Sorel Mizzi, who will return tomorrow for the 2014 Aussie Millions Main Event final table, opened for a raise only to have Ryan Riess three-bet to 70,000. Tony Bloom then moved all in from the button for 219,000, a short-stacked Mizzi called off, and Riess shrugged before calling to put both players at risk.
Mizzi:
Bloom:
Riess:
All three players held a pocket pair, but of course Riess' ladies were best. The flop wasn't particularly interesting, but the turn was as it gave Bloom the best flush draw. The river was actually a spade to give Bloom the flush, but fortunately for Riess it was the to improve him to a full house.
"Good luck, Sorel," Riess offered Mizzi in regards to his big final table on Sunday.
Wai Kin Yong, the son of Richard Yong who is also in the tournament, got his last 139,000 all in preflop holding the and was in big trouble against the of Mike "Timex" McDonald.
Neither the flop nor river helped Yong, and that meant he needed an ace on the river to stay alive. "Ace," he commanded, and wouldn't you know it, the dealer obliged with the .
The 76 entries in this event generated a total prize pool of AU$7,486,000. The top eight players will receive a minimum of AU$350,000, while the winner will walk away with AU$2 million.
Igor Kurganov checked on a flop of , and Sorel Mizzi bet 30,000. Kurganov moved all in for 90,000 or so, and Mizzi made the call.
Kurganov:
Mizzi:
Kurganov wasn't thrilled that Mizzi called, but a smile crept upon his face when he saw that his pair of fives was ahead for the moment. His smile grew larger after the turn () and the river (), and he doubled to 178,000.
Philipp Gruissem, who joined us on the latest episode of the PokerNews Podcast, called a raise from John Juanda preflop and the dealer fanned . It looked as if Gruissem check-called a shove - there was a hand in progress at an adjacent table that distracted us momentarily - and all of the chips went in the middle.
Gruissem:
Juanda:
The turn and river bricked , respectively, and Juanda was eliminated. Gruissem is up to 450,000 chips.
Just before the level went up, Mike Watson got his chips in holding the and was looking to improve against the of Richard Yong. That proved easier said than done though as the board ran out an uneventful . Watson missed and became one of the last Level 9 casualties.
Marvin Rettenmaier was all in and at risk moments ago with against Tom Dwan's . Durrrr's wired pair remained ahead as the board ran out , and Rettenmaier was eliminated.