The World Series of Poker Main Event lost half its remaining player son Day 3 as play concluded with just 10 eliminations between the remaining 1,507 and a minimum payout of $15,000. With a massive $12.1 million up for grabs, there were strong performances from some of the world’s best as the biggest Main Event in history got closer to a new world champion. In other events, there was a bounty event bracelet won and the third and final Day 1 of a bumper ‘Weekend Warrior’ event ended.
Fighting Chance of Title for Kornuth, Rigby Still Rising
The 54th annual WSOP has been a record-breaking one and in particular, has created magical memories for more players than ever. On Day 41 of this year’s WSOP, the Main Event got down to just 1,517 players in the Main Event as Day 3 provided plenty of thrills for poker fans around the world. With everyone still involved hoping to become this year’s world champion and win a record top prize of $12.1 million, it was the American player Antonio Heredia (1,899,000) who led the remaining field at the close of play.
Strong players sit in the wings waiting to take the spotlight should Heredia put a foot wrong. Most prominent in his slipstream is Chance Kornuth (1,887,000) who joked only a few weeks ago that an eight-figure score would leave him able to become a math teacher. On this form, the three-time WSOP bracelet winner might want to buy some chalk and start drinking coffee on the hour.
Some huge stars line up behind Kornuth, with Chris Brewer (1,447,000) going for his third WSOP bracelet this summer, which would virtually guarantee him the Player of the Year title given the field bonus that would come with it. Ending the day in 16th place, Brewer will be one of the favorites to make Day 5 in a position to challenge for the bracelet.
Superstars and Historic Names Joust for Position
Several other poker stars made the cut in fine style, among them a famous face from the 2019 WSOP. Four years ago, Nicholas Rigby’s 52nd place finish made the whole world sit up and notice the man who played deuce-three, a.k.a. the ‘Dirty Diaper’. Rigby has already busted Phil Hellmuth this year and ended the day fifth in chips on 1,719,000 hoping to go further than he did in 2019.
Another big player who looks set to enjoy a deep run is Britain’s most successful tournament player of all-time, Stephen Chidwick. The man from Deal in Kent bagged up over 1.1 million chips and with his prowess at the poker felt will be tougher to stop as each day passes and the jumps become more pressured for those with less experience than him.
With big names such as Brazilian bracelet winner Yuri Dzivielevski (1,059,000) mixed game fan Dylan Weisman (933,000) and the 2022 WSOP Player of the Year runner-up Daniel Weinman (863,000) all in contention, there will be fans of such other poker legends as the former WPT Player of the Year and current TV writer and producer Matt Salsberg (835,000) and the 2003 Main Event champ Chris Moneymaker (778,000) in the room.
Moneymaker in particular will command huge interest when Day 4 kicks off. Can the man who kickstarted the ‘Poker Boom’ exactly 20 years ago reign supreme again? In this year’s Main Event, all bets are off.
WSOP 2023 Event #76 $10,000 Main Event World Championship Day 3: |
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| Rank | Player | Country | Chips |
| 1st | Antonio Heredia | United States | 1,899,000 |
| 2nd | Chance Kornuth | United States | 1,887,000 |
| 3rd | Liran Betito | Israel | 1,775,000 |
| 4th | Pei Li | Canada | 1,742,000 |
| 5th | Nicholas Rigby | United States | 1,719,000 |
| 6th | Pavel Dyachenko | Canada | 1,706,000 |
| 7th | Michael Duek | United States | 1,678,000 |
| 8th | Nicholas Lee | Canada | 1,639,000 |
| 9th | Mason Vieth | United States | 1,602,000 |
| 10th | Michael Monroig | United States | 1,552,000 |
Thomas Skaggs Wins Maiden Bracelet in Bounty PLO Event
The final day of the $1,500-entry Bounty PLO Event saw Thomas Skaggs land his first-ever WSOP bracelet as he beat David Hu to the title and top prize of $171,742. With a fun-packed final table featuring deep runs from Vincent Moscati in sixth place for $29,773 and the overnight chip leader Satar Al-Sadoun in third for $75,761, Skaggs beat the Dutch player Hu to the win after a recent WSOP Circuit Ring win inspire to complete the WSOP ‘double’.
