$1,700 Pinktober Championship (Re-Entry)
$400,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 18:  6,000/12,000 with a 12,000 ante
Players Remaining:  25 of 358

Table 11 is running through players; most of it is Yazdi Mehta taking them out. The most recent was Phi Nguyen, all in for 113,000 and Mehta had him at risk.

Mehta:
Nguyen:

Nguyen was ahead but Mehta paired his ten on the flop to take the lead. The turn and river finished it up and Mehta added to his huge chip lead of 1,822,000.

$1,700 Pinktober Championship (Re-Entry)
$400,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 18:  6,000/12,000 with a 10,000 ante
Players Remaining:  28 of 358

Ryan Luker and James Carmadella were heads up with the flop reading . Carmadella checked from the big blind, Luker bet 60,000 and Carmadella moved all in for 275,000. Luker though for a minute and called.

Luker:
Carmadella:

Carmadella caught two pair against Luker’s aces and ahead for a big double up. But the turn changed things with Luker counterfeiting the two pair for a big one, aces and kings. Carmadella jumped out of his seat and was eliminated after the river.

Ryan Luker – 867,000 (72 bb)
James Carmadella – Eliminated in 29th Place ($3,750)

$1,700 Pinktober Championship (Re-Entry)
$400,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 17:  5,000/10,000 with a 10,000 ante
Players Remaining:  30 of 358

David DiBernardi open-shoved for 122,000 from the button and Yazdi Mehta called from the big blind with his big stack.

DiBernardi:
Mehta:

DiBernardi was ahead but up against two very live cards. The dealer ran out the board and DiBernardi had his double. Mehta sent the chips across the table but he’s still doing just fine with more than one million out front.

David DiBernardi – 259,000 (32 bb)
Yazdi Mehta – 1,044,000 (131 bb)

$1,700 Pinktober Championship (Re-Entry)
$400,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 17:  5,000/10,000 with a 10,000 ante
Players Remaining:  32 of 358

Halfway through Level 17, David Olshan was eliminated in 33rd place to drop the field to the last four tables of the tournament. Everyone is guaranteed at least $3,750 and they will redraw new seats when they reach 24 players.

33rd: David Olshan – $3,370
34th: Jeremy Becker – $3,370
35th: Terri-Anne Crawford – $3,370
36th: Rafael Reis – $3,370
37th: Kristofer Munkel – $3,370
38th: Matthew Duffy – $3,370
39th: Antonio Graham – $3,370
40th: Michael Laake – $3,370

$1,700 Pinktober Championship (Re-Entry)
$400,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 17:  5,000/10,000 with a 10,000 ante
Players Remaining:  35 of 358

Cards are back in the air after the first break with 35 players remaining and Yazdi Mehta holding a small lead with his big stack.

He is up to 1,115,000 for the chip lead with Ryan Thompson not far behind with 1,078,000. Alain Medesan sits in third with 936,000 with everyone trying to chase them down.

$1,700 Pinktober Championship (Re-Entry)
$400,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 16:  4,000/8,000 with a 8,000 ante
Players Remaining:  40 of 358

The field is down to the last five tables with 40 players remaining and each guaranteed at least $3,370.

Barbara Cardin made it into the cash but fell short of the title. She found a cool way to get into the Championship; Cardin won the Ladies Meet Up tournament to start the series and a Championship seat was added to first place.

41st: Hal Rotholz – $3,100
42nd: Mike Hernandez – $3,100
43rd: Barbara Cardin – $3,100
44th: Juan Rodriguez Torres – $3,100
45th: Aaron Speer – $3,100

$1,700 Pinktober Championship (Re-Entry)
$400,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 16:  4,000/8,000 with a 8,000 ante
Players Remaining:  45 of 358

Not only did the money bubble burst before the first break, they got there not long after the first level. A string of quick KOs sent the PPO Championship into the money without the need to play hand-for-hand.

Players are now in the money and guaranteed at least $3,100.

$1,700 Pinktober Championship (Re-Entry)
$400,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 16:  4,000/8,000 with a 8,000 ante
Players Remaining:  48 of 358

With ~100K in the pot and the board reading , David Meagher was all in and at risk for about 150,000 against James Calderaro in the big blind.

Calderaro:
Meagher:

Meagher flopped a pair of kings while Calderaro had a diamond draw and gutshot wheel draw. It was the straight that got there on the turn and Meagher was drawing dead to the river.

James Calderaro – 521,000 (65 bb)
David Meagher – Eliminated

$1,700 Pinktober Championship (Re-Entry)
$400,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 16:  4,000/8,000 with a 8,000 ante
Players Remaining:  50 of 358

The first hour-long level is done and they leveled up in the Championship. Blinds are now 4,000/8,000 with an 8,000 ante and the average stack is about 286,000 (36 bb).

With 50 players remaining, they should hit the money bubble before the first break.

$1,700 Pinktober Championship (Re-Entry)
$400,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 15:  3,000/6,000 with a 6,000 ante
Players Remaining:  51 of 358

In a battle of the blinds, Ryan Thompson opened to 22,000 from the small blind and Aaron Thivyanathan moved all in for 126,000 from the big. Thompson thought for a minute, called, and the hands were tabled.

Thivyanathan:
Thompson:

Thivyanathan had the bigger ace but it was looking like a chopped pot when the board was out to the turn reading . That changed when Thivyanathan paired his nine on the river to double up.

Aaron Thivyanathan – 258,000 (43 bb)
Ryan Thompson – 495,000 (83 bb)