Robert Lipkin becomes your fourth place finisher in today's $1,500 Pot Limit Hold'Em final after pushing over the top of David Singer's button raise from the small blind with and being quickly looked up by the Full Tilt pro's commanding .
"He's going to need either a lot of sevens, a lot of fives, or a lot of diamonds if he's going to survive this one," observes an astute tournament director.
However, the flop was about as bad as it gets, the blank turn and academic river sealing Lipkin's fate and sending him to the rail.
David Singer laps up the chip lead and subsequently becomes the clear favourite to snatch bracelet gold.
Anyone's game though it is, we have seen a predictable tightening up from our two smaller stacks, Alston and Lipkin, and an equally predictable increase in aggression from our perennial big stack Fernandez (so happy to sit tight on his chips through the earlier stages of today) and also from climber of the day, David Singer.
The two of them have been almost taking it in turns to raise it up preflop, and rarely tangle with each other. The one time that Fernandez called a raise from Singer preflop, and then bet the turn, Singer gave him the credit and gave it up there.
With four left, the tension has increased dramatically as players quietly acknowledge the sudden jump in money that each step of the ladder brings.
One of those players still remaining is the charismatic Gregory Alston. He has seen more ups and downs than the bumpiest of rollercoasters, but is somehow still plugging away with a credible 255,000 in chips.
Clothed in chequered shirt and unique fisherman's hat (although the design may have a more official name), Alston sticks out like an Englishman in a tanning salon as his more reserved tablemates lock on their shades, keep their arms motionless on the felt and focus fully on the task at hand.
A contrast in styles and approach, certainly, but at this point in the tournament, it's still anyone's game.
The two chip leaders have clashed, David Singer and Jacobo Fernandez continuing to battle it out for the chip lead. On this occasion, however, it was Fernandez who came out smelling of roses, his check-raise of 58,000 to 125,000 on a flop enough to push Singer off the hand.
After dwindling to just 85,000 or so, Russ Harriman had to make a move sometime, and he actually had a hand when he stuck his chips in.
He reraised all in to a raise from Greg Alston, and was delighted to see that Alston's was well behind his own . But this is poker, and starting ahead doesn't always guarantee you stay ahead. The board came down (a little punch in the air from Alston), (Harriman picking up a few extra outs to split the pot) (it's all over).
Much good-natured handshaking and back-slapping, and Harriman took his leave and headed for the cash desk.
He may be your current short stack with 100,000, but Seat 1's Russ Harriman has plenty of support here at the Rio with his wife and buddy cheering him on relentlessly from the sidelines. Rumor has it that he also boasts the odd fan in Detroit.
Just a few hands after returning from the break, Joe Tehan finds himself all in and in need of help, his initial preflop raise of 38,000 being met by a deep reach from David Singer.
Tehan =
Singer =
Flop =
Tehan shakes his head, as if already acknowledging his fate.
Turn =
"Paint! Paint!" commands a segment of the crowd, as the turn adds extra outs.
River =
A brief round of applause and we're down to our Famous Five.