Under the gun, Paul Parker opened with a raise to 84,000. Next door, Rami Boukai reraised the minimum, making it 144,000 to skate. The rest of the table ducked out, while Parker called off his last few thousand chips, putting himself in danger of extinction.
Showdown
Parker:
Boukai:
The board ran out bone dry for the at-risk Parker, coming . Failing to get over the hump, Paul Parker has been knocked off in 6th place. Parker was the life of the party for three days, and the best dressed man in the field. His cheeky wit and gregarious spirit kept this final table light and cheerful despite the pressure of playing for a big prize. Now he has good reason to be happy as he'll collect just under $40,000 for his work over the course of this event.
With just 50,000 chips left, Najib Bennani moved all in first into the pot from the cutoff seat. Cornel Cimpan asked aloud, "Why not?" and made the call on the button. Big blind Daniel Makowsky also called, and Bennani was officially at risk for his tournament life.
The board ran out , with the two live players checking through fourth street. When the fifth card was dealt, Bennani flipped over his cards ( (X) (X))and announced, "I got a straight!" The only problem was that his two opponents had yet to act. After a quick discussion with the floor staff, the two men did indeed check, and both of them slipped their cards into the muck, unable to top Bennani's wheel.
Under the gun, Najib Bennani opened with a raise to 55,000. In the cutoff seat, Ben Grundy made the call, and it was heads up to the flop.
It came down . Bennani continued out with what appeared to be a full-pot bet. After a minute of careful consideration, Grundy moved all in for 257,000, and Bennani called.
Showdown
Bennani:
Grundy:
Grundy was looking at top two pair, but he needed to fade his opponent's flush draw to stay alive. To his dismay, the ripped off on the turn, putting Grundy behind and in dire need of a longshot redraw. And like a bolt of lightning, the struck fifth street, drawing a thunderous reaction from the railbirds as it improved Grundy to the winning full house. He has earned a big double up over 500,000, while Bennani has slipped all the way back to just 115,000.
[user66118]
The players are all leaning forward in their chairs now as the game has just switched back to Pot-Limit Omaha. In the last round of Hold'em, the players took just one flop, with the rest of the pots settled with preflop action. It's clear from where we're sitting that Omaha is the game driving the action. The players are much more inclined to see flops when they have four cards to choose from, and our last three eliminations have come during the Omaha deal.
"We'll surely lose someone this round," noted Grundy.
[user66118]
Cornel Cimpan just counted down his stack, which is organized into a large two-tier castle with stacks of 50 chips each. "One million nine thousand," he announced to nobody in particular. After a moment, he followed it up with an enthusiastic, "Sweet!"
Cimpan is indeed the first player to crest the million-chip mark
On the heels of that altercation with Paul Parker, Ben Grundy found himself involved in yet another big PLO hand.
Grundy raised before the flop to 56,000, and Parker called. The flop came , and Grundy didn't have to think about it this time -- he shoved all in with his last 105,000. Parker did choose to take a moment to consider the situation, then made the call.
Grundy showed , and Parker . Grundy was behind Parker's two pair. The turn was the and the river the -- giving Grundy a runner-runner wheel and the hand.
After a flop of , Ben Grundy bet 80,000, and Paul Parker thought for a moment. "I can't see how I can lose this hand," he said, before pushing all in for 283,000 -- more than the 160,000 Grundy had left.
Once again Grundy was faced with a tough decision. And once again, his opponent decided to help him think it through.
"I'll tell you one thing," said Parker. "You were better off in the last pot." "Do you want me to call?" asked Grundy. "I don't want you to win!" answered Parker. "Yeah, I prefer you call," he added.
Grundy folded. Parker showed . Afterwards, Grundy said he'd had both a jack and a seven in his hand.
Grundy is now down to 160,000. Parker is up to 345,000.
![[user66118]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
. Failing to get over the hump, Paul Parker has been knocked off in 6th place. Parker was the life of the party for three days, and the best dressed man in the field. His cheeky wit and gregarious spirit kept this final table light and cheerful despite the pressure of playing for a big prize. Now he has good reason to be happy as he'll collect just under $40,000 for his work over the course of this event.
, with the two live players checking through fourth street. When the fifth card was dealt, Bennani flipped over his cards (
(X) (X))and announced, "I got a straight!" The only problem was that his two opponents had yet to act. After a quick discussion with the floor staff, the two men did indeed check, and both of them slipped their cards into the muck, unable to top Bennani's wheel.
. Bennani continued out with what appeared to be a full-pot bet. After a minute of careful consideration, Grundy moved all in for 257,000, and Bennani called.
ripped off on the turn, putting Grundy behind and in dire need of a longshot redraw. And like a bolt of lightning, the 
, and Parker 
and the river the 
-- giving Grundy a runner-runner wheel and the hand.
. Afterwards, Grundy said he'd had both a jack and a seven in his hand.