On a Monday morning in Durant, Oklahoma, the Mike Sexton Cup overlooks the final four tables in the Choctaw Casino and Resort. The World Poker Tour Choctaw Main Event has reached its final day here before six lucky players make their way to Las Vegas to finish the story.
Near the start of the day, I asked all-pro WPT live reporter BJ Nemeth what the line was for the remaining players at the end of the night. Nemeth did some mental math a la "The Imitation Game," and said, "28.5 is the line." Nemeth is very good at setting lines.
Yesterday saw Day 2 whittle the field from 187 all the way down to 28 remaining players, proving my previous point.
On top of the remaining hopefuls sits Brandon Guzman with 3,600,000, good for 144 big blinds. His path to Vegas will be anything but easy, though, as many dangerous players seek to punch their own ticket.
WPT Choctaw Day 3 top ten chip counts
| Place | Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
| 1 | Brandon Guzman | 3,600,000 | 144 |
| 2 | Alex Foxen | 3,380,000 | 135 |
| 3 | Bin Weng | 2,000,000 | 80 |
| 4 | Christopher Moon | 1,500,000 | 60 |
| 5 | Spencer Champlain | 1,495,000 | 60 |
| 6 | Andrew Ostapchenko | 1,365,000 | 55 |
| 7 | Lawrence Chang | 1,310,000 | 52 |
| 8 | Ashlyn Raney | 1,280,000 | 51 |
| 9 | Emmanuel Ignacio | 1,275,000 | 51 |
Just behind Guzman in the counts is top-tier professional Alex Foxen, the only other player with over 100 big blinds, with 3,380,000. They drew different tables for Day 3, likely music to both players' ears.
One player left in the field has already locked up a seat at a Vegas table, though for a different event entirely.
Bin Weng navigated the large field at the previous WPT Main Event tour stop at Seminole Hard Rock Casino and Hotel to reach the final six there. He'll be in Vegas for that final table on May 25th. The only question is: will he play back-to-back final tables by reaching the final six here in Choctaw as well? Sitting with 2,000,000 chips, worth 80 big blinds, the always dangerous Weng has to be a favorite to do so.
Day 3 schedule and remaining payouts
Players reached the money yesterday when the bubble burst at 77 players. Now, large pay jumps are in play with six-digit scores at the top.
WPT Choctaw Main Event remaining payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
| 1 | $400,740* | 9-10 | $38,600 |
| 2 | $261,000 | 11-12 | $30,800 |
| 3 | $192,000 | 13-14 | $25,020 |
| 4 | $143,000 | 15-16 | $20,600 |
| 5 | $107,000 | 17-20 | $17,180 |
| 6 | $81,700 | 21-24 | $14,540 |
| 7 | $62,900 | 25-27 | $12,480 |
| 8 | $49,000 |
Players will get back into action at 12:00 pm local time. The plan is to play down to the final six today. Once reached, they'll bag up and metaphorically send their chips to Vegas for the final table at the HyperX Arena on May 26th.
I'll close out this article with another shoutout to BJ Nemeth. If you have the privilege to work with him, he makes the experience that much better by gifting mini Lego figures to those he works with. Check out my recent scores below.
Nemeth and the WPT team will be on site as well bringing all the up-to-date action to you via their live updates here. Six players will head to Vegas in a few weeks, today will determine who remains to play for the Mike Sexton Cup.
