Day 3 of Event #37: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em is on deck at 12 noon local time, ready to crown yet another World Series of Poker champion.
From a starting field of 2,020 players, just 20 remain with a chance at the first-place prize of $292,880. Each of the remaining players is guaranteed a payout of $9,209, but they all have their eyes on that top prize and the bracelet.
Leading the way is Chris Johnson, sitting on a mountain of chips worth 1,242,000. He is the only player above a million, with Vlad Darie (902,000) and Joep Raemaekers (890,000) making up the top three spots.
Some of the notable players still in contention are Eric Blair (825,000), Michael Gathy (672,000), Katie Swift (425,000), Benoit Lam (280,000), Jeff Blenkarn (203,000) and Ryan Smith (107,000). These are all worthy contenders and this is most definitely going to be a fun field to follow today!
The day will begin 30 minutes, or halfway, through Level 21 with blinds at 6,000/12,000 with a 2,000 ante. As usual, there will be a break every two levels with a scheduled 60-minute dinner break after the sixth level of the day.
Keep following along as the PokerNews live reporting team brings all of the action right to your fingertips on the way to crowning another bracelet winner.
Michael Gathy raised to 32,000 from middle position, and Ryan 'Rybo' Smith moved all in for 73,000 from the small blind. Gathy called.
Smith was at risk with , up against Gathy's . The flop came , giving Gathy trip tens. It was looking grim for Smith, but the turn was the and Smith immediately perked up, making a full house. He just had to dodge the fourth ten in the deck, and he did when the hit the river.
Smith doubled through and has some chips to work with after coming in to the day last in chips.
Benoit Lam happily pushed all in for his remaining 178,000 from early position. Lam was playing with his cards and had a big grin on his face while the action was folded to Li Fu on the button who made the call. It was a race scenario as Lam tabled and Fu showed .
The board ran out and Fu was victorious with her pocket queens, eliminating Lam in 18th place.
Joep Raemaekers opened the pot with a raise to 33,000 from early position. James Hughes was on the button and three-bet to 88,000. Hilton Givens was in the big blind and shipped all in for 210,000. Raemaekers folded and Hughes made the call.
Hilton Givens:
James Hughes:
The board ran out and Givens was unable to come from behind, thus being eliminated in 17th place.
Thomas Reynolds raised to 35,000 from middle position and Ryan Smith moved all in for 170,000 on the button. Reynolds tanked for a minute and eventually called.
Smith was at risk and miles ahead with , up against the of Reynolds.
The flop came and Reynolds immediately pulled ahead with a pair of aces. The turn was the and the river was the , sending Smith to the rail in 16th place while pocketing $11,445 for his deep run.
Jeff Blenkarn raised to 40,000 from the hijack and Thomas Reynolds called on the button. The flop came and Blenkarn shoved all-in for 140,000. Reynolds quickly called and the cards were face up.
Reynolds:
Blenkarn:
Reynolds out-flopped his opponent and Blenkarn would need to catch an ace to stay alive in the tournament. The turn was the and the river brought the and Blenkarn was eliminated in 15th place.
Michael Gathy raised to 40,000 from under the gun and Vlad Darie three-bet to 135,000 from middle position. Chad Layne was in the small blind and went into the tank for about a minute before moving all in for 719,000. Gathy had a long think before releasing his hand, and Darie called for his last 608,000.
Darie was at risk with and was in rough shape against the of Layne.
The flop came . Layne looked over to see if Darie had the king of clubs, and he immediately put his head in his hands when he saw he did. The turn was the and Darie's rail erupted when he pulled ahead with a flush, leaving Layne drawing dead to the on the river.
The action was folded to short-stacked Chad Layne who moved all in for his remaining 107,000 in late position. Chris Johnson called from the button and the blinds folded. Johnson was ahead with against Layne's .
The flop of was no help to Layne, but the on the turn gave him some more outs as he picked up a flush draw to go with his two overcards. The river was the and Layne was sent to the cash cage in 14th place.
Chad Eveslage managed to get his stack in the middle before the flop, getting action from Allan Bieler. Eveslage was at risk for his last 431,000 with Bieler having him covered by just 60,000.
Chad Eveslage:
Allan Bieler:
It was a classic race, and Eveslage took the lead after the dealer fanned the flop reading , giving him a pair of kings. The turn was the and the river was the . Eveslage locked up the double and Bieler was left with just a few big blinds.
In the very next hand, Bieler was all in from middle position and was called by Daniel Deveau in the small blind and James Hughes in the big blind. The two players on the side checked down a board reading and the hands were tabled. Hughes was ahead with for a pair of fours, Deveau showed for ace-high and Bieler tabled for king-high to be eliminated.
Shaun Davis raised to 50,000 from the cutoff and Chris Johnson three-bet to 130,000 from the small blind. Davis called and the flop came . Johnson bet 80,000 and Davis went all in for 265,000. Johnson quickly threw a chip in signifying a call and turned over . Davis was behind with and would need some help to stay alive.
The turn brought the help Davis was looking for in the form of the . However, the on the river quickly erased all of that as Johnson made three kings. Davis was eliminated in 12th place leaving only one elimination away from the unofficial final table.
, up against Gathy's 
. The flop came 
, giving Gathy trip tens. It was looking grim for Smith, but the turn was the 
and Smith immediately perked up, making a full house. He just had to dodge the fourth ten in the deck, and he did when the 
hit the river. 
![[user339872]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
and Fu showed 
.
and Fu was victorious with her pocket queens, eliminating Lam in 18th place.
and Givens was unable to come from behind, thus being eliminated in 17th place.
and Reynolds immediately pulled ahead with a pair of aces. The turn was the 
and the river brought the 
. Layne looked over to see if Darie had the king of clubs, and he immediately put his head in his hands when he saw he did. The turn was the 
against Layne's 
on the turn gave him some more outs as he picked up a flush draw to go with his two overcards. The river was the 
, giving him a pair of kings. The turn was the 
. Eveslage locked up the double and Bieler was left with just a few big blinds.
for a pair of fours, Deveau showed 
for ace-high and Bieler tabled 
