As the hours grow late the action more intense, sometimes the stories of the tournament floor are too wide and varied to perform the precise kind of well-aimed story-telling to which we aspire. When aiming for the whole of the big target, haried non-marksmen sometimes opt for a different weapon. The scatter-gun approach sometimes works best.

With that in mind, here's a shotgun look at the last level.

***

“Isabelle and Kara are on the same table!”

Word rang out of the Mercier-Scott match-up and hungry eyes descended. We three men of varied-status relationships let the crowd thin before making our way toward the table. Upon our approach, we saw Mercier’s blonde mane falling over a massage therapist’s hands. We turned to find Scott, but she was missing. Panic! Alarm!

It was only then that we looked in the blonde’s face and discovered it was decidedly not Isabelle (instead Carmel Petresco, who just happened to be sitting one table away). We couldn’t be faulted. The blonde hair was close in color and Isabelle has been having the stress beat out of her all afternoon by a therapist.

When we finally found Isabelle and Kara 20 feet away, Isabelle offered a hand in the air. In front of her, near a tube of lipstick, sat around 39,000.

“Hey, brother!” she called, the glee at her early success beaming from her eyes.

Kara was more reserved behind an even bigger stack, somewhere north of 55,000.

***

Author and PokerStars-sponsored Tony Holden is newly a grandfather and when told his infant grandchildren were rooting for him, he barely raised an eyebrow. Now, however, he finds himself thinking of the young’uns as he peeks at his hole cards and he admits, it’s making him feel luckier. He has around 27,000 late in Level 4.

***

Speaking of kids, PokerStars qualifier Paul Renaud is the father of brand new twins. Time to cash big, Paul.

Watch WSOP 08: Paul Renaud on PokerStars.tv

***

Team Moneymaker qualifier Paul Ferker shattered and left with 1,100 chips. Having better luck is Team Moneymaker qualifier Darren Keyes who sits on 48,000.

***

Gladys Landegger is to date our most excitable video blog subject of the Series. We featured her here a couple of days ago. Still buoyant after ten hours of play, Gladys sits on 27,000 and looks just as happy as she did in this video

Watch WSOP 08: Gladys Landegger Online qualifier on PokerStars.tv

***

Looking decidedly less happy was Jim Hamburger, a serial qualifier we mentioned here earlier. When we looked at his stack and saw an above average 35,000. He barely smiled when we eyed his stack.

“What’s the problem?”

“I got rivered for a 20,000 pot,” he mumbled.

After hearing reassurances that 35,000 is a good place to be right now, he said of the suckout, “It took a lot out of me.”

***
Our new Chinese blogger Ted wandered by a moment ago to report that PokerStars qualifier Terry Fang is up to 75,000.

***

PokerStars Passport winner Dustin Mele is grinding today. Before dinner, he got moved to a tough table with Alex Jacob. Mele currenty has around 12,000.

***

Finally, a quick look at Team PokerStars Pro's running chip counts going into the last level of the night.

Chris Moneymaker: 72,000
Isabelle Mercier 39,000
ElkY 26,000
Bill Chen 26,000
Joe Hachem 26,000
Andre Akkari 22,000
Steve Paul-Ambrose OUT
Gavin Griffin OUT