Joe Hachem has just scored a much-needed double-up in the last hand before the break through William Thorson and is now up to 43,000 in chips.
The action folded to Hachem who raised to 7,000 from the cutoff; Thorson called from the small blind, David Ewing folded his small blind and Mike Shklover called from the big blind to go three-handed to a flop that read .
Shklover checked, Hachem moved all-in for 10,900 and Thorson called before Shklover got out of the way.
Thorson:
Hachem:
Though Thorson had Hachem outkicked, the turn and river came running , to give the hometown hero the flush and double him up! Thorson is still leading this final table though, sitting on a stack worth 442,000.
Graeme "Kiwi G" Putt has scored a timely double-up through William Thorson, but Michael Greco wasn't so lucky and as a result, we're down to five players.
On a flop that read , Putt and Joe Hachem checked from the small and big blinds respectively before Thorson led out for 8,000. Greco moved all-in for 11,500 and Putt asked for a count before calling, leaving 9,300 behind.
Thorson also called, then Putt shipped the rest of his chips in after the turn of the . Thorson thought about it for a while, but with such a monsterstacken in front of him, he casually picked off the change and threw in the chips to call.
Putt: (second-nut flush)
Thorson: (third-nut flush)
Greco: (set of nines)
"Pair the board!" Greco barked. No dice - the dealer turned up the river of the - and a clearly disappointed Greco marched out of the room AUD $15,000 richer for his sixth-place finish.
Putt has now stormed up to more than 65,000 while Thorson slips, but only slightly, down to 410,000 in chips.
William Thorson is now the uber-stack at this final table, holding over 430,000 in chips after taking out Michael Zowie, who started this final table second overall.
Mike Shklover limped in from under the gun, as did Zowie from UTG +1 before Thorson raised to 10,000 from the button. Shklover and Zowie called, but Zowie was the only caller of Thorson's bet of 20,000 after the flop of .
On the turn of the , Zowie check-raised all-in after Thorson bet the pot, which was more than Zowie could afford. Zowie showed for the straight, but Thor had a slim chance to hit Broadway with .
"Jack," Thorson said to the dealer. BINK! Down came the on the river, much to Zowie's disgust. Thorson apologized and shook hands with Zowie before he rushed out of the room, but not without his AUD $10,000 for finishing in seventh place!
Casey Kastle may not have let a sore finger stand in his way of playing this final table today, but William Thorson has just crushed his soul in ninth place after a big set-over-set scenario.
Kastle raised to 5,500 from UTG +1 and Thorson reraised to 17,000 from next door. The action folded back around to Kastle who called before the dealer spread the flop of .
Kastle check-raised all-in after Thorson opened for 17,000 and Thorson snap-called.
Thorson:
Kastle:
(See, we told you it was a big set-over-set scenario!)
Neither the turn of the or the river changed the outcome and Kastle is now off to collect AUD $10,000 from the cage, which is handy, because at least we know he can cover his medical bills. Thorson is now way out in front, holding more than 327,000 in chips.
We just managed to catch the action between William Thorson and Michael Zowie in a clash of the two big stacks on a board that read ; it appeared that Thorson had led out for a pot-sized bet and Zowie had called before the dealer produced the on the river.
Thorson fired out another big bet (worth about 83,000) and Zowie deliberated for quite a while before throwing his hand into the muck. Zowie is now down to 132,000, but Thorson is dominating with 235,000 in chips!
Joe Hachem has been cut back to 44,000 in chips as the action continues at this final table, courtesy of Mike Shklover.
Shklover potted it preflop and Hachem was the only caller from the big blind to a heads-up flop that read ; Hachem check-called Shklover's bet of 8,000 before both players checked the turn of the .
Hachem then potted on the river of the and Shklover called; Hachem picked out the but Shklover rolled up all four of his cards, showing down for the straight. Shklover is now up to 108,000 in chips.
Casey Kastle (during Day 1): they make them tough in Slovenia!
Now here's a guy that's dedicated to his poker - Casey Kastle was in a rush to get to the Crown Poker Room by 2pm (the original scheduled start time, but that was pushed back by one hour), but injured a finger on his left hand after jamming it accidentally in the door of his camper van.
As we speak, the paramedic is now on site, stitching up his finger as he continues to play with his other hand! Add to that the fact that this blogger has his left foot strapped up to the hilt (due to a mystery injury) and you'd think that this game's being held at the Royal Melbourne Hospital!
In one of the first hands of this final table, Michael Greco has been set back to 23,500 in chips after David Ewing doubled through him.
All the money was in the middle on a flop that read ; Greco looked quite upset despite having turned up for a set, and rightly so - Ewing tabled for the bigger set - brutal!
The turn and river ran out , and Ewing is now up to more than 60,000 in chips.
![[user135779]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
.
, 
to give the hometown hero the flush and double him up! Thorson is still leading this final table though, sitting on a stack worth 442,000.
. Thorson thought about it for a while, but with such a monsterstacken in front of him, he casually picked off the change and threw in the chips to call.
(second-nut flush)
(third-nut flush)
(set of nines)
- and a clearly disappointed Greco marched out of the room AUD $15,000 richer for his sixth-place finish.
.
.
.
or the river 
changed the outcome and Kastle is now off to collect AUD $10,000 from the cage, which is handy, because at least we know he can cover his medical bills. Thorson is now way out in front, holding more than 327,000 in chips.
; it appeared that Thorson had led out for a pot-sized bet and Zowie had called before the dealer produced the 
on the river.
; Hachem check-called Shklover's bet of 8,000 before both players checked the turn of the 
for the straight. Shklover is now up to 108,000 in chips.
