Saturday, July 14, 2007 | 12:37 p.m.
DAY: 8 (Officially known as Day 4)
BIG NEWS: Adam White moved into the chip lead after several hours of play Friday with 2.8 million in chips, followed by Jon Kalmar with 2.2 million and Josh Evans with 2 million. Copenhagen-born pro Gus Hansen was in contention with 1.3 million.
STUD OF THE DAY: Legally blind Hal Lubarsky, a 46-year-old Las Vegas poker pro, made it several hours into Friday with the aid of assistant Jason Williams, who narrated the action and whispered his hole cards into his ear. Lubarsky retired from live poker playing about three years ago because he couldn't see his own cards, much less the flop, but he continued online with help from an assistant. Lubarsky said he can make out about two different colors of chips, and places his own bets, but needs help separating out chips when he wins. Even without the stare-down, Lubarsky said he can figure out what other players are holding. "My whole 25-year career, I never really worried about tells," he said. "I've just learned how they play, what hands they play, what bets they make and how they play the hand."
BUSTED OUT: "Spiderman" actor Tobey Maguire, "Simpsons" co-creator Sam Simon; poker pros Lubarsky, 2001 main event champion Carlos Mortensen.
POKER TALK: Gut-shot straight draw: When only one card will fill out a player's hand to make a straight. For example, if a player is holding a queen and 10 and an ace and jack are on the board. A king and only a king will fill out the player's straight. 22-year-old Texan online player Josh Evans called an all-in player with a gut-shot, but busted him with three twos. "Another guy had a gut-shot," Evans said. "He missed it and I knocked him out."
UP NEXT: Saturday, officially Day 5 of play, will consist of the surviving 100 players from Friday (or the number left after nine hours of play) and is scheduled to play down until there are only 36 left.
HE SAID WHAT?: "If they think they know me, maybe they do, maybe they don't." - Poker pro Gus Hansen, asked whether his frequent TV appearances have made his play more predictable to the poker-playing public.
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