WSOP Day 41: Minkin Making Another Main Event Run, Solomon Leads PLO
The suspense is building in the $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em MAIN EVENT which is now well into the money as players come back today for Day 5 with Barry Hutter currently leading the 310 who remain.
Meanwhile the side events continue. Day 2 of Event #69: $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 6-Handed gets going today where Jarred Solomon leads the returners and Dominik Nitsche has a big stack. Also on tap today are the third and final starting flight of Event #68: The Little One for One Drop - $1,000 +111 No-Limit Hold'em and the start of Event #70: $3,000 Limit Hold'em 6-Handed.
Event #65: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em MAIN EVENT - World Championship
After four days of play, just 310 players are left with a shot at the title of poker's world champion and the $8.8 million first-place prize that goes with it.
From the 7,874-player starting field 1,182 players returned for yesterday's Day 4, all guaranteed at least a $15,000 min-cash after the bubble burst to conclude play on Saturday. When they stopped last night the last cashers had each earned $37,705 and just 310 were left, with Barry Hutter topping the counts with 5,597,000.
Hutter is followed by Alexander Haro (5,031,000), Brian Altman (4,861,000), Andres Jeckeln (4,506,000), and Hari Bercovici at the top of the leaderboard, with last year's 29th-place finisher Kelly Minkin just outside the top five with a stack of 3,459,000.
Shannon Shorr (3,243,000), Brian Yoon (3,228,000), and 2017 WSOP Main Event third-place finisher Benjamin Pollak (2,765,000) are among the notables returning to big stacks today, as are James Obst (2,560,000), James Akenhead (2,187,000), and Shaun Deeb (2,175,000).
Just one former Main Event champion is left in the field, 2009 winner Joe Cada (559,000). The chip average to start today is 1.27 million.
Play starts back up at 11 a.m. today. Check back to PokerNews for continuous coverage of the Main Event and to follow all the live updates.
Event #68: The Little One for One Drop - $1,000 +111 No-Limit Hold'em
The second of three Day 1 flights of this one played out yesterday, attracting another 1,268 entries to go along with 947 from Saturday's Day 1a.
From Day 1a there were 194 players making it through with John Utley's 159,800 setting the pace at that point. Day 1b saw 252 players survive and advance, with Jon Sataoen bagging a leading stack of 166,200.
From Day 1a there were several notables making it through, including Kenny Hallaert (131,900), Phil Laak (118,300), and Calvin Anderson (117,300). Day 1b then saw Kevin MacPhee (126,800), Kyle Keranen (118,600), and Chris Ferguson (111,300) also position themselves well for Tuesday's Day 2.
Today the last of the three Day 1 flights with players once more playing 10 one-hour levels. Players start with 5,000 starting chips and can earn an extra 5,000 for a $111 donation to the One Drop Foundation charity. Late registration and unlimited re-entries are available through the first eight levels (until around 9:15 p.m.).
We'll see today how many more join the 2,215 entries so far and just how big the Event #68 prize pool will be. Last year the Little One for One Drop drew 4,391 entries, making for a total prize pool of $3,951,900.
PokerNews will have you covered with all the live updates once play starts up at 12 noon. Check back here as the final Day 1 flight plays out.
Event #69: $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 6-Handed
Yesterday saw a 901-entry field whittled down to 202 survivors during Day 1 of this one, with Jarred Solomon ending the night having accumulated the most chips with 286,000.
Dominik Nitsche is currently Solomon's nearest challenger with 220,200, with Romain Lewis third currently with 215,700. Max Silver (187,000), Joao Simao (158,200), and Nacho Barbaro (154,500) will also be coming back to big stacks today when play resumes.
When that happens, PokerNews will be there, of course. Stay tuned here for all the big hands when play restarts at 2 p.m.
Event #70: $3,000 Limit Hold'em 6-Handed
The 70th event on the WSOP schedule offers some short-handed fixed-limit hold'em at a mid-range price. Players begin with 15,000 chips, will play 10 one-hour levels today with 15-minute breaks after every two levels and late registration available through Level 8 (i.e., until around 12:00 a.m.). Players also have one re-entry available to them until late registration closes.
Max Silver won this event a year ago, topping a field of 256 to win the top prize of $172,645 and his first career WSOP bracelet, but he may miss defending his title since he bagged big in the $3,000 PLO 6-max.
Check back here at PokerNews for all the live updates when the cards get in the air at 3 p.m.
