Friday, January 31, 2014 9:32 PM Local Time
David Nicholson Eliminated by Randy Lowery in Massive Pot
(Photo: Randy Lowery (left) looks on as Clifford Billups (right) deliberates what to do in the massive pot)
In one of the biggest pots of the day, three-time ring winner David Nicholson raises to 2,500 from early position, a player shoves all-in behind him for 7,600 total, Randy Lowery calls in the hijack, and Clifford Billups calls from the cutoff.
Action is back on Nicholson, who announces he is all-in for 43,700. It takes a couple of minutes to get a precise count, then Lowery thinks a couple more minutes about what he should do. As he thinks, Nicholson stands silently, while Billups is also out of his seat and pacing to and from the table.
Eventually, Lowery calls and action is on Billups. He eyes Lowery's stack and asks him how much he has left. Lowery still has 50,000 or so behind, which means Billups would still have a six-figure stack should he call and lose the pot.
Billups deliberates for a good two minutes himself before Nicholson politely calls the clock on him. A crowd gathers around the table as a floor person starts counting down Billups' final minute of deliberation.
Billups asks the floor, "If I fold, can I show my hand since everyone is all-in?"
Nicholson points out that Lowery is not all-in at the minute and the floor agrees Billups cannot fold his hand face-up. With less than 20 seconds remaining, Billups folds what he later claims to be pocket sixes.
The remaining players turn over their hands and here is what each has:
Short stack:
Nicholson:
Lowery:
Nicholson appears to be in decent shape to scoop this big pot, as the flop brings no help to his opponents. The turn is a good one for Lowery though, as it brings the , giving him a set, and leaving Nicholson drawing to just one out.
The river is the and the set of eights scoops the giant pot, eliminating both players in the process.
Randy Lowery - 185,000
Clifford Billups - 225,000
David Nicholson - eliminated