We're back. While some players had a couple of rocky levels to start out today, no one is in immediate danger of busting. Tom Schneider had fallen as low as 15,000, but won a couple of hands near the end of Level 2 to chip back to 25,000.
Compared to yesterday's round, there is essentially an extra level of play here at the beginning of Round 2 -- yesterday, when players started with 4,500 chips, the limits at level 2 were 100/200 -- so we're still likely a little while away from our first eliminations.
Flaminio Malaguti, sporting a red Ferrari jacket, just picked up a couple of big pots over on Table #244 to catapult into the chip lead over there. His stack is hovering at the 80,000 mark right now.
Spoke too soon when saying we wouldn't see any eliminations for awhile. Even though it is limit, a sequence of unfortunate hands -- with the betting limits at 1,000/2,000 -- can spell doom quickly for those with below average stacks. And indeed, we've just seen our first player fall: Ken Lennard, over on Table #245.
Lennard had suffered a couple of quick losses in succession, moving his stack down around the 10,000-chip mark. Then came a hand in which Antonio Patelidas raised from late position, Lennard three-bet from the cutoff, Keith Ray and Steve Kim both called from the blinds, then Patelidas four-bet. Lennard, Ray, and Kim all called.
The flop came . Ray led out with a bet, Kim folded, Patelidas called, and Lennard called as well with his last remaining chips. The turn was the. Ray bet again, and Patelidas called.
The river was the . Ray bet one more time, and this time Patelidas folded. Ray turned over for the turned flush, and Lennard mucked, out in 8th at Table #245.
Juha Helppi raised from under the gun, and it folded back to Mike Beasley in the small blind who three-bet. Tom Schneider called from the big blind, Helppi four-bet it, Beasley capped, and Schneider and Helppi both called.
The flop came . Beasley bet, Schneider called, Helppi raised, Beasley reraised, Schneider folded, Helppi four-bet, and Beasley called with the last of his chips.
Helppi had , but Beasley had flopped a set with . The turn was the and the river the , and Beasley bumps back up to 21,000. Helppi tumbles to 19,500.
Ray Henson just hit a couple of tough hands over on Table #244, the result was him being the first player eliminated there. Also, Clint Keown has been knocked out over at Table #248.
That makes four players hitting the rail so far here in Level 3.
Andreas Hagen raised from under the gun, Steve Kim called from late position, and Antonio Patelidas -- his first hand back -- three-bet from the big blind. The trio eventually capped the betting, leaving Patelidas just 200 when the flop came . Patelidas put the 200 in, Hagen bet 1,000, and Kim folded.
Patelidas showed and Hagen . The turn was the and the river the , and Patelidas is the first player out on Table #245.