This final table arena in the Pavilion isn't new to Kennii Nguyen. Less than two weeks ago, Nguyen was among the last 10 players left in Event 2, a $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em event. Unfortunately for the animated, fast-talking Nguyen, he bubbled the official final table after losing a preflop confrontation to eventual champion Brent Hanks.
Nguyen is back, and this time he's armed with a bigger stack and more room to maneuver. We'll see if he can muscle his way to his first WSOP gold bracelet tonight.
Justin McGill opened to 100,000 under the gun, and Cliff Goldkind flatted from the next seat over. Two seats further, Gregg Wilkinson found a squeezing hand, and he reraised all in for 670,000 total. McGill moved all in just as quickly, Goldkind folded, and the cards were tabled.
Showdown
McGill:
Wilkinson:
The appeared right in the window, and that was a fine sight for Wilkinson. The board ended up showing by the river, and Wilkinson took a lap around the rail for a few friendly high-fives.
Justin McGill came into the pot with a raise to 65,000, and Gregg Wilkinson made a three-bet to 155,000 total. The action wasn't done yet, though, as Patrick Smith four-bet shoved from the big blind. It was just over 400,000 total, and that was too much for McGill. Wilkinson liked the price he was getting, though, and he made the call with a chance at the knockout.
Showdown
Wilkinson:
Smith:
The board came , and Smith's hand held. With the win comes a much needed double, and Smith is back in the game.
There's a break approaching, and we'll get a full set of chip counts for you then.
David Peters raised to 60,000 from early position and it folded around to Cliff Goldkind, who three-bet to 270,000 from the button. When action came around to Gregg Wilkinson in the big blind, he moved all in for just over 800,000. Peters quickly folded and, after a short time in the tank, Goldkind released. Wilkinson is back above the 1 million-chip mark.
Wow. We've just had our two chip leaders play a huge all-in pot. it began with Gregg Wilkinson opening with a raise in early position, and Gary Burks three-bet to 190,000. Action came to Cliff Goldkind in the big blind, and he made a cold four-bet to 420,000 straight. That folded Wilkinson, but Burks wasn't going anywhere. He declared his all in, and Goldkind snap-called with the biggest pot of the tournament on the line.
Showdown
Burks:
Goldkind:
Goldkind had it, and Burks was none too pleased. The flop did give him a shot at making the winning trips, but he didn't look particularly confident that it was coming.
Turn: !
Ka-boom. Goldkind spun away from the table in disgust, and Burks couldn't believe it either. He had caught lightning in a bottle, but now he needed to fade the diamonds and the case ace on the river. As it turned out, he could not.
The dropped off the deck, and Goldkind and his pals burst into celebration. The diamond flush takes it, and Goldkind has added massively to his chip lead. When the stacks were counted down, Burks didn't have enough to pay the debt, and he's been sent to the rail in 9th place. That's good for a pay bump up over $40,000.
Gregg Wilkinson raised to open the pot, and Adria Balaguer defended his big blind.
The flop and turn came out with the two men checking through. On the river, Balaguer made a bet of 85,000 that was called. He showed up , and that was the winner.
![[user153906]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
appeared right in the window, and that was a fine sight for Wilkinson. The board ended up showing 
by the river, and Wilkinson took a lap around the rail for a few friendly high-fives.
, and Smith's hand held. With the win comes a much needed double, and Smith is back in the game.
dropped off the deck, and Goldkind and his pals burst into celebration. The diamond flush takes it, and Goldkind has added massively to his chip lead. When the stacks were counted down, Burks didn't have enough to pay the debt, and he's been sent to the rail in 9th place. That's good for a pay bump up over $40,000.
, and that was the winner.