While Neymar, Tom Dwan and some pals quietly appeared to have a little (or big? Probably big) home-game on the stage on Tuesday, the rest of the Horseshoe/Paris rattled with the sound of chips being scooped, riffled and stacked in seven events — none of them, however, determined a winner on Day #29.
The closest to handing out a bracelet is the $50K Poker Players Championship, with a dozen of the game’s most decorated players returning to fight for the $1,178,703 top prize. Chip leader Chris Brewer holds a sizeable lead over second and third David Benyamine and Phil Ivey, but none of the Day 4 players can be counted out, certainly not Michael Mizrachi or Daniel Negreanu, even though they return with a fifth of Brewer’s chips.
The $1,500 Millionaire Maker’s field is finally rail-able live in its entirety, with 45 players (led by a tied Martin Mathis and WSOPE Main Event Champion Max Neugebauer) making it through Day 2. The $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship, on the other hand, certainly wasn’t, and still isn't, as a staggering 5,110 entries proved once again that affordable and decently structured events can’t help but draw the crowds. Hideki Sahashi leads the 770-strong Day 2 field in that one, with Martin Kabrhel just behind him in the counts.
Barry Greenstein is still in the running in the $1,000 Super Seniors, which is down to 119 players led by Gregory Peterson.
Elsewhere the $3,000 NLHE catered for the two-card poker fans, while the $2,500 Mixed Omaha and Stud Hi-Lo and star-studded $1,500 No Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw pretty much everyone else. The Omaha/Stud combo event saw David Williams take the chip lead through to Day 3, where 21/507 players will fight for the bracelet and $222,703 top prize.
All-star Day 4 line-up in the PPC
Thursday will see $1,178,703 in prize money handed to the winner of the $50,000 Poker Players Championship. This one isn’t named for the game(s) it features. It’s named for the ‘players’ and to win it is to prove you’re a proper one; it is a truly special achievement that the most successful pros of all time want to unlock. Chip leader and high stakes regular Chris Brewer has already banked $23.4 million in live tournament winnings, but another million can’t hurt.
Brewer is one of few players who might not be fazed by the Day 4 line-up. David Benyamine is in second place (to be fair, a good way off, with 3,110,000 to Brewer’s 5,345,000), Phil Ivey in third, with four more multiple bracelet-winners — Bryce Yockey, Joao Vieira, Jeremy Ausmus and James Obst — between him and Daniel Negreanu in 10th (1,105,000). An incredible final table awaits in an event which, since its inception in 2010, has consistently brought the cream of the card-playing world to the top.
How to make a million dollars in just seven days
It sounds too good to be true, but this $1,500 buy-in event is the answer. The week-long Millionaire Maker has finally condensed the chips of 10,939 players into the hands of just 45. That’s a lot of color-ups. It promised to make one millionaire, and it’s going to deliver two, with both first and second prizes topping the $1,000,000 mark.
Neck-and-neck at the top of the chip counts are Martin Mathis and WSOPE Main Event champion Max Neugebauer, with stacks of 13,025,000 apiece. The field is a truly international one, with seven countries represented in the overnight top ten alone. It is the North Americans in the Day 4 field who are probably the best-known players, with USA-based bracelet-winners Jason Wheeler and Sean Troha bringing back stacks of 5,000,000 and 4,375,000 respectively. Canadian Jaspal Brar, also with one bracelet to his name, lies closer to the bottom of the counts (1,975,000).
These stacks might seem enormous, but the blinds are going to be 125,000/250,000 with a 250,000 big blind ante when they return, so Brar, if the luck of the button falls that way, may have to part with a quarter of his chips in the very first hand.
Wealth of experience leads to experience of wealth
Considering the narrower age restriction for the $1,000 Super Seniors compared to the regular Seniors (60 and above rather than 50), its 3,362 entries this year were more than respectable, generating a prize pool just shy of $3 million.
One of the 119 remaining is going to claim the $368,025 top prize, and still in the running are well-known players Yucel Eminoglu and Kevin O’Donnell, bracelet winners Kevin Song, Tong Li, Larry Wright and Vince Burgio. Plus, probably the most famous Super Senior of them all (avoiding the obvious ‘wrote the book’ gag) Barry Greenstein.
Chip leader Gregory Peterson (1,990,000) is in good shape with over half a million chips more than his nearest rival James Jackson. All returning players are guaranteed $3,039, but these two are most comfortable, chip-wise, aiming a little higher on Day 3.
Late reg plumps prize pool in Event #60
The $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em featured Day 2 late registration (for two levels) and by the time the final player had been seated, the field had risen to 1,773 from Day 1’s 1,441. That means someone is on track to win $676,900 along with their NLH bracelet, and overnight 106 players all still believe they could be that someone.
