Phil Hellmuth got it in pretty good with a chance to triple up on the stone bubble of the WSOP Paradise Super Main Event, but Alex Keating outdrew him to send the 17-time champion to the rail with nothing to show for it.
Hellmuth was among the short stacks for the final stretch of the evening and 207 players were set to pick up a min-cash of $50,000. He waited diligently for a spot — even folding ace-high from the big blind to a raise from Keating to his right.
Hellmuth picks a good spot
A few moments later, with 208 players remaining in the tournament, Hellmuth was down to 200,000, or just over three big blinds. He took a chance with 
from under the gun and action folded around to Paulius Vaitiekunas for a call from the small blind before Keating called from the big blind.
Both remaining players checked through the board of 
and everyone waited for the rest of the tables to finish before they revealed the verdict.
Hellmuth only had ace-high and Keating tipped him off that he was holding a pair. When the time came, Vaitiekunas turned over 
for the near-miss on a straight and Keating showed 
to take the pot with a rivered pair of sevens.
Three other players in the room were at risk on the bubble and Hellmuth could have picked up a little bit of cash in a split if any of them were knocked out. However, it was not to be as each at-risk runner found a double to stay alive. That left Hellmuth alone on the stone bubble in 208th place with nothing to show for it.
'This hurts a little'
"All I can say is this," Hellmuth told Jeff Platt while they were waiting to flip over the cards. "When you're Phil, you get in hands like this every day. That's who I am."
"It does hurt a little bit. I've only played five tournaments since June and I almost won the other day," Hellmuth said, referring to a deep run in the $50K PLO Championship.
"This hurts a little though," Hellmuth continued. "I went to the bathroom about an hour ago and said Alex is going to get in really bad against me and outdraw me. I said that to myself and I talked myself out of it."
It would seem that Keating has had the best of him before and Hellmuth wanted a measure of retribution that will now have to wait. "Of all the people on the planet, he (Alex) might be somewhere in the top five of people that I owe."
The final 207 players will return tomorrow and join 90 online players to make a Day 3 field of 297. The prize pool, which fell just short of making the $50 million guarantee by $550,000, will award $6 million to the winner on Thursday.
Lead photo courtesy of WSOP/Tim Ash
