Big Stax 500 (Day 3): 1st Place - Sharon ($85,926)

Level 33 (Blinds 150,000/300,000/25,000)
Total Entries: 775
Players Remaining: 1

Jay Sharon (Big Stax 500 Champion)

Big Stax 500 (Day 3): 2nd Place - Rappaport ($51,150)

Level 33 (Blinds 150,000/300,000/25,000)
Total Entries: 775
Players Remaining: 1

Eric Rappaport (Philadelphia, PA)

Eric Rappaport's swing from chip leader to out was quick and shocking.  Rappaport would double up Sharon in a key hand when he turned a queen on a board of 2♣ 3♠ 4♣ Q♠ but lost the hand to Sharon's pocket aces.

The very next hand, on a board J♦ 10♠ 3♦ K♦ 8♣, Sharon bet enough on the river to put Rappaport at risk.  Eric thought about it for a few moments before putting chips across for a call, but he would watch Sharon turn over A♠ A♥ once again (back to back hands).  So in a matter of two hands, where Sharon got aces both times, Rappaport would be out.  He would collect $51,150 for the runner-up finish, the largest cash of his lifetime.

Big Stax 500 (Day 3): Sharon Doubles Again

Level 33 (Blinds 150,000/300,000/25,000)
Total Entries: 775
Players Remaining: 2

With the stack sizes and the hands, it was inevitable that the two were going to get the chips in pre:

Sharon: 9♣ 9♠
Rappaport: 7♣ 7♥

Runout: 8♥ 3♠ 4♥ 8♣ A♦

Eric Rappaport - 17,500,000
Jay Sharon - 13,500,000

Big Stax 500 (Day 3): Sharon Back To 8,000,000 Again

Level 33 (Blinds 150,000/300,000/25,000)
Total Entries: 775
Players Remaining: 2

Eric Rappaport just chipped down Sharon to 4,200,000, but Sharon had the best hand going in once again, with A♠ 9♣ against Eric's K♠ 10♠.  The board run outs nine high, and Sharon gets back to the 8,000,000 that he started heads up play with.

Big Stax 500 (Day 3): Level Up...Break Time

Level 33 (Blinds 150,000/300,000/25,000)
Total Entries: 775
Players Remaining: 2

Player have decided to skip the break actually, with blinds now going up to 150,000/300,000/25,000. The heads up counts are still the same as just posted:

Eric Rappaport: 23,000,000
Jay Sharon: 8,000,000

Big Stax 500 (Day 3): Sharon Doubles

Level 32 (Blinds 100,000/200,000/25,000)
Total Entries: 775
Players Remaining: 2

Jay Sharon was down to 3,900,000 (just under 20 bigs), and he open shoved seconds ago with Rappaport calling:

Rappaport: K♥ 7♦
Sharon: A♠ 10♥

Runout: 3♣ 10♦ 4♦ Q♣ 8♦

Eric Rappaport: 23,000,000
Jay Sharon: 8,000,000

Big Stax 500 (Day 3): Heads Up Chip Counts

Level 32 (Blinds 100,000/200,000/25,000)
Total Entries: 775
Players Remaining: 2

Heads-Up Play Begins

Here are the heads up chip counts:

Eric Rappaport - 23,000,000
Jay Sharon - 8,000,000

Big Stax 500 (Day 3): 3rd Place - Gozman ($29,016)

Level 32 (Blinds 100,000/200,000/25,000)
Total Entries: 775
Players Remaining: 2

Ernest Gozman (Newtown, PA) did not want to be photographed for he finishing photo, but the split time cash/tournament player just earned his largest lifetime score ($29,016).  There was no discussion of chop for this event, these players had one thing in mind, and they are now there...heads up between Eric Rappaport and Jay Sharon.

Gozman checked shoved A J and was called by Eric Rappaport's A 9.  Rappaport would flop a nine to grab the lead, and the board would never turn back on him.  Gozman had the chip lead four handed, but with the blinds this high (and even with the deep play), he was chipped down to short stack and couldn't recover.

Big Stax 500 (Day 3): Updated Chip Counts

Level 32 (Blinds 100,000/200,000/25,000)
Total Entries: 775
Players Remaining: 3

Here are the updated three handed chip counts:

1. Jay Sharon - 13,000,000
2. Ernest Gozman - 7,000,000
3. Eric Rappaport - 11,000,0000

Big Stax 500 (Day 3): Rappaport Tweets His Last Hand

Level 31 (Blinds 75,000/150,000/25,000)
Total Entries: 775
Players Remaining: 3

Eric Rappaport may have just got it in on the flop against Jay Sharon (10 4 5), but with the hands they had, even Eric said they could of just gotten it in pre:

Doubled kk>qq to 6.5m
— Eric Rappaport (@Rappy300) October 14, 2014

Big Stax 500 (Day 3): 4th Place - Kaufmann ($21,130)

Level 32 (Blinds 100,000/200,000/25,000
Total Entries: 775
Players Remaining: 3

Wayne Kaufmann (Smithtown, NY)

Wayne Kaufmann (Smithtown, NY) isn't a professional tournament player, but he surely isn't just another recreational player.  Kaufmann had over $28,000 in earnings on just (12) cashes, with five of those being final tables (this makes six).  Wayne was the shortest of the four players, and he went with his A K, but ran into the K K of Jay Sharon.

