$350 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 29: 60,000/120,000/20,000 Ante

It was getting a little loopy at the final table and David MacDonald was throwing his stack around with malice. He did it once again and caught Pedro Palacio in an unlucky spot.

Palacio opened to 500,000 from the button and MacDonald quickly announced all-in. Michael Ortiz just as quickly folded his hand and Palacio called with . A great spot against right up until the flop.

Neither the turn nor river could save Palacio’s tournament and he was gone in fourth place for $18,860.

The three remaining players took off on a 15-minute break after that hand and MacDonald holding 78% of the chips in play. They will return to blinds at 80,000/160,000 with a 20,000 ante.

Seat 6: David MacDonald – 12,310,000 (77 bb)
Seat 7: Michael Ortiz – 1,110,000 (7 bb)
Seat 9: John Depersio – 2,420,000 (15 bb)

$350 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 29: 60,000/120,000/20,000 Ante

In a battle of the blinds, Bienvenido Santiago moves his short stack in from the small, and David MacDonald calls from the big, seeking another knockout.

Santiago:
MacDonald:

The board runs out , and Santiago can not catch up. He’s eliminated in fifth place, earning more than $13,000 for his efforts this week.

MacDonald has a huge chip lead, holding two thirds of the chips in play with four remaining.

David MacDonald – 10,540,000 (88 bb)
Bienvenido Santiago – Eliminated in 5th Place ($13,068)

$500 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em
Level 1: 600/1,200

Howard Mash (left) and Kyle Taddei (right) are heads up for the Heads-Up title here at the Coco Poker Open. They’re both guaranteed at least $4,048, while the winner will earn $8,096 and the Championship seat.

Stack sizes are 60,000 for the finals, and blinds begin at 600/1,200. Levels are 20 minutes apiece.

Howard Mash and Kyle Taddei have won their respective semifinal matches, and the two are set to face off in the finals in just a few minutes’ time.

$350 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 28: 50,000/100,000/10,000 Ante

Under the gun, Scott Wyler moves all in for 470,000. Stuart Greenbaum calls all in for 450,000 two seats over, and action folds to Michael Ortiz’s big blind.

“All right,” he says, taking a sip of his wine. “I’m getting too good of math not to.” He calls with the covering stack, and both opponents are at risk.

Wyler:
Greenbaum:
Ortiz:

The board runs out , and Ortiz wins the pot with jacks up. He eliminates two players, with Greenbaum taking seventh place and Wyler sixth.

Michael Ortiz – 3,275,000 (33 bb)
Scott Wyler – Eliminated in 6th Place ($10,098)
Stuart Greenbaum – Eliminated in 7th Place ($7,722)

$350 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 27: 40,000/80,000/10,000 Ante

Albert Efremoff moves all in for 115,000 from middle position, and Scott Wyler isolates with a reraise to 250,000. When the rest of the table folds, the cards are turned up.

Eframoff:
Wyler:

“Well, at least I’m live,” Efeamoff looks for the silver lining. He takes the lead on the flop, but the turn puts him one card from the exit. The river is the , and Efremoff is eliminated in eighth place.

Scott Wyler – 1,600,000 (20 bb)
Scott Efremoff – Eliminated in 8th Place ($5,643)

$350 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 27: 40,000/80,000/10,000 Ante

John Depersio opens the button to 160,000, and Bienvenido Santiago calls in the hijack. Albert Eframoff three-bets to 320,000 in the cutoff, and David MacDonald four-bets to 700,000 on the button. Depersio and Santiago fold. Eframoff calls, though, and it’s heads up to the flop.

It comes , and Eframoff bets 1,100,000. MacDonald moves all in for 2,400,000 total, and Eframoff calls, having his opponent slightly covered.

Eframoff:
MacDonald:

The turn and river complete the board, securing MacDonald’s double. He’s now the commanding chip leader, while Eframoff is left with less than two big blinds.

David MacDonald – 6,720,000 (84 bb)
Albert Eframoff – 145,000 (2 bb)

$350 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 26: 30,000/60,000/10,000 Ante

It was more than another level gone until we found another big hand to get us one more player down. And a break in between.

John Depresio raised it up to 160,000 and Jason Gooch moved all-in from the small blind. Without bothering to ask for a count, Bienvenido Santiago moved all-in over the top from the big blind. Depresio quickly let his hand go and Gooch saw his predicament.

He was holding against before he hit a piece of the flop to give him more outs. Gooch added a gutshot wheel draw on the turn but missed everything on the river to go out in 9th place for $4,010.

$500 H.O.R.S.E. (Re-Entry)
Level 13: 3,000/6,000 Limits

Cory Zeidman and George Fountoulakis discuss the numbers, and they reach a mutually agreeable deal. Zeidman gives up $800, and the match is called early.

Fountoulakis seems pleased enough with the result. “Second to Cory Zeidman. Not so bad,” he says aloud. It is a fine finish for the teacher from Palm City, locking up the largest cash of his career and nearly doubling his total previous live earnings. This runner-up effort is worth $5,175.

Zeidman, on the other hand, is a professional poker player from nearby Coral Springs, FL, and he has earned more than $600,000 in live tournaments. Although he spends a fair amount of time playing at Seminole Coconut Creek, this is his first cash in this building. It’s worth $7,425, and it comes with a $2,500 seat to the Coco Poker Open Championship Event, to be held on October 1.

Howard Mash won his quarterfinal match against Corey Dodd, and Kyle Taddei defeated November Niner Joshua Beckley to punch his ticket to the the semifinals. The final four is now set, and the two matches have begun.

For this round, players start with 50,000 chips, and the blinds begin at 500/1,000. Levels are increased to 20 minutes apiece.

Here is the updated bracket: