Chance Kornuth, who won half a million dollars in the parallel $5k PLO event at the WSOP this year, has been eliminated from its sterling cousin. Having gotten off on the wrong foot (and a short stack) early on, he built back but dwindled somewhat in the latter stages, getting it all in finally on a 
flop with 
vs. 
. The turn 
and river 
sent him on his way as everyone else went on break.
Former champion and early chip leader Dario Alioto has just been eliminated and was followed out of the door two seconds later by Phil Hellmuth.
Alioto's nemesis was Josh Field who held 
on a 
board. The Italian's cards were already mucked and he was confirmed out even though the dealer initially tried to hand him the pot.
Hellmuth was downed by Rory Mathews after most of the chips went in pre-flop. The rest of the chips went in on a 
flop with Hellmuth holding 
to Matthew's 
double suited. The turn brought a jack though before the river came an irrelevant four. Hellmuth stood up and made a very quirt exit. Matthews a force now with 54,000 chips.
“You’d have to run that seven times for it to be fair” said Phill Hellmuth to Neil Channing shortly after his fairly brutal elimination. He got it in almost as good as you can in PLO versus Roberto Romanello but to no avail.
Romanello raised to 900 from UTG and called when Channing pushed for 3,050 from the button. Romanello made the call with 
but was facing a very dominating 
. “Oh, you’ve got my ten have you?” said the Welshman a split second before the flop came 
bringing the case ten. The turn came 
and river to confirm Channing’s exit. The Welshman up to 34,000 as a result.
Ben Grundy is the most recent elimination, with the majority of his chips going towards a Steve Jelinek double-through to around 50k, it appears. Having arrived too late for this action (although he was protesting calmly that there was "no other way to play it" whatever 'it' had been), Grundy was all in on the big blind (next hand) for a few thousand.
His final hand brought some of those spectator "Oohs" - 
which hit some draws on the turn with the board 
vs. an opponent's 
- but ended with a 
and a trip to the rail.
Further joy for Ben Grundy as he bet 2,775 on the turn of a 
board and received a call from the gentleman to his immediate left. Both the blinds, who had made it that far, folded.
They saw a 
river and Grundy tanked up for a while, tilting his head in squinting assessment of the board and pot, before betting out 10,075. This time his opponent passed, and the "Milkybar Kid" as they call him round these parts was up to a very healthy 28,000.
Ben Roberts took a small pot off Robert Williamson III before the latter got a "rub-down" from a couple of table mates due to the way he played the hand.
Roberts raised from late position and was only called by the Texan to see a flop. Roberts' 1,000 c-bet was met with a raise to 2,500 by Williamson II. The turn came and Roberts moved all-in for 4,650 and took the pot after his opponent tank-folded.
Williamson III all but admitted to playing a straight draw aggressively on a paired board. Justin Smith and Huck Seed made him feel a little bit smaller but all the chat was in good jest. Williamson III still going okay on 23,000.
Samuel Stein, still stacked to the rafters, is keeping fairly busy at his table. However he doesn't take down every pot he's in, as just demonstrated when Hoyt Corkins promptly raised his 1,800 bet on a 
flop to 7,800. This left Stein deliberating and finally muttering about folding a flush draw and throwing his hand away.
"You didn't have a flush draw," said Corkins, in exactly the same way Crocodile Dundee tells you that's not a knife, showing from his hand.
Our Table Of Death today has been extremely appropriately named, and the folks who have so far escaped Death there are beginning to notice what's been happening around them.
"We've lost at least five people from this table," Frank Kassela noted. We actually counted four - Ted Lawson, Dave Ulliott, Marty Smyth and Richard Ashby - but it's possible we missed one somewhere along the line.
There were a few murmurs of agreement but no-one seemed to find this as suspicious as Kassela did.
"Maybe we're the only table that's losing players," he mused.
We can confirm that this is not the case. Down to 90 players already with two and a half levels to go tonight, we're feeling confident of a fairly manageable Day 2 field.
The Evidence
- Erik Cajelais leaving the table
- a board reading 
- Erik Seidel showing 
- Howard Lederer sighing deeply and handing some chips over to Seidel
The Hypothesis
A three-way showdown, involving naturally some hot Erik-on-Erik action, had occurred just prior to us arriving at the table; Seidel's aces took the lot.
Conclusion
Cajelais is bust, Seidel is up to around 20,000 and Lederer is left with 12,500.
Stuart Rutter is sat with a short stack and just raised the last three hands in an attempt to gather chips and hopefully doubling-up. He must look over with green eyes at the stack worth 43,000 in front of fellow Brit Javed Abrahams. Rutter managed to win one of these raised pots but the other two went to Abrahams who called in position both times and used that position well to maneuver Rutter off both hands post-flop. Rutter is on 6,500 right now.
Neil Channing is sat in between the two after these three pots he said to Abrahams "Have you ever had a losing month?" Abrahamms confirmed that he had more than one. "Two?" continued Channing and then before Abrahmas could respond he said "It's just that every time I'm at a table with you, you have all the chips!"
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