There were 125,000 in the middle on a flop of where Mark Erickson bet 100,000 from the big blind and received calls from Barny Boatman in middle position and Peter Neff in the small blind.
The was dealt on the turn and Erickson bet 325,000 which gained a fold from Boatman and a call from Neff.
The completed the board and Erickson fired the last barrel for 1,100,000. Neff thought it over and let his cards go to allow Erickson to drag in the pot.
There was 220,000 in the middle on a flop of . Bradley Anderson bet 220,000 from the cutoff and was met with a raise of 550,000 by Barny Boatman on the button. Anderson made the call.
The fell on the turn and Boatman moved all in for 525,000. In the hustle and bustle of the mothership Anderson asked "Do you have top set?"
Boatman responded in his typical dry wit; "Top set? Of course I have top set! It is the World Series of Poker and I have the nut low!"
Anderson quietly folded and Boatman dragged in the entire pot.
Scott Abrams, who finished third in this event last year may just be the man to beat, as he's steadily boosted his stack throughout the day and has now taken his turn as the chip leader.
After Barny Boatman raised in the lojack, Abrams called in the hijack and Mark Erickson called in the big blind.
The flop came and after Erickson checked, Boatman bet and Abrams raised. Erickson then called, as did Boatman, and a huge pot was already brewing.
Erickson checked again on the board-pairing turn, as did Boatman. Abrams then bet and received calls from both his opponents, creating a 1,800,000 pot before the river.
That river brought the , ensuring the pot would not be split. After action was checked to Abrams, he bet once more and received folds from both opponents, with Erickson mentioning that his was "embarrassing".
Regardless, Abrams took down the massive pot and is on his way to improving on his 2021 finish.
There were three players with 1,000,000 in the pot on a flop of . Men Nguyen in the hijack bet and was called by Mark Erickson on the button and Jarod Minghini in middle position.
Nguyen bet again on the turn and was called by Erickson straight away. Minghini agonized over his decision a little longer as a call would put him all-in.
He eventually pushed his two red stacks into the middle creating a main pot of 2,000,000 and Erickson and Nguyen would be playing for the side pot.
The landed on the river and Nguyen bet and Erickson called.
Jarod Minghini:
Men Nguyen:
Mark Erickson:
Erickson took the high pot with the six-high straight and Nguyen took the low pot with which eliminated Minghini from the tournament.
After Men Nguyen, Peter Neff, and Mark Erickson limped, Bradley Anderson made it 300,000 on the button.
Scott Abrams called in the big blind, as did the limpers, and over 1,500,000 was already in the pot.
On the flop, all five players checked, but that civility would not last, starting on the turn.
Action was checked to Anderson who bet 1,000,000. Only Nguyen and Erickson called. The pot was now over 4,500,000.
On the river , Nguyen moved all in for 1,705,000. Erickson took a moment and called, then after several minutes, Anderson called as well.
The winner(s) of the near ten million chip pot were now determined.
Anderson showed and was shocked to see he was the only player holding ace-three to claim the low half of the pot.
Nguyen showed for a queen-high straight.
Erickson then frustratedly splashed his hand down before it was turned up, revealing for a turned top two pair and rivered set of queens, neither of which were good for high, as he lost out on a share of easily the biggest pot of the tournament so far.
Five of the six remaining players mentioned that they would prefer to pass over the scheduled dinner break at the end of this level in favor of a 15-minute break, with Barny Boatman the lone dissenting voice.
The players joked that they would now have to bust Boatman in the next half hour to get their wish, otherwise they'll take a full 60 minutes at the end of this level.
Barny Boatman bet 120,000 from under the gun and was called by Bradley Anderson in the big blind.
The flop of received a check from both players. Boatman bet 250,000 on the turn and was called by Anderson.
The completed the board and Boatman bet the pot to go all in and was snap called by Anderson.
Boatman revealed for the six-high straight for the high and the wheel for the low. Anderson couldn't believe Boatman had a six as he showed to only take half of the low pot.