John Centero had raised in early position and was re-raised by John Phan to 2,575. Centero four-bet to 6,200 with 15,000 behind and Phan responded by going all in for 30,000.
At this time the dealer started to run out the flop and had to be stopped by the other players at the table. Eventually Centero did make the call.
Centero:
Phan:
The flop was crushing for Phan when it came giving Centero trips. When the turn came Phan was left drawing dead. The dealer threw out the for good measure, but it was no use to Phan who is down to 16,700.
I'm not sure why, but, this year, I have witnessed more floors called than any other Series before, and if the tournament directors haven't been using the gym at their hotel, they should at least have calves of steel from all the floor space they've covered in the Pavillion Room.
On this occasion, we joined the debate prior to the T.D's arrival, the dealer telling a player: "If you stop staring at me, I'll explain it to you again, or we can get a floor over here. In fact, let's do that. Floor on 61!"
The stoppage on this occasion was a result of that forever greying area of showing cards at a showdown. "If a winning hand gets called," started the T.D.," and wants to see the other player's hand, it's a live hand and has to be shown. Whoever bets and calls, that player must show his hand."
"What if he mucks his cards?" inquired the player. "And they go into the muck?"
"If the cards go into the muck, and they are irretrievable, there's nothing we can do about it... Guys, we can do 'ifs' all day... If a winning hand is called, the player has the right to see the other player's hand. That's the bottom line."
With the 90-minute break just moments away, players have tighened right up, even the short stacks keen to Twitter that they survived two thirds of the field to make it to dinner rather than gambling on a double-up.
In fact, as I write, the half-time whistle blows and it's time to get some tucker. Rejoin us at around 20.20 for the final four levels.
Before the dinner break we reported that Alex Outhred was monster chip leader, but since then, he's turned into an even bigger monster with 75,000 and is rampaging through the Rio like King Kong on Red Bull. At time of writing, no one even comes close to matching his stack.
There have been constant complaints over the Series about the temperature in the Pavillion; only Eskimo Clark seems content. Passing one table recently, I overheard UK player David Tighe comment with a Midland twang, "It's freezing in here, my nipples have gone erect." Erect nipples didn't stop him from raising, however, picking up the blinds and antes with a raise to 900. He currently has 14,000.
Eugene Todd may have busted, but his buddy hand man Will Failla is still alive and kicking with 46,000 chips. Our only regret is having taken this long to find him.Eugw
I doubt there are too many father and son combos here today, but Ben and Jamie Roberts are definitely one. I'm not sure of the existence of James in the event, but father Ben is definitely still in, and was last seen raising his neighbor's open of 1,200 all in for a total of 6,000. The initial aggressor didn't think too long before folding, allowing Roberts to pick up the pot uncontested.
Just like magic, recent bracelet winner Ayaz Mahmood has turned an average stack into a chip lead threatening stack in the space of a couple of levels. After a quick count (although it's difficult as he hasn't gone for the standard 20-chip stack), Mahmood appears to have built up to just under 60,000 and could be the man to challenge current chip leader Alex Outhred.
You may not have heard of Stephen Chidwick, but online he is regarded as a titan of the game, and somewhat of an STT specialist. In fact, one year, he managed to win a quite remarkable 101 WSOP Main Event seats through the online Steps process and was regarded by most as 'someone to fear/avoid'. Today, he certainly fits into that category, as he is one of the few people to have surpassed the half a tenth of a million mark with a sumptuous 66,500.
Also posing a threat are friends Will Failla and Victor Ramdin. They have 46,000 and 36,500 respectively and have decided to take two percent of each other's action.
![[user123189]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
giving Centero trips. When the turn came 
Phan was left drawing dead. The dealer threw out the 
for good measure, but it was no use to Phan who is down to 16,700.
