We picked up the action on a board that Craig Koch bet 65,000 at. Harvey Bundy, one of the big stacks throughout the day, shoved all in for an additional 236,000. Koch though it over momentarily but called to create a huge pot. He turned over , holding a massive lead against Bundy's .
No miracles came for Bundy as the turn and river sealed the deal, propelling Koch to the biggest stack in the tournament.
After going all-in for his last 11,000 chips, good for just a single big blind and an ante, Mitsuhiro Nakao found a double-up and began making moves. He rode the momentum provided this first win and eventually built his tiny stack to over 200,000, putting him above average for a few minutes.
Nakao eventually moved all-in again with and was hoping for a coin flip, but found himself in bad shape against his opponent's .
The final board rolled out and Nakao's miraculous run came to an abrupt end.
Holding , Jimmy Parker was in a bit of trouble as an all-in opponent held pocket queens. Parker, though, picked up outs with a two-heart flop and caught his flush when the hit the turn. For good measure, Parker paired his ace on the river and closes out his Day 2 on a strong note.
After ten more levels of grueling competition here at the Seniors No-Limit Hold’em Championship, Day 2 saw 529 hopefuls play their way down to the final four tables. During this time our money bubble was burst and 396 seniors found themselves in the money after navigating their way through a record setting field. Following that milestone, the bustouts began occurring at a frantic pace and the familiar call of “payout!” was heard across the Amazon Room.
John Bovin, our chip leader after Day 1, was dispatched during the second day of competition and finished in 65th place. Notable players Paul “X-22” Magriel (50th) and Susie Isaccs (132nd) also made deep runs but ultimately fell short of their goal.
Heading into Day 3, our new chip leader is Craig Koch of Eugene, OR, who built a massive stack of 915,000.
Other big stacks to keep an eye on during tomorrow’s final day of play include Bruce Baker (573,000) and Richard “Dick” Harwood (520,000). Jack Ward (488,000) will also be a major story during Day 3, as he looks to make the final table of this event in back to back years.
While the biggest stacks in the field will be drawing most of the attention, short stacks Craig Zotter (91,000) and Gary Braufman (52,000) wanted us to know that they will be players to watch as well.
Check in with PokerNews at 3:00 PDT to follow all of the action, as the remaining players battle for the $557,435 1st place prize and the coveted WSOP gold bracelet.