It was a frantic and fast-paced day in Event #37: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha that would see the money bubble burst shortly before play ended for the night. When all was said and done, Brandon Paster was our chip leader ending the day with 135,300 in chips. He was followed closely by bracelet winner Fabrice Soulier who bagged an impressive 129,300. Rounding out the top three is Michael Wang who scooped a huge pot near the end of the night and ended with 113,900 in chips. Lurking nearby is the dangerous Erick Lindgren who would finish with a stack of 100,000.
Other notables to move on to the second day were Bryan Micon (16,600), David Paredes (34,200), Mark Gregorich (9,300), Kevin Saul (24,700), Will Durkee (24,300), Joe Stiers (44,200), Vinny Pahuja (12,900), Layne Flack (37,500), Taylor Paur (85,000), Galen Hall (45,500), and Humberto Brenes (11,900). This would be Brenes's eighth cash of the 2014 WSOP.
A total of 967 players entered the tournament and there were a number of notables that would be eliminated over the course of the day including the likes of Jonathan Little, Chris Moorman, Joe Cada, Barry Greenstein, Dominik Nitsche, Scotty Nguyen, Annette Obrestad, Carlos Mortensen, Keven Stammen, Paul Volpe, David Williams, and Jason Mercier.
The remaining 113 players will return at 1 p.m. local time. PokerNews will be here to bring you all the exciting PLO coverage. Tune in to find out who makes it deep and who hits the rail!
With a board of , Mike Wang bet 13,000 into a pot of 18,000. Jonas Mackoff raised it to 30,000 and after tanking for over a minute, Wang pushed his stacks of chips forward and announced "I'm all in." Mackoff made the call and the cards were turned face up:
Wang: for kings with a flush draw
Mackoff: for bottom two pair with an open ended straight draw
The turn gave Wang the flush as it was the and Mackoff could only knock him out with a river four or three. The river was the and Wang scooped the 125,000 chip pot to move into the chip lead with 15 minutes of play left in the evening. There are 119 players left, only two away from making the money.
We get to the table with the board showing and the chips started flying between Erick Lindgren and his opponent in Seat 9. Lindgren snap-called his opponent's all in and the hands were turned over:
Lindgren: for kings full of nines
Opponent: for the same hand, kings full of nines
A queen or ten would give the pot to his opponent and eliminate Lindgren in the process. Lindgren could take the whole pot only with an ace on the river. He would get precisely that with the and the player in Seat 9 threw his hands up in disgust while a relieved Lindgren could exhale and smile. Lindgren who had been down to 3,000 in chips earlier in the day was now stacking 88,000 in chips.
Julio Marines raised from middle position and both blinds looked him up by calling. The flop came and it was checked to Marines who bet 1,000. The player in the small blind called and the player in the big blind folded.
The turn was the and Marines' opponent checked and Marines bet 3,800. That was enough to induce a fold and send the pot to Marines, who after that hand garnered 90,000 in chips. That number is good enough for the chip lead at this point. Some of the other big stacks in the room include:
The show gets off to a bumpy start with thanks to a few technical difficulties, but a great story about a David Williams bluff and another about "hood" poker get the ball rolling again. Dan O'Brien then joins the program to talk about his jet ski accident, his Me vs. U challenge against Danielle Andersen, and more.
Welcome to live coverage of Event #37: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha brought to you by PokerNews.
Today, the start of the second of three PLO tournaments will get underway and after the smashing success of the first one, Event #3: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha, we're expecting a big turnout. Event #3 drew a record for a non-hold'em tournament at the WSOP, attracting 1,128 entrants, and was won by Brandon Shack-Harris. Last year in this same event, Josh Pollock would take top honors and $279,431 after topping a big field of 1,021 players.
Pollock bested a star-studded field including his heads-up opponent Noah Schwartz to win the bracelet. Others who would make deep runs last year included Hoyt Corkins, Marco Johnson, Ana Marquez, Jeremy Ausmus, Nick Binger, Keven Stammen, Paul Volpe, and Joe Cheong.
Players will start with 4,500 in chips and play 60-minute levels. There will be a 90-minute dinner break at the end of Level 6. Play will then continue until the end of Level 10, where the runners still remaining will bag and tag for the evening.
Play kicks off at 12 p.m local time so be sure to stay tuned as PokerNews provides all of the latest from the tournament felt!