Photo Caption (Photo by Joe Smith for PokerNews / WSOP): Who's going to be the first to get gold bracelet number three? On Friday, two-timer Michael “the Grinder” Mizrachi was making a mockery out of the $1,500 buy-in Deuce-to-Seven Lowball (No-Limit) tournament. He dominated the first playing session and then was just as domineering during much of Day Two, played on Saturday -- up until the last hour or so when two-time champ Brandon Cantu went on a monster roll and seized the chip lead. As current chip leader, Cantu will be favored to win what would be his third gold bracelet. Another two-time winner, Rep Porter, slipped into second place and should be a significant factor, as well. The grand finale is to be played on Sunday. Meanwhile, this weekend is turning out to be one of the biggest three-day series of tournaments in poker history. To see more photos from the 2012 WSOP, please visit the official WSOP PHOTO BLOG.
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DAILY HEADLINES
Bam! Bam! Bam! Biggest Weekend in Poker History? 4,128 on Friday, 2,811 on Saturday, ??? on Sunday – Three-Day Attendance Record Likely to Fall
A Second Tidal Wave – 2,811 Turn Out for Event #31
Ylon Schwartz Wins First WSOP Gold Bracelet in HORSE Event
Former New York City Chess Master Declares “Checkmate” at WSOP
Former November Niner Now at $4.4 Million in Career WSOP Earnings
A Four-Handed Monster – Timothy Adams Wins Gold Bracelet in 4-Handed No-Limit Hold’em Tourney
Adams Becomes Third Canadian to Win Gold Bracelet in 2012
Debut Gold Bracelet Event at WSOP Draws Big Crowd and Rave Reviews from Players
Record-Smashing Seniors Championship Enters Day Three – 33 Remain for Final Playing Session
Deuce-to-Seven Down to Final 7 – Two-Timers Dominating: Brandon Cantu Leads Rep Porter, After Mizrachi Falls to Third
WSOP Draws Biggest DeepStack in its Tournament in History – 1,379 Entrants
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YLON SCHWARTZ ANNOUNCES “CHECKMATE”
Ylon Schwartz, an eccentric former chessmaster and professional poker player originally from New York City now residing in Austin, Texas won his first World Series of Poker gold bracelet on Saturday. He topped a brutally-competitive field of 889 players in the $1,500 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. tournament (Event #27).
The former November Niner, who is perhaps best known for finishing fourth in the 2008 WSOP Main Event Championship, out-dueled David Chiu, a four-time gold bracelet winner in heads-up play. The victory took place on an unscheduled fourth day of competition – necessitated by the large field size and some very competitive play during the final stages.
Since becoming a poker celebrity, Schwartz has been playing on the tournament circuit for the past four years. He’s managed to cash numerous times in majors, including at the WSOP.
This win paid $267,081, plus a WSOP gold bracelet. Schwartz’s victory gives him his first WSOP title, to go along with 23 cashes, and more than $4.4 million in career WSOP earnings.
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TIMOTHY ADAMS IS A FOUR-HANDED BEAST
Timothy Adams, a 26-year-old professional poker player from Burlington, Ontario (Canada) won the first-ever Four-Handed No-Limit Hold'em event played at the WSOP. The tournament attracted 750 players from 35 different countries.
Adams collected the lion's share of a $1.7 million prize pool -- pretty impressive considering that a tournament of this type had never previously been spread in a live setting. His cut of the giant poker bounty came to $392,476, plus the most coveted prize in the game -- the WSOP gold bracelet.
With his victory, Adams became the third gold bracelet winner at this year's WSOP -- following victories by fellow maple-leaf waving countrymen Ashkahn Razavi and Simon Charette.
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A CHIP AND A CHAIR FOR CHIU -- REDUX
It’s been repeated so many times over the years, that it’s almost become a cliché. A player goes down to the felt and is within just a chip or two of going bust, only to miraculously survive and then go on the rush of a lifetime, magically reversing an adversity into an advantage – and perhaps even a victory.
Four-time gold bracelet winner David Chiu didn’t win the H.O.R.S.E. tournament that ended on Saturday afternoon. However, he did manage to finish second to Ylon Schwartz, a feat that paid a nice consolation prize amounting to $164,960.
But the real story behind Chiu’s deep run and near miss took place on Day Two of Event #27, when many tables remained and players were barely in the money. With about 75 players remaining, Chiu was desperately low on chips and moved all-in for his last 1,400. The player in the big blind had posted 1,200 and needed to call just 200 more to see the flop, turn, and river. The player had more than 100,000 in his stack.
Inexplicably, the big blind folded, presumably unaware that he needed only 200 to make the call.
As things turned out, Chiu won the round of blinds, and then went on not only to gather many more chips; he made it to the final table, as well. Moreover, Chiu ended up in second place and collected his biggest payout in three years.
