Vincent Laise moved all in preflop for 1,525,000 and action folded around to Justin Hankinson who made the call. The players then tabled their cards, with Laise at risk of elimination.
Vincent Laise: A♣J♣
Justin Hankinson: K♠Q♦
Laise was ahead so far with his ace-high, and the runout was pure as it came 8♠9♥2♦2♠2♥ for him to secure the double-up.
A player from a table waved to alert PokerNews of a brewing situation.
“This has to be one of the largest pots of the tournament,” he said with excitement in his voice.
Whether it was the largest pot is unknown, but there's no denying the unfolding drama.
WSOP bracelet winner Arash Ghaneian and Yuanjun Lu were observed being involved in a hand with more than 6,000,000 in the pot on a board showing 4♥10♥2♣3♠K♥.
Lu had moved all in against Ghaneian, who barely had his opponent covered. But the river card brought a lot of anxious moments. Ghaneian was in the tank for more than a minute, alternating looks between the board and Lu, who sat virtually motionless.
The drama at the table also received plenty of attention. Almost all the players were on their feet watching it unfold, and there were multiple spectators just behind the roped off area observing the hand.
Ghaneian took one last look at the pot before mucking his hand.
“Is this good?” Lu said to Ghaneian as he showed A♥.
“How about this? Is this good?” Lu asked Ghaneian while showing his second card, which was K♠.
Whether either card was good, Ghaneian didn’t say. Instead, he just smiled and appeared to take it in stride.
On a heads-up turn of J♥6♦10♠6♥, the swelled pot already had over 2,000,000 in the middle when both Gershon Distenfeld and Xuming Qi decided to check and see the 6♠ appear on the turn.
Diestenfeld then shoved all in, totaling 2,170,000, and the pressure was on Qi.
After a good 30 seconds of thought, Qi set out a stack of chips, making the call to put Distenfeld's tournament life at risk.
"You got it, nice call," Distenfeld sighed as he flipped over A♣9♦ for trip sixes with ace-high while Qi tabled Q♥10♥ for sixes full of tens to take the pot, rocketing his stack up to over 14,000,000.
Distenfeld was sent to the rail in 93rd place which was good for a payout of $10,499- all of which he will be donating to charity.
George Chen bet 400,000 from early position and was called by Braxton Dunaway in middle position and Sen Mu on the button.
A coordinated board of 4♠3♦2♠ did not discourage Chen to continue for 450,000. Dunaway responded with a raise of 1,800,000 which got a quick fold from Mu.
Chen went for the lot by moving all in for 4,175,000. Dunaway went deep into the tank before announcing fold and tabled 10♦10♥. Chen kept shtum and dragged in a hefty pot.
Johnny Chan entered the third and final day of the Omaha event toward the bottom of the counts with 18 players remaining as the 1987 and 1988 Main Event champion hoped to finally break the three-way tie between himself, Ivey and the late Doyle Brunson in second place on the all-time bracelet list.
Sadly for poker fans sweating the $1,500 buy-in event, "The Master" was eliminated 14th place for $13,982 after a confrontation with Scott Abrams.
Eric Schaeffer needed a double up as a short stack and he picked his spot after Hagai Dayani raised preflop.
Schaeffer then moved all in for his last 1,195,000. Dayani, who barely had Schaeffer covered, decided to make the call.
Eric Schaeffer: A♦10♦
Hagai Dayani: 7♠7♦
The dealer fanned 2♥9♣5♥ on the flop, which kept Dayani in the lead. The 3♣ on the turn had Schaeffer halfway out the door, but then 10♠ kept Schaeffer alive.
Chase Anderson moved all in preflop for 2,235,000 and chip leader Xuming Qi made the call while the rest of the table quickly got out of the way.
Chase Anderson: A♦Q♣
Xuming Qi: 10♦10♠
Anderon needed some help to catch up to Qi's pocket pair, but the board of 4♣K♦9♠7♣K♥ did not do it for him and he was sent to the payout desk. Meanwhile, Qi's stack reached a new height of over 15,000,000, the largest in the room thus far.
David Vedral opened from early position for 320,000 and was met with a raise from Ian Schechter in middle position. Divakaran Marella went deep into the tank and had the clock called on him after five minutes.
As soon as the floor got to the table Marella moved all in. Vedral got out of the way and Schechter snap-called.
Ian Schechter: A♠A♥
Diavakaran Marella: J♣J♠
Marella was despondent seeing the pocket aces. They did pick up a gutshot on the turn on the board of 10♥7♠6♣9♦10♣ but missed on the river to give Schechter a massive double-up.
