No-Limit Hold’em: 10,000/20,000, 30,000 Ante
PLO – PLO 8 – Big O - PLTD: 10,000/20,000, 20,000 Ante
NLFCD & 2-7 NL: 12,000/24,000, 36,000 Ante
James Obst
Pot-Limit 2-7 Triple Draw
Marco Johnson raised to 50,000 on the button and in the small blind, James Obst raised all in for 193,000 which Johnson called.
Obst drew two while Johnson drew three on the first draw.
The second draw saw Obst draw one while Johnson still drew three.
Both players drew one on the final draw and their cards were tabled.
James Obst: 6x4x3x2xXx
Marco Johnson: 8x7x5x3xXx
Johnson peeled a Qx to give himself a queen-eight and Obst turned over a 4x for a pair of fours. The clash of the WSOP bracelet winners saw Obst exit the tournament while Johnson climbed to over two million.
No-Limit Hold’em: 10,000/20,000, 30,000 Ante
PLO – PLO 8 – Big O - PLTD: 10,000/20,000, 20,000 Ante
NLFCD & 2-7 NL: 12,000/24,000, 36,000 Ante
Daniel Negreanu
It was moving day at the Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas, for Event #76: $2,500 Mixed Big Bet as the 101 survivors from the starting field of 458 was cut down to its final 11 players.
This event is a fun combination of all the pot-limit and no-limit variants that many players consider to be their favorite tournament. Mastery of seven different formats is required, and anyone’s fortunes can change on any given hand.
A star-studded field will return for tomorrow’s Day 3 as Aaron Kupin leads the way after he finished with 3,028,000. Kupin rode the momentum of two bluff-catches against Lok Chan and he remained toward the top of the counts for the rest of the day.
Aaron Kupin
Coming back second in chips is none other than Poker Hall of Famer Daniel Negreanu with 2,513,000. Negreanu came into the day with a middling stack but was able to showcase his world-class play throughout the day as he navigated some difficult spots to put himself in position to win his eighth bracelet.
Rounding out the podium in third place is Marco Johnson. The mixed game crusher is better known for his limit prowess, but he showed today that he is equally as competent in the big bet games while he chases his third bracelet.
Marco Johnson
End of Day 2 Chip Counts
Place
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds (NLSD)
Big Blinds (PL/NL)
1
Aaron Kupin
United States
3,028,000
100
126
2
Daniel Negreanu
Canada
2,513,000
83
104
3
Marco Johnson
United States
2,507,000
83
104
4
Bariscan Betil
United States
1,637,000
54
68
5
Jeff Madsen
United States
1,464,000
48
61
6
Christopher Vitch
United States
1,240,000
41
51
7
Steve Billirakis
United States
1,119,000
37
46
8
Ofir Mor
United States
1,035,000
34
43
9
Hiroyuki Noda
Japan
646,000
21
26
10
Robert Mclaughlin
United States
453,000
15
18
11
Hye Park
United States
388,000
12
16
Day 2 Action
A stacked field of 101 returned for Day 2 with 44 bracelet winners winners in the mix, but just 69 would be in the money and guaranteed a minimum cash of $5,044.
Some notables who advanced to today but were unable to make the money include Erick Lindgren, Michael Noori, Yuval Bronshtein, Ismael Bojang, Matthew Schreiber, and Dylan Weisman.
Matthew Schreiber
Shaun Deeb and Schreiber highlighted the early action, with the two trading several big pots and Schreiber showing a bluff to Deeb. However, Deeb got the last laugh as he eliminated Schreiber short of the money.
After just over two hours of play, the money bubble was upon them. It took just one hand for the bubble to burst, James Stansbury got the rest of his stack in pre-draw against Brian Rast in Pot-Limit 2-7 Triple Draw. Stansbury had a wheel draw, but he bricked three times against the eight-six of Rast and exited on the stone bubble.
James Stansbury
The field quickly dwindled as the short stacks gambled after guaranteeing themselves a min-cash.
Many notables who cashed but could not make it to Day 3 include Renan Bruschi (63rd - $5,044), Maxx Coleman (60th - $5,044), Brad Ruben (59th - $5,044), David “Bakes” Baker (47th - $5,296), David Bach (30th - $6,315), Shaun Deeb (29th - $7,237), Chad Eveslage (28th - $7,237), Philip Sternheimer (27th - $7,237), Barry Greenstein (21st - $8,553), Brian Rast (19th - $8,553), and James Obst (13th - $10,415).
Johnson propelled himself to the top of the leaderboard after a Big O confrontation when he eliminated both Sternheimer and Jon Turner after the three got all in preflop. Johnson turned the nut straight as the low bricked out and Johnson scooped a huge one.
Late in the night, Steve Billirakis made kings-full-of-deuces in back-to-back hands of No-Limit Five Card Draw after taking three cards each time. He got paid with raises on the end of each hand, as well.
Steve Billirakis
A few more players departed at the end of the night, and the final field of 11 was set.
Remaining Payouts
Place
Prize
Place
Prize
1
$206,982
6
$30,369
2
$134,345
7
$22,311
3
$89,289
8-9
$16,835
4
$60,792
10-11
$13,056
5
$42,426
Play resumes Tuesday, July 1. at 1 p.m. local time in the Horseshoe Event Center. Action begins in Level 23 with blinds of 12,000/24,000.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for all updates for this event and all news regarding the 2025 World Series of Poker.
