2012 WSOP champ Greg Merson is in third place with 20 remaining in the $5k NLHE – can he make the final table tomorrow?
1. It’s the BIG ONE!
No, not the Main Event, but The Colossus, the tournament that’s going to make the headlines this World Series. The first two flights play out later today at 10am and 7pm (the new starting time for both later flights – expect to finish playing around 3am), and the WSOP is preparing itself for over 20,000 runners. Everyone’s tweeting about it and it’s generating a huge buzz which can only be positive for poker.
Phil Hellmuth
‘Wow! 17,000 players signed up for @WSOP $500 buy in Colossus tournament already!! Day 1A and Day 1B Friday, C and D Saturday. #BOOMPOKER’
Norman Chad
‘Fun fact: The starting field of the WSOP Colossus event should exceed the attendance of your typical Major League Soccer game.’
2. First bracelet awarded
The first bracelet of the games has gone to Brandon Barnette in the Casino Employees Event 1. He topped a field of 688 players and picked up $75,704 and the priceless gold bracelet. A nice fact is that out of the top seven finishers, none had played a WSOP event before
3. Fire up the stream
The $5k NLHE comes to a climax on Saturday, and it’s the first final table that you should seriously consider firing up the stream for. Action kicks off at 2pm with a 30-minute delay.
Unfortunately, Ludovic Geilich crashed out before the money, along with Phil Hellmuth and Martin Jacobson, but big names like Greg Merson (3rd), David Sands (4th), Bryn Kenney, Byron Kaverman (13th) and Kevin MacPhee are firmly in contention and it means there’s a great chance of some star power on the stream. There’s $466,120 up top.
4. Event 3: Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better
918 runners became 358 overnight, with Tony Ma holding the chip lead. Jeff Madsen, Allen Cunningham, and Maria Ho are all still in the hunt for the first non-hold’em bracelet and the action re-convenes at 2pm on Saturday.
5. Event 4: $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em Shootout
Celeb James Woods is back in his familiar summer hunting ground and has made the money in the Shootout event, along with 39 other players, including Carlos Mortensen and Joe Cada. Ten four-handed tables will play today at 2pm, with the winner of each moving on to the ten-handed final table on Saturday afternoon.
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