Belgian Hedge Fund Exec Wins Major World Series Of Poker Event
Galen Hall takes home $888,888 after winning the Crazy Eights No-Limit Hold’em 8-Handed competition
Belgian hedge fund manager and poker ace Galen Hall (33) is $888,888 wealthier this morning after his profitable victory in the World Series of Poker $888 buy-in Crazy Eights No-Limit Hold’em 8-Handed event.
The big win brings his career live tourney earnings to over $5 million, and adds a maiden WSOP bracelet to his achievements.
Hall held the chip lead and dominated the action for much of the competition, which attracted a record field of 8,598 entrants, well above the 2017 entry list of 8,120. The buy-ins generated a prize pool of $6,871,521 from which 458 players cashed at least $2,702.
In the closing stages of the contest, with just three players left, the survivors had to take a disruptive two-day break to make room at the Rio for the massive Main Event field, but they returned to the felt on Thursday with Hall holding the lead over Latvia’s Eduards Kudrjavcevs (32) and another Belgian player, Niels Herregodts.
Over the next 55 hands Hall continued to dominate play as Herregodts busted at third for $355,888 and the game went into a comfort break before the heads up stage.
Hall retained his lead as the heads up with Kudrjavcevs started, and it took Hall just six more hands to dismiss his final opponent, sending the Latvian to the exit and a second placing reward of $476,888.
Other final table cashes included:
- Andrey Zaichenko $266,888
- Alexander Kuzmin $201,888
- Jeremiah Miesen $153,888
- Martin Stausholm $117,888
- Philip Tom $90,888
World Series Of Poker Online Events Prove A Success (Update)
Shared state player pools help to widen the appeal
This year’s four online events at the World Series of Poker show that there is wide appeal for this type of event, attracting worthwhile entry lists and general interest.
The recent evolution of shared state player pools in Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware have boosted that appeal, as is apparent from the wider participation and record registrations.
The four online events this year all carried coveted WSOP winner’s bracelets.
In the first of the online events William “twooopair” Reymond took down the $365 buy-in NLHE competition, besting a record 2,972 entries, and earning $154,996 for a day’s work in the comfort of his home surroundings.
Matt “mendey” Mendez, a New Jersey player, followed with a $135,077 win in the $565 buy-in PLO online event, which attracted 1,223 players.
Chicago pro Ryan “toosick” Tosoc claimed an impressive pay day in the online section, taking the top prize of $238,779 in the $1,000 buy-in NLHE Championship event, which pulled in 1,635 entries and created a record prize pool worth $1,553,250. The online marathon took 15 hours to complete, and was reportedly heavily supported by New Jersey players.
Finally, Chance “BingShui” Kornuth claimed the biggest of the online pay days when he took home $341,598 after winning the $3,200 buy-in High Roller competition. The event recorded 480 entries and created a prize pool of $1,459,200.
First Day Of Combined Field In World Series Of Poker Main Event Concludes (Update)
Survivors of three starting flights reduced by 50 percent on first day of combined field action
The first day of combined field action in the World Series of Poker $10,000 buy-in NLHE Main Event has concluded with just half the starting field of 2,460 (made up of the survivors of the two starting flights of the competition) surviving.
1,131 players now move on to the next day’s action, led by California player Shawn Daniels (32) on 533,500 chips, whose closest rivals are Virginia’s Eric Liebeler (532,000) and Spanish pro Samuel Bernabeu, on 524,000.
The 12 hours of action saw a number of big names in the game head for the exit, including French pro Antoine Saout, who has been a main event finalist on two previous occasions, Andre Akkari, Michael Addamo, former main event champ Joe Hachem, Erik Seidel, Gaelle Bauman, Perry Friedman, Faraz Jaka, Justin Bonomo, Jeff Madsen and sadly the popular UK grandad and previous main event finalist John Hesp, whose brightly coloured clothing, panama hat and sunny personality at the table will be missed.
