Monday, November 20, 2017 2:28 PM Local Time
Level: 28
Blinds: 25,000/50,000
Ante: 5,000
Monday, November 20, 2017 2:14 PM Local Time
The day's first two levels are complete, and the finalists are on a 15-minute break. Here's how they'll stack up when they return for the new level with a 50,000-chip big blind:
Seat 1: Danny Elmore - 2,795,000 (56 bb)
Seat 2: Sunny Gandham - 1,920,000 (38 bb)
Seat 3: Ali Imsirovic - 1,490,000 (30 bb)
Seat 4: Fernando Galvan - 1,980,000 (40 bb)
Seat 5: Neil Scott - 965,000 (19 bb)
Seat 6: Melanie Banfield - 1,920,000 (38 bb)
Seat 7: Chris Tham - 2,850,000 (57 bb)
Seat 8: Bruce Kramer - 1,330,000 (27 bb)
Seat 9: Mark Ioli - 1,190,000 (24 bb)
Seat 10: Corey Hochman - 450,000 (9 bb)
Monday, November 20, 2017 2:12 PM Local Time
Sunny Gandham has been the most post-worthy player so far at this final table, and he's involved in another big pot here.
It begins with Mark Ioli opening with a raise in the cutoff, and Gandham defends his big blind.
The flop is . Gandham checks, Ioli continues with a bet, and Gandham calls.
The turn is the , and Gandham checks again. Ioli bets 225,000, but Gandham check-raises to 550,000. Ioli slips deep into the tank, long enough that he feels the need to apologize.
"Sorry, guys," he says. "Just give me one sec." Maybe two minutes later, though, Ioli still hasn't decided. "Sorry," he apologizes again. "I don't know if I've ever taken this long in my life." He has about 1.2 million chips behind.
After some time, Ioli eventually does fold, prodding his opponent to show. Gandham shows the .
"Show the other one!" Ioli pleads.
Gandham does not, but he claims it was an eight for a full house.
"I hope so," Ioli shakes his head. "Really??"
Gandham nods slowly.
Ioli eventually claims to have folded an overpair, and Neil Scott hypothesizes it might have been two kings.
"Kings again!" Ioli admits.
Sunny Gandham - 2,100,000 (53 bb)
Mark Ioli - 1,210,000 (30 bb)
Monday, November 20, 2017 2:00 PM Local Time
Melanie Banfield opens the action to 100,000 from late position and Danny Elmore three-bets to 240,000 out of the big blind.
The flop comes , Elmore bets 175,000 and Banfield calls.
The turn is the and Elmore checks. Banfield thinks for a moment and bets 325,000. Elmore wastes no time and shoves for 1,200,000. Banfield quickly folds. Elmore shows as he rakes in the pot.
Danny Elmore - 2,300,000 (57 bb)
Melanie Banfield - 1,850,000 (46 bb)
Monday, November 20, 2017 1:55 PM Local Time
Danny Elmore opens to 90,000 under the gun, Sunny Gandham calls next to act, and Bruce Kramer joins from the button.
The flop is . Elmore continues for 125,000, Gandham raises to 300,000, and Kramer quickly folds. Elmore gives it a look for a minute, but he eventually surrenders, too.
Gandham wins the pot, showing as he collects.
Sunny Gandham - 1,650,000 (41 bb)
Danny Elmore - 1,650,000 (41 bb)
Monday, November 20, 2017 1:39 PM Local Time
Melanie Banfield opens to 100,000 in early position, and Sunny Gandham calls on the button.
The flop is . Banfield continues for 110,000, Gandham raises to 260,000, and Banfield calls. They both check through the turn, and the river is the . Banfield leads back out for 310,000, and Gandham quickly calls.
Banfield shows for the nuts, winning a substantial pot to sneak into the chip lead.
Gandham flashes as he pays off his debt. This two-hand sequence with Neil Scott and Banfield has cost him just about half his stack.
Melanie Banfield - 2,915,000 (73 bb)
Sunny Gandham - 1,170,000 (29 bb)
Monday, November 20, 2017 1:36 PM Local Time
Second to act, Neil Scott moves all in for 455,000. Sunny Gandham calls in the small blind to put him at risk, but his pocket pair is second-best.
Scott:
Gandham:
The board runs out blanks, coming to give Scott a double-up.
Neil Scott - 1,020,000 (26 bb)
Sunny Gandham - 1,845,000 (46 bb)
Monday, November 20, 2017 1:30 PM Local Time
Ali Imsirovic moves all-in for 580,000 from middle position and Melanie Banfield calls from the cutoff.
Imsirovic tables , flipping against Banfield's .
The flop comes and Imsirovic is still ahead with two tens. The turn is the and the river is the to give Imsirovic the double.
Ali Imsirovic - 1,250,000 (31 bb)
Melanie Banfield - 1,950,000 (48 bb)
Monday, November 20, 2017 1:23 PM Local Time
The final 10 players are now seated together for the first time. Here's the final table lineup:
Seat 1: Danny Elmore - 1,600,000 (40 bb)
Seat 2: Sunny Gandham - 2,415,000 (60 bb)
Seat 3: Ali Imsirovic - 585,000 (15 bb)
Seat 4: Fernando Galvan - 1,945,000 (49 bb)
Seat 5: Neil Scott - 480,000 (12 bb)
Seat 6: Melanie Banfield - 2,650,000 (66 bb)
Seat 7: Chris Tham - 2,795,000 (70 bb)
Seat 8: Bruce Kramer - 1,900,000 (48 bb)
Seat 9: Mark Ioli - 2,025,000 (51 bb)
Seat 10: Corey Hochman - 660,000 (16 bb)
Monday, November 20, 2017 1:15 PM Local Time
Action folds to Marcin Milde in the small blind and he moves all-in for 485,000. Chris Tham is in the big blind and thinks for a moment before deciding to call.
