[user46392]
Dario Alioto seems to have used up his winning streak for the day and is now firmly on the way down, dropping down to around his starting stack after doubling up another tablemate.
This time it was the turn of Karsten Johansen. Alioto bet out on the flop only for Johansen to announce all in. Alioto called and once again was massively behind, boasting to Johansen's dominating . No nasty surprises for Johansen on the turn and river, and he finds himself with an extremely comfortable 9,000 in chips.
[user4144]
Michel 'The Abacus' Abecassis has just eliminated two players in one fell swoop. All the money went in preflop with the Frenchman and his A-K up against Graham Wheldon's pocket queens and another gentleman's pocket jacks. A king on the flop was as interesting as it got, and that was all she wrote for Wheldon and co.
[user46298]
Here are the players on the upper level of the Empire Casino whose stacks are head and shoulders above the rest, literally and metaphorically:
Dennis O'Mahoney - 9,600
Will Brewin - 11,600
Cristiano Blanco - 11,475
Tony Salmon - 17,900
[user4144]
Like a Chaz and Dave reunion (with another thrown in for good measure), a trio of Cockney rascals in Peter Gould, Ian Woodley and Ian Frazer have settled on a table beneath the stairs, meaning the banter will be flowing quicker than the Guinness at the Irish Open.
The chip counts for the lovable rogues are:
Peter Gould -- 7,375
Ian Woodley -- 6,350
Ian Frazer -- 6,800
Meanwhile, Gould junior, Josh, was bemoaning his early departure on the sidelines. "I'm out, someone got it in with a flush and a gutshot straight draw and hit."
[user46392]
No sooner had Dario Alioto doubled up Karsten Johansen than he did it again, this time getting the chips in preflop with against T6 player Jason Gray's . Some sucking-in-air-between-the-teeth noises around the table on the turn, but ultimately no surprises on the board and a cheerful Gray now has 12,500 in chips, while Alioto has less than 5,000.
[user4144]
While the players are enjoying a well deserved break, I can't help but notice the continual spree of music booming out of the speakers. It's predominantly some form of techno, but is a far cry from the old, smoky backrooms of yesteryear. I'm sure if Doyle was here today though he'd be busting out a few moves to some of these hot dance beats. I'm finding it hard to resist myself.
[user38449]
Phil Ivey
Both Phil Ivey and Mike 'Timex' McDonald were eliminated just before the first break of the day.
Ivey's elimination came at the hands of Johnny Cooke who ousted the Full Tilt pro with quads. According to Yuval Bronshtein who was at their table, Ivey led out with a bet on a board holding and Cooke just called holding pocket fives. A fourth five fell on the river and Cooke smartly checked his quads to Ivey who moved all in. Cooke had Ivey covered and made the call and that was that.
'Timex' picked up a pocket pair of aces on the short stack and made it 250 to go before the flop. He received just one caller and saw a king-high flop that brought three hearts. The rest of the money went in on the flop and McDonald found his heartless aces up against his opponent's , which gave him top pair and a flush draw. McDonald's opponent also held three outs to make two pair and one of them fell on the turn giving him the lead. A blank on the river spelled the end for the young Canadian, who, like Ivey, will now have to wait until Monday for another shot at a WSOPE bracelet.
[user38449]
Henrik Gwinner
Short-stacked, Henrik Gwinner got the last of his chips into the middle before the flop holding against the pocket fives of Leo Kam.
By the time the board had filled out , Gwinner offered his right hand to Kam, essentially conceding defeat, but pulled it back when the fell on the river giving him a better pair.
Kam was left with about 3,800 in chips after the hand while Gwinner improved to 6,000.
![[user46392]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
flop only for Johansen to announce all in. Alioto called and once again was massively behind, boasting 
to Johansen's dominating 
. No nasty surprises for Johansen on the 
turn and 
river, and he finds himself with an extremely comfortable 9,000 in chips.
against T6 player Jason Gray's 
. Some sucking-in-air-between-the-teeth noises around the table on the turn, but ultimately no surprises on the 
board and a cheerful Gray now has 12,500 in chips, while Alioto has less than 5,000.
board holding 
and Cooke just called holding pocket fives. A fourth five fell on the river and Cooke smartly checked his quads to Ivey who moved all in. Cooke had Ivey covered and made the call and that was that.
, which gave him top pair and a flush draw. McDonald's opponent also held three outs to make two pair and one of them fell on the turn giving him the lead. A blank on the river spelled the end for the young Canadian, who, like Ivey, will now have to wait until Monday for another shot at a WSOPE bracelet.
, Gwinner offered his right hand to Kam, essentially conceding defeat, but pulled it back when the 
