Official Day 3 Chip Counts

Level 30: 100,000-200,000, 30,000 ante

The official chip counts have been released, and here are the surviving 58 players. Day 4 begins tomorrow at 12:30 pm PT. Our earlier count of the field missed Brian Taylor, who survives with 192,000. Also, Ray Henson was eliminated on the last hand in 59th place. 1. Kyle Burnside - 781,000 2. Phil Ivey - 656,000 3. Jennifer Tilly - 569,000 4. David Singer - 561,000 5. Yury Parad - 560,000 6. Mike Hamparsomian - 499,000 7. Theo Tran - 470,000 8. Scott Montgomery - 454,000 9. Daniel Fuhs - 444,000 10. Michael Watson - 393,000 11. Lance Allred - 370,000 12. Jeff Schwimmer - 346,000 13. Svetlana Gromenkova - 292,000 14. Alan Goehring - 284,000 15. Neil Ho - 282,000 16. Charles Moore - 280,000 17. Pete de Best - 279,000 18. Mike Carson - 270,000 19. Colin Wickersheim - 266,000 20. Wei Kai Chang - 264,000 21. Paul Smith - 259,000 22. George Panagakis - 248,000 23. Matt Brady - 243,000 24. Andrew Robl - 241,000 25. Wayne Chang - 219,000 26. Scott Wilson - 213,000 27. Shawn Buchanan - 211,000 28. Michael Kamran - 211,000 29. Brian Taylor - 192,000 30. Hassan Kamoei - 189,000 31. Nam Le - 180,000 32. Keith Tilston - 162,000 33. Blair Hinkle - 155,000 34. Michael Hudson - 155,000 35. David Stroj - 150,000 36. Toto Leonidas - 146,000 37. Hoan Ly - 140,000 38. Aaron Been - 127,000 39. Quinn Do - 125,000 40. Henh Thong - 121,000 41. Tom West - 119,000 42. Thomas Berg - 115,000 43. Noah Schwartz - 111,000 44. Phil Hellmuth - 100,000 45. Brian McCann - 94,000 46. Michael Katz - 92,000 47. Eric Hershler - 90,000 48. Thu Nguyen - 87,000 49. Avdo Djokovic - 80,000 50. Mickey "Mouse" Mills - 72,000 51. Jack Boghossian - 70,000 52. Tim Sweeton - 63,000 53. James Lee - 51,000 54. Mike Wattel - 46,000 55. Jeff Chotikul - 44,000 56. Bob Stupak - 36,000 57. Benjamin Zamani - 36,000 58. Rick Barstow - 22,000 There may be a couple of misspellings in this list; sometimes the handwriting on the chip bags is hard to read. If we spelled your name wrong, just stop by the media table and let us know. Return to WorldPokerTour.com tomorrow at 12:30 pm for Day 4 action, complete with live updates, chip counts, photos, and video interviews with Kimberly Lansing.

