Aaron "WiltOnTilt" Wilt is cruising along with 53,000 chips and looking very comfortable at his table. We caught him in back-to-back hands hands, both of which he won.
The first saw Wilt raise to 2,700 from under the gun and William Tonking call from the big blind. Tonking then checked to Wilt on a queen-high flop, Wilt bet 2,200, and Tonking folded.
Hand number two saw Carlos Villamarin open to 2,400 on the button and Wilt call in the big blind. Wilt then check-called a 2,500 bet on the flop before leading for 5,000 on the turn. Villamarin quickly folded and Wilt added more chips to his seemingly ever-growing stack.
Table 444 looks to be one of the toughest in the room thanks to it housing Johan Guilbert, Brandon Cantu, Dan Kelly and Jeff Gross among others. Expect fireworks at some point, especially if Guilbert and Cantu clash, because neither needs much of an excuse to get his chips into the middle.
Action folded to Ferdinando Locascio in the small blind and he raised to 3,700. Matt Waxman reraised to 6,200 from the big blind and Locascio made the call. The flop was and Locascio checked. Waxman bet 6,800 and Locascio called.
The turn was the and Locascio check-called a bet of 13,600 from Waxman. The river was the and Locascio checked once again. Waxman thought for a moment and then moved all in for 30,800. Locascio tanked for a couple of minutes and eventually threw out a chip for the call. "Nice hand," Waxman declared as the dealer asked for both hands to be tabled.
Waxman:
Locascio:
Locascio had missed his flush draw, but his hero call with ace high was good for a huge pot and Waxman's elimination.
It was heads-up to the flop and the big blind checked to Alex Goulder who was seated under-the-gun. Goulder checked behind and the dealer placed the on the turn. Again, the action checked to Goulder; he bet 6,100 and was called.
The river was the and both players checked. Goulder showed and had caught an ace on the river — the title of Barry Greenstein's book — and Goulder won the pot.
Goulder looks to have around 50,000 chips after that hand, down from a peak of around 105,000 at the start of the day.
Dan Kelly raised to 3,600 from the button, Jeff Gross folded his small blind, but David Jacobson defended his big blind with a call.
Jacobson checked to Kelly on the flop, Kelly bet 4,500 and Jacobson called. The on the turn paired the board and both players checked its arrival. The board double paired when the landed on the river, but it didn't seem to bother Jacobson, who led for 6,500. Kelly mucked and Jacobson climbed to 117,000.
Two of the biggest stacks at the start of play, Shashank Jain and Josh Schoonover, are seated at the same table on Table 438 and there's potential for a massive pot being created.
Jain won a pot recently that took him past the 150,000 chip mark. The board was a draw heavy and Schoonover checked to Jain on the button. Jain bet 15,000 and Schoonover called.
Jain revealed for two pair and Schoonover flashed as he mucked.
"You can keep hold of those [chips] for a while. Keep 'em warm, rub 'em a little," said Schoonover to Jain.