There are now only 18 players remaining in the tournament, and there has been a lot of action going on. There have been a number of all-ins as of late as players with less chips try to gain more ground in their quest to make the final table.

Toni Cristian was planning on making a raise from under the gun, but the manner in which he put in his chips was determined to be a string bet so he only was able to call. Nicholas Sliwinski also limped into the pot before Albert Kim raised to 800k. Judet took the opportunity to put in the raise he originally wanted to and moved all in for 2 million total. Sliwinski folded but Kim made the call. Cristian held the AA against Kim’s 99. The board ran out T84J3 and Cristian managed a double up. Unfortunately for Cristian, his pocket jacks couldn’t best another players pocket kings and he was eliminated in 22nd place.

Right before Cristian’s elimination, Scott “r_a_y” Montgomery (pictured left) raised to 300K and Tim Loecke moved all in for his last 525K. Ylon Schwartz called from the button and Scott also made the call. The flop came AT2 and Scott and Ylon both checked, but when the 3 fell on the turn Montgomery checked and Schwartz bet 600K. Scott folded his hand, and Schwartz turned over his 33 for a turned set. Loecke’s pocket sixes had been outdrawn and when the 4 came on the river Tim Loecke was eliminated in 23rd place.

On the ESPN Featured table, Kelly Kim raised to 275K and Brandon Cantu reraised to 950K and Dean Hamrick moved all in. Kim let his hand go and Cantu went into the tank. Cantu contemplated what to do for over five minutes before finally saying “I call.” Hamrick flipped over the AA and the crowd was shocked to see Cantu flip over his T5. The flop gave Cantu’s hand a bit more strength as it came down with the 875 but the aces were still in the lead. The turn brought the 8 taking away any tens as possible outs for Cantu’s hand so it seemed ironic that the T fell on the river giving Cantu two pair, but the aces and eights were still best and Hamrick took down the hand and doubled his stack. Cantu was down to 2.4 million after the hand while Hamrick was up to 5.5 million. Cantu became the tournament’s shortest stack.

Cantu was eliminated soon afterward when he got all the chips in with the 99 against Peter Eastgate’s AQ. The board ran out 86384 and Eastgate’s ace-high flush was the best hand to send Cantu out in 20th place.

Just when we thought there might be a lull in the eliminations, but then Chris “SLOPPYKLOD” Klodnicki (pictured right) and another player tangled in a big pot. Albert Kim raised in the cutoff to 275K and Klodnicki re-raised to 750K on the button. The blinds folded and Kim moved all in. Both Kim and Klodnicki had similar sized stacks so Klodnicki tanked for a bit before eventually making the call. Klodnicki held the 99 against Kim’s AK. The board ran out 9863T and Klodnicki’s set of nines was enough to send Kim to the rail in 19th place.

Players are currently redrawing for seats at the final two tables and will resume play soon. The chip leader Dennis Phillips currently has 14.2 million in chips while the short stack is Anthony Scherer with 2.7 million.

Chris “SLOPPYKLOD” Klodnicki has 7.4 million, Scott “r_a_y” Montgomery has 5.5 million, and Owen “ocrowe” Crowe has 4 million.

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

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

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

Day 6 of the Main Event has come to a halt with 1 hour and 24 minutes left in Level 28. The final 27 players will return Monday at 12:00 PT. Chris “SLOPPYKLOD” Klodnicki, Scott “r_a_y” Montgomery and Owen “ocrowe” Crowe will be representing the Pocketfives community and attempt to reach the final “November Nine,” which will be decided tomorrow.

Klodnicki (pictured right) will enter Day 7 with 6.2 million chips. He reached 7.4 million during the evening but got involved in a few battles and was the victim of a few beats to cut his stack toward the end of the night.

Pocketfives caught up with Klodnicki on their last twenty minute break of the night about an hour before they reached the final 27. Klodnicki characterized his table which included Crowe and Montgomery as “pretty tight” although a late discovery by one of the players about Klodnicki may have changed the table dynamics in that final hour or so of play.

“He (Crowe) just asked me what my online name was,” Klodnicki said. “So maybe he’ll start playing back at me after the break.”

Klodnicki had just assumed Crowe knew who he was by now given that most players generally talk to others about the remaining players or find out from researching the field on the internet. The two actually played together for the bulk of Day 6.

Scott Montgomery struggled through most of the afternoon but caught fire while at a table with Klodnicki. He fell as low as 720K but built it to over 5 million within one level, with most of his chips coming from Andrew “foucault” Brokos. He will show up with 3.56 million tomorrow.

Owen “ocrowe” Crowe maintained close to an average stack for all of Day 6 without ever putting himself at risk. He finished Day 6 with 3.8 million.

Be sure to check back in tomorrow for updates on our remaining online stars playing for a chance at the most prestigious honor in all of poker — making the Main Event Final Table!

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

Peter “number1pen” Neff’s (pictured at right) tournament life ended shortly before the 90-minute dinner break which began at 7:15pm PST. In the hand that knocked him to the rail, the player on the button made it 135K to go preflop. Peter, in the small blind, shoved all-in for his remaining 850K short stack. The big blind called and button folded. Peter showed A9, which couldn’t get any help from the board to improve his hand. His opponent’s AJ held and Peter was eliminated in 36th place and receives $193,000 for his efforts.

Meanwhile, Chris “SLOPPYKLOD” Klodnicki ran into another player, whom he had covered, in a huge 2M all-in preflop pot. Though Chris was ahead with 99 to his opponent’s 55 on a flop of T64, the 5 spiked on the turn to counterfeit Chris’ hand. He doubled his opponent up and fell to around 3.8M.

Later, Chris engaged in another huge pot when he raised preflop, and was called by Scott “r_a_y” Montgomery. The dealer laid out 7K6 on the flop and both players checked. When the 7 on the turn came, Scott check-called Chris’ 200K bet and both players saw the 3 on the river. Scott checked, Chris bet 300K, and Scott raised him to 1M chips. After thinking for more than three minutes, Chris called and flipped over TT to win the hand. Scott tapped the table and said, “You’re good,” before shipping more than 1.5M Chris’ way. Chris was back up to more than 5M chips at the dinner break and looking good.

Here are the most recent unofficial chip counts prior to the dinner break:

Chris “SLOPPYKLOD” Klodnicki - 5.2M
Scott “r_a_y” Montgomery - 4M
Owen “ocrowe” Crowe - 2.7M
Andrew “foucault” Brokos - 1.85M
Garrett “GBecks” Beckman - 960K

• July 14, 2008 -- P5ers In the Hunt for “November Nine”
• July 15, 2008 -- P5ers Collide, Klodnicki Sent Home in 12th
• July 14, 2008 -- Montgomery Making Moves, Crowe Flies Away
• July 14, 2008 -- A Little Less Estrogen in the Room…