Ryan Shinevare open-shoved a stack of 370,000 from the hijack and Noel Rodriguez called out of the big blind.
Ryan Shinevare:
Noel Rodriguez:
The flop came to give Shinevare a massive lead with two pair, though the on the turn gave Rodriguez some hope. The peeled off on the river to give Rodriguez a better two pair as those at the table gasped in disbelief.
"Oh geez!" reacted Zachary Donovan as Shinevare hit the rail in 11th place.
Benji Felson opened to 80,000 in middle position and Albert Nguyen three-bet jammed a stack of 360,000 from the cutoff. Felson called when the action folded back around.
Albert Nguyen:
Benji Felson:
Nguyen couldn't improve against the aces of Felson as the board ran out and he was eliminated in ninth place after starting the day with the chip lead.
Benji Felson opened to 80,000 from middle position before Zachary Donovan jammed from the big blind. Felson, with 775,000, called off for his tournament life.
"How do you have aces again?" asked Donovan, as he saw his opponent table his cards.
Benji Felson:
Zachary Donovan:
The aces were never threatened and Felson scooped after the runout.
Donovan then shipped in his stack in back-to-back hands, he received no action but was able to reclaim back some lost chips.
Zachary Donovan raised to 400,000 from the button with just a few chips behind. Joey Weissman three-bet shoved from the big blind and Donovan called it off.
Zachary Donovan:
Joey Weissman:
"F*** off!" Donovan cried when he saw he was dominated. "What can't you have ace-ten?"
The flop of all but sealed it for Weissman as he paired his ace and the board finished out to confirm Donovan's elimination in seventh place.
Day 3 has ended and the remaining six players will return tomorrow at noon PST to finish out the final table. Stay tuned for a recap of the day's action.
Day 3 has wrapped in the 2022 BetMGM Poker Championship $3,500 Main Event in the PokerGO Studio at ARIA Resort and Casino with six players remaining after seven hours of play. Joey Weissman leads the way with a stack of 5,185,000 after eliminating Zachary Donovan to end the day.
Close on the tail of Weissman, a World Series of Poker bracelet winner who is looking to add to his $4.1 million in career earnings, is fellow bracelet winner Michael Wang, who bagged second in chips with a stack of 4,210,000. Wang doubled through another bracelet winner, Paul Hoefer, late in the day to leave Hoefer playing the short stack with 600,000.
Other players to survive the day include Noel Rodriguez (3,850,000), Joe Kuether (2,020,000) and BetMGM Poker qualifier Benji Felson (1,405,000).
BetMGM Poker Championship Main Event Final Table Chip Counts
SEAT
PLAYER
CHIP COUNT
1
Michael Wang
4,210,000
2
Paul Hoefer
600,000
3
Joe Kuether
2,020,000
4
Joey Weissman
5,185,000
5
Noel Rodriguez
3,850,000
6
Benji Felson
1,405,000
Day 3 of the BetMGM Poker Championship Main Event began with 26 players and quickly dwindled down to two tables within the first two hours. Some of the players to make early exits include Ankush Mandavia (25th - $8,781), Gediminas Uselis (23rd - $10,208) and Michael Gathy (22nd - $10,208).
Isaac Kempton had over a million in chips with two tables left but was sent out in 18th place when he ran a big river bluff with six-high and was looked up by the second pair of Weissman in a hand that accelerated Weissman's chip lead.
Albert Nguyen was the first to go at the nine-handed final table when he ran his pocket nines into the pocket aces of Felson and couldn't improve. Next out was Todd Ivens, who fell in eighth when his pocket eights couldn't hold against the ace-queen of Kuether.
Day 4 action will pick up at 3 p.m. PST in the PokerGO Studio. The six-handed final table will be streamed beginning at 4 p.m. and PokerNews will report on alongside the stream as to avoid any spoilers. The day will play down to a winner, who will take home the top prize of $224,236 in addition to the glamorous golden trophy.
PokerNews will be back tomorrow for continued coverage of the inaugural BetMGM Poker Championship Main Event.