Kim Cunningham had been pretty quiet for a while, and had somhow allowed herself to dwindle to just 29,000. She got it in under the gun and got an unsurprising three callers, of who two made it to the river of the board.
Lori Bender:
Cunningham:
Rios: mucked
Thus patience sort of paid off for Cunningham -- she's still the table shortie on 133,000, but she is still in.
Meanwhile Mari Lou Morelli has clawed back a few chips and is sitting on a very respectable 430,000. She made it 45,000 pre and got called by both Lisa Hamilton and Lori Bender, but then took down the pot with an 85,000 bet on the flop.
Kim Rios made it 40,000 from the button and then called an additional 76,000 from big blind Lisa Parsons. As is traditional, they proceeded to a flop.
Flop:
Parsons now checked -- but when Rios bet 100,000, she moved all in for 290,000 total. A pause... And a call!
Rios: for top pair
Parsons: for a set
Now here it gets really good.
Turn:
Parsons fills up, to cheering and high-fiving from her buddies at the rail. "Show me a deuce," she says to the poker gods while the river is being dealt...
River:
Wait for it....
...
!
The rail goes nuts with cheering, booing and a lot of general noise.
Rios makes herself a bigger full house in a most disgusting runner-runner-outdraw sort of way, and while she is the new chip mommy on 938,000, a most unfortunate Parsons hits the rail with 7th place money.
Wow, the chips are all over the place here. The structure is pretty tight now, and the chip leader is changing faster than Superman in a phone booth.
Just now, Lisa Hamilton raised to 50,000 under the gun and got a call from Kim Rios on the button. Hamilton checked the flop and Rios tried it on for 100,000, but passed to a minimum raise from Hamilton.
Kim Rios made a 50,000 raise under the gun and small blind Lori Bender was the sole caller.
Flop:
Bender checked, and when Rios bet 100,000 she reraised to 200,000. Rios moved all in for 398,000 total and Bender decided she didn't like her hand that much after all, and passed. Rios rewarded her by flashing for top two pair.
With that, Rios moves into the chip lead on 725,000, while Bender sinks to 325,000.
Kim Rios made it 32,000 to go and got two callers in the shape of Lisa Hamilton on the button and Lori Bender in the big blind. Come the flop, though, it checked to Hamilton, who easily took it down with a 75,000 bet. She's up to 670,000 now.
Incidentally, there seems to be a lot of railer interest in this final table. Currently lurking at the rail we have such luminaries as Elky, Pam Brunson and Dennis Phillips, as well as what can only be described as a throng of friends and family. An impressive turnout.
Just before the blinds went up, an interesting hand almost, but not quite, took off.
Kim Rios raised to 50,000 from the cutoff and Mari Lou Morelli called her from the button to see a flop. Rios open-shoved the flop and Morelli passed. Rios showed her second pair of pocket aces of the day. Must be nice.