$5,300 The Return ($3,000,000 Guaranteed)
Day 3 Completed
The Return - A Borgata Championship Event
$5,300 The Return ($3,000,000 Guaranteed)
Day: 3
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 3
The Return - A Borgata Championship Event
Buy-in
$5,300
Prize Pool
$5,538,700
Entries
1,142
Level
34
Blinds
200,000 / 400,000
Ante
400,000
Entries
53
Players Left
8
McKeehen Far Out In Front of Final Eight After Incredible Day 3 of the $5,300 The Return
Level 28
: Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Day 3 of $5,300 The Return in the Borgata was one to remember as 53 players played all the way down to 8 over the span of 15 hours. The day was prime entertainment as it included some of the most interesting hands, characters and stakes that any poker fan would want to see deep in a major event.
Ending the day as the chip leader of the remaining eight was Joe McKeehen with 12.385,000. McKeehen is, of course, one of poker’s more well-known names and he looked poised to make the final table throughout the day as he was always among the chip leaders and took even more control as the final table approached. Despite a couple of late bumps in the road, he ended the day bombastically with a classic aces over kings cooler to take overwhelming chip lead.
Second in chips to end the night was Jonathan Borenstein with 6,900,000 who stayed steady throughout the day before exploding just prior to the final table, to take the big chip lead as the final nine congregated onto one table.
Justin Saliba was third in chips to end the night as he bagged 5,730,000. It took some work for him to get to that mark as he was a short stack much of the day. He was nearly out the door with two tables left just before dinner when his queens ran into aces, but an unlikely straight on the board gave him a chop to throw him a lifeline. He was the short stack with nine remaining. But two doubles in a short time launched him up the counts where he would eventually end in third.
Christopher Ng (4,640,000) made a big call in one of the final hands of the night against McKeehen to move himself up the counts and into fourth.
Bin Weng started the day as the huge chip leader but he was never able to find much upward traction on the day as he hovered around the same chip amount for hours which allowed others to catch up. But nevertheless, he was able to coast into the final table without much drama as the fifth biggest stack with 4,440,000.
Sam Laskowitz (2,170,000), Sundiata Devore (1,985,000) and Lanny Vaysman (1,755,000) rounded out the final eight to end the night. All three had large stacks at one point, especially Vaysman who was the chip leader in the middle part of the day.
Final Table
| Seat | Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lanny Vaysman | 1,755,000 | 18 |
| 2 | Justin Saliba | 5,730,000 | 57 |
| 3 | Joe McKeehen | 12,385,000 | 124 |
| 5 | Sundiata Devore | 1,985,000 | 20 |
| 6 | Sam Laskowitz | 2,170,000 | 22 |
| 7 | Jonathan Borenstein | 6,900,000 | 69 |
| 8 | Bin Weng | 4,400,000 | 44 |
| 9 | Christopher Ng | 4,640,000 | 46 |
--
The day started with 53 and eliminations came at a steady clip. There were several memorable characters throughout the day which made things entertaining, including Howard Feingold who went out in 19th place after he was the center of the room’s attention many times with his big personality.
Another was Frank Pasquale who bowed out in eleventh place and ultimately Grant Lang who was very talkative late in the night as he enjoyed what he said was his first poker playing experience since 2015. He would become the victim of the aforementioned cooler against McKeehen and was the last elimination of the night in ninth place.
Several other players notable players to come up short in their attempt to make Day 4 included; Frank Funaro (46th),Dan Zack (44th) and Aubrey Williams (13th).
Play will resume with the final eight, on Sunday at 2 p.m. local time with 30 minutes remaining in Level 28, meaning that there is still plenty of play in the stacks.
There will be a live stream of the final table which will begin at 2:30 local time.
Stay tuned as PokerNews will bring you home with the coverage tomorrow on a delay, in congruence with the stream coverage.