Day 3 Recap

Level 30: 100,000-200,000, 30,000 ante

Satellite Winners Desperate To Cash Slow Down the Action The money bubble at a World Poker Tour tournament is more often than not, a harrowing and stressful experience. The fear of playing for days and leaving with nothing can turn even the most seasoned professional into a passive nit, opting to limp into the money before turning the aggression back on. Monday night at the 2008 L.A. Poker Classic, the desperation to finish in the money hit an all-time high, as player after player took turns stalling, often unapologetically. Things started out well enough, the 136 remaining players were quickly whittled down over the first four levels to a more manageable field of 68. Then, with only 63 spots being paid, things began to get a little frustrating. Over at table 7, a player only known as “Bobby” began to get himself into some difficult situations, often taking over five minutes to act on his hand. The table kept their composure for most of it, trying to convince themselves that he may have had a tough decision to mull over. Eventually, after the fourth consecutive five-minute decision, Theo Tran began to boil over and the floor was called. We still had four more bustouts before hand-for-hand play was scheduled to begin, but now a decision needed to be made. Mike Carson, one table over, then took it upon himself to also stall, claiming it was unfair for his table to see more hands than the others. This upset David Singer, who was undoubtedly looking to take advantage of the bubble. After another table began to stall, the tournament director made the decision to start hand-for-hand play early, hoping to alleviate any tension and quell the blatant stalling. Things failed to settle down, however, as Phil Hellmuth got into a loud altercation with another player at his table. According to the other players, Hellmuth had been abused with bluffs over and over again, and he was also about to boil over. He finally exploded out of his chair when a louder player at his table gloated with the rail after hitting a straight on the river. His opponent offered a mock-truce and a handshake, but Hellmuth declined until play was finished. During this time, players still continued to play extraordinarily slow despite the change in structure. After Antonio Esfandiari had busted in 65th place, Theo Tran began to raise at will, picking up roughly 50 percent of the hands played at his table. At one point, it was folded around to Tran in the small blind and he stated, “I will take a blue button dealer,” referencing the blue all-in buttons given to the players in all-in situations. His opponent in the big blind was none other than “Bobby,” who was still sitting there with six chips to his name. He stared “Bobby” down, and then said, “I haven’t even looked at my cards yet.” Nonetheless, “Bobby” folded and Tran squeezed out his 5-2 offsuit. Ironically, “Bobby” became the bubble boy when he decided to call all-in after Aaron Been raised preflop with Q-5 offsuit. That’s right; he waited for more than two hours, folding premium hands, only to finally get all his chips in the middle with Q-5 offsuit - Poetic justice indeed. After the bubble had burst, the players were given the remaining 20 minutes in the last level of the night to trim the field a bit. When the dust settled, 58 players were left standing, all still in the hunt for the nearly $1.6 million first-place prize. Here are the players who busted in the money just before the day ended earning $22,020: 63. Stephen Ladowsky 62. Joe Schulman 61. Humberto Brenes 60. Marcel Sabaag 59. Ray Henson Here are the top 10 players and their chip counts: 1. Kyle Burnside – 781,000 2. Phil Ivey – 656,000 3. Jennifer Tilly – 569,000 4. David Singer – 561,000 5. Yury Parad – 560,000 6. Mike Hamparsomian – 499,000 7. Theo Tran – 470,000 8. Scott Montgomery – 454,000 9. Daniel Fuhs – 444,000 10. Mike “Sirwatts” Watson – 393,000 Play will resume tomorrow at 12:30 P.M. PST and continue until either 27 or 18 players remain.

Blue Diamond Almonds Bold Player of the Day

Level 30: 100,000-200,000, 30,000 ante

Ray Henson Eliminated in 59th Place ($22,020)

Level 30: 100,000-200,000, 30,000 ante

Ray Henson busted out of the tournament in 59th place, and he will take home $22,020 in prize money.

Michael Sabaag Eliminated in 60th Place ($22,020)

Level 30: 100,000-200,000, 30,000 ante

David Singer has Michael Sabaag covered all in and their cards are as follows: Singer: K10 Sabaag: 8-7 Board: KJ573 Sabaag is eliminated in 60th place, and he will take home $22,020 in prize money.

Humberto Brenes Eliminated in 61st Place ($22,020)

Level 30: 100,000-200,000, 30,000 ante

Humberto Brenes raises all in for 26,000 and seat 9 moves all in behind him for 180,000. Seat 2 also reraises all in for 425,000. The three players then turn up their hands: Brenes: A10 Seat 9: KK Seat 2: AK Board: 5438Q Brenes is eliminated in 61st place on the hand, and he will take home $22,020 in prize money.

Done and Done

Level 30: 100,000-200,000, 30,000 ante

Play has ended for the night. The players are bagging and tagging their chips. Stay tuned for the official chip counts and a recap of the day's action.

Joe Schulman Eliminated in 62nd Place ($22,020)

Level 30: 100,000-200,000, 30,000 ante

Joe Schulman is eliminated in 62nd place and will take home $22,020.

Stephen Ladowsky Eliminated in 63rd Place ($22,020)

Level 30: 100,000-200,000, 30,000 ante

Stephen Ladowsky is eliminated in 63rd Place and will receive $22,020.

Poetic Justice - The Bubble Bursts

Level 30: 100,000-200,000, 30,000 ante

Aaron Been moves all in and the infamous player in seat 5 decides to make his final stand. He makes the all-in call for his final 18,000, and flips over Q5. Been shows down 55 and the board hits the table K10746. And so, the player who was responsible for the early institution of hand-for-hand play is the bubble boy.