Robert Mizrachi, Michael Martinelli, and Ryutaro Suzuki Go Into Overtime in Event #13: $10,000 Dealer's Choice Championship

What started as a large crowd anticipating two poker legends contending for the bracelet on Day 3 of Event #13: $10,000 Dealer’s Choice Championship turned into a raucous, fun-loving, grind-it-out battle between a jovial amateur, a young Japanese mixed-game master, and a veteran pro who had been here so many times before.

Robert Mizrachi, Michael Martinelli, and Ryutaro Suzuki couldn’t settle the champion by the time play was halted on Day 3 and will return tomorrow at 2 p.m. local time for an unscheduled Day 4 to play down to a winner. Mizrachi bagged the chip lead with 3,620,000 as he chases the fifth WSOP bracelet that would tie him with his brother. Martinelli, with just one previous WSOP cash on his resume, is in second place with 3,290,000, while 2023 bracelet winner Suzuki ended up with 1,555,000.

Day 3 Chip Counts

Rank	Player	Country	Chip Count	Big Bets
1	Robert Mizrachi	United States	3,620,000	23
2	Michael Martinelli	United States	3,290,000	21
3	Ryutaro Suzuki	Japan	1,555,000	10

Day 3 began with 11 players remaining out of a starting field of 141. All eyes at the start of the day were firmly on Phil Ivey and Daniel Negreanu, sharing a table on the main feature stage inside the Horseshoe Event Center and attracting a crowd to match their legendary status. But it ended up being a short day for both of them. Ivey busted early in a hand of Stud 8 as Max Kruse and Martinelli chopped up his chips, sending Ivey to the rail in 11th place.

Ben Lamb and Suzuki eliminated Negreanu in 10th as they chopped a Stud Hi-Lo Regular pot. Kruse then ran into Suzuki’s 8-5 in 2-7 Triple Draw as the German soccer star finished in ninth place, while Venkata “Sandy” Tayi was eliminated on the final table bubble when Richard Bai scooped a Big O pot.

Suzuki led at the start of the seven-handed final table. George Alexander, chip leader after Day 1, was the first out after making a 9-7 in 2-7 Single Draw, but Bai made an 8-7 to eliminate him in seventh.

It took nearly five hours for the next player to be eliminated. Martinelli could’ve been the one when he moved all in blind for 400,000 in Pot-Limit 2-7 Triple Draw, but he ended up making an 8-7 against David Bach’s jack to double up. Finally, Mizrachi scooped a Badeucy pot to send out Bai in sixth.

Bach couldn’t recover from losing that pot to Martinelli, and it would be Martinelli who dealt the final, fatal blow in Stud Hi-Lo Regular. Martinelli also eliminated Lamb when an ace on seventh street gave him a scoop.

With the clock approaching 1 a.m. and play still three-handed, the decision was made to play until the end of Level 23 if heads up was not reached by then. The players then decided to have a little fun, letting everyone from the rail, the dealer, and even Mizrachi’s brother choose the games. Mizrachi won a massive pot off Suzuki with two eights in a hand of No-Limit Hold’em, then won another big pot in No-Limit 2-7 Single Draw with a 9-8-7 to take control of the chip lead going into the impromptu Day 4.

Final Table Results and Remaining Payouts

Place	Player	Country	Earnings
1			$333,045
2			$215,848
3			$144,431
4	Ben Lamb	United States	$99,885
5	David Bach	United States	$71,476
6	Richard Bai	United States	$52,985

The three remaining players are already guaranteed $144,431 for making it this far. Tomorrow's winner will take home $333,045, the gold bracelet, and the prestige that comes with conquering such a star-studded field and proving their proficiency in all forms of poker.

PokerNews returns tomorrow to provide all the live updates until a new champion is crowned.