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Jason Mercier was cruising earlier in the day but he's down to less than 3,000 after having to fold a recent three-way pot. Dario Minieri and one other player were along for the two bets pre-flop. All checked the 
flop. When the turn fell 
Mercier and Minieri folded for a single bet.
Berry Johnston raised and picked up one caller, Cyndy Violette. The flop came 
, and Johnston bet. Violette folded, and as happens so often when a women folds, the big mean bully male felt obligated to show. With the 
he flashed, Johnston wasn't playing around.
A few hands later, Violette cracked Bryan Micon's aces with quad tens to send him home.
Busting out is never easy. It's even more painful when you have four cards in your hand and can't even beat a pair of deuces. "What's your high?" an all-in player asked at a table on the rail. "A pair of deuces? Unbelievable!" He picked up all four of his cards, stared at them accusingly, and then laid them out on the felt, hoping he had somehow missed a hand better than deuces. He had not.
At a nearby table, another player was overheard to say, "I miss the Party Poker days." So do we all.
It was time for Barry Greenstein time to sign another book. In this edition of Barry's exit autograph, he gave a copy of Ace on the River to Ken Robinson. On an 
flop, Greenstein says he got it in with A-8-5-5 against Robinson's A-A-9-3. The turn was the and the river the , relegating Greenstein to the rail.
After an early position limper, Daniel Negreanu raised. The button reraised, and both other players called to see a 
flop. The first player checked, and Negreanu bet. When the button raised, only Negreanu called. Daniel check-called a bet on the turn, and when the river fell a complete brick, the 
, Negreanu had no choice but to check-fold, leaving himself only 200 chips behind. He said he had the nut low draw and a flush draw, neither of which got there.
Next hand he was all in for a small blind against four other players. He didn't manage a miracle quadruple up and is on his way out. He tweeted to his fans, "Busto in the Omaha 8. Missed like 6 flush draws in a row. So far I have been running ugly but luckily there are a gazillion events left."
Gavin Smith moved in for his last 1,000 after a player under the gun opened for 800. "Ain't no shame in folding, Smoky," said Smith. Of course Smith's opponent called.
Smith: 
Opponent: 
The board rolled out 
to give Smith a full house. His opponent could not come up with a low. "There you go," said Smith. "I doubled through you." The talkative Smith is up to about 2,600, which is not very much at limits of 400 and 800.
Level: 7
Blinds: 200/400
Ante: 0
One last chance to visit the poker kitchen, go to the bathroom, etc. tonight. Players will be back in 20 after a break and the color up of the T25 chips. Then they've got two more levels to build their stacks before bed.
Action folded to Phil Hellmuth, and he stuck in a raise. Only the big blind called to see the 
flop. The big blind check-called a bet from Phil. On the 
turn, the player checked again, and the Poker Brat, aka Mr. Zen, checked behind. The river brought the 
, and the big blind bet out. Hellmuth called and showed down 
for a six-high straight and a wheel low. Also with a wheel, his opponent was left with a quarter of the pot.
Stephen "the Big Show" Topakas was among the last players to break out of the Red section into the Blue section. He just played a pot at his new table from the blinds. Topakas checked the turn 
, then called a middle-position bet after one other player called ahead of him.
The river fell . Again Topakas checked. He was visibly displeased when the middle-position player bet all in, but Topakas put in a raise anyway to squeeze the player in between. That player called, then mucked for the side pot when Topakas turned up 
for a queen-high straight. The main pot, however, went to the middle-position player, who showed 
.
The rebate that Topakas got out of the side pot did little to improve his mood.
