Here are some updated counts. The money bubble is approaching with 34 players remaining. Billy Argyros is hanging around with 30,000 chips. He shoved all in and set his stuffed crocodile into the pot as well. It must have intimidated his table since his all in shove got through that time.
Only 10 minutes remain in the current level and then the players will be on a 40-minute break.
Thomas Ward's stack rose again before he lost more chips to Tom Alner, who is apparently playing his last live tournament today after vowing to give up cards for a career in bodybuilding.
Alner opened from the hijack and Ward called from the small blind. The flop came and Ward check-called 10,500 before both players checked the turn and river down. Ward opened but lost out to the Brit's .
Tom Alner is no longer a poor fella, he's actually thriving at the table of chips and is up to 326,000 after winning a big pot off former chip leader Thomas Ward.
Alner opened to 8,000 from hijack and called after Ward three-bet to 23,000 from the small blind. The flop spread and Thomas continued for 22,000. Alner called and did the same for another 48,000 on the turn. The river was the and Thomas slowed to a check before facing an all in from Alner. The bet was 130,000 and it was too much for the Kiwi who folded.
Yasuhiro Ojiri has been eliminated. He ended Day 1b as the chip leader, but perhaps he may have peaked too early. James McCarty and Andrew Gaw have also been eliminated.
There are 34 players left spread over four different tables and the total number of chips in play is 7.8 million. Almost three million of them are at table 18 where Conor Drinan and Russell Thomas, amongst others, can be found.
Tom Alner and his 140k-stack just got moved there and his stack looks like a bungalow next to some of the towers around him. Poor fella.
Zhou Zhou's stack has increased to 370,000 after he won a four-bet pot versus Ningdan Shi.
The latter had three-bet and then called Zhou's cold four-bet. Both players checked the flop before Shi check-called 40,000 on the turn. The board paired with the river and both players went back to checking. Shi opened but lost out to Zhou's .
Connor Drinan just snatched the chip lead from Thomas Ward after a three-way all in. Drinan knocked out two players and is over 700,000.
There was previous action before Alexander Kuzmin raised to 115,000. Chen Wang shoved all in as did Drinan and Kuzmin called.
"I have aces," said Drinan as the players turned over their hands.
Indeed Drinan did have , Kuzmin had and Wang had . The board kept Drinan ahead when it ran out . Drinan eliminated both players and took over the chip lead from Ward, who is seated on Drinan's right, across from the dealer.
to make Longjie a set on the river.
and Ward check-called 10,500 before both players checked the 
turn and river down. Ward opened 
but lost out to the Brit's 
.
turn. The river was the 
flop before Shi check-called 40,000 on the 
river and both players went back to checking. Shi opened 
.
. The board kept Drinan ahead when it ran out 
. Drinan eliminated both players and took over the chip lead from Ward, who is seated on Drinan's right, across from the dealer.
