Andrea Dato raised to 24,000 from early position and Nicholas Rampone three bet to 36,000 from the button. It folded back around to Dato who decided to call.
The flop was and both players decided to check. The turn was the which prompted Dato to check-call the 47,000 bet from Rampone. The river was the and for a third time Dato checked. This time Rampone checked as well and had to muck when Dato showed for a full house.
Last night, Nicholas Rampone stepped up as table captain when he literally did not find an unraisable situation in 30 minutes. However, once we found ourselves down to the unofficial final table, play has slowed down considerably. This is at least in part due to the fact that players busted so quickly from four tables down to one and now everyone has a relatively deep stack.
Richard Trigg opened for 25,000, Nicholas Rampone called from the cuttoff and then David Diaz thought for a moment about his options. From the button Diaz made it 65,000 to see the flop. Trigg and Rampone folded their hands and Diaz tossed his cards away face up.
Bill Chen raised from middle position to 27,000 before Justin Sternberg three bet to 80,000 on the button. It folded back around to Chen who, after some thought, decided to let it go.
Matthew Henson opened the action with a raise to 40,000. Steven Watts three bet to 85,000 before Henson went all in for 133,000 total. Watts called to put Henson at risk and the hands were put on their backs.
Henson:
Watts:
The flop came keeping Henson's Queens in front. The turn was the and Hensen just had to dodge the two remaining Nine's in the deck. The river bricked Watts and Henson has doubled to 175,000.
After two full days of poker, we have reached an unofficial final table in Event 12, the $1,500 Triple Chance. The likes of J.C. Tran, Sam Trickett, Andy Black and Cliff Josephy all made late exits yesterday as the play from four tables down to our final one was quick and furious. Players tried to make moves to get a stack and as a result we have nine of our final ten players with at least 25 big blinds.
This should generate a lot of fantastic poker in the hours ahead. Nicholas Rampone, who showed a 5th gear late last night when he gained the chip lead, leads the way with over twice that of the second place stack, Justin Sternberg. Both of these players are not afraid to mix it up which could provide fireworks early. Last night, in one of our last hands, the two players got it all in on the flop, both holding the same two pair.
Our most notable name left is PokerStars Friend and 2 time bracelet winner Bill Chen. He held the chip lead at one point during Day 2 and slowly built his now 5th place stack all day. Anders Meli and Andrea Dato round out the top 5, both of whom also have extensive playing experience.
Play is set to begin in just a few short minutes so don't go anywhere and follow PokerNews for all your Event 12 updates!