August Leads 18 Survivors; Guagenti, Anderson, Brunson and Enright Bag Big
After just over ten levels of play, Event #91:$3,000 H.O.R.S.E. has concluded to return on Day 3. The starting field of 331 saw a total of 195 players return to Day 2 to play, with only 18 with a chance to take home the bracelet and the $208,460 first-place prize.
Leading the way is Leonard August, who ended their day with 1,926,000. August came into the day as one of the bigger stacks in the room and continued to ascend as the players around him were eliminated. With cashes dating back to 2004, August found himself getting his best WSOP earlier this year in the $10,000 Seven Card Stud with a seventh-place finish worth $46,484. With this bag, he looks to top that finish, and has his with eyes on securing his first WSOP bracelet.
End of Day Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Bets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leonard August | United States | 1,926,000 | 38 |
| 2 | Nick Guagenti | United States | 1,700,000 | 35 |
| 3 | Calvin Anderson | United States | 1,388,000 | 27 |
| 4 | Todd Brunson | United States | 1,285,000 | 25 |
| 5 | Barbara Enright | United States | 1,040,000 | 20 |
| 6 | Kevin Gerhart | United States | 966,000 | 19 |
| 7 | Chad Eveslage | United States | 785,000 | 15 |
| 8 | Diego Cordovez | United States | 690,000 | 13 |
| 9 | Ryan Miller | United States | 607,000 | 12 |
| 10 | Umeme Hoye | United States | 529,000 | 10 |
His path will not be easy as bagging over seven figures were bracelet winners Nick Guagenti (1,700,000), Calvin Anderson (1,388,000), Todd Brunson (1,285,000), and Barbara Enright (1,040,000), the latter two being Poker Hall of Famers. Each one of them has extensive experience in mixed games, and their highly decorated resumes speak to their knowledge and versatility of the differing mixed game formats.
Others that found ways to bags were WSOP bracelet winners Kevin Gerhart (966,000), Chad Eveslage (785,000), Diego Cordovez (690,000), Ryan Miller (607,000), Andrew Yeh (527,000), Andre Akkari (397,000), Andrew Barber (154,000) as well as others looking to secure their first bracelet like Umeme Hoye (529,000), Maury Barrett (501,000), Joseph Kupresanin (327,000), Noah Bronstein (159,000), Jack Traylor (75,000).
Day 2 Action
As the day began, plenty of players saw their hopes of collecting this prestigious bracelet disappear quickly. Players like Josh Arieh, David “Bakes” Baker, Brad Ruben, Carol Fuchs, and David Funkhouser all fell short of glory in the event.
The bubble burst in a round of Omaha where Mike Wattel and Kevin Gerhart got involved in a pot together that got all in on the turn, with Gerhart holding two pair and a low, and Wattel holding an inferior two pair with two flush draws. The flush draws did not come home, and Wattel became the unfortunate bubble boy of the tournament.
After the bubble burst, other WSOP regulars saw their hopes dashed like Allen Kessler (44th - $4,873), Mike Matusow (39th - $5,330), Scott Bohlman (34th-$5,330), Michael Estes (24th - $6,092), and Randy Ohel (21st - $7,305) who was eliminated the same hand as David Bagheri (20th - $7,305). The final elimination of the night was Craig Chait (18th - $7,305) who fell to Brunson when his pair of twos could not improve against Brunson’s kings up. The WSOP regular wished his fellow competitors well as he exited into the night.
The players will return July 17 at 1:00 p.m. local time in the Horseshoe with the intention to play down to a winner. Play will come back to Level 21 with blinds at 7,000/15,000 and antes at 5,000 with a 7,000 bring-in at 25,000/50,000 limits. Levels will last one hour each, with a 15-minute break occurring at the conclusion of every two levels.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for all updates regarding the 2023 WSOP.