Welcome back to the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino and the 2017 World Series of Poker for Day 3 of Event #51: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship.
Monday saw 207 players take to the felt to play this inaugural PLO8 Championship, and now just 15 players remain all eyeing the coveted gold WSOP bracelet and $511,147 first prize.
On Tuesday, players headed to the rail at a rapid rate. Ben Lamb was the last out before the cash, with Fabrice Soulier (32nd), Scott Clements (30th), Tommy Chen (25th), Dan Zack (24th), David "ODB" Baker (22nd), Dario Sammartino (21st), Phil Hui (20th), Ari Engel (17th) and John Monnette (16th) all busting to make the money before play concluded.
Leading those 15 players is Josh Arieh, who bagged the chip lead with a massive 1,695,000, giving him a wide lead over second-place Bruce Yamron who collected 1,040,000. Most famous for his third-place finish in the WSOP Main Event in 2004, Arieh already has two bracelets. He took down a $3,000 Limit Hold'em in 1999 and a $2,000 Pot-Limit Omaha in 2005. He's in prime position for his third after bagging more than 15 percent of the total chips in play.
Ray Henson sits atop the the WSOP Player of the Year race and heads into today with 588,000 while Chris Ferguson bagged 486,000 and sits seventh in those same rankings. Both players will be looking to extend their lead or close the gap with a strong result today. Also still in contention is Kate Hoang who took second place in the $3,000 buy-in version of this tournament last year, while Bryce Yockey, Mark Herm and Andrey Zaichenko will all be looking for their first WSOP bracelet.
Play resumes at 2:00 p.m. (PDT) with the PokerNews Live Reporting Team providing continuous live updates of all the action as we play down to a final table of eight, and then hopefully to a winner. So stay tuned right here for all the Event #51 action, and everything else from the 2017 World Series of Poker.
From the button, Jeremy Joseph raised to 60,000 only to have Andrey Zaichenko raise pot to 204,000 from the small blind.
Once the big blind folded, Joseph moved all in and Zaichenko called for his remaining 550,000.
Zaichenko:
Joseph:
With Zaichenko needing help to stay alive, the flop gave him outs to both a flush and a double gutshot for the high.
The turn of the changed little and, when the completed the board on the river, it would make Zaichenko's flush but also simultaneously give Joseph a full house for the high to go along with his nut low.
For Zaichenko, he'll take home a $22,956 payday for his 14th-place finish as Joseph moves to 1.4 million in chips.
Viatcheslav Ortynskiy opened to 105,000 from the middle position and Josh Arieh three-bet the small blind to 300,000. Chris Ferguson cold-called from the big blind and Ortynskiy called all in for his remaining 70,000.
The dealer spread a flop and Arieh bet enough to put Ferguson all in. Ferguson called for his last 80,000 and the cards were tabled.
Ferguson:
Arieh:
Ortynskiy:
The turn and river of the and would see Ortynskiy eliminated in 11th place for $27,982 while Ferguson more then doubled to 935,000 in chips.
Bryce Yockey raised to 70,000 before Mark Herm made it 255,000 next to act. Once the action returned to Yockey, he deliberated for a little before sliding a stack of chips into the middle. Herm called all in for his remaining 470,000 and the cards were tabled.
Yockey:
Herm:
The board ran out and Herm was eliminated in 10th place for a $34,959 payday.
Kate Hoang raised to 75,000, and Bruce Yamron potted on the button for 270,000. Hoang called and then bet the last 100,000 on an flop. Yamron quickly called.
Yamron:
Hoang:
The kings were in the lead for Hoang and two high cards would send her the whole pot. The turn and river were just the ticket, and Yamron took his payout stub.
The last time @golferjosh won a @WSOP event was 12 years ago and he beat Chris Ferguson heads-up. Maybe history repeats itself tonight?
— Lance Bradley (@Lance_Bradley)
Back in 2005, Josh Arieh captured his second-career WSOP bracelet when he defeated Chris Ferguson heads-up to win the $2,000 Pot Limit Omaha tournament for $381,600. Since then, Arieh has managed to add four additional final tables and several final table bubbles, but he has yet to capture bracelet number three.
For Ferguson, his last WSOP bracelet came in 2003 when he won the $2,000 1/2 Limit Hold'em - 1/2 Seven Card Stud for $66,220 and his fifth career WSOP bracelet. Although Ferguson took a hiatus from the WSOP, he has rebounded over the past couple of years, capturing 11 cashes this year and 10 last year, including one final table.
and Yockey bet out 150,000 before Remz moved all in for slightly more. Yockey called, and the cards were tabled.
and 
however wouldn't help Remz and he was eliminated in 15th place for a $19,313 payday.
flop gave him outs to both a flush and a double gutshot for the high.
completed the board on the river, it would make Zaichenko's flush but also simultaneously give Joseph a full house for the high to go along with his nut low.
and 
turn and 
