It was another busy day at the World Series of Poker Saturday as yet another bracelet was awarded and four other tournaments took place at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino. In Event #16: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Six-Handed, Matt Matros bested a tough final table to collect his third bracelet in as many years. Event #17: $10,000 Pot-Limit Hold’em saw Manuel Bevand close Day 2 leading a stacked field of 17. Event #18: $2,500 Seven Card Razz started with only 174 players, but at the end of the day only 18 remained with Brandon Cantu on top and Phil Hellmuth not far behind. Event #19: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em began Saturday as 2,302 fresh players hit the felt with a bracelet in mind. Event #20: $5,000 Limit Hold’em also began Saturday with 166 players hitting the felt in search of a bracelet as well.
Event #16: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Six-Handed
Nine players returned Saturday to finish up things in Event #16. Among them were Mike Matusow, who hoped to add some more hardware to his collection, and Matt Glantz, who was hoping to capture that elusive first bracelet. But it was Matt Matros who would walk home with the bracelet and $454,835 for first place.
Matusow was the second player to hit the rail Saturday. Early in the day he lost a huge flip when his
Glantz was the next go in seventh place. Only a few hands after Matusow’s elimination, Glantz found himself in a similar spot, except this time Glantz was holding
In the end it was Matros and Mark Radoja who found themselves heads-up for the bracelet. The two pros began the match almost even in chips and traded the chip lead back and forth several times. Toward the end of the match, Matros was able to grab the lead when he turned two pair and got paid off.
On the last hand of the night, Radoja raised to 100,000 on the button, and Matros called. The flop fell
This is Matros’ third bracelet. In 2010, Matros won a bracelet in a $1,500 Limit Hold’em event for $189,870, and in 2011 he also won a $2,500 Mixed Limit Hold’em event for $303,501.
To see all the exciting action from today’s final table, or all the hands from the rest of the tournament, make sure you check out the live reporting blog.
Event #17: $2,500 Seven Card Razz
The day began with 174 players looking to make the money in Event #17. But of those 174, only 36 would get there. The bubble burst after eight levels, and at the end of the day only 18 players bagged up chips for the final day. Brandon Cantu was at the top of the leaderboard with 298,500, and Phil Hellmuth was following close behind with 287,500.
Among those to hit the rail Saturday without making any money were Tommy Vedes, Stephen Su, Linda Johnson, Tom Schneider, Andy Bloch, Greg Raymer and Tom McEvoy. Squeaking into the bottom rungs of the pay ladder were Ted Forrest, Allen Bari, Joe Tehan and Sam Grizzle.
Today’s unluckiest player was Xuan Liu, who after two excruciating days of razz torture found herself eliminated on the bubble. Hellmuth completed with an
The final 18 players will return Sunday and play down until only one is left. Also still alive are Barry Greenstein, Scott Fischman, Dan O’Brien and Jared Bleznick. First place will walk away with the bracelet and $182,793. Players will return at 1400 PDT (2200 BST) Sunday to battle for the title.
Make sure you don’t miss any action at Sunday’s final table! Check out the live reporting blog.
Event #18: $10,000 Pot-Limit Hold’em
It was moving day for the final 69 players in the $10,000 Pot-Limit Hold’em event. Leading the final 17 players into Sunday’s finale is Manuel Bevand with 961,000 chips, but also still alive are Phil Ivey, Hoyt Corkins, Shaun Deeb, Antonio Esfandiari and David Benyamine.
The unlucky bubble boy was Farzad Bonyadi. With just 19 players left, Bonyadi moved all in with pocket fives and was called by his opponents
Also not making any money Saturday were Matt Giannetti, Gavin Smith, Erick Lindgren, Shannon Shorr, John Juanda, Kevin MacPhee, Liv Boeree, Andrew Lichtenberger,Humberto Brenes , and many others.
Shaun Deeb was one player making a lot of noise on Saturday, mostly by winning huge pots all day long. In one such pot, Deeb and Nabih Zaczac got all the money in on an
The final 17 players will return Sunday at 1300 PDT (2100 BST) Sunday in order to crown a champion. With a bracelet and $445,899 going to first place, action is sure to be fierce all day long.
To make sure you don’t miss any of the exciting hands from the conclusion of the tournament, stay tuned in to the live reporting blog.
Event #19: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em
Over 2,000 players registered for Saturday’s $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em event, creating a prize pool just over $3 million and a $559,514 first prize. Players narrowly avoided hitting the money bubble Saturday as the day ended with just 262 players, with the top 243 players earning a small pay day. Leading the pack at the end of day one was Jessica Bertrand Hanna with 149,500 chips. Also in the top ten chip counts were John Dolan with 93,000 and one of PokerNews‘ WSOP Rookie Roundup players Harrison Gimble with 85,500 chips.
Among those not to make it on to Day 2 were David "Doc" Sands, Jason Mercier, Angel Guillen, Layne Flack, Eric Baldwin, Paul Wasicka, Allen Kessler, and Tommy Vedes.
Men ‘The Master” Nguyen was another player not to move on to Day 2. Men got all his chips in on a
Some of the notable players returning to action for the second day of play are actor James Woods, Lauren Kling, David Peters and Cliff Josephy. Players will return at 1400 PDT (2200 BST) and could very well play down to a final table.
Sunday is moving day so make sure you keep a close eye on the live reporting blog.
Event #20: $5,000 Limit Hold’em
Event #20 is the richest limit hold’em tournament of the 2012 World Series of Poker and 166 players showed up to partake in all the fun. Defendinf champion Daniel Idema and current WSOP Player of the Year points leader John Monnette were among the many pros in the field, but Monnette was unable to add any points to his total as he busted early. Idema is still alive but short stacked with only 3,500 chips remaining.
David Chiu, Carlos Mortensen, Maria Ho, John Racener and Dan Kelly all joined Monnette on the rail Saturday. Some of the notable players who did survive the day were Jason Mercier, Dwyte Pilgrim, Terrence Chan, Mori Eskandani, Huck Seed and Daniel Negreanu.
Negreanu was lucky enough to double at the end of the night to remain in contention. In the hand, Negreanu and the big and small blind both saw a flop of
Action will resume Sunday at 1400 PDT (2200 BST). Only 18 players will make the money, with first place receiving $206,760 and the coveted gold bracelet.
Be sure to check into the live reporting blog for all the important flops, turns, and rivers throughout the day.
On Tap
On Sunday, Event #17: $10,000 Pot-Limit Hold’em and Event #18: $2,500 Seven Card Razz will both play down to a winner before the night is over. Event #19: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em and Event #20: $5,000 Limit Hold’em will each play down past their respective money bubbles. Also beginning Sunday are Event #21: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em and Event #22: $2,500 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball.
To make sure you’re up to date on all of Sunday’s hands and action, keep a close eye on our live reporting blog for up to the minute updates.
Video of the Day
The video of the day features one Liv Boeree, one Sarah Grant, and one broken ankle. What we get is another great story on how Boeree injured herself, an anatomy quiz and a run down on her new modes of transportation.
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