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Vo Ngo Leads Final Eight in $1,500 Limit Hold'em
Limits: 50,000-100,000
Day 2 of Event #30 $1,500 Limit Hold'em saw 105 players return to the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas in hopes of making a run at the final table. Following 10 levels of play, just eight players managed to bag up for Day 3, with Vo Ngo leading the charge after ending with 2,660,00.
Second in chips is poker veteran Ronnie Bardah with 2,175,000. Bardah, who won his one and only bracelet in 2012 in a six-handed Limit Hold'em event, will be looking to end his 14-year dry spell and add to his over $2.2 million in live-tournament earnings.
Rounding out the top three is Patrick Leonard, who managed to bag up 2,100,000 by the time the last card was dealt. A prolific online grinder, Leonard has proven himself in the live arena as well with over $5 million in tournament earnings. The man known as "pads1161" won a bracelet in a tag team event alongside Espen Jorstad in 2022, but despite several final table appearances since then, Leondard has yet to capture a second.
Unofficial Final Table Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Bets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vo Ngo | United States | 2,660,000 | 22 |
| 2 | Ronnie Bardah | United States | 2,175,000 | 18 |
| 3 | Patrick Leonard | United Kingdom | 2,100,000 | 18 |
| 4 | Dennis Weiss | United States | 1,800,000 | 15 |
| 5 | Jorge Ufano | Spain | 1,530,000 | 13 |
| 6 | Omar Mehmood | United Kingdom | 1,170,000 | 10 |
| 7 | Thomas Miressi | United States | 805,000 | 7 |
| 8 | Joseph Salorio | United States | 530,000 | 4 |
Day 2 Action
For a limit format, there was no shortage of all-in confrontations from the get-go despite the looming money bubble, as more than 20 players were eliminated within the first hour of play. Among those first to fall short of the money were Kevin Choi, four-time bracelet winner Ian Johns, Robert Como, Todd Witteles, and Poker Hall-of-Famer Eli Elezra — who hit the rail after whiffing a straight draw against Dennis Maschke's aces.
Hand-for-hand play on the stone bubble arrived within the first level, and it didn't take long for Miles Nagel to get all in for his last big blind. Nagel managed to triple up after spiking an ace on the turn, but found himself all in again one orbit later against Kane Kalas and Day 1 chip leader Laura Wolkoff. Kalas flopped a wheel to eliminate Nagel, however, Matthew Sterling was also eliminated at another table on the same round, meaning Nagel and Sterling chopped up a min-cash.
Jorge Ufano, affectionately nicknamed "The Cockroach," by Tsz Liu late in the day for managing to double up several times, scored his first double shortly after the money bubble by calling Dennis Weiss correctly with just king-high.
Meanwhile, many of the short-stacked players who were hanging for a min-cash fell enmasse, including Benjamin Scholl, Greg Mascio, Jon Turner, and Kalas. By the time the frist break arrived, just 57 of the returning 105 players remained.
Despite entering Day 2 with the chip lead, Wolkoff was unable to gain any real momentum and found herself short not long after the break. Wolkoff ended up committing her stack with pocket eights against what turned out to be Ni Hansen's pocket tens, and Wolkoff was unable to improve — ending her run in a disappointing 45th place.
While more playes were sent to the rail, Ufano managed to fade elimination and double up again after turning a flush against Hansen's overpair.
Weiss and Ngo were among the first to build seven-figure stacks, with Ngo hitting a hot streak following the dinner break and Weiss eliminating three-time bracelet winner David Bach shortly thereafter. By the time just two tables remained, Weiss and Ngo were number one and number two in chips, respectively.
However, Ngo soon found himself in the lead after making the nut flush in a three-way pot, while Weiss slipped as a result of Bardah going on a mini-heater that saw him win three pots in a row.
With nine players remaining and just a few hands left to go before play ended for the day, Michael Bellantoni's tournament ended in sickening fashion after getting all in with jacks against Vo Ngo's ace-king. Ngo flopped a king and Bellantoni seemed resigned to his fate, but a jack on the turn gave him a surge of hope after improving him to a set. However, the cold deck saw Ngo river a flush to eliminate Bellantoni just before Day 2 came to a close to set up the unofficial final table of eight.
The Day 3 final table will get underway on Wednesday, June 10 at 1 p.m. local time and play down to a winner. Action will resume on Level 26, which features 30,000/60,000 blinds with 60,000/120,000 betting limits.
Everyone has already locked up a cash of at least $11,396, but all eyes will be on the top prize of $133,704 that goes along with the coveted gold bracelet.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $133,704 |
| 2 | $88,053 |
| 3 | $59,247 |
| 4 | $40,732 |
| 5 | $28,626 |
| 6 | $20,576 |
| 7 | $15,134 |
| 8 | $11,396 |
Don't miss a beat! Be sure to stick with PokerNews as we bring you all the updates from the floor until the next $1,500 Limit Hold'em champion has been crowned.