2019 WSOP June 1: Big 50 Gets Bigger

Written by Jennifer Newell

Last updated on June 1st, 2019

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On the third day of the 50^th Annual World Series of Poker, the low buy-in anniversary Big 50 tournament again took over the halls of the Rio Convention Center, requiring so much extra space for poker tables that they were set up in a bowling alley and areas normally reserved for storage. The turnout was more than even the most optimistic WSOP executives anticipated. On Friday, May 31, this is what happened.

Event 1:  $500 Casino Employees NLHE – Final

Total entries:  686 Prize pool:  $298,410 Players paid:  103 Final table results: 1st place:  Nicholas Haynes (USA) - $62,248 2^nd place:  Isaac Hanson (USA) - $38,447 3^rd place:  Jorge Ruiz (USA) - $26,642 4^th place:  Jesse Kertland (USA) - $18,758 5^th place:  Adam Lamers (Canada) - $13,421 6^th place:  Jeffrey Fast (Canada) - $9,761 7^th place:  Christopher Bowen (USA) - $7,229 8^th place:  Joseph Appler (USA) - $5,438 9^th place:  Travis Williams (USA) - $4,161

Event 3:  $500 Big 50 NLHE – Day 2A & 1B

Entries:  no estimates given Prize pool:  TBD ($5 million guaranteed) Players paid:  TBD Day 2A players remaining:  unclear Day 1B players remaining:  1,435 Day 2A chip leader:  Mikhail Vilkov (Russian Federation) – 3,475,000 chips Day 1B chip leader:  Matthew Keegan (USA) – 902,000 chips Day 3 starting time:  11am on Wednesday, June 5 Day 2B restarting time:  7pm today Day 1C starting time: 10am today Day 1D starting time:  10am on Sunday, June 2

https://twitter.com/WSOP/status/1134815307313192961

Event 4:  $1,500 Omaha-8 Hi-Lo – Day 2 of 4

Total entries:  853 Prize pool:  $1,151,550 Players paid:  128 Minimum payout:  $2,257 Winner payout:  $228,228 Day 2 players remaining: 46 Chip leader:  Rick Fuller (USA) – 474,000 chips Day 3 starting time:  2pm

Event 5:  $50K 50^th Annual NLHE High Roller – Day 1 of 4

Total entries:  92 (registration still open) Prize pool: $ 4,416,000 (not final) Players paid:  TBD Minimum payout:  TBD Winner payout:  TBD Day 1 players remaining:  52 Chip leader:  Ali Imsirovic (USA) – 1,549,000 chips Day 2 starting time:  2pm

Notable Information

The second starting day of the Big 50 was more chaotic than the first, mostly because of the very large turnout but also because of space issues. Players from the first flight restarted on Friday as well, and there simply wasn’t enough room to keep everyone at tables. Some new registrants waited hours for tables, and some of the poker tables were scattered around various parts of the casino, wherever space was available. Action will be just as hectic today, as second-flight players return to play again and another new flight of players comes in to start. Nicholas Haynes, a Las Vegas resident and poker dealer at ARIA, won his first gold bracelet when he finished first in the Casino Employees event on Friday. He took home the second WSOP bracelet of the summer. On a historic note, the World Series of Poker announced that it awarded its three-billionth dollar on Wednesday when it paid a final table player in Event 2. https://twitter.com/WSOP/status/1134855691762409472