Jeff Madsen had a hot middle third to his day, but things have cooled off quickly here as the night has gone on. We just watched Madsen involved in a pot three-handed as the dealer spread out a flop. The player in the big blind checked, Jeff Madsen (who was likely the preflop raiser) put out a bet of 3,135. Allen Bari tanked and folded next door, but the big blind came along with the call.
The turn came the , and it went check-check to the river. With one last check in front of him, Madsen took his cue to bet 7,325. His opponent didn't waste much time calling, and Madsen knew he was likely in trouble. "Sixes?" he half-asked.
The big blind showed up for the bottom straight, and it was good.
From his high point of around 70,000, Madsen has tumbled back down to 27,000 or so.
The pot was opened with a raise by a player under the gun before Prahlad Friedman moved all in from middle position for about 10,000. Lee Markholt was sitting to his direct left and reraised all in for 19,075. The original raiser got out of the way and the hands were turned up.
Friedman:
Markholt:
Right in the window, Markholt hit a set. The board ran out and Friedman was sent to the rail.
We're not quite sure how the betting action went, but we do know that Phil Laak ended up all in for his last 17,550 against one other player after a flop of . Laak's was behind his opponent's . The turn and river brought the and which were of no help to Laak and he was eliminated.
We had just walked away from counting down Phil Hellmuth at about 31,000, and we heard him take a phone call from his wife, who we think must be named Honey. We were trying not to eavesdrop on the conversation as Hellmuth stepped over near us, but we did hear the words "seven hours of sleep", "just won a pot", "this table", and "frustrating" in little tidbits. We walked away.
Just a few seconds later, we heard Hellmuth's familiar, "GOD!" followed by a quick, "Are you f***ing kidding me?!" so we snapped back around to see what was what. We saw all of the Brat's chips in the middle, and he had laid out in front of him. His opponent was in the eight seat, and he was showing . The board in the middle of the table? A fun . The money apparently got in on the flop with the ace-nine being a huge underdog. Hellmuth was fuming, and it was only now that we noticed he was still on the phone with his wife.
Standing up from the table, he spoke to her instead. "The guy just put in 50k with ace-nine. I got him to put in 50k with top pair." It would be another two minutes or so before Hellmuth finally left the table. Before he did, he lifted the phone away from his ear and glared across the table. "How f***ing bad are you?" he asked rhetorically.
The gentleman in the eight seat was relishing the moment with a wide grin on his face. He knelt with one knee on his chair, them pumped his fists above his head. In broken English, he matched Hellmuth's volume with a loud, "I got Pill Hellmoot!"
With a delightful air of condescending, Hellmuth reached across the table to shake his opponent's hand. "Very nice play, sir. Very nice play." And with that, he was gone.
The tournament clock that keeps a running tally of the players remaining just dropped to 396 meaning over half the starting field has already been eliminated from play. While we won't reach the money tonight, there are sure to be many more eliminations to come over the next couple of levels.
Daniel Negreanu (Event #49) - Eliminated from the tournament
Over in the Black section, table #30 happens to be located right next to the rail. This is definitely a good thing for railbirds looking to catch a glimpse of a big name pro as that table has contained Daniel Negreanu, Gavin Smith, Jonathan Duhamel, Josh Brikis, and Terrence Chan for the past few levels.
On a recent hand, with a small crowd of onlookers watching the action, the flop came . Five players were still in the hand and action checked to Negreanu who bet 3,500. Duhamel, Brikis, and Smith all folded but the player in the big blind (who had Negreanu covered) shoved all in. Negreanu called putting his tournament life at risk.
Negreanu:
Big Blind:
Negreanu's pair of kings was behind the other players set of sevens. The on the turn gave Negreanu some flush outs, but the on the river couldn't save him and he was eliminated.
Immediately after the hand Chan said, "Bye bye rail" and even though there are a few other notable players including last years Main Event Winner at the table, the rail did indeed scatter to the wind shortly after Negreanu's departure.
Anyone thinking that table #30 got a little softer would be incorrect though as Negreanu's seat has now been taken by Barry Greenstein. This will certainly be a table to watch for the rest of the evening.
flop. The player in the big blind checked, Jeff Madsen (who was likely the preflop raiser) put out a bet of 3,135. Allen Bari tanked and folded next door, but the big blind came along with the call.
, and it went check-check to the 
river. With one last check in front of him, Madsen took his cue to bet 7,325. His opponent didn't waste much time calling, and Madsen knew he was likely in trouble. "Sixes?" he half-asked.
for the bottom straight, and it was good.
and Friedman was sent to the rail.
. Laak's 
was behind his opponent's 
. The turn and river brought the 
and 
which were of no help to Laak and he was eliminated.
. The board in the middle of the table? A fun 
. The money apparently got in on the flop with the ace-nine being a huge underdog. Hellmuth was fuming, and it was only now that we noticed he was still on the phone with his wife.
on the turn gave Negreanu some flush outs, but the 
on the river couldn't save him and he was eliminated.
