Chalk one up for the recreational players.
A relative unknown in the world of high-stakes poker played the second event of the 2021 WSOP in Las Vegas. He paid $25K to play, navigated a field of some of poker’s greatest players, made the final table, tilted Phil Hellmuth, and won a gold bracelet. He also won $550K. Jesse Klein now heads back to Pennsylvania with gold, cash, and an incredible poker story to tell.
In the process of that achievement, Klein had to deny Hellmuth his record 16th bracelet. But considering that Hellmuth’s first live final table of the 2021 WSOP was in Event 2 on Day 3, there is little doubt that we’ll see more of those efforts in the next eight weeks.
Let’s get to the Day 3 details.
Event 2: $25K HORSE
The aforementioned Jesse Klein took down this event. Not even a star-studded final table that included names like Hellmuth and Benyamine stopped him. And not even three-time bracelet winner Benny Glaser could stop him in heads-up play.
According to his post-game interview with PokerNews, the Pennsylvanian owns a recruiting business and focuses on his wife and two young children. He likes to play high-stakes mixed games in a cash game format, not frequenting any type of poker circuit. But this tournament appealed to him. So, he flew to Las Vegas to play it…and won. He told PN:
“I’m feeling great. It was a lot of fun. The players were awesome; it was an awesome structure. I’m feeling good. I play poker to win, but I don’t play poker professionally. The HORSE event is what I wanted to play. I love all the different games. … I’m fired up. I love playing poker. This event was about as competitive as can be – a perfect little couple of days.”
Event 2: Day 3 of 3
$25K buy-in
HORSE (1 RE)
Total entries:
78
Total prize pool:
$1,842,750.00
Players paid:
12
Minimum payout:
$42,162.00
Final table results:
1st place:
Jesse Klein (USA) $552,182
2nd place:
Benny Glaser (UK) $341,274
3rd place:
David Benyamine (France) $236,626
4th place:
Chad Eveslage (USA) $169,218
5th place:
Philip Sternheimer (UK) $124,935
6th place:
Phil Hellmuth (USA) $95,329
7th place:
Ben Yu (USA) $75,260
8th place:
DJ Buckley (USA) $61,549
9th place:
Matt Glantz (USA) $52,211
https://twitter.com/ChadAHolloway/status/1444557579540221954?s=20
And Hellmuth is on his A-game, so stay ready.
https://twitter.com/phil_hellmuth/status/1444470919204769803?s=20
Event 4: $500 The Reunion
The tournament to welcome players back to the Rio reunited more of them with the tables on Saturday. Some eyed that $5M guarantee for an overlay when only 2,649 entries showed up for the first of three starting flights. But there were an additional 4,455 in the mix on Day 1B. This means that today’s flight must bring in 2,896 entries today to beat the guarantee.
All eyes will be on the board to see the final tally today.
Event 4: Day 1B of 5
$500 buy-in
NLHE Reunion (1 RE/flight)
Start: 1 Oct
Total entries:
7104
(Day 1A = 2,649 / Day 1B = 4,455)
Registration still open?
yes
Total prize pool:
TBD
Players paid:
TBD
Minimum payout:
TBD
Winner payout:
TBD
Chip leader:
Robert Brobyn
Players remaining:
333
(Day 1A = 129 / Day 1B = 204)
Day 1B start:
10am Sunday
Event 5: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo
The hope was that this event would play to its final table on Saturday, but play stopped with 15 players still holding chips. While Connor Drinan maintained a solid chip lead, Robert Mizrachi finished second on the leaderboard and will be looking for his fifth bracelet.
Event 5: Day 2 of 3
$1,500 buy-in
Omaha Hi-Lo 8-or-Better
Total entries:
607
Registration still open?
no
Total prize pool:
$810,345.00
Players paid:
92
Minimum payout:
$2,400.00
Winner payout:
$163,252.00
Chip leader:
Connor Drinan
Players remaining:
15
Restart:
3pm Sunday
Event 6: $25K NLHE High Roller
The $25K HORSE delivered 78 entries, but the NLHE with the same buy-in could bring in nearly double that number. The tally sat at 135 when Day 1 ended, but registration remains open until the start of Day 2 for new players and those wanting to use their single reentry.
Event 6: Day 1 of 3
$25K buy-in
NLHE High Roller (1 RE)
Start: 2 Oct
Total entries:
135
Registration still open?
yes
Total prize pool:
TBD
Players paid:
TBD
Minimum payout:
TBD
Winner payout:
TBD
Chip leader:
Jake Daniels
Players remaining:
54
Restart:
2pm Sunday
Yesterday, the WSOP hosted its first virtual press conference hosted by Tiffany Michelle. Due to some initial technical snafus, it didn’t broadcast live, but it is online. And each one going forward should be live every Friday throughout the series.
https://twitter.com/WSOP/status/1444475038426562561?s=20
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