With the hands completed on all other tables, Joao Simao was deep in the tank in the big blind, facing a bet of 125,000 from Tom Vogelsang in the cutoff.
The full board was already dealt to a A♦2♣5♥10♣J♦ river, with 325,000 in the middle before Vogelsang bet.
Simao utilised four time extensions, before folding 3♦3♥XxXx face up.
While the dealers had been instructed to stop after their current hand, there was still some action pending albeit without any drama in sight.
Artur Martirosian raised to 55,000 and Jeremy Druckman called on the button for both players to check the monotone K♦6♦3♦ flop. Martirosian bet the K♠ turn for 40,000 to pick up a call and then made it 80,000 to go on the 7♥ river. Druckman gave it some thought and folded.
Once Martirosian was raking in the pot, Dylan Linde jokingly told him "okay, no more stalling now Artur".
Arriving on the 3♣Q♣8♠9♠9♥ river, Juha Helppi pushed in 375,000 into a pot of a similar size. Jason Mercier was put all in for 240,000 and went deep into the tank, spending all of his time extensions while thinking things through.
After a few minutes, Mercier folded his hand, leaving himself with 25 big blinds on the soft bubble.
In the 975th episode of the PokerNews Podcast, which is sponsored by FanDuel Poker, Chad Holloway is on vacation so Mike Holtz and Ben Ludlow take over by inviting their friends Justin Young and Art Parmann, hosts of the popular Table 1 Podcast.
What is the Table 1 Podcast? According to them, it’s “a podcast where we talk poker, gambling, and all manner of life experiences on and off the felt. Sometimes we have famous guests who do it with us. Join us for a laugh or three!”
It is a poker podcast collaboration and a great opportunity for the PokerNews Podcast audience to learn about another great show in the space. Justin & Art discuss the genesis of the show, their high-stakes cash game hosted at ARIA's Table 1, and some of their favorite memories and guests on the show.
Find out all about those stories and more in this week's episode of the PokerNews Podcast! Oh, and be sure to check out the audio version of the PokerNews Podcast that is available on all major podcasting platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and SoundCloud.
With 71 players remaining and 68 players making the money, the tournament clock has been paused. Play will now continue hand-for-hand for the duration of the bubble.
Three-way to the 2♦6♦2♣ flop. Robert Cowen checked from the big blind to Alex Foxen in middle position. Foxen added 65,000 to the pot of 185,000 with a bet, which Chenxiang Miao on the button and Cowen both called.
Foxen sized up to 260,000 on the 10♠ turn, this time receiving two folds for his efforts to take down the pot.
While the hand was playing out, Esther Taylor could be seen standing up and leaving her seat as she had lost the last of the few chips she had.
The three-way flop of 9♥8♦4♣ brought no action and the J♦ turn then saw Joni Jouhkimainen in the small blind as well as David Benyamine check. Chongxian Yang made it 85,000 to go and Jouhkimainen was the only caller.
Yang opted to check behind the A♣ on the river and flipped over the Q♠9♠9♦5♦ for a flopped set of nines and turned flush draw. Yang checked his cards for a mere second and tossed them into the muck.
Richard Gryko raised to 45,000 in the cutoff, which only Youness Barakat called on the button.
The dealer spread a 10♠Q♦Q♠ flop, and Gryko check-called a bet of 45,000 from Barakat.
Gryko checked again on the 3♦ turn, but this time folded when Barakat kept the pressure on with another bet of 165,000.
Multi-way on a 4♣5♦J♣ flop, Yuhong Liu checked from the small blind.
"I've got 150,000 behind, and five time banks," Liu said as Arthur Morris pondered his decision under the gun.
Morris then bet 75,000, after which the action folded back to Liu.
"Go take a bathroom break, guys," Liu told the table as he tossed in his time banks. He then spent the following three minutes shuffling his chips before ultimately releasing his cards.
"Phew, that was a tough one," he sarcastically concluded as the chips were shipped to Morris.
button in Safari