The board ran clean for Sharon's kings, and Wayne would earn the largest score of his career ($21,130).  He's definitely made his son Nick proud, besting a ver quality field of 775 entries to finish fourth.

Big Stax 500 (Day 3): Updated Chip Counts/Level Going Up

Level 31 (Blinds 75,000/150,000/25,000)
Total Entries: 775
Players Remaining: 4

We are passed the twelve hour mark, which is a long day for these four players, but nobody left is going to just give anything away.  These are four very quality players that remain, and with the $60,000 difference between fourth and first place, we could be in for even more of a marathon (the chip average four handed is 51 bigs!!!!)

The blinds are going up to 100,000/200,000/25,000 in ten minutes, so the average does go down to (38) blinds...which is kind of an oxy moron...down to (38) big average at a four handed final table.  Here are the updated chip counts at break:

1. Wayne Kaufmann - 4,900,000
2. Jay Sharon - 9,500,000
3. Ernest Gozman -  11,600,000
4. Eric Rappaport - 5,600,000

Big Stax 500 (Day 3): 5th Place - Rieg ($16,442)

Level 31 (Blinds 75,000/150,000/25,000)
Total Entries: 775
Players Remaining: 4

Joe Reig (Valley Forge, PA)

Joe Reig (Valley Forge, PA) had been bringing a below average stack for about the last two hours, but watched as players were dropping (not fast by any means).  Reig navigated the stack about as long as he possibly could, and ended up getting in pre against Eric Rappaport for less than 18 bigs:

Rieg: J♦ 10♠
Rappaport: A♦ J♥

Flop: 8♥ 2♥ 10♥
Turn: Q♥
River: 9♠

Reig would flop a ten for a brief lead, but Eric ran out a flush to take the pot down.  This is Riegs third lifetime cash, more than quadrupling the earnings he had coming into this tournament.  Definitely a nice score to look forward on building on.

Big Stax 500 (Day 3): 6th Place - Goziev ($12,685)

Level 31 (Blinds 75,000/150,000/25,000)
Total Entries: 775
Players Remaining: 5

Sardor Gaziev (North Brunswick, NJ)

Sardor Gaziev found himself in a tough spot just moments ago, as he was heads up on the flop with Wayne Kaufmann.  Gaziev had raised pre, with Kaufmann calling out of the blind.  The board would read 5♠ 8♥ 6♣, and the two would get it in, with Sardor holding a stack of about (18) bigs.

Gaziev: 9♠ 9♣
Kaufmann: 8♦ 6♥

Turn: 10♣
River: 8♠

Kaufmann outflopped Sardor, and then was able to have Gaziev at risk with two to come.  The board ran out a full house for Kaufmann, and Sardor has his first deep run here at Parx in a while (did well during the WPT Regional series here before Big Stax started).

Big Stax 500 (Day 3): 7th Place - Elsby ($9,523)

Level 31 (Blinds 75,000/150,000/25,000)
Total Entries: 775
Players Remaining: 6

Matthew Elsby (Chandler, AZ)

On the final hand before break, Ernest Gozman opened the pot for a raise, with the short stack at the table (Matt Elsby) three-bet shoving for 1,500,000.  The action folded around and Gozman would make the call:

Elsby: A♠ 7♣
Gozman: A♦ Q♠

Flop: 4♥ J♣ Q♥
Turn: 2♠
River: 10♥

Elsby's ace would be dominated by Gozman, and he'd be drawing dead by the time the turn came out.  The tournament professional who travelled from afar has just notched his first cash here at Parx.  His final table finish will earn him just under $10,000...not too bad for the first time in the room.

Big Stax 500 (Day 3): Updated Chip Counts From Break

Level 31 (Blinds 75,000/150,000/25,000)
Total Entries: 775
Players Remaining: 6

Players are heading on break, and will be returning to blinds of 75,000/150,000/25,000.  Here are the updated chip counts from break:

1. Wayne Kaufmann - 4,900,000
2. Jay Sharon - 4,800,000
3. Sardor Gaziev - 3,400,000
4. Joe Rieg - 2,500,000
5. Ernest Gozman - 9,000,000
6. Eric Rappaport - 3,800,000

Big Stax 500 (Day 3): 8th Place - Jurkiewicz ($7,663)

Level 30 (Blinds 60,000/120,000/15,000)
Total Entries: 775
Players Remaining: 7

Tim Jurkiewicz (Sayerville, NJ)

It's been a while since there has been any real action at the final table, possibly because of the ICM implications.  Tim Jurkiewicz (Sayerville, NJ) had dropped back down to 750,000, and he just pushed that stack across the line, getting called by Jay Sharon.

Sharon held a dominant lead with K♠ Q♣ against the Q♠ J♣ of Tim.  The runout would not bring Jurkiewicz any help, and he'd be the first player eliminated from the final table in a long while.  Jurkiewicz has to be extremely happy with his result, this after being left with just over one big blind on the bubble during yesterday's Day 2 play.

There is (15) minutes remaining in this level, with updated chip counts posted shortly after the player exit the table.