Giving himself the best start for Day 3 is Tzur Levy, with 2,450,000 chips; the million-chip barrier was broken by 19 players. Multiple bracelet winner Kristen Foxen is one of them, as is Daniel Hachem, fresh from his NLHE/PLO Double Board Bomb Pot runner-up finish. Among the mid-stacked players are Stoyan Madanzhiev, Anthony Zinno, Adam Friedman and Andre Akkari, while Benjamin ‘Spraggy’ Spragg and Hossein Ensan bring shorter stacks back to the felt.
Zinno burst the bubble on Day 2 by cracking the kings of Adam Levy, something everyone but Levy was pleased with. Exiting with at least a min-cash ($6,020) were players including Mustapha Kanit, James Anderson, Harry Lodge and Josh Arieh.
Lowball draw is the afterparty for the PPC
It feels like there may have been an unwritten suggestion that poker heavyweights who busted the $50K Poker Players Championship ought to buy in to the $1,500 NL Lowball Draw event. Certainly, having David Baker, Jen Harman, new champ Patrick Moulder, Dario Alioto, and Ryan Depaulo all finish in the top ten on Day 1 behind Owais Ahmed feels like an indicator of a tough field.
More modest stacks (a third of the chip leader’s or under) will be unbagged on Day 2 by Patrick Leonard, Chance Kornuth, David Bach, Brad Ruben, and Calvin Anderson.Day 2 brings back 68/453 players, guaranteed at least $3,040 for their efforts. The winner will take home $123,314 and the first of two Lowball Draw bracelets, the second coming up in Event #72, the $10,000 Championship version.
Photo of the day
Hand of the day
Jessica Teusl flops threes full on a 
board when the other two sevens are, one each, in her opponents' hands. The big blind and Chris Hunichen can't hit quads, but they can snatch runner-runner aces...
Tweet of the day
How good is Norman Chad's distance vision?!
Video of the day
Alan Keating's dog calls a bet at an invitational game at the Horseshoe Event Center. Yes, you heard me.
The day in numbers
332
The number of Day 2 late registrants in the $3K NLH on Tuesday
$4,045,152
The total amount of prize money still to be awarded to the remaining competitors in the Poker Players Championship
2
Players with seven-figure stacks after Day 1 of the enormous $600 PokerNews Deepstack: Martin Kabrhel and Hideki Sahashi
Coming up on Day #30
The focus of the cameras (and the crowds) will be on the $50K Poker Players Championship. How could it not be? A dozen of the game’s finest players are still in the running, one final fight away from capturing this most prestigious of bracelets. Chris Brewer leads while Phil Ivey and Daniel Negreanu are still in contention. There are so many bracelets between the remaining 12 that they practically jingle when they walk.
The Super Seniors and $3,000 NLHE both progress to Day 3, while the $1,500 NL 2-7 Lowball Draw has just started rolling, with the expected complement of big names giving this variant a shot. Besides chip leader Owais Ahmed, decent stacks are in the capable hands of Jen Harman, Patrick Leonard, Chance Kornuth, with more modest ones coming through to Day 2 in those of Calvin Anderson, Ryan Leng and Alex Epstein.
The mammoth $600 PokerNews Deepstack continues, as does the more compact $2,500 Mixed Omaha and Stud Hi-Lo. The latter event is down to 21 players, led by David Williams, with Dario Sammartino, Joey Couden, Jeff Madsen and Nick Kost still in the mix.
New for Day #30 will be another $600 NLHE Deepstack, likely to prove similarly popular to Tuesday’s, the $5,000 Seniors High Roller and the $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha Championship. Are we at event #66 already? It seems that we are.
