Sunday marked one of the most historic days for poker in recent memory. Vanessa Selbst was able to lock up the first bracelet won by a woman in an open event since she had done so in 2008. Selbst accomplished this by destroying the field in Event #52: $2,500 10-Game Mix Six-Handed. The feat was overshadowed by even more tremendous poker history in the making. In the Amazon Room, spread across six tables, 48 players had each put up $1,000,000 to be a part of Event #55: Big One for One Drop. In addition, two more players took home bracelets for their victories in Event #50: $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em and Event #51: $1,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold’em Championship. Also, Event #53: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em played down to its final 28 players, and Event #54: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em kicked off to a bang with 3,221 entrants.
Event #50: $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em
Day 4 of Event #50 returned with just three players: Kyle Julius, Dan Smith, and Panayote Vilandos. Coming into the day with the chip lead was Dan Smith, who had 6,620,000 chips. Behind him was Kyle Julius with 4,435,000, and pulling up in the rear was two-time bracelet winner Panayote Vilandos with 3,955,000.
Unfortunately for Dan Smith, he was unable to ride his chip lead for too long and ended up being the first player out the door on Day 4. He started the day on a downward slide that eventually led to his exit. On his final hand, Smith raised to 250,000 on the button, Vilandos raised to 720,000. Smith then moved all-in for 2,950,000, which Vilandos called. When the cards were turned on their backs, Vilandos was holding 
, which was crushed by Smith’s 
. The flop fell 
, which kept Smith in the lead, but the turn was the 
, which put Smith in a huge hole. The river was the 
and that was it for Smith. He dejectedly hit the rail in third place and took home $368,943 for his efforts.
Heads-up play didn’t last for too long as Vilandos had the commanding chip lead, which only seemed to keep growing. On the final hand, Vilandos limped in on the button and Julius raised all-in for 2.1 million. Vilandos made the call and the cards were turned up. Julius was holding the 
but Vilandos was crushing him with the 
. The flop fell down 
and that put Vilandos in an even better spot. The turn fell the 
giving Julius a few extra outs, but the excitement wouldn’t last long as the river brought the , locking up the tournament for Vilandos. For his second place finish, Julius took home $589,687.
Vilandos was able to lock up his third bracelet with his win, as well as $952,694. Here’s a look at payouts for the rest of the final table:
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Panayote "Peter" Vilandos | $952,694 |
| 2 | Kyle Julius | $589,687 |
| 3 | Dan Smith | $368,943 |
| 4 | Kevin Schulz | $267,792 |
| 5 | Derek Gregory | $197,691 |
| 6 | Thomas Conway | $148,198 |
| 7 | Matt Giannetti | $112,725 |
| 8 | Tommy Vedes | $86,889 |
| 9 | Amir Lehavot | $67,889 |
To take a look at action from the rest of the final table, or from other days in the tournament, make sure you check out the live reporting blog.
Event #51: $1,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold’em Championship
The final nine ladies returned Sunday to finish out what they started three days ago. Leading the way at the beginning of the final table was Debbie Pechac with 630,000 in chips, but she still had eight other women to outlast if she wanted to take home the gold.
The first to go was Ida Lundholm of Sweeden. Lundholm moved all-in from early position for her last 82,000 and action folded to Angela Prada-Moed who moved all-in from the cutoff. Everyone else folded and Lundholm turned up her 
while Prada-Moed was in a dominating position with 
. The board rolled out 
to give Prada Moed a higher flush for the elimination.
Out the door next was Rosemary Lawrence who hit the rail in eighth when her 
couldn’t catch up to Candida Ross-Powers 
.
It was then that Yen Dang picked up the chip lead. Dang opened the button preflop for 23,000. Lesley Amos in the small blind reraised to 46,000, and Dang called. The flop fell 
and Amos immediately shoved all in for 220,000. Dang snap called with 
for the flopped nuts, but Amos still had outs with . Those outs didn’t come on the turn though, nor did they come on the 
and Amos hit the rail in seventh place.
