Wayne "Tweety Bird" Walden of Suffolk, VA, says he's never been in the blog, so we're rectifying that situation here today. Walden also referred to himself as a "short stack", but with 51,000 chips, he's got 50 big blinds and that's plenty with which to work.
His hat says it all, "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good."
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
51,000 |
Rob Calabrese had a red-hot summer, cashing twice here during the Borgata Summer Poker Open, both of which were final table appearances.
In the $1M GTD opener, he finished sixth out of 1,925 entrants for $66,822*. Then about a week later, he final-tabled the $1,090 Eight Max NLH event, finishing third out of 111 runners for $13,334. He continued the hot-streak with three more four-figure scores in August.
Calabrese is also letting his outerwear speak today, wearing a shirt that says "I bet you I could stop gambling!"
*Indicates Adjusted Payout
Level: 8
Blinds: 600/1,200
Ante: 1,200
Poker patriarch Paul Spitzberg has joined the Almighty and is already up from his starting stack of 100,000. Lloyd Breuer has returned with a fresh 100,000 stack.
Here's another round of chip counts from the field.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
150,000
150,000
|
150,000 |
|
145,000
145,000
|
145,000 |
|
|
137,000
136,880
|
136,880 |
|
126,000
81,000
|
81,000 |
|
|
101,000
1,000
|
1,000 |
|
100,000 | |
|
|
35,000
35,000
|
35,000 |
On the turn with a board reading 
, Jediael Pires bet, Danny Alvarez raised to 40,000, Pires shoved, and Danny snapped, tabling 
for the overpair. Pires had 
for a pair of queens and was at risk for his tournament life.
The river was the 
and didn't save him — Pires was busted and headed for the exit. Alvarez is now playing about 240,000.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
240,000
240,000
|
240,000 |
|
|
Busted |
Eight levels are in the books and time for players to enjoy another 15 minutes away from the grind.
There are still four more levels for late registration in this flight and the final flight takes off at 6pm tonight!
Level: 9
Blinds: 800/1,600
Ante: 1,600
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
480,000
480,000
|
480,000 |
|
310,000
310,000
|
310,000 |
|
|
290,000
290,000
|
290,000 |
|
265,000
165,000
|
165,000 |
|
115,000
115,000
|
115,000 |
|
105,000
105,000
|
105,000 |
|
|
100,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
85,000 | |
|
81,000
81,000
|
81,000 |
|
||
|
75,000
75,000
|
75,000 |
Rafael Reis opened to 3,200 early and got called by Seat 4 in the middle and Seat 9 (bb).
The flop of 
was checked around, but the 
on the turn prompted a bet of 6,000 from Reis. Seat 4 raised to 16,000 and Seat 9 opted out.
Reis kicked it on up to 39,000, Seat 4 jammed, and Reis called all-in or 75,200 total. His opponent tabled 
for the jack-high straight, but Reis had him beat with 
for the queen-high straight and the current nuts.
The 
on the river was a complete brick, given that neither player had a club flush draw, and Reis took the pot, doubling up to 161,500.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
161,500
80,500
|
80,500 |
|
|
||
Level: 10
Blinds: 1,000/2,000
Ante: 2,000
