Rudy Blondeau three-bet shoved over an under-the-gun raise, but the player in the big blind happily woke up to two aces and had Blondeau's 
drawing super thin. The final board was 



and Blondeau was sent to the rail.
Rudy Blondeau three-bet shoved over an under-the-gun raise, but the player in the big blind happily woke up to two aces and had Blondeau's 
drawing super thin. The final board was 



and Blondeau was sent to the rail.
Phil Laak has been his usually bubbly self today: chattering incessantly, introducing people to knew words, and nicknaming Liv Boeree Astro Girl - you know, the usual. But he's been rather subdued since his table broke several hands ago, partly due to his stack taking a slight tumble.
Raising it up to 1,025 preflop from late position, Talal Shakerchi defended from the big blind leading to a flop of 

. Laak continuation bet for 1,175, but checked back the
turn. On the
river, he took another stab, but was quickly called by Shakerchi's 
, triggering Laak to throw his cards into the muck.
Laak now has around 20,000 in chips.
John Racener raised to 1,075 from the cutoff seat. Manig Loeser called from the button and Michel Abecassis called from the big blind. The flop came down 

and action checked around to Loeser. He fired 1,725 and Abecassis folded. Racener made the call and the two saw the
fall on the turn.
Racener checked fourth street and Loeser checked behind.
The river completed the board with the
and Racener fired 4,200. Loeser thought for a minute and then made the call. Racener tabled the 
and Loeser mucked.
Racener is now up to about 25,000 in chips while Loeser dropped to 11,000.
A few chip counts from the notables on the main floor down here:
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
72,000
45,000
|
45,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
54,000
1,000
|
1,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
54,000
26,000
|
26,000 |
|
|
29,000
4,000
|
4,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
28,000
3,000
|
3,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
22,700
7,700
|
7,700 |
|
|
||
|
|
19,500
500
|
500 |
|
|
||
|
|
12,800
800
|
800 |
|
|
||
|
|
7,500
12,000
|
12,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
7,200
3,100
|
3,100 |
|
|
||
On the flop of 

, Ted Lawson checked to his opponent. The player fired 1,550 and then Lawson fired back a raise to 7,000. HIs opponent went into the tank and then folded, to which Lawson showed the 
and moved to 20,000 in chips.
First in from middle position, Jeff Madsen opened to 1,050. Michel Abecassis three-bet to 2,825 from the button, and it came back around to Madsen with the last decision. He decided to call, and the two men took a heads-up flop of
.
Madsen checked to the aggressor, and Abecassis continued out with a small bet of 2,650. After a pause to consider, Madsen popped it up to 6,500 straight, and now it was Abecassis' turn in the think tank. He cut down his stack and checked his cards a couple more times. After about three or four minutes, he moved all in for about 16,000 total, and Madsen made the call for just less than that, putting himself at risk for his tournament life. He was well ahead, too.
Showdown
Madsen:

Abecassis:

Madsen had flopped large with the made flush and the up-and-down straight flush draw. He'd need to fade the other diamonds in the deck, though, and as it turned out, he could not. The
was the next card off the deck, and it left Madsen drawing to just those two straight flush outs to survive. The river was the right rank but the wrong suit as the
will be the final board card of Madsen's day.
Abecassis has doubled with that knockout, sitting with close to 40,000 chips now.
Allen Cunningham is back over the 30,000 mark. He just eliminated a short stack with 
versus 
, the pair holding up on an ensuing 



board.
Scott Fischman was all in for his last few chips and got called by the big blind's
.
"Oh, sweet!" exclaimed Fischman as he turned over a slightly dominating
but the board came
and not only could Fischman not split the pot but instead he had lost to the pair of fours and was eliminated as a result.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
32,000
10,000
|
10,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
27,500
12,500
|
12,500 |
|
|
||
|
|
27,000 | |
|
|
||
|
|
26,500
5,500
|
5,500 |
|
|
||
|
|
24,000
10,500
|
10,500 |
|
|
||
|
|
23,500
500
|
500 |
|
|
||
|
|
17,500
9,500
|
9,500 |
|
|
15,000
5,000
|
5,000 |
|
|
10,000
2,500
|
2,500 |
|
|
9,000
2,600
|
2,600 |
|
|
8,000
9,000
|
9,000 |
The board tells us that 81 players have survived long enough to return to chip stacks after dinner. One of the shortest of them is Phil Hellmuth, and he'll be on death watch here for the first couple orbits.
With bellies full of MSG from Chinatown, the 81 are back in the building and back in their seats (for the most part) and the cards are back in the air. We're scheduled for four more levels.