Down to the final two tables in the 1.5k NL WSOP Event #36, Cody “thugmoneymkr” Slaubaugh (pictured left) came across a tournament defining moment on the final hand before the break.

Facing a 70k bet from his opponent in the big blind on a 965 flop in a hand Slaubaugh raised to 35k preflop, Slaubaugh faced a dilemma that a lot of players would probably be split on holding 77.

With about 350k behind on an incredibly drawy board for his pair, Slaubaugh could either play a big pot for his tournament or fold and try to chip up without being all-in when he was likely a small favorite at best if called.

After tanking for about a minute, Slaubaugh made it 270k, effectively putting his opponent all-in, having him covered by 10k.

Slaubaugh’s opponent went all-in and flipped up the AJ, putting Slaubaugh in a coin-flip for his tournament.

After the 4 and the T peeled off, Slaubaugh effectively doubled up, moving his chip stack to 787k.

Minutes earlier at another table, Tom “titantom32″ Braband bricked out on a gamble that would have placed him with one of the bigger stacks in the tournament when his open-end straight draw missed, leaving him with a short stack of 130k instead of 710k.

Such are the breaks that often determine a player’s fate deep in tournaments.

Danny Wong continues to steamroll the field and is the chipleader with 1.1 million. After opening a pot from early position to 35k, Wong faced an all-in from his opponent for an additional 112k.

Wong called and his T9 ran down his opponents 77 when he clipped a ten on the turn.

Duncan “pumper” Bell, winner of the 2.5k NL WSOP Event #13, was eliminated when his pocket eights ran into pocket tens, finishing in 20th place.

Here’s a list of notable chip counts with 15 players left.

Bryan Micon - 230k

Aaron Kanter - 350k

Bryan “bparis” Paris - 160k

Owen  “ocrowe” Crowe - 130k

• June 21, 2008 -- Braband Wakes Up with Aces
• June 21, 2008 -- He’s a Shaniac!
• June 21, 2008 -- Back from the Break
• June 22, 2008 -- Slaubaugh Takes 2nd

On the final hand before players went on a 25 minute break in the 1.5k NL WSOP Event #36, Tom “titantom32″ Braband didn’t need to do much thinking when a player moved all-in for 70k and he looked down at AA.

Braband’s aces held up against his opponents queens capping off what he coined as a “rollercoaster” day thus far as he talked with Cody “thugmoneymakr” Slaubaugh during the break right outside the Amazon Room.

Slaubaugh was also the beneficiary of an all-in preflop confrontation when he busted an opponents AK with his 77 when his opponent moved all-in preflop for 67k.

Braband’s stack is at 350k with Slaubaugh just beneath him at 300k with the average stack at 230k with 32 players left.

Danny Wong is the chip boss with 720k in a field with a handful of notable live and online players left including Owen “ocrowe” Crowe (pictured left), who has a slightly above average stack at 285k.

Here’s a list of notable chip stacks.

Bryan Micon - 310k

Duncan “pumper” Bell - 200k

Brian “bparis” Paris - 200k

Can Kim Hua - 115k

• June 21, 2008 -- Slaubaugh Not Afraid to Gamble
• June 21, 2008 -- He’s a Shaniac!
• June 21, 2008 -- Back from the Break
• June 22, 2008 -- Slaubaugh Takes 2nd