Thursday, June 9, 2011 7:53 PM Local Time
| Anders Meli | 1,650,000 | -150,000  |
| Andrea Dato | 1,550,000 | 100,000  |
| Bill Chen | 1,450,000 | -450,000 |
| David Diaz | 1,100,000 | 650,000 |
Thursday, June 9, 2011 7:52 PM Local Time
David Diaz has been the short stack at the final table and survived multiple all ins. He moved all in again preflop and got a call from Andrea Dato.
Showdown:
Diaz:
Dato:
Board:
After pairing on the turn Diaz is now almost even with the table.
Thursday, June 9, 2011 7:38 PM Local Time
In back to back hands David Diaz was all in preflop with an inferior Ace to his opponent and paired the board twice to stay alive.
First, his split with the of Andrea Dato on a board. The very next hand he got it in against Anders Meli this time. His was behind the of Meli until the river when the board came out .
Diaz can only smile and take back the 425,000 that he has left.
Thursday, June 9, 2011 7:34 PM Local Time
Andrea Dato opened from under the gun to 60,000. Corey Hastings called from the small blind and they went heads up to the flop.
The dealer spread the and both players checked. The turn was the and Hastings fired 60,000 which Dato called. The river was the and this time Hastings led for 75,000. Dato decided to move him all in and Hastings called. Dato quickly flipped over for the nuts and Hastings just smiled and turned over two black Aces.
Thursday, June 9, 2011 7:22 PM Local Time
Having been crippled just a few hands earlier, Richard Trigg raised to 60,000 from under the gun. The small blind, Bill Chen, and the big blind, Corey Hastings both called.
The flop was and the two players checked to Trigg who put his last 25,000 into the pot. Chen and Hastings called, each taking their shot to eliminate another player.
The turn was the and both players left with action checked. The river was the and Chen fired out 50,000. Hastings folded and Chen revealed for a wheel. With that, Trigg mucked his hand and became our 6th place finisher.
Thursday, June 9, 2011 7:18 PM Local Time
Anders Meli opened up for 65,000 from under the gun and Richard Trigg raised to 155,000 from the button. Meli moved in and Trigg called.
Showdown:
Meli:
Trigg:
Board:
Meli doubled up to 1.7 million and Trig is left with just under 100,000.
Thursday, June 9, 2011 7:10 PM Local Time
The remaining six players have returned from the dinner break.
Thursday, June 9, 2011 7:09 PM Local Time
Level: 25
Blinds: 15000/30000
Ante: 5000
Thursday, June 9, 2011 6:17 PM Local Time
The six remaining players have just colored up the yellow 1,000 chips for some brand new dark green 25,000 chips and headed off to dinner. We will resume play in about an hour.
Thursday, June 9, 2011 6:16 PM Local Time
| Bill Chen | 1,700,000 | 200,000 |
| Andrea Dato | 1,450,000 | 600,000 |
| Richard Trigg | 900,000 | 36,000 |
| Anders Meli | 825,000 | 325,000 |
| David Diaz | 620,000 | -480,000 |
| Corey Hastings | 420,000 | 20,000 |
Thursday, June 9, 2011 6:15 PM Local Time
Justin Sternberg, having just been crippled, moved all in for his last 180,000 and found a call from Anders Meli.
Sternberg tabled and needed to win a race against the of Meli. The flop was making Sternberg a 97% favorite to Double Up. Meli needed runner-runner straight cards to eliminate Sternberg and as you can tell by the title of this post, that is exactly what he got. The turn was the , the river was the and just like that we are down to six.
Meli now has 825,000 while Sternberg hits the rail in one of the toughest ways possible.
Thursday, June 9, 2011 6:09 PM Local Time
On a board, Justin Sternberg bet 200,000 and Andrea Dato called. The river was the and Sternberg bet again, this time enough to force Dato all in. Dato called and showed for a rivered two pair. Frustrated and in disbelief, Sternberg showed the table two Aces.
Dato now has 1.575 Million and Sternberg becomes our new short stack with just 150,000.
