Matt Lawrence had a good start to the day, but that recently came crashing down in a big way. With about 60,000 in the pot and a flop of , the player in the small blind fired out 35,000. Lawrence was in the cutoff and thought for a few moments before announcing he was all in for about 140,000 total.
"Call," snapped the small blind.
"I have a flush draw," Lawrence said.
"Good," said the small blind as he tabled .
"Not really," Lawrence admitted as he showed . Indeed, Lawrence was in rough shape and needed a six or running cards to survive the hand. Interestingly, the turn gave Lawrence his said flush draw, but the river did not complete it. Just like that, Lawrence was eliminated from the WSOP-Circuit Hammond Main Event.
Dwyte Pilgrim opened for 11,000 in middle position and action folded around to Renae Garcia in the big blind. She called and the flop came . Garcia quickly tossed 15,000 out and Pilgrim moved all in just as quickly.
After some deep breaths Garcia said, "That's a big bet. You got a big hand?"
"Find out," Pilgrim said cooly.
"You think I'm bluffing?" Garcia asked. "I've got a big hand."
At that point the dealer warned her that she could not reveal anymore about her hand.
Class clown Kenny Nguyen said, "You can ask if he wants to be your boyfriend or how the weather is, but that's it."
Garcia held on to her cards a few moments longer and took several deep breaths before releasing her hand.
We're not sure how or when it happened, but it appears young Joel Merwick has been eliminated from the Main Event. We do know that Merwick, who bears a remarkable resemblance to Gus Hansen, had a rough start to the day and was left with a short stack. Given his absence from the tournament floor, we can only assume he has been sent to the rail shy of the money.
The winner of this Main Event, as well as the Hammond Casino Champion, will automatically qualify for the National Championship before next year's World Series of Poker. Here is a look at the four men who've already qualified:
A short-stacked player moved all in from early position for 12,500 and was called by the player in the hijack. Dwyte Pilgrim then moved all in over the top, which pushed the hijack out of the pot.
Showdown
Pilgrim:
Opponent:
Pilgrim was in a dominating position, but not after the flop. His opponent had hit a set and suddenly Pilgrim was left looking for a jack. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't catch on the turn nor river.
"Bad luck, Dwyte," Kenny Nguyen said from across the table. Pilgrim is down to 86,000.
Eric Bair is in solid control of his table and has steadily chipped up through the early stages today. Recently, he opened for 11,000 in middle position and found two callers. The flop came , the big blind checked and Bair bet 21,000. Both opponents folded and Bair added to his 40 chip tall stacks.
We're not sure of the action, but we do know that Matthew Hankins and an opponent became involved in a raising war that saw the former player all in for a little over 100K.
Showdown
Hankins:
Opponent:
It was a bad spot for Hankins, and he was up out of his seat even before the flop. When the dealer burned and turned the , Hankins grabbed his things in preparation for his departure, which he made when the appeared on the river.
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, the player in the small blind fired out 35,000. Lawrence was in the cutoff and thought for a few moments before announcing he was all in for about 140,000 total.
.
. Indeed, Lawrence was in rough shape and needed a six or running cards to survive the hand. Interestingly, the 
turn gave Lawrence his said flush draw, but the 
river did not complete it. Just like that, Lawrence was eliminated from the WSOP-Circuit Hammond Main Event.
. Garcia quickly tossed 15,000 out and Pilgrim moved all in just as quickly.
flop. His opponent had hit a set and suddenly Pilgrim was left looking for a jack. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't catch on the 
turn nor 
river.
, the big blind checked and Bair bet 21,000. Both opponents folded and Bair added to his 40 chip tall stacks.
, Hankins grabbed his things in preparation for his departure, which he made when the 
appeared on the river.
