Who Will Make the First Ever BetMGM Poker Championship Final Table?
Another day of action from the BetMGM Poker Championship is set to begin at 12 p.m. PT inside the the fabulous PokerGO Studio at the Aria Resort and Casino.
The plan today is to whittle the field of 26 down to the six-handed official final table. In pole position to make it there is Albert Nguyen. The Canadian has notched nearly $700,000 in recorded live tournament earnings, mostly helped by his $550,959 payday following his runner-up finish in the 2021 $3,500 Wynn Fall Classic Championship.
Second in chips is WSOP bracelet winner Paul Hoefer. The German poker player took down the The Little One for One Drop at the 2015 World Series of Poker for $645,969.
Hot on Hoefer's heels is arguably the biggest name left in the tournament, Jake Daniels. With just shy of $2.8 million total live earnings, the High Stakes Poker player will be sure one of the favourites to go the distance.
Other notables still in the field include Joey Weissman, Michael Wang, Isaac Kempton and Michael Gathy.
BetMGM Poker sent 68 qualifiers into the tournament but just four remain. Steve Bayyouk, Ryan Shinevare, Angel Lopez and Benji Felson were all able to enter the event for a fraction of the price. Felson came close to elimination yesterday but won a coin flip against Shankar Pillai to stay alive. Bayyouk leads the pack of qualifiers but begins the day in the lower half of the chip counts.
The players returning for Day 3 have all locked up $8,781, with the money hitting five-figures from 24 players onwards. However, all eyes will be on the $224,236 that waits for the eventual winner.
Play resumes on Level 19, with blinds set at 10,000/15,000/15,000. Levels continue to be 60-minutes in duration and there will be a 15-minute player break every two levels.
Top Ten Chip Counts Heading into Day 3
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Albert Nguyen | Canada | 1,745,000 | 116 |
| 2 | Paul Hoefer | Germany | 1,190,000 | 79 |
| 3 | Jake Daniels | United States | 1,100,000 | 73 |
| 4 | Shankar Pillai | United States | 1,080,000 | 72 |
| 5 | William McCracken | United States | 990,000 | 66 |
| 6 | David Eldridge | United States | 950,000 | 63 |
| 7 | Kevin Rabichow | United States | 910,000 | 61 |
| 8 | Todd Ivens | United States | 900,000 | 60 |
| 9 | Isaac Kempton | United States | 890,000 | 59 |
| 10 | Michael Wang | United States | 795,000 | 53 |
Be sure to keep it locked in with PokerNews to find out what happens on the penultimate day of this Championship event.
. William McCracken checked in the big blind before Shankar Pillai bet 70,000 into a pot of 225,000 from the button, McCracken then raised to 205,000 and was called. 
river, McCracken fired for 350,000 and Pillai made a quick call. 
for a flopped flush, Pillai smiled before showing his 
to show he had done the same. 
flop but Hoefer's pair of nines were still best. They held out to secure knockout follwing the 
turn and 
flop with Jake Daniels commenting that it was a more than avergae board for both hands. Unfortunately for BetMGM Poker qualifier Lopez, he could not improve and was eliminated after the 
and couldn't hit a pair after getting called by Michael Wang with 
. Pillai held 
completed board. Steve Bayyouk moved all in for 130,000 from the big blind and was snap-called by Kevin Rabichow from under the gun. 
for a rivered ace-high flush.
was of no help to Charette but the 
river wasn't one of them, and Charette became the latest Day 3 casualty.
, which was good for a jack-high straight. 