Sunday, September 19, 2010 7:53 PM Local Time
Justin Smith pushed preflop for around 5,600 with and found someone else pushing behind him with the old . A fair uninteresting board, coming was enough to end Smith's sojourn in this tournament after a countdown revealed he was the shorter of the two stacks.
Sunday, September 19, 2010 7:49 PM Local Time
Daniel 'UpTheMariners' Rudd is toast. He was all in with versus , but could quite survive a cruel board.
Sunday, September 19, 2010 7:46 PM Local Time
Full Tilt Players Allen Cunningham and Justin Smith have left voids where they once were. Details of the Smith exit coming right up.
Sunday, September 19, 2010 7:43 PM Local Time
Martin Hogarty has been eliminated by Song Lee who moved up to 20,000 chips. We reached the action at the river where the board read . Hogarty was first to speak from the BB and he pushed all-in for 3,050 (pot was about 8k by now) and Lee made the call after he got a count. Hogart tabled but lost out to Lee's .
Sunday, September 19, 2010 7:42 PM Local Time
Phil Laak has been eliminated from the event, he had previously 3-bet against a raise and a call. The originally raiser folded but then the caller pushed and Laak himself folded.
We saw Laak's chips being moved across to the button when he was in the cut-off, the latter holding to his and a king-high board indicating that maybe he had mistimed a move.
Either way, he has been knocked out of the event.
Sunday, September 19, 2010 7:41 PM Local Time
After exploding out of the blocks like Carl Lewis with a rocket up his rear, Frank Kassela's stack has gradually headed south, currently as low as 4,700.
The latest munch of his chips came on an board, Kassela calling bets of 800 and 1,500 on the final two streets.
Kassela showed an ace, but his opponent held for the turned trips and the two-time bracelet winner was forced to relenquish the pot.
Sunday, September 19, 2010 7:30 PM Local Time
Erik Seidel just took a small pot off Stephen Chidwick to move up to 13,000. A player limped in mid-position and Seidel completed from the SB and Chidwick checked his option. The flop came and Seidel's lead for 400 was only called by Chidwick. The turn came and Seidel took the pot control route when he check-called Chidwick's 1,100 bet.
Both players checked the river and Seidel took the pot with his as Chidwick mucked. Chidwick still cruising on 25,000 though.
Sunday, September 19, 2010 7:29 PM Local Time
Our big-pot bugle (a.k.a. Phil Laak) alerted us to a "three-way minimum" all-in on the table nearest the bar, the decision resting on Surinder Sunar on the button who was contemplating joining the party and throwing his remaining 2,750 into the mix.
With reluctance, Sunar made the fold and three sets of cards were revealed, Ollie Nelson ( ) and Freddy Deeb ( ) in need of divine assistance against the small blind's .
For Deeb at least, the Poker Gods were wide awake as the flop came to send him into the lead with three knaves. Although the turn teased a cheeky flush, the river bricked out with the and Deeb tripled through.
As Simpson and a stunned small blind rose from their seat, a disgruntled Sunar revealed that he folded a would-have-been-triumphant . But you have to be in it to win it, and that mantle ultimately went to the two-time bracelet winner. He was all in for 6,175, and now has around 20,000 as a result.
"What a great dealer you are," he smiled as the dealer pushed him the pot.
Sunday, September 19, 2010 7:19 PM Local Time
Most of the players are back from dinner break. Regardless, we carry on. Three more levels of play before we're done for the night. With the rate they were falling before dinner I hope we have some players left by end of level nine.
Sunday, September 19, 2010 5:45 PM Local Time
A 90 minute break is starting so all our American friends can go off and catch up on all the Football action from across the pond. Play will resume about 8.15 BST
Sunday, September 19, 2010 5:43 PM Local Time
No relation of Harry, Maria Demetriou is actually the niece of poker player Peter Costa and is keen to carry on the family tradition. She opened to 600 from the button and Nikolay Evdakov made the call out of the big blind.
