We lost a good portion of the last hour to a level break, but we’re back in action with our final 12 players now. Things continue to move slowly now that we’re close to the final table. Nobody here wants to bust out, and it’s obvious from the way they’re all hanging in there.

The Brief, Frightening Reign of Phil

Phil Hellmuth came in as the chip leader today and relinquished the lead early on, but he climbed back atop the pack shortly afterward and has kept a stranglehold on it since then.

That’s not to say the Poker Brat hasn’t dropped a pot or two here and there. Just a few minutes ago he lost with a queen-high flush in Omaha-8 against Esther Rossi’s nut flush, dropping him to $395,000. He’s since swung back, however, holding on to the top spot as we get closer to the final table.

Holland Dutched! (13th)

Mark us one spot nearer to the promised land after the elimination of Randy Holland.

It was Razz that did Holland in. He got all-in on fourth street with 10-5 showing against Sam Silverman’s 10-9 and Phil Hellmuth’s J-8. Hellmuth got out of the way after sixth street, and Holland got to showdown with a 10-5. Unfortunately for him, Silverman had 9-5, just good enough to send Holland packing. He earns $11,070 for his 12th place finish.

Penn Sylvania’d! (12th)

Another Stud hand, another knockout! Phillip Penn, Sr., was all-in by fourth street with K-9 showing against Matt Grapenthien’s 6-6. Grapenthien only improved as the hand went on, eventually hitting a full house to send Penn to the rail in 12th place. He earns $16,551 for his finish.

Diano Dirtied! (11th)

It's hard enough to win in a regular Stud game when your opponent hits quad threes; in Stud-8, it's impossible if you don't have a low hand to claim half the pot. That's the situation Steve Diano found himself in against Esther Rossi just a few moments ago, when she hit quad 3's to send Diano to the cage. He earns $16,551 for his 11th place finish.

Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Chip Counts

Here are the top 10 chip counts as reported by WorldSeriesOfPoker.com:

We’ve had a few more bustouts and a change in ownership of the chip lead since the last update. Read on for all the gory details.

Art Looted! (16th)

Art Young fell at the hands of Lonnie Heimowitz on the Razz round when Heimowitz made a 10-7. The 16th place finish was worth $8,878.

Sexton Sunk! (15th)

Keith Sexton, like so many others before him, met the end of his tournament on a hand of Razz.

Steve Diano completed with a 3 showing, and Sexton called with a 4. Diano bet his ace on fourth street, and Sexton called with a 7. On fifth street, Sexton called all-in with a jack showing; he was drawing to a 7-4, but Diano had already made 8-5 low. Sexton missed on hte last two streets and found himself on the outside looking in. He takes home $8,878 for 15th place.

Ghaneian Gutted! (14th)

In the Stud round, Arash Ghaneian got all-in on fourth street in a multi-way pot. He mucked his cards after seventh street when Matt Grapenthein showed queens and jacks. Ghaneian finishes in 14th place for $8,878.

Railbirds Extraordinaire

There’s a monster crowd on the rail today watching Phil Hellmuth, but he’s not paying them much mind. A few new railbirds dropped by a few moments ago, though, and got the Brat’s attention.

Hellmuth gave his dad and mom both big hugs as soon as they showed up. “This is great!” he said. “They haven’t sweated me since the 80s. Dad was here in 1989.”

The shift in Hellmuth’s demeanor was immediate, and might just be the extra motivation he needs to pick up his record twelfth bracelet.

Feed Me With Your Chip Counts

Here are the current top 10 chip counts as reported by WorldSeriesOfPoker.com: