This week, the World Series of Poker Main Event took center stage on ESPN on Tuesday night. As ESPN poker commentator Lon McEachern trumpeted to open the show, "The WSOP Main Event is back!" This time around, 6,598 players, the fifth largest turnout in Main Event history, took to the felts at the Rio and ESPN joined the action on Day 3 with fewer than 2,000 left. French phenom Gaelle Baumann (pictured) began the day as the chip leader, while longtime PocketFives member Shaun shaundeeb Deeb stood in third.The feature table housed PokerStars pro Daniel Negreanu, with Matt Woodward planted to his left. At the secondary feature table, Antonio Esfandiari, who was seated alongside poker announcer David Tuchman, scooped a pot of 100,000 in chips with a flopped set against a turned two pair. Esfandiari was fresh off banking $18 million in the Big One for One Drop and becoming tournament poker's all-time money leader.
Vanessa Selbst, who captured bracelet #2 during the 2012 WSOP, raised to 150,000 on a board of 7-2-6-5-5 with two spades holding A-7 and an opponent with J-10 of spades for a jack-high flush released his hand. Then, Negreanu lost out to a runner-runner straight after flopping a set of aces, dropping a 229,000-chip pot and one-third of his stack.
Back at the secondary feature table, Tuchman scooped a pot worth 200,000 in chips after flopping a straight and dodging a flush draw to become the group's new chip leader. Elsewhere in the Amazon Room, 2011 November Niner Ben Benba Lamb (pictured) delivered a double TKO with aces against players with fours and fives. Both of his opponents were less than 1% to win after Lamb flopped a boat and were drawing dead by the turn.Last year's Main Event winner, Pius Heinz, hit the deck on Day 3 after running sixes into aces, ensuring we wouldn't see a back-to-back champion of the $10,000 buy-in poker tournament. Then, Esfandiari, armed with A-10, busted a player with K-Q to scoop a 58,000-chip pot. ESPN announcer Norman Chad queried, "When was the last time Esfandiari missed a flop?" Good question.
To start the second one-hour episode, Chad read through the leaderboard, joking, "Two women in the top 10, plus Shaun Deeb, who once dressed as a woman, unfortunately, to play in the Ladies Event. The times are a changing."
The second one-hour episode featured an online poker fan's dream feature table, which included Lamb, Chris moorman1 Moorman (pictured, who was celebrating his 27th birthday), Ben Bttech86 Tollerene, and PocketFives Training instructor David GhettoFabolous Randall. The latter drew a number of comparisons to decorated PocketFiver Jason treysfull21 Mercier due to his appearance and demeanor.Moorman won a pot worth 52,000 in chips after coming out on the right side of a race with tens against K-Q. Then, Jason JCarver Somerville lost out to Eric basebaldy Baldwin in a battle of PocketFives bracelet winners after his nine-high flush could not trump Baldwin's ten-high flush.
At another table, Erick Lindgren dragged a pot worth 72,000 in chips with a straight against aces-up.
As the action continued on Day 3 of the 2012 WSOP Main Event, Maria Ho, the 2007 Last Woman Standing, doubled up courtesy of Matt berkey11 Berkey after flopping a set of tens against top pair, top kicker. Back at the secondary feature table, Esfandiari (pictured) picked up a huge pot with trip queens after an opponent over-shoved on the river after making aces-up. The setback led his foe to curse up a storm and Esfandiari continued his strong Main Event run.Hoyt Corkins was cast away after an opponent hit a straight on the river. Another poker pro heading to the door was PokerStars' Eugene Katchalov, who busted with queens against Big Slick. Katchalov recorded five cashes during the 2012 WSOP.
In the final major hand of the night, Moorman doubled up an opponent. He held top pair, top kicker against an opponent's top set after the latter didn't raise pre-flop with pocket kings in a four-way pot. The hand cost the United Kingdom poker community member one-fifth of his stack and the credits rolled with two more hours of Day 3 coverage still to come.
Halfway through Day 3, the top ten players on the leaderboard were all American. Next Tuesday, Day 3 continues at 8:00pm ET on ESPN.
