The Money Bubble Bursts After Four Hands; Nick Grippo Up to 480K

Photo:  The unfortunate bubble finisher (far left) waits to see if he can catch an eight on the river to stay alive against chipleader Nick Grippo (far right).

In the third hand on the Money Bubble, the cutoff limps for 4,000, Rob Prinz limps from the button, and the small blind moves all in for 6,500. Billy Clark moves all in over the top from the big blind for 57,500, and the cutoff and Prinz both fold.

The small blind turns over , and he’s actually a big favorite against Clark’s .

The board comes , and the small blind wins the pot with his queen to more than triple his chip stack.

Small Blind  –  25,000  (6 bb)
Billy Clark  –  51,000  (13 bb)

Unfortunately for the small blind, his momentum wouldn’t last long.

Chipleader Nick Grippo raises under the gun to 12,000, Rob Prinz calls from the cutoff, and the player who just tripled up moves all in from the button for 24,500. Grippo reraises to about 50,000, and Prinz folds.

The short stack shows , but Grippo turns over .

The board comes , and the pocket kings hold up for Grippo to win the pot and eliminate the short stack to burst the Money Bubble.

Nick Grippo  –  480,000  (120 bb)

The remaining 25 players are in the money, guaranteed at least $800 each. There will be a pay jump to $1,000 for the final 21 players, and the final 17 will advance to Day 2.