Day 3 of the 2011 World Poker Tour Grand Prix de Paris saw 61 players return to action from the original starting field of 312. Leading the charge was Franck Pepe, but he did not maintain his lead into Day 4. When play finished for the day with 18 players left, had bagged up the most chips and sits atop the leaderboard with 1.12 million in chips.
The big story on Day 3 was the money bubble. As the field size grew closer and closer to 36, the dreaded title of “bubble boy” loomed over everyone’s head, only this time around, the bubble boy was actually a girl.
With the blinds at 1,500/3,000 with a 500 ante, the WPT Live Update Team reported that Rebecca Gerin was down to her last 1,000 in chips and moved all-in with 10♦9♥. She was up against an opponent’s 10♠10♣ and in bad shape to stave off elimination. After receiving no help on the flop, turn or river, Gerin was eliminated in 37th place to guarantee €11,100 ($15,632) for all of the remaining competitors.
After Gerin exited, there were plenty of bust-outs to follow. Tyler Bonkowski (36th - €11,100), Christophe Benzimra (34th - €11,100), Elio Fox (31st - €11,100), Benny Spindler (24th - €16,665) and Shawn Cunix (21st - €22,220) were a few of the notables to hit the rail in the money.
Spindler fell at the hands of Waxman after the two got the money in on a 10♦7♦2♣ flop. Waxman checked and Martin Jacobson bet 18,000. Spindler flatted and then Waxman check-raised to 58,000. Jacobson called before Spindler opted to move all-in for 182,000. Already wielding quite a large stack, Waxman reraised all-in for around one million. Jacobson ducked out of the way.
Waxman tabled middle set with 7♣7♥ and was up against Spindler’s nut-flush draw holding A♦8♦. The turn put a swift end to things when the 7♠ gave Waxman quads and left Spindler drawing stone dead. The river completed the board with the meaningless 4♦.
The final elimination of the day was Christophe Lesage in 19th place for €22,220. Nesrine Kourdourli opened with a raise to 13,000 with the blinds at 3,000/6,000 with a 1,000 ante before action folded to Lesage. He moved all-in for 180,000 and Kourdourli quickly called with K♦K♣. Lesage held J♥J♠ and was eliminated after the board ran out 9♦5♥2♦7♥4♥.
Enough about the players who failed to advance, let’s focus on who’s left. Although Waxman is leading the way, there’s still plenty of firepower left. Dmitry Stelmak (912,000), Dori Yacoub (664,000), Jacobson (536,000), Guillaume Darcourt (500,000), Joe Cassidy (180,000) and Jean Noel Thorel (173,000) are some of those who are still in the fight for the title. Start-of-the-day chip leader Pepe finished the day with 479,000 in chips.
Top 10 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matt Waxman | 1,120,000 |
| 2 | Mikko Sundell | 1,019,000 |
| 3 | Dmitry Stelmak | 912,000 |
| 4 | Nesrine Kourdourli | 839,000 |
| 5 | Byron Kaveman | 729,000 |
| 6 | Dori Yacoub | 664,000 |
| 7 | Hugo Lemaire | 567,000 |
| 8 | Martin Jacobson | 536,000 |
| 9 | Frederic Magen | 531,000 |
| 10 | Guillaume Darcourt | 500,000 |
Day 4 will begin at 1400 CEST (1300 BST) on Friday. Stay tuned to PokerNews for the recap.
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