| WSOP 2023 Event #78 $1,500 Bounty PLO Final Results: | |||
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1st | Thomas Skaggs | United States | $171,742 |
| 2nd | David Hu | Netherlands | $106,138 |
| 3rd | Satar Al-Sadoun | United States | $75,761 |
| 4th | Paul DeGiulio | United States | $54,775 |
| 5th | Yusuke Tanaka | Japan | $40,119 |
| 6th | Vincent Moscati | United States | $29,773 |
| 7th | Paul Spitzberg | United States | $22,392 |
| 8th | Noah Schwartz | United States | $17,069 |
| 9th | Sergio Martinez | United States | $13,191 |
Day 1c of Drama in Lucky 7’s Event
Three flights into the action in Event #77, the $777-entry Lucky 7’s tournament saw 3,444 entries and just 153 players survive. On Day 1c of this mammoth event, which has a near-$5 million prizepool, another WSOP Circuit Ring winner, Morgan Petro (3,100,000), led the players still in the hunt for gold, with two-time WSOP event winner Shawn Daniels (2,945,000) and Toshimasa Sakato (2,360,000) close to the top of the leaderboard.
Other such as David Miscokowski (1,940,000), Bin Weng (1,765,000) and Michael Rodrigues (1,400,000) will all be trying to chase down the leaders.
| WSOP 2023 Event #77 $777 Lucky 7’s NLHE Leaderboard Day 1c: | |||
| Place | Player | Country | Chips |
| 1st | Morgan Petro | United States | 3,100,000 |
| 2nd | Shawn Daniels | United States | 2,945,000 |
| 3rd | Toshimasa Sakato | Japan | 2,360,000 |
| 4th | James Chavanarojrit | United States | 2,345,000 |
| 5th | Hai Nguyen | United States | 2,060,000 |
| 6th | Andrew Flaherty | United States | 2,000,000 |
| 7th | Viet Vo | United States | 2,000,000 |
| 8th | Julien Montois | France | 2,000,000 |
| 9th | Bienvenido Sanchez | Spain | 1,970,000 |
| 10th | David Miscikowski | United States | 1,940,000 |
Isaac Haxton is around those he feels most comfortable with… that is to say, not in the Main Event.
Playing the WSOPME, surrounded by people having a once in a lifetime experience, is so draining.
Now I’m at the Wynn 10k losers event. No one is happy to be here. No one has said word not related to announcing an action. In my element.
— Isaac Haxton (@ikepoker) July 10, 2023
If you bust the Main in a painful way, you hope for understanding from your fellow players… and, the dealer?
? When the beat is so bad, even the dealer puts his head in his hands…#WSOPMainEventpic.twitter.com/8TcAqx9x9X
— PokerNews (@PokerNews) July 10, 2023
Eli Elezra paid tribute to his hero upon arriving at his seat.
Playing on the secondary table during Day 3 of the WSOP Main Event, and my friend @TexDolly is watching me from up above. Miss you, Doyle. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/LbiHXYZXus
— Eli Elezra (@elielezra1) July 10, 2023
Hoodie Allen raced back from a wedding to his Day 3 stack…only for this to happen.
? @HoodieAllen's #WSOPMainEvent story was looking up when he made it back to Las Vegas JUST in time for Day 3 at the @WSOP…
4 hands later, the dream was crushed in sickening fashion ? pic.twitter.com/SrxmvFauLW
— PokerNews (@PokerNews) July 9, 2023
Finally, Vegas is a place for moments that wouldn’t happen anywhere else in the world. Here’s a fine misuse of the word ‘literally’ in a story so true it had to have happened.
Blonde girl wandering barefoot in Paris screaming into her phone
“DON’T GIVE ME THAT BULLSHIT. YOU WERE LITERALLY BALLS DEEP IN HER ASS WHEN I CAME INTO THE ROOM” #VegasThings— Dara O'Kearney (@daraokearney) July 9, 2023
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