Bag it Up
We've reached the requisite ten-level mark, and the chips have been bagged up for one more overnight soak.
Once again, we're going to spare a lot of words here; our ears are ringing from the commotion we've just witnessed over the last four hours or so.
From our starting field of 1,734, just five players remain in the hunt for the bracelet. One of them, Thomas Middleton, was the one responsible for most of the noise tonight as his cheering section of countrymen were well lubricated with alcohol and very much a part of the battle being played out before them. Beers were imbibed from shoes -- yep, true story -- spilled onto the floor, and poured two-by-two down the throats of all in attendance as the dull roar rose to a deafening thunder of chanting by night's end.
And there's reason to cheer. Middleton is atop the pack heading into the final day, but the bracelet can not be won by his fans on the rail tomorrow. He'll have to deal with another Thomas on his left, Thomas Miller who held the chip lead for most of the day until a slide late in the evening. Also still in the hunt for his first bracelet is former APPT champion Eddy Sabat, and the two wild cards, Mikhail Lakhitov of Russia and Hassan Babajane from Boston.
The five of them will be back inside the Amazon Room Friday afternoon at 2:30pm to finish this thing out. Here's how they'll stack up when play recommences:
| Player | Chips |
|---|---|
| Thomas Middleton | 4,030,000 |
| Mikhail Lakhitov | 2,705,000 |
| Hassan Babajane | 2,365,000 |
| Eddy Sabat | 2,030,000 |
| Thomas Miller | 1,885,000 |
That's all we have for tonight, and our eardrums need some time to recover. We'll be back in about 12 hours, though, and one of these five men will own their first gold bracelet by the time the day is done.
Until then, all that's left is goodnight!