Photo Recap: Day 3 of WPT Hollywood Poker Open

By BJ Nemeth

Day 3 began with 27 players, and a full day of play shrank the field down to nine. The big story is Erik Seidel, who is having an incredible year so far in 2011, and near the chip lead as he seeks out his second WPT title. But the final nine includes several great players and several great stories, which you can see for yourself in our photographic look back at Day 3 of the WPT Hollywood Poker Open:

Erik Seidel finished the day third in chips, and with his guaranteed cash here he has become the only player in WPT history to cash at least once in all nine seasons. Seidel’s 2011 hot streak continues …

Richard Pflum chats with the Royal Flush Girls after winning a pot early on Day 3. Unfortunately, Pflum would be eliminated a short while later in 23rd place. The Royal Flush Girls, from left to right: Jennifer Haley, Melanie Iglesias, Katrina Topacio, and Michelle Banzer.

The WPT crew interviews Tamara Whetstone as her husband Andy plays behind her.

With the board showing [Jc8s4h5d9c], Erik Seidel moved all in against James Hensley (foreground, right). Hensley tanked for a while before he called with [AsJh] for a pair of jacks. But Seidel turned over [10s7s] to win the pot with a jack-high straight and eliminate Hensley in 24th place.

This dark and blurry photo seems like it is better suited to a different website, but the guy in the foreground is Steve Barshak, who would finish the day as chipleader with 601,000. The two "girls on the rail" are Royal Flush Girls Melanie Iglesias (left) and Jennifer Haley.

Local player Mike Scarborough (from Cincinnati) may not have results like Erik Seidel, but he is on a recent hot streak of his own. In the week leading up to this WPT event, Scarborough won two prelim events and finished second in another. He was one of the six players who joined the field at the start of Day 2, poised to pick up his first cash in a WPT event.

Shawn Cunix (left) congratulates Ali Eslami on winning the pot that eliminated him in 16th place. Cunix got it all in with [AcJs] on a board of [Jc8d7s10c] (pair of jacks), but he was drawing dead against Eslami’s [Kc9d] (jack-high straight).

When the final 18 players redrew for seats at the final two tables, Amanda Musumeci, Chris Bell, and William Reynolds (from left to right) found themselves sitting next to each other.

Two spots away from the money, Chris Bell reraised Erik Seidel (foreground, left) preflop. But Seidel called and then bet into Bell after a flop of [8h7h5d]. Bell tanked for several long minutes before folding, leaving himself with less than 20 big blinds. Bell would survive into the money, but was eliminated in 12th place.

Allen Kessler told his table about the time he folded pocket aces preflop in a WSOP bracelet event — on purpose. (We won’t bore you with the details here, but if you’re interested, you can read the original post for yourself by clicking here.) While Chris Bell openly doubted the truth of Kessler’s story, Ali Eslami (left) and Erik Seidel (center) seemed to find it amusing.

In other Allen Kessler news, his guaranteed cash here gives him more cashes (4) in Season IX of the WPT than anyone else. It becomes more notable when you combine that with the fact that he also had the most cashes at the WSOP/WSOP-E last year.

But perhaps the biggest story of the day was the fact that Allen Kessler … bluffed. You can read the details of that hand by clicking here, and thankfully, the WPT camera crew was on hand to record the moment when Kessler showed off his successful bluff. That in itself is reason enough to watch this episode of the World Poker Tour when it airs.

ClubWPT.com qualifier Andy Whetstone gets a massage from his wife Tamara during one of the breaks on Day 3. Whetstone started the day as the chipleader, but finished at the bottom of the chip counts. Still, he’s alive with nine players left, and everyone who has already busted would happily swap places with him.

Amanda Musumeci was one of the short stacks in the few hours leading up to the money bubble, treading water but unable to catch any momentum.

After a raise and two reraises, William Reynolds (left) and Ali Eslami saw a flop of [Jc9h2h]. Reynolds bet, Eslami raised, and Reynolds moved all in. Eslami tanked for several minutes before he called with [5h3h] for a five-high flush draw. Reynolds turned over [KdKs], and his overpair held up to give him the pot — and the chip lead with 14 players left.

With 13 players left and only 12 getting paid, Ben Tollerene (right) winces after being crippled down to less than a single big blind by Mike Scarborough. Scarborough check-raised all in on a board of [10h3h3c7d], and Tollerene tanked for a while before he called with [As10d] for two pair, tens and threes. But Scarborough turned over [7h7s] for a dominating set of sevens, and it held up with the [Qh] on the river. Tollerene quadrupled up on the next hand, but it was only a dead man’s bounce as he was eliminated as the unfortunate Bubble Boy a few minutes later.

Tom Marchese (center, right) started the day second-to-last in chips, but he was smiling late in the day after doubling through Andy Whetstone (foreground, left). They got it all in on a board of [Jh6c4h3d], and Marchese’s [KsJs] outkicked and dominated Whetstone’s [QhJd]. Whetstone was knocked down to just 10 big blinds, but he managed to hang on and battle back a bit to finish the day with 20 big blinds.

In the final hand of the day, Allen Kessler (left) and Amanda Musumeci got it all in preflop from the blinds. Musumeci’s [AdQh] dominated Kessler’s [QsJd], but the board would come [10d9c9s3hKs] to give Kessler the suckout with a king-high straight. Musumeci was eliminated in 11th place, earning a cash in her first WPT event.

Play was supposed to end with 10 players, but a hand was already in progress at the other table when Amanda Musumeci busted in 11th place. Steven Kelly (right) was all in preflop with [AdQs], but dominated by the [AcKs] of Steve Barshak (left). The best hand held up, and Barshak took Kelly’s chips while Kelly collected $22,167 for his 10th place finish.

Kelly is fresh off a runner-up finish at the last stop on the World Poker Tour, the Bay 101 Shooting Star, and came close to adding his name to the short list of players who have made back-to-back televised WPT final tables.

Here are the official chip counts and seating positions for the final nine players, along with the others who finished in the money:

Seat 1. Andy Whetstone – 83,500 (20 BBs)
Seat 2. Terry Jacobs – 106,000 (26 BBs)
Seat 3. Erik Seidel – 526,000 (131 BBs)
Seat 4. Allen Kessler – 226,000 (56 BBs)
Seat 5. Ali Eslami – 204,000 (51 BBs)
Seat 6. Tom Marchese – 182,500 (45 BBs)
Seat 7. Mike Scarborough – 467,000 (116 BBs)
Seat 8. William Reynolds – 541,000 (135 BBs)
Seat 9. Steve Barshak – 601,000 (150 BBs)

10th Place – Steven Kelly ($22,167)
11th Place – Amanda Musumeci ($22,167)
12th Place – Chris Bell ($22,167)

Day 4 begins tomorrow (Tuesday) at 1:00 pm ET. Return to WorldPokerTour.com for complete hand-for-hand coverage as the final nine players battle for the six seats at the televised WPT Final Table, along with another episode of the Jess & BJ Show.