WSOP Day 8: Eli Elezra Seeks Fourth Bracelet Today in $10K Omaha Hi-Lo

June 06, 2018

Sean Chaffin Contributor

When play resumes on Wednesday at the 2018 World Series of Poker, Eli Elezra will have the chip lead with six players left in Event #9: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship as he looks to claim his fourth career WSOP bracelet.

In other events, 2016 WSOP Main Event Champion Qui Nguyen is currently among the leaders in Event #14: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw while Event #7: COLOSSUS - $565 No-Limit Hold'em is also getting closer to a winner after two days of play.

Event #7: COLOSSUS - $565 No-Limit Hold'em

The third day of colossal action will return on Wednesday with 32 remaining and Matthew Causa leading the field with 4,400,000 chips. The event attracted a whopping 13,070 entries for a prize pool of just over $1.6 million.

Rounding out the current top five are Thai Ha (4,095,000), Paawan Bansal (3,435,000), Sang Liu (3,339,000), and Matt Silva (3,385,000). Others still alive include WSOP bracelet winner John Racener (3,010,000), Timothy Miles (2,695,000), and flight 1e chip leader Kurt Jewell (2,260,000).

Play picks up at 2 p.m. and a champion should be crowned on Thursday. That winner will not only take home a bracelet, but a $1 million top prize. PokerNews will have all your live updates. Follow along here.

Event #9: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship

Eli Elezra remained on a heater throughout Tuesday in the $10K Omaha Hi-Lo Championship, accumulating a massive chip stack. After leading to start Day 2 yesterday, he ended the night in first again with a stack of 2.7 million. He's looking for his fourth bracelet and a top prize of $417,921.

Elezra has a highly-decorated poker career with more than $3 million in live tournament winnings and numerous big cash game appearances on TV.

This event attracted 160 players and sports a prize pool of $1,588,600. The other five players remaining are Adam Coats (1,820,000), Paul Volpe (1,600,000), Kyle Miaso (1,275,000), Viacheslav Zhukov (910,000), and Dustin Dirksen (140,000).

PokerNews will have all the live updates on Wednesday until a winner is crowned. Click here to follow the coverage. The event will also be live streamed on the PokerGO app beginning at 3 p.m.

Event #12: $1,500 Dealers Choice 6-Handed

The home game-style fun continues on Wednesday with 15 players returning for Day 3 of the $1,500 Dealer's Choice event. Leading the field is Jeremy Harkin with 502,500 followed by Frankie O'Dell (373,000), Brayden Gazlay (323,000), George Trigeorgis (313,000), and Mike Leah (2227,000).

The event attracted 406 entries to create a prize pool of $548,100, and the winner takes home $129,882. Chris Vitch and George Trigeorgis also return for Day 3 after entering after having battled each other for a bracelet at the final table of the Mixed Triple Draw event on Monday.

The third and final day gets underway at 2 p.m. and PokerNews will be there for every big hand. Click here to follow along with the live reporting team.

The WSOP added a few tournaments using the big blind ante this year, and in this one Stephen Song bagged 193,100 chips last night to take the lead into Day 2. He'll be hoping for his first bracelet and the $315,346 top prize. The tournament attracted 1,306 entries and a prize pool of $1,763,100.

Other top stacks include Stefan Vidojkovic (190,300) 2016 WSOP Main Event Champion Qui Nguyen (155,100), Dutch Boyd (151,700), and Vojtech Ruzicka (128,800). Nguyen is searching for the second bracelet.

Others remaining include Romain Lewis (83,300), bracelet winner Ankush Mandavia (73,600), Chance Kornuth (62,800), Jeff Gross (60,300), Alexander Lynskey (55,000), four-time bracelet winner Jeff Madsen (51,600), and six-time bracelet winner Chris Ferguson (15,500).

The fun resumes at 12 noon and PokerNews will be there with all the action. The PokerCentral Twitch stream will be live streaming from Event #13 as well.

Event #14: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw

A favorite among many pros, a second day of lowball fun continues on Wednesday with 54 players returning in Event #14, each hoping for the top prize of $87,678. After Day 1, James Alexander is the chip leader after bagging 80,850 chips. The field of 260 made for a prize pool of $351,000.

Other top chip stacks include Ajay Chabra (78,675), Shaun Deeb (77,400), John Bunch (76,025), and James Morgan (70,350). Others advancing include Andrew Kelsall (70,225), Maria Ho (42,500), Jon Turner (29,550), Roland Israelashvili (24,425), Jameson Painter (11,675), and Joao Vieira (8,775). Last year's champion Frank Kassela also returns for Day 2.

The PokerNews team will be there reporting from this one as well, of course. Click here to follow the Day 2 coverage.

Event #15: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E.

The mixed-game fun continues on Wednesday with the lower buy-in H.O.R.S.E. option returning to the Rio. In 2017, David Singer took home the bracelet, the second of his career, to earn a top prize of $203,709. The event attracted 736 entries for a prize pool of $993,600. This three-day event kicks off early at 11 a.m. and the PokerNews live reporting will be there.

Event #16: $10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship

A popular big buy-in event, this tournament will attract plenty of pros. Play starts at 3 p.m. with the field capped at 512 players. Players will play three heads-up rounds on Day 1 with the second round starting at 6 p.m. and the third at 9 p.m. Spanish poker sensation Adrian Mateos took home his third bracelet after winning this event last year, earning $324,470 in prize money.

Another major story in this event over the last few years has been 71-year-old John Smith. The California heads-up phenomenon is a Purple Heart winner who served in Vietnam, a successful businessman, and quite a poker player who has performed well against some of the sharpest players in the game.

Truth be told, Smith has been crushing this tournament the last few years. In 2014, he made it to the round of 16 for $26,584. In 2016, he finished runner-up for $198,192. Then last summer, Smith finished runner-up again for $208,154. Will this be the year Smith makes it to the winner circle? PokerNews will have all the action.

Sean Chaffin is a freelance writer in Crandall, Texas. His work appears in numerous websites and publications. Follow him on Twitter @PokerTraditions. He is also the host of the True Gambling Stories podcast, available on iTunes, Google Play, TuneIn Radio, Spotify, Stitcher, PokerNews.com, HoldemRadio.com, and TrueGamblingStories.com.

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