Ryan Riess fired out 26,000, and Claudia Crawford moved all in for effectively 100,000 or so. Riess tanked for around 30 seconds, then rechecked his cards.
"Oh," he blurted. "I call."
Riess showed for an ace-high flush draw, and Crawford turned over for a pair of sixes.
"I didn't mean to slowroll you," Riess told her. "I didn't know I had spades."
The spades didn't save Riess however, as the turn and river bricked , respectively. He hit the rail, while Crawford now sits with around 500,000 chips.
We didn't catch the exact betting action, but we do know that Ashly Butler and Barbara Cardin collided in an all-in preflop confrontation. The former held the while the latter had him dominated with the .
According to the PokerNews Odds Calculator, Cardin was a 70.30% favorite while Butler had a 28.50% chance of surviving the hand. The flop paired both players, but Cardin's kicker had her out in front as an 81.52% favorite. The turn dropped Butler's chances of survival to 15.91%, and he would need to catch either a ten or jack on the river to stay alive. Unfortunately for him, the blanked and he was eliminated in 67th place for $3,098.
Here's a look at the players who have qualified for the National Championship by either winning a Main Event or Casino Championship. Of course a seat will be awarded for each to whoever captures each titles here at Harrah's New Orleans.
National Championship Qualifiers
Player
Hometown
Qualified
Rex Clinkscales
Las Vegas, NV
Harrah’s Philadelphia Main Event Champion
Chris Reslock
Atlantic City, NJ
Harrah’s Philadelphia Casino Champion
Jonathan Taylor
Phil Campbell, AL
The Lodge Main Event Champion & Horseshoe Southern Indiana Casino Champion
Both Aaron and Ralph Massey have been nursing short stacks as of late, and the two seemed intent on not being the first to fall. Unfortunately for Aaron Massey, he ended up being the first to go.
It happened when action folded to him on the button and he opened for 12,000. Robert Cheung called from the small blind, the big came along and all three players saw the flop. Two checks put action on Massey and he put in a big bet. Cheung then woke up with a check-raise, the big blinds folded and Massey called offf for 63,500 total.
Massey:
Cheung:
Cheung was ahead with a pair of kings, but Massey was alive with an open-ended straight draw. The turn was no helps, and neither was the river. With that, Aaron took his leave from the tournament and left his older brother (by a little more than two years) to carry on the family name.
Daniel Rivera was all in and at risk preflop holding against the of the River Rock (Vancouver) Casino Champion, Sandra Wong. The board rolled out , and Rivera was eliminated. Wong now has around 240,000 chips.
At an adjacent table, Quan Nguyen was all in and at risk for his last 48,500 holding . He was dominated by David Whitley's , but the flop gave him a leading pair of aces. Nguyen held as the turn and river came , , doubling to around 100,000 chips.
At a neighboring table, Daniel Bishop won a very interesting race against Rogelio Salinas. Salinas was all in and at risk with against Bishop's , and the flop changed little. The on the turn gave Salinas a pair of aces, but any spade or five would send him packing. The spiked on the river, giving Bishop a spade flush and sending Salinas to the rail.
The blinds and antes are up there, and swiping them every now and then can add up. That's something a short-stacked Ralph Massey just discovered when he shoved three hands in a row.
After successfully getting through on the first two, Massey three-bet all in for 62,000 from the big blind after Ben Mintz had opened for 10,500 in the hijack. Mintz, who finished as the Day 1a chip leader, thought better of it and released his hand. Massey then showed he had the goods with .
Webber Kang, who was saved by a two-outer on the river, has been eliminated.
When we arrived at the table, he and Pedro Rios were heads up on a board of . Rios led out for 22,000, Kang raised to 56,000, and Rios announced that he was all in.
Kang slid forward a stack of yellow T1,000 chips, signaling a call, and Rios quickly turned over for a full house. Kang flashed for an ace-high flush, then was off to the cage to collect his winnings.
for an ace-high flush draw, and Crawford turned over 
for a pair of sixes.
, 
respectively. He hit the rail, while Crawford now sits with around 500,000 chips.
while the latter had him dominated with the 
.
flop paired both players, but Cardin's kicker had her out in front as an 81.52% favorite. The 
turn dropped Butler's chances of survival to 15.91%, and he would need to catch either a ten or jack on the river to stay alive. Unfortunately for him, the 
blanked and he was eliminated in 67th place for $3,098.
flop. Two checks put action on Massey and he put in a big bet. Cheung then woke up with a check-raise, the big blinds folded and Massey called offf for 63,500 total.
turn was no helps, and neither was the 
river. With that, Aaron took his leave from the tournament and left his older brother (by a little more than two years) to carry on the family name.
against the 
of the River Rock (Vancouver) Casino Champion, Sandra Wong. The board rolled out 
, and Rivera was eliminated. Wong now has around 240,000 chips.
. He was dominated by David Whitley's 
, doubling to around 100,000 chips.
, and the 
flop changed little. The 
on the turn gave Salinas a pair of aces, but any spade or five would send him packing. The 
. Rios led out for 22,000, Kang raised to 56,000, and Rios announced that he was all in.
for an ace-high flush, then was off to the cage to collect his winnings.