button in SafariSixteen Remain in Contention as the Ultra Stack Reaches It's Final Day; "Texas Mike" Near Top Of Pack
There were a total of 8,007 entries into Event #85: $600 No-Limit Hold’em Ultra Stack at Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas. Following two extremely long days of gruelling competition, that number has shrunk to just 16. These competitors are competing for their share of the $3,297,121 prize pool, with $400,000 reserved for the eventual champion.
On Day 1, the bubble burst, and the field was narrowed to 603 players. After the first break on Day 2, the field was already cut in half as players dropped like crazy. The day continued with mass eliminations, and by dinner break it was down to 60 players. All 16 remaining players are guaranteed $19,300.
Finishing on top was Henry Benamram from France, who finished the day with a last-minute spurt and amassed a quick 72,000,000. Benamram received a big chip boost from Patel during a hand where he held a superior ace.
In second place was Finland's Mikko Torkki, who finished with a commendable 66,500,000 in chips.
25K Draft pick “Texas Mike”, Michael Moncek, who has over 8 million in tournament earnings according to The Hendon Mob and is fresh off a third place finish in Event #81: Summer Celebration, finished the day third in chips for 44,500,000.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Henry Benamram | France | 72,000,000 | 48 |
| 2 | Mikko Torkki | Finland | 66,500,000 | 44 |
| 3 | Michael Moncek | United States | 44,500,000 | 30 |
| 4 | Sriharsha Doddapaneni | India | 43,000,000 | 29 |
| 5 | Yunhan Yang | United States | 34,000,000 | 23 |
| 6 | Eric Weber | United States | 31,000,000 | 21 |
| 7 | Renato Roizenblit | Brazil | 28,000,000 | 19 |
| 8 | Aaron Crisp | United Kingdom | 26,500,000 | 18 |
| 9 | Daniel Biddle | United States | 24,500,000 | 16 |
| 10 | Kazuto Takeuchi | Japan | 19,000,000 | 13 |
Kazuto Takeuchi, coming off his first-place finish at the Asian Poker Tour, which was worth over $5 million, held the chip lead for most of the day. He was knocked down to 1,900,000 and clawed his way back up to 19,000,000.
Rajan Patel , the Day 1 chip leader, held his own throughout the day before finishing in 20th place for $15,600. This tournament will boost his Hendon Mob stats up over the $2 million mark.
Remaining Prize Pool
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $400,000 | 7 | $64,000 |
| 2 | $260,000 | 8 | $50,000 |
| 3 | $193,000 | 9 | $40,071 |
| 4 | $145,000 | 10 -11 | $30,700 |
| 5 | $110,000 | 12-13 | $24,200 |
| 6 | $83,000 | 14-16 | $19,300 |
Several notable players saw their runs come to an end before the final day, including bracelet winner Breno Drumond (44th - $10,300), 25K Fantasy Draft pick David "ODB" Baker (53rd - $8,500), longtime grinder Bill Klein (63rd - $6,000), bracelet winner Safiya Umerova (66th - $6,000), and 25K Fantasy Draft player Phillip Hui (211th - $2,800).
Also cashing but falling short of the final stages were Main Event champion Jamie Gold (496th - $1,650), Bin Weng (497th - $1,650), Nick Palma (545th - $1,500), John Ciccarelli (307th - $2,200), and Hayley Hanna (93rd - $3,700).
Players will return to the Paris Ballroom at the feature tables tomorrow, July 9th, at 1 p.m. local time. A victor will be crowned during Day 3 no matter what. Blind levels will be 40 minutes in length with 15-min breaks every three levels and a dinner break to be determined. Blinds will start on Level 40 at 1,000,000/2,000,000/2,000,000.
Stay tuned to PokerNews as all of the action is delivered throughout Day 3, beginning with cards in the air and ending with a winner.