2013 World Poker Tour Venice Grand Prix Day 3: Sexton, Scott and Salsberg In Final 18
The World Poker Tour Season XI Venice Grand Prix returned for Day 3 with 36 players remaining. At the end of the day, that number was halved, and Erion Islamay was leading with 470,000 in chips.
End-of-Day Chip Counts for Day 3
| Rank | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Erion Islamay | 470,000 |
| 2 | Marcello Montagner | 460,000 |
| 3 | Giuseppe Pastura | 432,000 |
| 4 | Xia Lin | 425,000 |
| 5 | Mike Sexton | 414,000 |
| 6 | Kara Scott | 414,000 |
| 7 | Ludovic Lacay | 402,000 |
| 8 | Rocco Palumbo | 378,000 |
| 9 | Ivan Gabrieli | 295,000 |
| 10 | Martin Staszko | 251,000 |
As you can see from the list above, several notables have advanced to Day 4 with sizable stacks, including the WPT's own Mike Sexton. He finished the day with 414,000 in chips.
Sexton got a boost to his stack at the end of the night in Level 18 with the blinds at 3,000/6,000/1,000. After he opened to 12,000 from early position, Ivan Gabrieli made the call from the big blind. The dealer produced the 9♥5♦4♦ flop, and Gabrieli checked. Sexton bet 15,000, and Gabrieli called. The turn was the 9♠ to pair the board. Both players checked, and the river completed the board with the K♥. Gabrieli checked, Sexton bet 27,000, and Gabrieli called. Sexton tabled the A♦K♠ for two pair, and Gabrieli mucked his hand.
While Sexton has a thriving day on the felt, that wasn't the case for several others. Daniel Cates, Liv Boeree, Marvin Rettenmaier and Giacomo Fundaro all busted outside of the money, but it was Max Pescatori who earned the worst fate of all by becoming the WPT Venice bubble boy.
In Level 16 with the blinds at 2,000/4,000/500, action folded to Pescatori in the cutoff seat, and he moved all in. WPT Champions Club member Matt Salsberg called on the button before everyone else folded. When the hands were opened, Salberg's 8♦8♥ had Pescatori's K♣5♣ on the ropes. Salsberg looked like Babe Ruth calling his shot as he blurted out "Eight of spades! Eight of spades!" before the dealer ran out the 9♣8♠4♥ flop. With a massive stranglehold on the hand now, Salsberg's victory was easy from there. The turn brought the J♦, then the river blanked off.
After the bubble burst, Daniele Mazzia was eliminated in 21st place (€5,400), Francesco Delfoco in 20th place (€5,400) and Davor Lanini in 19th place (€5,400).
Players will return for Day 4 on Friday at 14:30 CET and play down until the televised final table of six has been reached. Stay tuned to PokerNews for a recap of the action once play has been completed.
Data and photo courtesy of WorldPokerTour.com.
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