Nguyen and Sowers Breaking Away
Binh Nguyen took down another pot at showdown to eclipse six million in chips. He raised to 250,000 preflop and was called by Chris Karagulleyan. They checked all the way to the river of a board. Karagulleyan tried to buy the pot with a bet of 425,000, but Nguyen made the call and showed for two pair, kings and sevens. That was the winner.
8:01pm -- Puzzlement in the Commerce Ballroom
A curious hand has resulted in a huge pot making its way to Binh Nguyen. He raised to 225,000 preflop and was called out of the blinds by Pat Walsh. Walsh check-called 300,000 on a flop of , and then check-called another 600,000 when the turn fell . There was a marked increase in the level of the noise from the gallery. Both players checked the river. Nguyen turned over for top pair and was surely surprised to see Walsh muck his hand. Everybody in media row was speculating as to what he could have had, but it doesn't matter. The chips were pushed to Nguyen.
7:52pm -- Surprise! Walsh Doubles Again
Pat Walsh must have nine lives. How else can one explain his repeated double-ups this evening? He put in a raise over the top of a preflop raise from Cornel Andrew Cimpan, 500,000 more chips. Cimpan tanked for more than a minute before calling with a smirk. He moved in on a flop of . Walsh was the player at risk of elimination when he called all in for 820,000 total, but he had the better hand. His made top pair against Cimpan's unimproved . The turn and river were both blanks, the and the .
"That's the way we show him who's boss," called out a railbird. "With king-eight offsuit. You show him!"
7:45pm -- More Chips for Sowers
It's been an up-and-down day for Mike Sowers. He's on another upswing, firing at pots and taking them down. He raised the pot to 250,000 and was called out of the blinds by Cornel Andrew Cimpan. Both players checked the flop. When Cimpan checked again after the hit the turn, Sowers took the pot down with a bet of 325,000.
Sowers also won the next hand, and the following hand after that, cobbling together a string of pots to jump up the counts. The tide is definitely flowing in his direction. He's back to 2.85 million in chips.