The stage is set for the conclusion of the March Power Weekend’s marquee event, the Playground 500. This three-day tournament brought out an impressive field of 314 entries to build a prize pool that far exceeded the $100,000 guarantee. As the players take their places at the final table, Michael Korovine will start the day with the biggest stack in play of the eight finalists, but with the blinds beginning at 30K/60K everything could change quickly.
Good luck to all!
There are just 8 players remaining in the Playground 500 and the last seating draw in the tournament was performed when the final table was established with 10 players remaining. When play resumes, the players will take the same relative positions in which they finished Day 2 – but on a new table. Here is the seating chart to start the action on Day 3.
| First Name | Prénom | Last Name | Nom | Seat | Siège | Stack | Tapis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jean-Sebastien | Penven | Table 65 - Seat 1 | 2,150,000 |
| Jean Rene | Plante | Table 65 - Seat 2 | 2,435,000 |
| Jose Juan | Gomez Casillas | Table 65 - Seat 3 | 2,775,000 |
| Michael | Korovine | Table 65 - Seat 4 | 3,230,000 |
| Christian | Soucy | Table 65 - Seat 5 | 765,000 |
| Christian | Rho | Table 65 - Seat 6 | 1,545,000 |
| Kevin | Javier | Table 65 - Seat 8 | 1,135,000 |
| Nicholas | Soller | Table 65 - Seat 9 | 1,750,000 |
Day 2 has come to an end, and of the 314 runners who started out in the 4 Day 1 flights, the tournament is down to the final 8 players who return tomorrow (Saturday) @ 3 PM for Day 3, where they will play down to a winner. Players are now guaranteed at least $4,040 in 8th place, and of course all have the ambition for the 1st place prize of $32,025 (plus a Step 3 ticket).
| First Name | Prénom | Last Name | Nom | Stack | Tapis |
|---|---|---|
| Michael | Korovine | 3,230,000 |
| Jose | Gomez | 2,775,000 |
| Jean-Sebastien | Penven | 2,435,000 |
| Jean Rene | Plante | 2,435,000 |
| Nicolas | Soller | 1,750,000 |
| Christian | Rho | 1,545,000 |
| Kevin | Javier | 1,135,000 |
| Christian | Soucy | 765,000 |
The action has picked up and over the last 20 minutes we have now lost Pablo Mariz (12th), Ruben Perceval (11th), Antony Pelletier (10th).
Here are the final table players:
| First Name | Prénom | Last Name | Nom |
|---|---|
| Jose | Gomez |
| Christian | Rho |
| Jean -Sebastien | Penven |
| Michael | Korovine |
| Jean Rene | Plante |
| Christian | Soucy |
| Nicolas | Soller |
| Shaan | Siddiqui |
| Kevin | Javier |
| Antony | Pelletier |
Here are the payouts:
| Rank | Pos | Prize | Bourse |
|---|---|
| 1 | $32,025 + Step 3 |
| 2 | $22,450 + Step 3 |
| 3 | $14,440 + Step 3 |
| 4 | $9,160 |
| 5 | $7,060 |
| 6 | $5,850 |
| 7 | $4,910 |
| 8 | $4,040 |
| 9 | $3,200 |
| 10-12 | $2,700 |
| 13-15 | $2,290 |
| 16-18 | $1,920 |
| 19-21 | $1,570 |
| 22-24 | $1,280 |
| 25-27 | $1,110 |
| 28-36 | $940 |
| 37-40 | $780 |
The tournament has just returned from the last break of the night and a new leader has emerged. Jose Gomez has bolted to just over 2.7mil, and is followed by Christian Rho sitting on just over 2.4mil.
There are two more levels of 40 minutes each and then the remaining players bag for day 3.
| First Name | Prénom | Last Name | Nom | Stack | Tapis |
|---|---|---|
| Jose | Gomez | 2,725,000 |
| Christian | Rho | 2,445,000 |
| Jean -Sebastien | Penven | 1,750,000 |
| Michael | Korovine | 1,325,000 |
| Jean Rene | Plante | 1,220,000 |
| Christian | Soucy | 1,110,000 |
| Nicolas | Soller | 1,025,000 |
| Shaan | Siddiqui | 1,010,000 |
| Kevin | Javier | 1,000,000 |
| Ruben | Perceval | 975,000 |
| Antony | Pelletier | 665,000 |
| Pablo | Mariz | 375,000 |
The action had already taken place and the river was being dealt when we arrived at the table. In a heads up battle between Diana Shamshoum and Christian Rho, Diana pushed her stack all-in on the turn and Christian went deep into the tank before making the call.
Diana was holding 
and Christian had 
Diana had flopped trip deuces on a 
flop, and Christian had top-top (pair of Queens, Ace kicker). The 
on the turn hadn’t changed anything and Diana was way ahead when Christian made the call, but the 
on the river had now given Christian a full house and that would put Diana’s day to an abrupt and unfortunate end.
Christian is now sitting on just over 2.7M and has the clear lead, and is way ahead of the rest of the pack.
