button in SafariRyan Hughes Leads The Field In the $10,000 PLO8 Championship
A flurry of new players joined Event #33: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Eight or Better on Day 2, and the overall field grew to 390 total entrants to generate a prize pool of $3,627,000. This ensured that 59 players would lock up $20,155, and the eventual bracelet winner is set to take down $767,395. After ten levels of play today, just 25 players remained at day’s end.
Leading the way is 3-time WSOP bracelet winner Ryan Hughes, who bagged up 1,995,000. Winning his first bracelet back in 2007 in Stud Hi-Lo for $176,358, Hughes has spent nearly 25 years amassing tournament cashes from all around the country. His three WSOP bracelets make up just a portion of the winnings that he has acquired over his time playing on the felt, $3,642,280 according to The Hendon Mob. With his big stack today, Hughes looks to add a fourth bracelet and career high score to his resume as the event progresses.
Rounding out the podium are bracelet winners Martin Zamani (1,925,000) and Shota Nakanishi (1,840,000), each looking to add another piece of jewelry to their resumes.
Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ryan Hughes | United States | 1,995,000 | 100 |
| 2 | Martin Zamani | United States | 1,925,000 | 96 |
| 3 | Shota Nakanishi | Japan | 1,840,000 | 92 |
| 4 | Matthew Beinner | United States | 1,615,000 | 81 |
| 5 | Yuhong Liu | China | 1,395,000 | 70 |
| 6 | Jarod Minghini | United States | 1,355,000 | 68 |
| 7 | Nino Pansier | Netherlands | 1,355,000 | 68 |
| 8 | Nick Guagenti | United States | 1,160,000 | 58 |
| 9 | Bari Sklar | United States | 1,110,000 | 56 |
| 10 | Rishi Amin | United Kingdom | 1,090,000 | 55 |
Others that bagged up included WSOP bracelet winners Nick Guagenti (1,160,000), Marco Johnson (980,000), Dylan Weisman (950,000), Joao Vieira (865,000), and Matthew Schreiber (740,000). They will be among the star studded cast of returning characters with the hopes to add more to their resumes.
Day 2 Action
Defending champion Philip Sternheimer was unable to become a repeat champion, while many of the game's other greats fell by the wayside before the money was met. Players like Josh Arieh, Christian Harder, Scott Clements, John Racener, Bob Slezak, and Daniel Negreanu all fell short of cashing.
As the bubble neared, the tournament went hand for hand three spots before the money. The first to fall was Danny Chang, who got in his last chips in the big blind with pocket eights and a ten-high double suited hand, up against Nino Pansier’s low cards. Pansier ended up making a six-high straight to scoop and Chang took his leave. Pansier would be the executioner once more as 5-time WSOP bracelet winner Jeff Madsen got in his last chips with aces up and a low draw, only to brick out against Pansier’s flopped trips.
Finally, after an hour passed, it was WSOP bracelet winner Robert Cowen who was the unfortunate bubble boy. After limping in the small blind, he flopped a jack high straight and got in his chips against Jonathan Greene’s bottom two and gutshot. A river board pair gave Green the boat and the WSOP bracelet winner became the last player to leave the tournament empty handed.
After that, the players began to drop like flies. Ben Yu (58th-$20,155), Scott Seiver (55th-$20,155), Benny Glaser (53rd-$20,155), John Hennigan (39th-$21,162), Phil Hellmuth (37th-$21,162), Jason Daly (28th-$24,496), and Mike Gorodinsky (27th-$24,495) all busted from the tournament. Their quest for a bracelet in a 2026 championship WSOP event will have to come in a later event.
Players will return tomorrow at 1:00 pm to the Paris Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Play will resume at Level 21, with blinds at 10,000/25,000 and a 25,000 big blind ante. Levels will last one hour with a 15-minute break at the conclusion of each level. A sixty-minute dinner break will occur at the end of Level 26. Play is scheduled to continue down until there are just five players at the end of the night.
That concludes today's coverage. Be sure to check back into PokerNews tomorrow to see all of the exciting updates on the ground.