Barry Greenstein Eliminated in 4th place ($33,698)

Barry Greenstein was the next player to be eliminated. Nesbitt Coburn sent him to the rail with a pair of tens. Greenstein was the fourth-place finisher, and he will take home $33,698 in prize money. As is his normal custom, Greentstein signed a copy of his book, “Ace on the River,” and handed it to Cobrun before heading out of the tournament area.

Sinking Sung

Over the next sequence of hands it appeared that Steve Sung had a death wish. He was first knocked down to $200,000 by Coburn, when he mucked to a seventh street bet. He was then knocked down to $80,000 by Michael Keiner, who showed 103(Q1025dK. Sung mucked once again. It looked like Sung was on auto-pilot at this point. He tossed chips into pot after pot, on street after street. Coburn scored another blow on Sung with K10(AK54)2. Sung now held only $45,000.

Steve Sung Eliminated in 3rd place ($51,222)

Sung moved all in on fifth street and Coburn made the call. Coburn made kings and tens, and Sung mucked his hand. Sung was eliminated in third place, and he took home $51,222 in prize money.

Heads-Up!

The final two players decided to settle things this morning, as opposed to coming back later today. The chip counts at the beginning of their heads-up match were as follows:

Nesbitt Coburn: $530,000
Michael Keiner: $640,000

The players went on a ten minute break before the beginning of play.

Decisions, Decisions

After the limits, antes and low card bet kicked up the final three bust outs en route to the final table went quickly. Steven Richmond (11th), Craig Thomson (10th), and Matthew Kelly (9th) were eliminated in swift succession. The final eight players were then given a decision. End the night right then and there, or to continue play into the early morning. Two players, Barry Greenstein (intent to play in the $5,000 limit hold’em event today), and Larry Eubanks (short stack) wanted to keep playing, so the band played on. Here is how the chip stacks looked at the start of the final table:

Seat one: Michael Keiner - $318,500
Seat two: Nesbitt Coburn - $163,500
Seat three: Steve Sung - $167,500
Seat four: Greg Raymer - $116,500
Seat five: Dale Phllips - $137,000
Seat six: Larry Eubanks - $21,500
Seat seven: John Robertson - $82,500
Seat eight: Barry Greenstein - $177,500

At 3:32 a.m. the first hand of the final table was dealt.

Greenstein Jumps into Second

On the first hand of the final table Barry Greenstein got involved in an altercation that involved a $60,000 pot. With K256 exposed Greenstein tossed $12,000 into the middle of the table on seventh street. Surprisingly, Phillips mucked his hand after he made the call on every preceding street. He had A843 exposed. Greenstein now had $220,000.

Larry Eubanks Eliminated in 8th Place ($11,053)

On the second hand of the final table, Larry Eubanks was all in for his tournament life for $18,500. Michael Keiner called him down and he ended up with 99(J9Q8)J. Eubanks was eliminated by the nines full of jacks in eighth place. He took home $11,053 in prize money. After the hand the players spoke again about the popular opinion at the table concerning whether to keep playing, or not. The debate rages on…

Three’s Company

After the break, action was down to three tables, and 24 players remained. Greg Raymer was seated with Matthew Kelly and Steve Richmond. As luck would have it Barry Greenstein was seated with Mimi Tran. Ted Forrest also joined them at this talented table. Paul Darden (27th), Chris Barnes (25th), and Sherkhan Farnood (24th) had been lost in the shuffle.

The Green Monster

Barry Greenstein had gone on an absolute tear, he picked up huge pots and kept the pressure on his opponents with constant aggression. He had amassed a monster stack of $164,000 and left the rest of the field behind.

Luck of the Scottish?

Mimi Tran was all in preflop for $1,600 when Craig “Red” Thomson and Ted Forrest got involved in a large hand. Thomson had pushed the action on every street and Forrest had called him at every turn. The pot was pumped to $40,000 when both players checked on seventh street. Thomson showed down 44(AK29)A and Forrest mucked with 10542 exposed. The side pot had been decided and Mimi was only able to muster a pair of jacks. She was eliminated in 21st place.

Fearing Red

A few hands later Red Thomson was at it again. This time he tangled with the chip leader. Thomson bet $6,000 on seventh street with 95A6 exposed and Greenstein mucked with J958 exposed. Thomson picked up the $20,000 pot and he now held $77,000.

