A severely short-stacked Chris Gonzales moved all in three consecutive hands, winning each time to double up to just shy of the chip lead. His hands:
Gonzales’ A7 vs. 44
Gonzales’ A6 vs. QJ
Gonzales’ K5 vs. A3

Just like that he went from around 400,000 in chips to around 4 million.

Wilkinson Makes a Move and Misses, Out in 3rd ($254,996)

Not long after he rebuilt his stack, Gonzales raised to 275,000 and David Wilkinson moved all in. Gonzales made the call and they showed down:

Gonzales: AQ
Wilkinson: 97

The flop was good for Wilkinson, coming 3c6c5s to give him all sorts of draws with two overs. The Q hit on the turn, pairing Gonzales and decreasing Wilkinson’s outs.

The 3 hit on the river, missing Wilkinson and booting him in 3rd place, for which he took $254,996.

In under an hour Gonzales went from having just 400,000 in chips to taking a dominating chip lead into the heads up match against Mike Ellis, 7.8 million to 2.8 million.

When the final 9 reached the final table, Christopher Gonzales held a near 2-1 chip lead over the next nearest player. Here’s how the chip stacks looked:

1. Christopher Gonzales — 2,705,000
2. Christopher Kastler — 1,810,000
3. David Wilkinson — 1,345,000
4. Martin Jacobson — 1,185,000
5. William Kakon — 1,150,000
6. Jason Hallee — 1,075,000
7. Mike Ellis — 560,000
8. Billy Griner — 525,000
9. Jeff Cohen — 330,000

Here’s how the action took place

Cohen First Final Table Victim, Out in 9th ($42,790)

Jeff Cohen was the small stack at the table and moved all in from under the gun. David Wilkinson re-raised over the top for 1.4 million and everyone folded. Their hands:

Cohen: AK
Wilkinson: 99

The flop made things look worse for Cohen, coming 6s10h9c to give Wilkinson a set. The Q and K finished the board and Cohen was gone in 9th, making $42,790.

Kastler Outdrawn, Out in 8th ($55,814)

It seemed like a good spot for Chris Kastler to get his chips all in. Facing a raise to 235,000 from Christopher Gonzales, Kastler moved all in for 675,000 more and was called. When he saw what he was up against, Kastler had to have felt good. Their hands:

Kastler: JJ
Gonzales: 99

But the flop was disastrous for Kastler, coming 259 to give Gonzales a set. The turn and river finished 3A and Kastler was out in 8th place, winning $55,814. Gonzales had around 3.5 million in chips after the hand.

Kings Bounce Hallee in 7th ($73,719)

Jason Hallee moved all in from the button and Christopher Gonzales was at it again, making the call with another pocket pair. Their hands:

Hallee: 33
Gonzales: KK

Hallee was in big trouble and as the cards hit the felt he got no help. The flop ran JA10, offering no help to Hallee. The turn was the J and the river was close to a 3 but not quite the golden card, coming 2 and he was gone in 7th place, winning $73,719.

Kakon Ran Over by Boat in 6th ($98,605)

Billy Griner moved all in on a flop of AA8 and William Kakon put his tournament life at risk by making the call. Their hands:

Kakon: KK
Griner: AQ

Kakon made the wrong move and was trailing. The J turn gave him a possible flush draw, but the J came on the river, filling Griner up and knocking Kakon out in 6th place. He took $98,605 for his efforts.

Griner had around 1.6 million after the hand.

The final day of event No. 30 ($1,500 No-Limit Hold’em) will begin at 3 p.m. with the field now down to 21 players from the original 2,394.

Christopher Gonzales appears to be leading the way so far with 1.3 million in chips, and a host of relatively unfamiliar faces follow.

The average chip stack is 513,000. All remaining players are guaranteed at least $16,644, with $581,851 going to the winner.

Stay tuned to CardPlayer.com for your final day coverage.

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David Sands

Here are the chip counts heading to the final day: