Three-time WPT champion Chino Rheem is chip leader for the final of the WPT Bay 101 Main Event with 10,650,000. Rheem, who already has $8.2min live tournament winnings, first hit the international spotlight in 2008 when he was a WSOP Main Event finalist, finishing seventh for $1.7m. He has won WPT Bellagio twice, and took down WPT Seminole Hard Rock in Florida last year for $705,885.
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It’s a stacked final including UK-based German player Rainer Kempe who won last summer’s Super High Roller Bowl in Vegas for $5m, EPT Dublin High Roller winner Sam Panzica, 2015 WSOP bracelet winner Anthony Spinella who has some $1.3m live tournament winnings to his name and was sixth at the WPT LA Poker Classic last year along with American pro Paul Volpe who was runner-up at the 2013 WPT LA Poker Classic. The short stack is Dennis Stevermer, a relatively unknown American player.
Seat 1: Paul Volpe – 3,005,000 (38 bb)
Seat 2: Chino Rheem – 10,650,000 (133 bb)
Seat 3: Sam Panzica – 3,200,000 (40 bb)
Seat 4: Rainer Kempe – 3,700,000 (46 bb)
Seat 5: Dennis Stevermer – 980,000 (12 bb)
Seat 6: Anthony Spinella – 2,635,000 (33 bb)
Some of the notables who cashed on Day 3 include Eddy Sabat (42nd), Pratyush Buddiga (35th), Dan O’Brien (29th), Joe Elpayaa (27th), Ravi Raghavan (21st), Brian Altman (19th), Matt Affleck (17th), Kevin MacPhee (10th), Igor Yaroshevskyy (8th) and top Spanish player Sergio Aido (7th).
All remaining six players are guaranteed at least $188,460, with the winner receiving $1,373,000. There were 806 total entries, which created $5.7 million prize pool with 81 players paid.