Paul Varano opened for 55,000 from middle position, and Derric Haynie, sitting to Varano's left, made the call.
Everyone else got out, and the flop came 
. Varano checked, Haynie bet 80,000, and Varano let it go.
There was a big cheer from the crowd for Haynie after that one. Perhaps not as big as the cheer for the call for cocktails from the announcer a moment ago, but a nice show of support for Haynie nonetheless.
Haynie is up to 1.35 million, while Varano now has 790,000.
![[user101598]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
Steven Kelly opened to 55,000 from under the gun and Reagan Leman three-bet to 155,000 right behind him. The action folded to Dustin Dirksen in the small blind who four-bet shoved for 562,000.
Kelly quickly released and Leman saved a little bit of face before folding as well.
Dirksen took down over 200,000 without a showdown, and is now up to 780,000 chips.
Steven Kelly opened for 65,000 from the hijack seat, and Jeffrey King reraised to 240,000 from the button. The blinds got out, then Kelly declared he was all in. King paused about five seconds, then made the call with the 650,000 or so he had behind.
Kelly tabled 
, while King showed 
. The flop brought King his needed ace -- 
. The turn was the 
and the river the 
, and King won the hand.
King and Kelly essentially swapped stacks there, with King now our chip leader with 1.428 million and Kelly slipping back to 730,000.
Brett Shaffer opened to 52,000 from middle position and the action folded to Paul Varano in the big blind who asked for a count of Shaffer's stack.
Shafter had a just over 400,000.
Varano promptly grabbed a tower of green T25,000 chips and raised enough to put Shaffer all in. Shaffer thought for a bit before finally releasing his hand.
Shaffer is now down to 375,000 chips.
For the second straight hand, Michael Cooper open-raised all in. The first time, he got no takers. The second time, Dustin Dirksen, sitting to Cooper's left, asked for a count. A little bit of math followed, and it was determined that Cooper had 343,000 in the middle.
Dirksen then announced he was reraising all in himself. It folded back around, and the players flipped their cards.
Cooper 
Dirksen 
"I feel like a ten is coming," said Dirksen. The dealer burned a card and dealt the flop -- 
. Dirksen's feeling had proven accurate, and he was ahead. The turn was the 
and river the , and Dirksen ended with a flush.
Cooper is out in eighth, while Dirksen chips back to about 760,000.
We have some familiar faces on the rail for this final table.
Earlier, PokerStars Team Pro USA member, and reigning Main Event Champion, Joe Cada was sweating Justin Scott. Now we're joined by Gavin Smith and Erick Lindgren who are sweating Jeffrey King and the Hinkle brothers, Grant and Blair, whom we think are sweating Paul Varano.
We're not sure though because they're quiet as always.
Michael Cooper opened to 70,000 from the hijack seat and Dustin Dirksen moved all in right after him for 215,000. Action folded to Reagan Leman in the big blind who re-shoved for effectively 400,000 having both players covered.
"What are you isolating me with?" Cooper said visibly upset.
Leman was very calm; in fact, he was tipping the waiter at the table for a coffee while Cooper was in the tank. Finally Cooper released, and Dirksen and Leman were heads up.
Showdown
Dirksen: 
Leman: 
The 
flop was very scary for Dirksen, and the 
on the turn brought even more outs for Leman. Any ace, king, diamond or nine would eliminated Dirksen from the tournament. The 
on the river was a big fat brick though, and Dirksen successfully doubled to 480,000 chips.
Leman is still healthy with 720,000 to his name.
Paul Varano opened for 55,000 from middle position, and it folded around to chip leader Steven Kelly who called from the big blind. The flop came 
. Kelly checked, Varano bet 75,000, and Kelly called. The turn then brought the 
, and both players checked.
The river was the . This time Kelly bet 33,000, and Varano didn't waste a lot of time before calling. Varano tabled 
for jacks, and Kelly mucked.
Varano moves up to 865,000 and into third place on that one. Kelly slips back to 1.275 million, about even with Derric Haynie.
Steven Kelly -- 1.47 million
Derric Haynie -- 1.275 million
Reagan Leman -- 815,000
Jeffrey King -- 788,000
Paul Varano -- 660,000
Michael Cooper -- 460,000
Brett Shaffer -- 440,000
Dustin Dirksen -- 260,000
With the board showing 
and about 300,000 already in the middle, Brett Shaffer bet 210,000 and Steven Kelly made the call.
The river then brought the 
and a check from Shaffer. Kelly took about a half-minute, then declared he was all in. Shaffer sat with his head down for a short while, then let it go.
Shaffer slips to 440,000, while Kelly is now the chip leader with 1.47 million.