Next to go was Rae Rocco whose 
couldn’t hold up against Debbie Pechac’s after Pechac spiked two pair on the flop. She hit the rail in sixth. Following Rocco out the door was Candid Ross-Powers. Dang and Ross-Powers got the money all-in preflop with Dang holding the and Ross-Powers holding the 
. The flop brought an 
for Dang and that lead held to river. Ross-Powers was out the door in fifth, and Dang increased her chip stack.
Dang then grabbed a monster pot from Pechac to retake the lead. Pechac had the slight chip lead over Dang when the two of them got all the money in the middle for a 1.5 m9llion chip pot. Dang was holding 
against Pechacs 
. An on the flop gave Dang the best hand, and another on the turn didn’t hurt her any. The river was not a 
and Dang grabbed the huge chip lead.
From there, Dang eliminated Prada-Moed with all-in preflop against Prada-Moed’s 
. Next to go was Jan Howard in third. Howard moved all-in preflop with 305,000 chips and was called quickly by Dang. Howard was holding the against Dang’s . The board ran out 
, which was safe for Dang and Howard hit the rail.
Heads-up play didn’t last too long for Dang who had the chip lead. On the final hand, Dang raised to 75,000 which Pechac reraised to 200,000. Dang called and it was off to the flop that fell 
. After a few seconds, Pechac announced she was all in. Dang stared at Pechac from across the table and then announced a call. Pechac held for an open-ended straight draw, but Dang had for middle pair. The turn was the , which was no good for Pechac, and the river was the giving her a pair that was no good. Pechac added her third cash in the ladies event to her record that included a 21st place and 14th place already.
Dang was able to collect $170,587 for her first-place finish as well as a customized bracelet specifically made for the Ladies Championship. Here’s a look at the payouts from the rest of the final table:
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yen Dang | $170,587 |
| 2 | Debbie Pechac | $105,586 |
| 3 | Jan Howard | $66,061 |
| 4 | Angela Prada-Moed | $47,949 |
| 5 | Candida Ross-Powers | $35,398 |
| 6 | Rae Rocco | $26,536 |
| 7 | Lesley Amos | $20,184 |
| 8 | Rosemary Lawrence | $15,559 |
| 9 | Ida Lundholm | $12,156 |
For more action from the final table make sure you check out the live reporting blog.
Event #52: $2,500 10-Game Mix Six-Handed
Nineteen players returned for the final day of Event #52, among them, some big names including Scott Clements, Mike Gorodinsky and Chris Bjorin. But many eyes were on Vanessa Selbst to see if she could finally end the drought of women winning open events since 2008. And it looked good for her to do so when she made the final table with a commanding chip lead after Clements bubbled the final table for the second time in the 2012 World Series of Poker.
First to go at the unofficial final table was Julian Renard. Selbst sent Renard packing in seventh place when she made two pair in the seven card stud round against Renard’s pair of eights. Next to hit the rail was Mike Gorodinsky during the pot-limit Omaha round. On a 
Selbst and Gorodinsky got all the money in. Gorodinsky held 
for top two pair, and Selbst had 
for middle pair and the nut-flush draw. The turn was the 
giving Selbst the nut flush and the best hand. The river was a brick and Gorodinsky hit the rail in sixth.
Next to go at the final table, Tom Chambers, who was also sent home by Selbst when she caught a nine-eight low to beat his ten-nine low in the razz round. He hit the rail in fifth. After Chambers, Chris Bjorin made his exit in fourth place. Selbst opened the pot in limit hold’em for two bets. Bjorin made it three bets from the small blind, and Selbst made it four bets. Bjorin called leaving himself with only 3,000 behind. The flop fell 
and the rest of the money got in the middle. Selbst held the and Bjorin held the . Bjorin picked up a few outs on the turn, but the river was not one of them, and he hit the rail.
