[user75032]
Mike Sowers8:05pm -- The Six Million Dollar Man
Binh Nguyen took down another pot at showdown to eclipse six million in chips. He raised to 250,000 preflop and was called by Chris Karagulleyan. They checked all the way to the river of a board. Karagulleyan tried to buy the pot with a bet of 425,000, but Nguyen made the call and showed for two pair, kings and sevens. That was the winner.
8:01pm -- Puzzlement in the Commerce Ballroom
A curious hand has resulted in a huge pot making its way to Binh Nguyen. He raised to 225,000 preflop and was called out of the blinds by Pat Walsh. Walsh check-called 300,000 on a flop of , and then check-called another 600,000 when the turn fell . There was a marked increase in the level of the noise from the gallery. Both players checked the river. Nguyen turned over for top pair and was surely surprised to see Walsh muck his hand. Everybody in media row was speculating as to what he could have had, but it doesn't matter. The chips were pushed to Nguyen.
7:52pm -- Surprise! Walsh Doubles Again
Pat Walsh must have nine lives. How else can one explain his repeated double-ups this evening? He put in a raise over the top of a preflop raise from Cornel Andrew Cimpan, 500,000 more chips. Cimpan tanked for more than a minute before calling with a smirk. He moved in on a flop of . Walsh was the player at risk of elimination when he called all in for 820,000 total, but he had the better hand. His made top pair against Cimpan's unimproved . The turn and river were both blanks, the and the .
"That's the way we show him who's boss," called out a railbird. "With king-eight offsuit. You show him!"
7:45pm -- More Chips for Sowers
It's been an up-and-down day for Mike Sowers. He's on another upswing, firing at pots and taking them down. He raised the pot to 250,000 and was called out of the blinds by Cornel Andrew Cimpan. Both players checked the flop. When Cimpan checked again after the hit the turn, Sowers took the pot down with a bet of 325,000.
Sowers also won the next hand, and the following hand after that, cobbling together a string of pots to jump up the counts. The tide is definitely flowing in his direction. He's back to 2.85 million in chips.
[user75032]
Pat Walsh - 5th Place8:34pm -- Break Time
Players are on a break.
8:27pm -- Cimpan Not Going Gently
Andrew Cimpan is down but definitely not out. He moved all in for a total of 1.485M after Mike Sowers opened for 250,000. Sowers asked for a count but ultimately elected to fold. Cimpan flashed one card, the ; Sowers claimed to have folded pocket threes.
"Show him the bad penny, Andrew!" shouted one of Cimpan's supporters from the rail.
8:17pm -- Pat Walsh Eliminated in 5th Place ($310,694)
A series of preflop raises culminated with Binh Nguyen pushing all in. I'm not sure how many chips Pat Walsh had left when he called all in for less. It couldn't have been a large number, given the hand he turned over: . He was dominated by Nguyen's . Walsh's nine lives finally ran out on a board of , although the flopped board pair let the crowd have a good sweat to see if Walsh could suck out a chop. He could not, and was eliminated in fifth place, earning $310,694 in prize money.
8:12pm -- Wow! Sowers Doubles Through Nguyen
Talk about showing some moxie. Mike Sowers opened the action with a raise to 250,000. Binh Nguyen was next to act and reraised to 750,000. That folded all other players back to Sowers, who calmly pushed all in for 2.7 million total, making the raise back to Nguyen about 2.0 million. Nguyen thought it over, asked for an exact count, then called for what was by far the biggest pot of the tournament!
Sowers:
Binh:
The crowd was on its feet, with competing camps yelling for a seven, or a king or a queen. The Sowers camp was delighted to see a flop of . The turn was another , leaving Binh looking for one of the two remaining sevens. He didn't get it; the river fell .
Sowers is the new chip leader after dragging this pot worth 5.5 million chips. If Nguyen had won that pot...
[user75032]
Chris Karagulleyan - 4th Place8:59pm -- Chris Karagulleyan Eliminated in 4th Place ($430,963)
After losing 820,000 chips to Mike Sowers, Andrew Cimpan was out of options. He open-shoved and was called by former WPT winner Chris Karagulleyan. Karagulleyan was actually the shorter stack and at risk of elimination.
Karagulleyan:
Cimpan:
Karagulleyan was in the lead preflop and after a flop of . The turn, however, was a second queen, the , giving Cimpan trip queens to the dismay of the heavily partisan crowd. Karagulleyan couldn't complete the re-suckout with a river card of . He was eliminated in fourth place, earning a healthy $430,963.
"Here comes the bad penny!" shouted one of Cimpan's supporters.
8:55pm -- Another Pot to Sowers
Mike Sowers is running good. He raised to 320,000 preflop and was called by big blind Andrew Cimpan. They checked all the way to the river, where Sowers bet 500,000 on aboard of . Cimpan quickly called, but was forced to muck his hand to Sowers' full house, fives full of jacks, made with .
