Kenny Hallaert Leads the Charge on Day 3 of Event #66: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em
The third and final day of Event #66: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em is set to kick off at noon local time in Miranda.
Leading the way is decorated Tournament Director and Belgium player Kenny Hallaert with 1,779,000 chips, good for 111 big blinds coming into the day. He has made a ton of final tables, including in the 2016 Main Event, but is looking to capture that elusive first WSOP bracelet. Not far behind him is Schuyler Thornton with 1,771,000 chips, and Dylan Hortin rounds out the top three with 1,571,000.
This event began with 1,956 players and just 23 remain in the quest to crown a champion. First place is awarding $428,423 and a gold WSOP bracelet. A total of 294 players made the money and were guaranteed a payout worth $2,248. The remaining 23 players are now all guaranteed a payout of $13,381.
There are many familiar faces remaining and the field is far from soft. It includes the likes of Chris Klodnicki (1,442,000), Aditya Sushant (1,313,000), Darren Elias (619,000), Ben Zamani (500,000), Alex Rocha (493,000), Vojtech Ruzicka (320,000), Aditya Prasetyo (256,000), Brian Hastings (201,000), and Justin Conley (180,000).
Blinds will kick off halfway through Level 21 at 6,000/12,000 with a 2,000 ante, and play will complete once a winner is crowned! Stay with PokerNews as the live reporting team brings you all of the action throughout the day.
Here is a look at the seating assignments and chip counts for Day 3:
| Room | Table | Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miranda | 626 | 1 | Kenny Hallaert | Belgium | 1,779,000 | 111 |
| Miranda | 626 | 3 | Dylan Hortin | United States | 1,571,000 | 98 |
| Miranda | 626 | 4 | Brian Hastings | United States | 201,000 | 13 |
| Miranda | 626 | 5 | Todor Kondevski | Australia | 370,000 | 23 |
| Miranda | 626 | 6 | Aditya Prasetyo | United States | 256,000 | 16 |
| Miranda | 626 | 7 | Tom Braband | United States | 538,000 | 34 |
| Miranda | 626 | 9 | Aditya Sushant | India | 1,313,000 | 82 |
| Miranda | 635 | 1 | Wang Yifei | China | 390,000 | 24 |
| Miranda | 635 | 2 | Ryan Leng | United States | 369,000 | 23 |
| Miranda | 635 | 3 | Benjamin Zamani | United States | 500,000 | 31 |
| Miranda | 635 | 4 | Justin Conley | United States | 180,000 | 11 |
| Miranda | 635 | 5 | Vojtech Ruzicka | Czech Republic | 320,000 | 20 |
| Miranda | 635 | 6 | Ulrich Schnetter | United States | 101,000 | 6 |
| Miranda | 635 | 8 | Christopher Haydt | United States | 191,000 | 12 |
| Miranda | 635 | 9 | Schuyler Thornton | United States | 1,771,000 | 111 |
| Miranda | 644 | 2 | Moses Mustonen | United States | 140,000 | 9 |
| Miranda | 644 | 3 | Darren Elias | United States | 619,000 | 39 |
| Miranda | 644 | 4 | Thomas Blizniak | United States | 540,000 | 34 |
| Miranda | 644 | 5 | Chris Klodnicki | United States | 1,442,000 | 90 |
| Miranda | 644 | 6 | Alex Rocha | United States | 493,000 | 31 |
| Miranda | 644 | 7 | Emile Schiff | Jamaica | 984,000 | 62 |
| Miranda | 644 | 8 | Ashish Khanna | United States | 389,000 | 24 |
| Miranda | 644 | 9 | Steven Snyder | United States | 222,000 | 14 |
, at risk and flipping with Sushant's 
.
and Sushant picked up more outs with a flush draw in addition to his two over cards.
and the river was the 
, sending the pot to Hastings for a full double.
, up against Hallaert's [7s7sc].
, it was just Brian Hastings in the small blind and Emile Schiff in the big blind left in the hand. Hastings led out for 70,000 and Schiff made the call. 
for two pair but Schiff showed 
and both players checked to the 
on the turn.
and Klodnicki announced all in. Rocha had only 235,000 remaining and took his time to think about his decision. After a couple minutes, Rocha moved a stack of chips forward. Klodnicki tabled 
, up against Zamani's 
, sending Yifei to the rail in 14th place for a payout worth $20,877.
and the river landed the 
and Leng was eliminated.