Tommy Hang fell in third place and managed to be the only player who wasn’t eliminated by Selbst at the final table. Hang dropped to Michael Saltzburg in the stud round. Saltzburg made a full house and had Hang drawing dead by sixth street. That left Saltzburg and Selbst to play heads up with Selbst holding a more than 10-1 chip lead.
On the final hand, players were playing 2-to-7 Limit Triple Draw. During the hand, Selbst opened the button, which Saltzburg called. He drew two cards, while she drew one. Saltzburg bet, and Selbst raised, and he called. On the next draw, both players stood pat, and Selbst put Saltzburg all-in. He called, and Selbst tabled 
for the nuts and it was all over.
With that victory, Selbst joined the ranks of women who had two or more bracelets, including Jennifer Harman, Sussie Isaacs, and Barbara Enright. For her victory she took home $244,259 and her second World Series of Poker gold bracelet. Here’s a look at the payouts from the rest of the final table:
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vanessa Selbst | $244,259 |
| 2 | Michael Saltzburg | $150,840 |
| 3 | Tommy Hang | $97,884 |
| 4 | Chris Bjorin | $64,649 |
| 5 | Thomas Chambers | $43,099 |
| 6 | Mike Gorodinsky | $30,169 |
To see all the big hands from this final table, or from earlier in the tournament, make sure you check out the live reporting blog.
Event #53: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em
Day two of Event #53 began with players only a few spots from the money. Several big name players were still alive in the field at the start of Day 2, but many hit the rail. Day 2 began with 348 players but only 28 made it through the day. Still alive is Team PokerStars Pro Victoria Coren, who finished the day within top ten chips stacks with 934,000.
Among those to hit the rail today were Aaron Jones, Brock Parker, Ali Eslami, Jonathan Little, Steve Dannenman and last year’s champion of this event Athanasios Polychronopoulos. The bubble burst in amazing fashion as more than five players hit the rail during hand-for-hand play. Among them were Klein Bach, Joe Serock, Ian Broen, Shane Sigsbee, Sumanth Reddy, and Charbel Abel. They split the prize money from 324th place to 319th place.
Bursting after the bubble was Brock Parker. Parker called a minraise out of the small blind with and the flop came 
. Parker got all the money in the middle, but the turn brought a heart to leave him drawing dead and he was eliminated, collecting a small payday for his efforts.
Building up a large stack on day two was Pro Team PokerStars Victoria Coren. On one of the last hands of the night, Coren was able to jump among the chip leaders. One player moved all-in and Coren made the call with a covering stack. Coren held the , which was crushing her opponents . The flop fell 
, which kept Coren in the lead. The turn was a 
, which moved her opponent into the lead and left Coren drawing to just two outs. But Coren got there on the river. That hand vaulted Coren to 934,000, which put her among the chip leaders.
Also returning tomorrow is Lee Childs, who you may remember from the 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event final table. Childs and the remaining 27 players will return Monday at 1400 PST (2200 BST) which looks to be the final day of play for Event #53.
Make sure you don’t miss a single thing from Day 3 of Event #53 by following the live reporting blog for hands and chip counts throughout the day.
Event #54: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em
Two events began Sunday, and the first was Event #54 which drew out 3221 players. Players played all the way down to the money bubble, which was reached at the end of the night with just 265 players left. Leading the way at the end of Day 1 was the duo of Jonas Mackoff and Clayton Fletcher who each bagged up 148,500 chips. Also still alive is Team PokerStars Pro Alex Kravchenko who finished with 128,400 chips.
Plenty of notables showed up for Event #54, as well, but many hit the rail. Among the notables who will not be returning for day two: Faraz Jaka, Shaun Deeb, Scott Montgomery, Jon Turner, and Bryan Devonshire.
