Martin Klaser Dominates Early

Martin Klaser used his chip lead out of the gates to apply constant pressure to his opponent Casey Kastle. As a result, Klaser won nearly 80 percent of the hands without having to go to a showdown. Kastle was pushed down to just under 10 big blinds.

Martin Klaser Wins Event No. 43 ($216,249)

On a flop of J99 Casey Kastle put in his last 120,000 and Martin Klaser made the call. Klaser turned over an overpair of queens and all Kastle could muster was a pair of jacks. The Queen on the turn sealed the deal, and Klaser won his first WSOP bracelet.

Casey Kastle finished in second place, earning $137,985.

Blinds: 12,000-24,000

Players Left: 3 of 720

Chip Leaders:

Seat 5: Michael Fetter - 280,000
Seat 6: Casey Kastle - 1,050,000
Seat 8: Martin Klaser - 780,000

Eliminations:  Erik Seidel (4th Place)

Big Hands:

Michael Fetter Doubles Through Erik Seidel

Michael Fetter got it all in with pocket aces on a flop of 8-4-2 against Erik Seidel's pair of fours and not much else. The Ace on the turn locked up the hand for Fetter, as Seidel didn't have a low draw. Fetter picked up a much needed double up.

Erik Seidel Eliminated in Fourth Place ($68,304)

Erik Seidel and Casey Kastle got it all in preflop. Seidel showed A1043 and Kastle turned over AKK5. The board ran out Q74KQ and Kastle made kings full to eliminate Seidel in fourth place.

Erik Seidel Extends His Card Player (POY) Lead

If my subject math skills are correct, Erik Seidel picked up a whopping 480 points for his fourth place finish in today's event. He already held a 4,100 to 3,400 point lead over second place resident Michael Binger, bringing his new point total to 4,580.

So what does this mean? It means it's going to take more than one big victory to overcome Seidel for (POY) honors.

Blinds: 10,000-20,000

Players Left: 4 of 720

Chip Leaders:

Seat 5: Michael Fetter - 280,000
Seat 6: Casey Kastle - 880,000
Seat 8: Martin Klaser - 690,000
Seat 9: Erik Seidel - 325,000

Eliminations:  Jon Maren (5th Place)

Big Hands:

Michael Fetter Doubles Through Jon Maren

Michael Fetter raised to 60,000 and Jon Maren made the call. The flop came 1055 and Maren bet 130,000. Fetter moved all in and Maren made the call showing A884. Fetter revealed KK42 and the turn and river came 3Q giving Fetter the double up with his kings up. The low failed to materialize and Maren took a hit to his stack.

Jon Maren Eliminated in Fifth Place ($56,019)

On a flop of KQ8, Jon Maren moved all in and was called by Casey Kastle. Kastle turned over 6--6-5-2 and it was surprisingly in the lead of Maren's A-J-3-2. The turn was the 2, giving Maren the nut low draw along with his two overs and gutshot, but the river was the Q, meaning that Kastle's lowly pair of sixes was enough to send Maren to the rail in fifth place.

NOTE: The players are now on a one-hour dinner break.

Blinds: 6,000-12,000

Players Left: 6 of 720

Chip Leaders:

Seat 4: Chad Burum - 70,000
Seat 5: Michael Fetter - 230,000
Seat 6: Casey Kastle - 790,000
Seat 7: Jon Maren - 245,000
Seat 8: Martin Klaser - 500,000
Seat 9: Erik Seidel - 325,000

Eliminations:  Larry Wright (8th Place), Joseph Haddad (7th Place),

Big Hands:

Chad Burum Doubles Through Joseph Haddad

On a flop of K64, Chad Burum got it all in against Joseph Haddad. Burum held A347 for the second nut-low draw, a pair of fours and a back door nut-flush draw and Haddad showed A2910 for the nut-low draw and not much else. The not much else cost him when the turn brought the 2, counterfeiting his low, and the 5 on the gave Burum the wheel and a much needed double up.

Joseph Haddad Triples, Then Doubles

After getting all of his dangerously low stack in preflop against two opponents, Haddad revealed his fours full of tens on the river to triple up. A few hands later, his hole cards made the nut low and nut straight against Larry Wright to double up yet again to about 160,000.

Larry Wright Eliminated in Eighth Place ($27,027)

Larry Wright was all in for his last 17,000 against Casey Kastle. Kastle flopped the nut flush in spades, and Wright was unable to make a low by the river to survive. Wright was eliminated in eighth place.

Joseph Haddad Eliminated in Seventh Place ($34,389)

Martin Klaser raised and Joseph Haddad moved all in over the top. Klaser reluctantly called showing A1035 and he was in relatively bad shape against Haddad's AA24. But the flop gave Klaser the wheel, and Haddad was unable to catch up or improve. Haddad was eliminated in seventh place.

NOTE: The players then took a 20-minute break.

After an introduction to the fans on the rail, the players are seated and the cards are in the air. Shuffle up and deal!