First, we picked up the action on the turn of a board. A player was all in and Raymond Dandrea was contemplating his decision. Eventually he threw in the chips and tabled his . His opponent held and missed the river. That shot pot shot Dandrea up to 200,000.
The very next hand, the player under the gun raised and Dandrea flatted in position. The flop was and Dandrea called the continuation bet worth 7,500. The turn was the and once again, Dandrea's opponent bet, this time 15,500. Dandrea called.
The river was the . For a third time, Dandrea was faced with a bet worth 21,000. "This is so sick. You just gave me the chips..." as he continued his sentence under his breathe. A few seconds later, Dandrea slid forward the chips to call and it was his that beat the of his opponent.
A player in early position put in all but 100 of his chips in preflop, a bet of 30,300 total, and it was folded around the Raymond Dandrea in the small blind. Dandrea made the call, and the two saw a flop of . Dandrea tossed in a 100 chip to put his opponent all in, and his opponent called, only to see Dandrea show a monster.
Dandrea:
Opponent:
Dandrea was well out in front after flopping a flush, and his opponent would need runner runner to survive. It wouldn't come, as the turn and river came and , and Dandrea continues his rise up the counts, as he is now sitting at 290,000.
Eric Baldwin opened the action with a raise from the hijack to 5,300. All four players remaining in the hand called him.
The flop was and Baldwin continued for 7,500. Only the player on the button called this time. The turn was the and Baldwin slowed down with a check. His opponent took charge and fired 11,000. Baldwin called.
The river was the and Baldwin check-called again, this time 15,000. His opponent immediately mucked as he tabled .
The players have now taken another 10 minute break. When they return, we will start with the 60 minute levels. We'll have two of those, then they will take their dinner.
Matthew Chang open shoved for his last 44,000 in early position, and it folded all the way around to Thu Nguyen in the small blind. Nguyen took a peak at his cards, and called fairly quickly. The big blind folded, and we were off to the races.
Nguyen:
Chang:
Despite being ahead, Chang seemed resigned to his fate, as he stood up and started gathering his things. Even after the flop came out , Chang continued to put his jacket on. When the hit the turn, he tucked his seat under the table ready to walk out, but the hit the river, and Chang secured the double up.
Alex Masek was faced with an all in of 83,500 preflop. Having already put in a large amount of chips himself at this point, he made the call to put his opponent at risk.
Masek:
Opponent:
The flop was and Masek was in trouble. What was worse is that he would be left with less than 10,000 if he was to lose this hand. The turn was the and Masek had just two outs to reverse his fortune. Sure enough, the river was the and just like that, Masek has life.
We are down to 58 players in this event, and we have three players who are very familiar with this feeling of running deep in a circuit main event. Freddy Deeb, Alex Masek, and Leroy "Ty" Spires are all still in this event, and amazing, these three finished 1, 2, and 3 at the WSOP-C Main Event at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles just two months ago! All three surely have another final table on their minds, and we will be sure to keep you posted on their quests.
Brandon Cantu had 15,500 in front of the betting line on a board. His opponent, who was out of position, was contemplating his decision. Eventually, he decided to move all in for his final 62,000 and Cantu made the reluctant call.
Cantu:
Opponent:
The river was the , securing the win for Cantu's opponents. Not to worry though, Cantu is still easily one of the top two stacks in the room.