Kravchenko was the player that everyone but one player loved at the end of the night because he was able to do the dirty work and eliminate the bubble boy. On the bubble hand, Kravchenko and another player got all the money in the middle. Kravchenko was holding 
while his opponent held the slightly lesser 
. The board rolled out 
and the bubble burst very quickly after it began.
Among those returning tomorrow is Dutch Boyd, who got off to a quick start and finished the day in the middle of the pack. Also returning are Chris Moorman, Huck Seed, and Matt Stout. Action will resume Monday at 1400 PST (2200 BST) with the final 265 players playing down to the final few tables.
To make sure you don’t miss anything from Day 2 of this tournament, make sure you check out the live reporting blog for up to the minute updates.
Event #55: $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop
While there were five other tournaments playing out in the Rio on Sunday, all eyes were on Event #55: $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop as 48 poker players and businessmen anted up the huge buy-in to play in one of the most historic poker tournaments ever held. At the end of the day, several players had already been eliminated including Jonathan Duhamel, Andrew Robl, Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier and Paul Phua. Leading the way at the end of day one was Brian Rast, who was able to bag up 10,710,000 chips. Not far behind Rast was Phil Hellmuth who was able to take a huge pot off of Paul Phua when his aces held up against kings. Hellmuth will come into Day 2 with 8,395,000 in chips.
Justin Smith was the first player eliminated Sunday after losing a huge pot to Frederic Banjout right before break. With the board reading 
, Banjout shoved all-in over a bet from Smith, which sent Smith into the tank. After a few minutes of thinking, he finally called, but Banjout turned over for the nuts. The dealer was told to expose Smith’s hand, which was the 
for an eight-high straight, and he was eliminated shortly after by Rast.
Rast also accumulated a load of chips from Jonathan Duhamel when the two got it all-in. Duhamel was holding the on a board. Rast was in the lead with the 
for a flopped set. The on the turn almost ended matters, but Duhamel could’ve still caught a 
for a higher full house. The river was the though and Rast doubled to nearly 5 million in chips. Duhamel was eliminated later in the day by Bill Perkins when Perkins flopped a straight while he was holding top pair and a flush draw.
Rast also eliminated Andrew Robl in stunning fashion. Preflop, a player made a standard open, which Robl three-bet to 100,000 from the button. From the big blind, Rast made a fourth bet to 270,000 which only Robl called. The flop fell [Qk8c4c] and Rast fired 310,000. Robl raised to 735,000 and Rast moved all in. Robl called off the rest of his 3.1 million and the hands were turned up. Robl held while Rast just had for one over and the nut-flush draw. The turn was the , which kept Robl in the lead, but the river was the which turned the tables. Rast moved up over 8 million after the hand, and rode the chip lead to the end of the day. Robl became the second player eliminated from the million-dollar tournament.
There were several amazing hands during the day, including one where Mikhail Smirnov open folded quad eights, and another where Phil Hellmuth just called with the second nuts. We expect to see several more on Monday. Some of the players returning tomorrow include Tom Dwan, Phil Galfond, Daniel Negreanu, Ben Lamb, Phil Ivey, Sam Trickett, and many more. Action will resume at noon local time Monday and will play down until the final table is set.
To make sure you don’t miss the making of an $18,000,000 champion, keep your eyes on the live reporting blog where we will give you a constant stream of updates from every table throughout the day.
On Tap
On Monday, Event #53: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em will play down until only one player is left standing. Event #54: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em will also play down to the final few tables. Play will continue in Event #55: $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop and should see several more players drop off with the blinds getting higher every hour. Beginning Monday is Event #56: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em.
To make sure you don’t miss any action from any tournament, follow the live reporting blog for all the updates you need.
Video of the Day
In the Video of the Day, Sarah Grant managed to grab hold of Tom Dwan, who was playing in his first event of the series, just before the break in Event #55. In the video, Tom talks about his decision making process going into the Big One for One Drop, his table draw, and the odds of a pro winning the event. To see that and more, make sure you check out the video below.
Follow PokerNews on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news.
