Sunday, June 24, 2012 10:53 PM Local Time
Stud-8
Oleksii Kovalchuk brought it in with the , Danny Ratigan completed with the , then Kovalchuk raised and Ratigan called. Ratigan check-called on fourth, bet out on fifth and was called, then both checked sixth. Seventh street was dealt...
Ratigan: / /
Kovalchuk: / /
Ratigan bet, and after a bit of thought Kovalchuk made the call. Ratigan announced all he had was the pair of fives showing, and Kovalchuk turned over for two pair, sevens and sixes.
That one moves Kovalchuk up over 1 million and near Gregorich, while Ratigan is now on the short stack.
| Oleksii Kovalchuk | 1,150,000 | 460,000  |
| Danny Ratigan | 160,000 | -255,000  |
Sunday, June 24, 2012 10:35 PM Local Time
Stud-8
| George Danzer | / / |
| Danny Ratigan | / / |
| Mark Gregorich | / / |
Danzer checked on fourth street, Ratigan bet, and both players called. The same action occurred on fifth, and on sixth, the action checked to Gregorich. He bet, and only Danzer called.
Danzer check-called one more bet on seventh, and Gregorich tabled for the wheel. He scooped the pot, and now has 1.2 million chips.
| Mark Gregorich | 1,200,000 | 205,000 |
| George Danzer | 425,000 | -215,000 |
| Danny Ratigan | 415,000 | -170,000 |
Sunday, June 24, 2012 10:21 PM Local Time
| Mark Gregorich | 995,000 | 140,000 |
| Oleksii Kovalchuk | 690,000 | 110,000 |
| George Danzer | 640,000 | -225,000 |
| Danny Ratigan | 585,000 | 30,000 |
Sunday, June 24, 2012 10:17 PM Local Time
Level: 26
Blinds: 0/0
Ante: 0
Sunday, June 24, 2012 10:14 PM Local Time
Omaha-8
George Danzer raised from the cutoff, and Mark Gregorich called from the big blind. Gregorich led after the flop, Danzer raised, and Gregorich called. Gregorich then check-called both the turn and river.
Danzer tabled — he'd made a wheel — and Gregorich mucked. Those two are now virtually even for the chip lead with four left.
| George Danzer | 865,000 | 230,000 |
| Mark Gregorich | 855,000 | -167,000 |
Sunday, June 24, 2012 10:09 PM Local Time
Stud-8
After losing a sizable pot to George Danzer, Yuval Bronshtein completed with a . Danny Ratigan, who brought it in, called.
Ratigan: / /
Bronshtein: / /
The money went in on fourth street, and Bronshtein opened up for a pair of queens. Ratigan had a monster draw with .
"Want to trade hands?" Bronshtein joked.
Bronshtein picked up two pair on fifth, while Ratigan was dealt a meaningless pair of deuces. The was pretty much gin for Ratigan on sixth however, and Bronshtein failed to fill up on sixth. His downcard was a meaningless , eliminating him from the tournament.
Bronshtein's rail gave him a rousing round of applause, and he was all smiles as he exited.
| Danny Ratigan | 785,000 | 140,000 |
| Yuval Bronshtein | 0 | -270,000 |
Sunday, June 24, 2012 9:55 PM Local Time
Stud-8
Oleksii Kovalchuk completed with the showing, George Danzer raised with the up, and Kovalchuk called. Danzer picked up the on fourth and checked, and Kovalchuk bet after getting the . Danzer called.
Both players picked up face cards on fifth, Danzer checked, Kovalchuk bet, Danzer raised, and Kovalchuk called with his remaining chips.
Kovalchuk: /
Danzer: /
Danzer drew the on sixth for aces while Kovalchuk was dealt the . Seventh street was dealt face down, and Danzer quickly flipped up his non-improving . Kovalchuk squeezed his... the ! He'd made a straight to grab the high and a low to boot, and doubled up.
| George Danzer | 635,000 | -30,000 |
| Oleksii Kovalchuk | 345,000 | 190,000 |
Sunday, June 24, 2012 9:46 PM Local Time
Stud-8
Yuval Bronshtein: / /
Mark Gregorich: / (FOLDED)
Oleksii Kovalchuk: / /
There was a completion and a raise on third street, and on fourth, all three players checked. Bronshtein led out on fifth, Gregorich released, and Kovalchuk raised enough to put Bronshtein all in. He called.
Bronshtein:
Kovalchuk:
The on sixth gave Bronshtein two pair, and Kovalchuk couldn't make a winning low or trips. Bronshtein scooped the pot, doubling to 270,000 chips.
| Yuval Bronshtein | 270,000 | 148,000 |
| Oleksii Kovalchuk | 155,000 | -91,000 |
Sunday, June 24, 2012 9:40 PM Local Time
Omaha-8
After winning a pot off of Oleksii Kovalchuk, George Danzer raised. Danny Ratigan made it three bets, Danzer made it four bets, and Ratigan made it five bets. Danzer called.
The flop came down , and Danzer check-called a bet. The turn was the , and Danzer checked again. Ratigan fired a bet, and Danzer was forced to fold.
| George Danzer | 665,000 | 16,000 |
| Danny Ratigan | 645,000 | 239,000 |
| Oleksii Kovalchuk | 246,000 | -350,000 |
Sunday, June 24, 2012 9:32 PM Local Time
Omaha-8
Norman Chad returned from the dinner break with but 53,000, and after giving up the big and small blinds, was down to just 30,000.
Then came a hand in which chip leader Mark Gregorich raised from under the gun, and it folded to Chad. He checked his cards, then glanced at the few orange and pink chips he had left. Then one by one Chad set out a Visa credit card and his AAA card (see photo).
