WSOP Day 25: Scotty Nguyen Leads the $25K PLO

June 22, 2018

Sometimes this series, it might look like we've gone back in time. Some of the past's biggest heroes have made resurrections and once again headline events.

Doyle Brunson was seen playing an event, Mike Matusow is still crossing around in the Rio with his little scooter, Chris Ferguson is running around playing as many events as possible, and non-other than Scotty Nguyen is leading a big event again. Nguyen brings the biggest stack of them all in the record-breaking $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event, looking for his sixth bracelet.

Daniel Negreanu and Phil Ivey are through to Day 2 in Event #46: $2,500 Mixed Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better/Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better, and Max Kruse bubbled another event. It's nothing we haven't seen before, but boy is it fun!

If you're in the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino this afternoon, you can rail the biggest stars in the game from no further away than three feet by standing on the rail. If you can not make it to Vegas, PokerNews is the next best thing. In fact, it might even be better as we have unlimited access to all the tournaments and report on all the hands. Stand by for another fun day at the World Series of Poker, here's what's on tap today.

Event #42: $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed High Roller

The biggest $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed High Roller to date at the World Series of Poker has seen a field of 230 entries reduced to the final six, all guaranteed at least $215,718 for their efforts. However, the lion's share of the $5,462,500 is still up for grabs, and all eyes are set on an incredible first-place payout of $1,402,683 and one of the most coveted gold bracelets of the summer.

Leading the six finalists after the penultimate day of Event #42 is none other than five-time WSOP bracelet winner and 1998 Main Event champion Scotty Nguyen, who edged past defending champion James Calderaro and bagged up 7,010,000. Calderaro follows in second place with 6,445,000, while Shaun Deeb is just one big blind behind with a stack of 6,305,000.

Ultimately, it was Scotty Nguyen that set the final highlight of the day by sending David Benyamine to the rail in 7th place.

Ben Yu, who entered the day with the chip lead, made the final six with 4,775,000 and the remaining two finalists for the All-American showdown are Jason Koon (2,905,000) and Ryan Tosoc (1,300,000). Koon has already secured his seventh six-figure score for the current year, which may turn into the fourth seven-figure payday upon completion of the tournament.

In the second hand of the unofficial final table, Jonathan Depa ran into the pocket aces of Calderaro and left much sooner than he had hoped for, while Calderaro claimed the top spot for the first time in the event. Yu's run good ended and he doubled David Benyamine and Ryan Tosoc, while Bogdan Capitan survived two all-in situations. The third time wasn't a charm, however, and Capitan's float with an overpair and flush draw on the turn was no good, as Yu's set and nut flush draw ensured the elimination.

Ultimately, it was Nguyen that set the final highlight of the day by sending David Benyamine to the rail in seventh place. As the shortest stack, Benyamine defended his big blind and got it in with middle pair and a straight draw. Nguyen had that dominated with top pair and the superior straight draw; just the pair ended up scooping the pot and ending the day with the final six.

Day 3 wrapped up with 22 minutes left in level 27 at blinds of 60,000/120,000 and the final day will recommence today at 2 p.m. local time. The showdown for the biggest Pot-Limit Omaha event of the year so far will be broadcasted on PokerGO and you can, of course, read all the live updates without delay, right here on PokerNews.

Event #43: $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em

Following ten hours of action-packed play, the field of 1,071 has been reduced to just 34. They will all be hoping to take home the top prize of $507,274 as well as a gold bracelet when they return at noon today.

Top of the chip counts is Seth Davies (1,305,000). He was climbing steadily over the course of the day and about an hour before the end of play today; he knocked out Yuri Dzivielevski. Dzievielevski had two pair when the chips went in on the turn but Davies rivered a better two pair to propel himself towards the end-of-day lead.

Seth Davies was climbing steadily over the course of the day and about an hour before the end of play today, he knocked out Yuri Dzivielevski.

He will be facing tough opposition, as experienced pro's Jeff Hakim (1,164,000) and Javier Fernandez (1,093,000) also bagged over a million. Other notables who put themselves in a solid spot for Day 3 include Andrew Brokos (625,000), Daniel Buzgon (570,000) and Ismael Bojang (497,000).

This tournament has attracted a host of big names and of those, David Peters (480,000), Chris Ferguson (402,000), Ryan Laplante (292,000), and Andreas Klatt (230,000) have all won at least one bracelet in their careers. Each of them will return for the third day to add another piece of hardware to their already impressive poker résumé's.

You can follow the tournament live on PokerNews.com as they try to play down to a winner. It's not unheard of this year for a tournament to need an additional day, and that just might happen in this one as well.

Event #44: $10,000 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Championship

Day 2 of Event #44: $10,000 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Championship has come to a conclusion with Michael Noori holding the chip lead for the second consecutive day.

Noori maintained his standing near the top of the chip counts for the majority of the day. While he didn't score all that many eliminations, he won several key pots once the field redrew to the final three tables to add to his stack and eventually opened up a sizable chip lead to end the day.

It's not the first time Kruse bubbled this series; nearly two weeks ago he bubbled the $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball as well.

Canadian Christopher Kruk sits second overall with 658,000, while Randy Ohel is third with 602,000. Jason Gray (569,000) and Hanh Tran (423,000) are the only other two players over average chips, while the likes of WSOP bracelet winners Farzad Bonyadi and Calvin Anderson are also still in the hunt. Bonyadi's mother, Farhintaj Bonyadi, won Event #36: $1,000 Super Seniors No-Limit Hold'em earlier this series, and a win for Bonyadi could deliver an unprecedented mother-and-son victory at the 2018 World Series of Poker.