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DEEP FIELDS IN DEEP STACKS
Gold bracelet events tend to get all the love, and rightly so.
Still, the WSOP offers three daily DeepStack tournaments. These fields range in size, but have been steadily increasing by the week, both in turnout and total amounts of the prize pools.
Friday’s DeepStack tournament was the biggest ever at the WSOP, attracting a whopping 1,379 entrants. Saturday's record-setting turnout was even bigger, with 1,449 runners. First place in Saturday's tournament amounted to $53,789 on a $235 investment. Let's repeat that again.
First place in Saturday's tournament amounted to $53,789 on a $235 investment.
It’s rare to see any attendance record buried as the fourth more important story of the day, which is the case in today’s “WSOP Daily Shuffle.” Clearly, the record-setting numbers from the Seniors Championship and the big turnout in the $1,500 NLHE tourney were more newsworthy, as were the triumphs of the latest two gold bracelet winners.
That said, here’s a reminder that it doesn’t take $1,000 or more to make a big score at the WSOP. There are plenty of other tournaments which also offer an opportunity and a great bang for the poker buck.
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WSOP TRIVIA QUESTION OF THE DAY
Question: Who holds the current record as the player that’s cashed the most consecutive years at the WSOP (which means cashing in at least one gold bracelet event every year)?
Note: Answer coming in tomorrow’s “WSOP Daily Shuffle.”
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DAY 22: THE WSOP TODAY – SUNDAY, JUNE 16, 2012
9:00 AM
Today’s first tournament is a $75 buy-in TURBO MEGA-SATELLITE.
11:00 AM
EVENT #29, the $1,000 buy-in SENIORS WORLD POKER CHAMPIONSHIP (NO-LIMIT HOLD’EM) tournament, continues with the play of Day Three – including the final table. There are only 33 players remaining from the record starting field of 4,128. On Day Two, the field played from 462 down to less than four tables The current chip leader is Kevin DeTienne, who holds a big edge over the rest of the field. Action takes place inside Amazon, with the final table live streaming on the ESPN Main Stage. A full list of survivors and chip counts is available HERE.
12:00 NOON
EVENT #33 is a $1,000 buy-in NO-LIMIT HOLD’EM tournament that begins with the play of Day One. Late registration will be available for this event up until about 4:40 pm.* Action takes place inside Brasilia. The Pavilion White and Black sections will be used for overflow. This is a three-day event.
EVENT #33 UPDATES can be followed at WSOP.com. Coverage includes chip counts as well as written updates supplied from the tournament floor by our friends at PokerNews.com.
The official Structure Sheet for EVENT #33 can be viewed HERE.
1:00 PM
EVENT #31, the $1,500 buy-in NO-LIMIT HOLD’EM tournament continues with Day Two. There are 331 players remaining from the starting field of 2,811. The current chip leader is Cherish Andrews, who has a sizable lead over the field with 225,900 chips. Action will take place inside Amazon. The list of survivors and chip counts is available HERE.
2:00 PM
EVENT #30, the $1,500 buy-in DEUCE-TO-SEVEN LOWBALL (NO-LIMIT) tournament continues with Day Three – including the final table. There are 7 players remaining from the starting field of 285. The current chip leader is Brandon Cantu, who is shooting for what would be a third gold bracelet victory. Action will take place inside Amazon. The list of survivors and chip counts is available HERE.
EVENT #32, the $10,000 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. tournament continues with Day Two. There are 123 players remaining from the starting field of 178. The current chip leader is none other than the reigning champ in this event, Frenchman Fabrice Soulier. Action will take place inside Amazon. The list of survivors and chip counts is available HERE.
The first DAILY DEEP STACK NO-LIMIT HOLD’EM tournament begins. The entry fee is $235. Registration is open for four (30 minute) levels, plus one break – which means until about 4:20 pm.
2:20 PM
The official gold bracelet ceremony includes two recent winners – Andy Frankenberger (winner of Event #17) and Ylon Schwartz (winner of Event #27). Since both players are Americans, the “Star Spangled Banner” will be played in their honor.
4:00 PM
The first MEGA-SATELLITE begins. The entry fee is $330
5:00 PM
There is no 5 pm tournament today.
6:00 PM
The second DEEP STACK NO-LIMIT HOLD’EM tournament begins. The entry fee is $185. Registration is open for four (30 minute) levels, plus one break – which means until about 8:20 pm.
8:00 PM
The second MEGA-SATELLITE of the day begins. The game is Six-Handed Pot-Limit Omaha, which feeds into Event #34. The entry fee is $550.
10:00 PM
The third and final DEEP STACK NO-LIMIT HOLD’EM tournament begins at 10 pm. The entry fee is $135. Registration is open for four (30 minute) levels, plus one break – which means until about 12:20 am.
3:00 AM
All WSOP gold bracelet tournaments end for the night.
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* Please note that all listed times are estimates and subject to change
-- by Nolan Dalla