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World Series of Poker Main Event down to final 3 players

Scott Blumstein owns a massive chip lead entering the final day of the World Series of Poker Main Event.

Blumstein, a 25-year-old professional poker player from Morristown, New Jersey, will have more than 60 percent of the chips in play when action resumes at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at the Rio Convention Center with three players remaining.

Daniel Ott of Altoona, Pennsylvania, is second in chips, followed by France’s Benjamin Pollak.

The final table of the $10,000 buy-in No-limit Texas Hold ’em World Championship will be broadcast by ESPN on a 30-minute delay beginning at 6 p.m.

The three remaining players are guaranteed a minimum of $3.5 million, with $8.15 million up top to the winner.

Blumstein saw his chip stack slowly dwindle on Friday before he won a stunning pot against France’s Antoine Saout.

Blumstein shoved all-in on the river with a straight, and Saout called off his entire stack with three jacks to hit the rail in fifth place. Saout had doubled up twice earlier in the day to move into contention.

Blumstein opens play with 226.45 million chips.

“I lost a flip, I played a hand badly, I lost a few chips here and there,” Blumstein told WSOP.com. “The beauty of this tournament is that the structure is so good. The majority of the time, when I had a misstep, I was able to keep a level head and keep playing poker. A lot of the game is mental and I’m in a good mental state.”

Ott was the biggest mover on Friday and begins with 88.375 million chips.

Ott, 25, entered Friday in fifth place with seven players remaining, but he was responsible for eliminating Damian Salas (seventh place) and Bryan Piccioli (sixth place) to rocket up the leaderboard.

“It’s just unreal,” Ott said. “I didn’t expect to make it anywhere near this far.”

Pollak is looking to become the first French-born player to win the Main Event. (Saout was third in 2009, the best finish by a player from France.)

Pollak saw his chip stack cut in half after starting play Friday in second place. But he eliminated fan favorite John Hesp of England on the final hand late Friday and starts the final day with 45.85 million chips.

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.

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