Gary Burks Eliminated in 9th Place ($41,145)

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: {A-Spades} {K-Clubs}
Goldkind: {A-Clubs} {A-Diamonds}

Goldkind had it, and Burks was none too pleased. The {K-Diamonds} {9-Diamonds} {4-Diamonds} flop did give him a shot at making the winning trips, but he didn't look particularly confident that it was coming.

Turn: {K-Spades} !

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 {J-Diamonds} 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.