German professional soccer player Max Kruse bubbled the event. It's not the first time he bubbled this series; nearly two weeks ago he bubbled Event #23: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship as well.

Day 3 action resumes at 2:00 p.m., with the PokerNews live reporting team on the floor to provide continuous live updates until an Event #44 Champion is crowned.

Event #45: Big Blind Antes $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em (30 minute levels)

A starting field of 1,712 in Event #45: Big Blind Antes $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em (30 minute levels) was whittled down to just 41 players after 20 levels of play. Leading the way is two-time WSOP bracelet winner Steven Wolansky.

Wolansky was boosted by eliminating 2015 November Niner Pierre Neuville late in the day.

Wolansky was boosted by eliminating 2015 November Niner Pierre Neuville late in the day. Getting it in with ace-eight of hearts against the ace-queen of his Belgian opponent, Wolansky went runner-runner to river a flush and send his opponent to the rail in a hand that saw him take over the chip lead.

Other big stacks include DJ MacKinnon (532,000), Michael Wang (355,000), King Lun Alan Lau (350,000), Mike Hauptman (338,000), Lander Lijo (290,000), Joseph Cheong (280,000) and Robin Hegele (245,000). There are plenty of big names still in the hunt including another two-time bracelet winner, Athanasios Polychronopoulos (156,000), as well as Women in Poker Hall of Famer and WSOP bracelet winner Kathy Liebert (245,000), 2017 $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha third-place finisher Esther Taylor (126,000), as well as Kelly Minkin (136,000).

The tournament resumes at noon as they play down to a winner. First prize is $258,255 and a WSOP gold bracelet, and there are still plenty of top names in contention, so stay tuned to PokerNews for all the coverage.

Event #46: $2,500 Mixed Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better/Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better

This event brought out a total of 402 runners to play, creating a total prize pool of $904,500. At the end of play on Day 1, only 152 players remained and leading the way is Sergio Ramirez who bagged a massive stack of 139,700 chips.

Ramirez had a late day surge that included him busting Eli Elezra.

Ramirez had a late day surge that included him busting Eli Elezra. In the hand, Elezra made trips, while Ramirez made a full house.

Some of those to bag up a stack at the end of Day 1 included Eric Rodawig (123,400), Kate Hoang (76,900), Scott Abrams (74,400), Robert Mizrachi (62,500), Felipe Ramos (52,600), Daniel Negreanu (42,200), Jesse Martin (31,900), Marco Johnson (28,000) and Phil Ivey (8,100) to name a few.

The remaining 152 players return at 2 p.m. where they are scheduled to play another ten levels. Action will kick off in level 11 with limits of 1,200/2,400 and 61 players will finish in the money. PokerNews will be back at it again tomorrow with all the updates so make sure to tune back in.

Event #48: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em MONSTER STACK

The MONSTER STACK gets its name from... the monster stack players start with. Buying in for $1,500 gets you 15,000 in chips. With the first blind level of 25/50, that means everyone gets 300 big blinds to start with. As the levels are 60 minutes long, that's a lot of bang for your buck.

There are two starting days; 1a today, 1b tomorrow. Both start at 10 a.m., but you can't play both; you have to pick.

There are two starting days, but you can't play both; you have to pick.

There are ten levels scheduled for the starting days with registration open for the first eight, meaning registration closes around 8:15 p.m. for this event.

Last year, poker pro Brian Yoon took down the event winning his third bracelet for a massive score of $1,094,349 - beating a field of 6,716 entries. Heads up he faced a tough opponent in Ihar Soika ($675,995), a well-known rounder from Belarus. Maurice Hawkins also made the final table, he finished in sixth place ($213,591).

The tournament was introduced in 2014 when 7,862 players entered. The number of entries has been declining ever since, but that probably has more to do with the competition of other WSOP weekend tournaments like the Millionaire Maker, Double Stack, the Marathon, the Colossus, and the growing number of tournaments on offer at the series overall.

MONSTER STACK Over the Years

Event #49: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed Championship

In 2005, Phil Ivey won the biggest buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha event at the series, a $5,000 freeze-out. He beat a field of 134 players to take home $635,603, the biggest share of the $1,765,568 prize pool. The next year, the event doubled its buy-in with Lee Watkinson taking down the event after beating 217 opponents. In 2007, the event was scaled back to a $5,000 buy-in but now with rebuys. The next year, it was back to $10,000, and the event has had that buy-in ever since.

In 2005, Phil Ivey won the biggest buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha event at the series.

While a $25,000 edition of the popular game was introduced in 2015, the $10,000 edition remains a popular event with last year's edition setting a record in terms of attendance with 428 players.

Players get 50,000 in chips with ten 60-minute levels on the schedule for the first of three days. Blinds start at 100, and 200 and (late)registration is open till the start of Day 2.

Defending champion is Tommy Le who beat Kwang Lee heads-up to walk away a winner. Patrick Mahoney was the one to bubble the event, with Scott Clements leading for some time before eventually bowing out in fourth place ($277,768).

$10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Over the Years

_{* In 2007, the event was a $5,000 with rebuys.}

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