On Wednesday, the Season XV WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open $3,500 Championship played down to 34 players and well into the money. Finishing atop those 34 and best positioned to capture the $892,433 first-place prize was Charles Coates with a stack of 3.371 million in chips.
“Well, I just made some pretty good reads and didn’t let people push me around, and I just got lucky, you know?” Coates told the WPT after play. “Hands stood up, that’s pretty much it.”
Coates hails from North Carolina and boasts $78,139 in career live tournament earnings entering this event, according to the Hendon Mob poker database. He is making his first World Poker Tour cash and looking to improve upon his career-best score of $21,417. Coates has been on a little bit of a hot streak at the Season XV WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open series, having finished in the money in the first two events of the series.
One hand that did hold up for Coates when in Level 22 with the blinds at 8,000/16,000 with a 2,000 ante. That’s when Coates took out Daniel Wellborn in 51st place thanks to his pocket kings holding strong against the 
of Wellborn. Wellborn flopped a pair of fives on the 
board, but that was all he could muster against Coates.
Joining Coates in advancing to Day 4 was WPT Championship Club members Tony Ruberto (1.528 million), Olivier Busquet (1 million), Anthony Gregg (635,000), and Asher Conniff (406,000).
Here’s a look at the top 10 to finish out Day 3.
1. Charles Coates – 3,371,000 (140 bb)
2. Blake Bohn – 3,024,000 (126 bb)
3. Nathan Bjerno – 2,892,000 (121 bb)
4. Jia Liu – 2,561,000 (107 bb)
5. Adnan Mohammad – 2,325,000 (97 bb)
6. Richard Foster – 2,100,000 (88 bb)
7. Casey Yontz – 1,776,000 (74 bb)
8. Tony Ruberto – 1,528,000 (64 bb)
9. Bart Dowling – 1,400,000 (58 bb)
10. Jiqiang Tong – 1,365,000 (57 bb)
Busquet, who won his WPT title at Borgata when he topped a field of 1,018 entries in the Season VIII WPT Borgata Poker Open $3,500 Championship for $925,514, was short-stacked towards the end of Day 3, but surged to finish with an even 1 million in chips and land himself in 14th position heading to Day 4.
In the last level of the night, with the blinds at 10,000/20,000 with a 3,000 ante in Level 23, Busquet was all in from the hijack seat for 616,000 with the 
. Ryan Smith was his opponent holding the 
, and the 
board kept Busquet’s rockets best to give him the double up.
Smith would go on to finish the day as the shortest stack remaining with 399,000 in chips.
Also still remaining in the field were David Stefanski (907,000), Daniel Weinman (864,000), Shaun Deeb (700,000), and Day 2 chip leader Jack Duong.
When the day began, 168 players from the record-breaking 1,312-entry field remained. Only the top 130 were set to reach the money, and it was Mark Scacewater falling as the tournament’s “bubble boy” in 131st place. He was short and all in with the 
against the 
of Farhad Jamasi. Jamasi flopped two pair to take the lead in the hand and held from there on the 
runout.
Following Scacewater’s elimination, the line at the payout desk grew with players were had busted in the money. Notables to finish with a cash included Mike Dentale (40th – $13,607), John Racener (46th – $11,927), Matt Glantz (49th – $11,927), Loni Harwood (50th – $11,927), WPT Champions Club members Kevin Eyster (55th – $10,289) and Eric Afriat (98th – $7,098), and Michael Rocco (129th – $6,678).
Day 4 of the Season XV WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open will begin Thursday at 12 p.m. ET. Continued coverage can be found right here on WPT.com as the field plays down to the six-handed WPT final table.