Some people frown on gimmicks. Poker players sometimes enter a tournament wearing a costume, maybe a flashy hat or a bathrobe. There have been a lot of different ideas playing out at the World Series of Poker.
Yesterday, Yuliyan Kolev played the Millionaire Maker final table and won it wearing a Kentucky Fried Chicken bucket upside-down on his head. His friends on the rail wore them, too.
The reason behind the unique decision had to do with the musician in him. He plays the guitar and admires an American guitarist nicknamed Buckethead, named such because…well…he wore a bucket on his head when he played. Kolev wore the bucket in homage to the guitarist, and it turned out to be a good luck charm.
Event 37: $1,500 NLHE Millionaire Maker
Only five players returned for the final day of the Millionaire Maker, each guaranteed at least $300K for their work thus far. The first player to move all-in was the short-stacked Dominic Brazier, and Yuliyan Kolev busted him to take over the chip lead from Tyler Gaston. Kolev then busted Yita Choong in fourth place.
Kolev continued to accumulate chips, as Oren Rosen and Gaston battled for the rest of them. Rosen ultimately busted Gaston with a golden river card. Rosen took 76M chips into heads-up play, but Kolev had well over 100M. And it didn’t take long for Rosen to make his move with Q-J. It just so happened that Kolev had pocket aces, which held up to win the tournament.
Kolev had won a bracelet last year online while in Vegas for the WSOP, but this second one was more special. “The feeling is much stronger because all of your friends are here,” he said.
They started with 22 players with big names like Yuri Dzivielevski and Eugene Katchalov busting early. Shaun Deeb and Matt Glantz followed. Play slowed greatly until Jerry Wong busted in 13th, Brad Ruben left in 12th, and Gary Benson took 11th place. Ben Lamb took tenth, at which point the rest of the players took seats at the same table.
After the dinner break, Ismael Bojang bubbled the official final table. Andrew Yeh proceeded to eliminate Eric Wasserson after a long bout of eight-handed action, and Bryce Yockey then dispatched Mike Gorodinsky. After hours of working a short stack, Paul Sokoloff busted in sixth place.
Play ended with just five to return today.
Event 44: Day 3 of 4
$10K buy-in
HORSE Championship
Total entries:
209
(172 in 2019, 149 in 2021)
Players remaining:
5
Total prize pool:
$1,948,925
Players paid:
32
Minimum payout:
$16,155
Winner payout:
$487,129
Final table chip counts:
#1
Andrew Yeh (USA) 3,860,000
#2
Philip Long (UK) 3,630,000
#3
John Racener (USA) 2,520,000
#4
Bryce Yockey (USA) 1,290,000
#5
Craig Chait (USA) 1,245,000
6th place:
Paul Sokoloff (UK) $80,523
7th place:
Mike Gorodinsky (USA) $61,314
8th place:
Eric Wasserson (USA) $47,819
Event 45: $1,500 PLO 8-Handed
Pot Limit Omaha played down from nearly 100 players at the start of the day to just a few tables later into the evening. The final eliminations of the night included Vincent Moscati in 13th place, Joshua Stefansky in 12th, and John Riordan in 11th place. Action stopped with 10 players remaining.
Event 45: Day 2 of 3
$1,500 buy-in
PLO 8-Handed
Total entries:
1,438
(821 in 2021)
Players remaining:
10
Total prize pool:
$1,918,395
Players paid:
216
Minimum payout:
$2,405
Winner payout:
$311,782
Final chip counts:
#1
David Prociak (USA) 6,400,000
#2
Dylan Weisman (USA) 5,660,000
#3
Shane Nardiello (USA) 4,725,000
#4
Charles Coultas (USA) 4,325,000
#5
Daniel Tordjman (France) 3,745,000
#6
David Williams (USA) 2,980,000
#7
Phil Hui (USA) 2,675,000
#8
Paul Fehlig (USA) 1,930,000
#9
Kao Saechao (USA) 1,820,000
#10
Dylan Smith (USA) 1,640,000
Event 46: $5K NLHE 6-Handed
Several hundred players started Day 2 of this tournament, but only 46 made it to the bagging portion of the evening. The four-day tournament still has plenty of time to set the final table and then play it out the following day.
Event 46: Day 2 of 4
$5K buy-in
NLHE 6-Handed
Total entries:
928
(815 in 2019, 604 in 2021)
Players remaining:
46
Total prize pool:
$4,243,500
Players paid:
138
Minimum payout:
$8,053
Winner payout:
$771,765
Top chip counts:
#1
Ezequiel Waigel (Argentina) 3,440,000
#2
Anthony Spinella (USA) 2,575,000
#3
Stephen Song (USA) 2,485,000
#4
Johan Marinet (France) 2,150,000
#5
Justin Bond (USA) 2,145,000
Event 47: $1K Seniors NLHE Championship
It was a wild day for the 50+ crowd at the WSOP on Wednesday, as there were 5,121 entries in the first flight. That is significant because there were 5,404 entries in total last year and 5,916 in total in 2019. This year’s crowd looks to smash those numbers into the ground.
Event 47: Day 1A of 5
$1K buy-in
Seniors NLHE Championship
Total 1A entries:
5,121
(5916 in 2019, 5404 in 2021)
Players remaining:
607
Total prize pool:
TBD
Players paid:
TBD
Minimum payout:
TBD
Winner payout:
TBD
Top chip counts:
#1
James Kennedy (USA) 452,000
#2
Seongsu Kong (S.Korea) 365,000
#3
Allyn Shulman (USA) 361,500
#4
Orlando Barrera (USA) 358,500
#5
Michel Bouskila (Australia) 353,500
Event 48: $1,500 Eight-Game Mix 6-Handed
Nearly 700 entries came in for the short-handed mixed game, but only 200 survived the day. They will return with the goal of making the money at 105th place and moving forward from there.
Event 48: Day 1 of 3
$1,500 buy-in
Eight-Game Mix 6-Handed
Total entries:
695
(612 in 2019, 484 in 2021)
Players remaining:
200
Total prize pool:
$927,825
Players paid:
105
Minimum payout:
$2,403
Winner payout:
$180,783
Top chip counts:
#1
Michael Dobbs (USA) 293,100
#2
Jay Kerbel (USA) 269,000
#3
Hieu Luu (USA) 251,500
#4
Randy Ohel (USA) 237,000
#5
Jason Stockfish (USA) 235,500
Today’s Poker Menu
Event 44 will find its HORSE Championship champion.
Event 45 will play its PLO final table.
Event 46 will play the third of four days.
Event 47 will offer a second flight for the Seniors NLHE Championship.
Event 48 will play toward an 8-Game Mix final table.
Event 49 will offer a $2K buy-in three-day NLHE event.
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