(O'Keeya Singleton reporting)

	Champ David Halpern

(O'Keeya Singleton reporting)

William Kohler picked up some chips.  

Kohler:   Q 5 8 6      8 5 J
Halpern:  2 T 7 7     2 4 6

David Halpern had the bring-in and Kohler called.       Kohler bet on 4th and 5th Streets. Each time Halpern called.  Halpern checked with a pair of Sevens showing  on 6th St. and Kohler still continued to bet it.  Halpern checked again on the River. Kohler bet and Halpern called.  Halpern had made Sevens and Twos, but couldn’t beat Kohler’s well hidden Eights and Fives.  Kohler is starting to stretch out his lead.

Halpern got some of his chips back.

Halpern:   Q 4 T K
Kohler:     K 8 2 A

Halpern had the bring-in and Kohler called.  Kohler was first and bet on 4th St.  Halpern took the opportunity to raise and Kohler called.  Kohler checked and Halpern bet on 5th St.  Kohler called and both players checked on 6th.  Halpern had a three card Broadway and Kohler had 3 low cards showing.  Kohler checked and Halpern bet again.  Kohler had enough and folded.

(O'Keeya Singleton reporting)

Players went on a 60 minute dinner break.

(O'Keeya Singleton reporting)

It seems at this point with only two players left and chips stacks about even, William Kohler and David Halpern are just passing chips back and forth.  They are both very jovial and appear to be enjoying their time at the final table.

Kohler: 7 Q 3 Q     K 9 3
Halpern: 2 4 5 8    5 5 2

Kohler bet on 4th St with a call from Halpern and again on 5th St.  Kohler with a pair of Queen showing bet again on 6th St.  Halpern had a four card low showing and called.   Kohler threw in a final bet on the River and Halpern reraised and Kohler called.  Kohler had only a pair of Queens.  Halpern, who had what would appear to be an assured low, never made a low.  He had completed a set of Fives on 5th St and made a Full House to scoop the pot on the River. 

Kohler mounted a comeback.

Halpern:  4 6 K K   
Kohler:    A 5 2 9       7 3 4

Halpern and Kohler got into a raising war.  Kohler started with an Ace, but by 6th St. Halpern had Kings showing.  Each round was bet and raised.  Halpern probably assumed Kohler was going for a low to split the pot.  He was surprised at the end when Kohler showed he’d been raising with a made low since 5th St.  Kohler had also made a nut low and high bicycle on the River and scooped the pot.  Kohler took the chip lead at the end of that hand.

(Kaelaine Minton reporting)

Play resumed following the break with

Level 23: Ante 5k, Bring-in 5k, Limits 20k/40k.

Max went to the river with David Halpern, then mucked when David showed a split pair of Queens. Then Max went to sixth with William Kohler before folding. Max dropped to ~100k while William hit the 1 million mark.

Max then got scooped by David and was left with about 10k. He got those chips in on the next hand with both other players taking it to the river. David made a King-high straight for the high and William made a 65-low to chop. Max mucked his cards and headed for the rail.

Max Stern finished in 3rd place, earning $64,484.

Heads-up play began with David in the lead. He's got ~ 1.1 million to William's 950k.

Those positions quickly reversed as David (T J 6 2) was firing all the way to the river with William (8 8 5 J) calling. After William called his river bet, David insta-mucked, presumably because he couldn't beat the pair of 8s William had showing. William rolled over 9 7 6 for a straight.

(Kaelaine Minton reporting)

Zak Gilbert had his last chips in the middle against David Halpern. They ran out the cards and Zak started with a nice-looking 2345, but then caught K T Q for three bricks in a row. David made a pair of Kings and an 65-low to scoop.

Zak Gilbert finished in 6th place, earning $24,828.

Matt Savage got scooped my Max Stern, then got his last chips in on 3rd against, who else, David Halpern. Matt started with an A 2 9, but couldn't catch a pair or a low. David started with a split pair of Tens and ended up with trips on the river to take the pot.

Matt Savage finished in 5th place, earning $32,465.

In a battle of the short-stacks, Chad Brown got his last chips in against Max Stern. When they ran out the cards, Chad had a pair of 4s and no low. Max made two pair (no low) to scoop. After adding Chad's chips to his own, Max is up to about 300k.

