Action folded to Scott Baumstein on the button and he raised to 2,000. Andrew Chen called from the big blind and the two players watched the flop fall , which both checked.
When the hit the turn, Chen led out for 2,800 and Baumstein wasted little time in folding.
Andrew Chen raised to 2,200 from the cutoff only to have Michael Binger three-bet to 6,100 from the small blind. Surprisingly, Marko Neumann called from the big blind. After Chen called, three players watched the flop come down .
Binger took a minute before leading out for 8,000. Neumann again called behind while Chen got out of the way. The dealer burned and turned the and Binger opted for a check. Neumann took the opportunity to bet 16,100 and Binger hit the tank. After a couple of minutes, he released his hand and Neumann took down the pot.
"I folded a set," Binger teased as he dropped to 69,000. On the other hand, Neumann chipped up to 118,000.
From the cutoff seat, Andrew Chen raised to 2,200, and Michael Binger called from the small blind.
The two of them went heads up to to the flop, and Binger check-called a bet of 3,200. The drew checks from both players, and the paired the board on the river. Binger checked again, and Chen took his cue to make one last bet of 8,500 at the pot. Binger spent about three or four minutes in the tank before making what looked like a reluctant call.
He was right to be wary. Chen tabled for twos full, and that's good enough to give him the pot and the early chip lead with 115,000.
The finalists are at the table and the dealer is busy checking the deck and suiting it for play. We've got a few last-minute bits of tedium to attend to, but play should be starting in just a short couple of minutes.
Welcome back to those of you expecting to see a final table at noon today! We're sorry to disappoint, but you've now got two hours to kill as this Day 3 has been pushed back to 2:00 P.M. for reasons that we wouldn't dare try to guess.
The good news is that we've got the makings of a fine final table in store for you. Michael Binger headlines this six-man class, and he'll be the betting favorite to take home the $200,000 top prize at the end of the day. His road to this finale was a tough one, playing heads up for nearly five hours before he finally advanced through round one. The second round saw him paired with (and eventually eliminating) his brother Nick on the way to another victory and a spot on today's stage.
Shaun Deeb and Andrew Chen also have their names on the marquee today, and they'll be joined by underdogs Scott Baumstein, Marko Neumann, and William Pilossoph to create today's final. It's $30,000 for everyone except the winner, so the action should come early and often as the six jockey for position in this short race.
We'll be back just before 2:00 to get this thing started, so don't wander off on us.