Lee Davy brings you up to speed on the main talking points of the 22nd day of the 46th Annual World Series of Poker including a wedding proposal, a dream come true in the Monster Stack, and Jason Mercier finally springs to life.
After a tough five-day slog Event #28: MONSTER STACK $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em is finally in the books. The event attracted 7,192 players, making it the seventh largest live tournament attendance in history, and a dealer from Florida walked away with $1.2m, at his first time of asking.
Perry Shiao spends his time working as a dealer at the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Florida. Fortunately, for the 26-year old, he was able to book a few days off work. It was worth it. Shiao overturned a 3:1 chip deficit against Eric Place, when heads-up, to take the first prize, and the gold bracelet. It was Shiao’s first WSOP cash of his life.
There were two bracelet winners at the final table. Hoyt Corkins was searching for his third, but would exit in ninth place. Asi Moshe foraged a little deeper, but came up short in third.
“I came out here to chase the dream,” Shiao told the WSOP after his win. “My birthday was the first day this tournament started. I couldn’t have given myself a better present.”
Shiao wasn’t the only player with a smile beaming from ear to ear. After Brazilian Caio Toledo was sent to the rail in eighth spot he pulled out a diamond encrusted engagement ring and proposed to his girlfriend Fernanda. She said yes.
So what next for Shiao?
He flew straight home so he wouldn’t be late for his next shift at the casino.
Final Table Results
1st. Perry Shiao – $1,286,942
2nd. Eric Place – $796,834
3rd. Asi Moshe – $594,397
4th. Kevin Kung – $445,166
5th. Christian Rodriguez – $335,938
6th. Josh Wallace – $255,351
7th. Fernando Konishi – $195,543
8th. Caio Toledo – $150,783
9th. Hoyt Corkins – $117,092
Jason Mercier Wins Event #32: $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em 6-Handed
It took a while for the Mercier machine to be firing on all cylinders. It’s firing now. The PokerStars Team Pro was having a torrid first half to the series, but he can put all that behind him after beating Simon Deadman, in heads-up action, to capture the top prize of $633,357, and the bracelet, in a tough final table in Event #32: $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em 6-Handed.
It’s the third bracelet of Mercier’s career – he won a Pot-Limit Omaha event in 2009 – and it comes on the back of his superlative performance in the Spring Championships of Online Poker (SCOOP) where he won three events, and won the Player of the Year (POY) award.
This event was always going to be a tough one, and the final six were something else. Igor Dubinsky won the Little One for One Drop last year, Dario Sammartino is one of the hottest properties on the planet right now, James Obst was making his second final table of the series, as was Mike Gorodinsky.
And then there was Deadman.
A few months ago I was playing in Dusk till Dawn (DTD) in Nottingham, the club where Deadman cut his teeth. I was talking to an old timer about Deadman’s success.
“We always knew he would go on to be something special,” said the old timer.
He wasn’t wrong.
Deadman won the Hollywood Poker Open during his 2014 Vegas experience, and he takes home another six figure score after a runner-up finish in this one. Deadman isn’t the only person bringing home the bacon in that household. His fiancée Shola Akindele finished eighth in Event #20: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em for $43,888 just last week.
Final Table Results
1st. Jason Mercier – $633,357
2nd. Simon Deadman – $391,446
3rd. Mike Gorodinsky – $246,867
4th. Dario Sammartino – $163,604
5th. Igor Dubinsky – $111,672
6th. James Obst – $78,428
Ivan Luca Wins Event #30: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em
Yesterday, we brought you news that Ivan Luca was heads-up against Artur Rudziankov for the bracelet in Event #30: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em. Today we can inform you that he now owns that bracelet. Nothing more to add, except to say that Luca will now overtake Scott Seiver as the third most successful player of 2015 according to the Global Poker Index (GPI) POY rankings.
