2019 WSOP Day 48: Three Remain in Main Event

With only two days left on the 2019 WSOP summer schedule, there were several tournaments still running and a few bracelets left to award. And that little Main Event still to award its millions in prize money among the top five finishers.

Two bracelets were handed out.

At the same time, the Rio staff cleared out ballrooms of poker tables and chairs, makeshift cashier cages and media tables, chips and cards, all put in storage for next year.

On Monday, July 15, this is what happened at the 50^th Annual World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.

Event 73:  $10K NLHE Main Event – Day 9

Total entries:  8,569

Prize pool:  $80,548,600

Players paid:  1,286

Minimum payout:  $15,000

Winner payout:  $10 million

Day 9 players remaining:  3

Final table chip counts:

Hossein Ensan (Germany) – 326.8 million chips

Alex Livingston (Canada) – 120.4 million chips

Dario Sammartino (Italy) – 67.6 million chips

Final table payouts thus far:

4^th place:  Garry Gates (USA) – $3 million

5^th place:  Kevin Maahs (USA) – $2.2 million

6^th place:  Zhen Cai (USA) – $1.85 million

7^th place:  Nick Marchington (UK) – $1.525 million

8^th place:  Timothy Su (USA) – $1.25 million

9^th place:  Milos Skrbic (Serbia) – $1 million

Remaining payouts:

1^st place:  $10 million

2^nd place:  $6 million

3^rd place:  $4 million

Day 10 starting time:  Tuesday at 5:30pm

Event 84:  $1,500 NLHE Closer – Final

Total entries:  2,800

Prize pool:  $3,780,000

Players paid:  196

Final table payouts:

1^st place:  Abhinav Iyer (India) – $565,346

2^nd place:  Sammy Laflreur (Canada) – $349,417

3^rd place:  Sergio Martiaguilar (USA) – $256,298

4^th place:  Carlos Chang (Taiwan) – $189,584

5^th place:  Patrick Eskandar (USA) – $144,860

6^th place:  Adam Johnson (USA) – $106,418

7^th place:  Shaun Deeb (USA) – $80,766

8^th place:  Steve Yea (South Korea) – $61,834

9^th place:  Jason Reels (USA) – $47,758

Event 85:  $3K PLO 6-Handed – Final

Total entries:  835

Prize pool:  $2,254,500

Players paid:  126

Final table payouts:

1^st place:  Alan Sternberg (USA) – $448,392

2^nd place:  Evangelos Kokkalis (Greece) – $277,087

3^rd place:  John Richards (USA) – $187,670

4^th place:  Millard Hale (USA) – $129,313

5^th place:  Ka Lau (Hong Kong) – $90,674

6^th place:  Joseph Cheong (USA) – $64,722

Event 86:  $10K NLHE 6-Handed Championship – Day 3 of 4

Total entries:  272

Prize pool:  $2,556,800

Players paid:  41

Minimum payout:  $15,111

Winner payout:  $630,747

Day 3 players remaining:  6

Final table chip counts:

1^st place:  Gal Yifrach (USA) – 5,385,000 chips

2^nd place:  Anuj Agarwal (USA) – 4,350,000 chips

3^rd place:  Dong Chen (China) – 2,540,000 chips

4^th place:  Kahle Burns (Australia) – 1,855,000 chips

5^th place:  Leonard Maue (Germany) – 1,495,000 chips

6^th place:  Ben Heath (UK) – 710,000 chips

Day 4 starting time:  12noon

Event 87:  $3K HORSE – Day 2 of 3

Total entries:  301

Prize pool:  $812,700

Players paid:  46

Minimum payout:  $4,463

Winner payout:  $206,173

Day 2 players remaining:  14

Chip leader:  Konstantin Puchkov (Russia) – 938,000 chips

Day 3 starting time:  2pm

Event 89:  $5K NLHE – Day 1 of 2

Total entries:  608

Prize pool:  $2,827,200

Players paid:  92

Minimum payout:  $7,396

Winner payout:  $606,562

Day 1 players remaining:  44

Chip leader:  Liran Twito (Israel) – 1,452,000 chips

Day 2 starting time:  12noon

Notable Information

Many poker fans watched on television, online, or in person at the Rio in Las Vegas as the 2019 WSOP Main Event played down from five players to three.

Play moved forward for dozens of hands before the first player departed on Monday night. That finally did happen when Kevin Maahs pushed with A-10 suited, and Hossein Ensan called with pocket nines. The pair held up, and Maahs left in fifth place.

Nine hands later, Garry Gates was in for his last 29.2 million chips after having fallen throughout the evening from second in chips to last. He pushed with pocket sixes from the small blind, but Alex Livingston had queens in the big blind. Those queens held and sent Gates out in fourth place.

The final three players will return to play one final night until a winner is determined.

Three players left in the Main Event!

Hossein Ensan leads Alex Livingston and Dario Sammartino. They'll return tomorrow night at 5:30 p.m. to determine poker's next World Champion and the winner of the $10 million first prize.https://t.co/xJjONscicc pic.twitter.com/JpMOm73BLX

— WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) July 16, 2019

There was a winner declared in the $1,500 NLHE Closer event, as Abhinav Iyer of India survived a large field to claim $565,346 in prize money. He did it in front of his rail of friends and fellow countrymen, noting that poker is continuously growing in India. He hopes his own win will further that growth.

The 25-year-old headed out to celebrate his win but with a solid plan for his newfound wealth. “I just want to put it in the bank. I don’t want to be a huge spender. Just keep playing, keep grinding, go to the next stop,” he said.”

India's Abhinav Iyer (@abhinaviyre) wins Event #84, "The Closer", $1,500 NLHE (30-min. levels). Iyer tops a huge 2,800-entry field to win $565,346 and his first career WSOP bracelet. https://t.co/jMIX1VdNvf pic.twitter.com/KaqFu5PRus

— WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) July 16, 2019

Another winner grabbed gold at the WSOP when Alan Sternberg won the $3K PLO 6-Handed event. After having won a major World Poker Tour title in 2011 and two WSOP Circuit rings since, he was happy to win the WSOP title. “This, by far, feels the best, not even close,” he admitted.”

For the longtime player, Omaha isn’t even his best game. “I prefer no-limit hold’em,” he said, “but I still play some PLO cash games here and there.” And that was enough to win the bracelet.

NY's Alan Sternberg wins Event #85 at the 2019 @WSOP, $3,000 PLO 6-Handed. Two-time Circuit ring winner @alansternberg wins his first bracelet and $448,392. https://t.co/3yqE6l5ceA pic.twitter.com/ek0dMB3WLI

— WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) July 16, 2019