The World Series of Poker Europe main event got underway on Saturday. The €10,400 buy-in attracted 310 players on Day 1a, close to the total field of 346 that took part in last year’s main event, and with 100 players already committed for Day 1b, we’re in for a new all-time WSOP-E record. Jamie Rosen led the chip count among Day 1a’s 165 survivors. There have already been a number of high-profile bust-outs, including Phil Hellmuth, Tom Dwan, Jason Mercier, Sam Stein, Matt Stout and Joseph Cheong.
While the main event held the spotlight, two more WSOP-E bracelets were handed out on Saturday. Michael Mizrachi took Event #5, the €10,400 ‘split format’ NLHE, earning his second WSOP honor in as many years and a healthy €336k. Canadian Shawn Buchanan finished second, taking home €207k, while France’s Roger Hairabedian and American Noah Schwartz tied for third, each earning €112k. With Saturday’s victory, Mizrachi’s lifetime earnings amount to nearly $12m.
Canadian Philippe Boucher took Event #6, a €1,620 short-handed pot-limit Omaha tourney. Boucher earned €124k for outlasting a 339-strong field and personally knocking out all five of his final table mates, including heads-up opponent, Portugal’s Michael Dattani, who earned €77k. Chile’s Nicolas Fierro finished third, earning €53k.
Stateside, they’re setting records at the WSOP-Circuit Horseshoe Hammond in Indiana. In 2009, Event #1 attracted a field of 1,412. In 2010, it notched 1,611 entrants. This year’s Event #1 has attracted a field of 3,001, nearly doubling in size in just one year and just 22 players shy of the previous two years combined. After two days of play, the field has already been whittled down to 360, of which 297 will finish in the money. The eventual champ walks away with over $124k.
Finally, there’s a brand new poker tourney getting underway on Dec. 1 in the Philippines, with a very famous name attached. The Manny Pacquiao World Poker Event (MPWPE) will be an Asian Poker Tour (APT) accredited event, featuring a PHP 50k (US$1,160) buy-in Main Event, an 11k Pot Limit Omaha and a 500k High-Roller event. Full details can be found here. In the meantime, check out the spiffy logo…
