Day 2 of Event #41: $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha (Six-Handed) is done, and after another action-packed day of short-handed, four-card poker it was Steve Gross emerging at night's end as the leader among the 22 who survived the day. Gross will come back to a stack of 526,000 to start play tomorrow.
Sorel Mizzi had led the 117 returners today, but soon after play began Ville Mattila surged past Mizzi and everyone else to claim the top spot in the counts for much of the afternoon and early evening. Meanwhile the field trimmed down under 50 players and toward the money bubble, with the bursting finally happening just a few minutes before the dinner break when Michel Abecassis was the unfortunate 43rd-place finisher.
After dinner the bustouts continued, with Chad Brown (39th), Dan Smith (38th), Tony Cousineau (37th), Juha Helppi (36th), Daniel Negreanu (34th), Matt Giannetti (33rd), Manuel Bevand (30th), Scott Bohlman (29th), and Jamie Pickering (28th) among those going out over the next couple of hours.
It was during the latter part of the night that Jesse Rockowitz began his ascent to the top of the counts, hovering near the half-million chip mark for the last stages of the evening, before finally Gross passed him and that milestone just before night's end. During that last stretch the two Deebs — Freddy and Shaun — went out next in 27th and 26th, respectively, with Victor Shuchleis (25th), Davidi Kitai (24th), and Stephen Wolfe (23rd) being the final eliminations of the night.
Play resumes tomorrow at 2 p.m. for the third and final day of Event #41. Thanks for following our coverage thus far, and be sure to check in tomorrow to see who among the final 22 will win the next WSOP gold bracelet.
Yevgeniy Timoshenko raised to 12,000 from under the gun, then Stephen Wolfe called the raise from late position. The action on Davidi Kitai on the button, the Event #19: $5,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em winner reraised all in for 79,000. Timoshenko then reraised all in himself for 90,500, and Wolfe called, having both players covered.
Timoshenko:
Wolfe:
Kitai:
The board came , then , then . Kitai had made eights and sevens, but Timoshenko's kings and deuces gave him the best hand and the pot, eliminating the Belgian.
Shortly after Freddy Deeb's departure, it was Shaun Deeb getting involved in a hand with Joseph Leung that saw them reach a flop. Leung checked from the small blind, Deeb bet 19,000, Leung check-raised to 88,500, Deeb pushed all in, and Leung called with the 205,000 total he had.
Deeb had for top-and-bottom two pair while Leung for a set of nines. The turn was the and river the , and Leung ended with quads to knock Deeb back down to less than 40,000.
Leung would claim the rest of Deeb's stack shortly thereafter to send him out in 26th place.
Matt Giannetti limped from under the gun, then called a button raise to 18,000 from Sorel Mizzi. The flop came and Giannetti checked. Mizzi bet 35,000, Giannetti raised all in for his last 42,000, and Mizzi called.
Giannetti had and Mizzi , meaning Gianneti's two pair had him momentarily in front. But the came on the turn to give Mizzi a flush, and after the river Giannetti was out in 33rd.
With that one it appears start-of-day chip leader Mizzi has retaken first position with 32 players left.
Down to just about 10 big blinds, Daniel Negreanu opened with a raise to 8,000 from under the gun and got two callers in Peter Charalambous (button) and Jesse Rockowitz (big blind). The flop came , and Rockowitz responded by betting 16,500. Negreanu pushed all in for his last 32,500, and Charalambous folded.
Rockowitz:
Negreanu:
Kings and deuces for Negreanu, but Rockowitz had kings and fours. The turn was the and river the , and Negreanu records his fifth cash of the 2013 WSOP with a 34th-place finish. Meanwhile, Rockowitz nudges up into a virtual tie with Ville Mattila for the chip lead.
The bubble has burst on the seventh hand of hand-for-hand play, just a couple of minutes before the end of Level 14 and the dinner break.
The hand saw two short stacks — Michel Abecassis and Scott Bohlman — all in before the flop with Abecassis the one at risk.
Abecassis:
Bohlman:
A tough spot for Abecassis, although the flop did provide some hope with a diamond draw. The turn was the and river the , however, and Abecassis finished 43rd, the last to be eliminated prior to the money.
Shamus
Sorel Mizzi has 146,400, wants 5,853,600 more
Welcome back to Day 2 of Event #41: $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha (Six-Handed) where just 117 action-loving Omahalics will return for another day's worth of four-card hands and intense short-handed play.
That group survived a starting field of exactly 400, which means the total number of chips in play is precisely 6,000,000. Of the 117 players left, Sorel Mizzi currently possesses the most chips of anyone with 146,400. But right now that's only 2.44% of the total, and so Mizzi and everyone else has quite a lot left to do to make tomorrow's final table and have a chance at earning some WSOP hardware.
Others returning to big stacks today include Chad Brown, Peter Charalambous, Matt Giannetti, Juha Helppi, Davidi Kitai, Shaun Deeb, and Phil Galfond. Freddy Deeb, Sammy Farha, and Andy Bloch are also among the group with above average chips — i.e., more than 1% (60,000) of the total.
There will be lots more calculating of percentages today as players weigh their chances of surviving with their made hands and draws today. Play begins a little over an hour from now at 2 p.m. local time, and we'll be here again from start-to-finish to find out who makes the final 42 and the cash, then who remains left to try to grab all 100% of those 6 million chips and the next 2013 WSOP bracelet.
While we wait for play to resume, enjoy Lynn Gilmartin explaining what else is going on today at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino:
, then 
, then 
. Kitai had made eights and sevens, but Timoshenko's kings and deuces gave him the best hand and the pot, eliminating the Belgian.
for top-and-bottom two pair while Leung 
for a set of nines. The turn was the 
and Mizzi 
river Giannetti was out in 33rd.
and river the 
, and Negreanu records his fifth cash of the 2013 WSOP with a 34th-place finish. Meanwhile, Rockowitz nudges up into a virtual tie with Ville Mattila for the chip lead.
flop did provide some hope with a diamond draw. The turn was the 
, however, and Abecassis finished 43rd, the last to be eliminated prior to the money.
