As I scoured the red section during the opening 10 minutes, there were piles of chips scattered on the table like molehills, various players yet to arrive but their bags emptied nonetheless. Just as I was calculating how long it would take Johnny Lodden to tidy the felt, I heard the first "all-in and a call" bellow from a few tables down.
Ashkan Razavi, a player who I'd covered finalling the $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha, was all in for his tournament life with , whilst foe Randall Tagawa was holding the exit gun with .
On every street, Tagawa chanted what I think was "come on", and it certainly worked, the board coming a harmless to eliminate our first player of the day.
"That was tough," he added. "I didn't know what he was playing."
We didn't catch the preflop action, but we did see Cole South and an opponent check through the turn and river on a board reading . South showed which bested his opponent's . The pot puts Cole at about 500,000 chips.
Can Kim Hua opened with a raise to 5,600 from under the gun and got one caller in Brian Rast in middle position.
The flop came . Hua continued with a bet of 8,400, and Rast thought for a moment. He then gathered chips in both hands, setting them out at once. From his left hand he delivered the 8,400 to call, and with his right he set out 13,400 more. Hua then responded by reraising Rast to 46,800 -- that is, 25,000 more to call. Rast made the call.
The turn was the . Hua immediately said he was all in, and Rast -- who was covered by Hua -- instantly called. Rast tabled for nines full, and Hua actually tossed his cards face down to the dealer. She turned them over, though -- -- and then dealt the inconsequential river.
Rast doubles to 230,000 on that one, while Hua slips back to 190,000.
A half-dozen hands into the day Evelyn Ng looked down at her stack and after a quick count she mused, "Hmmm, I think I'm 5k short..."
After being reported to start the day at 70,000, Ng couldn't figure out how she was down to 60,000 already without playing a hand. She'd paid for the big and small blind, and a few antes which could account for about half of the difference, but Ng was adamant she counted correctly last night and was now 5,000 chips short.
Unfortunately she hadn't double-checked when play started today, and although the floor was called, Ng knew there was nothing that could be done as the mysterious 5k chip was now gone.
In a pot that was three-bet before the flop, Erica Schoenberg and Steven Wiggins went heads-up to a flop for 16,000 apiece. Schoenberg led out for 26,500 and Wiggins almost immediately came in with a raise, making it 65,600 to go. With only a bit more than that behind, it was essentially a decision for her tournament life and after a bit of a tank, Schoenberg decided to wait for a better spot.
Schoenberg is down to 75,000 from the 127,000 she started the day with.
Actually, Philip Goossens has been gone for a while now.
You might have heard Goosens' story from Day 3. An online qualifier, Goosens had made it to the third day of play with an above average stack of 92,400.
As we reported yesterday, the word was the package he'd won only covered expenses through last weekend, which meant Goossens was looking at paying out of pocket if he wanted to stick around any further.
Deciding against doing so, Goossens headed back to Belgium on his scheduled flight. His stack actually survived the day yesterday, with just 4,400 left when play concluded. It only took an orbit today for Goossens finally to be eliminated. No cash, but he did outlast over 6,000 players without even playing beyond Day 2.
With a raise to 5,500 from middle position, JJ Liu came over the top for her last 8,600. Her opponent made the call with to have Liu in trouble with her .
However she found life when the board ran out to spike a set for the double up to around 23,000.
The cameras swamped the feature table here in the red section as former bracelet winner Bary Greenstein's chips sailed across the felt. He was all in with in late position, but saw no reason to reach for the pen as his foe tabled .
The flop was as clinical as a Ghana strike at goal (sorry, soccer fans), and despite a teasing turn, the river bricked out with the to double Greenstein through. He now has 158,000.
On a flop, David Benyamine led out for 10,000 from the small blind, Gabe Costner made the call and the cutoff folded. The turn was the and Benyamine checked over to Costner, who bet 20,000. Benyamine called and they went to the river, which fell the . Benyamine checked again, Costner bet 34,000 and Benyamine gave it up.
Despite the loss, Benyamine is still sporting quite a healthy stack with 338,000 in chips.
![[user4144]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
, whilst foe Randall Tagawa was holding the exit gun with 
to eliminate our first player of the day.
. South showed 
which bested his opponent's 
. The pot puts Cole at about 500,000 chips.
. Hua immediately said he was all in, and Rast -- who was covered by Hua -- instantly called. Rast tabled 
for nines full, and Hua actually tossed his cards face down to the dealer. She turned them over, though -- 
-- and then dealt the inconsequential 
river.
flop for 16,000 apiece. Schoenberg led out for 26,500 and Wiggins almost immediately came in with a raise, making it 65,600 to go. With only a bit more than that behind, it was essentially a decision for her tournament life and after a bit of a tank, Schoenberg decided to wait for a better spot.
.
in late position, but saw no reason to reach for the pen as his foe tabled 
to double Greenstein through. He now has 158,000.
, and Cunningham now has about 175,000 -- just a bit below average at the moment.