Extra Day in $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed; Yifrach Leads Mackey and Hasson
Day 3 of Event 28: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed was supposed to be the last day. But, not for the first time at the 2018 World Series of Poker, an extra day is needed to determine a winner as three players are left standing.
Going into 60,000/120,000, the following three players will battle it out on Saturday at noon for the coveted WSOP hardware with the following stacks:
Day 4 Seating and Chip Counts
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gal Yifrach | United States | 6,965,000 |
| 2 | James Mackey | United States | 3,100,000 |
| 3 | Gary Hasson | Belgium | 1,960,000 |
Final Table Results
| Place | Winner | Country | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $461,798 | ||
| 2 | $285,377 | ||
| 3 | $193,716 | ||
| 4 | Aaron Mermelstein | United States | $133,731 |
| 5 | Darren Rabinowitz | United States | $93,917 |
| 6 | Ana Marquez | Spain | $67,116 |
The day started with 20 remaining players and some big names were still in the mix. Most of them exited early on, with five-time bracelet winner Jason Mercier being one of the first to bow out. Mercier started out winning some small pots but eventually ran pocket queens into the kings of Darren Rabinowitz to exit in fifteenth place.
Tony Dunst, another bracelet winner looking for more jewelry, lost with eights versus ace-king to go out in 13th place.
Anatoly Filatov (fours into kings), Luiz Duarte (fives into ace-ten), and Yorane Kerignard (ace-queen versus ace-king) all headed to the rail before Ben Palmer became the official final table bubble. Palmer got it in with ace-queen for top pair against the ace-five of Gary Hasson who had two pair by the time the chips got in the middle. No lucky river for Palmer and the tournament was down to a final table of six.
One of Spain's most accomplished players, Ana Marquez, found herself on the short stack. After hanging in for a bit, she eventually got it in with sixes versus nines. Her opponent, again Hasson, flopped a set and had Marquez drawing dead by the time the turn hit the felt.
Darren Rabinowitz, another longtime grinder looking for his first bracelet, was next to go. Squeezing with ace-king, he found a caller in Aaron Mermelstein with eights. The flop came eight-high and like Marquez, Rabinowitz was drawing dead by the time the turn hit.
While Mermelstein was the one to knock out Rabinowitz, he was the next in line at the payout desk. That, though, took quite some time as four-handed play lasted several levels. In the end, Mermelstein found himself short and in need of a double-up. He shoved with jack-seven suited but couldn't get passed the ace-queen of Gal Yifrach.
Three-handed play took nearly as long and as the clock struck midnight, the tournament staff announced the last level had started. Would the tournament not be heads-up before the end of the level, play would be stopped and the bags would come out. Despite several all-ins, three remained as the last seconds of level 30 ticked away.
Gal Yifrach, James Mackey, and Gary Hasson return to the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino for an additional fourth day in this prestigious tournament. PokerNews, of course, will be on the floor to bring you all the updates from the conclusion of this event.
