Welcome to Day 3 of Event #76: $10,000 WSOP Main Event World Championship here at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. Yesterday was the end of late registration and when all was said and done, it turned out that this year��s Main Event drew a record-setting 10,043 players �C shattering the old record of 8,773 set way back in 2006. Today, the remaining 3,538 players from Days 2abc and 2d will combine into a single field.
Leading the pack is Maurice Hawkins, who took the overall chip lead after bagging 941,000 last night. Not far behind him is Nicholas Rigby, who was responsible for busting Phil Hellmuth on stream yesterday en route to ending Day 2d with 921,500.
Hawkins has yet to win a bracelet, but he is the current World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit ring leader after winning his 15th earlier this year at Harrah's Cherokee. Hawkins only has three modest cashes from this year's WSOP, but he is now in prime position to make a deep run in the Main Event and add to his $4.7 million in career tournament winnings.
Start of Day 3 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maurice Hawkins | United States | 941,000 | 376 |
| 2 | Nicholas Rigby | United States | 921,500 | 369 |
| 3 | Christopher Brammer | United Kingdom | 879,000 | 351 |
| 4 | Jeffrey Shapiro | United States | 878,000 | 351 |
| 5 | Julio Belluscio | Argentina | 825,500 | 330 |
| 6 | Beqir Salihu | United States | 801,000 | 320 |
| 7 | John Sofillas | United States | 780,000 | 312 |
| 8 | Nick Marchington | United Kingdom | 716,000 | 286 |
| 9 | Heitor Saraiva | United States | 665,500 | 266 |
| 10 | Jacob Mitich | United States | 660,000 | 264 |
Some other notables still in the hunt with big stacks include Patrik Antonius (584,500), Shota Nakanishi (500,500), Kathy Liebert (477,00), Stephen Chidwick (472,500), Chris Brewer (467,000), Chance Kornuth (449,500), and Tom Dwan (426,500).
The remaining players will all be looking to take a piece of the staggering $93,399,900 prize pool. A total of 1,507 players will take home at least $15,000 for their efforts and the eventual winner will receive $12,100,000 in addition to the coveted Main Event bracelet.
Play is set to begin at 12 p.m. and continue for five two-hour levels. Day 3 will begin on Level 11, which features 1,000/2,500 blinds with an 2,500 big blind ante. As with previous days, players will get a 20-minute break after each level and a 75-minute dinner break will be held after Level 13 (~6:40 p.m.).
Be sure to stick with PokerNews as we continue to bring you all the action from this historic, record-setting World Series of Poker Main Event!