Both players checked the flop and the turn before Evdakov also checked the river. Demetriou now fired out 1,000 on the river and the Russian made the call only to tap the table when she showed
Sunday, September 19, 2010 5:40 PM Local Time
Levi Twinley and Kamal Choraria have been trading blows again. Allen Cunningham was also involved although as he recently joined the table he wouldn't have known the history between the two. The river was already out to give the board a look. Twinley led for 1,750 and without seeing this bet Choraria threw out a bet that was more than 50% bigger than Twinley's. A floor-man ruled that the bet had to be a raise to to 3,500 and this was enough to discourage Cunningham. Twinley called and announced "flush" but soon mucked upon seeing Choraria's for a flopped full-house.
Twinley down to 9,000 but Choraria's up to 35,000.
Sunday, September 19, 2010 5:28 PM Local Time
Richard Ashby must be a Star Trek fan as he continues to 'cling on' by the skin of teeth. He was previously down to just 800, but despite building up a stack, he's now slipped to 1,750 and was last seen pushing all in from the button. Both the blinds released their hands and Ashby lived to fight another day.
His first recorded win came in a Seven-Card Stud event back in 2001, but since then Ashby has collated a near $1.2 million in live tournament winnings including final table appearances in the Aussie Millions, GUKPT, WSOP and UK Open.
Richard's greatest moment, however, came at this year's World Series when he won his first bracelet, taking down the $1,500 Seven Card-Stud event for $140,467. Two weeks later, he finished second in the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship for a further $378,027.
Now back on home soil, Ashby will be looking to make up for that near miss and snap up his second bracelet here at the Empire Casino. He's got the talent, but at the moment he doesn't have a stack, and with players like Tony Cousineau starting to pull away from the pack, Ashby will be keen to double up before the upcoming dinner break.
Sunday, September 19, 2010 5:22 PM Local Time
He may be small but he's a big presence at a poker table. Freddy Deeb opened to 600 from the cut-off to face a raise to 1,625 from Phil Laak on the button. Deeb counted how much he had (5,175 total) and said "I gamble with you" and moved all-in. Laak though for a while and flashed a king before folding.Deeb flashed a queen and scooped.
Sunday, September 19, 2010 5:21 PM Local Time
We have to be careful that we don't run out of players today as they continue to fall like lemmings on a tightrope.
The latest to lose his balance was Simon Mairs, pushing all in for around 12 big blinds with before being snap-called by a preflop limper who'd slow-played . No change on the board and Mairs' venture for bracelet gold came to a halt.
Just 69 remain.
Sunday, September 19, 2010 5:17 PM Local Time
Ladies and gentlemen, you're gonna need a bigger boat.
A player had limped in middle position and Tony Cousineau raised to 1,000 on the button. The flop came which both players checked before a flurry of activity on the turn saw all the money quickly going in. The other player must have been pretty happy with his but Cousineau had flopped the top boat with which avoided the case six on the river.
Cousineau now on 27,000 here in the Shadow room on the only table remaining up here.
Sunday, September 19, 2010 5:09 PM Local Time
As the cards were revealed, Ollie Simpson realised that he'd need to dunk himself into a tub of Vaseline to squirm his way out of this one, his in dyer shape against .
But despite a blank flop, and equally raggy turn, the river brought a dramatic to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
"It was the getting up out of your chair that did it," observed neighbour Phil Laak. "That added three percent onto your chances."
As a result of his slice of last-second fortune, Simpson has climbed himself up to 7,750.
Sunday, September 19, 2010 5:07 PM Local Time
James Akenhead is out after "losing a race" as he described it. He'll be back for the main event where he final tabled last year.
Sunday, September 19, 2010 5:01 PM Local Time
Mike Matusow has been eliminated, he managed to spin up his 700 to 1,700 when his outdrew on a board.
Next hand and Matusow pushed all-in again, called by the same player with again. Matusow flipped but couldn't survive this time on a board.
Sunday, September 19, 2010 4:59 PM Local Time
Claire Renaut is up to 13,000 after making a diamond flush against Stian Johannessen. The flop was out as and led for 600 from the cut-off and was called by Renaut on the button. The turn came and when Johannessen led for 1,275 the French lady moved all-in for 4,425. Call.
Renaut tabled for flush and straight draws but was behind to Johannessen's for two-pair. The river came to make the flush for Renaut. Johannessen's still okay in 11,000.