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Event #57, $10,000 Main Event, End of Day 3 ReportWorld Championship Day Three Headlines
The Main Event ContinuesThe 2009 WSOP Main Event continued with the conclusion of Day 3. This day marked the first time that this year’s Main Event brought all the surviving players together at the Rio on the same day. Since there were two “Day Twos” and four “Day Ones,” no more than about half the total field has been at the Rio, until this time. Day 3 began with 2,044 players. The day ended with 789 survivors. Players are expected to reach the prize money sometime on Day 4, which is played tomorrow (Saturday). Only the top 648 finishers will collect prize money. Note: Last year, players reached the money at the end of Day 3. However, due to larger starting stack sizes this year, eliminations have taken longer. The payout point is likely to be reached approximately two levels later than last year. Players are currently 141 spots from the money. The day began with WSOP President and Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack introducing “Captain” Tom Franklin to the capacity crowd of players and spectators. Franklin, a highly-respected poker pro and player-rights advocate thanked Harrah’s Entertainment and the entire WSOP staff for “working so hard to make this as smooth as possible.” Franklin then began play by announcing “Let’s get this party started!” and continued with the customary “Shuffle-Up and Deal” pronouncement. This is the 44th day of the WSOP. Play continues for five more days, plus the finale to be played in November. Tomorrow (Saturday) begins at noon and is expected to include five levels of play. Any player dealt four jacks in this year’s Main Event receives a special prize from Jack Link’s Beef Jerky valued at $100. So far, 34 packages have been given away (through seven completed days). Play on Day 3 began on July 10, 2009 at 12:10 pm. Play on Day 3Defending champion Peter Eastgate remains very much alive in the 2009 Main Event. Incredibly, he was down to just 8,000 in chips late on Day 2 but went on a fortuitous rush during the final hour and ended up with about an average-sized stack (110,000). On Day 3, he remained consistent and finished the day with an average-sized stack. It should be noted that Eastgate had an average stack at the completion of Day 3 last year, and went on to win the championship. Former world champions who continued play on Day 3 included – Bobby "the Owl" Baldwin (1978), Phil Hellmuth (1989), Dan Harrington (1995), Chris “Jesus” Ferguson (2000), Greg “Fossilman” Raymer (2004), Joe Hachem (2005), and Peter Eastgate (2008). Raymer was eliminated, while the other champions all survived. The ESPN feature table included two of Australia’s most successful poker pros – 2005 world champion Joe Hachem and four-time WSOP gold bracelet winner Jeffrey Lisandro. With Ville Wahlbeck’s elimination on this day, Jeffrey Lisandro officially locked up the 2009 WSOP “Player of the Year” title. When the decision became known, Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack took the microphone and approached Lisandro, who was playing at the ESPN feature table. He announced Lisandro’s achievement, which received a nice round of applause. All of Lisandro’s opponents at the table also offered handshakes and congratulatory remarks. However, Lisandro was eliminated late in the day. The first player to reach the million-chip mark was Owen Crowe, from Halifax, NS (Canada). He hit the milestone about mid-way through level 14, which occurred at about 9:15 pm. However, he slipped back below the figure during the final hour of play in Day 3. Moments after Crowe reached a million in chips, Bertrand Grospellier, originally from Nancy, France hit the 1.2 million mark and seized the chip lead (Note: He currently resides in London, UK). He ended the day with a sizable advantage over the remainder of the field. Players competed for five complete levels. Play ended after Level 14. When play resumes tomorrow at Level 15, blinds will be 2,000-4,000 with a 500 ante. The average stack size is 240,519. Day 3 started with a field of 2,044 players and ended with 789 survivors. This means only about 12.2 percent of the original 6,494 starters survived past the third day. At the end of the day, black 100-denomination chips were raced off. This means the lowest-denomination chip at the start of Day 4 will be 500. Players who survived Day 3 will return to continue their quest for the 2009 world poker championship gold bracelet and $8.5 million in prize money on July 11h, starting at noon. Play on Day 3 ended at 12:55 pm. Day 3 Chip Leader (Bertrand Grospellier)The current chip leader is Bertrand Grospellier, a.k.a. “ElkY,” who is originally from Nancy, France. Grospellier has also lived in Korea. He presently calls London, England his home. However, given his intense travel schedule playing in poker tournaments around the world, Grospellier’s real home is spent in luxury hotels and at poker tables. Grospellier is a master gamesman. Prior to focusing full-time on poker, he was one of the world’s top computer game players. He lived in Korea for six years, where he mastered the video and computer game circuit, winning many top prizes. Grospellier already has accrued nearly $6 million in worldwide poker tournament winnings, all within the past four years. His major titles include two wins at the 2008 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure and the 2008 Festa Al Lago Championship. He also finished fourth in the NBC Heads-Up World Championship held earlier