Benjamin Zamani Busts Peter Neff (27th) and Jesse Sylvia (26th)

Level 21: 6,000-12,000, 2,000 ante

Jesse Sylvia moves all in under the gun for about 130,000, and Peter Neff calls all in from middle position for 12,000. Benjamin Zamani calls from the hijack.

Here are their cards in descending order of chip counts:

Benjamin Zamani:  AK
Jesse Sylvia:  QJ
Peter Neff:  A9

The board comes A85A4, and Zamani wins the entire pot with trip aces to bust Neff in 27th place and Sylvia in 26th place.

Benjamin Zamani  -  1,060,000  (88 bb)
Jesse Sylvia  -  Out in 26th Place  ($34,250)
Peter Neff  -  Out in 27th Place  ($34,250)

Chipleaders Past & Present; Plus Phil, Will, & Zoltan

Level 17: 2,500-5,000, 500 ante

Peter Neff (right) started the day as the chipleader, but lost a huge pot against Derek Gregory about halfway thru the day to lose his grip on the lead. Since that time, Jeremy Ausmus (left) has risen to the top of the counts with nearly 900,000 in chips.



Carlos Mortensen doesn't have a ton of chips, but his above-average stack gave him enough to design an interesting stack, which is a rather simple structure compared to his high standards.



ClubWPT qualifier Zoltan Kovacs (right) earned his entry into this event by winning a satellite on ClubWPT.com. Even though Kovacs busted yesterday, he stopped by to check out the Day 3 tournament action, and got to take a photo with two of his favorite players -- Phil Hellmuth (left) and Will Failla.

(No, Will Failla isn't actually that short; he was goofing around and bending his knees to highlight how tall Hellmuth and Kovacs are.)



WPT reporter Jeanine Deeb interviews Sam Razavi on the break.

Derek Gregory Doubles Thru Peter Neff to Take the Chip Lead in a 15+ Minute Hand

Level 14: 1,200-2,400, 400 ante

This was the last hand of the previous level, though it effectively extended thru the break and into this level.

Joe Tehan raises from the cutoff to 4,500, Derek Gregory (left) reraises from the button to 15,000, and chipleader Peter Neff (right) cold-four-bets it from the big blind to 38,500. Tehan folds, and Gregory thinks for a bit before he calls.

The flop comes 1063, Neff checks, Gregory bets 40,000, and Neff moves all in for about 300,000. Gregory has a little less than 110,000 left behind, and he goes into the tank for a long, long time.

Neff moved all in about the same time that the level ended, and most of the players in the area clear out for the break, leaving just Gregory and Neff. Gregory is visibly conflicted, repeatedly calling it a possible cooler situation. Meanwhile, Neff remains silent and motionless, not responding to any of Gregory's comments.

About halfway into the break, Gregory says, "I'm glad this is a break, because I'm gonna need some time!" He then says he thinks he's been coolered, and adds, to nobody in particular, "Every damn tournament this happens, man!"

After 10 minutes in the tank, Neff brings his hands up in front of his mouth, but otherwise remains motionless. Gregory looks up at the clock to see that there are fewer than five minutes left in the break, and he says, "I'm sorry you're missing your break, but I'm not gonna let you go, man." (Neff, of course, has the option of calling for a clock, but he remains silent and motionless.)

Gregory stands up and says, "This is about to be one of the biggest coolers." He looks like he might call, but he sits back down.

After more than 12 minutes in the tank, players start returning, and gather around to sweat the action. A pretty good-sized crowd develops, as Gregory mutters to himself, "Too much invested. Too much invested."

Finally, with about a minute left in the break (nearly 15 minutes in the tank), Gregory calls and shows QQ for an overpair. Neff quietly turns over 88 for a lower pair with some backdoor draws.

Gregory stands up and says, "C'mon, baby!" The dealer puts out the 9 on the turn, giving Neff a gutshot straight draw. But the 2 on the river misses Neff, and Gregory shouts "Whoo!" as he wins the pot to double up in chips.

Derek Gregory  -  381,800  (159 bb)
Peter Neff  -  156,000  (65 bb)

After the hand, Tehan points out that he folded ace-five of hearts, and if he hadn't been raised out of the pot, he might have gone broke over-extending a flopped flush draw.

Dethroned Chipleader Galen Hall

Level 13: 1,000-2,000, 300 ante

Galen Hall had the chip lead at the last break, and gave his thoughts to the WPT tournament from the table.

Hall has since slipped a bit (he's currently sixth in chips with about 270,000), and last night's chipleader Peter Neff has regained the top spot with about 375,000.

ClubWPT Player of the Day - Peter Neff

Level 11: 600-1,200, 200 ante

Josh Hale Eliminated by Peter Neff

Level 11: 600-1,200, 200 ante

Legends of Poker Champion Josh Hale is all in for about 33,000 with AQ against the AK of Peter Neff. The board runs out K43JQ as Neff improves to the nut flush to score the elimination.

Peter Neff - 293,000 (244 bb)