Fossilman Turns the Century Mark

Greg Raymer bet $6,000 on seventh street and Theresa Viganola made the call. Raymer showed down KQ(10AJQ)5 and Viganola mucked with the 8A27exposed. Raymer picked up the $30,000 pot and now held $113,000. Steve Sung had also made some noise in the century club with $130,000.

The players went to a fifteen minute break at the conclusion of the hour.  

We’re in the Money

Twenty minutes after the dinner break had ended, action went to hand-for-hand. The money bubble popped rather quickly though, and play continued into the night.

Paycheck

Seat seven had moved all in on third street and Paul Darden had made the call. Darden remained calm as his opponent received three sixes by the time fourth street was dealt. His opponent was less than calm when Darden was delivered a third king on fifth street. He stormed off from the table and Darden stacked up his chips. “I did let him get a paycheck,” said Darden to his neighbor at the table.

Battle of the Stars…

…PokerStars that is. Barry Greenstein bet $3,000 on third street with the 6 exposed. William Chen made the call with the Q turned up. Both players checked fourth street after Greenstein received the 5 and Chen was dealt the 10. Greenstein then led out for $3,000 and Chen called on every subsequent betting round. When they turned their cards up at the end of the hand Greenstein had 85(6599)3 and Chen held KK(Q104K). Chen was knocked down to $3,000 after the hand.

Greenstein Climbs the Ranks

A few hands later Greenstein had his opponent’s all-in bet covered on third street. Greenstein had QJ(57K7)A face up on the table and his opponent had 66(2A33) up on the table. He peered at his final hole card then tossed it over to Greenstein face down. Greenstein took a look at the secret card as his opponent exited the tournament area. Greenstein now had $78,000, which was good for second place behind the chip leader, Greg Raymer ($84,000). Dale Phillips, Steve Sung, and Chris Barnes also lurked near the top with varied stacks in the mid-$50,000 level. Five tables and 37 players remained in the tournament at the conclusion of the fifth hour of play.

The Bubble Approaches

While there won’t be a dime paid until the 40th place finisher hits the rail, the effects of the money bubble could be felt throughout the tournament field during the fourth hour of action. Players strained their necks to peek at the tournament statistic screen, and some players got up from their seats to survey the field. One player anxiously stared at the board with a pained expression on his face. There were 45 players remaining at six tables by the time the fourth hour had ticked away its final seconds. Fred Goldberg is one player who won’t finish in the money, seeing that he busted in the last hour.

“I’ll bite”

Greg Raymer had $50,000 when he entered a pot with a colorful character that was sporting a Dwayne Wade jersey. The player in seat three said, “I’ll bite,” as he tossed in his chips in to call Raymer’s raise on fourth street. With 22 exposed Raymer received the A on fifth street, while his opponent received the 2, with the Q5 already exposed. “Wanna switch?” asked seat three. “How can I say no to that,” replied Raymer, who picked up his ace with just a shade of sarcasm. Sixth street brought the 4 for seat three and the J for Raymer. It was then on seventh street where the real fireworks took place. Raymer bet $2,000 and seat three raised to $4,000 after looking like he might have folded. Raymer called and turned over A-Q-2 for aces up. His opponent mucked his cards after admitting he had a smaller two pair. “Nice hand sir,” said the player. “Thank you,” replied Raymer.

The Fossilman Evolves

Raymer now had $64,000 and the chip lead. Things only got better for the 2005 World Champion a few hands later. He picked up a large pot off of the next largest stack in the field, Chris Barnes. Raymer flipped over a strong trio of hole cards, AAK, and this took Barnes down to $60,000. Raymer had shot up to $76,000 and he was now poised to make a solid run at the final table.

A Solid Field Remains at the Dinner Bell

Looking around the field just before dinner, Paul Darden ($45,000) and Mimi Tran ($24,000) were spotted at the same table, and Ted Forrest was seated at the table next to them. On the opposite side of the field, two members of team PokerStars were nestled into a corner. Barry Greenstein and William Chen chatted about poker strategy between hands like two children trading notes in the back of a classroom. Greenstein had a nice stack of $34,400 in front of him, while Chen had some work to do with only $12,000 remaining.

We’ll see how these remaining players fair when they return from the dinner break at 10 p.m.