End of Day 3 Chip Counts
Level 28
: Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
12,385,000 | |
|
6,900,000 | -400,000 |
|
5,730,000 | 480,000 |
|
4,640,000 | -480,000 |
|
4,440,000 | 1,140,000 |
|
2,170,000 | -40,000 |
|
1,985,000 | -2,215,000 |
|
1,755,000 | -1,245,000 |
Grant Lang Eliminated in 9th Place ($101,635)
Level 28
: Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Grant Lang opened under the gun, Joe McKeehen was in the big blind and a series of raises got the chips all in between two close-to-even stacks.
Grant Lang: 
Joe McKeehen: 
It was Lang's worst nightmare as he was suddenly seeing his seemingly secure passage to tomorrow flashing before his eyes.
The flop came 
. The turn was the 
and the river came the 
to end the talkative Lang's night in an abrupt manner after he had built his stack back up into contention.
Meanwhile, McKeehen became the overwhelming chip leader.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
12,385,000 | 6,685,000 |
|
Busted |
Ng Calls McKeehen's Bluff With Pocket Pair
Level 28
: Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Three players went to a flop of 
. From early position, Joe McKeehen bet 120,000. Christopher Ng raised to 440,000 and Lanny Vaysman folded the big blind. McKeehen called.
The turn was the 
. Ng led for 325,000. McKeehen called.
The river came the 
to bring in three spades. McKeehen jammed all in to force Ng to make a decision for his tournament life.
"If this is how I go... I don't get it." said Ng who appeared to be a bit aggravated and he called after just a few seconds.
McKeehen tabled nothing with the 
while Ng had a pair with the 
which was good to gather the huge double.
Ng continued to talk it out as the table sat in silence, seemingly a bit in shock of what they just saw.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
5,700,000 | -3,000,000 |
|
|
5,120,000 | 2,170,000 |
Aces Over Queens Keeps Saliba Moving Up
Level 28
: Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Justin Saliba was all in again but this time in a more favorable position.
Justin Saliba:
Sam Laskowitz: 
There would be no brutal beat for Saliba as the board ran out tamely 
and he doubled again to move his stack to above average.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
5,250,000 | 3,010,000 |
|
|
2,210,000 | -3,570,000 |
Big Stacks Battle
Level 28
: Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Jonathan Borenstein opened to 200,000 from middle position. Joe McKeehen called in the small blind.
The flop came 
. McKeehen check-called Borenstein's 200,000 bet. The turn was the . Both players checked.
The river was the 
. McKeehen led for 750,000 which garnered a gold from Borenstein.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
8,700,000 | 1,550,000 |
|
|
7,300,000 | -100,000 |
Saliba Survives
Level 28
: Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Jonathan Borenstein raised to 260,000 from the hijack. Justin Saliba jammed out of the big blind for 1,120,000 and Borenstein called.
Justin Saliba: 
Jonathan Borenstein: 
The flop came down 
to send Saliba ahead. The turn was the 
to eliminate the six of diamonds as an out for Borenstein who was now looking for a one-outer, but the river was the 
to keep Saliba alive.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
7,400,000 | -1,350,000 |
|
|
2,240,000 | 990,000 |
Lang Finds Ace to Crack Kings
Level 28
: Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Joe McKeehen raised from the small blind, Grant Lang jammed from the big blind and McKeehen could not call any quicker.
Grant Lang: 
Joe McKeehen:
The flop came 
as Lang called for an ace. He found one on the turn when the came off. The river was the to secure his double up much to the chagrin of the rest of the table who were all wanting the 42% pay jump, especially short stack Justin Saliba who leaned back and put his hands to his head in frustration.
"I tried Justin, I tried so hard" said McKeehen as he watched his chips go to his left.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
7,150,000 | -2,500,000 |
|
|
5,150,000 | 2,620,000 |
|
|
1,250,000 | -360,000 |
Level: 28
Blinds: 50,000/100,000
Ante: 100,000