We've hit some new milestones midway through Day 3 play of this year's Main Event. We're done with the Pavilion Room, the black 100 chips are about to get raced out of play, and, by the end of the next level, the field will be down to triple digits. With over 700 players already out the door today, things have changed quite a bit from the start of Day 3. Here are the major things you should know, including who is on top, who is out the door, and what is going on with Phil Ivey:
1. We’ve got just one Poker Players Champions left in the field after the exits of Matthew Ashton and David Bach. On the other hand, John Hennigan, started the day near the top of the counts and is still in more than sufficient shape, heading to dinner with around 280,000 chips.
2. After a roller coaster of a day where he was under 40,000 chips, NBA star Paul Pierce hasn't just climbed back, he's moved above average and into 200,000-chip territory after a big hand where Pierce turned a set. The other celebs aren't faring quite as well. Actor Kevin Pollak exited early in the day, though NASCAR driver Jason White is still alive and kicking with around an average stack.
3. Last year, we had three past WSOP Main Event winners cash (Carlos Mortensen, Greg Merson, and Doyle Brunson). This year, we’ll be lucky to have three past winners make it to the end of Day 3. After beginning play with five, Roberty Varkonyi and Johnny Chan exited early, followed shortly thereafter by reigning champ Ryan Riess, leaving only Huckleberry Seed, and Chris Moneymaker still in at the dinner break.
4. While most of the players in Amazon were here vying for the Main Event title, four notable names took to the Amazon Main Stage to film a segment for the ESPN coverage called "The World Series of Side Action. In order to know exactly what Mike Matusow, Phil Hellmuth, Phil Laak, and Jean-Robert Bellande were up to though, you're going to have to wait until TV later this summer. We do have a little sneak peek though:
5. With around 1,100 players left, we are down to just five sections left in use across the Rio Convention Center. Orange, Purple, and Tan in Amazon are still full, while Brasilia is down to just Silver and Gold. By day’s end, every player should be in Amazon as well as pretty close to the 693-player money bubble.
6. Isaac Baron’s spent the better part of six hours as chip leader thanks to a huge run of big hands like the one in which he KOed both Andrew Lichtenberger and a third player. He has been alone at the top for the majority of the day, but given how the chips are consolidating, don’t be surprised if after dinner someone else is the first player to crack seven-figure territory.
7. He already banked seven figures once this summer, so what is to stop our reigning Millionaire Maker Champ Jonathan Dimmig from doing it again? The Buffalo, NY native has spent most of his tournament above average so far and is still in good shape with around 175,000.
8. The Poker Hall of Famers had one final hope to prove this event isn’t exclusively for the young’uns of the game, but eight-time bracelet winner Erik Seidel recently hit the rail, leaving no HOFers still in the running. While the actual members are out, we do have a couple of nominees for the honor still in the running, including John Juanda, Huck Seed, and Humberto Brenes.
9. He may not be atop the chip counts anymore, but don't forget about Phil Ivey who, with 375,000, is still the top performing November Niner in the field today. While he is down from the half-million chips where he began today, he is still well above average and in good shape to potentially put together another run to the final table.
10. Here is a glance at the unofficial top ten chip counts heading into dinner break:
1. Isaac Baron - 857,000
2. Raul Mestre - 790,000
3. Steve Tripp - 755,000
4. Tom Roupe - 750,000
5. Timur Margolin - 712,000
6. Steve Chanthabouasy - 658,000
7. Martin Jacobson - 650,000
8. Tyler Witteman - 645,000
9. Ryan Hall - 602,000
10. Andoni Larrabesanchez - 600,000