Jeremy Ausmus Grabs First 2021 WSOP Bracelet on Day 2

It’s happening. Day 2 brought players back to the Rio Convention Center in Las Vegas, some for their first Day 2 of the live series this year. Others settled in for what they hoped would be long days playing No Limit Hold’em or Omaha Hi-Lo.

Two players won bracelets, with Jeremy Ausmus claiming his second lifetime gold and Caesars dealer Jeremy Barnett picking up his first.

Let’s see what happened.

Event 1: $500 Casino Employees

This was the first event to begin but the second to finish on Day 2. When it was done, Caesars Palace dealer and floor person Jimmy Barnett posed with his first bracelet. The 36-year-old told PokerNews:

“My father passed a handful of years ago from cancer. We would come out here and play all the time. My grandma just passed away three weeks ago. I posted on Facebook I was going to win a tournament for her, and to win a WSOP tournament, it’s special. … I could have lost this, and it would’ve hurt, obviously, but I get to play a game for fun. I get to work at Caesars where I would stay growing up. I really am living the dream. I’m one of the luckiest people you’ll know because I have great friends, family, and doing something I love. It’s work, but it’s not; it’s awesome. To win this is just icing on the cake.”

Jimmy Barnett can call himself a @wsop champion after taking down Event #1: $500 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold’em for $39,013. Congratulations! https://t.co/qYAWVsQkRN

— PokerNews (@PokerNews) October 2, 2021

Event 2: $25K HORSE

A lot happened on the second day of this event. Registration closed, a lot of players wrote off the first $25K buy-in of the series, and Yuval Bronshtein bubbled. Cary Katz was the first to make the money in this event. Roland Israelashvili and Daniel Negreanu followed him to the payout cage. And that left a final table that includes many recognizable faces and names.

Most notable of them is Phil Hellmuth, who is already in a position to pick up his 16^th career WSOP win.

1 There are 9 of us left in @WSOP $25,000 HORSE (mixed limit games): final table Saturday. I have wanted to win a HORSE tourney ever since I watched the great @TexDolly win a WSOP HORSE in 2003. I didn’t have the skill set to win HORSE then, but I have spent thousands of hours.. pic.twitter.com/uJDBNPangv

— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth) October 2, 2021

As mentioned yesterday, WSOP commentator Norman Chad played for the Hope for Depression Research Foundation. He did that via 139 backers, and though he didn’t make the money, he raised $12,500 for the cause.

I finished 38th in a field of 78 at the WSOP 25k HORSE, which is the same as finishing 78th.

Zero cash.

But thanks to my 139 backers, we raised $12,500 for Hope for Depression Research Foundation. And it was a blast, until security removed me forcibly from the playing area.

— Norman Chad (@NormanChad) October 2, 2021

Event 3: $1K Covid-19 Relief Charity

This was the third event to start on the first day of the 2021 WSOP but the first to finish. That made Jeremy Ausmus the first bracelet winner of this series. He picked up his second lifetime bracelet – first one came in 2013 – by overcoming a 3-to-1 chip deficit. He told PokerGO News:

“I couldn’t have started the summer any better. It’s not the summer anymore, but yeah. … It’s good to be back. … It’s crazy; it’s been almost two and a half years since the World Series. I think everyone is excited, and it shows by the amount of high rollers I saw in this $1K. People are ready to play. Everyone wants to play the WSOP.”

.@JeremyAusmus grabbed the first gold bracelet awarded at the 2021 WSOP. Sat down with him after to discuss his first live win in quite some time, the WSOP being back at a different time of year, and more.https://t.co/yXDUQEDyBD

— Donnie Peters 🍕 (@Donnie_Peters) October 2, 2021

Event 4: $500 The Reunion

This is the one that so many players were excited about. In 2019, it was the Big 50; this year, it is the Reunion, signifying the return of the WSOP after last year’s absence. This tournament also has a $5M guarantee on the prize pool.

That $500 Big 50 in 2019 is a comparable tournament, though it offered four starting days. That one delivered 6,095 entries on the first day, more than double the 2,649 of the first day of the Reunion. But considering the dynamics of this year, there are few complaints about the Day 1A turnout.

Event 5: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo

This was the first regular buy-in for a non-hold’em event. The result was 607 entries, whereas the 2019 event brought in 853 entries. That shows almost a 29% decrease in participation.

And we’ll wrap it up with a fun video taken by Kenna James. He sat next to a man who made the money in a WSOP event for the very first time. The emotion shows how much the WSOP means to players and the joy that poker can bring.

This is why we love poker ! #wsop2021 https://t.co/Q1fYTDLyWl

— WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) October 2, 2021