They did manage to fill up with all 50 seats occupied and for the most part it was run fairly decently. They used an entirely different blind structure than they said they were going to use, but the original blind structure was crap anyhow. They still started with $500,000 in chips, which was awkward. Suited and I were assigned to different tables, which was a good thing.
During the first level, which ran for an hour, I got some great cards.  I connected with the flops often and was on a steamroller ride. I built my stack up to $900,000 by the first break. Suited had about the same, perhaps a bit more. I know that she had a big hand where she had top two pair and was called with a worse two pair by someone who made WPT Hollywood decisions on every street. My biggest hand was Kings, which never improved and I just bet/bet/bet. The opponent was a classic calling station and I knew I was good all the way down. I turned a straight and flopped a flush from the big blind on two different hands and got paid on both.
We both had quite poor second levels. I dropped all way back to $600,000 because I played a few hands that didn’t work out. The biggest one I raised to $60,000 (blinds were 10,000/20,000) and the big blind just called with a curious expression on his face. I had red Jacks and the flop came down Q54 with two spades. I c-bet about $80,000 and he check-raised all-in. He really didn’t seem the type to shove on the flush draw. I thought for a bit and mucked my Jacks face up because I’m a showoff like that. He obliged me by tabling his pocket Kings and I got credit for a good laydown, although it really wasn’t that difficult. Suited claimed to have not played a single hand and was around $750,000 at the second level.
It was clearly no WSOP event, because lunch was fully catered and excellent. They also provided Hooters girls to wait on the tables, which was almost like a poker room. They even fed us again with a snack a few hours later. This puts the $10 meal comp from the WSOP to shame (maybe it was $20).
In the third level, I got frisky again. I was down to $525,000 after paying the blinds (now at 25k/50k) and was looking for a spot. I raised the button with pocket tens behind two limpers. The BB called and we were heads up. The flop came down KT3 and I was fairly sure I was crushing him. He was loose and tended to be pretty easy to read. I had about $350k left but looked to cover him by a bit, so I bet smallish on the flop around 100k. He just called, which really could have meant anything. He had shown a tendency to make a lot of loose flop calls and give up on the turn. With only 200k left and a bit pot in the middle, I checked behind when the turn made me quad tens. He shoved the river and I insta-called. He had Ace high and quads were good. His seat was eventually filled by SuitedPair when we were down to 18 or so. I was now sitting on like 2.1 million after winning a few small pots when I had Jacks beat again by a new player who was quite bad. She called my pre-flop raise with Q7 and caught the Queen on the flop. I bet and she raised big on a Q44 board and I made a tight fold with JJ. If I had seen her play more, I might have called, but I didn’t know her, so I folded. Correctly, as it turned out. At about 1.8 million, I played the biggest hand of the event for me. A fairly weak player raised with what he claimed were Jacks from MP. There were two callers and the Button shoved for about 1.2 million. The Button was good enough to raise a fairly wide range there and I found AKs in the small blind. I shoved my 1.8 million, figuring I was probably flipping with the Button, but the pot was bloated with nearly 700k in bonus money on my 1.2, so it was a no brainer. The initial raiser hesitated a bit before folding his Jacks, but I knew he was going to fold and the other two players also dropped out. The Button tabled KQo and I was sitting pretty. The board came brick-brick-brick-brick-Queen. Of course. He apologized a few times, but I really wasn’t upset. I knew I made a good play and that is all you can do. He could have shown Aces or Kings and I still would have thought it was a good play. Unfortunately, instead of chipping up to nearly 4 million and being the monster stack in the tourney, I was back to 600k and about to face 50/100 blinds and an M of 4.
Suited was also down fairly low and I got lucky to rebalance to the other table when we were at 16. The next level started as soon as I moved. I paid a round of blinds with total garbage and got a double to 900k with 99 against A3. I stayed pretty close to 900k for an orbit or two with a shove here and there. It was tough because we got down to five handed (Suited’s table was six handed), so it is hard to nurse a short stack at a short table, but at least I had an opportunity to be first-in fairly often. I was at 800k on the big blind when the button raised to 200k. I looked down at KQs and figured that I couldn’t possibly fold and I might have some folding equity (it seems insane, but I’m pretty sure I did). He deliberated for a minute, but called with AQ. I didn’t catch my three outer and got eliminated. Someone was eliminated at Suited’s table while we playing out our hand, but it was close enough so they drew a high card for 10th place and I lost (flips suck!). I think 10th place was a chip set, so it was probably just as well anyhow.
The final table was classic Suited poker. She was the short stack coming in and shoved just often enough to hang around. She did get called with ATs against KK, but the door card was an Ace and she eliminated him. One by one, the field whittled down until she was fourth of four at the last break. Once again, she was the short stack by far and I provided my analysis of what she should shove, which was damn near everything. She shoved J9s on the Button first hand in and the small blind called with ATo. She flopped the flush draw, giving her 15 outs twice, but none of them came in and she won a $600 gift certificate. We also got $100 in Hooters gift certs, so I think we actually came out ahead after taxes.
