827 players started this $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. event at 5pm Wednesday evening. At 3am Friday morning, after eighteen full levels of play, we're down to the last three tables.
Despite the fact that 90% of the field that started Day 2 busted by the end of the night, it felt like a slow day in the Amazon Room. The Lakers-Celtics game captured more attention and more energy than anything on the tournament floor. Many of the most recognizable "tv" pros -- names like Seidel and Juanda and Lederer -- were busted long before the money bubble burst. Others, like Tom Dwan and Jason Mercier, made it to the money but weren't able to put together a deep run.
Day 1 overnight chip leader Ming Reslock had a crazy day, with wild fluctuations in her stack. But she did make it through to Day 3 with a below-average stack of 128,000.
Tomorrow all eyes will be on Konstantin Puchkov, who went on a massive run in the last level of the day to grab the chip lead with 469,000 chips. He's followed by Andrew Revesz (336,000), Robert Mizrachi (238,000), Allen Kessler (229,000) and Dustin Leary (227,000). Also still lurking near the back of the pack is 2009 $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. champion James Van Alstyne. He'll return tomorrow with 115,000 chips.
The last three tables will resume at 3pm local time tomorrow. They'll play from there until a champion is determined -- what is sure to be a very, very long day. But we'll be there, as always.
On one of the last hands of the night, raised all in pre-flop from early position and was called by both blinds. The blinds checked the flop, but when a king came on the turn one bet from the big blind drove small blind James Darnaby out of the hand. Veldhuis had complete air, , and was drawing dead against Darnaby's pair of kings, . He got to leave a few hands earlier than everyone else, finishing in 25th place.
A short-stacked Daniel Huseman was all in on fourth street against Jon Turner. Huseman opened / and was racing to two pair against Turner's / . Turner caught the , and to make a six-low and two pair, aces and sixes. Huseman caught a second king on fifth street, but never improved from kings and tens. He's been eliminated in 27th place.
It might have been all the razzing Allen Kessler is getting from Al Barbieri over suggestions Kessler is making to the tournament supervisors, but Kessler just lost track of his cards and proclaimed he had a pair of threes when the river was checked down in a hand against an opponent. It turns out Kessler actually had a flush, which some of the other players at his table pointed out.
Kessler: /
Opponent: (XXX) /
Kessler had completed on third street with his opponent calling. On fourth street Kessler called a bet, and the two checked it down the rest of the way.
Dustin Leary raised pre-flop, only to be re-raised by button player Thomas Hunt. Leary called to an all-club flop, . Leary check-called once, check-called again on the turn, and then checked the river. Hunt fired one last barrel, finally inducing a fold from Leary.
flop, but when a king came on the turn one bet from the big blind drove small blind James Darnaby out of the hand. Veldhuis had complete air, 
, and was drawing dead against Darnaby's pair of kings, 
. He got to leave a few hands earlier than everyone else, finishing in 25th place.
/ 
/ 
. Turner caught the 
to make a six-low and two pair, aces and sixes. Huseman caught a second king on fifth street, but never improved from kings and tens. He's been eliminated in 27th place.
/ 
. Leary check-called once, check-called again on the