WSOP Day 34: Duhamel Wins One Drop, Wittmeyer Takes DraftKings 50/50 & More
Day 34 of the 2015 World Series of Poker saw the conclusion of the summer's biggest buy-in event, the $111,111 High Roller for ONE DROP, which was won by a familiar face. Meanwhile, the DraftKings 50/50 event crowned a winner, while two events, including the $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller, kicked off. Check out those stories in more in PokerNews' daily WSOP recap.
Jonathan Duhamel Wins $111,111 High Roller for ONE DROP for $3,989,985
On Monday, 46 players returned for Day 2 action in the 2015 World Series of Poker $111,111 High Roller for ONE DROP, a tournament that attracted 135 players and created a $14,249,925 prize pool and raised more than $750,000 for charity.
In the end, 2010 WSOP Main Event champ and longtime ONE DROP supporter Jonathan Duhamel topped the elite field to capture his second gold bracelet and the accompanying $3,989,985 first-place prize.
"I feel so amazing right now," Duhamel said after his win. "It doesn't get any better than that. The biggest buy-in of the whole summer, for charity also, all those things combined it's an amazing day. It's probably my second-best day ever after winning the Main Event. It's so amazing, I feel so blessed, I feel so happy, so lucky to be where I am right now"
Among those to fall early on Day 2 were Jason Koon, Paul Volpe, Sorel Mizzi, Ben Tollerene, Erik Seidel, and the money bubble boy, Justin Bonomo. According to updates from the event, Bonomo fell after his A♠K♣ failed to get there against Daniel Colman's Q♣Q♦.
A heads-up duel between Duhamel and Bill Klein began with Duhamel holding a 1.3:1 chip lead and ended just 22 hands later. Klein made his last stand with king-jack, but saw his tournament come to an end when he ran into the 2010 WSOP Main Event champion's pocket kings.
"Bill was playing pretty tough," said after the win. "I didn't think he'd play that tough to be honest. He had some moves here and there, and it was tough to play against him. I give a lot of credit to the two guys [during three-handed play. I think it was anyone's game at that point, we were all equal in chips. I feel even more blessed because of that."
In regards to Klein, a successful businessman, he donated all his $2,465,522 in prize money to the ONE DROP charity. A supreme gesture indeed.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonathan Duhamel | Boucherville, QC, Canada | $3,989,985 |
| 2 | Bill Klein | Laguna Hills, CA | $2,465,522 |
| 3 | Daniel Colman | Holden, MA | $1,544,121 |
| 4 | Ben Sulsky | Brewster, MA | $1,118,049 |
| 5 | Daniel Perper | Highland Park, IL | $873,805 |
| 6 | Phil Hellmuth | Palo Alto, CA | $696,821 |
| 7 | Anthony Zinno | Boston, MA | $565,864 |
| 8 | Sergey Lebedev | Troitsk, Russia | $466,970 |
| 9 | Andrew Lichtenberger | Las Vegas, NV | $390,875 |
For more on Duhamel's win, click here.
Professional Sports Bettor Brandon Wittmeyer Takes Down DraftKings 50/50
Day 3 of Event #55: $1,500 DraftKings 50/50 No-Limit Hold'em – a tournament that attracted 1,123 entries and created a prize pool of $1,516,050 – saw 28 players return to battle down to a winner. It took a full day of play, but eventually 31-year-old Brandon Wittmeyer, a professional sports bettor from Las Vegas, emerged victorious to capture the $200,618 first-place prize and his first WSOP gold bracelet.
"Honestly, I did not really think about the sports betting and Draftkings connection," said Wittmeye4, who had finished third in the $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em event less than a week ago. “This just happened to be the next tournament on the schedule after I finished third in the other event. So, it was nothing I planned out."
He continued: "I’ve played about eight tournament this year so far. It’s amazing to have this happen to me back-to-back making two final tables, and now this. I just thought it would be neat to cash again since they were paying half the field. I didn’t expect to come this far again, let alone win it."
