Allen Cunningham
Allen Cunningham and another player limp to see a flop of K-6-3 rainbow. Cunningham check-raises, and his opponent calls the raise. The turn card is a 5, Cunningham bets 20,000, and his opponent calls. The river card is a J, Cunningham moves all in for 19,100, and his opponent calls.
Cunningham shows 6-3 for a flopped two pair, sixes and threes. But his opponent shows K-J, and he rivered a higher two pair, kings and jacks, to win the pot.
Allen Cunningham -- the 2005 WSOP Player of the Year, the fourth-place finisher of this event last year, and the guy who won his third bracelet in three years at this year's WSOP -- has been eliminated.
Padraig Parkinson, playing on Day 1D of the Main Event
Todd Brunson raised to 3,000 pre-flop, Padraig Parkinson moved all in for 8,500 and Brunson called. Brunson's Q-Q was well behind Parkinson's A-A. The flop was , the turn was the , the river was the , and Parkinson's aces held up.
After winning the pot, Parkinson slapped himself in the face, as though he couldn't believe he survived all of the pain on the turn and the river. His stack is up to 18,000 while Brunson is down to 26,000.
"Do you have the king?" Tommy Giampaolo was asked.
"Yeah, I have the king," Tommy G replied.
A king had landed on the turn and Tommy's opponent mucked after asking. Much to the surprise of Tommy G, the floor was called over for a ruling. Tommy G was informed that he's not allowed to actually disclose to anyone at the table what his actual hand is. For doing so, he was given a 9-hand penalty.
"Had you told a lie about the hand, that would have been okay," the floor staff informed him.
Tommy G got up from the table and pulled out his cell phone to make a call, then quickly stopped. "I'm going to go use my phone, is that okay? Or are you going to give me a penalty for that too?" Tommy G remarked on his way out of the tournament area.
The Suicide King
In a three-way pot, the flop was . Hal Lubarsky checked. Darren Nelson bet 6,500 and Ted Forrest raised to 60,000. Lubarsky folded. Nelson called and was all in.
Nelson:
Forrest:
Forrest had an open-ended straight draw, a flush draw, and an overcard. Nelson stood up, put his backpack on his shoulders and prepared for the early exit.
The turn was the . The river was the . Darren Nelson was eliminated and Ted Forrest increased his stack to 220,000.
Tony Hachem
Tony Hachem, brother of 2005 Champion Joe, is playing today. Much like his brother has done on a global scale, Tony has become somewhat of an ambassador for poker in his home country, Australia. He works tirelessly, organizing charity events and generally promoting our great game down under, immersing himself in the business side of the sport. But today he has come to play. He currently has just over 30,000 in chips and will be hoping to make a run at the final table. After his brother Joe’s exit from the tournament yesterday, he is the only one left to fly the flag. Will we see the Hachem name in lights once again? Time will tell.
You can join both Tony & Joe Hachem at the PokerNews Cup in Melbourne this October. For more details go to PokerNews.com. Click here to find out more
After a flop of , a player bets 11,500, another player calls, and Chad Brown calls. The turn card is the , the first player bets 19,000, the second player folds, Brown raises to 40,000, and his opponent calls. The river card pairs the board with the , his opponent bets 30,000, and Brown calls.
It's a paired board with three hearts and pretty heavy betting, so Chad Brown says, "The only hand I can really beat is [pocket] aces," and he shows for the vulnerable king-high straight, which he flopped.
His opponent shows for two pair, aces and nines, and Brown wins the pot, increasing his stack to about 240,000 in chips.
This is the second time today that Chad Brown has cracked aces with a straight.
Not only is Jeff Norman at the top of the chip counts, he's picking up some hands as well. He raised to 3,000, the player in the cutoff called, and they saw a K-Q-4 flop. Norman bet 9K, his opponent folded, and Norman showed off his pocket Aces. He's now up to 315,000.
A tournament reporter found a stray orange (5,000) chip on the floor in between some tables. According to procedure, he contacted the nearest floorperson, who removed the chip from play. (5,000 is the highest denomination currently in use.)
Jean "The Prince" Gaspard moved all in preflop and his opponent called.
Gaspard:
Opponent:
The flop was and Gaspard's opponent flopped a gutshot and a flush draw. The turn was the and the river was the . Gaspard was eliminated when his opponent rivered a straight against him. Gaspard's Aces were cracked and he headed to the rail.
Chip Jett was leaning way, way back in his chair and a passerby brushed against him. "Sorry, sorry, sorry," Jett said, leaning forward...and then he saw that the brusher was ESPN's Norman Chad. "Oh it's you, I'm not sorry," Jett joked.
, the turn was the 
, the river was the 
, and Parkinson's aces held up. 
. Hal Lubarsky checked. Darren Nelson bet 6,500 and Ted Forrest raised to 60,000. Lubarsky folded. Nelson called and was all in.
. The river was the 
. Darren Nelson was eliminated and Ted Forrest increased his stack to 220,000.
, his opponent bets 30,000, and Brown calls. 
for the vulnerable king-high straight, which he flopped. 
for two pair, aces and nines, and Brown wins the pot, increasing his stack to about 240,000 in chips.
and Gaspard's opponent flopped a gutshot and a flush draw. The turn was the 
. Gaspard was eliminated when his opponent rivered a straight against him. Gaspard's Aces were cracked and he headed to the rail.
