While Isabelle Mercier shoves all in on the other table and gets no callers, Dennis Phillips is not so lucky. He moves all in for 56,000, only for Isaac Haxton to re-shove behind him. On their backs for the bubble, while a throng of media appears from nowhere around the table.
Phillips:
Haxton:
Board:
Thus Phillips goes home empty-handed today. Says Peter Jetten, "Hey, good run, dude." "Not really," sighs Phillips. Still, he may not have made the money today, but at least he still has a certain Final Table to look forward to come November...
With Scotty Nguyen raising to 18,000 from early position, John Juanda made it 36,000 two seats along only for Peter Jetten to move all in from the blind for around 170,000.
After Nguyen had folded his hand aggressively and with a frustrated shake of the head, the decision rested solely on Juanda. With all remaining players swamping the table and silently willing him to call, Juanda slid a column of brown chips across the felt and revealed . Jetten tabled .
No drama on the board, apart from Nguyen claiming he had folded pocket jacks and would have played back at Juanda, and the young Canadian doubled through.
Isaac Haxton, by far the keenest player to get his chips in the middle of the table so far today, shoved for maybe the third or fourth time in as many rounds, and picked up a call from David Benyamine.
Haxton, all in on the bubble:
Benyamine:
Flop: -- Juanda: "David, would you prefer a queen or an ace?"
Turn: -- Haxton, slumped down in his chair: "I like that one, it's a good card."
River:
Double up for Haxton and we remain 10-handed. TD to Haxton: "So, how does it feel to have everybody rooting against you in a hand?"
It folded around to Juanda in the small blind, and he made it 18,500 to go. After careful consideration, Roumeliotis pushed all his chips across the line. "So sick," said Juanda, "Count." The count said it was another 173,900 to him. Juanda now grinningly descended into the tank of dwellingness, and eventually emerged with a sigh and a smile. "Don't see how I fold this one and then respect myself tomorrow," he reasoned, and called.
Roumeliotis:
Juanda:
Board:
John Juanda is on fire -- after his WSOPE win last week, he is now a massive chip monster with 447,000, and we are now officially bubbling.
It's lunch-at-the-tables time here at the Vic, and the choice is either a warm asparagus salad with balsamic dressing (asparagus overcooked, in my opinion) or chicken wraps. Announces Scotty, "I want a chicken wing, not a wrap. In Vietnam, we eat the chicken whole. You bite its neck and drink the blood...."
Says an amused yet concerned announcer, "Er, I don't think you should do that in here."
The Vic may be rife with tumbleweed, but there's a smattering of stars lining the rail. Currently keeping his eyes peeled on the action is none other than 2004 WSOP Champion Greg Raymer, although his advice seems to differ from the norm.
"Hey, David [Benyamine], do you want me to get you a laptop so you can play online at the same time?"
In defense of our sandals-shorts-orange-shirt combo-ing friend, the pace has really ground to a halt here at the Vic as that mammoth prize money, along with the splash of the dreaded bubble, nears.
Isaac Haxton is in full push mode at the moment, and picking his spots well. With Michael Watson making it 16,000 from UTG, Haxton moved all in for a total of 95,100. Watson requested a count, but ultimately opted for the fold.
A few hands later, Dennis Phillips raised it up from the small blind only for Haxton to slide his stack across the line for a second time. Again, his opponent made the fold.