After a relatively slow Day 35 of the World Series of Poker 2011, Day 36 proved to be action-packed as two new events (the $1.5K No-Limit Hold’em and $5K Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Low Split 8 or Better) were introduced and the field was whittled down to the final tables in Events 54 and 55, giving spectators some real insight into who may be the new bracelet winners in these two events.
Event 54: $1K No-Limit Hold’em
The $1K No-Limit Hold’em had a record number of entrants this year, becoming the second-largest WSOP event of all time (the first being the Stimulus inaugural event from 2009). At the end of Day 3, the 4,576 entrants had been whittled down to nine and the final table has been set, and the Americans hold such an small number of spots that one would think that this was the European Poker Tour. Dror Michaelo, Douglas Mackinnon and Joshua Evans are the three US players at the final table, while Russia’s Maxim Lykov has the chip lead and fellow Russian Stanislav Alekhin has a shorter stack and a reputation as a fierce player, thanks to his heads-up game against John Juanda in the 2008 Main Event.
Event 55: $50K Poker Player’s Championship
Some fierce competition in one of the favourite events at the World Series of Poker tries to knock the players down to the final table, but nine players were still hanging on when they called it a night. Minh Ly, who has the chip lead with 5,215,000 chips, but will still have to face both Phil Hellmuth (2,245,000 chips) and Ben Lamb (1,180,000 chips), both of whom are chasing a Player of the Year title. Ly, who has had 12 WSOP cashes but has yet to nab a bracelet, has just as much on the line and is sure to put up a fierce fight.
Going into Day 4, table positions and chip amounts are as follows:
- Seat 1 Brian Rast 2,660,000
- Seat 2 George Lind 2,315,000
- Seat 3 Phil Hellmuth 2,245,000
- Seat 4 Owais Ahmed 1,425,000
- Seat 5 Scott Seiver 725,000
- Seat 6 Minh Ly 5,215,000
- Seat 7 Ben Lamb 1,180,000
- Seat 8 Jason Lester 920,000
- Seat 9 Matt Glantz 2,535,000
Event 56: $1.5K No-Limit Hold’em
The body count on day one of $1K and $1.5K events is always gruesome, but a few notable names of professional players eliminated in the first day of action for this event stand out: Antonio Esfandiari, Liv Boeree, Vanessa Selbst, and Nacho Barbero. With 3,389 players signed up for the last low-money event of 2011, one can expect a lot of big names to fall throughout the game. Today’s first day of play knocked the field down to 465 players, among whom Ben Volpe took an early strong lead which will give him the chip lead tomorrow in Day 2.
Event 57: $5K Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-low Split 8 or Better
Near chip leader Gary Bolden (98,300) after this first day of action in the last preliminary event of the 2011 World Series of Poker are Max Pescatori (72,000), who has won two WSOP bracelets before, and Brazilian Alexandre Gomes (70,400), known for holding a WSOP bracelet and a World Poker Tour title, as well as coming in second in the European Poker Tour’s PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in 2009. The 189 players left also include Mike Matusow, Huck Seed, Allen Kessler, Erik Seidel, and David Sands, so Event 57 is still anyone’s game.