Day 3 of High Stakes Poker LIVE saw the stakes jump up to $200/$400 as a star-studded lineup of Sam Soverel, Rick Salomon, Chino Rheem, Randall Emmett, Dean Geistlinger, and Hollywood legend Nick Cassavetes took their seats in the PokerGO Studio.
Cassavetes, a film director, writer, and producer whose credits include Blow and The Notebook, is a well-known poker enthusiast and has appeared previously on High Stakes Poker and PokerStars' The Big Game.
Following the short-lived festivities on Day 2, the new blood at the table brought a lot more money and a lot more gamble to the show.
In the hand of the night, Soverel clashed with Geistlinger and Cassavetes in a three-way pot that swelled well beyond the $300,000 mark – and resulted in the departure of two of the players involved.
If you want to check out the full replay of the livestream, roll the tape below.
A Hollywood flop
With the $800 straddle live in front of Geistlinger, Cassavetes opted to limp in from up front with 
. Emmett came along as well with 
before Salomon bumped it up to $4,000 with 
.
Soverel called out of the small blind with 
and Geistlinger did the same from the straddle with 
.
Cassavetes called again to set mine and Emmett, closing the action, couldn't help but put in the extra $3,200.
With $20,900 in the middle already, the 
flop was straight out of a film script.
Soverel connected with top set while Cassavetes made bottom set – already a sick cooler on its own. Then you throw Geistlinger and his nut flush draw into the mix and the hand becomes a powder keg.
With two checks in front of him, Cassavetes opted to take the betting lead, firing $7,000 across the betting line. Emmett and Salomon fled the scene, but Soverel put in a raise to $26,000 – eager to get more money into the pot. With $81,400 in front of him, Geistlinger sent his entire stack into the middle after a moment's thought.
Cassavetes shook his head as if he knew his hand was beat, but he just couldn't bring himself to fold. Instead, he moved all-in over the top and then Soverel made the easiest call of his life.
With $335,900 in the middle, the players agreed to run the turn and river two times.
Geistlinger was drawing live to his flush, but things were much more grim for Cassavetes as he needed to find a miraculous one-outer to get any of his money back.
There was no happy ending for either player this time around as both runouts bricked out, leaving Soverel to scoop in the entire pot.
Both Geistlinger and Cassavetes made their exits after the hand. The four remaining players stuck around to battle a little longer, but the game eventually came to an end.
Soverel ended up as the big winner on the night, profiting $289,900.
