David Randall has been on cruise control after late registering for this event, and things haven't changed after the break. We saw Randall raise it up to 6,000, and get three bet to 15,000 by the cutoff. It folded back to Randall, and he made the call.
Both players checked when the flop came down , and when the hit the turn. On the river, the , and Randall fired out 15,000, and his opponent called after a minute of thought. Randall tabled for top top, and it was good enough to take down another pot.
After that hand, Randall is sitting on a mountain of chips that adds up to about 215,000.
The players are now taking their final break of the night. When they return, we will either play two more hours, or play down to the final two tables: whichever comes first.
When we came up to the main stage to type that last hand, Jeff Madsen was sitting on around 85,000. So you can imagine our surprise when we looked up, saw Madsen shaking his head, and walking away from the table with no chips in front of him. We walked up to his former table mate Eric Baldwin, and he was kind enough to give us a breakdown of Madsen's final hand.
Madsen had already taken a big hit, as Baldwin said that Madsen had only about 35,000 to start the hand. Three players saw the flop of , including Madsen in the big blind. Madsen and another player checked, which led to a 7,500 bet from the third player. Madsen then moved all in for 32,200, and he was called by the original better.
Madsen held , but he was well behind the of his opponent. Madsen couldn't catch up, and just like that, he was eliminated. An understandably frustrated Madsen punched the wall on his way out the exit doors, and we will see him for tomorrow's Day 1b.
Valentin Vornicu has been on the move for most of the day. The young poker star has been moved at least five or six times today, but for the most part, Vornicu has been able to chip up at every table. However, the most recent change hasn't been good to Vornicu, who has lost half his stack in the last hour.
Vornicu was heads up with another player on a flop that read . After his opponent led out for 6,000, Vornicu raised to 16,000, and it was back to his opponent. He moved all in for about 60,000, and it was back to Vronicu. This bet represented most of Vornicu's stack, so it was a huge decision. He eventually let his hand go, and his opponent flashed for middle set.
Vornicu is still doing fine with 68,000 but that is much less then what he brought to the table.
We are supposed to play three more levels, but given that we are playing down to 18 players, and we have just 27 left, we don't think we will be getting to 17 levels. Nine more eliminations and we will be done for the night.
Paul Hendee has been talking for most of the day, and he just provided his table with a few more gems that had them laughing. In a recent hand, Hendee limped in from middle position, and the cutoff moved all in for his last 21,000. Hendee went into the tank for about a minute before announcing call.
Hendee:
Opponent:
Hendee clapped his hands when he saw that he was ahead, and the flop provided plenty of action for both, coming down . Hendee paired up, but he would need to fade a club on the turn or river. Hendee asked for red, and he got his wish on the turn, the . The river was a black card, but it was the , and Hendee collected the bounty, and upped his stack to 62,000.
After the hand, a happy Hendee boasted "I can read people baby. I might not do much fancy three betting, c-betting like all you guys, but I can read people man!" The whole table burst out in laughter as Hendee stacked his chips.
Well it certainly didn't take LA pro Ray Henson very long to get back the chips he lost a couple hours ago. We got to the table as Henson and another player were getting the money in on a flop that read . Henson's was well out in front of his opponent's , and it stayed that way, as the board finished and .
After that hand, Henson is back amongst the big stacks, sitting on 165,000.
, and when the 
hit the turn. On the river, the 
, and Randall fired out 15,000, and his opponent called after a minute of thought. Randall tabled 
for top top, and it was good enough to take down another pot.
, including Madsen in the big blind. Madsen and another player checked, which led to a 7,500 bet from the third player. Madsen then moved all in for 32,200, and he was called by the original better.
, but he was well behind the 
. After his opponent led out for 6,000, Vornicu raised to 16,000, and it was back to his opponent. He moved all in for about 60,000, and it was back to Vronicu. This bet represented most of Vornicu's stack, so it was a huge decision. He eventually let his hand go, and his opponent flashed 
for middle set.
. Hendee paired up, but he would need to fade a club on the turn or river. Hendee asked for red, and he got his wish on the turn, the 
. The river was a black card, but it was the 
, and Hendee collected the bounty, and upped his stack to 62,000.
. Henson's 
was well out in front of his opponent's 
and 
.