Nenad Medic moved all-in pre-flop and William Arruda made the call with the big stack. Medic had , but he would need help, as Arruda was leading with the .
The flop of put Medic ahead, and there he stayed through the turn and river.
We're down to 145 players now, with hand-for-hand in progress. We need only to lose two more to leave the other 143 players in the money.
A short-stacked Michael Bartholomew moved all in for just 11,000 from middle position and action folded all the way around to Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier, who opted to call from the big blind.
Mercier:
Bartholomew:
Bartholomew was way out in front, and the flop seemed safe enough. The turn kept Mercier drawing live, but he missed as the turn gave Bartholomew the double.
Mukul Pahuja was on the button and managed to get his remaining 55,000 chips in the middle before the flop. Unfortunately for him, Ami Alibay held a massive hand in the cutoff and he was drawing slim.
Alibay:
Pahuja:
The board ran out and Pahuja was sent home a few spots before the money.
He got it in good, but he busted bad. Aaron Paul, famous as TV's Jesse Pinkman in Breaking Bad, busted nine players from the money here on Day 2 of the PokerStars Championship Bahamas.
With just nine places to go until the money bubble will burst, Paul got his chips in good, moving all-in with . He was eventually called by the preflop aggressor Daniel Colman, who has made it 5,000 to go from under the gun in the first place. Colman called it off with after asking Paul if he wanted a call. That question got a poker face - he's a major Hollywood actor, yo! But once the cards were on their backs, Paul was on his feet, hoping to hold.
The flop of kept Paul on The Path to a vital double-up, but the turn gave Colman a Broadway straight, and Paul span on his heels in frustation. An 'Argh' and a grimace, but the film and television star still had hope. Another ace or a third jack on the board would give him a full house, but he couldn't find his outs as the came on the river to send him crashing out just before the money.
"So close." said Paul, and he gallantly shook hands with Colman.
Of all the players he shared a table with over the past couple of days, Paul and Colman seemed to have the most to talk about, with Colman reminiscing about watching early episodes of Breaking Bad while playing online among other subjects. It was Colman who did for Paul's chances in the Main Event, however, and as he made his way from the table, Paul had just three words for the players he shared his last table with.
"Good luck, boys!"
With just eight to go from the money, some will need fortune more than others. Daniel Colman doesn't need a bit of it, sitting behind 375,000 chips.
Vanessa Kade raised to 6,000 from the button and Rex Clinkscales defended the big blind to see a flop, which both players checked. When the appeared on the turn, Clinkscales bet 6,500, Kade popped it to 20,000, and Clinkscales called.
Clinkscales then checked the river and Kade bet 40,000, leaving herself just 25,000 back. Clinkscales woke up with an all-in check-raise and Kade called off with for a Broadway straight. Unfortunately for her, it was no good as Clinkscales filled up on the river holding the .
Action folded to Luc Greenwood on the button and he raised to 5,500, which 2013 World Series of Poker Main Event champ Ryan Riess called from the big blind. The two proceeded to check it down as the board ran out and Riess stated he had queen high.
Greenwood then rolled over the for king high and the win.
It wasn't a very exciting hand, but it gave us a good excuse to update you on their chip counts. As you can see, Greenwood is up considerably since we last checked in on him, while Riess, who began the day with just over 10k, has successfully spun it up.
Michael Vela has been entertaining his table all day and continues to do so as the day has flow by.
Vela raised to 5,500 from middle position and Francois Billard decides to three-bet to 14,900 from the hijack. Vela called.
The two players were sitting next to each other, so before the flop came down, Vela turned in his chair and looked Billard dead in the eyes, just a few inches from his face, and said, "I check (blind). You tell me if you hit that."
The flop came and Billard opted to check back to see a free card on the turn.
The turn was the . Vela wasted no time and fired out a bet of 20,000. Billard called.
The river was the . Vela reached into his stack and cut out a bet of 50,000. Billard thought about it for a moment and eventually tossed out a single chip, indicating a call.
Vela tabled for the nut straight and Billard tossed his cards into the muck.
Vela now leads the field as he approaches the half-million chip mark.
All of the sudden, some players take considerably longer to make a decision than they did before. The clock has been called numerous time in the last half an hour or so, because more and more players are eyeing the clock. 153 players remain, 143 get paid - 9 to the money!