When asked how long it'll take to bust nine more players tonight Andy Bloch said he figured it'll take about four more hours. He made mention of the chip stacks and blind structure and, frankly, he's been here before and knows of what he speaks. So if you plan on sticking around with us for the duration I recommend some light calisthenics, stay away from caffeine (and the crash that follows the buzz) and find a comfortable seat.
Preflop, Rob Hollink led out and Brock Parker raised. Kieu Duong reraised and Andy Bloch capped the betting. Everyone called, with Duong having to go all in to do so.
Flop:
Everyone checked to Andy, who led out, and everyone called. The came on the turn and everyone check-called Andy again. The river was the and everyone check-folded to Andy, who showed pocket kings which held up against Kieu's A-8.
In his penultimate hand Tex Barch and J.C. Tran capped the betting before the flop. Tran check-raised and Barch responded by reraising as well. Tran called, and again check-raised when the turned. Barch just called this time, and called Tran's bet when the fell on the river. Tran turned over and Barch tossed his cards aside.
That hand left him with just 4,000 and he was all in on the next hand after Jerrod Ankenman bet. Tran was again involved in the hand, tossing in a raise that Ankenman called. The flop came , Ankenman checked, Tran bet and Ankenman raised. Tran called, and called Ankeman's bets after the came on the turn and the on the river.
Ankenman turned over and Barch slapped his A-Q on the table when he saw he'd been beaten. That first hand put Tran up to 415,000, the second pushed Ankenman's stack up to 340,000, and the combination sent Tex Barch out in 17th place.
Matt Woodward and JC Tran managed to get all their chips in the middle preflop with Woodward holding and Tran holding . Tran turned a pair of eights, which held up and eliminated Woodward from the field. After the hand, Tran is up to 495,000.
Somebody dipped the deck in liquid nitrogen and neglected to tell Michael Mizrachi. Over the course of three brutal hands he was eliminated from today's event. First, he flopped a set of sevens but lost to the straight Jerrod Ankenman made on the turn. Second, in a battle of the blinds he had A-K and ran into the pocket kings of Cy Jassinowsky.
And on his final hand he and Chris Vitch exchanged three bets before seeing a flop. Both players checked, then when the turned Mizrachi check-raised Vitch, who promptly counted out enough chips for a three-bet and pushed them forward. Mizrachi said he was all in and as soon as Vitch said he called Mizrachi said, "You have a set of Queens, right?". Vitch nodded and flipped over and Mizrachi shook his head and turned over for the lower set. The river was the and just that fast Mizrachi was out of the tournament. Vitch is now up to 440,000.
Steve Sung was all in before the flop with Rob Hollink and Eric Buchman both in the pot. The flop came , and Hollink check-called Buchman's bet. Hollink did the same when the turned and they checked it down when the fell on the river. Hollink showed and that was good enough to win the pot and eliminate Sung.
Uchida nursed a short stack through much of the night and he put in the last of his chips with . Brock Parker called with and when the board ran out Parker boosted his stack to 190,000 and Uchida was eliminated.
All the money went in after a flop, with J.C. Tran showing to Froelich's . Froehlich failed to hit his straight draw as the fell on the turn and on the river, and Froehlich was out in 12th place. Tran is up to 650,000.