One hundred and sixty-seven players returned to the Commerce Casino for Day 3 of the LA Poker Classic Main Event with the 63-person money bubble a possible goal for the day. As the money approached, some big names headed to the rail, including defending champ Phil Ivey. At the end of the day newcomer Kofi Farkye led all runners, with Mike Sowers and Donald D'Auria close behind.
Liz Lieu was another notable player to find the exit on Day 3. With les than 100,000 in chips remaining, Lieu got it all in holding
against an opponent's 
. The 
on the turn sent Lieu to the rail early. Other Day 3 eliminations included Yevgeniy Timoshenko, who lost a huge hand to Donald D'Auria late in the day to exit just short of the money. D'Auria led out for a big bet on a board of 
, only to see Timoshenko move all in over the top for an additional 100,000. D'Auria called with 
, and saw that he only needed to fade a ten when Timoshenko tabled 
. The 
came on the river instead, and Timoshenko was done.
Antonio Esfandiari started Day 3 with the chip lead, but saw his chips disappear throughout the day. He started the final level of the night on one of the short stacks, and when he picked up A-K after a raise and a re-raise in front of him, Esfandiari moved all in over the top. Mike Sowers went into the tank before eventually making the call with A-Q. The flop missed both players, but a queen on the turn meant that Esfandiari's fall was complete. He finished in 65th place, two spots short of the money.
When Patrick Stemper put the last of his chips into the pot from the small blind, David Daneshgar watched his action closely from a nearby table. Daneshgar was all in for the ante, and the bubble was perilously close to busting. Stemper's
was not good enough to stay alive against his opponent's 
on a 
board, so the bubble was officially burst. All that remained was for Daneshgar to see if he would survive to play Day 4 or bust and share 63rd-place money with Stemper. With Daneshgar's pittance in the main pot, Nenad Medic and Dan Lu saw a flop of 
. The two live players checked the flop, and Medic fired a bet at the 
turn. Lu called to see the 
come on the river, and both players checked. Lu tabled 
for ace high, good enough for the side pot, but Daneshgar opened 
for trip threes and the main pot. Not only did he lock up at least 63rd-place money, Daneshgar octupled his ante by dragging the main pot and secured his seat for Day 4.
With the bubble burst, the surviving 63 players bagged their chips as Day 3 was complete. Chris Ferguson doubled up just before the end of the day and Kofi Farkye extended his chip lead through aggressive bubble play. Farkye put on a clinic in big-stack poker through much of Day 3 with his wild and unexpected style, and will return on Day 4 as the chip leader in what remains a very tough field. The overnight chip leaders:
Kofi Farkye -- 837,500
Mike Sowers -- 741,500
Donald D'Auria -- 666,500
Jeremy Kottler -- 574,500
Chris Karagulleyan -- 543,000
Dan O'Brien -- 534,500
Anthony Venturini -- 508,000
Dan Lu -- 507,500
Chris Ferguson -- 468,500
Matt Woodward -- 420,000
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