Brett "Gank" Jungblut had been whittled down to about 9,000 in chips prior to the last hand.
In it, he held and was heads up against a lone opponent. The flop brought , and eventually Gank would end up all in. He was looked up by his opponent, but the board was in Gank's favor. His flopped straight was the winner, earning him a double up back to 18,000.
"Did you flop that?" someone asked Gank.
"Of course. You know how I do," responded the pro.
Billy Gazes
On a flop of , Billy Gazes had the betting lead. He checked, and his opponent put out a bet. The amount was unclear, but when Gazes called, it put more than 6,000 chips in the pot.
Heads up, fourth street was the . Gazes again checked, and his opponent put out a bet of 4,100. Billy called once more.
The river brought the . Gazes sat pensively for a minute or two, alternating glances at the board and his opponent. Finally, he counted out 6,400 chips and tossed them forward. His opponent went into the tank for a couple minutes before finally surrendering his cards.
With that little chip-up pot, Gazes has climbed to 27,000 just before break.
John Racener - Eliminated
Take the "reserved" sticker off of Seat 1 at the final table; defending champion John Racener won't be filling that spot.
In his final hand of the day, Racener opened the betting with a raise to 500. Two players, including Akio Ishige, came along to the flop.
The dealer spread out the first three community cards: . Racener continued out with a bet, prompting one opponent to fold. Ishige wasn't so easily deterred though as he came along with a call.
Heads up then, fourth street brought a . Both men checked.
The river came a . Racener bet 3,800, nearly his full stack. Ishige moved all in, and Racener made the call.
Showdown:
Racener:
Ishige:
Having made his straight, Akio Ishige has done the deed, knocking off the defending champion and chipping his way up to 14,000.
Two of the many Favre fans in the room
A large portion of the field seems to be fans of the New York Jets. A critical forced fumble, recovery, and touchdown just drew a huge reaction from many players.
After a long scan through the field, there are just two ladies remaining.
Joanne Monteavero is over on table 15 with just less than 20,000. At an adjacent table, our other lady -- who says she goes simply by "Miss Kathleen" -- is sitting on about 14,000. Miss Kathleen runs a poker league in her hometown of Richmond, Virginia.
"I'm going to be the baby boomer later on," said Miss Kathleen, predicting a deep run for herself this week.
With the board reading and roughly 10,000 in the pot, John Racener put his opponent to the test with a bet of 6,000. After a short tank his opponent called and Racener told him, "Nice hand" as he mucked his cards when his opponent showed .
The defending champ is down to about roughly 7,000.