For some people, the World Series of Poker is at the point of its runup to the Main Event. That tournament is the Big One, the one that they look forward to all year, the one that fans want to hear about. Only serious players know that there are 88 events that run from May 31 to July 20.
On Tuesday, two of those events wrapped up. One was the massive Colossus tournament, which finally played to a winner, a player who took home his very first WSOP gold bracelet. The other was the Salute to Warriors tournament, one which benefits United States veterans’ organizations. It has a serious backdrop but it played out to a very grateful winner.
Today will be focused on many tournaments, but the seniors and women are two of the most excited groups to play. It will be a fun one to watch.
Event 51: $400 NLHE Colossus
Seven players showed up to play for the win, and Sam Laskowitz was the overwhelming chipleader, with Paul Hizer in a distant second. The shorter stacks started with double-ups, but Anthony Ruttler only did it once before he busted in seventh place. Laskowitz then busted Jeff Loiacono, and Jordan Pelon took out Luong Quach in fifth. Hizer had lost ground but doubled through James Scott and then busted Scott. Laskowitz then eliminated Pelon in third place.
Laskowitz had 412M chips going into heads-up against the 131.5M of Hizer. The latter started strong and doubled into the lead. Laskowitz tried to even the stacks, but Hizer kept control and won the tournament.
“I’ve applied a lot of time to playing poker,” Hizer said. “I’ve made it my profession over the last six years. … Like always in life, I just trust my gut and I did my best.”
A couple of tables began this event’s final day, but play moved very quickly. Matthew Vaughan busted in 18th place, and the day’s initial chipleader James Todd began to eliminate quite a few players. He took out Zyad Qasem in tenth place to set the official final table. Patrick Pilko busted Maximo Martinez in ninth place, and Rigoberto Rodriguez sent Elias Neto to the rail in eighth. Todd eliminated Todd Saffron in seventh and Nicholas Sena-Hopkins in sixth, but Brett Coltman took over to bust Rodriguez in fifth and Randy Levin in fourth.
Todd busted Pilko in third to take 124.5M chips into heads-up. Coltman had just 35.95M and busted quickly. Todd told PokerNews that he came to the WSOP with the plan of winning and felt that he would. He noted that having his girlfriend on the rail for support “means the world.”
Twenty teams played down to five on Tuesday, with Corey Paggeot and Jamie Kerstetter as the initial chipleading team and the ones that kept the pressure on others throughout the day. As the final table neared, that leading team busted the Rippers – Walter and Wagner – in 11th place, and Michael Savakinas and Satoshi Tanaka in tenth. Team Leonard busted Team Knight in ninth place, but Paggeot/Kerstetter stepped back in to bust Adam Russell and Ryan O’Grady in eighth and then Renato Spahiu and Nicholas Velentzas in seventh.
Team Tsugaru eliminated Zachary Vankeuren and Gabriel Ramos in sixth place, setting the stage for one final day and just five teams remaining.
Event 55: Day 3 of 4
$1K buy-in
Tag Team NLHE
Total entries:
913
(976 in 2019, 641 in 2021)
Players remaining:
5
Total prize pool:
$812,570
Players paid:
137
Minimum payout:
$1,611
Winner payout:
$148,067
Final table counts:
#1
Paggeot/Kerstetter 7,975,000
#2
Tsugaru/Ichikawa 4,900,000
#3
Leonard/Jorstad 2,235,000
#4
Spitale/Pochat 1,850,000
#5
Kraemer/Schiller 1,250,000
Event 56: $50K Poker Players Championship 6-Handed
The third day of the PPC started with 41 players but ended with only 13. As the money bubble approached, Eric Seidel busted and then Maxx Coleman became the bubble player. Short-stacked Dan Smith busted in 17th place, followed by Scott Bohlman, David Baker, and then Bryce Yockey in 14th.
Day 4 will bring in the on-fire Yuri Dzivielevski as the chipleader and defending champion Dan Cates as second on the leaderboard.
