Shankar Pillai just saw his High Roller event come to an end after getting in his remaining 50,000 chips pre-flop versus Tommy Nguyen.
Shankar was holding 
and could not overcome the 
of Tommy on a 
board. Tommy chipped up to around 180,000 with that pot, putting him amongst the bigger stacks in the field.
Following the break that occurred after level 8, a chip count revealed that it is a pretty tight race among the competitors in tonight’s tournament. With 82 players still in the field, Tracy Hutton has taken a tiny lead over Julie Poliquin, the leader after the first break. Tracy’s chip count of 97,000 chips is more than double the stack average of 45K. But her slim lead is only 1,000 chips more than Julie’s.
An interesting aside, all three of Tracy’s next closest competitors are all playing on the same table, #82.
| First Name | Prénom | Last Name | Nom | Stack | Tapis |
|---|---|---|
| Tracy | Hutton | 97,000 |
| Julie | Poliquin | 96,000 |
| Wendy | Davis | 90,500 |
| Patricia | Chiarelli | 88,000 |
In the last hand of level 13, Alex Foxen opened to 3,500 from middle position, and found calls from Louis Boutin and David Peters before Joseph Cheong squeezed all-in for 33,500 from the button. Alex mucked his hand, and Louis moved all-in. After a moment in the tank, David opted to make the call with his 16,500 stack.
Joseph: 
Louis: 
David: 
David took the lead by pairing his King on the flop, and Joseph turned a ton of equity with straight and flush draws with an over-card, but Louis ended up scooping the pot by rivering a set on the 
board to thin the field by 2. Louis climbed to around 140,000 after the hand, putting him well above the average stack.
As we near the halfway point of what will surely be a very long day of poker, Daniel Dubeau is the new chip leader with 620,000 chips. Presently there are 115 players still playing, and only 111 will get paid, so the hands that are played after the break are sure to be very interesting.
| First Name | Prénom | Last Name | Nom | Stack | Tapis |
|---|---|---|
| Daniel | Dubeau | 620,000 |
| Kenneth | Hicks | 568,000 |
| David | Quang | 567,000 |
| Jessie | Wheatley | 552,000 |
| Francois | Sauve | 526,000 |
| Ryan | McKnight | 495,000 |
| Richard | Kirsch | 466,000 |
As the clock wound down to the end of level 16 (the fourth 60-minute level of the day), we remain only four busts away from the money. With 115 players left, the pressure was on for two players in particular, Faisal Al Qutub and Toby Joyce.
When we joined he hand, the clock on level 16 had already expired, and all the other tables had left for the dinner break. However, this table took another five minutes of hard-thinking poker to finish.
With about 40,000 chips in the pot, the board was showing 
. Faisal bet 15,000, but was raised to 45,000 by Toby. Eventually Faisal called, after much thought. The river was dealt a 
.
This time Faisal checked utg, which prompted an all in by Toby of almost 160,000 chips. His stack easily covered what was left of Toby’s, and Toby was left with an agonizing decision. Should make the call and risk missing the money by only three spots? Or live to fight another day?
He ended up using all of his 30-second time chits thinking about what he should do, but ultimately he folded, staying alive for at least one more hand. Both players went off to dinner break, one significantly happier than the other. Only time will tell if it was the right decision, and you can bet we’ll be keeping on eye on table 26 as soon as the players return from their meals.
Pegman Meleknia opened to 3,500 from middle position, and Pascal Lefrancois 3-bet to 10,500 next to act. Pegman completed the call once play folded back to him, and the flop was rolled out.
Both players checked on the 
flop, and again on the 
turn. When the 
was drawn on the river, Pegman went in with a bet of 25,000, and Pascal moved into the tank. He looked over at Pegman’s remaining 93,000 chip stack, then looked up at the dealer and said “All-in”. Pegman waisted no time throwing in a calling chip and showdown took place.
Pascal tabled 
for a flush, besting his opponent’s 
for a straight. He climbed up to around 280,000 chips with that hand, propelling him into second place for the time being, runner-up to Kristen Bicknell.
