For 31 players, those thoughts are starting to form from wisps of nothingness in the backs of their heads. There's just one more day of poker to get through before the thoughts take tangible form: Day 4 of the 2009 PokerStars.com European Poker Tour Monte Carlo Grand Final. The sun is shining here on the Cote d'Azur; we'll see how brightly it shines on the remaining 31 runners.
When we left off last night, Matthew Woodward bagged the most chips. His 2.72 million chips represents three times the average of 904,000. That gives him the currency (literally) to play lots of pots and put his opponents to the ultimate test for all of their chips. One mistake is all that separates most of these players from the rail. And if they're on the rail, those wispy thoughts of fortune and glory will vanish back into the ether.
Based on the number of chips in play, we estimate that it will take roughly six levels to reduce the field to our elite eight who will come back tomorrow to play for the title of champion. With 75-minute levels and play kicking off at noon, we hope to be out of here no later than 10:30pm local time. But however long it takes, PokerNews will report all of the action live from the tournament floor.
See you in an hour!
from middle position. Action passed to Dag Mikkelsen in the blinds, who called with 
. Mikkelsen paired his king on the flop, 
, leaving Cernuto looking for an ace or running spades (as TD and MC Thomas Kremser helpfully announced). The 
on the turn gave Mikkelsen trip kings and Cernuto a flush draw, but he missed everything when the river fell 
. He's the first victim of the day, earning €45,000 for his trouble.
and was called by Jaime Vilela's 
. Vilela was dismayed to see flop of 
, which gave Tulchinskiy a flush draw. The draw filled with the turn 
and 
. That made Vilela the 30th place finisher with winnings of €45,000.
