Dag Martin Mikkelsen came of legal age to gamble in Nevada on June 25, and he was winning all of his big bets on the fifth official day of the no-limit Texas Hold'em tournament as his chip stack swelled to 4.8 million.

In one hand, Mikkelsen pushed another player all in with an ace and king of diamonds, while his opponent flipped over pocket eights.

A jack and 10 of diamonds and a jack of hearts came on the flop and a six of diamonds came on the turn, giving Mikkelsen a flush and leaving his opponent hoping for an eight or jack for a full house. A queen of diamonds on the river shut the door, giving Mikkelsen a royal flush, the best hand in poker, and a cry from the TV studio audience.

In a later hand, Mikkelsen knocked out another player when his 10 and seven of clubs made a flush on the turn against a player with a pair of aces.

"I hit some crucial outs in big pots so it worked out," Mikkelsen said. "I ran pretty good."

Avi Cohen, a 35-year-old partner in a Boston financial brokerage, was tied for the lead with 4.8 million after about two hours of play.

Cohen said he doubled his stack on the first hand of the day when he made a king-high flush on the river and an opponent mucked his cards.

"Since then, I've been staying uninvolved," he said. Cohen later slipped to 15th with 2.3 million.

Several big-name poker pros remained in the hunt for the $8.25 million top prize as the field continued to be whittled down from the 6,358 that began play in stages July 6.

They included Gus Hansen with 1.0 million, 1996 main event winner Huck Seed with 800,000 and 1998 main event champ Scotty Nguyen, who was ninth with 2.9 million. Costa Rican pro Humberto Brenes busted out.

"I'm cruising, I'm relaxing," Nguyen said as he stepped away from the table, sipping a cup of beer. "I'm on top of my game right now. I hope I keep playing smooth like that so I take this one down, baby."

Sitting in third after several hours of play was Philip Hilm, a 31-year-old Dane making a living playing poker online in England, with 3.3 million in chips.

Hilm pushed over the top for all of his chips with a king and 10 of hearts after two hearts came on a flop of queen, six and three. A player holding pocket aces folded, but an opponent with three sixes called.

When a five of hearts came on the turn, Hilm made his flush and doubled up. Only later did he learn that two other players folded two hearts each and the player with pocket aces had an ace of hearts. That meant Hilm only had four cards left to make his flush or go home.