Event 56: Day 3 of 5
$50K buy-in
Poker Players Championship 6-Handed
Total entries:
112
(74 in 2019, 63 in 2021)
Players remaining:
13
Total prize pool:
$5,362,000
Players paid:
17
Minimum payout:
$83,738
Winner payout:
$1,449,103
Top chip counts:
#1
Yuri Dzivielevski (Brazil) 5,645,000
#2
Dan Cates (USA) 4,995,000
#3
Johannes Becker (Germany) 3,990,000
#4
Taylor Paur (USA) 3,290,000
#5
Koray Aldemir (Germany) 3,205,000
Event 57: $600 NLHE Deepstack
The second day of this tournament thinned the field from 560 to just 60. The third day will bring it down to just five survivors.
Event 57: Day 2 of 4
$600 buy-in
NLHE Deepstack (1 RE)
Total entries:
4,913
(3916 in 2021)
Players remaining:
60
Total prize pool:
$2,505,630
Players paid:
737
Minimum payout:
$961
Winner payout:
$299,464
Top chip counts:
#1
John Ypma (USA) 6,660,000
#2
John Ciccarelli (USA) 6,635,000
#3
Mike Vanier (USA) 6,085,000
#4
Jonathan Hyatt (USA) 5,200,000
#5
Yota Mitsui (Japan) 4,775,000
Event 58: $1,500 PLO-8
More than 200 players started the day, but only a small fraction made it through. Nathan Gamble was among the late bustouts, as was former chipleader Justin Liberto. After William Slaght departed in 15th place, the final 14 players bagged their chips for the night.
Event 58: Day 2 of 3
$1,500 buy-in
PLO-8 (2 RE)
Total entries:
1,303
(1117 in 2019, 725 in 2021)
Players remaining:
14
Total prize pool:
$1,739,505
Players paid:
196
Minimum payout:
$2,404
Winner payout:
$1,739,505
Top chip counts:
#1
Richard Crooks (USA) 6,440,000
#2
Peter Neff (USA) 6,110,000
#3
Stuart Easton (UK) 4,325,000
#4
Lawrence Brandt (USA) 2,980,000
#5
Joey Couden (USA) 2,675,000
Event 59: $1K NLHE Super Seniors
This was the chance for players 60 and older to put their poker experience to the test. A huge field that totaled 2,669 entries got involved, though only a bit more than 700 players finished with chips.
Event 59: Day 1 of 4
$1K buy-in
NLHE Super Seniors (1 RE)
Total entries:
2,669
(1893 in 2021)
Players remaining:
727
Total prize pool:
$2,375,410
Players paid:
401
Minimum payout:
$1,601
Winner payout:
$330,609
Top chip counts:
#1
Angelita Grayer (USA) 312,500
#2
PT Hayes (USA) 289,500
#3
Laurette Thurber (USA) 258,000
#4
Yanki Koppel (USA) 258,000
#5
Yin Guo (USA) 252,500
Event 60: $10K Short Deck NLHE
Nearly 100 players, totaling 102 entries, wanted some high-stakes Short Deck action. But the action moved fast, and only 37 players still had chips when play stopped.
Event 60: Day 1 of 3
$10K buy-in
Short Deck NLHE (1 RE)
Total entries:
102 (not final)
(66 in 2021)
Players remaining:
37
Total prize pool:
TBD
Players paid:
TBD
Minimum payout:
TBD
Winner payout:
TBD
Top chip counts:
#1
Elior Sion (UK) 372,000
#2
Stephen Chidwick (UK) 352,000
#3
Leroy Fan (Ireland) 335,200
#4
Ben Yu (USA) 314,100
#5
Michael Watson (Canada) 298,200
Today’s Poker Menu
Event 55 brings Tag Team players back to play to a final table of five..
Event 56 continues the Poker Players Championship.
Event 57 continues its latest NHLE Deepstack.
Event 58 plays to and through its PLO-8 final table.
Event 59 continues the Super Seniors action.
Event 60 moves toward a Short Deck final table.
Event 61 starts a two-day Super Turbo Bounty NLHE tournament.
Event 62 kicks off the $10K PLO-8 Championship.
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