As the first week of the 2012 World Series of Poker draws to a close, two tournaments were in the midst of their early action. One tournament will crown a champion on Sunday, while the other tournament will continue to fill out its field with it unique “re-entry” format today.
Event #8 – $1500 Omaha Hi/Lo – Day Two
With 220 players returning on Saturday from the massive 967 runners who started the event, it was going to be a long day for the Omaha aficionados arranged around the Amazon Room at the Rio. The first task facing the players would be to determine the 117 players who would take home some cash from the tournament, while the bigger test would be to see how close they could get to the final table before stopping.
It only took about four hours for the first hurdle was reached, as Mike Matusow came up just short in 119th place. The bubble popped right after Matusow’s departure, as Huaiyan Wang and Daniel Santoro were knocked out simultaneously during hand for hand play and split the $2480 that the 117th place player would receive.
Now in the money, the players began to arduously work the remainder of the field down to a reasonable level for Sunday’s final day of play. Chris Klodnicki, Robert Mizrachi, and Men “The Master” Nguyen would earn some money for their efforts while 2011 WSOP bracelet winner Allen Bari, Gavin Griffin and Tyler Schwecke began to make their ascent up the leader mountain. Even with the flow of players from the tournament, there was still work left to be done after the players took their dinner break.
After the dinner break, David “Bakes” Baker, Shaun Deeb and Todd Brunson would take the march out of the Rio, but there was some history made as the hour grew late. Still on the hunt for Bracelet #12, Phil Hellmuth battled throughout the day to maintain his ammunition in the tournament. Although he would eventually drop out in 52nd place, the cash was his 87th in his illustrious career at the WSOP, far and away the most ever in the 43-year history of the event.
As the WSOP curfew came into view, the day was ended with 20 players remaining in contention for the title. Schwecke emerged as the chip leader on the day, holding 452,000 in chips, while Bari (417K) and Griffin (346K) took the second and third slots for Sunday’s action. John Racener, Can Kim Hua, Thayer Rasmussen, Dutch Boyd and Day One second place runner Raymond Davis will also be around with a shot for the championship, although Davis has the toughest battle as the fourth shortest stack.
The champion for this event will be determined tonight, with the eventual winner taking down the $264,400 first place check and the WSOP bracelet.
Event #9 – $1500 No Limit Hold’em Re-Entry – Day 1A
Making its debut at the 2012 World Series of Poker was the first ever “re-entry” event in the history of the WSOP. The $1500 No Limit Hold’em event had Day 1A on Saturday, with players who busted out of the tournament allowed to re-enter the tournament on Day 1B on Sunday. The goal for Saturday was to play until 15% of the field remained and the players who either re-enter on Sunday (or are taking their one shot at the tournament) will play the same length of time.
The players flooded the Rio for this tournament, eventually building up a list of 1696 players by the time the late registration period had ended. They also didn’t take much time to walk out of the Rio either as, by the end of the night, only 254 players were left on the tournament clock.
Giorgio Medici has the honor of holding the Day 1A lead with his 106,500 in chips, but David Miscikowski is right behind him in second with 105,100. Noted European pro Tristan Clemencon has made his first appearance on a WSOP leaderboard, holding down fourth after Day 1A, while Brian Rast is back in action in eighth place. All of these players, along with their fellow Day 1A survivors, will have Sunday to rest while the final field is determined.
Some of the top players knocked out on Saturday (with the opportunity to fire a second bullet on Sunday) include Phil Ivey, Erik Cajelais, Bryan Devonshire, Vitaly Lunkin, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Jennifer Leigh, Vanessa Selbst and Kathy Liebert, among others.
The second Day One of this tournament isn’t the only activity around the Rio on Sunday. At 5PM Event #10, the $5000 Seven Card Stud tournament, should draw the crème of the Stud world out for battle. It will be the final tournament either wrapped or started as the first week of the 2012 World Series of Poker comes to a close.
