Robbie Verspui moved all in for 120,000 from middle position and Mark Schmid made the call from the big blind for 90,000 more.
Schmid:
Verspui:
Verspui was in trouble for his tournament life but not after the flop rolled out to give Verspui kings up and a stranglehold on the hand. Schmid would need an ace on the turn or river to knock out his opponent but it came the and and Verspui survived to double up.
It folded around to Robbie Verspui in the small blind and he moved all in for his final 245,000. Michael Sousa immediately made the call from the big blind and the hands were turned up.
Verspui:
Sousa:
The flop was giving Verspui an open-ended straight draw along with two live cards that could be paired. The turn was the which didn't change anything. While the of Verspui would no longer play if a Jack came, his would still give him a higher straight than Sousa.
The river was the which doubled up Verspui to 525,000 and made Sousa our new short stack with just 260,000.
Michael Souza went all in from middle position and it was folded around to Mark Schmid in the big blind. Schmid asked for a count and it was 410,000 total so 380,000 more to him. After a little white, he made the call and the players turned over their holdings.
Schmid:
Souza:
Souza was in a classic coinflip for his tournament life. The was clean and changed nothing but Schmid stormed into the lead when the hit the turn. Souza would need one of two remaining threes in the deck to survive but it was not meant to be when the hit. Souza, who entered the day as the chip leader, goes out in what is surely a disappointing but commendable 8th place while Schmid continued to build his chip lead.
Just moments ago, Robbie Verspui was cut down to 120,000 chips, just four big blinds at the time. However, less than an hour later he has just doubled again to 1.2 million!
Our chip leader, Mark Schmid, raised from middle position to 90,000. Verspui was waiting on the button and quietly told the dealer he was all in. The blinds got out of the way and Schmid had it counted down. It was 555,000 which was apparently a good price for Schmid as he decided to risk about a fifth of his stack.
Verspui:
Schmid:
The flop was a clean but it did give Schmid a backdoor flush draw that became much more powerful when the turn was the . Any spade or Jack would send home Verspui but it bricked with the and the comeback is on.
As we mentioned earlier, alcohol has been a big part of today's rail. There are at least a dozen or two people that have been following the action here at the Rio all day, always drink in hand. And wouldn't you know it, it's starting to catch up to them.
Recently, the tournament director announced that we would be having a new dealer and for no particular reason they erupted in cheers. They also keep asking for chip counts every few hands to the chagrin of the tournament director. Everyone seems to having fun with it though, especially the players who keep looking back and smiling.
Mark Schmid raised in the cutoff to 90,000 and it was folded around to Robbie Verspui in the big blind who made it 225,000 to go. Schmid thought for a bit before finally moving all in and Verspui insta-folded his hand. Schmid made good use of his big stack to win the pot.
Action folded around to Benjamin Volpe in the small blind. After some thought, he decided to move all in. Justin Cohen looked at his cards and immediately asked for a count. The dealer stacked out 730,000 chips and Cohen made the call.
Volpe:
Cohen:
The flop came out which was no help to either player. It was our all in player, Volpe that needed it and the turn only helped give him some extra outs. Now any seven would chop the pot. The river was not a seven but it would hit him hard.
The was peeled off and he gave a mini fist pump before looking at his rail, 20 deep, who were going crazy. After the cheer was over, they immediately began yelling "Cocktails!" like roosters at a barn. Volpe doubles to 1.5 million while Cohen is still alive with 1 million in chips.
flop rolled out to give Verspui kings up and a stranglehold on the hand. Schmid would need an ace on the turn or river to knock out his opponent but it came the 
and 
and Verspui survived to double up.
giving Verspui an open-ended straight draw along with two live cards that could be paired. The turn was the 
which didn't change anything. While the 
which doubled up Verspui to 525,000 and made Sousa our new short stack with just 260,000.
was clean and changed nothing but Schmid stormed into the lead when the 
hit the turn. Souza would need one of two remaining threes in the deck to survive but it was not meant to be when the 
hit. Souza, who entered the day as the chip leader, goes out in what is surely a disappointing but commendable 8th place while Schmid continued to build his chip lead.
and the comeback is on.
which was no help to either player. It was our all in player, Volpe that needed it and the