Action picked up on a board showing 7♦4♥10♠10♥8♣ in a hand between WSOP bracelet winner Stephen Song, who was in the small blind, and a player in the big blind.
The pot had a little less than 300,000 in the battle of the blinds, and Song elected to add more to it with a bet of 550,000.
Song’s action got his opponent’s attention, who leaned forward and studied the board. Approximately 30 seconds passed before the player in the big blind called.
Song tabled Q♥7♣ for two pair, tens and sevens. His opponent shook his head up and down, peeked back at his cards, and then folded.
A player in early position raised to 160,000, and action folded to three-time WSOP bracelet winner Ryan Leng, who elected to call out of the small blind.
The player in the big blind folded to bring the flop.
The dealer fanned J♣Q♥6♣ on the board, and Leng checked. Leng’s opponent bet 110,000, which Leng called.
The 5♣ showed up on the turn, prompting Leng to lead out with a 340,000 bet. Leng’s opponent asked how much Leng was playing, and Leng quietly moved his arms to the side to provide a clear view of his chip stack. After a few moments, Leng’s opponent called.
The 4♣ appeared on the river, putting a four-card flush on the board. Leng quickly checked and his opponent followed with the same action.
Leng shook his head and tabled Q♣9♣ for a flush and his opponent immediately mucked his hand.
Players within the WSOP often know to watch out for pro players when playing events and making deep runs. Yet, the power duo of Kristen and Alex Foxen have both been soaring through Day 3 of the Monster Stack amassing chips and eliminations along the way. Alex recently found a chip up through a hero call.
Alex raised to 100,000 from early position and Joshua Jackson defended from the big blind.
The flop came 8♥5♦9♥ and both players were quick to check.
While the 3♥ peeled off on the turn, another round of checks occurred between the two players
When the 9♦ completed the board, Jackson led out for 125,000. After some consideration, Alex made the call. Jackson revealed A♠Q♣ to be bested by Alex's 7♦7♣.
Atanas Pavlov raised from middle position to 60,000 and was called by Samuel Bifarella in the small blind. Martin Kabrhel tagged along from the big blind.
The flop came J♥9♣9♦ and both blinds were quick to check to Pavlov. He fired for 55,000 and only Bifarella made the call.
While the J♠ peeled off on the turn, both players were quick to check.
The 8♣ completed the board and Bifarella fired for 120,000. Pavlov was quick to muck his cards.
Day 3 of Event #38: $1,500 Monster Stack No-Limit Hold’em gets underway at 11 a.m. at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. There will be 416 competitors returning to contend for the coveted World Series of Poker Gold Bracelet and of course the first-place prize of $1,098,220 for the eventual winner.
United States’ own Vinicius Lima will begin the day as the chip leader, with 3,700,000 chips. He sits slightly ahead of Catalin Pop with 3,510,000. A first place score for either would be the biggest career win of their tournament lives.
Start of Day 3 Top Ten Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chips
Big Blinds
1
Vinicius Lima
United States
3,700,000
123
2
Catalin Pop
United States
3,510,000
117
3
Bart Crego
United States
3,400,000
113
4
Alexandros Dranovitsas
Greece
3,345,000
112
5
Long Ma
United States
3,265,000
109
6
Michael Murphy
United States
2,900,000
97
7
Lukas Guenzel
Germany
2,825,000
94
8
Joshua Payne
United States
2,790,000
93
9
Tony Huang
United States
2,730,000
91
10
Gregory Jensen
United States
2,670,000
89
A tough field awaits those returning with crushers such as Joao Simao looking to continue their recent final table runs of the summer. Other notables still remaining include Alex Foxen, Kristen Foxen, Martin Kabrhel, and recent three-time bracelet winner Timur Margolin.
Alex Foxen
Play will resume in the Bronze, Silver, and Gold sections of the Horseshoe Event Center at 11 a.m. local time with the blinds at 15,000/30,000 and a big blind ante of 30,000. Ten 60-minute levels will be played today with the remaining players continuing to play in Day 4.
As always PokerNews will provide all of the latest coverage and highlights from the 2024 World Series of Poker at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.
