Brock "tsoprano"Parker
On a flop of , Roy Winston moved all in for 1,000,000 and Brock "tsporano" Parker called, Winston having him covered. Parker showed for top two pair, but Winston turned over for a set. The turn was the , the river was the , and Parker was eliminated.
Ed De Haas in action
Team PokerNews player Ed De Haas has just cracked a million in chips. After some aggressive pre-flop action, he just took down a pot in excess of 250,000, taking his stack up to 1,050,000.
You can join Team PokerNews at the PokerNews Cup in Melbourne, Australia this October. For more details on how to qualify, log on to PokerNews.com.
Han raised to 35,000 and Kane called on the button. Both players checked the flop, but when the hit on the turn Han checked, Kane bet 100K, and Han moved all-in. Kane called with his last 200,000 and showed , while Han held pocket Eights. The hit on the river and that brought Kane's Main Event to an end. Han is now up to 800K.
2002 WSOP Main Event Champion Robert Varkonyi
Robert Varkonyi moved all in pre-flop with the and was called by Mickey Seagle with A-Q. The flop was , giving Seagle a straight. Varkonyi's only hope was a queen to split the pot. The turn was the , the river was the and the 2002 WSOP Main Event champion was eliminated.
Varkonyi's elimination leaves us with three former WSOP champions remaining in the field-- Berry Johnston (1986), Huckleberry Seed (1996) and Scotty Nguyen (1998).
This level is scheduled to end in about 35 minutes, and then play will continue right into the next level without a break. After another hour of play (about 7:10 pm PDT), the field will take their 90-minute dinner break.
After dinner, they are scheduled to play another level and a half (three hours of poker, plus a break). However, Jack Effel has announced that if they reach 99 players (the final 11 tables), play will stop for tonight.
Regardless of what happens today, play will continue tomorrow (Saturday) until there are just 27 players remaining.
We just had a tense three-way standoff on Table 53, and all we were missing was the Ennio Morricone soundtrack. Imran Ahmad raised to 25,000 and Charis Anastasiou called. Rob Kluber raised to 100,000. Ahmad then raised it to 200,000 total. At which point Anastasiou, who had flat-called Ahmad's 25K bet, moved all-in for over 600,000.
Kluber looked mildly agitated as he tried to decide what to do. He'd taken the initiative in the hand and had it snatched away...twice. He took several minutes before choosing to muck his hand and walk away from the table.
Then it was Ahmad who had to think long and hard about what to do. He also took several minutes staring down Anastisiou before he folded and flipped over his hand--pocket Queens. Kluber said he folded pocket Kings. And Anastasiou raked in the pot without showing what he had.
We mentioned yesterday during the money bubble that there would be a nine-player tournament for the last nine players eliminated before the money in the Main Event. Well, today they had that event, and the winner is ...
Lee Dryer.
For coming so close to the $20,320 payday that 621st would have awarded, and rebounding the next day to defeat eight more bubble boys, Mr. Dryer receives a $10,000 entry into the 2008 WSOP Main Event, along with a year's supply of beer provided by Milwaukee's Best (which we heard amounts to four cases a month - or around 4 beers a day).
There was no word on what the bubble player received in the bubble tournament.
On a flop of , Dario Minieri moved all in for 561,000 and Philip Hilm quickly called.
Hilm:
Minieri:
Both players had gutshot straight draws but Minieri was ahead with King high. The turn was the and the river was the . Minieri won the pot with.... King high. Minieri increased his stack to 1.43 million while Hilm slipped to 570,000.
Donna Blevins All-In
On a flop of , Donna Blevins moved all in for just over 100,000 and Adam White called. Blevins turned over while White tabled . The turn was the , the river was the and Blevins was eliminated as White added even more chips to his monster stack.
After the hand, White was closing in on the 3,000,000 mark.
, Roy Winston moved all in for 1,000,000 and Brock "tsporano" Parker called, Winston having him covered. Parker showed 
for top two pair, but Winston turned over 
for a set. The turn was the 
, the river was the 
, and Parker was eliminated. 
flop, but when the 
hit on the turn Han checked, Kane bet 100K, and Han moved all-in. Kane called with his last 200,000 and showed 
, while Han held pocket Eights. The 
, giving Seagle a straight. Varkonyi's only hope was a queen to split the pot. The turn was the 
, the river was the 
and the 2002 WSOP Main Event champion was eliminated. 
, Alex Michaels checked. Cory Carroll bet 175,000 and Alex Michaels moved all in. Carroll called.
, Dario Minieri moved all in for 561,000 and Philip Hilm quickly called. 
and the river was the 
. Minieri won the pot with.... King high. Minieri increased his stack to 1.43 million while Hilm slipped to 570,000.
, Donna Blevins moved all in for just over 100,000 and Adam White called. Blevins turned over 
and Blevins was eliminated as White added even more chips to his monster stack. 
