The Money Stage is Reached; The Quest for Bigger Money Starts Today

Day 3 of the Main Event wrapped late last night, right after the money bubble burst, leaving 1,084 players with at least $15,000 to show for their efforts so far.

While some were able to accumulate chips during the bubble period, others were left with crumbs heading into the fourth day of action. The payout line will grow quickly when play resumes at 11 a.m. today, as short stacks look to get their chips in and rebuild or go home.

Patrick Lavecchia leads the 1,084 survivors into Day 4, followed by Pawel Brzeski and former November Niner, Antoine Saout. All bagged well over a million, along with two more former Main Event finalists: Kenny Hallaert and Ben Lamb.

Other notables in the hunt for the $8.15 million top prize are Sofia Lövgren, Charlie Carrel, Dominik Nitsche, Tony Gregg, Christoph Vogelsang, Max Silver, Marvin Rettenmaier, Davidi Kitai, Allen Cunningham and Liv Boeree.

Again, five levels are scheduled for today with a 20-minute break after each level and a 60-minute dinner break after Level 19, which should be around 8:20 p.m. The first level of the day, Level 16 (3,000/6,000, 1,000-ante), still has 80 minutes left. After that level, play will continue without a break into Level 17 (4,000/8,000, 1,000-ante). Halfway through that level, the first 20-minute break will commence (around 1:20 p.m.). Play should be wrapping up around 11:20 p.m.

Level	Duration	Small Blind	Big Blind	Ante
16	80 minutes	3,000	6,000	1,000
17	60 minutes	4,000	8,000	1,000
	20 minutes break (around 1:20 p.m.)
17	60 minutes	4,000	8,000	1,000
18	60 minutes	5,000	10,000	1,000
	20 minutes break (around 3:40 p.m.)
18	60 minutes	5,000	10,000	1,000
19	60 minutes	6,000	12,000	2,000
	20 minutes break (around 6:00 p.m.)
19	60 minutes	6,000	12,000	2,000
20	60 minutes	8,000	16,000	2,000
	60 minutes break (around 8:20 p.m.)
20	60 minutes	8,000	16,000	2,000
21	60 minutes	10,000	20,000	3,000