5,800 on the 
turn. The button called, and then Alaei moved all in when a river gave him a full house.
The button had about 18,000 back and called off with 
for trips. Alaei's boat was good, and that set him on the right path toward a prosperous Day 1c.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
100,000
-11,900
|
-11,900 |
|
||
|
65,000
-5,000
|
-5,000 |
|
55,000
55,000
|
55,000 |
|
||
|
50,000
50,000
|
50,000 |
|
|
||
|
25,000
25,000
|
25,000 |