Action folded around to Shannon Shorr in the cutoff, and he made it 2,800 to go. It folded around to Veronica Dabul in the big blind, who moved all in. Shorr called off the rest of his 19,300, and he saw that he would have to win a race to stay alive.
Shorr:
Dabul:
Even thought it started off as a race, Shorr was drawing dead to a chop when the flop came out . The turn brought the , and Shorr's day was over. The meaningless river was the , and Shorr hit the rail just before our first break.
As we were walking back to the media desk from that Sam Stein double up, we caught another big hand between bracelet winner Gavin Smith and recently triple crown winner Jake Cody. The flop read , and Smith was all in for around 30,000. Cody cut out the chips for the call, and saw that he had about 41,000 behind. After about a minute of thought, he slid the chips in for the call, and saw that he was ahead when they tabled their cards.
Smith:
Cody:
The turn kept Cody in the lead, when it came the , but the river came the , giving Cody two pair, but Smith an unbeatable straight. Smith doubled up to 70,000, while Cody dipped below the average stack in the room.
From under the gun, Waylon Frey raised to 2,400. Anh Van Nguyen flatted from middle position and action was folded to Jesse Cohen on the button. He three-bet to 7,600 and the blinds folded. Frey thought for a moment and decided to slide the rest of his chips in, about 25,000. Van Nguyen reraised all in and Cohen mucked his hand.
Frey:
Van Nguyen:
The board ran out and Frey hit the rail. Nguyen stacked up 95,000 chips after that pot.
Andy Frankenberger opened with a raise in early position, but the dealer had already pulled it in by the time we walked up. That's because David "Bakes" Baker had three-bet an additional 4,200 from middle position, and those were the only chips out in the betting area. Frankenberger took a long pause and then stacked the call into the pot.
The flop brought , and the action stalled on the deliberate Frankenberger. After a minute or more, he checked, and Bakes fired 7,700 at the pot. Neither us nor Bakes heard Frankenberger's announcement, but the dealer spoke up. "Player is all in." It was about 40,000 total, maybe a bit less.
"He's all in?" Bakes asked. "I call." He confidently tabled , and Frankenberger's inferior was in miserable shape. The turn and river and were both close but no cigar, and Frankenberger has been whisked away.
With that knockout, Bakes climbs to about 125,000.
We reported earlier that Sam Stein was chipping up today, and he just took a big step towards his quest to moving up in the WSOP Player of the Year board. When we got to the table, Stein was heads up with Igor Kurganov on a flop of . Stein had led out for 3,600, and Kurganov raised to 9,200. Stein thought for about a minute before he slid the rest of his stack into the middle, about 32,500 total. Kurganov made the call, and Stein saw that he was ahead.
Stein:
Kurganov:
Stein had flopped top pair, but would have to fade the straight draw and over card of Kurganov. The turn was as good as it could have been for Stein, coming the , eliminating Kurganov's king and nine for outs. That turn became even more important when the hit the river. Despite pairing his king, Kurganov was second best to Stein's trips, and Stein took the double up to boost his stack up to 71,000.
. The turn brought the 
, and Shorr's day was over. The meaningless river was the 
, and Shorr hit the rail just before our first break.
of Daniel Stern and the 
of Urs Kohler on a 
board.
, but the river came the 
, giving Cody two pair, but Smith an unbeatable straight. Smith doubled up to 70,000, while Cody dipped below the average stack in the room.
and Frey hit the rail. Nguyen stacked up 95,000 chips after that pot.
was in miserable shape. The turn and river 
. Stein had led out for 3,600, and Kurganov raised to 9,200. Stein thought for about a minute before he slid the rest of his stack into the middle, about 32,500 total. Kurganov made the call, and Stein saw that he was ahead.
hit the river. Despite pairing his king, Kurganov was second best to Stein's trips, and Stein took the double up to boost his stack up to 71,000.
