donpeters
Rousso earned four points for her finish today
Giovanni Safina picked up the after Vanessa Rousso raised with two black eights to 25,000. Safina reraised to 60,000 and then Rousso moved all in. Safina snapped her off. Rousso was all in for 233,000.
"Can I hit a set one time?!?" pleaded Rousso.
The flop came down and no set yet for Rousso. The turn was the and then the river was the . Safina took a small hit a little while ago to Schwartz and now got a lot of chips back with a full house, eliminating Rousso in the process.
Rousso finished in fifth place and earned four points along with $8,000. Safina moved up to 583,000 chips.
donpeters
With the eliminations of the first four players from this heat, here's how the overall leaderboard looks.
1. Phil Laak – 32 points
2. David Benyamine - 24 points
3. JC Tran – 17 points
4. Yevgeniy Timoshenko – 16 points
5. Giovanni Safina - 15 points
6. Roland De Wolfe – 14 points
7. Vanessa Rousso – 12 points
8. Ian Frazer – 10 points
9. Phil Hellmuth - 6 points
10. Tony G - 5 points
T-11. Luke Schwartz – 4 points
T-11. Daniel Negreanu – 4 points
There hasn't been a whole lot of change right away. Tony G did jump from the bottom ahead of Luke Schwartz and Daniel Negreanu, but Schwartz is guaranteed at least six points here so he'll be moving back ahead of Tony G shortly.
Safina has also locked up six points and will move ahead of Yevgeniy Timoshenko and JC Tran. Phil Laak and David Benyamine are sitting one and two at the moment and will be increasing their point totals and lead on the rest of the field. It'll be by a matter of how much now.
Schwartz seems to be the biggest beneficiary of the fourth heat so far. After earning only four points so far, he's already locked up six more and can jump to at least a tie with Ian Frazer, who holds ten points. Schwartz could move up to as high as fourth if Safina goes out next and Schwartz wins this heat.
Even though Benyamine and Laak have solid spots locked up already, the amount of chips each player starts with at the final table is directly related to how many points they earn in the preliminary heats. So, both those players will still be trying to max out their performances and get as many points as possible. They do have the ease of being able to loosen up a bit and not worry about going out anytime soon and coming up short.
donpeters
Safina eliminated
Giovanni Safina raised all in for 226,000 holding the . David Benyamine called from the big blind with the . Safina was at risk and racing to stay alive in this heat. He did hold the best hand though.
The flop came down and Luke Schwartz got very happy to see the king fall and Safina fall behind. The turn was the and the river the and things were over for Safina. He did earn six points and move up to 21 total, but this was just the scenario that Schwartz was looking for.
donpeters
David Benyamine was in the small blind and raised to 35,000 with the . Phil Laak was in the big blind and made the call. He had a good hand as well for this spot, .
The flop came down and Benyamine flopped two pair. He checked and Laak fired 36,000.
The turn was the and now Laak was drawing completely dead. Benyamine checked and Laak checked his time.
The river was the and Benyamine bet 78,000. Laak folded and Benyaine scooped in the pot to increase his chip lead.
donpeters
Laak can't go wrong when he plays with a king in his hand
Luke Schwartz raised to 35,000 from the button with the and Phil Laak called from the big blind with the .
After a flop of , Laak checked. Schwartz checked behind. The turn added the to the board and both checked again. The river was the and Laak checked. Schwartz bet 30,000 and Laak made the call.
Schwartz failed to bluff Laak off his hand and lost the pot. This is another time that Laak held a king-rag against Schwartz's wired pair and out-flopped him.
after Vanessa Rousso raised with two black eights to 25,000. Safina reraised to 60,000 and then Rousso moved all in. Safina snapped her off. Rousso was all in for 233,000.
and no set yet for Rousso. The turn was the 
and then the river was the 
. Safina took a small hit a little while ago to Schwartz and now got a lot of chips back with a full house, eliminating Rousso in the process.
on the flop of 
against Giovanni Safina holding the 
. Both players checked.
hit the turn, Schwartz splashed 90,000 chips into the middle. Safina moved all in and Schwartz snapped.
and didn't give the beat to Schwartz. He doubled up to be second in chips with 804,000 chips. Safina dropped to 123,000.
and Safina took the lead.
and the river the 
to keep Safina ahead once he flopped the pair of aces and double him up. Safina is back to 226,000 chips now.
. Safina was at risk and racing to stay alive in this heat. He did hold the best hand though.
and Luke Schwartz got very happy to see the king fall and Safina fall behind. The turn was the 
and the river the 
and things were over for Safina. He did earn six points and move up to 21 total, but this was just the scenario that Schwartz was looking for.
. Phil Laak was in the big blind and made the call. He had a good hand as well for this spot, 
.
and Benyamine flopped two pair. He checked and Laak fired 36,000.
.