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Hamburg, New York's Randy Pfeifer won this event last year and although it's still early on here in this three-day event, he seems to be more than ready to defend that title.
Earlier on he managed to flop a set of sixes against one-player with top-top to drag a 26k pot. Since then he's done nothing but win small pot after small pot and now has a stack approaching the 100k mark - one of the largest in the room.
Nachman Berlin was telling his tablemates earlier today that he's been running hotter than anyone on the planet over the past few months. Maybe the crisp Niagara weather has cooled him off a bit.
We caught up with Berlin facing an all-in bet of around 5,500 on a 
flop. Berlin tossed in a call and tabled 
, but he was trailing the other player's 
.
The 
turn and 
river brought no help to the player known as "The Landlord," and his stack dropped to around 23,000.
"How does a nine not hit the river? Unreal," Berlin joked. "I haven't lost a flip in three years!"
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
23,000 | -22,000 |
Mike Matusow can't seem to find solid ground to stand on here in Niagara Falls.
After one player limped and another on the button made it 1,400 total, Matusow decided to defend his big blind. The limper came along for the ride and they went three-handed to the 
flop.
Matusow checked, as did the limper, but when the button made it 3,150, The Mouth check-raised it up to 10,200.
After the limper gave up, the button called all-in for less and the hands were revealed with Matusow holding 
for a pair and a flush draw and his opponent hanging on to the lead with 
for two pair.
The turn came the 
and the river the 
making it a swing and a miss for Matusow, who is now down to 21,000.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
21,000 | -14,000 |
Team DeepStacks Pro Jay Houston just escaped elimination moments ago. Houston was all in preflop with pocket sevens against the cutoff's pocket jacks, but the 
board gave Houston a set to push him back to around the starting stack.
Houston has more than $200,000 in online winnings and over 20,000 sit-and-gos under his belt and is again a major threat to his tablemates.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
25,000 | 5,000 |
Level: 6
Blinds: 200/400
Ante: 50
Well-known poker media member Rob Perelman has turned up on the felt here in Niagara.
And it appears it's a good thing he has.
A series of small pots now has the man they call veeRob sitting on 56,000 in chips and climbing.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
56,000 |
Rich Belsky's stack continues to grow over at Table 19. After Belsky raised over the top of a limper, a short stack moved all in with for about 9,000 chips. Action folded back to Belsky, who called with pocket jacks, and the king-high board gave Belsky yet another pot to increase his stack above the 100K mark.
A few hands later, Belsky bet 3,500 from the small blind into a 6k pot on a 
flop with three other players in the hand. Just one called and they both checked the 
turn and 
river. Belsky showed 
to win it. The very next hand he stomped all over one early position limper with a 2,200-chip raise. But when she shoved for 16,675 total, he laid it down and now sits with 111,250.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
111,250 | 15,250 |
DeepStacks Pro Karina Jett saw not one, not two, but three players limp into her big blind.
They all joined together checking the 
flop, but when the turn came down and the small blind checked, Jett fired out a 1,200-chip bet.
She got just one caller, and after she checked the 
river, he bet 2,200. Jett folded.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
30,000 | -3,000 |
What a lousy level for guys named Nguyen. Just minutes after Minh hit the snowy trail, Anh Van Nguyen followed in his footsteps.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted |
Michael Mizrachi is still killing it over on the feature table.
Facing a 1,500-chip bet from the player in the small blind on a 
flop, Mizrachi raised it up to 4k from the big blind.
The small blind called, and checked the turn, only to fold when Mizrachi made it 6,125.
"Flopped it!" The Grinder said, turning over 
and adding the pot to his ever increasing stack.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
68,000 | 19,000 |