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brandon Wittmeyer | Las Vegas, NV | $200,618 |
| 2 | Derek Gomez | Orange, CA | $123,907 |
| 3 | Ping Liu | Chicago, IL | $77,516 |
| 4 | Mukul Pahuja | Coconut Creek, FL | $56,245 |
| 5 | Tom Braband | Las Vegas, NV | $41,540 |
| 6 | Matt Affleck | Mill Creek, WA | $31,079 |
| 7 | Perati Muhamet | Italy | $23,650 |
| 8 | Stefano Terziani | Italy | $18,268 |
| 9 | Michael Witman | Horseshoe Bay, TX | $14,266 |
Among those to fall on Day 3 were Dominik Nitsche (24th - $6,049), Joao Simao (18th - $7,354), Matt Affleck (6th - $31,079), and Mukul Pahuja (4th - $56,245). By the time heads-up play rolled around, Wittmeyer held a 3-to-1 chip lead over Derek Gomez, a poker dealer from the Wynn Casino.
In what would be the final hand of the tournament, which happened in Level 30 (40,000/80,000/10,000) on Hand #146 of the final table, Gomez limped the button and then shoved all in after Wittmeyerhad raised to 300,000. Wittmeyer made the call with the A♥Q♥, which was well out in front of Gomez's A♦10♠. However, the K♠10♦2♠ flop gave Gomez the lead with a pair of tens. The 2♥ was of no consequence, but the Q♣ river was as Wittmeyer paired up to capture the title!
Stephen Graner Leads the Final 26 Players in Event #57
Only 26 players remain in Event #57: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em and leading the way into Day 3 is Stephen Graner, who has almost double second place.
Top 10 Day 1 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stephen Graner | 1,869,000 |
| 2 | Paul Vas Nunes | 936,000 |
| 3 | Thomas Loya | 910,000 |
| 4 | Robert Piltz | 886,000 |
| 5 | Glenn Lafaye | 832,000 |
| 6 | Jonas Lauck | 713,000 |
| 7 | Michael Wolf | 695,000 |
| 8 | Robbie Bakker | 627,000 |
| 9 | Takahiro Nakai | 614,000 |
| 10 | Frederico Dabis | 507,000 |
Also still in hunt are Pedro Oliveira (295,000), Mayu Roca (288,000), Adam Geyer (276,000), Kelly Kim (203,000) and Jude Ainsworth (111,000).
Notable finishes thus far include Matt Waxman (27th - $11,416), David Randall (38th - $7,595), Leo Wolpert (44th - $7,595), Jon Turner (45th - $7,595), Harley Thrower (47th - $6,292) and Tony Ruberto (52nd - $6,292).
Play resumes at 1 p.m. and is scheduled to play down to a winner.
Park and Clements Lead the $25,000 PLO High Roller
One of the new events on the 2015 WSOP docket kicked off Monday as Event #60: $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller saw 166 players take to the felt. After 10 levels on Day 1, just 67 players remain. The first-place price hasn't been released yet as registration remains open until the start of Day 2.
Here are the top 10 chip counts:
| Place | Player | Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Park | 465,700 |
| 2 | Scott Clements | 460,000 |
| 3 | Joseph Sanders | 434,900 |
| 4 | Alexey Makarov | 433,000 |
| 5 | Talal Shakerchi | 420,000 |
| 6 | Prakesh Patel | 400,200 |
| 7 | Richard Austin | 387,600 |
| 8 | Stian Usterud | 382,800 |
| 9 | Victor Saedon | 376,800 |
| 10 | Brian Hastings | 338,200 |
Play resumes at 2 p.m. Tuesday and the players are scheduled to get another 10 levels in the books.
Killeen Leads After Day 1 of Event #39
After 11 levels on Day 1, the starting field of 2,155 players in Event #59: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em is down to 309 hopefuls, each looking to capture the WSOP gold bracelet and the first-place prize of $531,037.
Top 10 Day 1 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kevin Killeen | 177,900 |
| 2 | Luke Marsh | 174,000 |
| 3 | Bradley Goulding | 153,400 |
| 4 | Eduards Kudrjavevs | 152,400 |
| 5 | Andrew Kelsall | 150,300 |
| 6 | Christopher Bell | 149,400 |
| 7 | Shankar Pillai | 138,600 |
| 8 | Alex Smith | 136,900 |
| 9 | Alessandra Dos Santos | 134,900 |
| 10 | Aurelien Guiglini | 133,400 |
Play resumes at 1 p.m. Tuesday and 10 levels will thin the field down to about 40 players.
Just one event will kick off on Tuesday, albeit with two starting flights. Event #61: $1,111 The Little One for One Drop will see Flight 1A kick off at 10:00 a.m., while Flight 1B will follow at 4:00 p.m. local time.
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PR & Media Manager for PokerNews, Podcast host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.
