It was a case of "so close but so far" for Michael "Timex" McDonald. He raised to 5,500 from middle position and was called by David "the Machine" Steicke from the big blind. Steicke led out for 5,500 after the dealer burned and turned a flop of . On the turn , Steicke bet 20,000 and McDonald, with only 28,000 total in his stack, shipped it in. Steicke called (naturally) and tabled . McDonald had and needed an ace or king to stay alive. The river was the .
With that pot, Steicke is the first player to cross the 300,000-chip mark.