Ari Engel: 9♦8♦/8♠Q♦3♣A♣/K♥
Marcel Vonk: J♠2♠/A♠10♠6♠2♦/A♦
Ari Engel brought in, Marcel Vonk completed, and Engel called after some thought. On fourth street, Vonk bet, Engel raised, and Vonk reraised. Engel again weighed his options before tossing in a call.
Engel only had a few chips left behind, which were committed on fifth street. Seeing Vonk had already made his flush, Engel started saying his goodbyes.
Engel's runner-runner outs were killed on sixth street, and he was officially eliminated when his seventh card was turned over. The tournament was left with 16 players, who redrew across two tables.
In an already sizable pot, Alex Livingston placed a bet on the completed board of 8♣7♣8♠4♣K♠ from the big blind. Joe Jeffery quickly flicked in a call on the button to force a showdown.
Livingston tabled K♣6♣5♣3♥ for a straight flush and a low, and was awarded the full pot when Jeffery mucked his cards.
Travis Kubota raised his button, and Nicolas Milgrom called in the big blind. The 5♣9♦J♥ flop was checked by both players, prompting Milgrom to fire a bet on the 6♣ turn. Kubota tossed in a call, and did again when Milgrom placed another bet on the 10♠ river.
Milgrom could only show ace-high with his A♣3♦. Kubota had a pair of nines with K♠9♣, raking in the pot.
The next hand, Milgrom and Joseph Santagata were in the blinds and heads up on a Q♣A♦A♠ flop. Milgrom bet, Santagata raised, and Milgrom called.
Milgrom then check-raised Santagata's bet on the 4♠ turn. Santagata called to the 6♦ river, where he called Milgrom's final bet as well.
Milgrom had ten-high with 10♣7♦, and Santagata was awarded the pot with Q♥9♥ for two pair.
Tal Avivi: 10♠7♠5♠/K♠3♥2♠5♦
Alex Livingston: XxXx/10♣3♠A♥K♦/Xx
Joseph Villella: 9♠6♠6♥/7♦4♠Q♠6♣
The action checked to Joseph Villella on fourth street, who fired a bet. Both Tal Avivi and Alex Livingston tossed in calls. Livingston then led out on fifth street, and also received two calls.
Sixth street slowed Livingston down, as he checked over to Villella, who bet. Avivi and Livingston called to seventh street, which Livingston checked blind.
Avivi then bet out of turn and raised once Villella had placed his bet in the middle. Livingston spent a minute or so before he mucked his cards, after which Villella snap-called.
Avivi showed three spades as hole cards for a flush, beating the trip sixes of Villella and winning the entire pot.
After two days of action, only 18 players remain in Event #39: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. The tournament drew a record-breaking 867 entries, making it the largest field in the event’s history.
With a total prize pool of $1,150,943, the final 18 are now competing for a first-place payout of $197,923 and the coveted World Series of Poker gold bracelet. Andrey Zhigalov leads the way with 2,320,000, holding a slight edge over Joe Jeffery (2,455,000) and Dzmitry Malets (2,200,000),
Top Ten Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Bets
1
Andrey Zhigalov
Russian Federation
2,455,000
20
2
Joe Jeffery
United States
2,320,000
19
3
Dzmitry Malets
Belarus
2,200,000
18
4
Sachin Bhargava
United States
1,805,000
15
5
Thomas Taylor
Canada
1,730,000
14
6
Nicolas Milgrom
France
1,455,000
12
7
Ryan Parsa
United States
1,350,000
11
8
Ari Engel
Canada
1,340,000
11
9
Joseph Villella
United States
1,170,000
10
10
Joseph Santagata
United States
1,095,000
9
Big Names In the Mix
Although only 18 players remain, several accomplished pros and 25K Fantasy draftees, including Thomas Taylor, Nicolas Milgrom, and two-time WSOP bracelet winner Ari Engel sit inside the top ten in chip counts.
Further down the leaderboard is Poker Hall of Famer Linda Johnson (785,000), multi-bracelet winner Alex Livingston, and Blaz Zerjav, the short stack returning for Day 3, who recently claimed his first bracelet in Event #22: $25,000 High Roller 6-Handed.
Blaz Zerjav
The tournament will resume Friday, June 13, at 1 p.m. local time. The limits will start at 60,000/120,000. All levels will remain 60 minutes long, with a break after every two levels. Another long day may be in the cards for Day 3, as the tournament will play down to a winner. Details regarding a dinner break have yet to be determined.
All returning players are guaranteed at least $7,562, with five-figure payouts starting at 11th place. The final two will lock up six-figure scores, with $197,932 going to the eventual winner.
Remaining Payouts
Place
Prize
Place
Prize
1
$197,923
10-11
$11,561
2
$131,916
12-15
$9,260
3
$91,545
16-18
$7,562
4
$64,607
5
$46,384
6
$33,885
7
$25,198
8
$19,078
9
$14,713
Be sure to follow PokerNews for live coverage and updates, until a winner is crowned!
