$3,500 Main Event
Day 3 Started
2023 BetMGM Poker Championship
$3,500 Main Event
Day: 3
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 3
2023 BetMGM Poker Championship
Buy-in
$3,500
Prize Pool
$3,283,200
Entries
1,026
Level
33
Blinds
200,000 / 400,000
Ante
400,000
Entries
56
Players Left
7
Day 3 Seat Draw
| Table | Seat | Player Name | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Ben Palmer | 750,000 | 38 |
| 1 | 2 | Ivan Galinec | 820,000 | 41 |
| 1 | 3 | John McMurry | 1,005,000 | 50 |
| 1 | 4 | Peter Turmezey | 700,000 | 35 |
| 1 | 5 | Fiodor Martino | 300,000 | 15 |
| 1 | 6 | Mark Babekov | 410,000 | 21 |
| 1 | 7 | Danny DeJesus | 585,000 | 29 |
| 1 | 8 | Leo Taffe | 1,075,000 | 54 |
| 2 | 1 | Fabrice Bigot | 625,000 | 31 |
| 2 | 2 | Benjamin Sai | 790,000 | 40 |
| 2 | 3 | Dan Naponse | 660,000 | 33 |
| 2 | 4 | Stephen Song | 460,000 | 23 |
| 2 | 5 | Chi Jen Chu | 285,000 | 14 |
| 2 | 6 | Joshua Boulton | 1,650,000 | 83 |
| 2 | 7 | Mo Zhou | 1,120,000 | 56 |
| 2 | 8 | Jonathan Pastore | 870,000 | 44 |
| 3 | 1 | Bradley Hinson | 1,650,000 | 83 |
| 3 | 2 | Johann Ibanez | 1,080,000 | 54 |
| 3 | 3 | Sundiata DeVore | 255,000 | 13 |
| 3 | 4 | Anatoly Nikitin | 1,605,000 | 80 |
| 3 | 5 | Fernando Garcia | 1,135,000 | 57 |
| 3 | 6 | Adrian Buckley | 345,000 | 17 |
| 3 | 7 | Yong Kwon | 305,000 | 15 |
| 3 | 8 | Erfan Geula | 1,025,000 | 51 |
| 4 | 1 | Jeremy Ausmus | 185,000 | 9 |
| 4 | 2 | Mario Navarro | 760,000 | 38 |
| 4 | 3 | Nick Yunis | 345,000 | 17 |
| 4 | 4 | Nadya Magnus | 1,000,000 | 50 |
| 4 | 5 | Clemen Deng | 800,000 | 40 |
| 4 | 6 | Jeffrey Stellwagon | 625,000 | 31 |
| 4 | 7 | Ran Koller | 500,000 | 25 |
| 4 | 8 | Michael Stashin | 1,570,000 | 79 |
| 5 | 1 | Kenny Deffrasnes | 215,000 | 11 |
| 5 | 2 | Anuj Agarwal | 870,000 | 44 |
| 5 | 3 | Elias Garney | 420,000 | 21 |
| 5 | 4 | Thomas Eychenne | 375,000 | 19 |
| 5 | 5 | Dong Chen | 700,000 | 35 |
| 5 | 6 | Mark Dickstein | 585,000 | 29 |
| 5 | 7 | David Stamm | 1,145,000 | 57 |
| 5 | 8 | Paul Gunness | 1,245,000 | 62 |
| 6 | 1 | Jamey McKay | 405,000 | 20 |
| 6 | 2 | Mike Vanier | 1,840,000 | 92 |
| 6 | 3 | Yilu Yuan | 560,000 | 28 |
| 6 | 4 | Brian Hastings | 500,000 | 25 |
| 6 | 5 | Ronald Sullivan | 255,000 | 13 |
| 6 | 6 | Jun Hao Wu | 230,000 | 12 |
| 6 | 7 | Melanie Pittard | 465,000 | 23 |
| 6 | 8 | Martin Jacobson | 175,000 | 9 |
| 7 | 1 | Pablo Mariz | 545,000 | 27 |
| 7 | 2 | Kevin Berthelsen | 710,000 | 36 |
| 7 | 3 | Nolan King | 910,000 | 46 |
| 7 | 4 | Matthew Lambrecht | 230,000 | 12 |
| 7 | 5 | Mark Dube | 865,000 | 43 |
| 7 | 6 | Justin Young | 1,200,000 | 60 |
| 7 | 7 | Emanuele Gugliuzza | 405,000 | 20 |
| 7 | 8 | Brett Bassock | 630,000 | 32 |
Mike Vanier Leads Pack into Day 3 at PokerGO Studio
Another day of action from the BetMGM Poker Championship is set to begin at 1 p.m. PT inside the fabulous PokerGO Studio at the Aria Resort and Casino.
The plan today is to whittle the field of 56 down to the seven-handed official final table. Sitting in prime position to make it there is Mike Vanier (1,840,000) who surged into the chip lead during the last level of play on Day 2. The Nebraskan native has notched nearly $1,500,000 in recorded live tournament earnings, mostly helped by his $595,000 payday following his runner-up finish in the 2022 $5,000 Venetian Deepstack.
