With just about 10,000 chips, Erick Lindgren moved his short stack all in preflop before Peter Eastgate made the the easy call.
Lindgren showed and trailed Eastgate's . The flop was kind for Eastgate, coming and the turn gave him the flush draw with the . The was a blank on the river, but Eastgate's kicker played and he moved into the money while Lindgren will have to wait until next year.
A few moments ago Scotty Nguyen wailed, "Oh man! What am I doin'?"
What he's doing is prolonging his match against Phil Ivey. He just doubled up in back-to-back hands again. First, his flopped a full house against Ivey's , . No runners for Ivey meant thep ot went to Nguyen.
Just a few hands later Nguyen was all in again. This time Ivey's had a slight edge over Nguyen's . But again Nguyen out-flopped Ivey, . Nguyen caught two pair with a turn and took the pot after the river blanked .
It's unclear at this point who has more chips, but after so many double-ups the match has to at least be close.
Joe Hachem moved his last 13,000 into the middle from the button and got a quick call from Gabe Kaplan. The cards were turned up and we had a classic race, with Hachem holding against Kaplan's .
Kaplan wasted no time taking the lead on a flop of and Hachem couldn't catch up as the board completed .
Phil Ivey must be wondering what the hell it's going to take to dispatch Scotty Nguyen. The two men on the feature table were all in again, this time after a flop of . Ivey had the second nuts, - but Nguyen had the nuts with !
Ivey, in his typical slouch, expressed very little emotion as the board rolled out and to double up Nguyen again.
Phil Gordon moved all in on a flop of and got a call from Phil Laak. When the cards were revealed, Gordon held for top pair while Laak held for a flush draw.
Gordon slumped over the table in obvious misery as he waited for his fate to be dealt, but he didn't have to worry as the board ran out giving him trips and a much-needed double up.
Poker isn't always pretty. Sometimes the worst hand gets there and sometimes it gets there in a brutal fashion.
Pieter de Korver was at a 3-to-1 chip disadvantage against Jason Mercier and opened his button with a raise. Mercier responded by moving all in and de Korver called. De Korver was in a dominating spot:
de Korver:
Mercier:
It was all clear for de Korver through the turn, . But the dealer burned and turned a deadly on the river, giving Mercier a pair of nines, the pot and the victory.
Mercier, his head bowed at the table, offered de Korver a wry smile before shaking his hand and departing the set.
Clearly, it wasn't meant to be today for Phil Ivey. After a series of double-ups, Scotty Nguyen took the chip lead from Ivey. The two players were all in again, this time on the turn . Ivey was the player at risk of elimination; he also had the best hand. His needed to fade just a few cards against Nguyen's .
A gasp shot through the gallery as the river came to give Nguyen trip nines and the win! Each player stood up from the table. "Sorry baby," Nguyen said before offering Ivey a hug. Ivey, as stoic as ever, just smiled.
You can't accuse Phil Gordon of playing without passion today.
Shortly after doubling up Phil Laak, Gordon moved all in preflop with and got called down by Laak who held . Gordon jumped to a quick lead on a flop of , but wasn't comfortable with Laak's gut-shot draw.
He relaxed a little when the fell on the turn and then called for "No 10. One time." It didn't work as the hit the river causing Gordon to recoil from the table in obvious agony while Phil Laak picked up the last card and gave it a loving kiss.
"That was one nasty river right there," said Gordon as he composed himself before his exit interview. We have a feeling Laak might disagree.
The last remaining Spades-Clubs Round of 32 match pitted former WSOP Main Event runner-up Erik Seidel against former WSOP Main Event runner-up David Williams. With blinds large, the two got all in before the flop. Seidel turned over the best starting hand, . Upon seeing Seidel's hand, Williams ripped his own in half!
The producers first placed the halves of Williams cards on the table for the all-in moment, then substituted them with cards from a different table, and then decided to go with the original cards after all. It made no difference for Williams. The board came all red to send Seidel on to the Sweet 16 and Williams home short of the money.