Rainer Quel extended his chip lead on the last two hands before the break. First, he tangled with Michael Guzzardi and Derek Raymond. Guzzardi bet a flop of , getting a call only from Quel. Both players checked the turn and river. Quel showed for a small club flush and weak low. Guzzardi couldn't beat either, showing for a set of deuces and no low.
Quel opened the next hand with a raise and was three-bet by Cy Jassinowsky, driving everyone else out of the pot. Quel called. Both players checked the flop. Quel went for a bet when the turn fell . Jassinowsky tanked for over a minute before releasing his hand.
Quel is up to about 125,000 in chips. Guzzardi is down to 13,000.
Simultaneous bust-outs on each of the two remaining tables have taken us two steps closer to the final table. At the feature table, Marsha Waggoner moved all in for 4,100 after Derek Raymond limped in. Rainer Quel and Raymond both called. They each checked the flop. Quel bet the turn and was called. Both players checked the river. Quel showed for two pair and a weak low. Raymond showed for a slightly better low. Waggoner was left in between, showing . She's out.
At the other table, Ashish Gupta was all in on a flop of . Danny Mountt called, tabling . Gupta has the better hand with and improved on the turn . But the river was a very unkind to make a wheel for Mountt, giving him both halves of the pot.
"I'll tell you what I'm gonna do," said Billy "the Croc" Argyros after Derek Raymond bet and Marsha Waggoner folded. "I'm only gonna raise you once." He put in a raise on a board of . Raymond called.
"Nut-nut," Argyros told him. He showed down . "What a river!"
Van Marcus needed to work miracles with his super short stack. He got it in for 4,800 with double-suited queens, . Jeffrey Duvall was the lone caller, showing . He wound up making aces and kings on a board of to send a disgusted Marcus to the rail.
The agony that is playing a fixed-limit split-pot game is now in full effect. Play has ground down with the final table bubble and the money bubble so close. The increased limits should put some pressure on the super short stacks, but we may not set the final table until after the next break.
Robert Collina has doubled through Van Marcus in multiple hands to leave Marcus on the ropes.
In the first hand Marcus held and had Collina all in with . However the flop produced two more kings to give Collina trips and a scoop to double up.
Shortly after, Collina forced Marcus out of the pot after firing bets on all streets. Marcus called the flop and turn but folded on the river after missing straight and flush draws to leave himself with only 4,000 in chips, as Collina flashed a turned straight to now sit with 38,000.