We didn't see the complete action but came to the table as an uproar went through the tournament area. When we arrived, we saw and and all the money in the middle. The complete board read and Larry Quang, the holder of took down a huge pot and eliminated a player in the process.
The roll has continued for Jason Mercier after taking down another huge hand to get himself up to over 380,000.
We caught the action on the flop, which read . Mercier's lone opponent, James Thompson fired out 13,000, and Mercier made the call. The turn was the , and Thompson led out again, this time for 24,500. Again, Mercier didn't take too long to toss in the call, and the river was the . Thompson cut out a big bet of 46,500, and slid it into the middle.
It only took Mercier about 15 seconds to call, and Thompson showed . It wasn't good though, as Mercier rolled over for a rivered flush.
Recent bracelet winner Mark Radoja shoved all in for his last 109,000, and it folded around to Jeff Tims in the small blind. He moved all in for just a bit more, and the big blind folded.
Radoja:
Tims:
It was a classic coin flip, and Tims held the lead after the flop came . However, Radoja shot out to the lead when the hit the turn, pairing Radoja. He now had the lead, but the on the river gave it right back to Tims. Radoja simply laughed and asked the dealer "why you gotta do that runout." The stacks were counted down, and Radoja was barely covered. He wished everyone luck as he left the table, and headed to the payout desk.
The eliminations are still coming rather quickly, as we are down to our final 45 players. We are starting to gather the names of everyone in the field, and will slowly be putting them all with updated chip counts as play continues.
A player in early position raised all in for his last 30,000, and one spot behind him, Daryl Ronconi quickly moved all in for 235,000 to isolate. It folded around to the button, who had about the same stack, and as soon as he looked down at his cards, he took a deep breath, and capped them. He sat back in his chair, and tanked for at least two minutes, all the while unable to stay in the same position for more then 15 seconds. Eventually, he announced call. The rest of the table folded, and the cards were tabled.
Ronconi:
Opponent 1:
Button:
Ronconi didn't catch anything on the flop: , but the turn, the , gave Ronconi the big lead. The on the river gave him an unnecessary better two pair, and Ronconi jumped up to 460,000 after scoring the double KO.