Bassam Elnajjar Eliminated in 8th Place (�32,000)

[user140525]

Thomas Kremser counts Bassam Elnajjar's stack.

Arnaud Mattern raised to 95,000 under the gun, making it the third hand in a row he'd opened with a raise. Next to act, Mikko Jaatinen reraised to 265,000. Action folded to Bassam Elnajjar in the small blind, and he announced he was all in. Whoa! The room perked up at the day's first giant pot. Mattern asked for a count of Elnajjar's stack. It was 860,000 total. Then he asked the dealer to pull in Jaatinen's bet. He did an excellent job of acting stumped before moving all in himself. The act wasn't necessary. Jaatinen folded without a pause.

Elnajjar: {a-Hearts} {q-Hearts}
Mattern: {a-Diamonds} {a-Clubs}

But it's never just that easy for Mattern. The flop came {j-Hearts} {5-Spades} {3-Hearts} , bringing a flush draw for the Frenchman to sweat. He held his breath as the dealer turned over the {6-Spades} on the turn and the {q-Spades} on the river. The black cards were no help to Elnajjar, and he becomes the day's first casualty. Mattern moved up to nearly 5 million.