Late registration for the $5,000 Freezeout is now over. Day 1 has seen 735 entries, and of those, just 264 remain.
The players need to survive just three more levels to bag and tag a stack for tomorrow's Day 2.
Prize pool and payouts will be announced when that information is available.
Niveau: 13
Blinds: 2,000/4,000
Ante: 4,000
The players have been sent on their final 20-minute break of the day, and when they return, the late registration period will close.
So far, there are 727 entries, which is 19 shy of surpassing last year's total.
Theo Arnoldi open jammed for 34,000 from middle position and was called by Cherish Andrews from the small blind.
Theo Arnoldi: A♦J♦
Cherish Andrews: A♠J♣
A chop seemed the most likely outcome until Arnoldi picked up a flush draw on the 7♦9♥2♦ flop. The 4♥ turn kept things all square but Arnoldi had the winner after he hit his flush on the Q♦ river.
Martin Zamani opened to 6,500 from the hijack and was called by the cutoff.
On the 8♥7♣2♣ flop, Zamani bet enough to put his opponent's short stack all in, and the latter called for their tournament life.
Cutoff: K♠7♠
Martin Zamani: A♦7♦
Zamani had the cutoff pipped, but he said to his opponent, "there are still a lot of kings in the deck."
However, there would be no saving grace for the at-risk player, and he headed towards the exit after the 10♥ turn and 4♥ river marked the end of his tournament.
Facing a raise from under the gun to 6,000, Dylan Destefano reraised to 16,500 on the button. The under-the-gun player then went all in for approximately 85,000. Destefano, the covering player, called.
Under the Gun: J♥J♠
Dylan Destefano: A♦A♠
The board ran out clean for Destefano as the K♣8♣4♦K♥10♣ fell.
Randall Emmett has been near the top of the chip counts for most of the day and he continued to add to his stack after just knocking out an opponent.
Emmett opened to 6,000 from under the gun before the player on his direct left moved all in for 27,000. Action folded back to Emmett who called.
"I've gotta send you home, but I'll be sorry," remarked Emmett as the cards were tabled.
Opponent: A♦K♥
Randall Emmett: Q♥10♠
The ace-king remained ahead on the J♦3♠2♥ flop but Emmett paired up to take the lead on the Q♠ turn. The 8♣ completed the board and Emmett collected the pot.
"The king just gets...the kingdom!" shouted Emmett. "It just keeps getting bigger and bigger."
Steven Buckner could be heard celebrating from across the room and when PokerNews arrived on the scene, his cards were on their backs, as were his two opponents'.
Buckner had a raise and a call in front of him and he shoved from the big blind, being put at risk when both opponents called.
Steven Buckner: 4♠4♥
Under The Gun: K♠7♠
Small Blind: A♦K♣
The flop and turn were bricks and with one card to come, Buckner was shouting for a two, which the dealer obliged with the 2♣, securing nearly a triple up after getting short.
The cutoff opened to 6,500 and Axel Hallay called from the button. The big blind then made it 13,500 and both players called.
The big blind continued for 8,000 on the A♦4♠3♦ flop and both players called.
Action checked to Hallay on the 9♣ turn. He bet 35,000 and received two folds.
The cutoff then tried to implore Hallay into showing a card, but the Frenchman slipped his cards into the muck.
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