- Benny Chen won $1500 buyin Millionaire Maker event.
- Matt Waxman defeated Eric Baldwin to take down Event #7 ($1000 No-Limit Hold’em),
- Michael Malm claimed victory in Event #8 ($2500 Eight-Game mix).
- Event #12, $1500 Pot-Limit Hold’em goes off at 12:00PM PST and Event #13, $3000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split-8 or Better starts at 5PM local time.
A trio of players had their hand raised and collected their first WSOP bracelets as millions in prize money was awarded last night at the Rio.
It wasn’t always easy for Benny Chen, but in the end, the man who entered the Final Table of Event #6, $1500 “Millionaire Maker” No-Limit Hold’em, with the chip lead also would be the one to leave with the coveted WSOP Bracelet and over $1.1 million in cash. With a record field and a warm reception, the debut of the Millionaire Maker looks to become a future staple event in the WSOP schedule.
Matt Waxman and Eric Baldwin put on a poker clinic last night in the hard fought heads-up finale of Event #7, $1000 No-Limit Hold’em, as the two pros battled for upwards of 6 hours to determine a winner. It would be Waxman who would eventually win out over his fellow pro, besting a field over 1800 and claiming over $300,000 on route to his first bracelet.
If that wasn’t enough gold to be doled out in one night, we saw Michael Malm overcome an absolutely stacked field to claim the victory in Event #8, $2500 Eight-Game mix. Battling through a final table that included Eric Crain, Marco Johnson and last year’s runner up in this same event, Greg “FBT” Mueller, it was the accidental tourist Malm who acquired some new wristwear and over $225,000 in cash.
Locked and Loaded
The final table for Event #9, $3000 No-Limit Hold’em Shootout, is set and it’s sure to be quite the fire fight. As per the format, all the participants, start virtually even in chips and so it’s going to be fun to watch this army of professionals battle it out. Cliff Josephy, David “Bakes” Baker, Ryan Hughes and Max Steinberg all have bracelets on their records while pros Chris Klodnicki and Tim West are aiming for their first. The Final Table of the Shootout will be streamed on WSOP.com via ESPN3 at 1:30PM PST on 30-minute delay.
Eric Froehlich leads the field of 19 in Event #10, $1500 Limit Hold’em as they min-raise their way to a Final Table and a WSOP Bracelet to be awarded this evening. Play resumes at 2PM PST with the final table likely to be streamed without commentary, so you can click back and forth between streams.
It’s Day 2 for the only tournament that kicked off yesterday. Event #11, $2500 No-Limit Hold’em, sees 133 of the original 924 returning to the felt. While there’s a long way to go before the Final Table, there’s some big names with big chips. Be on the lookout as Chino Rheem, Scott Clements and Vanessa Russo are close to the top with fellow pros Chris Moorman, Mickey Petersen and Humberto “Shark” Brenes not far behind. Everyone is going to be fighting for position as there’s over $470k up top.
Looking Foward
The action never slows at the Rio as there’s two new tournaments in the lobby. Event #12, $1500 Pot-Limit Hold’em goes off at 12:00PM PST while those who bust that will have to opt for Event #13, $3000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split-8 or Better which starts at 5PM local time.
Action at the 44th annual WSOP continues today with updates available on WSOP.com