"This one has a $50,000 limit," he noted, pointing at the credit card. He then pushed his chips forward. "I'm betting these, plus another $15,800," he explained.
All laughed, the blinds folded, and the players tabled their cards. "I like your hand," Chad said as he saw Gregorich's . Meanwhile Chad pulled back his Visa and AAA cards and tabled his .
The board ran out , giving Gregorich a flush and the nut low, and the crowd cheered as Chad shook hands with his opponents before departing in sixth. Not quite a "beyond fairy tale" finish for the commentator, but highly impressive nonetheless.
| Norman Chad | 0 | -58,000 |
Sunday, June 24, 2012 9:17 PM Local Time
Level: 25
Blinds: 0/0
Ante: 0
Sunday, June 24, 2012 8:26 PM Local Time
The remaining six players have reached the end of Level 24 and the one-hour dinner break.
Sunday, June 24, 2012 8:25 PM Local Time
| Mark Gregorich | 1,022,000 | -53,000 |
| George Danzer | 649,000 | -96,000 |
| Oleksii Kovalchuk | 596,000 | 161,000 |
| Danny Ratigan | 406,000 | -27,000 |
| Yuval Bronshtein | 122,000 | -103,000 |
| Norman Chad | 53,000 | 0 |
Sunday, June 24, 2012 8:22 PM Local Time
Stud-8
In the next-to-last hand before the dinner break, Norman Chad completed with the showing, Danny Ratigan raised with the , and Chad called. Chad led with bets on the next three streets, with Ratigan calling each time. The pair then both checked on seventh.
Ratigan had showing, and turned over for two pair, sevens and fours. Meanwhile, Chad's third through sixth had gone for a pair of eights, and his down cards hadn't improved his hand.
| Danny Ratigan | 428,000 | 318,500 |
| Norman Chad | 58,000 | -166,500 |
Sunday, June 24, 2012 8:19 PM Local Time
Stud-8
| Norman Chad | / / |
| Oleksii Kovalchuk | / / |
Chad completed, Kovalchuk raised, and Chad called. Chad check-called a bet on fourth street, then led out on fifth, going all in for 29,000. Kovalchuk called.
Chad's queens held, and Kovalchuk was unable to make a low. Chad doubled to just over 200,000 chips.
| Oleksii Kovalchuk | 435,000 | -170,000 |
| Norman Chad | 210,000 | 125,000 |
Sunday, June 24, 2012 8:15 PM Local Time
Stud-8
| George Danzer | / / |
| Mark Gregorich | / / |
Danzer brought it in, Gregorich completed, and Danzer called. Gregorich led out on fourth street, Danzer called, and then Gregorich slowed down, check-calling a bet on fifth. Gregorich decided to lead again on sixth, and Danzer called.
On seventh, Gregorich fired once more, and Danzer called.
Both players had a sixty-five low, but Gregorich's was better. He also had a spade flush, so he scooped the entire pot to cross the million-chip mark.
| Mark Gregorich | 1,075,000 | 240,000 |
| George Danzer | 745,000 | -145,000 |
Sunday, June 24, 2012 8:06 PM Local Time
Mark Gregorich completed with the showing, and Yuval Bronshtein called with the up. The action on Norman Chad, he checked his cards and looked down for a moment at the he had up, then at the small stack of 85,000 he had remaining.
Chad then fished a fortune cookie from his pocket, unwrapped it, and while chewing read the rectangular slip of paper to himself. With a wrinkled brow, he shared it with the table.
"Within the week you will receive an unexpected gift," he said, a note of incredulity in his voice. "That's kind of vague," he complained. "Mmm... good cookie, though," he added as he folded.
Bronshtein then check-called bets from Gregorich on the next two streets before both players checked down sixth and seventh.
Gregorich: / /
Bronshtein: / /
Chad: / , a crumpled piece of paper, and some crumbs
Gregorich tabled , and his sevens were enough as Bronshtein mucked.
| Mark Gregorich | 835,000 | 50,000 |
| Yuval Bronshtein | 225,000 | -50,000 |
| Norman Chad | 85,000 | -10,000 |
Sunday, June 24, 2012 7:58 PM Local Time
| George Danzer | 890,000 | -15,000 |
| Mark Gregorich | 785,000 | -60,000 |
| Oleksii Kovalchuk | 605,000 | 90,000 |
| Danny Ratigan | 276,000 | -39,000 |
| Yuval Bronshtein | 275,000 | 38,000 |
| Norman Chad | 95,000 | -165,000 |
Sunday, June 24, 2012 7:53 PM Local Time
Stud-8
| George Danzer | / / |
| Yuval Bronshtein | / / |
| Norman Chad | / (FOLDED) |
The action checked to Danzer on fourth street, and he tossed out a bet. Only Bronshtein called. Bronshtein check-called another bet on fifth, and when Danzer made a better board on sixth, he led out. Bronshtein called.
Danzer led again on seventh, but Bronshtein couldn't make the call. Danzer scooped the pot, and now has over 900,000 chips.
| George Danzer | 905,000 | 130,000 |
| Yuval Bronshtein | 237,000 | -68,000 |
Sunday, June 24, 2012 7:45 PM Local Time
Stud-8
Mark Gregorich brought it in with the up, Norman Chad completed with the , and Gregorich called. Gregorich caught the on fourth street to make an open pair, but check-called Chad's bets on fourth, fifth, and sixth. Gregorich then led with a bet on seventh, and Chad called.
Gregorich: / /
Chad: / /
"Trips," said Gregorich as he showed his down cards — . Chad looked over at his opponent's hand, then turned over to show he'd made aces and sixes. Gregorich scooped the pot.
| Mark Gregorich | 845,000 | 168,000 |
| Norman Chad | 260,000 | -205,000 |