Ylon Schwartz just earned a hefty boost to his stack while knocking out an opponent.
Following a cutoff raise to 11,000, Schwartz made it 25,000 to go from the button and both blinds quickly stepped aside. The original raiser then declared he was all in, and Schwartz called without hesitation.
The player in the cutoff showed , but Schwartz had picked up . The community cards came , then , then , and Schwartz pushed his stack up close to the 200,000-chip mark.
Two-time World Series of Poker Circuit ring winner Nancy Birnbaum has been a welcome presence here in the Foxwoods Main Event, but her chance at a third ring just came to an end courtesy of Milton Thomas.
It happened at the feature table on a flop. We're not sure of the action, but we do know Birnbaum got her stack all in with and was up against the of Thomas. Neither the turn nor river was what Birnbaum needed, and she collected her Blue Shark Optics eyewear, wished the remaining players luck, and made her exit from the tournament.
"He's going to get a tattoo of a roller coaster on his arm to signify his chip stack," Aaron Massey said of his friend Kurt Jewell earlier in the day. Well, that roller coaster has crashed.
It happened after Jewell picked up and ran it straight into the of Buck Ramsay. A preflop raising war saw all the chips get in, and Ramsay's kings held to give him a double to 315,000 while Jewell fell to 23,000.
Not long after, Ramsay min-raised from the button and then called when Jewell shoved from the big blind. Ramsay tabled the and was out in front of Jewell's . The board ran out and just like that Jewell's day was done.
We've also noticed that John Dibella is missing from the tournament. Since his former seat is now occupied by another player, it's safe to say he has been eliminated from the tournament.
Ben Reason just took a bit of a hit after losing a preflop all-in hand versus Matt Sedgeman, relinquishing his hold on first position in the process.
All in for 92,500 with , Sedgeman had the advantage over Reason's , and when the board came both players had made two pair but Sedgeman's was best.
Right after that hand, the table broke, thus moving Reason and Jonathan Gray apart from one another as Level 18 continues, with no major confrontations having happened between the two chip leaders during their time together.
Mike Newman limped under the gun and then called when Terry Grimes raised to 16,000. Newman then checked the flop and Grimes moved all in for roughly 50,000. Newman called with and was well out in front of Grimes' . Neither the turn nor river helped Grimes and he made the long walk out of the Foxwoods tournament area.
Ronnie Bardah's day is done as we near the end of Level 17. The WSOP bracelet holder battled gamely with a short stack for nearly four hours today, but finally met his end in a hand against Alex Ortiz.
That hand began with Bardah open-raising from middle position for 30,500, then Ortiz calling from a seat over. Bardah turned over , and when he saw Ortiz's he moved to gather his belongings.
The flop came . "Is that a nine?" asked Bardah, then he saw the jack as well and continued to move to leave. The turn was the and river the , and Bardah gave Ortiz a pat on the back as he left.
We happened by Table 6 just in time to see Lawrence Greenberg take down a large pot when his held up against an opponent's after the board had run out . The win increased Greenberg's stack to 245,000, which was especially nice considering he was down to 25,000 about a half hour before.
Meanwhile, Brandon Mandy is attempting to make a comeback. He began the day on the second shortest stack, a mere 12,300, but he has managed to work it up to 75,000. It's still less than average, but he's hanging tough.
, but Schwartz had picked up 
. The community cards came 
, then 
, then 
, and Schwartz pushed his stack up close to the 200,000-chip mark.
and was up against the 
of Thomas. Neither the 
turn nor 
and was out in front of Jewell's 
. The board ran out 
and just like that Jewell's day was done.
, Sedgeman had the advantage over Reason's 
, and when the board came 
flop and Grimes moved all in for roughly 50,000. Newman called with 
and was well out in front of Grimes' 
he moved to gather his belongings.
. "Is that a nine?" asked Bardah, then he saw the jack as well and continued to move to leave. The turn was the 
and river the 
, and Bardah gave Ortiz a pat on the back as he left.
. The win increased Greenberg's stack to 245,000, which was especially nice considering he was down to 25,000 about a half hour before.
