John Esposito opened from under the gun to 400,000 and Carmino Argiero called the big blind.
They saw the 7♠4♥5♦ flop and Argiero checked and Esposito moved all in for his remaining 2,700,000 stack, putting himself at risk. Argiero made a swift call and flipped over his hand.
John Esposito: A♦8♦
Carmino Argiero: 6♥3♥
Argiero's flopped straight held on the K♣, 8♣ runout and Esposito was eliminated in 7th place.
Ramana Epparla opened to 350,000 from middle position, and was called by both Ron West in the cutoff and big blind Carmino Argiero.
On a flop of 9♠2♥Q♣ both Argiero and Epparla checked, leaving West to bet out for 450,000. Epparla was his only caller. The turn 5♠ checked through, before Epparla bet 600,000 into the middle. He was quickly met with a raise, as West made it 1,875,000, putting Epparla into the blender. Eventually, he put in the call, and tabled Q♠K♠, however it was no good, as West had went runner-runner to hit a wheel, with A♣3♣ to chip up majorly.
After losing a huge pot, Ramana Epparla shoved his remaining 1,550,000 into the middle from under the gun. David Baker flatted from middle position, and when action got round to Chuanshu Chen in the small blind, he had a real decision on his hands. After three minutes of tanking, he made the fold.
Ramana Epparla: 8♠8♥
David Baker: 10♦10♥
Epparla couldn't watch, and left the tournament area as his fate was sealed by the K♥4♦A♣2♥A♥.
Chen revealed that he had made a big laydown with pocket sevens.
Ron West opened from under the gun to 425,000 and Carmino Argiero three-bet to 1,500,000. Chuanshu Chen four-bet to 3,500,000 and got a quick fold from West but Argiero was sent into the tank.
Argiero found a fold after around 2 minutes, and the rail said "you had one queen at least". Chen showed A♣7♦.
Argiero and Chen went heads-up again in the next hand. Argiero opened the button to 375,000 and Chen three-bet to 1,200,000. Argiero made another fold, but this time he showed K♦K♣.
Chuanshu Chen raised up to 400,000 under the gun, and received a call from both blinds: David Baker and Carmino Argiero respectively.
On a 3♦J♥9♠ flop, Baker and Argiero both checked, before Chen put out a continuation bet for 450,000, which was only called by Baker. The 3♥ turn checked through, allowing the Q♥ river to come in. Here, Chen bet massive, for 1,800,000. Baker thought through his options, before sliding in a mountain of chips, which added up to 4,500,000.
Chen took a long time to come to a decision, and was clearly in a very tough spot. After a good three minutes of tanking, he eventually folded, with the Q♠ face up. Baker was kind enough to let him know that it was a great fold, as he showed 9♥7♥ for the backdoor flush.
More than 12 hours ago, 47 players took their seats to start Day 3 in Event #40: $5,000 Seniors High Roller No-Limit Hold'em, but that number has been whittled down to just four, who will be returning tomorrow to battle it out for the bracelet. With play originally intended to end with a winner, multiple players still had stacks in front of them after ten levels, meaning the competition will go to an unplanned Day 4.
The title of chip leader belongs to David "ODB" Baker, who is sitting on an impressive 13,600,000, good for 54 big blinds. Baker won a huge pot towards the end of the night against Chuanshu Chen, further solidifying his lead. Just behind him is Chen himself (12,200,000), who has been in and out of the chip lead all evening, only losing it for good late on.
Final Four Seating and Chip Counts
Seat
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
David "ODB" Baker
United States
13,600,000
54
2
Carmino Argiero
United States
9,900,000
40
3
Chuanshu Chen
China
12,200,000
49
4
Ron West
United States
4,450,000
18
Ronald West
Ron West will come into Day 4 last in chips, despite an extremely solid performance throughout Day 3. His massive win in a pot against Chen helped him make a few pay jumps, and he'll hope to make a few more by carrying on his strong run through to the final day on the felt.
John Esposito was in the hunt to become a two-time WSOP champion; however, he was unable to double his bracelet tally, busting in seventh and just missing out on a six-figure score. Only one bracelet winner remains with chips going into the final day, making this a great opportunity for a new face to get their hands on some hardware. Another big name to exit on Day 3 was David Stamm, who took a horrible beat right after play got down to two tables.
Baker is looking to take down his fourth WSOP title, as well as to gain some much-needed points for his 25K Fantasy team, “Team Australia,” who currently sit second-to-last on the leaderboard. Due to his chip lead, his three opponents will need to put in a stellar performance if they fancy taking the crown away from him. Said remaining players have locked up a career-high score, with underdog Carmino Argiero already having tripled his total live earnings with this one score. Still, they surely will have their eyes on the top prize of $646,845.
Carmino Argiero
The four remaining players have been asked to return to Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas at noon, June 15. The players are currently guaranteed a minimum of $215,095, a number that will increase with each elimination.
Remaining Payouts
Place
Prize
1
$646,845
2
$431,173
3
$302,208
4
$215,095
Stay tuned as PokerNews brings you the best of the action from the final four players as they battle it out to determine a winner on Day 4.