Milde tables , up against Tham's .
The board runs out and Milde shakes his head on his way to the rail.
Players are now coming together for a re-draw of the final table.
Chris Tham - 2,400,000 (60 bb)
Marcin Milde - Eliminated
Monday, November 20, 2017 1:05 PM Local Time
Level: 27
Blinds: 20,000/40,000
Ante: 5,000
Monday, November 20, 2017 1:04 PM Local Time
One hand after moving all in from the small blind, Roger Franco (pictured) does it again from the button. This time it's folded to him, and he shoves for what looks like 740,000. In the big blind, Danny Elmore wakes up with an easy call. He does so, putting Franco at risk.
Franco:
Elmore:
"Augh!" Franco hates the news. "I'm supposed to shove there, right? I don't know, maybe I have too many chips."
The board fails to save him, coming to give Elmore the pot with kings full. Franco is eliminated in 12th place, wishing the rest of the field luck as he departs.
Danny Elmore - 1,850,000 (62 bb)
Roger Franco - Eliminated
Monday, November 20, 2017 1:00 PM Local Time
Marcin Milde opens with a raise to 60,000 second to act, and Chris Tham three-bets to 155,000. This series of actions has repeated several times today, with Milde mostly yielding to Tham's pressure. This time, though, Roger Franco four-bet shoves for 470,000 in the small blind. Milde quickly folds, putting the decision back on Tham.
"Same hand as last time," he sighs, possibly referencing the jack-five hand from earlier. It's not much more to call, but Tham can not; he folds, and Franco wins the pot with no showdown.
Roger Franco - 745,000 (25 bb)
Monday, November 20, 2017 12:47 PM Local Time
Sunny Gandham opens the button to 65,000, and Bruce Kramer defends his big blind.
Both players check through the flop. The turn is the , and Kramer bets 75,000. Gandham calls that bet, then another 175,000 after the river.
Kramer shows , winning the pot with jacks up. It's not a huge one by number, but any pot is significant for Kramer's middling stack.
Bruce Kramer - 1,275,000 (43 bb)
Sunny Gandham - 1,950,000 (65 bb)
Monday, November 20, 2017 12:43 PM Local Time
Melanie Banfield opens to 70,000 from the hijack and Sunny Gandham calls from the small blind.
The flop comes , Gandham checks, Banfield bets 75,000 and Gandham calls.
The turn is the and both players check to the on the river. Gandham pauses and then leads out for 160,000. Banfield cuts out chips and has a look at Gandham for a moment before calling.
"Good call" says Gandham, tabling for queen-high. Banfield tables for a pair of sixes for the second-lowest pair on the board.
Melanie Banfield - 1,880,000 (62 bb)
Sunny Gandham - 2,300,000 (76 bb)
Monday, November 20, 2017 12:25 PM Local Time
Corey Hochman moves all in for 370,000 under the gun, and Danny Elmore calls next to act, putting Hochman at risk.
Hochman:
Elmore:
The board runs out , and Hochman ends up with kings full to double up for the second time in the first 20 minutes. He's worked himself out of the basement, now third from the bottom in chips.
Corey Hochman - 815,000 (27 bb)
Danny Elmore - 1,260,000 (42 bb)
Monday, November 20, 2017 12:13 PM Local Time
Corey Hochman opens the cutoff to 175,000, leaving just 30,000 chips behind. Chris Tham three-bet shoves from the big blind, and Hochman calls all in for 205,000 to put himself at risk.
Hochman:
Tham:
The board runs out , and Hochman locks up the double-up one card early.
Corey Hochman - 455,000 (15 bb)
Chris Tham - 1,685,000 (56 bb)
Monday, November 20, 2017 12:03 PM Local Time
Cards are in the air on Day 3 of the Main Event with just 12 players remaining.
Monday, November 20, 2017 12:01 PM Local Time
Level: 26
Blinds: 15,000/30,000
Ante: 5,000
Monday, November 20, 2017 11:56 AM Local Time
The stage is set for the final day of action at the WSOP Circuit Planet Hollywood. Although the title of Casino Champion has already been locked up by Arkadiy Tsinis, there's another crown to be handed out today.
The $1,675 Main Event played from 845 entries down to 12 players over the last few days, and they'll return this afternoon to decide a winner.
Thanks to a huge pot late in Day 2, Fernando Galvan carries the chip lead into today's finale. Galvan starts the day with 85 big blinds, but he's not the only one who's deep.
Here's the remaining lineup:
Fernando Galvan - 2,555,000 (85 bb)
Sunny Gandham - 2,055,000 (69 bb)
Christoper Tham - 1,910,000 (64 bb)
Marcin Milde - 1,590,000 (53 bb)
Ali Imsirovic - 1,495,000 (50 bb)
Mark Ioli - 1,420,000 (47 bb)
Bruce Kramer - 1,335,000 (45 bb)
Melanie Banfield - 1,325,000 (44 bb)
Danny Elmore - 1,290,000 (43 bb)
Neil Scott - 1,040,000 (35 bb)
Roger Franco - 615,000 (21 bb)
Corey Hochman - 235,000 (8 bb)
Marcin Milde and Neil Scott each won their first rings here at Planet Hollywood earlier this week, and both are in contention to add another big one this evening.
They and the others are all chasing Galvan, but there's a lot left to be decided. The average stack is close to 50 big blinds, meaning there's plenty of play left at the table.
Everyone left is guaranteed to earn at least $18,924, but they're playing for a huge top prize of $247,160. Cards go in the air at noon.