It hasn't been easy for Joseph Kuether to defend his title here at Rincon. Last March, he late registered, doubled up early, and never hit the brakes from there. However, he was eliminated before the first break yesterday, and today, he is having equally bad luck.

We caught up with Kuether heads up in a pot on a flop. There was 3,100 in the middle, and it was checked to Kuether, who fired out 2,000. His opponent put together a raise to 7,000 and slid it into the middle. Kuether quickly folded his hand, and after that, he is down to 11,000.