After hearing a celebratory shout, we scampered over to one of the four remaining tables and saw the aftermath of an all in between Joe Palma and one opponent. Palma held 
and his opponent held 
. The player with tens had flopped a set on 
, but the next two cards to emerge from the deck were 
and 
, giving Palma a backdoor flush.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
900,000 |
Just moments ago Jason Tulloss was on the ropes, staggered and nearly knocked out cold. Tulloss sat with his last 400,000 chips in the middle, and a dominated 
in front of his vulnerable short stack. Another player had called with 
and Tulloss was on the brink.
He hit not a ten or a straight on the flop and it looked bleak at that point, but the dealer burned and turned a to put him in the lead. When no queen arrived on the river, Tulloss doubled through survived a close encounter.
Just a hand or two after that, Tulloss found himself a real hand in 
, and he opened for a raise before the flop. An unidentified player flatted, but Mike Ortiz shoved all in for the power play. The flatter folded and Tulloss, of course, snapped off the bet with his pocket rockets. The final board rolled out 
to fuel Tulloss' lift off into the stratosphere in terms of our current chip counts.
To cap off his blast off, Tulloss claimed the rest of Ortiz' checks - about 580,000 worth - when he made quads with with . Ortiz held the 
, but big slick was no match for Tulloss' four tens, and after nearly losing it all just ten minutes prior, Tulloss is now one of our chip leaders.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
3,200,000
3,048,500
|
3,048,500 |
Jackson Lee pushed all in preflop and was called by one opponent.
Lee: 
Opponent: 
The dealer rolled out 
, while Lee kept rapping the table chanting, "Jack, jack jack."
The turn was a 
, but the river 
granted Lee his wish.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
600,000
526,500
|
526,500 |
Level: 26
Blinds: 20,000/40,000
Ante: 4,000
Players have left for a one-hour dinner break.
Ryan Austin, in the big blind, bet 145,000 into his lone opponent after the 
flop. Joe Gergus made the call, and the two took in a turn of . Austin fired again, this time 220,000, and Gergus thought for a bit before deciding to make a stand, literally, as he stood up and shoved all in for 240,000 more.
"I hate how I played this hand," Austin said as he considered whether to call. Finally, he placed the chips in the middle.
Gergus: 
Austin: 
Austin was ahead, but Gergus had considerable outs. The river was a though, no help to Gergus, and Austin dragged a large pot despite his self-described regretful play.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
2,400,000
1,300,000
|
1,300,000 |
|
|
Busted |
There are currently 54 players left in contention in Event 8, as the race to the final table and a $99,144 payday rolls on.
The board read 
by the turn, and Mike Ortiz tossed out a bet of 80,000. A lone opponent came along for the ride, and the dealer produced the on the river.
Both players checked the scare card down and Ortiz immediately tabled his 
knowing he was likely out in front if the other player couldn't bet fifth street.
Sure enough, Ortiz was best with a pair of tens, and he dragged another pot his way.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,650,000
1,650,000
|
1,650,000 |
Level: 25
Blinds: 15,000/30,000
Ante: 4,000
Dan Gerard and an opponent with around 236,000 left to his name both woke up with premium hands, and the all the money went in before the flop.
Gerard tabled 
and the other player for the classic coin flip confrontation.
Flop: 
Just like that, the coin came up on the side Gerard called, and the hand was virtually over in an instant. The turn () and river () were merely formalities at that point, and by notching the knockout Gerard pushed to just below one million chip mark.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
950,000 |
