In a preflop contest, Mike Gorodinsky was all-in with the J♦J♣ from the button and had the most classic of flips. Patrick Leonard in the big blind rolled over the A♦Q♦ but failed to get there on the 5♣3♦2♥2♦J♠ runout, which allowed Gorodinsky to double for 134,000.
Big O
Ray Henson then raised to 20,000 and Leonard three-bet the pot, Henson piled it in and Leonard called all-in for around 105,000.
Patrick Leonard: A♠A♥J♥7♦6♦
Ray Henson: A♦K♠5♥3♣2♣
The A♣4♣4♥ flop gave Leonard aces full but he was not guaranteed to scoop the pot, he could even get scooped as well. The K♣ turn changed nothing yet but the 3♥ river provided the wheel for the chop.
With some 150,000 in the middle to the 10♠8♣4♣Q♦ turn, Jordan Siegel checked out of the big blind. Dustin Dirksen bet 100,000 on the button and then quickly called the shove by Siegel.
Jordan Siegel: J♣9♥
Dustin Dirksen: 8♦8♥
The board completed with the 9♣ and Siegel doubled with his queen-high straight.
Badeucey
After the game variant changed, Larry Tull was all-in and looked up by table chip leader Ryan Goindoo.
They discarded two each before Goindoo then patted the second draw, Tull took one. Another pat by Goindoo followed and so did Tull.
Goindoo tabled the 6♥4♠ / 7♦3♠2♥ for a three-card Badugi and seven-six. Tull had the 8♦ / 7♣6♠4♥3♦ for a Badugi and they chopped.
Larry Tull was all in and at risk in a three-way pot against Kane Kalas and Marco Johnson. Each player drew two.
After the first draw, Kalas check-called a bet from Johnson as he drew two and his opponents each drew one. After the second, draw, Kalas check-called again and each player drew one.
Following the final draw, Kalas checked once more and Johnson fired a final bet. Kalas folded as Johnson revealed 9♣8♥7♣6♦2♠ to win the pot and eliminate Tull, who held 7♠5♦5♥3♥2♦ and paired on the final draw.
Ari Engel had previously won a bigger pot off Zack Freeman while Patrick Leonard got one all-in through but remained very short.
His all-in from the cutoff was then called by Engel and Mike Gorodinsky out of the blinds when the game variant changed.
Engel and Gorodinsky took three cards while Leonard took two. It checked around by the active players, as everyone then discarded two each.
Another round of checks let to the final draw on which Engel took one, Gorodinsky two and Leonard patted. They checked again and Engel tabled the 6x5x3x2xAx, while Gorodinsky briefly showed an inferior hand. Leonard exposed his 9x7x4x3xAx before heading to the payout desk.
"Guess I gonna get some sleep now," he joked on the way out.
Ryan Goindoo opened on the button and Dustin Dirksen three-bet in the small blind. Kane Kalas then four-bet jammed in the big blind for slightly more and Goindoo folded while Dirksen called and stood pat as Kalas drew two.
Dirksen stood pat again after the first draw and Kalas again drew one. Dirksen then stood pat a final time and Kalas again drew one.
Dirksen tabled 9♠5♥4x3♦2♥ and it was good to win the pot as Kalas mucked and left the tournament area.
As Kane Kalas was busting out in 15th place at the next table, Ray Henson became the next player out after getting his short stack in and losing to Mike Gorodinsky.
For his final three-table finish, Henson, who earlier in the level spoke highly of the vibes and atmosphere of the Championship event, takes home $20,425.
The final 13 players have bagged and tagged their chips for the night. They will return to their seats in Paris Purple at 2 p.m. local time to determine a winner. Full counts and a recap of today's action are to follow.
A long day at the tables of the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas and the second Championship Event of the 2023 World Series of Poker is one step closer to crowning a winner. Out of a record-setting field of 130 entries, only 13 players remain in Event #10: $10,000 Dealer's Choice Championship, and they have all already secured a portion of the $1,209,000 prize pool.
Only two days ago, Chad Eveslage won his second WSOP bracelet in Event #5: $1,500 Dealer's Choice (6-Handed) and the mixed game specialist is in the driver's seat to add a third victory to his resume.
A repeat victory in this test of versatility with 20 different poker variants would further cement his status as one of the best mixed game specialists in the poker scene right now, and he would follow in the footsteps of Adam Friedman, who won the title in this very event in three consecutive editions.
Eveslage topped the leaderboard after Day 2 with 1,371,000 in chips and Trinidad's Ryan Goindoo (1,075,000) is the only other player with a seven-figure stack, followed by Marco Johnson (925,000) who sits in third place.
Nine of the thirteen remaining hopefuls already have at least one WSOP gold bracelet to their name, which also applies to Day 1 chip leader John Hennigan (519,000) and last year's runner-up Mike Gorodinsky (496,000).
The third and scheduled final day will recommence at 2 p.m. local time in the Paris Purple section with level 18. Limits in draw and stud games will be 20,000-40,000, and the levels continue to last 90 minutes each until a winner has been crowned.
Event #10: $10,000 Dealer's Choice Championship Day 3 Seat Draw
Table
Seat
Player
Country
Chip Count
142
1
John Hennigan
United States
519,000
142
2
Dutch Boyd
United States
256,000
142
4
Scott Bohlman
United States
113,000
142
5
James Obst
Australia
250,000
142
6
Paul Volpe
United States
340,000
143
1
Dustin Dirksen
United States
442,000
143
3
Jordan Siegel
United States
858,000
143
5
Marco Johnson
United States
925,000
143
6
Ryan Goindoo
Trinidad & Tobago
1,075,000
144
1
Chad Eveslage
United States
1,371,000
144
3
Zack Freeman
United States
388,000
144
4
Ari Engel
United States
767,000
144
5
Mike Gorodinsky
United States
496,000
Mike Gorodinsky
Defending champion Ben Diebold was among the 58 returning players and the field was boosted by another 16 late entrants, which surpassed the previous best attendance of 123 entries of the 2022 edition. However, Diebold bowed out in the first level to see his bid for a repeat victory come to an early end.
Daniel Negreanu and 16-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth were just two of many notables who failed to reach the money stages on a day that spanned more than 13 hours from start to finish. They were joined on the rail by Bryce Yockey, Erik Seidel, Brian Rast, Jeremy Ausmus, Frank Kassela, and Scott Seiver.
Instead, it was Ben Yu who was eliminated on the bubble, and the casualties in the final two levels then whittled the field of hopefuls to all but the last 13. Eveslage navigated his way to the top of the leaderboard on the final stages and will certainly be full of confidence after his recent victory.
The PokerNews live reporting team will be back as of 2 p.m. local time on Monday, June 5, 2023, when the hunt for the coveted WSOP gold bracelet is reaching its climax once more.
