Kenneth Boulton moved all in for 330,000 under the gun. Chi Chan in middle position rejammed for 740,000, and all other players let their cards go.
Kenneth Boulton: A♣9♣ 
Chi Chan: J♠J♣
The K♣5♠2♣ brought a big sweat for Chan, and Boulton wasted no time in getting there on the 7♣ river. "There it is," he said as he locked up the double, with the 3♥ river changing nothing.
After four starting flights the floor have now calculated the final numbers and payouts going into Day 2 of the event.
A total of 11,185 players entered over the four starting flights, generating a prize pool of $2,751,510.
All 381 Day 2 returning players are already in the money with a minimum cash payout of $1,200 to be awarded, but all eyes will be on the first-place prize of $250,000, which of course comes along with the coveted WSOP gold bracelet.
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | 27-35 | $8,300 |
| 2 | $166,000 | 36-44 | $6,800 |
| 3 | $124,500 | 45-53 | $5,600 |
| 4 | $94,000 | 54-62 | $4,650 |
| 5 | $71,350 | 63-71 | $3,850 |
| 6 | $54,600 | 72-80 | $3,250 |
| 7 | $42,100 | 81-89 | $2,750 |
| 8 | $32,700 | 90-98 | $2,350 |
| 9 | $25,550 | 99-161 | $2,050 |
| 10-11 | $20,110 | 162-224 | $1,750 |
| 12-13 | $16,000 | 225-287 | $1,550 |
| 14-17 | $12,750 | 288-350 | $1,350 |
| 18-26 | $10,250 | 351-381 | $1,200 |
Stay tuned for all the action as it unfolds.
Action was picked up on the turn of a board reading 9♦3♦A♣3♣ with middle position Mikell Myers already all in from a previous street.
Big blind Gary McCoy checked over to late position Marzena Rozum, who bet out for 120,000 into a dry side pot. McCoy folded, and cards were placed on their backs.
Mikell Myers: Q♥J♦
Marzena Rozum: 8♠8♥
Myers had six outs to survive, but the 2♥ river was not one of them, as the pot was shipped to Rozum.
Zheng Li opened the action with a raise to 125,000 from middle position. Thomas Cheney then flatted the bet on the button, before big blind Takanao Fukita moved all in for 240,000. Li rejammed to put Cheney all in, and the latter took some time before making the fold.
Takanao Fukita: Q♥2♦
Zheng Li: 6♣6♥
Fukita managed to pick up extra outs on the 5♣K♦2♠ flop, but the 4♥9♠ runout confirmed his elimination, as Li added to his stack.
Before Michael Rocco won his first World Series of Poker bracelet two years ago, he'd already decided he was leaving poker behind.
When PokerNews caught up with the high-stakes player during the 2024 WSOP, the conversation wasn't about solvers, Player of the Year races, or the growing list of near-misses that had come to define his career. Instead, Rocco revealed he was preparing to step away from the game to pursue regenerative farming.
And then a few hours later, he finally won the bracelet he'd spent years chasing.
For most players, finally reaching the top would have been the beginning of another chapter. For Rocco, it simply meant he got to leave exactly how he'd hoped.
PokerNews caught up with the now 36-year-old to see how life is on the farm, and whether the poker grind is something that he yearns to go back to.
Cards are in the air for Day 2 of Event #88: $300 Gladiators of Poker.
Stay tuned for all the action as it unfolds from the floor.
Level: 23
Blinds: 25,000/50,000
Ante: 50,000
Day 2 of Event #88: $300 Gladiators of Poker is upon us at the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP), hosted at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. A monstrous 11,185 players ponied up the $300 buy-in, over four starting flights, generating a massive prize pool of $2,751,510.
A total of 66 players bagged up from Flight A, 65 from Flight B, 103 from Flight C and 147 from Flight D. Today, these 381 players return to battle it out on the felt and take their shot at the lion’s share of the prize pool and get their hands on the coveted WSOP gold bracelet.
All players will be hunting down Jolnar Teliani who bagged 3,265,000 chips. David Kenniston is hot on Teliani’s heels in second with 3,155,000 chips and Marcos Da Silva rounds out the podium, starting Day 2 in third place with 3,030,000 chips.
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jolnar Teliani | Canada | 3,265,000 | 65 |
| 2 | David Kenniston | United States | 3,155,000 | 63 |
| 3 | Marcos Da Silva | Brazil | 3,030,000 | 61 |
| 4 | Kevin Theodore | United States | 2,900,000 | 58 |
| 5 | Sumit Kumar | United States | 2,855,000 | 57 |
| 6 | Julian Menhardt | Austria | 2,790,000 | 56 |
| 7 | Valentin Farkas | Croatia | 2,700,000 | 54 |
| 8 | Suketu Vaidya | United States | 2,530,000 | 51 |
| 9 | Jose Cayetano | United States | 2,350,000 | 47 |
| 10 | Erez Klein | United States | 2,330,000 | 47 |
A good few notables have managed to get a bag into Day 2 to take their shot at the bracelet.
UK Grosvenor sponsored player Jay Harwood bagged up 855,000 along with bracelet winners Moshe Gavrieli (310,000), Thong Do (960,000), Ben Yu (750,000) and Andrew Brown (375,400) are all in the mix to add to their bracelet collections.
Poker Hall of Famer Barbara Enright (560,000) and 25k Fantasy player Joey Couden (310,000) both got a bag through to Day 2 in Flight D.
Canada’s Teliani (3,265,000) comes into the day in first place and has a great shot at joining the exclusive club of a female champion of an open World Series of Poker (WSOP) event.
Andreas Froehli (1,085,000), Kevin Theodore (2,900,000) and Sumit Kumar (2,855,000) are hardened WSOP grinders who will look to leverage their deep run experience to increase their stacks and make a run at the final table.
Day 2 is scheduled to begin at 11:00 a.m. local time at Level 23, where the blinds will be 25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 big blind ante.
Levels will be 40 minutes with a 15-minute break every three levels. There is a scheduled dinner break at the conclusion of Level 31 at approximately 5:40 p.m. local time. Seventeen levels are on the schedule for today.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for all the action as it unfolds on the floor.
Event #88: $300 Gladiators of Poker
Day 2 Started
According to the WSOPLive app.
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