Chad Brown finished in 4th place, earning $44,589.

Another level gone. Final three players taking 20. David Halpern leads with over 1 million chips. William Kohler is second with ~760k and Max Stern is bringing up the rear with ~300k.

(Kaelaine Minton reporting)

Brian Swinford called David Halpern's bets all the way to the river, where he hit the brakes and folded. (David showed two pair.) Brian may have waited too long to hit those brakes, as he was left with only 160k.

William Kohler produced a set of Jacks to scoop a three-way pot against Chad Brown (folded on river) and David Halpern (paid off river bet).

Matt Savage was all-in on 7th against Chad Brown and William Kohler. William held trip Aces to take the high. Matt made an 8742A low to take half the pot, beating Chad's 87632.

Brian Swinford got his last chips in against Chad Brown. When they ran out the cards, Brian had a pair of ducks and an 85432 low. Chad had a pair of 6s for a better high and an 76432 low for a better low to scoop.

Brian Swinford finished in 7th place, earning $19,901.

Six players remain. David Halpern has the lead with ~750k. William Kohler is close behind with ~695k. Matt Savage is down to ~60k and Zak Gilbert has only ~35k.

(Kaelaine Minton reporting)

Max Stern got scooped by Chad Brown, then Zak Gilbert got scooped by Matt Savage. Max and Zak were battling for the basement.

Zak then got all-in on the river with action from Max, Matt, and Chad. Chad took the high with a pair of Tens. Zak took the low with a 7-perfect. Matt mucked his hand and Max's pair of 6s was good for zip. Now Max and Matt are battling for the basement.

Level 20 came to a close and players took twenty. Rough chip counts:

Play resumed with

Level 21: Ante 3k, Bring-in 3k, Limits 12k/24k.

(Kaelaine Minton reporting)

Jack Rosenfeldt got his last chips in against Brian Swinford. Jack had a pair of 7s and Brian had already made a 65-low, but Brian paired his Ace on the river to give him the scooper.

Jack Rosenfeldt finished in 11th place, earning $9,166.

Vince Burgio had two pair on the river and got his last chips in against David Halpern. David had a 7-high straight and that was also good for the low. He scooped and Vince reported to the rail.

Vince Burgio finished in 10th place, earning $12,149.

The final nine players drew seats and moved to a single table. Here's the new line-up with some rough chip counts:

Richie Sklar got his last chips in on 5th against David Halpern. By the river, Richie had two pair, but David had a set of Queens.

Richard Sklar finished in 9th place, earning $12,149.

After folding on 6th to a bet from William Kohler, Allie Prescott was left with few chips, which went in on 5th in the next hand. By 6th, he was heads-up with William again. William held Aces-up and no low draw. Allie held four to a wheel and four to a flush, but caught a complete brick on the river to miss all his outs.

Allie Prescott finished in 8th place, earning $16,682.

This is Allie's 8th cash of this WSOP, which puts him in a tie for the lead with David Baker.

(Kaelaine Minton reporting)

Play got underway a few minutes after 2pm with

Level 19: Ante 2k, Bring-in 2k, Limits 8k/16k.

Mike Krescanko got his short-stack all-in against Richie Sklar, who scooped hin with Ace-high and a 7-low.

Mike Krescanko finished in 14th place, earning $7,260.

Matt Savage got his chips all in on the river against William Kohler, but had to settle for half the pot. His wheel was good for low, but William, who had started with four to a flush, caught his flush on 7th.

In a multi-way pot, Christian Toboc was all-in on 3rd, Zak Gilbert was all-in on 5th, and Matt Savage and Richie Sklar went all the way to the river. Christian ended up with just a pair of 9s. Zak made an Ace-high flush to take the high half of his pots. Richie made Aces-up to take the high half of the side pot and Matt made an 85-low to scoop the low half from all the pot. He's up to ~150k.

Christian Toboc finished in 13th place, earning $7,260.

Jose Paz got his last chips in the middle against David Halpern. Jose's pair of Jacks were beat by David's Aces-up.

Jose Paz finished in 12th place, earning $9,166.

11 players remain. David Halpern leads with ~300k.