WSOP Day 47: Big One for One Drop Begins, Kessler, ElkY Big Stacks in Closer
The maintenance crew has already begun breaking down and shipping tables out of the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino as the 2018 World Series of Poker nears its finale.
An epic Main Event heads-up battle continued into the wee hours of Sunday morning with 2016's 11th-place finisher John Cynn claiming victory over runner-up Tony Miles. Cynn claimed the biggest prize of the summer — $8.8 million to go with his first shiny gold bracelet — while Miles settled for a hefty $5 million.
With the Event #65: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em MAIN EVENT - World Championship a wrap, we look to the two remaining events. Day 47 will see Day 2 of Event #75: The Closer No-Limit Hold'em (30 minute levels) - $1 Million Guaranteed get underway, scheduled to play down to a winner today.
Meanwhile the series concludes with a big bang as Event #78: The Big One for One Drop - $1,000,000 No-Limit Hold'em gets going at 11 a.m. with plenty of notable names booked.
Event #75: The Closer - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em (30 minute levels) - $1 Million Guarantee
The last chance, inaugural $1,500 Closer event drew a whopping 3,120 entries with the help of the unlimited re-entry format. The 198 of 1,671 who bagged the biggest starting flight yesterday will combine with the 150 players who made it through in Days 1a and 1b to play Day 2 on Sunday at 12 noon, which is scheduled as the final day of play. All returning players are in the money.
Allen Kessler bagged the big stack on Day 1c after making some big call-downs and then winning a sizable pot towards the end of the night with aces versus queens all in preflop. He sits third in chips overall with 576,000.
Ahead of Kessler on the overall leaderboard heading into Day 2 are Day 1b leader Jeffrey Tanouye with 601,000, followed by Bertrand "Elky" Grospellier, who bagged the Day 1a chip lead with 583,000.
Also returning for Day 2 after getting through Day 1c are two players locked in a close race for WSOP Player of the Year. Shaun Deeb bagged 106,000 to lock up his 16th WSOP cash of the series, shortly after capturing his second bracelet of the summer. The other POY contender still in the running is recently-announced Poker Hall of Fame inductee John Hennigan, returning with 149,000.
Other notables advancing from Day 1c include Jonathan Tamayo (514,000), three-time bracelet winner Rep Porter (359,000), Andrew Brokos (336,000), [Removed:532] (332,000), Martin Finger (237,000), Farhintaj Bonyadi (188,000), Joe Cada (183,000), Loni Harwood (172,000) and Brandon Shack-Harris (140,000).
Day 2 of The Closer kicks off at 12 p.m. with complete coverage here at PokerNews through the event's conclusion.
Event #78: The Big One for One Drop - $1,000,000 No-Limit Hold'em
Sunday also brings the 78th and last event of the series, which also happens to be the largest event on the schedule.
The $1 million buy-in Big One for One Drop will get going early on Sunday at 11 a.m., scheduled to play out for three days until a multi-million dollar winner is crowned on Tuesday. The impending coronation will also mark the conclusion of the 2018 World Series of Poker.
This will the be fourth instance of this unique event, and third time for it to take place at the Rio after stopping in Monaco for the last one. Besides offering high rollers an opportunity to play for big money, it also gives them a chance to contribute to a good cause as eight percent of every buy-in goes towards the One Drop Foundation. The organization, started by Cirque du Soleil's founder and poker player in his own right Guy Laliberté, works to provide safe water access globally.
With a cap of 48 players, some first-timers to the event who were confirmed to play as of one month ago were Bryn Kenney, Nick Petrangelo, Rainer Kempe, Dominik Nitsche, Steffen "Goose" Sontheimer, Jason Koon and Adrian Mateos. As the day unfolds, eyes will be fixed on the field to see who gives it a go in the largest buy-in event of the year, where a bracelet and many millions will be up for grabs.
Players start with a massive 5,000,000 chips in the One Drop, with blinds starting at 5,000/10,000 and a 10,000 big blind ante. Levels will last 60 minutes and the shot clock will be in play. Late registration will remain open until the start of Level 2, after which prize pool information and payouts will be posted.
Day 2 will also start at 11 a.m. on Monday and is scheduled to play down to the final six, who'll return on Tuesday to close out the event and the series.
Here's a look at previous winners of the $1 million Big One for One Drop:
| Year | Casino | City | Entries | Winner | 1st-Place Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino | Las Vegas | 48 | Antonio Esfandiari | $18,346,673 |
| 2014 | Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino | Las Vegas | 42 | Daniel Colman | $15,306,668 |
| 2016 | Casino de Monte Carlo | Monaco | 28 | Elton Tsang | €11,111,111 ($12,999,400) |
Follow along with the PokerNews live updates to catch all the big hands, and also check out PokerGO to catch watch some of the action on a delay with hole cards shown. The final two days will also be broadcast on ESPN2.
