Ellis Frazier opened with a raise to 80,000 from middle position, and it folded around to Jeff Rowland in the big blind. Rowland paused a beat, then said he was all in, and Frazier called right away.
Rowland 
Frazier 
The five community cards came 
, and Rowland's eights held up. He doubles to about 830,000. And down goes Frazier... to about 600,000.
Level: 27
Blinds: 15,000/30,000
Ante: 4,000
Some huge action on just the second hand of play, the last of Level 26.
Patrick Houchins opened the hand with a raise from early position, and it folded back around to Brian Ali in the big blind who three-bet. Houchins called, and the flop came 
. Ali bet 100,000, and Houchins instantly set out chips to make it 300,000. Ali immediately called.
The turn brought the 
and a check from Ali. Houchins, again acting without hesitation, pushed out 400,000 this time, and Ali didn't wait long before calling.
The river was the 
. "All in," said Ali quietly. Houchins sat back in his chair. "This is sick!" he said, going briefly into the tank. After about 20 seconds he emerged to make the call.
Ali tabled 
for the flush, and Houchins disgustedly showed his 
for trip jacks. "Call 400 for a backdoor flush?" asked Houchins incredulously. "Shoulda went all in on the turn," answered Ali. "Whatever," was Houchins' reply.
Suddenly Ali has become the overwhelming chip leader, with about 2.8 million, while Houchins dramatically plunges to just 210,000.
The first hand of the final table saw a button raise from Albert Winchester followed by an all-in reraise from Roland Israelashvili. Winchester thought just a few seconds, then stepped aside.
Cards are in the air! There are just five minutes left in Level 26.
Level: 26
Blinds: 12,000/24,000
Ante: 4,000
All nine players are in their seats and announcements have just been made. Music is playing and the money is being brought in, accompanied with faux majesty by a couple of stately fellows in Trojan outfits. "Hail, Caesar!" someone in the gathering crowd just called. Everyone has big grins on their faces, clearly enjoying the minor spectacle.
Just a few more moments and cards will be in the air!
![[user101598]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
Day 3 of the 2011 World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event here at Caesars Atlantic City resumes at 2 p.m. today, and we are down to the final nine.
Patrick Houchins of Annapolis, Maryland is the chip leader with 1.62 million, but Brian Ali (1.38 million), Jerry "DontBluffMePLZZ" Van Strydonck (1.177 million) and Albert "vtlaxer09" Winchester (1.034 million) are biting at his heels.
Roland Israelashvili won this event last year and enters the final table with the second shortest stack. With a couple of double ups, we could be looking at a repeat performance.
Here's a look at the entire table:
| Seat | Name | Hometown | Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seat 1 | Albert Winchester | Fallas Church, VA | 1,034,000 |
| Seat 2 | Ellis Frazier | Troy, VA | 956,000 |
| Seat 3 | Roland Israelashvili | New York, NY | 645,000 |
| Seat 4 | Brian Ali | Brooklyn, NY | 1,380,000 |
| Seat 5 | Joe Caffrey | Silverton, NJ | 759,000 |
| Seat 6 | Patrick Houchins | Annapolis, MD | 1,621,000 |
| Seat 7 | John Andress | Doylestown, PA | 808,000 |
| Seat 8 | Jerry Van Strydonck | Arlington, VA | 1,177,000 |
| Seat 9 | Jeff Rowland | Indianapolis, IN | 438,000 |
Cards will be in the air in about 20 minutes, so keep it locked for blow-by-blow updates of the final table!
Main Event
Day 3 Started