Despite the list of top exits, many star players remain in contention, such as Barny Boatman, Alex Foxen, Chris Klodnicki, Ben Yu, Darren Elias, David Bach, Marvin Rettenmaier, Juha Helppi, Allen Cunningham, Pierre Neuville, and Kristen Bicknell.
They are vying for the main prize, which this year will be around $8.8 million from a prize pool of $74,015,600 – the largest Main Event pool in 12 years. If that turns out to be beyond their reach, they will be shooting or the million dollar take-homes that a seat at the final table will reward. And if that fails, they will hope to be among the 1,182 who will cash a minimum of $15,000 in this prestigious event.
2,799 Players Remain In World Series Of Poker Main Event (Update)
More starting flight survivors go forward to play in the combined field
The World Series of Poker Main Event competition continued Friday when the 3,480 survivors of the record third starting flight battled for a position in the combined field Saturday.
At the end of the 10-hour day Californian fruit farmer Ignacio Sanchez led the 1,668 players still active, holding the lead with 627,200 in chips, with his closest rivals Eric Sfez (551,600) and Matthew Klapstein (531,700).
Among Friday’s survivors were notable names Liv Boeree, Yevgeniy Timoshenko, Todd Brunson, Martin Finger, Andy Bloch, Sylvain Loosli, Fatima Moreira de Melo, Men Nguyen, Patrik Antonius, Jessica Dawley, hedge fund exec David Einhorn, Brandon Shack-Harris, Shannon Shorr, Barbara Enright, John Juanda, record WSOP bracelet holder Phil Hellmuth, Damian Salas, Chino Rheem, Paul Volpe, Loni Harwood, Eugene Katchalov, Dan Heimiller, Barry Greenstein, James Obst, Steve Billirakis, Chris Moorman, and 2002 Main Event winner Robert Varkonyi.
The day’s survivors join those from the combined first and second starter fields on Saturday, making a combined field of 2,799 players, all that remains of the 7,874 players who originally registered for the competition.
At the very least they will all be hoping to make it through to the money bubble which pops on the 1,182nd player and will pay a minimum of $15,000…but the real prize will be the first place reward of $8.8 million.
Money Bubble Bursts In World Series Of Poker Main Event (Update)
First pay level of $15,000 reached for 1,182 survivors from an original field of 7,874 players
2,786 players started the first day of combined starter fields in the World Series of Poker $10,000 buy-in NLHE Main Event Saturday, concluding early Sunday morning when the money bubble was reached on the elimination of the 1,183rd player.
Matthew Hopkins was busted out by Bryce McVay, and from now on players are assured of the minimum cash of $15,000 from the massive $74,015,600.
It wasn’t a complete loss for Hopkins, who as the bubble boy leaves with a seat in the 2019 Main Event worth $10,000.
Hopkins wasn’t alone in his disappointment; among the respected names who fell before cashing were Phil Hellmuth, Chris Ferguson, Alex Foxen, Jason Mercier, Greg Merson, Matt Waxman, JC Tran, Loren Klein, Eli Elezra, Erick Lindgren, Tom Marchese, Anthony Zinno and Steffen Sontheimer.
The chip leader when chips were bagged up for the day was In Sun Geoum on 1,696,000, with his closest rivals Frank Flowers (1,624,000) and Samuel Bernabeu (1,418,000).
There are still formidable pro players in contention; going forward to the next day’s action on Sunday with respectable chip stacks are Phil Ivey, Eric Froehlich, Dan Heimiller, Adam Geyer, Ben Yu, Samuel Touil, Chris Moorman, Paul Volpe, Shannon Shorr, Chino Rheem, Jonathan Hilton, Kelly Minkin, Brian Yoon, Brian Altman, Davidi Kitai, James Obst and Taylor Paur.
Real Estate Manager Wins World Series Of Poker NLHE Event
$323,472 in prize money and a first winner’s bracelet for Las Vegas resident Longsheng Tan
Las Vegas real estate manager Longsheng Tan (34) boosted his half-million dollars in poker career earnings over the weekend in taking down the World Series of Poker $1,500 buy-in NLHE event following four days of intense competition.
