How is it that the biggest hands always go down just as we're about to take a break? Frank Kassela decided that we would have to wait a little longer before visiting the bathroom after making a huge move on the final hand of the level.
The madness started with the under-the-gun player raised to 10,500. There was one call before Kassela also called on the button. The small blind came along but the player in the big blind put in a raise and squeezed it to 60,000. Two folds and Kassela sensed that the big blind might have been up to something, so he responded by moving all in over the top. The small blind tanked and folded (what he later claimed was ace-king) as the big blind snap-called.
Kassela:
Big blind:
Oops! Kassela was in a pickle and there was no suckout on the board. When Kassela heard that the small blind had flatted with ace-king, he was a little miffed, as a standard raise in that spot, would have prevented Kassela from making his move and losing most of his stack. He's down to just 83,000 and could do with a break.
Duy Le was our first player to reach a million chips in the 2010 Main Event, and now sits with an impressive 1,105,000. Le's constant aggression has his tablemates on edge and his stack growing.
Matt Affleck (1,109,000) is also over a million chips. Does the name sound familiar? Affleck was a chip leader on one of the latter days of last year's Main Event, but was ultimately eliminated in 81st place.
In the last two hours we've lost some notables including 2002 Main Event Champion Robert Varkonyi, Barry Greenstein, Alfonso Cammarota, Jonathan Aguiar and David Sands. There are plenty of friendly faces still alive though. Patrik Antonious, Johnny Chan, Alexander Kostritsyn, Jesper Hougaard, David Benyamine and Josh Brikis are all still in and looking for a deep run.
We are now on an extended break due to a massive color-up. All of the black T100 chips are being raced off so we will see you in 30 minutes!
The room has undergone some noticeable cosmetic changes since the last break. About half of the Orange section has been broken, and the back two rows of Blue followed shortly thereafter. The tables have been removed from the Amazon Room for the last time this year, and there is some free floor space opening up around the perimeter of the room.
The field is breaking toward the center of the room, and there's no longer any room for spectators. The ropes have been pushed to the edges, and all of the friends and family will have to lurk around the far outskirts of the tables while we approach the money bubble. There are 94 tables left (846 players), and we are 99 eliminations away from the money. It's unlikely we'll get there before the dinner break in two hours, but it will be close.
We've rid ourselves of all those pesky black T100 chips, and the stacks are physically a little bit more manageable now. Hand-for-hand play will begin about five players shy of the bubble. There is an army of floor men and women that have been dispatched onto the floor to keep an eye on things during this crucial stage.
The cards are back in the air, and the last half of Level 15 is upon us. A little bubbly, anyone?
Rolf Slotboom was all in for about 35,000 lonely chips with . He didn't have much choice with his super short stack, but he ran right into an opponent with .
The board ran out , and Slotboom is out in 846th place, which might as well be 7,319th. They both pay the same, at least -- $0.
We've got a new cast performing over at the main feature table as we return from break. Among those seated there now are Jean-Robert Bellande, Vince Van Patten, and Karina Jett, all sitting side-by-side at one end.
Bellande has built a stack of more than 715,000 to this point today. Van Patten is sitting with about 225,000. And Jett has 155,000.
And at the other end of the table is Andrew Brown. Brown had the chip lead at one point yesterday, and began Day 4 with a top ten stack. He's had a rough day, however, and is sitting with 155,000 at present.
With the shadow of the bubble looming closer by the minute, various players are beginning to time waste in a desperate attempt to grind their way into the money. One player has already been complaining about an opponent, informing the tournament director that he was "tanking every hand".
"How long can I take?" asked the accused.
"Well, it can be real short if you keep wasting time," replied the T.D. "This isn't like online where you get an allotted time for each hand. Just no stalling please."
Brandon Cantu called a raise to 10,000 from a player in middle position with the player in the button, the small blind and the big blind also agreeing to come along.
All four players checked their way through a board that came down and Cantu's ended up on top as he scooped up a little over 30,000 in chips. Not a huge pot, but they're all important at this stage.
"Eight hundred twenty-seven players remaining," Jack Effel just announced. We've lost two full tables since the break ended just about ten minutes ago.
This pace shall not maintain for long... at least, we don't think so.
board. When Kassela heard that the small blind had flatted with ace-king, he was a little miffed, as a standard raise in that spot, would have prevented Kassela from making his move and losing most of his stack. He's down to just 83,000 and could do with a break.
. He didn't have much choice with his super short stack, but he ran right into an opponent with 
.
, and Slotboom is out in 846th place, which might as well be 7,319th. They both pay the same, at least -- $0.
and Cantu's 
