$25,500 Big 4 High Roller $2,000,000 Guaranteed | Payouts Level 16: 12,000/24,000 with a 4,000 ante Players Remaining: 17 of 117
Kathy Lehne
After a bubble lasting more than a dozen hands, Kathy Lehne, one of two women to enter this field (the other was Cate Hall) moved all in for roughly 175,000 from the hijack and Omar Zazay called from the small blind.
Zazay: Lehne:
Lehne was in need of some help, but she watched helplessly as the board ran out a lackluster . With that, the remaining 17 players are guarantee $55,575 in prize money.
Omar Zazay – 1,100,000 (46 bb) Kathy Lehne – Eliminated on the bubble in 17th place
$25,500 Big 4 High Roller $2,000,000 Guaranteed | Payouts Level 16: 12,000/24,000 with a 4,000 ante Players Remaining: 17 of 117
Action is hand-for-hand on the money bubble, and things have gotten quite serious. There’s a difference of more than $55,000 in real money between the next two eliminations.
Players must stay at their seats during this portion of a tournament, a rule that is in place in nearly every major event in the world. It helps ensure the integrity of the game at a most crucial stage, and it keeps the aisles and rails from becoming clogged with observers.
As hand-for-hand play started, Burns issued his standard admonishment against sweating the action at other tables.
A couple of the short stacks have chosen to test the boundaries of the fence, though, half-standing, craning their necks, or pretending to run to the restroom or the cocktail station.
Burns issued an addition warning a few minutes ago, the second in the past few minutes.
Anthony Spinella
Anthony Spinella is one of two shortest stacks left in the field, and he was one of the most egregious boundary testers. After the second warning, while a player was all in at an adjacent table, the wiry Spinella stood fully up on his chair to try to gain a better view, towering over the room.
“Really?” Burns asked. “Really?” Another warning was issued to the field, but Spinella wasn’t done trying. In between the next two hands he overtly disobeyed, walking directly over to the adjacent table to examine the stacks.
“Anthony, why don’t you take five hands?” Burns issued a penalty.
Spinella became incensed. He was under the gun with just 43,000 chips left, so the penalty would blind him entirely out. He claimed the instructions weren’t clear. After several minutes of pleading, Burns threw him a bone.
“In the best interests of the tournament, I’m not going to blind you out. But I’ll make a deal with you. I won’t give you a five-hand penalty if you don’t leave your seat again.”
That finally seemed clear enough for Spinella, and he obeyed the order this time.
A few of the other players found the humor. “I should be able to stand on a chair so that I’m as tall as Spinella,” Mike Leah quipped. “He’s totally getting the advantage because he’s tall.”
Spinella tried to loosen up Burns a bit in the moments after, as well. “Come on, we can laugh about it,” Spinella tried.
$2,650 No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-Out) $1,000,000 Guaranteed | Payouts Level 24: 12,000/24,000 with a 4,000 ante Players Remaining: 9 of 395Jack Duong will return as our chip leader
Seat 1: Tom Thomas – 476,000 (20 bb) Seat 2: Jason Koon – 720,000 (30 bb) Seat 3: Jacquelyn Scott – 612,000 (26 bb) Seat 4: Alex Foxen – 935,000 (39 bb) Seat 5: Faraz Jaka – 580,000 (17 bb) Seat 6: Charles Gomez – 997,000 (24 bb) Seat 7: Paul Balzano – 684,000 (29 bb) Seat 8: Jack Duong – 2,317,000 (95 bb) Seat 9: Darryl Ronconi – 573,000 (24 bb)
Jack Duong leads the way with a massive chip lead, more than twice the chips of his closest opponent, Charles Gomez . Jason Koon, who is the reigning Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open champion made his second consecutive SHRPO final table, on his 32nd birthday. Happy Birthday to him!
Alex Foxen, who has been taking the poker world by storm lately final tabled our Event 5 $360 Black Chip Bounty earlier this week. Our leading lady at the table is Jacquelyn Scott, who won her first WSOP bracelet in 2015, when she took down the Ladies Event.
Seminole Hard Rock team member Faraz Jaka is came into the final table as the shortest stack and managed a triple-up when his pocket aces held against pocket jacks and ace king.
The final table contestants will return at noon with 36 minutes left in level 24, which is 12,000/24,000 with a 4,000 ante to try to win their share of the remaining prize pool. The money at the trophy are up for grabs tomorrow when we start this “Big 4” final table in the Hard Rock Live Arena.
$25,500 Big 4 High Roller $2,000,000 Guaranteed | Payouts Level 15: 10,000/20,000 with a 3,000 ante Players Remaining: 18 of 117
Action folded to a short-stacked Zach Smiley on the button and he moved all in for 99,000. Rainer Kempe called from the small blind and Chris Hunichen released from the big.
Smiley: Kempe:
It was a flip with Smiley looking to hold to avoid becoming the penultimate bubble boy. He successfully did it too as the board ran out a safe .
$25,500 Big 4 High Roller $2,000,000 Guaranteed | Payouts Level 15: 10,000/20,000 with a 3,000 ante Players Remaining: 20 of 117
Michael Kamran
Mike Leah opened to what looked like 50,000 under the gun, and Michael Kamran three-bet shoved for 144,000 across the table. Leah took about 10 or 15 seconds before calling to put Kamran at risk.
Leah: Kamran:
The board ran out , and Leah won the pot with tens full of queens. Kamran was eliminated in 20th place.
“Sick slowroll, Mike,” Chance Kornuth said.
“Just taking 15 seconds to make sure,” Leah answered.
Mike Leah – 1,550,000 (97 bb) Michael Kamran – Eliminated
$2,650 No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-Out) $1,000,000 Guaranteed | Payouts Level 24: 12,000/24,000 with a 4,000 ante Players Remaining: 10 of 395
Paul Balzano (left) Alberto Rodriguez (right)
In a battle of the blinds, Paul Balzano moved all in with for his last 360,000 from the small blind and Alberto Rodriguez called from the big blind with .
The board came and Balzano hit his pair of queens to stay alive.
Paul Balzano – 750,000 (31 bb) Alberto Rodriguez – 136,000 (6 bb)
$25,500 Big 4 High Roller $2,000,000 Guaranteed | Payouts Level 14: 8,000/16,000 with a 2,000 ante Players Remaining: 21 of 117
Dan Colman
Daniel Colman called off his last 150,000 or so on a flop after Rainer Kempe had put him to the test.
Kempe: Colman:
Colman got it in good, but he had to sweat it after the turn gave Kempe an open-ended straight draw. The river didn’t complete it, but it was just as good as it gave Kempe a winning two pair.
. With that, the remaining 17 players are guarantee $55,575 in prize money.
, and Adams’ kicker played. He won the pot, eliminating Qartomy two from the money.
and Jason Koon called with 
.
and Koon’s pair of nines eliminated Rodriguez in 10th place setting our final table.
.
for his last 360,000 from the small blind and Alberto Rodriguez called from the big blind with 
river didn’t complete it, but it was just as good as it gave Kempe a winning two pair.