button in SafariMichael Casella Holds Commanding Chip Lead over Final Ten after Day 2 of the $1,500 Badugi
Limits: 40,000-80,000
It was a busy day today for Event #8: $1,500 Badugi here at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas for the second day of unsuited action.
A total of 554 players came out for this event to generate a prize pool of $735,435. Just 99 of these players returned for Day 2 today and only 84 would be in the money and guaranteed a minimum cash of $2,999. However, by night's end, ten players remained in contention for the WSOP bracelet and the first-place prize of $141,963.
Leading the way is California native Michael Casella who bagged up 4,065,000. Casella started to build a lead with three tables left, and he never looked back. The vast majority of his tournament results have come in No-Limit Hold'em, but he showed today that he can get it done in the limit format as well.
End of Day 2 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Bets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Casella | United States | 4,065,000 | 41 |
| 2 | Scott Seiver | United States | 2,120,000 | 21 |
| 3 | Gary Benson | Australia | 2,045,000 | 20 |
| 4 | Nick Schulman | United States | 1,985,000 | 20 |
| 5 | Stephan Nussrallah | United States | 1,385,000 | 14 |
| 6 | Kyle Arora | United States | 905,000 | 9 |
| 7 | Walter Chambers | United States | 685,000 | 7 |
| 8 | Jon Turner | United States | 300,000 | 3 |
| 9 | Yuri Dzivielevski | Brazil | 295,000 | 3 |
| 10 | Brant Hale | United States | 115,000 | 1 |
An incredibly strong cast of characters will be joining Casella tomorrow for the final day of action. 2024 Player of the Year Scott Seiver finished today second in chips with 2,120,000. Rounding out the podium in third is Australia's Gary Benson with 2,045,000.
Also advancing to Day 3 include Poker Hall of Famer Nick Schulman (1,950,000), mixed game crushers Walter Chambers (685,000) and Jon Turner (300,000), and Brazilian superstar Yuri Dzivielevski (295,000).
Notable players to make the money but failed to advance to Day 3 include Jerry Wong (78th - $2,999), Chino Rheem (58th - $3,074), David "ODB" Baker (50th - $3,149), Matthew Wantman (45th - $3,343), Jean-Robert Bellande (31st - $4,136), Ryan Riess (27th - $4,812), Benny Glaser (25th - $4,812), Ben Yu (21st - $5,762), and Hall of Famer Chris Moneymaker (12th - $7,095).
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $141,963 |
| 2 | $94,607 |
| 3 | $62,920 |
| 4 | $42,815 |
| 5 | $29,824 |
| 6 | $21,279 |
| 7 | $15,560 |
| 8-9 | $11,668 |
| 10 | $8,979 |
Play will resume Sunday, May 31st, at 1 p.m. in Level 26, with blinds of 25,000/50,000 and limits of 50,000/100,000. The average stack is 1,385,000. The action will take place in the Paris Gold section at Tables 74 and 75. Levels will be 60 minutes in length, and play will continue until a winner is crowned.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for updates as we play down to a winner in Event #8: $1,500 Badugi here at the 2026 World Series of Poker.