this year. Grospellier has yet to break through at the WSOP. He has eight cashes, all since 2006. Grospellier’s best showing was ninth place in a No-Limit Hold’em event two years ago. Quotes (Bertrand Grospellier):ABOUT DAY 3: “It was a very good day. The beginning was pretty slow. Then, I began to get good hands and I picked my spots pretty well.” “I got good hands and people tried to push me off hands when I would flop sets, so it was pretty good timing. Anyone that was weak and trying to stay alive, I tried to push around but that’s about it.” ABOUT PLAYING AGAINST PHIL IVEY PART OF THE DAY: “Ivey is probably the best player in the world. I respect his game very much. I’m gonna’ play my hands, if I have good hands but I was not going out of my way to get involved with Ivey. There were so many other weaker players left, so I went after them.” “There are ten days in the Main Event. There is so much time to wait for opponents to make mistakes. That’s why I love the Main Event. In this event you have plenty of time to play your hands, and pick your spots well.” ABOUT NOT PERFORMING WELL IN EARLIER WSOP EVENTS: “The early events have a faster structure than the Main Event, which did not give me enough time to pick my spots well. I cannot play the game that I want.” ON EXPECTATIONS: “It seems like a very, very long way to go. I just hope that I keep playing well, and that cards keep coming my way, so that I can make a good showing.” Special thanks for Alan Fowler, WSOP Assistant Media Director, for the Bertrand Grospellier interview. The highest-ranked former WSOP gold bracelet winner after Day 3 is Kenny Tran, from Arcadia, CA. Tran is now ranked 20th, with 666,500 in chips. Here is how the previous end-of-day chip leaders have fared: Day 1-A: Redmond Lee (London, UK) – eliminated, did not cash An Interview with Actor Lou Diamond PhillipsLou Diamond Phillips is perhaps the best-known celebrity still alive in the 2009 WSOP Main Event. The popular film, television, and stage actor first became known more than 20 years ago for his portrayal of rocker Ritchie Valens in La Bamba. Since then, Phillips has starred in several popular movies, and has won awards for his work on Broadway. He has also directed films. Phillips will return to Hollywood following this year’s WSOP to star in the television series, Stargate Universe. Phillips was interviewed moments after play ended on Day 3 of the Main Event. He ended the day in 171st place, with 359,500 in chips. Question: When did you start playing poker? Players to WatchHere is the current status of all former WSOP world champions who played in this year’s Main Event. Six former champions remain still alive:
Here is the current status of all current and former WSOP “Player of the Year” champions who played in this year’s Main Event:
Here is the current status of those players with notable results from this year’s WSOP:
Here is the current status of notable non-pro celebrities from this year’s Main Event:
Historical Footnote: The highest Main Event finish for a (non-poker) celebrity was actor Telly Savalas, who finished 21st in the 1992 championship. Here is the current status of last year’s “November Nine” (2009 Main Event Final Table participants):
The Top-10 chip leaders going into Day 4 are:
Of the remaining players who are still alive going into Day 4, 270 are international (non-American) players. This represents 34 percent of the field. Nations still in contention include:
Putting Day Three into PerspectiveIn 2008, at the conclusion of Day 3, the eventual champion Peter Eastgate was ranked in 386th place, which was in the middle of the pack. In 2008, none of the top ten ranked players at the conclusion of Day 3 made it to the final table. In 2007, at the conclusion of Day 3, the eventual champion Jerry Yang was ranked in 46th place. In 2007, at the conclusion of Day 3, five of the nine players who made it to the final table were ranked in top 20 (Alex Kravchenko, Hevad Khan, Tuan Lam, Lee Watkinson, and Raymond Rahme). In 2006, at the conclusion of Day 3, the eventual champion Jamie Gold was ranked in 35th place. In 2006, none of the top ten ranked players at the conclusion of Day 3 made it to the final table. Based on WSOP figures during the mega-era (2006 to present when the Main Event went to a 10+ day format), the previous results of Day 3 chip leaders ended up as follows:
Daily elimination percentages are as follows: DAY ONE: 68 percent of the original starters in this tournament survived the first day / 32 percent were eliminated. Female Participants in the 2009 Main Event(Note: The WSOP recognizes that player characteristics such as gender, race, etc. do not warrant special mention. However, since many members of the media wish to know details about female participation and status, the staff is providing this information for media use.) The number of female participants in this year's Main Event is estimated to be 187, which amounts to 2.8 percent of the field. There is no official record since entrants are not designated by their gender. However, it has been customary to count every player at the start of Day One and take an unofficial head-count of female players. An estimated eight female players remain alive in the Main Event at the conclusion of Day 3 (precise number is not known, this is an estiamte). This list includes:
Here are the highest-female finishers (by year) in the WSOP Main Event (Note: Only players who finished in-the-money were recorded): No female cashed in the Main Event between the years 1970-1985.
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