Tan dominated much of the play in the closing days and especially at the final table, where at least initially he and US pro Adam Laskey vied for the lead; Laskey subsequently succumbed at fifth when he encountered a bad run, and left with $75,497.
When the heads up stage was reached Tan had a 3 to 1 lead on his last opponent, Californian Lanny Levine (67), managing to keep the pressure on and eliminate Levine at second for $199,862 after just 17 hands.
The event attracted 1,351 entrants, creating a $1,823,850 prize pool from which 203 players cashed.
Othder final table cashes included:,
- Jayaram Kovoorchathoth $142,785
- Trey Brabham $103,212
- Adam Laskey $75,497
- Stephen Bierman $55,892
- John Pannucci $41,884
- Georgiios Tavoularis $31,775
- Jason Paradis $24,409
Controversy unfolded at the World Series of Poker Main Event, where 14 bracelet-holder Phil Hellmuth lived down to his nickname “Poker Brat” with a brief and expletive-laden meltdown at a televised table directed at another player.
Massachusetts-based firefighter James Campbell, whom Hellmuth appeared to feel was targeting him, was the subject of the Poker Brat’s rant. Campbell was eventually eliminated from the event as social media lit up with a number of pro players calling Hellmuth out on his behaviour, which went unpunished by the organisers.
In an attempt to make things right, Hellmuth later admitted he had been wrong to lose control of his emotions and apologised to the firefighter, sweetening it with an offer to pay his $10,000 buy-in to next year’s World Series of Poker Main Event.
Here’s what Doug Polk had to say about the incident:
World Series Of Poker Main Event Contestants Now Down To 310
Phil Ivey among the casualties
The World Series of Poker $10,000 buy-in NLHE Main Event Day 4 has concluded with under 5 percent of the original field of 7,784 players still in contention…and Phil Ivey was among the big names to fall during a day that saw the field whittled down to just 310 players.
After 13 hours of poker the survivors bagged up their chips with pro Barry Hutter in the lead on 5,597,000, followed by Alexander Haro (5,031,000) and Brian Altman (4,861,000). It was Altman who sent Ivey to the exit.
Other notable names who busted out included Scott Clements, Jamie Kerstetter, Barry Greenstein, Patrik Antonius, Johnny Chan, Kristen Bicknell, Tom McEvoy and former WSOP Main Event champ Jonathan Duhamel.
Duhamel’s departure leaves 2009 Main Event winner Joe Cada as the last former champion remaining in this year’s Series.
Players return for another tough and combative day on Monday, July 9, at 11am with blinds and antes still at 10,000/20,000/3,000 for another hour. The next elimination will cash $37,705.
Las Vegas Storm Curtails Day 5 Of World Series Of Poker Main Event
Texas player Mike Dyer leads 109 survivors from a starting field of 310 as chips are bagged early
Day 5 of the World Series of Poker Main Event was shortened following a major storm over Las Vegas which caused lighting and other technical hassles at the Rio around a half hour before play was scheduled to end Monday.
The field at the start of the day had numbered 310, but when the chips were bagged ahead of schedule just 109 (a 65 percent attrition rate) remained in contention,
Leading the survivors was Texas player Mike Dyer on 12,180,000 chips, comfortably ahead of his nearest rivals, two-bracelet holder Brian Yoon ( 8,395,000) and Jeff Trudeau (8,305,000).
The players are now in the big money, with the next elimination when play resumes Tuesday Las Vegas time taking home $57,010.
The eliminations during the day included names like Jake Schindler, Barbara Enright, Bruno Politano, Chris Moorman, Daniel Alaei, Ludovic Geilich, Chino Rheem, James Akenhead, Brian Altman, Adam Levy, Ben Yu, Paul Volpe, Ivan Demidov, Antonio Esfandiari, Scott Davies, and Cliff Josephy.
