Rudolph Sawa raised to 100,000 from the button, and Eric Hicks called from the big blind.
The flop came , and Hicks checked. Sawa bet 100,000, and Hicks called. The turn brought the , and Hicks check-called a bet of 275,000 from Sawa. The fell on the river, and Hicks asked how much was in the pot, which was 975,000. He then bet 600,000. Sawa folded, and Hicks took the pot.
Rudolph Sawa made a big move on the first hand after the dinner break. He was sitting in the small blind, looking at Eric Hicks' open-raise to 125,000 and Mark Reilly's flat on the button. Sawa raised pot, commiting more than a third of his chips. Hicks folded quickly, but Reilly paid off the 550,000.
Sawa had just under a pot-sized bet behind, and he opted to slow down on the flop. Reilly checked back. They continued to the turn, and that was the time for Sawa to finally shove on Reilly, who gave up after a few seconds.
The last hand before the dinner break saw Eric Hicks open to 100,000, and all of his opponents came along.
Hicks bet 250,000 on the flop, and only Mark Reilly called. Hicks, who's been on fire since the start of the final table, barreled the turn for another 400,000. Reilly called again. The river completed a backdoor flush, and both players checked.
Hicks announced his aces, turning up his . Reilly, however, had that beat with for turned trips.
Reilly seized a sizeable pot, vaulting just ahead of Hicks.
Rudolph Sawa raised to 80,000 from the cutoff, and Aleksei Altshuller called from the big blind.
The flop came , and in a flurry of activity, all the chips quickly went into the middle with Altshuller at risk.
Sawa:
Altshuller:
Sawa had the lead with top two pair against Altshuller's bottom two pair, so Altshuller needed help from the deck in order to preserve his tournament life. The on the turn was no help to Altshuller, and neither was the river, so Sawa took the pot to end Altshuller's deep run in this tournament.
Action folded around to the blinds, and Gerhard Schleicher called from the small. Louie Calvo raised to 120,000 from the big blind, and Schleicher called.
The flop came and Schleicher bet the pot for 240,000. Calvo called. The turn brought the , and Schleicher checked. Calvo bet 400,000, putting Schleicher to a decision for his stack, and he went into the tank. Ultimately, he called to put himself at risk, and the two players tabled their hands.
Schleicher:
Calvo:
Calvo had the lead with the nut flush, and Schleicher had to make a boat on the river in order to survive. The was no help to Schleicher, though, and he was eliminated.
Eric Hicks raised to 80,000 from the second position, and Aleksei Altshuller called. Alberto Fonseca joined from the big blind, and he led out for 255,000 on the flop. Both of his opponents called.
Fonseca moved all in on the turn, sliding in his remaining 110,000 chips. Both Hicks and Altshuller called again. No bets were made on the river, and all the players were obliged to show their hole cards:
Alberto Fonseca:
Eric Hicks:
Aleksei Altshuller:
Fonseca had flopped the bottom set, but Hicks had the nuts. Alberto Fonseca left the tournament in seventh place, pocketing $36,074 for his efforts.
On the flop reading , Rudolph Sawa and Alberto Fonseca ended up all in for Sawa's effective 445,000.
Alberto Fonseca:
Rudolph Sawa:
Fonseca was behind, but he had a huge draw. Unfortunately for him, the spades weren't playing in his favor, as Sawa had the nut flush draw. Fonseca still had a ton of outs with his wrap, but he couldn't get there. The turn was a brick, and the river brought a flush for both players, leaving Sawa with the double.