Posted by Andrew Feldman
1:50 a.m. ET: The remaining 81 players are heading to the last break of the night, and some notable names finally are a little healthier. Phil Ivey caught a miracle jack (with pocket jacks) to overcome his opponent's pocket queens and double up right after dinner. Since then, Ivey has stayed around the $3 million mark and has a tough seat at the secondary feature table with a few of the players in the top 10 in chips. Antonio Esfandiari made a great call in a $2 million-chip pot to surge ahead. On a 7-5-5 board, Esfandiari led out with a $400,000 bet and was called by Wesley Ismay. The turn was a king, and once again Esfandiari led out, but this time for $700,000. Ismay moved all-in, and after minutes of deliberation, Esfandiari made the call with A-K and eliminated Ismay when he tabled Q-8 and was drawing dead. That gave Esfandiari a perma-smile and the chips to make a good run.
Jae C. Hong/AP Photo
Kenny Tran was eliminated during the first level after dinner on Day 6.
All our players are chasing Darvin Moon, who has had one amazing Day 6. Moon has chipped up to $7.5 million after starting the day with $3.2 million. Heading in the opposite direction is Tom Schneider, who is down to approximately $1.1 million. As I wrote in the last blog entry, he's been at a tough table, and although he didn't lose a huge pot during the last level, he was chipped away repeatedly by his opponents' pressure. Schneider isn't looking to get involved for all his chips at this level, something his opponents intend on forcing him to do.
The two women also are heading in different directions. Leo Margets has been very involved at her table, and the Barcelona, Spain, native is up to $3.4 million. Nichoel Peppe has dropped to less than $1 million, is stuck at an aggressive table and hasn't had an opportunity to make raises preflop.
After mounting a comeback to around $1 million, Kenny Tran suffered a tough beat and was knocked down to $600,000 before he moved his stack in preflop with A-5. He was called by his opponent's 8-8, and after a flop of A 4-4-3, there was a glimmer of hope for Tran with some additional outs. The turn and river brought no help, and Tran was eliminated in 86th.
Other notables I haven't mentioned: Joe Sebok (who doubled up twice and still is at less than $700,000), Dennis Phillips (up to $3 million), Peter Eastgate (down to $710,000), Prahlad Friedman ($600,000), Blair Rodman ($810,000), Owen Crowe ($1.3 million), Jeff Shulman ($3.5 million) and Scott Bohlman ($2.6 million).
Small blinds: The PokerRoad Crew is competing with the Phillips fan club for loudest at the feature table. … Agents lined the Amazon Room as players went on break to try to sign players to endorsement deals. … In fact, right now, all of them are standing within 10 feet of each other. … The Harrah's staff couldn't find Joseph Hachem's total rewards account. … Esfandiari has a group of friends cheering him on as well. No Phil Laak, though. … The $15,000 Bellagio Cup got only 79 players. Ouch. … Seriously, how are Peter Eastgate and Phillips doing this? Amazing job and congrats to both. … $1,000 chips colored up during the break. … Next payout jump comes in one player, and then everyone is guaranteed $68,979. … Blinds are now $20,000/$40,000 with a $5,000 ante.
Poker
