WSOP What to Watch For: June 3, 2017

June 03, 2017

Today's What to Watch For is brought to you by the VerStandig Law Firm, LLC. Combining a keen understanding of the gaming world and an equally keen understanding of the law, Mac VerStandig and his colleagues are devoted to fighting on behalf of the poker community and its members.

Big turnouts and big buy-ins – Friday at the World Series of Poker featured plenty of both. The first two flights of Colossus III brought in thousands of players hoping to turn $565 into a cool million. Meanwhile, the $111,1111 High Roller for One Drop brought out plenty of pros with big bankrolls hoping to win a massive first-place prize. A familiar name sat atop the heap after chips were bagged – 2014 Main Event champion Martin Jacobson.

Here's what to watch for on Day 4 of the 2017 WSOP.

Event #3: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em SHOOTOUT

Only 10 players remain with the final table set for Saturday at noon. Play began Friday with 10 five-handed tables with one winner at each table advancing. Jean Gaspard won the early bird award for winning his table first even while some tables still had all starting players. He advances to the final table along with Taylor Paur and Upeshka De Silva. All three are seeking that second bracelet.

Also advancing are Olivier Busquet, Jan Schwippert, Casey Carroll, Mark McMillin, Louis Helm, Linglin Zeng, and John Richards. Notables Dominik Nitsche, Barry Greenstein, Andre Akkari, Jean-Robert Bellande, and Matt Glantz were eliminated on Day 2, but take home $6,407 in cash. For all the PokerNews updates of the final table, click here.

Here are payouts for the final table:

• 1st – $229,923
• 2nd – $142,115
• 3rd – $103,449
• 4th – $76,018
• 5th – $56,397
• 6th – $42,246
• 7th – $31,955
• 8th – $24,410
• 9th – $18,832

Event #4: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better

Players returned to the Rio after 905 entries in this event with a prize pool of $1.22 million. Only 245 returned for Day 2 and now 29 will be battling it out on Day 3. Christopher Logue ended the day as chip leader with 498,000 and is looking for his first bracelet. Just behind him are James Chen, Jared Hemingway, Jon Seaman, Kevin Gerhart, and Kate Hoang, who all topped 300,000-chip mark.

Actor James Woods chipped up well in Day 1, but ultimately finished 71st for $3,116. Day 1 leader Rex Clinkscales didn’t find much traction on Friday and busted with a cash of $4,027. Despite making the money, Benny Glaser was also eliminated 120th for $2,315 after winning this event in 2016 as well as the $10,000 variety.

Play resumes Saturday at 2 p.m. in Level 20 with blinds of 10,000/20,000 and will play down to a winner. To follow action, log on to the PokerNews live updates by clicking here.

Event #5: THE COLOSSUS III - $565 No-Limit Hold'em

The Colossus brought out plenty of pros and recreational players alike looking to strike it rich in this massive-field event. The first Day 1 flight got underway at 10 a.m. and the second began at 4 p.m. Thomas Boivin led the early field with 538,000 in chips. Trailing close behind were Newton Deleon (433,000) and Kevon Bakhtiari (382,000). Other notables advancing to Day 2 include 2004 WSOP Main Event champion Greg Raymer (78,000) and Frederick Ferrell (288,000), who won a WSOP-Circuit ring in March. There were a total of 2,756 entries in Flight 1A and 93 of those will advance to Day 2.

In the second flight, Hunter Frey took the chip lead with 400,000 to lead Day 1b with 64 players remaining. Frey leads 64 players into Day 2 Monday. Just behind Frey were Ryan Buckholtz (386,000), Scott Bohlman (346,000), Jesse Vilchez (331,000), and Yang Zhang (283,000). The two previous Colossus champions, Cord Garcia and Ben Keeline, were both eliminated from this flight.

All players who made Day 2 are already in the money. This event still has starting flights left on Saturday and Sunday with two flights each day (10 a.m. and 4 p.m.) so thousands more will be joining the fun. Players are allowed one re-entry per flight and can play multiple flights. Click here to follow all the action via PokerNew live updates.

Event #6: $111,111 HIGH ROLLER for ONE DROP

Plenty of rounders were ready to drop some cash on this big buy-in event with $11,111 of each buy-in benefiting the One Drop Foundation, which provides fresh water services to third-world countries. Players could even fire a second bullet if needed.

After Day 1, Martin Jacobson leads with 1,677,000, followed by Charlie Carrel with 1,624,000, and Doug Polk with 1,522,000. Big One for One Drop champions Antonio Esfandiari (905,000) and Dan Colman (377,000) are also both still alive for Day 2. Last year’s winner, Fedor Holz, had to re-enter during the fourth level, but was ultimately eliminated.

Fourteen-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth was back at the RIo after sitting courtside Thursday night for the Golden State Warriors victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. After unveiling new golden shoes to start the series, he then came to see them as unlucky and burned them before jumping in this event later in the evening.

The action got underway at 3 p.m. and the number of entries may still grow as players have until the beginning of Day 2 to register. Play resumes in this four-day affair on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Level 8 with blinds of 5,000/10,000. PokerNews.com will have all the action in our live updates section for this prestigious event.

Event #7: $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball

No Hold’em or Omaha here – lovers of lowball can rejoice in an event tailored just for those looking to take the low road. This three-day event features Badugi, 2-7, and A-5 and begins on Saturday. Christopher Vitch, of Phoenix, Ariz., won his first bracelet in this event last year for $136,854. The 33-year-old also found some success in another lowball event, the $10,000 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Championship, for $28,507. The cards are dealt at 3 p.m. and PokerNews will have all the lowball action.

Event #8: $333 WSOP.com ONLINE No-Limit Hold'em

Grab the laptop, pour some coffee, and find a comfortable seat, the WSOP’s first online event of the summer boots up on Saturday at WSOP.com. The series offers three online tournaments this summer and the first is the $333 No Limit Hold’em with a guarantee of $333,333. Offering unlimited re-entries, the tournament begins at 3:33 p.m. and plays out in only one day. To register, visit WSOP.com. PokerNews.com will have live updates for this event as well.

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