Now that the bubble has burst, the in-the-money eliminations are beginning to mount.
In a recent hand, a short-stacked David Crevcoure shoved all in for his last 23,000 and action folded all the way around to Steve Verrett, who called from the big blind.
Crevcoure:
Verrett:
Verrett's call constituted a big portion of his stack, so both players desperately needed the win. The flop kept Crevcoure firmly in the lead, and it even gave him a flush redraw. The dealer then burned and turned the , which was one of the few cards that gave Verrett the lead. The river was no help to Crevcoure, and he was eliminated from the tournament in 44th place.
There were two all ins on the first hand of hand-for-hand play, and tournament officials waited for action to complete at all the other tables before proceeding.
In the first, Karl Lavergne was all in for his last 18,000 holding the and was up against the of Greg Baird. The board ran out a clean and Lavergne managed to survive the bubble.
In the other hand, Frank Swierczynski had moved all in for his last 75,000 and received a call from Ross Obbink.
Swierczynski:
Obbink:
It was a cooler for Swierczynski, and he failed to improve on the flop. The turn gave him a straight draw, and he actually hit it on the river. Unfortunately for him, it wasn't the straight card he needed as it also gave Obbink a winning full house. A crestfallen Swierczynski was eliminated as the bubble boy in 46th place as the remaining 45 players were guaranteed a minimum payday of $2,352.
In the first hand back from the break, Travis Lauson opened for 18,000 and received a call from a player in middle potision. Paul Mattioda then three-bet to around 50,000, Lauson shoved all in for 190,000, and the limper got out of the way. Mattioda made the call and it was off to the races.
Lauson:
Mattioda:
Lauson got it in good, but his lead was only temporary as the flop gave Mattioda two pair. The turn left Lauson in need of some lady love on the river, but it wasn't in the cards as the blanked on the river.
Lauson finished in 47th place and leaves Potawatomi empty handed.
The final 47 players are now on their first 10-minute break of the day. They're just two spots shy of the money, meaning the bubble should burst shortly after they return.
After Jason Reno was eliminated in 50th place, Jim Boone followed him out the door in 49th.
In what would be his final hand, Ross Obbink opened for 11,000 and Boone three-bet jammed for 51,000 from the button. Action folded back to Obbink, and he made the call.
Boone:
Obbink:
Boone had some major kicker problems, and they didn't get resolved on the flop. The turn gave him an open-ended straight draw, but it didn't come in as the blanked on the river. With that, Boone was denied his fourth consecutive MSPT cash by just four spots.
Ken Daciolas opened for a raise and was met by a three-bet to 45,000 from MSPT regular Steve Belland. Action folded back to Daciolas, who proceeded to four-bet all in. Belland had around 70,000 total and called off.
Daciolas:
Belland:
It was a flip, but Belland needed to improve to stay alive. The flop didn't do it, nor did the turn. Belland needed either an ace or king on the river to stay alive, but it wasn't in the cards as the blanked on the river.
David Brown began the day as the chip leader, but he now finds himself on the rail empty handed.
In what would be his final hand, Brown raised to 12,000 and then called when Paul Mattioda three-bet to 32,500 from the small blind holding . The flop saw Mattioda check-call a bet of 58,000, and then he checked for a second time on the turn.
Brown proceeded to shove all in for 140,000, and Mattioda called him. Brown showed and was in dire straits against his opponent. The river blanked, and just like that the one-time chip leader was just another casualty among the masses.
Toby Stubbs stopped by our desk to inform us that he had just been eliminated in a big four-way pot. After a player raised and two others limped, Stubbs shoved for 60,000 holding and everyone called. The board ran out four clubs, but no one had a club in their hand. Unfortunately for Stubbs, his kings failed to hold as one of his opponents made two pair holding .