Event #36: $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em

We've reached the requisite ten-level mark, and the chips have been bagged up for one more overnight soak.

Once again, we're going to spare a lot of words here; our ears are ringing from the commotion we've just witnessed over the last four hours or so.

From our starting field of 1,734, just five players remain in the hunt for the bracelet. One of them, Thomas Middleton, was the one responsible for most of the noise tonight as his cheering section of countrymen were well lubricated with alcohol and very much a part of the battle being played out before them. Beers were imbibed from shoes -- yep, true story -- spilled onto the floor, and poured two-by-two down the throats of all in attendance as the dull roar rose to a deafening thunder of chanting by night's end.

And there's reason to cheer. Middleton is atop the pack heading into the final day, but the bracelet can not be won by his fans on the rail tomorrow. He'll have to deal with another Thomas on his left, Thomas Miller who held the chip lead for most of the day until a slide late in the evening. Also still in the hunt for his first bracelet is former APPT champion Eddy Sabat, and the two wild cards, Mikhail Lakhitov of Russia and Hassan Babajane from Boston.

The five of them will be back inside the Amazon Room Friday afternoon at 2:30pm to finish this thing out. Here's how they'll stack up when play recommences:

That's all we have for tonight, and our eardrums need some time to recover. We'll be back in about 12 hours, though, and one of these five men will own their first gold bracelet by the time the day is done.

Until then, all that's left is goodnight!

Under the gun, Hassan Babajane opened to 175,000, and he found a call from Eddy Sabat in the big blind. Heads up, the flop came      , and Sabat check-called a bet of 175,000 from Babajane. That led them to the   turn, and Sabat checked again. This time, Babajane fired out what looked like 500,000 straight, and Sabat cut his stack down, thought it over, and released.

Thomas Miller opened for 185,000 on the button and Eddy Sabat moved in from the small blind. Miller called and tabled     and Sabat revealed    . The board ran           and Sabat doubled to three million.

We've been trying to find a way to describe the atmosphere in here right now, but it's almost beyond words. Suffice it to say that there's essentially constant yelling from the British fans, covering the range of topics from Tim Henman to "Port-a-Loos" to the local tourist bar, Stoney's. It's mostly nonsense, and they've begun to press in along the rails as the hands go on and the beverages continue to flow. Just now, one of them (Matt Perrins) spilled an entire beer over the ropes and onto the stage of the secondary featured table. Security is having a word with the gentlemen right now.

This party might be coming to an end as security begins to encircle the group.

Or maybe not. From across the rail, the Americans are now shouting, "Let them stay! Let them stay!"

Even the big man Dennis walked over to talk to the group. He couldn't get a word in as everyone began screaming, "Dennis, give us a wave. Dennis, Dennis, give us a wave!" They spilled beer on his shoes, but he just laughed and asked them one more time to behave themselves.

If we had one word to describe the scene, we'd go with "chaos". If we had two, we'd take "utter chaos". A pair of security guards have just escorted Perrins away from the table, and they had to deal with a barrage of full-throated chants and name calling as they tried to sort out the situation.

Thomas Miller opened for 125,000 from the button and Eddy Sabat called from the big blind. The flop came       and both players checked. The turn came   and Sabat check-called 105,000 from Miller. The river came   and both players checked. Sabat turned over     and Miller mucked.

Eddy Sabat opened for a raise on the button and Mikhail Lakhitov and Hassan Babajane came along in the blinds. The flop came       and all three players checked. The turn came  , Lakhitov bet out 100,000, Babajane folded and Sabat raised to 230,000. Lakhitov called and the river came  . Both players checked and Lakhitov turned over     and Sabat mucked.