$350 Seniors (50+) No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 19: 3,000/6,000/1,000 Ante

The final table of the Seniors Event is quietly playing out near the entrance while the hustle and bustle of Event 5 (Flight B) is much louder in the rest of the room.

With blinds at 1,500-3,000, there was four-way action to a flop of . Three players checked to Robert Tanner on the button, and he moved all in for 45,000. John Merchant called from the small blind, and the other two players folded.

Tanner turned over for a pair of nines, but Merchant turned over for two pair, nines and sevens. The turn was the , the river was the , and Merchant won the pot to eliminate Tanner in ninth place.

John Merchant  –  180,000  (60 bb)
Robert Tanner  –  Eliminated in 9th Place

Now that they were on the Money Bubble, the remaining eight players agreed to take a collection of $50 each to give to the 8th-place finisher — effectively giving them their $350 buy-in back.

Then, with the blinds at 2K-4K, Phyliss Jefferson moved all in UTG+1 for 22,500, and John Merchant called from the hijack with . Jefferson turned over , and she needed it to hold to stay alive.

The board came , and Jefferson won the pot with trip queens to double up in chips.

Phyliss Jefferson  –  55,000  (13 bb)
John Merchant  –  230,000  (57 bb)

The Money Bubble burst when Alan Franco moved all in from the button for about 30,000, and Phyliss Jefferson called from the big blind with . Franco turned over , and he needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came , and Jefferson won the pot with her ace to eliminate Franco in eighth place, receiving the money collected for the bubble finisher.

Phyliss Jefferson  –  85,000  (21 bb)
Alan Franco  –  Eliminated in 8th Place

With the blinds at 2,500-5,000, Grady Yeager moved all in under the gun for 48,000, and Marsha Wolak called from the small blind with . Yeager turned over , and he needed his hand to hold to stay alive.

The board came , and Wolak paired her ace on the turn to win the pot and eliminate Yeager in seventh place.

Marsha Wolak  –  165,000  (33 bb)
Grady Yeager  –  Eliminated in 7th Place  ($900)

Shortly after that, Harry Eisenberg was all in from the big blind for about 15,000 with , and he needed to improve to stay alive against John Merchant’s (UTG).

The board came , and Merchant won the pot with his king to eliminate Eisenberg in sixth place.

John Merchant  –  195,000  (39 bb)
Harry Eisenberg  –  Eliminated in 6th Place  ($1,200)

Near the end of the level, Richard Riviello was all in from the cutoff for about 40,000 with , and he needed to improve to stay alive against the of Morris Heider in the small blind.

The board came , and Heider won the pot with his ace to eliminate Riviello in fifth place.

Morris Heider  –  115,000  (23 bb)
Richard Riviello  –  Eliminated in 5th Place  ($1,500)

Here are the updated chip counts from the break, with the blinds increasing to 3,000-6,000 with a 1,000 ante:

Seat 1.  Marsha Wolak  –  180,000  (30 bb)
Seat 2.  Morris Heider  –  140,000  (23 bb)
Seat 5.  Phyliss Jefferson  –  70,000  (11 bb)
Seat 8.  John Merchant  –  220,000  (36 bb)