There was a new, exciting, and volatile lineup of players featured on the latest episode of High Stakes Poker Season 14 – just how we like it. Alan Keating headlined the table, fresh off an eye-catching session earlier in the season, and he was joined by Rick Salomon, Nik 'Airball' Arcot, Peter Wang, Justin Gavri, and Vinny Lingham – making for a lineup that was bursting at the seams with potential for one of the most explosive and expensive sessions in the show's history.
While only five players sat at the table to start the game, the cash and chips spread between them totaled over $1.5M. When Keating joined the fray, he added an additional $500,000 to the mix, bringing the table total above the $2M mark – and the money train didn't stop there. With the blinds set at $500/$1,000, and straddles often in play, the scene was aptly set for a clash of epic proportions.
Alan Keating returned to the High Stakes Poker felt after winning a stunning $911,000 pot against Peter Wang the last time he played. Salomon gets stuck early
Salomon was the only other player with $500,000 on the table, but much of it disappeared quickly in the early goings as he embraced his usual no-holds-barred style of play. In the first of his many clashes in the episode, Salomon pounced on Wang's limp from early position when the action folded around to him in the small blind. With 
, he wanted to play for more – or just steal the dead money sitting out there – and raised to $11,000.
Gavri, with the $2,000 straddle in front of him, peeled 
and fired in a three-bet to $35,000. Wang fled the scene, but Salomon had his calling chips across the betting line before the dealer could even collect the folded cards. With $74,000 in the middle, the 
flop looked good enough to Gavri to bet when checked to and he continued for $39,000.
Justin Gavri had plenty of reasons to smile as he hauled in a $567,000 pot. Salomon took a moment before verbally announcing an all-in with just six-high and a gutshot straight draw. Gavri called quickly to bring the pot to a whopping $567,000. Gavri and Salomon agreed to run it twice, but neither runout provided any joy for the latter and when the cameras returned to the action following a break, Salomon had an additional $500,000 in front of him.
'I'm just dead'
With the $2,000 straddle in play once again – this time courtesy of Keating – Gavri kicked off the party with a raise to $5,000 holding 
and Arcot called from the small blind with 
. Salomon looked down at 
in the big blind and bumped it up to $22,000 – clearly ready to tangle with Gavri, or anyone else for that matter, after gifting him a full double up.
Unfortunately for Salomon, Gavri waved the white flag, but Arcot was waiting in the wings for his moment to shine and made the call. With $52,000 in the pot, the 
flop brought in the last remaining eight in the deck and, simultaneously, lit the fuse for another incendiary hand. In the face of a check from his opponent, Salomon quickly flicked a single $25,000 cranberry into the middle and Arcot matched the rapid-fire pace with a speedy call. Nick Schulman chimed in from the commentary booth at this point to say, quite seriously, "AJ [Benza], this is a disaster for Rick."
Nik 'Airball' Arcot got in on the action in a $441,000 pot against Salomon. And a disaster it was. On the turn 
, Arcot checked once more and Salomon fired $55,000 into the middle, still confident in his holding. With only $170,000 behind, Arcot stuck the rest of his money in the middle. As he watched the dealer bring the chips and cash across the betting line, Salomon half-whispered, half-sang to himself, "Bad day in the circus," before asking how much the bet was.
After hearing the amount, Salomon groaned and threw a few more cranberries in the middle. "I'm just dead," said Salomon when Arcot revealed his hand. "I'm like... I'm just dead."
When the accounting on the felt had concluded, Salomon looked up to the heavens for a brief moment and shook his head ever so slightly. Then he made eye contact with one of the PokerGO Studio floor staff off-camera and said, "Give me a million, please."
High Stakes Poker airs Monday evenings at 8pm ET, exclusively on PokerGO.