Final Table Results
1st. Ivan Luca – $353,391
2nd. Artur Rudziankov – $219,976
3rd. Travis Case – $152,907
4th. Pierre Horaud – $110,123
5th. Bruce Angeski – $80,485
6th. David Chase – $59,538
7th. Viliyan Petleshkov – $44,622
8th. Kai Yang – $33,868
9th. Omri Sabach – $26,008
Benny Glaser Wins Event #33: $1,500 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball
Benny Glaser has denied Brock Parker his fourth bracelet, after over turning a 4:1 chip disadvantage during the heads-up phase of Event #33: $1,500 Triple Draw Lowball.
It’s the second bracelet of the series for the Brits after John Gale won the $1,000 Turbo event last week, and a great day all round with sterling performances from Simon Deadman, Jake Cody and Toby Lewis.
The 26-year old from Southampton was cashing for only his second time in a WSOP event – both this year – and yet he was still very confident when it came to taking this one down.
“This is one of my very best games. I play it all the time, mostly online,” Glaser told the WSOP after his win. “So, I wasn’t surprised to win the bracelet in this event. In fact, I thought this one gave me the best chance.”
Andrew Brown and Steve Billirakis were the other two bracelet winners to make the final table.
Final Table Results
1st. Benny Glaser – $136,215
2nd. Brock Parker – $84,132
3rd. Noah Bronstein – $54,092
4th. Sergey Rybachenko – $35,869
5th. Andrew Brown – $24,487
6th. Jon Turner – $17,201
7th. Toby Mulloy – $12,419
8th. Steve Billirakis – $12,419
Jonas Christensen Leads Event #34: $1,500 Split Format Hold’em
The split-format Hold’em event has reached the heads-up phase and Jonas Christensen has the chip lead, followed closely by Toby Lewis. 873 entered, and 32 remain. Highlights include Christensen facing off against Innes Young, Toby Lewis facing Bryce Landier, and David Vamplew taking on Christopher Bolek.
Top Five Chip Counts
1st. Jonas Christensen – 481,500
2nd. Toby Lewis – 393,000
3rd. Michael Michnik – 383,500
4th. Matt Iles – 360,500
5th. Christopher Csik – 352,000
$250,483 awaits the inner in that one.
Joshua Turner Leads Event #35: $3,000 H.O.R.S.E
The $3k H.O.R.S.E event has reached the third day of action. 29 players remain from a starting field of 376, and Joshua Turner leads with 380,000 chips.
Top Five Chip Counts
1st. Joshua Turner – 380,000
2nd. Andrew Barber – 372,000
3rd. Taylor Paur – 342,000
4th. Randy Ohel – 328,000
5th. David Benyamine – 320,000
Other notables in contention are: Allen Kessler (263,000), John Racener (259,000), and Joe Hachem (144,000).
Greg Genge Leads Event #36: $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha
978 players entered Event #36: $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha, and 88 remain at the time of writing. The event saw a field increase of 1%, and Gregory Genge was crowned the Day 1 chip leader.
Top Five Chip Counts
1st. Gregory Genge – 194,000
2nd. Joshua Beckley – 172,700
3rd. Pratik Ghate – 136,400
4th. Javad Navran – 132,100
5th. David Paredes – 126,500
John O’Shea (125,000), Christian Harder (118,400), and Kevin Saul (114,300) all have chips.
Gabriel Andrade Leads Event #37: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em 6-Handed Championship
One of the toughest events of the calendar has begun, and the Brits are beating up the competition. Gabriel Andrade has the Day 1 chip lead but Max Silver and Jake Cody are in those top five positions.
259 players entered, five down on last year’s event, which went the way of Joe Cada. There is $657,351 waiting up top for the winner.
Top Five Chip Counts
1st. Gabriel Andrade – 247,000
2nd. Max Silver – 208,800
3rd. Garrett Adelstein – 200,700
4th. Jake Cody – 165,500
5th. Timo Pfutzenreuter – 160,000
Benjamin Pollak (148,600), Govert Metaal (146,500) and Fedor Holz (138,500) all have chips in that one.
