Upeshka Desilva has a growing group of supporters directly behind in on the rail, and they celebrated even after their boy lost the previous pot.
Desilva had raised it up from the small blind, and Jeffrey Hagen defended his big blind, bringing on a flop of .
Having led out for 160,000, Desilva went deep into the tank following Hagen's reraise to 400,000. After three minutes of intense contemplation, during which Desilva stared the impassive Hagen down directly, the floor was called to countdown the clock.
Desilva waited until the last possible moment before tossing his cards into the muck, and while Hagen's friends celebrated his victory, Desilva's supporters yelled out "nice laydown Pesh!"
The remaining 12 players have departed the tournament floor for their final 20-minute break of Day 3, with most heading to the rail to exchange note with their supporters.
We will play one more level tonight, in hopes of reaching our final table of nine before tomorrow's restart, but if an hour of play passes without three more eliminations the proceedings will conclude then.
Jeffrey Hagen just went all-in on a flop of , moving 595,000 into the middle with his . Michael Bennington decided to look him up with , but found his hand dominated and in need of help.
No such salvation arrived on the final board of , and Hagen doubled through Bennington by virtue of his ace kicker.
When three of the last twelve players in any tournament are all-in, its a time of excitement, but in tonight's "Millionaire Maker" event, this occasion meant a little more than usual.
Benny Chen bumped it to 100,000 from under the gun, and Dan Kelly flatted from the hijack. Justin Liberto woke up with and saw his chance to triple up, so he shipped his last 665,000 into the middle.
Chen opted to call the bet, but when Kelly came over the top for his whole 2.5 million stack, the isolation play worked and Chen let the two duke it out.
Showdown:
Kelly:
Liberto:
Kelly's pocket pair was crushed by Liberto's ladies, and the final board of brought no help in the form of eights or straights. Liberto's win returned his stack to just under the average, putting him in position to reach the final table if a few more breaks go his way.
Chris Hunichen opened to 110,000 from the hijack and Robert McVeigh three-bet to 305,000 from the cutoff. Action folded back to Hunichen who four-bet shoved for 2.715 million.
"Wow, it's a flip at worst," said McVeigh, before droppping in the chips to call.
Hunichen:
McVeigh:
Hunichen's rail called for a ten, and they were thrilled to see the flop fall . The turn locked up the pot for "Big Huni", rendering the river moot.
After raising to 120,000 from middle position, Jonathan Gray watched as Upeshka Desilva came along to see the flop, which fell . Two checks later, and the turn card came . Again both players opted to knuckle the felt, and the river was the .
This time, Desilva slid a stack of 225,000 forward, and Gray thought for a moment before raising the price of poker to 600,000. Desilva dove into the tank and stayed there for a while, but ultimately the price was right for a call. Gray's proved to be enough, as he hit trips on the river and took down the pot.
Dan Kelly just took down a pot in excess of 2.2 million chips and regained his footing after the previous loss to Robert Mcveigh.
Kelly defended his big blind after Chris Hunichen bumped it up with a min-raise. The two saw a flop of and Hunichen continued to 125,000, a wager which Kelly quickly called. The on the turn caused both players to slow down, and after they tapped the table we were off to the river.
Fifth street was the , and that's where things become a little more interesting. Hunichen fired a bet of 300,000 at Kelly, but the decorated young pro cut out two towers of green T25,000 chips for a reraise to 1 million even.
This was met by an exasperated sigh by Hunichen, who told Kelly and the railbirds watching intently that "this is sick... real sick." Hunichen repeated himself a few times while pondering his options, and his opponent's potential holdings, but eventually he decided to look the tricky Kelly up.
Kelly tabled the for the nut flush, after improving the top two pair he made on the turn, and Hunichen tossed his into the muck face up. Despite nailing his Broadway straight with a gutshot delivery on the river, Hunichen's hand was second best, and
.![[user139916]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
, moving 595,000 into the middle with his 
. Michael Bennington decided to look him up with 
, but found his hand dominated and in need of help.
, and Hagen doubled through Bennington by virtue of his ace kicker.
brought no help in the form of eights or straights. Liberto's win returned his stack to just under the average, putting him in position to reach the final table if a few more breaks go his way.
. The 
turn locked up the pot for "Big Huni", rendering the 
river moot.
. Again both players opted to knuckle the felt, and the river was the 
.
proved to be enough, as he hit trips on the river and took down the pot.
, and that's where things become a little more interesting. Hunichen fired a bet of 300,000 at Kelly, but the decorated young pro cut out two towers of green T25,000 chips for a reraise to 1 million even.