We've seen railbirds do just about everything you can imagine in our time covering events. We've been crowded to the point we can't see a table, had beer spilt on us, had players unplug our equipment, been farted on and we've even been flashed before. But none of this monkey business is going to happen at Harrah's St. Louis while Tom the security guard is on duty.
Tom views the stanchions that separates the players from their friends as an unbreakable barrier. All week long we've seen him back people up, clear spectators out of the tournament area and keep only in-the-money finishers in line at the payout desk.
We've been so impressed with his work we've developed our own mini meme. "Are you in the tournament?" we've asked each other dozens of times. We appreciate all of Tom's good work but asking each busted player if they're playing while in line probably adds a little more steam to an already heated player.
Action folded around to Brett Schwertley in the small blind and he open-shipped for around 500,000. Chris Conrad was in the big blind and made the call holding , which was ahead of Schwertley's . The flop was about as dry as they come, and the turn was of no particular interest either.
That meant Schwertley needed either a king or ten on the river. The dealer burned and revealed the . With that, Schwertley rapped the table and exited in 12th place for $14,259.
[user196975]
Brian Davis has chips to play with now.
Unfortunately we were distracted by Peter Brooks' elimination to catch all the action on this hand, but we've got what matters. The board showed and Brian Davis and Jeff Fitzgerald had built a pot north of 400,000 by the river. Davis had moved all in and Fitzgerald was mulling over the decision.
Fitzgerald called and Davis turned up . Fitzgerald mucked and Davis collected a very sizable pot.
With around 200,000 in the pot and a flop of , Peters Brooks check-called a bet of 75,000 from James Russell, which led to the on the turn. This time Brooks decided to turn around and bet out 145,000. Russell though for a moment before announcing a raise, at which point he began sliding out chips. It was a string bet, so the floor ruled it would count as a min-raise to 290,000.
Not deterred, Brooks moved all in for around 200K more.
"Alright," Russell said. "I'll call you." He then turned up , which was aheads of the of Brooks. The latter needed either a heart or nine on the river to stay alive, but the was not it. A disappointed Brooks made his way to the payout desk to collect $11,622.
A screeching fire alarm sounded in the casino breaking the white noise of the banks of slot machines that surround the tournament area. Not a single player budged, the dealers didn't flinch and slots players didn't stop mashing buttons.
After a few moments the alarm was quieted, only to be interrupted by an even louder announcement over the PA that all was well. We're pretty sure the remaining players wouldn't have moved until flames were burning the carpet underneath them in there had been a fire.
Brett Schwertley opened from under the gun for 48,000, Peter Brooks called, James Russel called from the button and Tim Killday joined in the fun from the big blind. The four players saw a flop come and action checked around to Brooks, who bet all in. The table folded and Brooks picked up a pot not too many were interested in winning.
Once again, action has slowed considerably here in St. Louis. The stacks are still relatively deep, and now that the levels have increased to 75 minutes, players can be a little more selective.
Gannesh Letchumanan was under the gun and opened for 51,000, which cleared the field all the way to Ryan Tepen in the big blind. He looked down at his cards and announced that he was all in for around 350K, which Letchumanan wasted little time in calling.
Showdown
Letchumanan
Tepen
Tepen was dominated, but the flop did deliver some hope in the form of a flush draw. The turn was not what he needed, which meant it was all riding on the river card. The dealer burned and revealed the . With that, Tepen was eliminated in 14th place while Letchumanan chipped up to around 800K.
![[user196975]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
, which was ahead of Schwertley's 
. The 
flop was about as dry as they come, and the 
turn was of no particular interest either.
. With that, Schwertley rapped the table and exited in 12th place for $14,259.
and Brian Davis and Jeff Fitzgerald had built a pot north of 400,000 by the river. Davis had moved all in and Fitzgerald was mulling over the decision.
. Fitzgerald mucked and Davis collected a very sizable pot.
, Peters Brooks check-called a bet of 75,000 from James Russell, which led to the 
on the turn. This time Brooks decided to turn around and bet out 145,000. Russell though for a moment before announcing a raise, at which point he began sliding out chips. It was a string bet, so the floor ruled it would count as a min-raise to 290,000.
, which was aheads of the 
was not it. A disappointed Brooks made his way to the payout desk to collect $11,622.
and action checked around to Brooks, who bet all in. The table folded and Brooks picked up a pot not too many were interested in winning.
turn was not what he needed, which meant it was all riding on the river card. The dealer burned and revealed the 
. With that, Tepen was eliminated in 14th place while Letchumanan chipped up to around 800K.