[user75032]
Mike Sowers - 3rd Place9:14pm -- Mike Sowers Eliminated in 3rd Place ($654,797)
Talk about a stunning reversal of fortune for Mike Sowers! A few minutes ago he was flirting with the chip lead. Now he's out. He opened the pot with a raise to 300,000. Binh Nguyen reraised to a million straight, prompting Sowers to quickly jam all in. Nguyen called even faster, showing . It was bad luck for Sowers, who mustered up a pair of fours, . A board of improved neither player and sent a stunned Sowers to the rail in third place. But $654,797 in prize money will, no doubt, cushion the blow.
We'll have a slight pause now in order to prepare for heads-up play. The chip counts are:
Binh Nguyen - 8.45 million
Cornel Andrew Cimpan - 5.47 million
9:07pm -- Cimpan Doubles through Sowers
At this stage of the tournament, the swings are huge. Binh Nguyen was first to act and opened the pot for 300,000. Andrew Cimpan moved all in behind him; Mike Sowers moved all in behind Cimpan. Nguyen quickly folded, allowing Cimpan and Sowers to open their hands. It was a race, with Sowers' slightly ahead of Cimpan's .
Cimpan paired aces on a flop of but had to duck any three, any five, and a few runner-runner combinations. The on the turn took care of the running combinations; the took care of the rest. It was a pot worth more than four million for Cimpan; Sowers is now the short stack.
Binh Nguyen raised to 310,000 and again Andrew Cimpan called. The action checked all the way down on a board of . At showdown, Cimpan produced for two pair, sixes and threes. That was another winner.
10:10pm -- Yet Another Pot to Cimpan
It was a limped pot between Andrew Cimpan and Binh Nguyen. Both players checked a king-high flop, . When the turn fell , Nguyen tried a bet of 175,000 but couldn't shake Cimpan. They went to the river , where Cimpan bet 300,000. Nguyen asked if he had a queen again before calling.
At first the audience couldn't see the hand, and TD Matt Savage didn't announce it. An audience member called out, "Mr. Announcer, what was the hand?" Savage, who had been busy with something else, replied, "I didn't see it." That prompted Cimpan to turn around and say, "I had a king, I had an ace with it, I had the nut straight draw and the nut flush draw." His pair of kings was enough to drag the pot anyway.
9:59pm -- Scorecard
It seems that all of the big pots are going to Andrew Cimpan and the little ones are going to Binh Nguyen. That is not a trend that bodes well for Nguyen. In another raised pot, Cimpan checked to Nguyen and then called a bet of 400,000 on a flop of . The action checked all the way down from there, through the turn and river. Nguyen turned over for two pair, eights and sevens, but Cimpan came up with for the same two pair with a better kicker.
9:54pm -- Another 700K for the Bad Penny
Maybe Andrew Cimpan's supporters are right -- maybe he really is the bad penny that you can't get rid of because it keeps coming back. He called another 300,000 preflop raise from Binh Nguyen and then checked a flop of . Nguyen bet 400,000, then quickly folded to a check-raise from Cimpan of 1.5 million.
With that pot, Cimpan has taken a slight chip lead.
9:51pm -- "Bad Penny" Making Progress
Andrew Cimpan has relieved 700,000 chips from Binh Nguyen. He called Nguyen's 300,000-chip preflop raise to a flop of which both players checked. Cimpan checked again on the turn, but was not driven out of the pot by Nguyen's bet of 400,000. He called, then bet 1.5 million when the river fell . Nguyen quickly folded.
9:46pm -- First Pot to Nguyen
With both players playing fairly deep, heads-up play has started (predictably) with a cautious hand. Andrew Cimpan completed the small blind and Binh Nguyen checked. Both checked a flop of , but Nguyen took down the pot with a bet of 200,000 on the turn.
[user75032]
Coming out of a recent extended break, the chip counts showed that Binh Nguyen was barely ahead of Cornel Andrew Cimpan in the counts thanks to a few small pots that Nguyen picked up right before the break.
On the first hand after the break, the two players took a limped flop of . Cimpan called a bet of 175,000 on that flop, and then called a second bet of 350,000 when the turn fell . The river was the and Nguyen didn't slow down. He bet 600,000, putting Cimpan into the tank for about a minute before calling. And what did Nguyen show down? Just -- a pocket pair of aces! It was a 1.2 million chip swing for each player.
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board. Karagulleyan tried to buy the pot with a bet of 425,000, but Nguyen made the call and showed 
for two pair, kings and sevens. That was the winner.
, and then check-called another 600,000 when the turn fell 
. There was a marked increase in the level of the noise from the gallery. Both players checked the 
made top pair against Cimpan's unimproved 
. The turn and river were both blanks, the 
and the 
.
; Sowers claimed to have folded pocket threes.
. Walsh's nine lives finally ran out on a board of 
. The turn was another 
.
, giving Cimpan trip queens to the dismay of the heavily partisan crowd. Karagulleyan couldn't complete the re-suckout with a river card of 
. Cimpan quickly called, but was forced to muck his hand to Sowers' full house, fives full of jacks, made with 
.
. A board of 
took care of the rest. It was a pot worth more than four million for Cimpan; Sowers is now the short stack.
for two pair, eights and sevens, but Cimpan came up with 
. Nguyen bet 400,000, then quickly folded to a check-raise from Cimpan of 1.5 million.