3:45pm: Break Time
The players are now taking their second ten-minute break of the day.
3:34pm: Freeman freed
Paul Freeman is free to enjoy his afternoon on the Gold Coast following his recent elimination from the tournament. Freeman made his last stance with A♣ J♠but ran into the dominant A♠K♠of Ricky Stitt. The board ran out 7♠6♠9♦ 9♣ 4♣ to eliminate Freeman as Stitt is up to 32,000.
3:22pm: Lucky eleven
With a name like Joe Elevenson, you could probably assume that Joe is a pretty damn good Blackjack player, but he’s proving his worth on the poker tables as well after a recent double up. Elevenson made a move on the turn on a board of 3-6-2-2 holding a bare ace-king but Jon Cunz made the call with pocket nines. That didn’t stop Elevenson from finding an eleven, well an ace, on the river to keep his tournament alive. He’s doubled to 13,000.
3:10pm: Grigg misses, but gets there anyway
With a raise to 625 in front of him, Tom Grigg popped it up to 1,650 to play from the button. His opponent made the call and the flop landed A♣ 5♦ 7♦ . The early-position player decided to lead out for 2,500 and Grigg committed to the call to see the 7♠hit the turn. Again the EP-player fired, this time for 4,000 but Grigg stuck around with a call as the 6♥ completed the board on the river. Action was checked down and the EP-player opened just pocket fours, as Grigg was thrilled that his 8♦ 6♦ was good!
“You had more outs than you thought!” commented one observant player as Grigg missed his straight-flush draw, but a lonely pair on the river was enough for him to win the pot and chip up to 35,000.
2:55pm: Scott hits the waves
2009 Aussie Millions champion Stewart Scott has been sent to the rail. Scott was battling with a short stack but he decided to commit his last chips on a flop of K♦ 7♦ 3♣ . Scott held king-queen for top pair, but he’d run into the set of threes of Jan Patterson. The 8♣ turn and 6♣ river changed nothing, and Scott was left to grab his surfboard and hit the local surf.
2:45pm: Blinds up: 100-200 with 25 ante
2:40pm: Watson continues where he left off
Andrew Watson, fresh off his runner-up results in Queenstown is continuing his good form here on the Gold Coast after the elimination of Cuong Van Le.
Le limped from under the gun before Watson made it 800 to play. Le called and the flop was A♦ 3♥ 2♠. Le led out with a bet of 1,000 with Watson calling to see the J♥ hit the turn. Le released a second barrel worth 2,000 with Watson again making the call. The river 9♦ completed the board and Le again tossed out 2,000. Watson responded with a raise to 11,000 which was enough to put Le all in. He made the call, but mucked when Watson opened pocket jacks. Watson is now up to 40,000.
2:30pm: Easy game for Dodds
Joel Dodds has hit set over set for the second time today, but this time we’re pretty sure the chips were going into the middle anyway. It was Dodds’ pocket aces up against Nigel Brine’s pocket kings, but the chips didn’t get into the middle until the flop was spread A♦ K♥ 3♣ . Brine was staring down the barrel of just one out to save himself but he couldn’t find a king on the J♦ turn or 3â™ river.
Brine is eliminated as Dodds is now up to 58,000.
2:22pm: A little double for Sharma
Ashneel Sharma has found a handy double up when his pocket fives held against the A♥ K♥ of Owen Flynn. The chips were all in preflop with the board running out 3♥ 8♣ 3♣ 8♥ 2♠. Sharma is back up to 10,000.
2:15pm: Strong play for Dodds
Joel “StrongPlay” Dodds is now up to 27,000 following the elimination of Todd Pasley. It was Dodds’ pocket jacks in the lead against Pasley’s pocket nines with all of the chips in preflop. Pasley did manage to spike a set but so did Dodds, as the board ran out J♣ 9♦ 10â™ 5♣ 8♦ .
However our big mover is Nuno Da Silva who has shot up to 78,000 following another big preflop all-in confrontation. Da Silva held the pocket rockets as PokerStars qualifier Attila Bognar was always in trouble with his ace-king. No miracles on the board as Bognar was eliminated and Da Silva assumed the chip lead.
1:59pm: Cooler for Demarco
There have been several big all-in clashes already today, but none are bigger than the classic cooler of aces versus kings that just went down on a nearby table. On the wrong end of the cooler was Glenice Demarco as her pocket kings ran into Adam Smith’s pocket aces. The board ran out 9-4-J-9-6 and Smith doubled to 38,000. Demarco is still alive and kicking but down to just 9,000 in chips.
1:45pm: Play resumes
The players are back following their break and play has resumed. Danny McDonagh has just announced that we’ve already exceeded the total number of entrants from last year with 270 players already registered. This is a fantastic achievement and terrific for poker in this region.
It seems that players are throwing their full support behind the brand new poker room here at Jupiters. Especially when a dozen trays of fresh sandwiches are delivered to the poker room for players, fans and media to enjoy! Now featuring sixteen tables, with plenty of space for fans and media to roam, and its own dedicated bar, the Jupiters Poker Room is now a world-class poker venue.
