World Series of Poker organisers believe the 47th Annual Festival is on course to become the largest participated in the games history after crunching the numbers at the midway point; the UK win their third bracelet courtesy of Phillip McAllister, and much more.
Players at the 47th Annual World Series of Poker have blown through 35 of the 69 planned events like a hurricane in Kansas. It’s the midway point making it a good time to check on progress.
Last year was a record breaker for the WSOP. Never before had the foot traffic been so high. Organisers are quietly confident that record will fall in the next 3-4 weeks.
The first 35 events appealed to 59,507 entrants, down slightly on the 59,771 that were the glue for the 46th Annual jaunt into the desert. And by my count that makes the average attendance 1,700 entrants. That number increases to 124,844 participants when you include Daily Deepstacks and satellites, and that’s a 6.7% improvement on the 116,977 who entered this time last year.
Players from 98 different countries have made their way to the Rio. Unsurprisingly, the largest number live in the USA (49,323). Border pals Canada (2,287), and the European contingent from the UK (1,889), Germany (580), and Russia (549) are the other eager beavers. Players from 75 countries have cashed. American based players have won 27 of the first 35 bracelets, Russia, Spain, and the UK have two each, with Belgium and Sweden also earning a brace between them.
Regarding money won, the tournament has dished out $69,072,845 in prize money, averaging $1,973,510 per prize pool. There have been 8,694 ITM finishes, and that’s a new WSOP record, although it shouldn’t come as a surprise after organisers changed the rules allowing 15% of most fields to receive some money for their efforts. Last year was a record year for ITM finishes at a WSOP when 11,638 players cashed. It’s not a record that will last long.
The average age of an entrant has been 42.91, and 40.44 for those ITM. Male players dominate with 95.1% of the participants preferring to pee standing up opposed to 4.9% who prefer to sit down.
So those are the numbers after 35 events.
Now it’s time to fill in the blanks from Event #41 onward.
Phillip McAllister Wins Event #42: $3,000 Shootout No-Limit Hold’em
Only those who love a good Rocky story have won more bracelets than the UK after Phillip McAllister won the third for those heading for a Brexit. The young man from Winchester took down Event #42: $3,000 Shootout No-Limit Hold’em. It was his second big score of 2016 after coming third at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) Main Event for $356,020.
McAllister was able to add $267,720 to that total after topping a final table containing some pretty tasty morsels in the shape of Maria Ho, Jesse Yaginuma, Rhys Jones, Faraz Jaka, and Stephen Chidwick.
Over 400 entrants created a prize pool of $1,092,600, and the 22-year old had to win three single table freezeouts to receive the accolades that come with a bracelet win.
Final Table Results
1. Phillip McAllister – $267,720
2. Kyle Montgomery – $165,450
3. Chris Kruk – $119,686
4. Maria Ho – $87,487
5. Andreas Freund – $64,628
6. Marcos Antunes – $48,252
7. Jesse Yaginuma – $36,416
8. Rhys Jones – $27,783
9. Faraz Jaka – $21,431
10. Stephen Chidwick – $16,717
Nabil Mohamed Leads Event #41: $1,500 MONSTER Stack No-Limit Hold’em
Ever since Hugo Pingray won the inaugural $1,500 MONSTER Stack in 2014, it has been a fans favourite. 15,000 chips, 60-minute blind levels, over a million for first place. It’s the WSOP Main Event for the working class.
7,862 players entered in 2014, 7,192 entered in 2015, and 6,972 entered in 2014. The numbers are tumbling, but they still rank amongst the biggest fields in the history of the live game.
276 players move forward to Day 2 this year. Nabil Mohamed has the chip lead with close to 2 million chips, cash game pro-Andrew Moreno, is in second, Fabrizio Gonzalez is fourth, and former PokerNews writer Chad Holloway is sixth.
The event accrued $9,351,450 in prize money; 1,040 players earned at least $2,249, and the winner will take home $1,120,196.
Top Five Chip Counts
1. Nabil Mohamed – 1,928,000
2. Andrew Moreno – 1,341,000
3. Donghai Wu – 1,334,000
4. Fabrizio Gonzalez – 1,064,000
5. Daniel Dipasquale – 958,000
Players of the ilk of Matt Stout, Justin Liberto, Barny Boatman, and Chino Rheem are also in the mix.
Justin Bonomo Leads Event #43: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo Split-8 or Better Championship
I think all of this jazz about Justin Bonomo’s focus on sexual microaggressions at the poker table is a bluff. While players believe the pink haired crusader is more interested in crass, sexist jokes and innuendos fired at the ladies, he is busy sweeping up chips at the tables.
Coming into Event #43: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo Split-8 or Better Championship, Bonomo had already recorded a second and third in the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E and $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Six-Handed Championship. At the end of Day 2 of this one, he is leading the final 12 players and is looking mighty fine.
136 entrants created a prize pool of $1,278,400, and some talented players are standing in Bonomo’s way of earning a second bracelet, with the former WSOP Player of the Year, George Danzer, containing the sharpest teeth of the remaining sharks.
The winner will pick up $338,646; the remaining players are all guaranteed $23,665 and a shot at gold.
Chip Counts
1. Justin Bonomo – 1,287,000
2. George Danzer – 1,049,000
3. Todd Brunson – 743,000
4. Scott Clements – 701,000
5. Esther Taylor-Brady – 680,000
6. Eli Elezra – 582,000
7. Randy Ohel – 550,000
8. David Benyamine – 406,000
9. Jack Duong – 336,000
10. Roland Israelashvili – 277,000
11. David Grey – 149,000
12. Mike Leah – 68,000
Iliodoros Kamatakis Leads Event #44: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em
2,076 entrants created a prize pool of $1,868,400 in Event #44: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em, and 225 players remain in the draw for Day 2.
The chip leader is Iliodoros Kamatakis with 178,900 chips. Jeremy Ausmus, Jason Wheeler, Jennifer Shahade, Cord Garcia, and David “ODB” Baker also finished in the Top 100.
There is a long way to go in this one, but Kamatakis is a man on form. Earlier in the year, he made the final table of the European Poker Tour (EPT) Main Event in Dublin finishing in 5th position for $171,713, and a few months later he won The Grand Live in Thessaloniki for $67,065. If he goes wire-to-wire in this one, he will win $298,849.
Top Five Chip Counts
1. Iliodoros Kamatakis – 178,900
2. Dejan Boskovic – 169,100
3. Wenlong Jin – 142,400
4. Ugarte Rodriguez – 136,200
5. Stoyanov Plamen – 135,300
Loren Klein Leads Event #45: $1,500 Mixed No-Limit Hold’em/Pot-Limit Omaha
Loren Klein is leading an impressive bunch in Event #45: $1,500 Mixed No-Limit Hold’em/Pot-Limit Omaha. 919 entrants created a prize pool of $1,240,650, and 138 deposited chips into plastic bags at the end of Day 1.
Keep an eye on Craig Varnell, Martin Finger, Niall Farrell, John Racener, Marko Neumann, Brandon Shack-Harris, Taylor Paur, and Shannon Shorr, who are still in the thick of it.
Top Five Chip Counts
1. Loren Klein – 215,600
2. David Callaghan – 180,000
3. Shawn Rice – 176,200
4. Craig Varnell – 166,600
5. Martin Finger – 160,800
