WSOP Breaks First Week Record

Last week, the 40th World Series Poker kicked off at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, and it didn’t take long to break the record.

Event #2, a $40,000 buy-in no-limit hold-up tournament, set a record for the largest prize pool in non-main events, with 201 players paying $40,000 each and creating a $7.7 million prize pool.

Event #4, a $1,000 buy-in no-limit hold tournament referred to as a “stimulus special,” set up the largest non-WSOP main event tournament, with 6,012 entries and 621 spots. The event’s cash prize is $5.4 million, and each final table contestant will receive a minimum six-figure payday.

And the #3, a $1,500 bettor tournament for eight or more Omaha players, set the record for the largest Omaha tournament. The event had 918 participants and set an old record of 833. 파워볼실시간

What stood out in terms of drama and star power was the $40,000 Norimited Tournament.

Moscow’s Vitaly Lunkin took home a gold bracelet after a grueling four-day match. The Russian player earned $1.89 million after knocking down Las Vegas’ Issac Haxton in a head-up play.

Created to celebrate WSOP’s 40th anniversary, the $40,000 tournament featured a stadium featuring 52 players, including Leungkin, who previously won WSOP bracelets.

Greg Raymer, the 2004 main event champion, finished in third place. He was aiming for his second gold bracelet, and held the chip lead at various points in the final table. In fact, just before he was eliminated, all three remaining players had almost exactly 8 million chips each.

Reimer was knocked out by Hexton after Pocket Five was beaten for nine pockets.

Starting the head-up play with about half the chips, Leungkin took the chip lead after a big all-in bet forced Leungkin to drop the card. Leungkin’s victory came after a slow play on the pocket ace. Leungkin’s plush draw and lower pair did not hit the mark, and Leungkin took the title.

The tournament’s most star-studded runoff tournament featured Phil Ivy and Phil Helmut on its first day. According to the WSOP website, Ivy put it up in the middle. Helmut went from a small blind to about 90,000 people, while Ivy made phone calls. Helmut showed A-J and Ivy showed A-K. A king fell to the ground and Ivy’s hands rose, knocking Helmut down.

Helmus went on to tell Bluff magazine, “The most terrible players in the world beat me.”

While the $40,000 tournament attracted some of poker’s brightest stars, the $1,000 “stimulus special” attracted a field of aspiring poker players.

“The demand for the stimulant special was palpable at the moment we announced it,” said Jeffrey Pollock, president and commissioner of the World Series of Poker. “We welcome all players who are new to the World Series of Poker and wish everyone good luck in finding a gold bracelet.”

The WSOP split the 6,012-player field into two first-day stadiums. And after the two games, Jeremiah DeGriff and J.C. Tran sat atop the leaderboard with more than 130,000 chips each. The field will run through to the final table on Monday, with the final table action scheduled for Tuesday.

While the “stimulus special” will likely see the first bracelet winner, this weekend’s record Omaha High Low tournament saw the defending champion win again.

Thang Luu became the champion after leading the tournament from near wired to wired. He was the chip leader after Day 1 and was second after Day 2.

Lou won his first bracelet at the same event last year. And he finished second at the same event in 2007.

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