Although all the players in the Main Event dreamt of the more than $9 million dollar 1st place prize from the outset of the tournament, the mood in the Rio today is a far cry from that of the first few days. Whereas players were still inclined to drink and socalize with their tablemates during past days, today they are all almost silent. The three remaining tables are located in a small corner of the room and the rest of the Amazon room is barren. No more tables, no more cash games, just the occasional railbird walking through to see if he/she can catch a glimpse of the action.

The reality of the final table has obviously sunk in to these remaining players minds and the thought of being one of the elusive “November Nine” is making the action on the tables a little slower, players being a little more thoughtful as the difference between becoming famous and being forgotten could rest on one hand.

Owen “ocrowe” Crowe didn’t waste any time getting down to business today. On the first hand of play Owen (pictured above) raised to 225K and Tiffany Michelle called. The flop brought the 875 and Owen bet out 375K. Tiffany made the call and they saw the 3 fall on the turn. Owen check-raised Tiffany’s 500K bet to more than 1.5M and Tiffany folded her hand. Owen showed the J9 for a double-gutted straight draw before scooping up the pot.

Team Ladbrokes Player Peter Eastgate was also splashing around early. He raised to 225K and was called by one player. The flop brought the 522. Peter bet out 340K and the other player made the call to see the 7 fall on the turn. This time Peter bet 825K and again was called by his opponent. The river was the 4 and Peter fired a third bet of 1.7M and was looked up once again. Unfortunately for Peter’s opponent, the board filled with raggedy looking cards matched up with Peters 42 perfectly and Peter’s full house was good enough to rake in a huge pot and increase his stack to over 12 million.

Two players have already been eliminated so now there are 25 left to duke it out for one of the top nine spots. Recent chip counts are listed below.

Team Ladbrokes Player Peter Eastgate - 12.8M (the current chip leader)
Scott “r_a_y” Montgomery - 4.9M
Chris “SLOPPYKLOD” Klodnicki - 4.6M
Owen “ocrowe” Crowe - 3M

• July 14, 2008 -- A Little Less Estrogen in the Room…
• July 14, 2008 -- Two Tables Remain…
• July 14, 2008 -- Montgomery Making Moves, Crowe Flies Away
• July 14, 2008 -- Railbirds Getting a Little Rambunctious