Travel Report: 2011 LAPT Punta del Este, Day 2

“Una mano mas!”

So came the call -- again and again and again -- as hand-for-hand play continued on the money bubble of the LAPT Punta del Este main event last night.

We heard the line so many times it was becoming a punch line to various, nonsensical jokes and exchanges. Someone even fed the line into Songify on his iPhone, literally turning it into a funky refrain.

There were 57 players left, meaning the next to go would be the last not to cash. After a wild, fast-paced afternoon and early evening that saw about 130 players go out during the six hours played before the dinner break, the tourney had essentially ground to a halt.

I was talking yesterday about running around in circles. As tourneys progress and fields shrink, the circles around which we perambulate become smaller and smaller. By the time of last night’s bubble, just eight tables remained. (At some point during Day 2s of these LAPT events they switch to eight-handed.) Around and around we would go, eventually pausing before the last table to complete its hand. And with no elimination, we’d spiral back out and then back in. Again.

Dizzying, it was. And as the bubble period wore on, we had more time to think about the incredible hand in which it began, the one that saw Roman Suarez go out in 58th.

In that one, Suarez and Erik von Buxhoeveden had bet back and forth to the river at which point the board read . There was about 140,000 in the middle, and Suarez pushed his last 70,000 forward in a last-ditched attempt to claim the pot. Von Buxhoeveden had only thought a short while before calling the bet, turning over... ! And he was right! Suarez had , his pair of eights having been counterfeited on the end.

The next hour-and-a-half was punctuated by a handful of short-stacked survivals and gradually increasing amazement at how long the bubble was enduring. “Can I press fast-forward?” said one member of the media. “To, like, an hour from now?” he added.

And the call came again... one more hand.

Finally a player who was down to a single yellow (1,000) chip couldn’t win with his pocket deuces and the bubble burst. From there they played down to 27 players before they stopped some time after midnight.

They’ll start up again today at noon and play down to the final eight-handed table before concluding. We’re hopeful for a shorter day, and perhaps a chance to relax a bit afterwards before coming back on Sunday.

The trip has been pretty much wholly occupied by the tourney thus far, but I think we have some time on Monday before flying home perhaps to see a little more of Punta del Este. Whatever happens, I do plan to break out of these little circles and take a walk on that beach we’re facing.

The days are long, for sure. And more than a little repetitive at times. But again I’m working with a bunch of cool cats who are helping make the days not just endurable but fun, too.

They’re creative, too. I mean they can make a song of anything, these guys.