David Hiers got things going with a raise from late position. He got some takers in the form of Evan "MacDaddy34" Panesis on the button, as well as Ben Hock and Jeff Bryan in the blinds.
With four-way action, the flop revealed . The blinds checked, and Hiers continued the betting with 8,000 chips. Panesis was next, and he wasted little time putting in a raise to 22,000. Even quicker, Ben Hock moved all in himself, sliding the last 53,100 of his chips into the middle in one neat stack.
Hiers was floored. He took several minutes counting and re-counting his stack, checking and re-checking his cards. Finally, and reluctantly, he released his hand. Panesis was the only one left to do battle with, and he too seemed to have a tough decision. After another minute or two, "MacDaddy34" called for more than half his stack.
Showdown:
Hock:
Panesis:
Hock stood to await his destiny, and his destiny was not so good, apparently. The ripped right off on the turn, vaulting Panesis into the lead and leaving Hock drawing to a four-out full house. The on the river was a miss, and Hock has been ousted in 11th place.
With the knockout of Ben Hock, we are down to our final ten players. Seats are being redrawn for the unofficial final table, and we'll play on until we lose one more player.
Donnie Peters
Harold Kruger - eliminated
After the flop came down , Harold Kruger led into two opponents with a bet of 20,000. Jeff Banghart was the first of those opponents and made the call. Behind him, John McDonald min-raised to 40,000. Harold Kruger then announced, "All in" for about 55,000 more. The all-in move shot Banghart from his chair as he was faced with a very tough decision. "Just get these out of my hand!" exclaimed Banghart as he folded after a few moments of pacing.
"I call!" proclaimed McDonald turning over pocket nines and yelling "Full house!" Kruger disgustedly turned up his pocket aces.
The turn brought the and the river the . McDonald clapped his hands together in triumph while Kruger immediately made way for the exit.
"You get all my chips if you slowplay that," said Banghart. "I had two big clubs."
McDonald is now a big chip leader with over 300,000 chips.
Tony Hartmann - eliminated
Before the flop, Ari "BodogAri" Engel opened with a button raise to 7,200. The small blind folded, but Tony Hartmann came along from the big.
Heads up, the flop brought . Hartmann checked, and Engel quickly tapped the table behind.
The turn was the . This time, Hartmann sat motionless for almost a full minute. Finally, he grabbed several stack of chips and announced that he was all in.
Ari Engel immediately slouched back in his chair with a look of disbelief on his face. "Can I get a count, please?" he asked. "But I'm 99 percent sure I'm calling." He didn't even wait for the full count; as the dealer began breaking down the stacks, Engel obliged with the call.
Showdown:
Hartmann:
Engel:
Looking to fill out one of his draws, Hartmann stood to await the final card. It was a blank, the , and Tony Hartmann has been knocked out in 13th place.
We pick up the action on the flop in a three-way pot with the board showing . Harold Kruger is first to act, and he leads out with a bet of 6,000. Joaquin Sosa folds, but Dennis Meierotto opts to come along to the turn.
It brings the . Kruger keeps the heat on with a bet of 12,400. Meierotto takes his time counting out the call and separating it from his stack before he announces, "All in," pushing out the rest of his 35,900 chips in addition. Kruger doesn't seem to like it. He mutters something about "letting him catch up," then releases his hand, sending a nice chunk of chips over to Meierotto.
Donnie Peters
In the last hand before the break, Rich Tomman moved all in for 8,000 and was called in two spots. The first caller was Tony Hartmann and the second was John McDonald.
The board ran out with both McDonald and Hartmann checking it down.
Hartmann turned up and McDonald showed pocket jacks. Tomman flipped up and was no good. He was eliminated with McDonald scooping the entire pot.
After a nice run in the last half hour, Jesse Hale has taken over the chip lead, sitting right at 200,000. Second place belongs to John McDonald, not too far behind with his 160,000. Our start-of-day chip leader, Jeff Banghart, is sitting comfortably in third with a stack of 145,000.
Those are your leaders, but it's still anyone's game; the middle of the pack is all bunched up right behind the top dogs.
Mark Eddleman - eliminated
Four players came into the pot for the price of the big blind, looking to see a cheap and friendly flop.
The dealer spread out the first three action cards: . Jeff Daubs checked, and Mark Eddleman moved all in for a total of 21,700. Action was on John McDonald, and he cut the calling chips out of his stack. After a moment of careful consideration, he splashed them into the pot, putting Eddleman's tournament in jeopardy while the other two limpers ducked out.
"I flopped a straight and an open-ended straight-flush draw," said Eddleman, turning over .
"I flopped a flush," came the reply from McDonald, tabling .
"I got outs," Eddleman reassured himself. Unfortunately for him, the dealer couldn't find any of his outs as the turn and river blanked off and respectively. Wishing his table luck, Mark Eddleman has made his exit in 15th place.
button in Safari
. The blinds checked, and Hiers continued the betting with 8,000 chips. Panesis was next, and he wasted little time putting in a raise to 22,000. Even quicker, Ben Hock moved all in himself, sliding the last 53,100 of his chips into the middle in one neat stack.
ripped right off on the turn, vaulting Panesis into the lead and leaving Hock drawing to a four-out full house. The 
on the river was a miss, and Hock has been ousted in 11th place.
, Harold Kruger led into two opponents with a bet of 20,000. Jeff Banghart was the first of those opponents and made the call. Behind him, John McDonald min-raised to 40,000. Harold Kruger then announced, "All in" for about 55,000 more. The all-in move shot Banghart from his chair as he was faced with a very tough decision. "Just get these out of my hand!" exclaimed Banghart as he folded after a few moments of pacing.
and the river the 
. McDonald clapped his hands together in triumph while Kruger immediately made way for the exit.
. Hartmann checked, and Engel quickly tapped the table behind.
. This time, Hartmann sat motionless for almost a full minute. Finally, he grabbed several stack of chips and announced that he was all in.
, and Tony Hartmann has been knocked out in 13th place.
and McDonald showed pocket jacks. Tomman flipped up 
and was no good. He was eliminated with McDonald scooping the entire pot.
. Jeff Daubs checked, and Mark Eddleman moved all in for a total of 21,700. Action was on John McDonald, and he cut the calling chips out of his stack. After a moment of careful consideration, he splashed them into the pot, putting Eddleman's tournament in jeopardy while the other two limpers ducked out.
and 
