March 29 2011, Donnie Peters

Day 3 of the West Regional Championship at the 2010-2011 World Series of Poker Circuit Harrah’s Rincon concluded on Tuesday. Just two tables of nine players each returned to action and when the day was all said and done, half of them remained. Leading the final table is Tim West with 843,000 in chips.

There was plenty of firepower left in the field when the day began. One of the most notable names in poker, Daniel Negreanu, was still alive and entered the day with 173,800 in chips. That was right in the middle of the pack, but his day ended short of the money after being eliminated by Tim West.

In Negreanu’s elimination hand, there was a three-way pot with about 20,000 in it when the PokerNews Live Reporting Team walked up to the table. The flop was . The first two players checked to Negreanu, and he bet 12,500. From the small blind, West check-raised to 33,900 to get heads up, and Negreanu three-bet all in for his last 80,000. West quickly called, and Negreanu was at risk as the cards were turned up.

Negreanu:
West:

The on the turn was a disaster for Negreanu as West found the spade to fill his unbeatable flush. The river was a mere formality, and Negreanu wished his table luck, signed a few autographs for the spectators, and headed out of the room with a camera trailing him.

Full Tilt Poker Red Pro and former World Series of Poker November Niner Scott Montgomery also fell short of the money, as did Todd Terry and Kyle Bowker. Bowker was the actual bubble boy of the tournament on a crazy suck-resuck hand against Dana Kellstrom.

Bowker moved all in for 72,000 and Kellstrom called, turning over the . Bowker held and began making his way out the door. Bowker was about halfway to the door of the tournament room when the flop came down and a few of the players called him back. Bowker came back to the table and needed to sweat the last two cards.

The turn brought the and that wasn’t the ace Kellstrom was looking for. The river delivered though, and in a big way. The hit the felt and Kellstrom cheered loudly with a big clap of his hands, having resucked to send Bowker to the rail in 13th place. This time, Bowker hit the exit and didn’t so much as turn his head back.

With Bowker out the door, everyone left in the event was guaranteed a minimum of $19,653 and just three more eliminations away from the final table along with a guaranteed seat in the $1,000,000 National Championship Freeroll at the end of the season. Joe Parker was eliminated in 12th place and then Alejandro Garcia fell in 11th place.

With the field down to 10, the remaining players redrew to one table. Dwyte Pilgrim was leading the way at the time with 451,000, while Ali Eslami held 420,000 and West held 400,000 to round out the top three. The short stack at the “unofficial” final table was Miller Dao with 98,500.

The last player to be eliminated on the day was Kwinsee Tran, who started the day as the chip leader. Tran and West got all the money in on the flop of . Tran held the and West the . Tran was unable to find help on the turn or the river and bubbled the official final table. He took home $19,653 for his finish.

Final Table Seating Assignments and Chip Counts

West will be leading the final table as he continues his hot month of March. Pilgrim, the man with three WSOP Circuit gold rings, is sitting third in chips and Eslami is in fourth. Full Tilt Poker will be represented by Steve Brecher and he’s sixth in chips.

Everyone left has locked up a seat in the $1,000,000 National Championship, but there’s still plenty of money up for grabs including a $282,242 first-place prize. Play kicks off at 12:00 p.m. PDT (1900 GMT) at Harrah’s Rincon and the final table will be filmed. Be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews for all the live updates as only our Live Reporting Team can bring it to you!

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