$300 CSOP/Jeff Conine Celebrity Event (Re-Entry)
Structure | Prizes
Level 22: 20,000/40,000 with a 5,000 ante
Players Remaining: 10 of 307

The starting field of 307 entries has been reduced to just 10 players, and they’re now seated around the Conine Poker Classic final table.

Here’s the lineup:

Seat 1: Adele Harrington – 95,000 (2 bb)
Seat 2: Hugh Joiner – 155,000 (4 bb)
Seat 3: Jeff Rose – 85,000 (2 bb)
Seat 4: Aron Dermer – 340,000 (9 bb)
Seat 5: James Scott – 495,000 (12 bb)
Seat 6: Jason Southwell – 270,000 (7 bb)
Seat 7: Matthew Yorra – 465,000 (12 bb)
Seat 8: Randy Moller – 430,000 (11 bb)
Seat 9: Jordan Rothenberg – 315,000 (8 bb)
Seat 10: Patrick Eskandar – 330,000 (8 bb)

And here are the prizes up for grabs:

$300 CSOP/Jeff Conine Celebrity Event (Re-Entry)
Structure | Prizes
Level 21: 15,000/30,000 with a 5,000 ante
Players Remaining: 11 of 307

Adele Harrington limped in under the gun, and Jordan Rothenberg completed in the small blind. Gaby Sanchez was in the big blind with just 45,000 total chips, and he raised all in for his small remainder. Both opponents called.

The flop was , and a bet from Rothenberg was enough to chase Harrington out of the pot. Sanchez was at risk, and the news was not good.

Sanchez:
Rothenberg:

The turn and river completed the board, and Rothenberg won the pot with trip aces. Sanchez, a Major League Baseball free agent, was eliminated on the bubble, cueing the redraw for the 10-handed final table.

Jordan Rothenberg – 315,000 (11 bb)
Gaby Sanchez – Eliminated

$300 CSOP/Jeff Conine Celebrity Event (Re-Entry)
Structure | Prizes
Level 21: 15,000/30,000 with a 5,000 ante
Players Remaining: 14 of 307

James Scott moved all in for around 250,000 in early position, with the player in the big blind already all in for less. The small blind called all in for just over 100,000 himself, and Scott had both opponents at risk and in trouble as the cards were turned up.

Scott:
Small blind:
Big blind:

The board ran out . Scott’s aces held to earn him the double knockout, shrinking the field to 12 players in the process.

James Scott – 410,000 (21 bb)

$300 CSOP/Jeff Conine Celebrity Event (Re-Entry)
Structure | Prizes
Level 19: 8,000/16,000 with a 2,000 ante
Players Remaining: 18 of 307

Neil Blumenfield limped under the gun, and a player behind him called. Matthew Yorra squeezed all in with his big stack in position, and the big blind was already all in for his last 9,500. Blumenfield and the player behind him both folded, and Yorra was heads-up with a chance at a knockout.

Yorra:
Big blind:

The board ran out , and Yorra’s pair held. He moved into a dead heat with Aron Dermer for the chip lead, trimming the field to 17 players as he collected that pot.

Matthew Yorra – 455,000 (28 bb)

$300 CSOP/Jeff Conine Celebrity Event (Re-Entry)
Structure | Prizes
Level 17: 5,000/10,000 with a 1,500 ante
Players Remaining: 27 of 307

Kurt Jewell moved all in for about 90,000 under the gun, and Jeff Rose found a calling hand in the big blind.

Jewell:
Rose:

The board ran out , and Rose won the pot with a pair of aces. Jewell was eliminated.

Jeff Rose – 325,000 (33 bb)
Kurt Jewell – Eliminated

$300 CSOP/Jeff Conine Celebrity Event (Re-Entry)
Structure | Prizes
Level 17: 5,000/10,000 with a 1,500 ante
Players Remaining: 36 of 307

Michael Mizrachi turned up during late registration, and he’s been nursing a shortening stack for the last several orbits. “The Grinder” found a recent spot to get his last few big blinds into the middle preflop, while Matthew Yorra and another opponent played a pot on the side.

The board ran out , and Yorra bet 20,000 on the river. His opponent called, but she couldn’t beat Yorra’s . He’d run down the nut straight, and Mizrachi helicoptered his defeated onto the felt as he departed.

Yorra is now among the chip leaders with four tables left.

Matthew Yorra – 305,000 (31 bb)
Michael Mizrachi – Eliminated

$300 CSOP/Jeff Conine Celebrity Event (Re-Entry)
Structure | Prizes
Level 15: 3,000/6,000 with a 1,000 ante
Players Remaining: 44 of 307

Neil Blumenfield opened to 16,000 in early position, and the player in the cutoff re-raised all in for 17,500 total. The player in the big blind re-shoved for 22,500, and Blumenfield called the remainder to put both opponents at risk.

Blumenfield:
Cutoff:
Big blind:

The board ran out , and nobody could catch up to Blumenfield. He won the pot with aces up, thinning the field by two in the process. He’s now one of the owner of one of the biggest stacks left in the field with 44 players remaining.

Neil Blumenfield – 235,000 (39 bb)

$300 CSOP/Jeff Conine Celebrity Event (Re-Entry)
Structure | Prizes
Level 13: 1,500/3,000 with a 500 ante
Players Remaining: 65 of 307

Two players limped into the pot before Jeff Conine raised all in for 6,500. Joe Ankus was the first limper, and he back-shoved all in over the top, isolating himself against this event’s host with a chance to knock him out of his own tournament.

Ankus:
Conine:

The board ran out , and Ankus won the pot with kings up.

Conine remained at the table for a few minutes, long enough for emcee Dave Lamont to stop by for an interview.

“What did you learn today?” Lamont asked at one point.

“That I’m not very good at poker,” Conine answered, mock-crying into his hands.

After an ovation from the room, the table thanked Conine for organizing this event, but he wanted none of the credit.

“You guys make it happen,” he said. “Thank you.”

Joe Ankus – 75,000
Jeff Conine – Eliminated

$300 CSOP/Jeff Conine Celebrity Event (Re-Entry)
Structure | Prizes
End of Level 12: 1,000/2,000 with a 300 ante
Players Remaining: 80 of 307

Level 12 has ticked off the clock, and the field is on their second break of the day. The board shows 80 players remaining, with the final 10 of them slated to finish in the money.

$300 CSOP/Jeff Conine Celebrity Event (Re-Entry)
Structure | Prizes
Level 11: 800/1,600 with a 200 ante
Players Remaining: 120 of 307

Most of the tables in the field are filled with amateur poker players, sports personalities, local celebrities, and the like, and there’s nobody in the room who’s having a bad time, from the looks of it. One table is just slightly more serious than the others, though.

Over in the far corner of the room, there’s a table that contains Michael Mizrachi, Jorie Damiani, Ronit Chamani, Patrick Eskandar, and Jon Gorsuch — five professional or semi-professional players. Eskandar is the one driving most of the action thanks to his big stack, but both Chamani and Mizrachi recently won significant pots, too.

Chamani got a full double-up for 9,900 chips despite getting in preflop trouble with against an opponent’s . Chamani found a nine on the flop, though, and the board ran out to double her up to about 20,000.

Just a moment later, Mizrachi got involved in a battle of the blinds in which he put his next-door neighbor at risk with against . The runout gave Mizrachi the knockout and a boost up to about 30,000 chips.