The last woman in the event, Ana Marquez, also happens to be the chip leader by a slight amount at 3.8 million in chips. Chris Moneymaker sits in second with one big blind less than her and poised to break his multi-year big tournament slump. Moneymaker played very well, considering he had the aggressive and unpredictable Day 3 chip leader, Chris Oliver on his left.
Notables still in the hunt include experienced tournament players Mike Sowers and Sam Stein. Runner up in the 2010 LAPT Grand Finale, Bolivar Palacios, is also a contender with Plouffe, Martin Mathis, Galen Hall, Michael Pesek, and Rafael Golka all sitting over the 2 million mark.
The remaining 22 players must be thrilled to be so close to a big payday and the opportunity for the live, one hour delayed live streaming and televised final table coverage on ESPN2 on Saturday. That and the fact that they have outlasted 1500 players and chasing the $2.3 million first place prize and the not too shabby $1.8 million second place prize.
(picture courtesy of pocketfiveslive)