Those who survived included former WSOP Main Event champ Joe Cada, Kelly Minkin (the sole female still in action), Day 4 chip leader Barry Hutter, Eric Froehlich, Ivan Luca, Benjamin Pollak, Shannon Shorr, Shaun Deeb and James Obst.
World Series Of Poker Main Event Down To Just 26 Players
Last woman standing eliminated in fiftieth place for $156,265 on Day 6
The World Series of Poker Main Event Day 6 survivors have bagged up their chips for the night after the field was reduced from 109 to just 26 Tuesday night.
The next player to be eliminated will earn $282,630 from the massive $74,015,600 prize pool, and Day 7 should see the formation of the final table.
Prominent among the casualties was Kelly Minkin as the last woman in the field; she put up an impressive performance but busted out at fiftieth for $156,265 during the day.
She was in good company; also eliminated were Shaun Deeb, Alexandre Reard, Stefan Huber, Mike Cordell, Benjamin Pollak, Brian Yoon, Shannon Shorr and Rifat Palevic.
Leading the field in chip counts when the day ended was Aram Zobian on 41,585,000, chased by Artem Metalidi (30,845,000) and Antoine Labat (28,445,000).
Top names among the survivors of the Day 6 carnage include two-time WSOP bracelet winner Eric Froehlich, Sylvain Loosli, 2009 WSOP Main Event champion Joe Cada, Jeff Trudeau, Barry Hutter, Bart Lybaert and Ivan Luca.
Keijzer Wins Wsop $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Six-Max
Earns first WSOP bracelet
Dutch poker pro Ronald Keijzer (26) has prevailed over 900 other entrants to win the 2018 World Series of Poker’s $3,000 pot-limit Omaha six-max event to earn the title, his first bracelet and $475,033.
The win marks Keijzer’s second WSOP career cash.
Keijzer faced 22-year-old Frenchman Romain Lewis heads-up who took home $293,553 for his second runner-up finish.
Final Table Results:
1 : Ronald Keijzer – $475,033
2 : Romain Lewis – $293,553
3 : Scott Bohlman – $199,572
4 : Mohammad Abediarani – $137,954
5 : James Chen – $96,987
6 : Ryan Lenaghan – $69,369
Hellmuth Wins His Fifteenth W.S.O.P. Winner’S Bracelet
California ace shows that he’s still got it
Top US professional poker player Phil Hellmuth (53) has claimed his fifteenth World Series of Poker winner’s bracelet, along with the main prize of $485,082 after winning the $5,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em (30 minute levels) competition.
Hellmuth, who with 14 bracelets was already comfortably ahead of his closest rivals, widened the gap Wednesday after defeating double-bracelet holder Steven Wolansky from Florida in the heads up.
Hellmuth went into the heads up at a 3 to 1 disadvantage, but quickly doubled up, and from then on the two finalists vied for the lead until Hellmuth managed to retain momentum and win the contest.
It was Hellmuth’s record 134th WSOP cash, and that 15th bracelet puts him even further ahead of 10-bracelet rivals like Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan and Phil Ivey.
The competition recorded 452 entries and generated a prize pool of $2,101,800, allowing 68 players to cash.
World Series Of Poker Main Event Final Table Reached (Update)
Former Main Event champ Joe Cada is still in contention
The elimination of Chinese player Yueqi Zhu in 10th place for $850,025 Wednesday has formed the final table in this year’s World Series of Poker Main Event, and former champion Joe Cada (30) is still in the running to reprise his 2009 Main Event achievement, currently positioned sixth with 23,675,000 chips.
Final table members when chips were bagged Wednesday night were:
- Nicolas Manion USA 112,775,000
- Michael Dyer USA 109,175,000
- Tony Miles USA 42,750,000
- John Cynn USA 37,075,000
- Alex Lynskey Australia 25,925,000
- Joe Cada USA 23,675,000
- Aram Zobian USA 18,875,000
- Artem Metalidi Ukraine 15,475,000
- Antoine Labat France 8,050,000
The remaining players are all now in million dollar territory – the next elimination will earn $1 million.