Thursday, June 9, 2011 6:00 PM Local Time
This final table is taking place on the ESPN set which is a great place for people to sweat their friends or just watch great poker. It has three rows of seats on either side of the set and an open area that makes the table viewable from the floor of the Amazon Room. Mixing in among the rail birds already are Gavin Griffin and Filippo Candio.
Thursday, June 9, 2011 5:46 PM Local Time
From early position, Bill Chen raised to 60,000 and action folded around to Andrea Dato in the big blind. Dato decided to move all in with his new found chips and Chen made the call.
Chen:
Dato:
The two were racing and Dato's pair of Fours remained in the lead after the flop. The turn brought an interesting . While it gave Chen an open-ended straight draw, it also gave Dato a flush draw. As a result, Chen lost two outs but gained six others.
The river was none of them though and Dato quadrupled up in just two hands. He now has 850,000 while Chen, still our chip leader, falls to 1,500,000.
Thursday, June 9, 2011 5:39 PM Local Time
First into the pot, David Diaz raised to 48,000. It folded to Andrea Dato who moved all in for 172,000. Corey Hastings isolated the action by re-raising all in. Diaz folded and the cards were on their backs.
Dato:
Hastings:
Dato had to avoid an Ace, something he was unable to do against Trigg. The flop fell . So far so good. The hit the turn and Dato continued to pace around while his rail remained silent for the time being. When the river was the and Dato had officially doubled, he and his friends gave a great big roar that could be heard around the Amazon Room.
Dato's double get him to 415,000 while Hastings is just under that as the new short stack with 400,000.
Thursday, June 9, 2011 5:33 PM Local Time
Diaz opened the pot with a raise to 47,000 and Chen defended his big blind again by making the call.
The flop was and Chen let Diaz keep the aggression when he bet 50,000. Chen, however, check-raised to 150,000 and Diaz thought for a minute before making the call.
The turn was the and Chen wanted to end it right here. He moved all in and forced Diaz to let go of his hand. Chen has moved up to 2.15 Million with the pot while Diaz has fallen back into six figures.
Thursday, June 9, 2011 5:27 PM Local Time
Andrea Dato opened the action with a raise to 48,000 before Richard Trigg moved all in over the top for 400,000. Action folded back around to Andrea who quickly made the call.
Dato:
Trigg:
Trigg was in a lot of trouble but you wouldn't know it by his rail. One of the more vocal groups all day, Trigg has about a dozen friends looking in through from the floor of the Amazon Room. They screamed for an Ace and got on right on the flop. The dealer spread out as the fan base erupted in chants and cheers.
The turn was the and they began screaming for a deuce while Dato paced back and forth looking for a Queen or a Jack. The river wasn't a deuce, but it still shipped Trigg the pot when it fell the .
Trigg is now up to 864,000 while Andrea has become our short stack with 165,000.
Thursday, June 9, 2011 5:18 PM Local Time
Bill Chen opened the action to 51,000 and Nicholas Rampone flatted in position. David Diaz, in the blinds, three bet to 180,000 and Chen moved all in with little hesitation. Rampone began his tank as a call here would put his tournament at risk. After a couple of minutes, he eventually did make the call and Diaz began a tank of his own. He leaned back and forth a few times before finally folding.
When the cards were flipped over, Rampone, our Day 2 chip leader, did not like what he saw. His was dominated by the of Chen. The board ran out which did not improve Rampone's hand and just like that, he is gone.
At one point today, Rampone had nearly 1.6 Million chips with ten players left. But some coolers and lost flips have put him on the rail as our 8th place finisher. With Rampone's chips, Chen has now moved into the chip lead with 1.93 Million.
Thursday, June 9, 2011 5:05 PM Local Time
Level: 24
Blinds: 12000/24000
Ante: 4000
Thursday, June 9, 2011 5:03 PM Local Time
Matthew Henson was able to get his last 235,000 in the middle against David Diaz on a flop.
Henson held the nut flush draw with up against the of Diaz. Henson had 12 outs twice, plus a backdoor straight draw but saw the turn and river brick out to be our 9th Place finisher.