John Ripnick Eliminated in 3rd Place ($700,000)
Level 44
: Blinds 2,500,000/5,000,000, 5,000,000 ante
In the first televised hand of three-handed play, Richard Alsup opened on the button to 11,000,000 holding Q♦10♠. John Ripnick shoved 59,500,000 from the small blind, before Salvatore Dicarlo woke up with yet another hand in the big blind. He got a count of both his opponent's stack sizes, before rejamming. Alsup folded.
John Ripnick: A♣J♠
Salvatore Dicarlo: K♦K♠
It was déjà vu for Dicarlo, who had called yet another jam from the big blind to put an opponent at risk. The 9♦9♣4♦ flop kept Dicarlo in the lead, and the 2♣ turn left Ripnick praying for a Greenstein. The 5♣ river was no good, as Dicarlo took a commanding chip lead for heads-up play.