Day #29 gallery
Ongoing events
Event #54: $1,500 Millionaire Maker No-Limit Hold'em
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Martin Mathis |
13,025,000 |
| 2 | Max Neugebauer |
13,025,000 |
| 3 | Sean Ragozzini |
12,650,000 |
| 4 | Stephen Dauphinais |
2,385,000 |
| 5 | Timur Margolin | 10,650,000 |
| 6 | David Welch |
10,000,000 |
| 7 | Justin Carey |
9,775,000 |
| 8 | Sebastien Sigouin |
9,400,000 |
| 9 | Harvey Jackson |
8,425,000 |
| Notables | ||
| 26 |
Jason Wheeler |
5,000,000 |
| 29 |
Sean Troha |
4,375,000 |
| 43 |
Jaspal Brar |
1,9750,000 |
Full chip counts on WSOP
Event #58: $50,000 Poker Players Championship (7-Handed)
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Brewer |
5,345,000 |
| 2 | David Benyamine |
3,110,000 |
| 3 | Phil Ivey |
3,050,000 |
| 4 | Bryce Yockey |
2,665,000 |
| 5 | Joao Vieira |
2,610,000 |
| 6 | Jeremy Ausmus |
2,500,000 |
| 7 | Dylan Smith |
1,715,000 |
| 8 | James Obst |
1,640,000 |
| 9 | Johannes Becker |
1,365,000 |
| 10 |
Daniel Negreanu |
1,105,000 |
| 11 |
Michael Mizrachi |
830,000 |
| 12 |
Renan Bruschi |
820,000 |
Event #59: $1,000 Super Seniors No-Limit Hold'em
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gregory Peterson |
1,990,000 |
| 2 | James Jackson |
1,425,000 |
| 3 | Farzad Raji |
1,365,000 |
| 4 | Guy Cicconi |
1,275,000 |
| 5 | Manelic Minaya |
1,250,000 |
| 6 | James Sileo |
1,205,000 |
| 7 | Scott Papineau |
1,205,000 |
| 8 | Charles Capobianco |
1,185,000 |
| 9 | Philip Muller |
1,185,000 |
| Notables | ||
| 17 |
Yucel Eminoglu |
945,000 |
| 24 |
Kevin O'Donnell |
795,000 |
| 42 |
Kevin Song |
656,000 |
| 73 |
Tong Li |
410,000 |
| 100 |
Barry Greenstein |
230,000 |
Full chip counts on WSOP
Event #60: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tzur Levy |
2,450,000 |
| 2 | Jong Kim |
1,600,000 |
| 3 | Noel Rodriguez |
1,490,000 |
| 4 | Yiannis Liperis |
1,445,000 |
| 5 | Carson Richards |
1,410,000 |
| 6 | Nicholas Seward |
1,395,000 |
| 7 | Daniel Hachem |
1,315,000 |
| 8 | Simon Higgins |
1,285,000 |
| 9 | Bryan Chen |
1,260,000 |
| Notables | ||
| 11 |
Kristen Foxen |
1,245,000 |
| 21 |
Stoyan Madanzhiev |
980,000 |
| 36 |
Anthony Zinno |
760,000 |
| 44 |
Simon Wiciak |
680,000 |
| 52 |
Andre Akkari |
555,000 |
Full chip counts on WSOP
Event #61: $2,500 Mixed Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better and Seven Card Stud 8 or Better (8-Handed)
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Williams |
1,890,000 |
| 2 | Dario Sammartino |
1,870,000 |
| 3 | Joey Couden |
1,695,000 |
| 4 | Jon Kyte |
1,550,000 |
| 5 | Matt Vengrin |
1,335,000 |
| 6 | Paul Zappulla |
1,100,000 |
| 7 | Patrice Boudet |
1,090,000 |
| 8 | Jacob Neporn |
1,035,000 |
| 9 | Troy Murdough |
975,000 |
| Notables | ||
| 11 |
Jeff Madsen |
715,000 |
| 13 |
Nick Kost |
590,000 |
| 20 |
Brian Schwartz |
205,000 |
Full chip counts on WSOP
Event #62: PokerNews Deepstack Championship
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hideki Sahashi |
1,174,000 |
| 2 | Martin Kabrhel |
1,049,000 |
| 3 | Peter Hengsakul |
990,000 |
| 4 | Stephen Jarrett |
950,000 |
| 5 | Jun Li |
882,000 |
| 6 | Diogo Cardoso |
825,000 |
| 7 | Yun Choi |
821,000 |
| 8 | Sihao Zhang |
797,000 |
| Notables | ||
| 67 |
Kathy Liebert |
445,000 |
| 215 |
Chris Dombrowski |
246,000 |
| 245 |
Kenny Hsiung |
226,000 |
| 299 |
Alen Bakovic |
197,000 |
| 413 |
Jerry Wong |
133,000 |
| 497 |
Ben Yu |
108,000 |
Full chip counts on WSOP
Event #63: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw (7-Handed)
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Owais Ahmed |
633,000 |
| 2 | David Baker |
480,000 |
| 3 | Shahryar Eslami |
458,000 |
| 4 | Antonio Seremet |
457,000 |
| 5 | Jen Harman |
364,000 |
| 6 | Patrick Moulder |
360,000 |
| 7 | Dario Alioto |
335,000 |
| 8 | Christopher Roman |
335,000 |
| 9 |
Ryan Depaulo |
308,000 |
| Notables | ||
| 21 |
Patrick Leonard |
195,000 |
| 23 |
Chance Kornuth |
184,000 |
| 26 |
Steve Zolotow |
165,000 |
| 33 |
Brian Yoon |
146,000 |
| 41 |
Brad Ruben |
121,000 |
| 62 |
Calvin Anderson |
44,000 |
| 66 |
Ryan Leng |
12,000 |
| 67 |
Justin Saliba |
11,000 |
Full chip counts on WSOP
Bracelet winners
- Event #1: $5,000 Champions Reunion – Asher Conniff (USA)
- Event #2: $500 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold’em – Jose Garcia (USA)
- Event #3: $500 Kickoff No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout – Daniel Willis (UK)
