The island-hopping continued today, as the MS Westerdam dropped anchor off the coast of Grand Cayman. The remaining 35 players had the whole day to enjoy the sun, shopping, and Cuban cigars before taking it to the felt.
At 8 p.m. Eastern Time it was back to the action. Day two chip leader Kenna James and Victor Ramdin joined a group of relative poker unknowns in the race for the final table.
Devon Miller
Of course, the cards don't know if railbirds want your autograph, and Devon Miller proved it with his early dominance. Miller started the day in 29th place with $76,000 in chips, but had his chip stack up to $700,000 in just two hours and 45 minutes. Miller continued his romp throughout the evening, becoming the first player in the
PartyPoker.com Million V to make it to the million-dollar mark in chips.
Further proof that play speaks louder than a surname came when Kenna James, a player who would generally be an unwelcome sight to his opponents, was instead welcomed with open arms during a redraw. His opponents were far more concerned with the young man with all the chips. "Just leave Devon (Miller) over there," one of the players at James's new table said.
Miller relinquished his chip lead during the late night hours but still survived to the final table. He will be the short stack there, with $470,000 in chips.
A Chip, a Chair, and Some Coronas
Another way you can make a name for yourself is to do something out of the ordinary. Everyone loves a Cinderella story, and Marc Souza did his best to become one. All in for his last $1,000 chip, Souza ordered a Corona, put on his jacket, and turned his J-4 face up. It took until the river, but Souza spiked a four on the end to stay alive and triple up to $3,000 in chips. Souza then vowed to drink a Corona for every player who busted before him.
The Coronas kept coming, and so did Souza's rush. He tripled up again on the very next hand when he was all in on the small blind and woke up with pocket 10s. He tripled up one more time with A-J.
Unfortunately for Souza, the glass slipper didn't quite fit. His bunion came in the form of a dominated ace, and he was eliminated in 18th place, much to the disappointment of his cheering section, which included 2005
World Series of Poker final table member Aaron Kanter.
Ramdin and James
So what of the established names James and Ramdin? Both players started the day in the top 10 in chips - James with the chip lead and $316,000, Ramdin in 10th with $204,000.
Both James and Ramdin made the final nine, James seemingly coasting there, while Ramdin encountered some resistance. He found himself on a short stack as the final table neared, and had brushes with elimination a number of times. Things looked especially bad for Ramdin when his pocket queens were up against Miller's jack-deuce of hearts. Ramdin's dominating position was compromised when the flop brought a jack and two hearts, and he was forced to sweat it out as the board brought two bricks. However, Ramdin could only stave off elimination for so long. He was eliminated in ninth place, earning $100,000 for his efforts.
James, on the other hand, went the distance on day three. Despite losing the largest pot of the tournament - approximately $800,000 to Jinda Pan's aces full - James kept his composure and will take $1,090,000 with him to the final table - good for second chip position. Meanwhile, Pan built up a large chip lead after that win, but couldn't hold on and went out on the TV final table bubble.
Day Three Eliminations and Payouts
7th - Jinda Pan $150,000
8th - Joseph Dimartino $125,000
9th - Victor Ramdin $100,000
10th - Michael Silverman $75,000
11th - David Kalish $50,000
12th - Thomas Koral $38,600
13th - Nema Sayadian $28,500
14th - Adam Clayman $28,500
15th - Henrik Witt $28,500
16th - Jason Bouchard $28,500
17th - Michael Berman $28,500
18th - Marc Souza $28,500
19th - Tomonori Honda $25,000
20th - George Westphal $25,000
21st - Lonnie Stout $25,000
22nd - Mezguii Michael $25,000
23rd - Peter Campo $25,000
24th - Jim Doulmalis $25,000
25th - Ralph Rudd $25,000
26th - David Baker $25,000
27th - David Ghiz $25,000
Final Table
1. Mike Schneider $1,280,000
2. Kenna James $1,090,000
3. Andrew Chitiea $840,000
4. Scott Buller $810,000
5. Richard Joel $740,000
6. Devon Miller $470,000
List of things that would only happen on a poker cruise (Night 4/Day 3)
1) Joe Sebok coaxed a random drunkard to take a prop bet wherein he would have to drink seven beers in seven minutes. Sebok gave the drunkard 2-to-1 on a $100 bet that he couldn't do it, and the drunkard happily accepted. After the first two beers the drunkard was in the bathroom vomiting. However, the college tradition of the "boot and rally" came in handy as the drunkard returned and finished the seven beers - vomiting twice more before finishing. If you can imagine, this actually all took place in seven minutes. Seven beers, three upchucks, $200. After losing the bet Sebok said, "He should have lost for throwing up. That was my mistake."
2) Joe Sebok bet my sister $1,000 that she wouldn't take a four ounce shot of aloe. My sister declined.
The final table begins at 2 p.m. EST. Stay tuned to CardPlayer.com for an event report from the final table.
