Table Three is a terrifying place to be, featuring as it does Messrs. Dario Minieri, Pascal Perrault and Marc Naalden, as well as Ms. Barbara Martinez.
Over on Table Eight things are hotting up as well, as Peter Eastgate has finally arrived to take his seat a couple places over from Vitaly Lunkin...
Peter Eastgate was on our initial list of registrants this morning, but he was nowhere to be found on our Danish scavenger hunt. Returning from the first break, though, Mr. Eastgate has magically appeared at table in the center of the room, sharing the felt with Vitaly Lunkin. Together, they have earned nearly $15 million in tournament poker, a fact that should have the other seven players at their table cowering in fear.
As he was taking his seat, Eastgate was propositioned by Dario Minieri for a last-longer bet. The World Champ is usually good for a few side bets, but he politely declined this time around.
Laurent Lagreve didn't know what he was getting into when he opened to 650 from middle position. When action folded to Freddy Deeb in the big blind, he bumped it up to 2,700, and Lagreve made the call.
Flop:
Deeb bet out one grey 5,000 chip. Instantly, Lagreve tossed three 5,000 chips into the middle. Freddy counted his stack and then moved all in for only a a few thousand more. Grumbling about it, Lagreve had no choice but to call.
Deeb:
Lagreve:
The on the turn and on the river didn't change anything, and Lagreve quietly tapped the table. After his double up, Deeb has 41,000.
A delighted Julien Brecard was good enough to share with us the source of his joy.
The former poker press member turned PokerStars Sponsored Player told us that Sijbrand Maal opened for 600 and he just flat-called. There were two further calls, before Marcel Koch reraised to 3,500. Maal passed, but Brecard made it 13,000 to go. Everyone else passed, Koch pushed for perhaps 16,000 with , and Brecard was only too happy to call with his . "But I didn't have the ace of diamonds," Brecard explained, "Because then it would have been kind of a fix." Interesting.
Anyway, Koch flopped a king, but a bunch of bricks later and Koch was busto, while the People's Choice Award winner from last night's French Poker Awards ceremony was up to a commanding 65,000.
After an opening limp in front of him, Team PokerStars Pro Jude Ainsworth stuck in a raise. Georges Djen made the call in the next seat over, and there would be one more caller plus the limper to go four-handed to a flop.
It came out , and action checked to Djen. He fired out a pot-sized bet, enough to fold the table back around to Ainsworth. He wasn't going anywhere, though, sticking in a check-raise to 20,000 straight. Djen moved all in for just a few thousand more, and Ainsworth made the call with the covering stack.
Showdown
Ainsworth:
Djen:
Ainsworth was drawing, but he was drawing to a myriad of outs. The on the turn was about as ugly as a card can get, but the turn would be a much prettier sight for the Irishman. The peeled off the deck, and that's one of Ainsworth's out cards. He fills in his flush, Djen yells and pounds the table, and Ainsworth stacks up 65,000 chips as he offers up a token, "Unlucky," to his departing opponent.
We arrived to see a board reading and Pascal Perrault had either checked or bet - either way, Mercedes Osti had a call or a bet of 3,700 in front of her, and Perrault (re)raised to 8,000. Call.
The river was the and Perrault now bet out 10,000 in a single high-denomination chip. Ms. Osti made a face and passed. Perrault showed her for her trouble, and is up to 53,000.
By the time we arrived on the scene, there was a whole board laid out on the felt, reading exactly thus:
Martins Adeniya seems to have checked, and Jean Frederic Thomas bet 750. Adeniya raised to around 8,000, and Thomas called - and then said "Yessssss," when his turned out to be good to beat Adeniya's . Adeniya made a noise like a small, sad trumpet, and is down to 16,000.
French footballer Vikash Dhorassoo was hoping for a double up when he picked up pocket Aces, but things didn't go quite as planned. He ran into the mighty of a tablemate. A flop was all it took to get Vikash ejected from this game.