In a room packed with bracelet winners and seasoned crushers, 792 players returned today to battle it out in pursuit of the thrilling mystery bounties, the coveted gold bracelet, and the top prize of $329,890 in Event #86: $1,000 Mystery Bounty Pot-Limit Omaha. The atmosphere was electric inside the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, with the unmistakable chaos and excitement that only this format can bring.
The event’s popularity was undeniable, drawing an impressive 5,284 entries, more than 1,000 above last year’s turnout. Every player who returned for Day 2 was already guaranteed a minimum payout of $1,320 from the $3,064,720 prize pool. Play ended after Level 32, and 29 players will return for an extra day Friday, July 11, at noon to finish the battle.
By the time the dust settled, Quan Tran ended the day with the largest chip stack, boasting a whopping 16,900,000 in chips. With almost $2,000,000 in poker tournament earnings, Tran is a force to be reckoned with on the felt. Second in chips is Brazil’s Paulo Drummond (15,825,000), and rounding out the podium is Carlos De Lima (10,725,000).
Top Ten Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Quan Tran
United States
16,900,000
68
2
Paulo Drummond
Brazil
15,825,000
63
3
Carlos De Lima
Brazil
10,725,000
43
4
Lukas Hafner
Austria
10,035,000
40
5
William Titcomb
Italy
9,525,000
38
6
Ferenc Deak
Hungary
9,050,000
36
7
James Cheung
United Kingdom
8,550,000
34
8
Quentin De Solere
France
8,500,000
34
9
Sean Chen
United States
8,125,000
33
10
Christoph Milbradt
United States
8,000,000
32
The winners of the $25,000 bounties were John Bear, Moonho Seo, Jack Moore, Gabriel Ramos, Jeffrey Trudeau, and Jacob Baumgartner. Eemil Tuominen won the final $25,000 prize at the end of the night, having collected 11 bounties and ran them all at once for the thrill.
The $50,000 bounties went to Nicholas Gonzalez, Sokchheka Pho, Nick Guagenti, and Garik Tamasian.
Vincent Moscati won both of the $100,000 bounties, earning one earlier in the day and the other after the dinner break, during a hand in which he eliminated two players, Ryan Hoenig and Shawn Buchanen. Once the most significant bounties were claimed, the excitement subsided.
Vincent Moscati
Many notable players made it through to Day 2, but will not return for the finale, such as last year’s champion Sascha Wilhelm (323-$1,780), Joe Serock (647-$1,320), Craig Varnell (350-$1,780), Vivian Saliba (98-$3,260), Ludovic Geilich (126-$2,840) and 25K Fantasy Draft pick Dylan Smith (64-$5,210).
Remaining Bounties
# of Bounties
Prize
1
$10,000
2
$5,000
1
$2,500
27
$500
Bracelet winners and 25K Fantasy picks left in the field include Lawrence Brandt (7,900,000) and Danny Wong (1,900,000).
Lawrence Brandt
Each remaining player is guaranteed a minimum of $10,940, but they will, of course, be vying for the top award and additional bounties. The remaining bounties total $36,000, with one $10,000 prize still available.
Remaining Prize Pool
Place
Prize
Place
Prize
1
$329,890
8
$42,580
2
$219,890
9
$33,280
3
$164,090
10–11
$26,210
4
$123,380
12–13
$20,810
5
$93,480
14–17
$16,660
6
$71,370
18–26
$13,440
7
$54,910
27–29
$10,940
Action will resume in the Horseshoe Event Center at noon local time Friday, July 11, and will end when a winner is crowned. Play will resume at Level 33 with 150,000/300,000 blinds and a big blind ante of 300,000. They will play 40-minute levels, with a 15-minute break after every three levels.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for live coverage and updates throughout the day until they crown a champion.
