A huge pot just developed that resulted in the elimination of Nick Grippo. It began when Ben Tollerene raised to 55,000 on the button and Joe Ebanks three-bet to 150,000 from the small blind. Grippo was in the big and opted for a four-bet to 300,000. Tollerene got out of the way while Ebanks put in a big five-bet, though we're not sure of the amount. What we are sure of is that Grippo moved all in and Ebanks snap-called, creating a pot of around 3.4 million.
Grippo:
Ebanks:
Both players shared in ace, but it was the king of Ebanks that made him a huge favorite. "Queen," Grippo's supporters called from the rail. Their pleas continued as the flop failed to deliver a lady. "Queen," they shouted again as the dealer burned and turned the . While it wasn't a queen, it did open the door for a chop.
"Queen," the rail begged as the dealer prepared to put out the river . . . . It was a blank as far as Grippo was concerned.
"Nice hand, Joe," Grippo said as he slide stood and exited the tournament area in 9th place.
Taylor Paur opened to 45,000 from the cutoff, and Matthew Hyman called out of the big blind. The flop fell , and Hyman checked to Paur who continued for 60,000. Hyman check-raised all in for around 520,000, and Paur quickly called.
Paur:
Hyman:
Hyman needed some help, and received a tiny bit when the turned. Any nine or eight on the river and he would double, but the gave him a lower straight than Paur's, ending Hyman's tournament
Hyman is off to collect his $73,695, while Paur is still alive with almost 2 million chips.
Mike Sowers opened to 40,000 in the cutoff seat, Taylor Paur three-bet to 92,000 on the button, and Chris Moorman cold four-bet to 192,000 from the big blind. Sowers and Paur both mucked, and Moorman added to his stack.
Ben Tollerene raised to 45,000 from the cutoff only to have Nick Grippo three-bet to 120,000 from the button. Action folded back around to Tollerene and he put in a four-bet to 300,000, which Grippo called. When the flop came down , Tollerene bet 200,000, Grippo called, and the appeared on the turn.
At this point, Tollerene fired out a respectable 450,000 and Grippo gave up on the hand. With that, Tollerene extended his chip lead by bringing his stack up to over 3.5 million.
Action folded to Nick Grippo on the button and he put in a standard raise to 45,000. Chris DeMaci was next to act in the small blind and he went with a three-bet to 153,000. The big blind got out of the way and Grippo simply moved all in. DeMaci called off and the cards were turned on their backs.
Grippo:
DeMaci:
As with all no-limit hold'em tournaments, so many all-in situations were simply a flip. DeMaci no doubt had high hopes for his over, but the flop wasn't any help. The turn left DeMaci in need of an ace or jack on the river, but it was not meant to be as the blanked.
Grippo's small pocket pair held to vault him over 2 million while DeMaci was eliminated in 11th place, earning his fourth cash of the 2011 WSOP in the process.
Ben Lamb open-shoved his last 200,000 or so from the hijack seat, and Taylor Paur, the man who crippled him, called from the cutoff. All other action folded, and the hands were opened.
Lamb:
Paur:
Lamb was crushed, and the hand was over instantly because the flop fell , giving Paur the nut-flush with a redraw to a royal flush just for kicks. The turn and river came , , respectively, and Lamb was eliminated in 12th place.
If our math is right, Lamb earned 36 Player of the Year points to extend his total to 522.25. He now has a 64-point advantage over his closest competitor; Phil Hellmuth.
The action folded to Ben "Benba" Lamb who raised to 50,000 from the small blind. Taylor Paur three-bet to 125,000, Lamb four-bet shoved for effectively 657,000, and Paur called.
Lamb:
Paur:
The flop was clean, and so too was the on the turn, but the spiked on the river, giving Paur the best hand.
Lamb slammed his hand on the table, and even tablemate Jeremy Menard winced at the sight of the queen.
After the damage was assessed, Lamb sent the majority of his chips over to Paur, and the stacks now look like this:
![[user101598]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
however, and successfully doubled after the turn and river came 
, 
respectively.
flop failed to deliver a lady. "Queen," they shouted again as the dealer burned and turned the 
. While it wasn't a queen, it did open the door for a chop.
. It was a blank as far as Grippo was concerned.
turned. Any nine or eight on the river and he would double, but the 
gave him a lower straight than Paur's, ending Hyman's tournament
, Tollerene bet 200,000, Grippo called, and the 
appeared on the turn.
, giving Paur the nut-flush with a redraw to a royal flush just for kicks. The turn and river came 
, 