Tied for second with 1,650,000 chips are Joshua Boulton and Bradley Hinson and following close behind them is Anatoly Nikitin with 1,605,000.
Day 3 Restart Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Name | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MIke Vanier | United States | 1,840,000 | 92 |
| 2 | Joshua Bolton | United Kingdom | 1,650,000 | 83 |
| 3 | Bradley Hinson | United States | 1,650,000 | 83 |
| 4 | Anatoly Nikitin | Russia | 1,605,000 | 80 |
| 5 | Michael Stashin | United States | 1,570,000 | 79 |
| 6 | Paul Gunness | United States | 1,245,000 | 62 |
| 7 | Justin Young | United States | 1,200,000 | 60 |
| 8 | David Stamm | United States | 1,145,000 | 57 |
| 9 | Fernando Garcia | Spain | 1,135,000 | 57 |
| 10 | Mo Zhou | China | 1,120,000 | 56 |
Other notables still in the field include 2014 WSOP Main Event Champ Martin Jacobson, Jeremy Ausmus, Stephen Song, Brian Hastings, and Nadya Magnus.
BetMGM Poker had 104 qualifiers for the tournament, with 94 taking advantage of the opportunity. However, just four remain on Day 3. Dan Naponse (660,000), Elias Garney (420,000), Danny DeJesus and Yong Kwon (305,000) were all able to enter the event for a fraction of the price and are still in the running for a big score!
The players returning for Day 3 have all locked up $10,244 but all eyes will be on the $560,442 that waits for the eventual winner.
Play resumes on Level 20, with blinds set at 10,000/20,000/20,000. Levels continue to be 60 minutes in duration and there will be a 15-minute player break every two levels.
As always, be sure to be on the lookout for all PokerNews updates to keep up with all of the action!
Level: 20
Blinds: 10,000/20,000
Ante: 20,000
Shuffle Up and Deal!
Level 20
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
The players have been situated at their tables in the PokerGO Studio and the dealers have begun their pitch to start Day 3 of the BetMGM Main Event!
Its GO time! Day 3 @PokerGO studios with 3 of our qualifiers still in the running. Mike Vanier starting the day off… https://t.co/pEABZYkCkG
— BetMGM Poker (@BetMGMPoker)
Ausmus Doubles on First Hand
Level 20
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Short Stack Jeremy Ausmus jammed for 185,000 from the hijack and was called by Nadya Magnus.
Jeremy Ausmus: A♦10♥
Nadya Magnus: K♥Q♥
Ausmus was delighted to see he was ahead and he scooped in the double-up after pairing his ace on the 6♥7♠8♦A♠K♦ runout.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
815,000
-185,000
|
-185,000 |
|
410,000
225,000
|
225,000 |
|
||
Nikitin's Four-Bet Gets Through
Level 20
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Erfan Geula opened to 40,000 from under the gun before Johann Ibanez made it 125,000 from middle position. Anatoly Nikitin put in the four-bet to 300,000 from the cutoff which folded out Geula.
Ibanez went into the tank and used up a time bank card before returning his cards to the dealer.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,850,000
245,000
|
245,000 |
|
955,000
-125,000
|
-125,000 |
|
950,000
-75,000
|
-75,000 |
Chen Four-Bets to Take it
Level 20
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Dong Chen opened to 40,000 from the hijack but was then three-bet to 105,000 by larger stack David Stamm on the button.
Action folded back to Chen and he thought for a second before he put in the four-bet to 245,000 and the pressure was back on Stamm.
After using a time bank, Stamm decided to let it go and the pot was awarded to Chen.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,060,000
-85,000
|
-85,000 |
|
750,000
50,000
|
50,000 |
|
||
Magnus Sends Navarro Out
Level 20
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Mario Navarro opened to 40,000 from the cutoff before Nadya Magnus three-bet to 125,000 from the small blind. Navarro called.
Magnus check-called for 65,000 9♣8♠7♠ flop after Navarro fired out a bet.
Magnus checked the 4♣ turn and Navarro jammed for 550,000. Magnus went into some deep thought and used a time bank before making the call.
Mario Navarro: A♠5♠
Nadya Magnus: A♥9♠
Magnus had called correctly with her top pair but would need to dodge Navarro's flush and straight outs. The J♦ river was a brick and Magnus sealed her first elimination of the day.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,640,000
825,000
|
825,000 |
|
Busted | |
|
|
||
|
Busted | |
|
||
|
Busted | |
|
Busted | |
|
||
|
Busted | |
Wu Sees Triple, Makes Double
Level 20
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
After a raise and re-raise, Jun Hao Wu moved all in preflop for 180,000 and Yilu Yuan made the call to put him at risk.
Jun Hao Wu: A♣J♣
Yilu Yuan: 10♠9♠
Wu was a favorite going into the battle, and the flop of J♥3♥J♠ certainly put him at ease as he flopped trip jacks. The turn 5♥ left Yuan drawing dead and the 9♣ on the river secured Wu's win for the double-up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
540,000
-20,000
|
-20,000 |
|
410,000
180,000
|
180,000 |