"Norman Chad makes his way to his first WSOP final table, if you don't count the ones he's commentated.... Norman's goal is to win more WSOP bracelets than he has ex-wives."
So said the announcer just now, reading off the bio sheets the players fill out prior to the final table. The announcements — and jokes — having all been read, the official eight-handed final table is underway!
Gregorich completed with an ace showing, and Guss moved all in for his last few thousand. The action behind folded, and Gregorich tabled . Guss showed .
Gregorich made aces-up on sixth, and Guss couldn't make a better hand on seventh, eliminating him from the tournament. We are now down to the official final table, and the players are on a ten-minute break.
The final nine players have gathered around the not-official-final table on the main stage in the Pavilion Room. Brandon Guss is the super-short stack as play begins.
Jeffrey Lisandro raised preflop, and Oleksii Kovalchuk and Mark Gregorich called from the blinds. The flop came down , and Kovalchuk checked. Gregorich bet, Lisandro raised enough to put himself all in, and Kovalchuk called. Gregorich re-raised, and Kovalchuk called.
The turn was the , and Kovalchuk checked. Gregorich bet, and Kovalchuk released.
Lisandro:
Gregorich:
The completed the board, and Gregorich scooped the entire pot.
Lisandro is eliminated in 10th place, and we're now down to the unofficial final table. A seat draw is coming shortly.
Down to just 25,000 to start the Omaha-8 round, Perry Friedman had to commit 15,000 of that as he was the big blind. Tim Burt then raised from the cutoff, George Danzer called from the small blind, and Perry pushed in his last 10,000.
The flop came and both players checked. The turn was the . Danzer bet, and when Burt raised, that caused Friedman to raise as well — out of his seat. Danzer called.
The river brought the , Danzer again bet, and Burt called.
Danzer showed for the ace-high flush and nut low. Burt had for a lesser flush and also the nut low (to which Danzer had caught up on the turn). Meanwhile Friedman had but .
Three-quarters of the pot thus went to Danzer, the rest to Burt, and Friedman shook hands with his opponents and left with an 11th-place ticket.
Perry Friedman just took another tumble in a hand in which he opened from under the gun and got a single caller in George Danzer from the small blind.
The flop came . Danzer bet, Friedman raised, and Danzer called. The turn was the , and Danzer bet again. This time Friedman just called.
The river was the , and Friedman called another Danzer bet. Danzer tabled for nines full of treys, while Friedman had — failed flush and low draws, and aces and treys.
We've been watching Perry Friedman survive repeated all-ins by chopping pots, first with Tim Burt, then again with Mark Gregorich. Friedman was just all in again in another situation — this time against three opponents — and emerged not only surviving, but with a nice addition to his stack.
In this one, Burt raised, Jeff Lisandro called from the button, George Danzer called from the small blind, and Friedman called from the big blind, leaving himself but 24,000 or two small bets. The flop came . Danzer checked, Friedman bet, and all three of his opponents called. Danzer checked again after the turn, and this time after Friedman bet only Lisandro stuck around. Cards on their backs...
Friedman:
Lisandro:
The river brought the , meaning Friedman had won the high with his diamond flush, and the pair split the low with the same 6-5-4-3-A.
/ 
/ 
. Guss showed 
, and Kovalchuk checked. Gregorich bet, Lisandro raised enough to put himself all in, and Kovalchuk called. Gregorich re-raised, and Kovalchuk called.
, and Kovalchuk checked. Gregorich bet, and Kovalchuk released.
completed the board, and Gregorich scooped the entire pot.
and both players checked. The turn was the 
. Danzer bet, and when Burt raised, that caused Friedman to raise as well — out of his seat. Danzer called.
for a lesser flush and also the nut low (to which Danzer had caught up on the turn). Meanwhile Friedman had but 
. Danzer bet, Friedman raised, and Danzer called. The turn was the 
— failed flush and low draws, and aces and treys.
