Monday, January 30, 2017 12:58 PM Local Time
Cory Smith opens the button with a raise to 60,000, and Scott Stewart defends his big blind.
The flop is , and both players check. The turn is the . Stewart checks again, then calls a small delayed continuation bet from Smith. The river is the , and Stewart checks for a third time. Smith bets 200,000.
"Did you flop it?" Stewart asks. "There are three cards in the deck that beat me. And the Five of Hearts. And Nine-Ten of Hearts. Okay, there are a lot of cards that beat me." Eventually, he calls to see a showdown.
"I flopped it," Smith confirms, tabling for a straight flush.
On the next hand, Martin Ryan opens to 80,000 in middle position, and Smith three-bets to 350,000 in the cutoff. Ryan calls. The flop is , and Ryan check-folds to a big bet. Smith wins that pot, too, and he's now essentially dead even with Scott Stewart atop the leaderboard.
Cory Smith - 3,300,000 (110 bb)
Scott Stewart - 3,300,000 (110 bb)
Monday, January 30, 2017 12:52 PM Local Time
With about 400,000 in the pot and a flop reading , Robert Hankins, in the hijack, checks to Aaron Plaisted on the button. Plaisted also checks, bringing the turn.
Hankins shoves on Plaisted and has him covered. Plaisted calls, flipping over . Hankins tables and calls for a six.
The river is the and Plaisted gets the double.
Aaron Plaisted - 1,300,000 (43 bb)
Robert Hankins - 880,000 (29 bb)
Monday, January 30, 2017 12:46 PM Local Time
Charlie Nguyen pushes out his last 55,000 as an all-in raise from middle position. Action folds to Scott Stewart in the big blind who calls.
Nguyen holds and Scott flips over .
The flop comes . There is a glimmer of hope for Nguyen with a pair of fours now, but the turn is the , bringing him back to square one.
The river is the and Nguyen is official knocked out of the Main Event.
Scott Stewart - 4,400,000 (146 bb)
Charlie Nguyen - Eliminated in 7th place ($28,261)
Monday, January 30, 2017 12:37 PM Local Time
Scott Stewart opens with an under-the-gun raise, and both Charlie Nguyen and Neil Patel call in position.
The flop is , and all three players check. The turn is the . Stewart checks again, Nguyen bets 110,000, Patel calls, and Stewart folds. Heads-up now, the river is the . Nguyen bets 290,000, and Patel raises to 825,000, committing about 80 percent of his remaining stack in the process. Nguyen cuts the amount out of his own stack, seeing that the call would cost him everything except 60,000. After about a minute of pondering, he does call.
Patel shows , winning the pot with the nut flush. Mistakenly believing Nguyen is all in, the dealer exposes his , though he still has a couple big blinds left.
Neil Patel - 2,315,000 (77 bb)
Charlie Nguyen - 60,000 (2 bb)
Monday, January 30, 2017 12:33 PM Local Time
Exactly one hand later after losing a large pot to Charlie Nguyen, Robert Hankins finds himself all in. Martin Ryan opened to 105,000 in the cutoff. Hankins shoves from the small blind. The count equals 735,000. Ryan calls and the two flip their hands.
Hankins shows . Ryan turns over a dominated .
The board runs out and Hankins secures the double up.
Robert Hankins - 1,660,000 (55 bb)
Martin Ryan - 1,745,000 (58 bb)
Monday, January 30, 2017 12:18 PM Local Time
Scott Stewart opens to 60,000 in early position, and he's called in four places.
The flop is . Cory Smith checks from the small blind, and Stewart continues for 165,000. Lytle Allen is next to act, and he raises to 380,000. Aaron Plaisted and Charlie Nguyen fold, as does Smith. Stewart does not fold, though. He moves all in for just less than 1,000,000 effective, and Allen quickly calls to put himself at risk.
Stewart: (straight/flush draws)
Allen: (pair of tens)
The on the turn fills Stewart's flush, and Allen needs to find another heart on the river to stay alive. It's the blank , though, and Stewart wins the pot with a ten-high flush to extend his chip lead.
Allen, who was making his third Main Event final table appearance of the season, is eliminated in eighth place.
Scott Stewart - 3,850,000 (128 bb)
Lytle Allen - Eliminated in 8th place ($22,436)
Monday, January 30, 2017 12:09 PM Local Time
Martin Ryan opens to 105,000 in middle position, and Chris Davis three-bet shoves for about 350,000 in the big blind. Ryan calls to put his opponent at risk.
Ryan:
Davis:
The board runs out , and Davis can not catch up. He's eliminated in ninth place as Ryan wins the pot with aces up.
Martin Ryan - 2,425,000 (81 bb)
Chris Davis - Eliminated in 9th place ($17,824)
Monday, January 30, 2017 12:02 PM Local Time
Cards are in the air.
Monday, January 30, 2017 12:02 PM Local Time
Level: 26
Blinds: 15,000/30,000
Ante: 5,000
Monday, January 30, 2017 11:46 AM Local Time
Eleven of the series' 12 gold rings have already been awarded, and the last one remaining in the display case is the one encrusted with diamonds. The $1,675 Main Event is down to the final nine players, with the jewelry and a top prize of nearly $200,000 awaiting the winner.
Here's the remaining lineup:
Seat 1: Neil Patel - 1,545,000 (52 bb)
Seat 2: Martin Ryan - 2,335,000 (78 bb)
Seat 3: Cory Smith - 1,545,000 (52 bb)
Seat 4: Robert Hankins - 750,000 (25 bb)
Seat 5: Scott Stewart - 2,765,000 (92 bb)
Seat 6: Lytle Allen - 945,000 (32 bb)
Seat 7: Chris Davis - 375,000 (13 bb)
Seat 8: Aaron Plaisted - 870,000 (29 bb)
Seat 9: Charlie Nguyen - 1,100,000 (37 bb)
Scott Stewart is already a four-time ring winner, and he's been the man setting the pace for the field for the majority of the last three days. Robert Hankins (pictured) has six of those rings them already, including two Main Event titles, and another one would put him in some elite company in the Circuit's history books. Martin Ryan has three rings of his own, scooping all of them over the course of the last six months. The rest of the table is playing for what would be their first Circuit victory.
Here are the remaining payouts up for grabs:
1st: $192,152
2nd: $118,849
3rd: $86,907
4th: $64,489
5th: $48,522
6th: $37,012
7th: $28,621
8th: $22,436
9th: $17,824
Blinds will be 15,000/30,000 with a 5,000 ante when play resumes, putting the average stack at 45 big blinds. Cards go in the air at noon.