- Event #4: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better (8-Handed) – James Chen (USA)
- Event #5: $1,000 Mystery Millions - Malcolm Trayner (Australia)
- Event #6: $25,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship – Darius Samual (UK)
- Event #7: $1,500 Dealer's Choice – John Hennigan (USA)
- Event #8: $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha (8-Handed) - Bryce Yockey (USA)
- Event #9: $1,500 Limit Hold'em (8-Handed) - Nick Guagenti (USA)
- Event #10: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship - Scott Seiver (USA)
- Event #11: $1,500 Badugi - David Prociak (USA)
- Event #12: $1,500 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em - Simeon Spasov (Bulgaria)
- Event #13: $10,000 Dealers Choice Championship - Robert Mizrachi (USA)
- Event #14: $1,000 Super Turbo Bounty No Limit Hold'em - Thibault Perissat (France)
- Event #15: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better - Caleb Furth (USA)
- Event #16: $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em - Brent Hart (USA)
- Event #17: $800 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack - TJ Murphy (USA)
- Event #18: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha - Dylan Weisman (USA)
- Event #19: $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship - John Racener (USA)
- Event #20: $300 Gladiators of Poker No-Limit Hold'em - Stephen Winters (USA)
- Event #21: $25,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em (6-Handed) - Brek Schutten (USA)
- Event #22: $1,500 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw (6-Handed) - Aaron Cummings (USA)
- Event #23: Event #23: $1,500 SHOOTOUT No-Limit Hold'em - Dan Sepiol (USA)
- Event #24: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship - Sean Troha (USA)
- Event #25: $3,000 Limit Hold'em 6-Handed - Daniel Vampan (USA)
- Event #26: $25,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em (8-Handed) - Nick Schulman (USA)
- Event #27: $1,500 Big O - Michael Christ (USA)
- Event #28: $1,500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em - Evan Benton (USA)
- Event #29: $10,000 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Championship (6-Handed) - Phil Ivey (USA)
- Event #30: $600 Mixed No-Limit Hold'em/Pot-Limit Omaha Deepstack - Alen Bakovic (Canada)
- Event #31: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed - Nicholas Seward (USA)
- Event #32: $1,500 Seven Card Stud - Richard Ashby (UK)
- Event #33: $600 Pot-Limit Omaha Deepstack (8-Handed) - Alex Manzano (Chile)
- Event #34: $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout - Antonio Galiana (Spain)
- Event #35: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. - Phillip Hui (USA)
- Event #36: $800 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack (8-Handed) – Timur Margolin (Israel)
- Event #37: $10,000 Big O Championship – John Fauver (USA)
- Event #39: $50,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em (8-Handed) - Sergio Aido (Spain)
- Event #40: $1,500 Razz – Scott Seiver (USA)
- Event #41: $1,500 Mixed No-Limit Hold'em/Pot Limit Omaha Double Board Bomb Pot - Xixiang Luo (China)
- Event #42: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship - James Obst (Australia)
- Event #43: $1,500 Mixed: PLO Hi-Lo 8; Omaha Hi-Lo 8; Big O - Magnus Edengren (Sweden)
- Event #44: $2,000 No-Limit Hold'em - Jared Kingery (USA)
- Event #45: $10,000 HORSE Championship - Maksim Pisarenko (Russia)
- Event #46: $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold'em Championship - Khang Pham (USA)
- Event #47: $100,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em - Chris Hunichen (USA)
- Event #48: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha (8-Handed) - Chris Vitch (USA)
- Event #49: $3,000 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em - Erlend Melsom (Norway)
- Event #50: $10,000 Razz Championship - George Alexander (USA)
- Event #51: $1,500 Super Turbo Bounty No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout - Peter Park (USA)
- Event #52: $5,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em – Mostafa Haidary (Australia)
- Event #53: $3,000 Nine Game Mixed - Yuri Dzivielevski (Brazil)
- Event #55: $250,000 Super High Roller – Santhosh Suvarna (India)
- Event #56: $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball (2-7, A-5, Badugi) – Patrick Moulder (USA)
- Event #57: $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty No-Limit Hold’em – Frank Funaro (USA)
