Antonio Esfandiari enters Day 4 of WSOP Main Event with top-10 stack
Construction on the area surrounding the featured tables of the World Series of Poker’s Main Event has been going for the past two days.
They better hurry, because a star is ready to perform.
Professional poker player Antonio Esfandiari charged up the chip counts in the $10,000 buy-in No-limit Texas Hold ’em World Championship and will be in seventh place when play resumes Friday afternoon at the Rio Convention Center with Day 4.
Esfandiari bagged up 1.381 million chips and, a year after Daniel Negreanu carried much of the television coverage, expect the gregarious Las Vegas resident to do the same.
Esfandiari’s trademark showmanship started late Thursday as he tried to make a prop bet that would force a journalist to wear the same dress shirt in public for the next year.
Belgian Kenny Hallaert, who made a deep run in last year’s Main Event, is the overall leader with 1.709 million. Jared Bleznick, a professional poker player from New York, sits in second place (1.607 million) with Duy Ho of Honolulu in third (1.48 million).
Kilian Kramer (1.4 million) of Vienna, and Mark Zullo (1.39 million) of Seville, Ohio, round out the top five.
All of the 800 remaining players are in the money as the bubble burst shortly after midnight and are guaranteed a minimum of $16,007.
Defending Main Event champion Joe McKeehen was eliminated Thursday, but a handful of former winners remain in contention led by 2004 champion Greg Raymer (732,000) and two-time winner Johnny Chan (588,000). Ryan Riess (270,000), the 2013 winner, and 1983 champion Tom McEvoy (202,000) also made the money.
Several top professionals also are looking to make deep runs including: Shaun Deeb (1.266 million), Steve O’Dwyer (1.172 million), Ray Dehkharghani (1.184 million), Tom Marchese (1.135 million), Melanie Weisner (1.083 million), Andrew Lichtenberger (598,000), Mike Gorodinsky (483,000) and Jason Somerville (431,000).
FOREVER BLOWING BUBBLES — Adam Furgatch earned the dubious distinction of Main Event “Bubble Boy” as he was sent to the rail one spot shy of the money.
“I was going to go out, more than likely, in a few minutes anyway,” said Furgatch, an investor residing in Hawaii. “So, the experience of being the bubble boy, wow!”
Furgatch was down to one big blind and pushed in his remaining 6,000 chips with queen-nine just as tournament officials were preparing for hand-for-hand play. George Zisimopoulos, one of the chip leaders, called with ace-seven, and Furgatch was unable to improve.
“I could have folded, but I figured I had better equity with queen-nine suited than a random hand,” Furgatch said.
Furgatch finished 387th in his first Main Event last year and cashed in three WSOP events this summer. He was awarded a free entry to the 2017 Main Event as the 1,012th-place finisher.
‘MAN UP, PH’ — More than 1,300 players were eliminated during play on Day 3. Only one threw his phone across the Brasilia Room.
Phil Hellmuth went out well before the money, stacked by WSOP Circuit ring winner Sara Hall of Cleveland who held pocket jacks against Hellmuth’s ace-jack.
Prior to being knocked out, Hellmuth made his standard declaration of war on his table and, at one point, heaved his phone after losing a hand to 2011 Main Event runner-up Martin Staszko.
CHIP COUNTS
1, Kenny Hallaert (Hansbeke, Belgium) 1,709,000
2, Jared Bleznick (New York) 1,607,000
3, Duy Ho (Honolulu) 1,480,000
4, Kilian Kramer (Vienna) 1,400,000
5, Mark Zullo (Seville, Ohio) 1,390,000
6, Myung Mike Shin (Milwaukee) 1,385,000
7, Antonio Esfandiari (Las Vegas) 1,381,000
8, Nolan King (Boynton Beach, Florida) 1,355,000
9, Jasthi Kumar (San Ramon, California) 1,351,000
10, Marc-Andre Ladouceur (Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Quebec) 1,302,000
