LEVEL WHATEVER -- BLINDS UP

Blinds are up now, to 60 and 120K, with antes of 15K. That's 225K going into the middle before the cards are even dealt. Chip counts as follows:

Layne -- 1.4M
Eric -- 1.25M
Mike -- 4.8M

The only one, then, not terribly imperiled by the blinds and antes is the redoubtable Mr. Matusow. He's been getting hit by the deck in the last half hour -- or either that or no one wants to mess with him. Layne seems to be suffering. He's resorted to sunglasses to conceal his eyes from Matusow's penetrating gaze. Eric is cool, though; he remains unwilted in the heat, as tranquil and calm as he's been throughout the tournament.

I may be projecting, but it seems like Matusow has the most to lose. The title -- the status -- seems to matter a great deal to him, much more than Layne, who's been there before, or Eric, who's just ice-cube cool no matter what. It'll be interesting to see what happens if Mike comes back to the pack. With his big chip lead, he should be able to coast home, but if there's a chink in his armor, it's need. If need breeds impatience or recklessness at the wrong time, he could make a decision he regrets.

Back in a flash, -jv