Stephen Dare opened for 40,000 from the cutoff and was met by a three-bet to 130,000 by Ben Reason in the small blind. Dare responded by moving all in for 448,000 and Reason asked for a count before making the call.
Dare:
Reason:
Dare was racing for his tournament life, and he was fortunate to be slightly out in front. Much to his satisfaction, the queens held after the board ran out .
John McNabola opened from the cutoff seat with a 3x raise to 60,000, and Stephen Dare called the raise from a seat over. It then folded to Eric Blair in the big blind who reraised all in for 245,000 total, and McNabola didn't hesitate very long before saying he was calling the shove. Dare then thought a while before letting his hand go.
Blair:
McNabola:
The flop came , giving both players straight draws, then the arrived on the turn. Only a jack could save Blair, and his opponent already had two of them. The river then brought the and Blair is the first Day 3 elimination.
"You just knocked out a very tough player," said Kevin Saul to McNabola afterwards, thanking him for doing so. Meanwhile, with that hand McNabola pushes into first position with 15 players left.
Action folded around to Chris Schonbach on the button and he opened for 48,000. Stephen Dare defended from the big blind and proceeded to check-call a bet of 60,000 on the flop.
Both players then checked the turn, the completed the board on the river, and Dare slid out a bet of 120,000. Schonbach wasted little time in raising to 300,000 and Dare quickly tossed his cards to the muck.
Following an Alex Wilson open to 45,000 from middle position, Mike Massri three-bet to 115,000 from the small blind, then Bobby Corcione pushed out another reraise to 260,000 from the big blind.
Corcione's bet was enough to encourage Wilson to let go of his hand within a few seconds, then Massri took about a minute before relinquishing his as well.
The second hand of the day saw Kevin Saul opening with a raise to 43,000 from middle position and Paul Snead defending his big blind. The flop came and both players checked, and the pair checked as well following the turn.
The river brought the and another check from Snead, in response to which Saul bet 70,000 and Snead called relatively quickly.
"A set," said Saul, turning over , and Snead mucked.
Players are seated and are now filling out bio sheets before play begins, so there will be a slight delay before cards go in the air.
As two players busted from one table near the end of play last night, Paul Snead was moved prior to the start today to balance the tables. Here's a look at where everyone is sitting for the first hands of Day 3:
John Keats once famously wrote about being an artist and desiring to live in a way that allowed him to experience the world without constantly analyzing it all of the time. He called the state of being "negative capability," defining it as a state in which one is "capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason."
There are many uncertainties, mysteries, and doubts left to be resolved on Day 3 of the WSOP Circuit Foxwoods Main Event. But we all know that when play begins and the last 16 players sit down today, most of those who do will most certainly be reaching after Reason… Ben Reason, that is, chip leader to enter today's final day of play.
Welcome back to the huge, interlocking complex of casinos here at Foxwoods Resort in Manshantucket, Connecticut, where today we'll be concluding our coverage from the first ever WSOP Circuit Foxwoods Main Event!
Speaking of huge, the event drew a larger than expected field of 615 total entries. A long Day 1 on Saturday saw about two-thirds of the field whittled away. And yesterday's Day 2 was another long one starting at noon and not concluding until around 2:30 a.m. this morning, with more than 200 more players falling along the way.
It appeared during those wee hours that Kevin "BeLOWaBOVe" Saul had finally settled upon trending upward after a swingy day, having seized the lead and momentum late as the tourney was reduced to the final two tables. However a big hand between Saul and Reason during the final half-hour saw Saul's ace-king suited lose an exciting race with Reason's pocket jacks — ace on the turn, jack on the river — handing Reason the lead and sending Saul back down the counts.
Closest in the counts to Reason's 1.704 million to start today's play is John McNabola (1.468 million), another player who enjoyed a big late night double in a heart-stopping hand that saw his pocket queens manage to outdraw an opponent's kings. Meanwhile, Ethan Foulkes and Chris Mintchev come back to stacks just under a million. And a couple of players with 21st-place finishes in the WSOP Main Event — Bobby Corcione (in 2012) and Paul Snead (in 2008) — remain in the hunt as well.
While Keats may have preferred remaining in doubt, we're too interested to resolve the uncertainties that remain regarding the 2012-13 WSOP Circuit Foxwoods Main Event. So come back to PokerNews at noon ET for coverage of all the bustouts and big hands as we find out together who makes the final table and who ultimately grabs the coveted WSOP Circuit ring for the Foxwoods Main Event.
.
, giving both players straight draws, then the 
and Blair is the first Day 3 elimination.
turn, the 
completed the board on the river, and Dare slid out a bet of 120,000. Schonbach wasted little time in raising to 300,000 and Dare quickly tossed his cards to the muck.
and both players checked, and the pair checked as well following the 
and another check from Snead, in response to which Saul bet 70,000 and Snead called relatively quickly.
