June 24 was the 28th day of the 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP) at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. After four players claimed gold bracelets on Day 27, there were no bracelet winners today, but that does not mean there was not plenty to write home about.
Massive fields were reduced to more manageable numbers, while the $50,000 Poker Players Championship, perhaps the most prestigious event on the 2024 WSOP schedule, reached its third day with a whole host of superstars among its final 28.
Obst Leads But Negreanu Lurking in the $50K PPC
James Obst is still the man to catch in Event #58: $50,000 Poker Players Championship after the two-time WSOP bracelet winner built on his Day 1 lead to finish top of the Day 2 counts. Obst finished Day 1 with 1,208,000 chips and goes into Day 3 with a tournament-leading 1,961,000.
Six-time bracelet winner Jeremy Ausmus (1,839,000) is only a handful of big bets behind the Australian leader, with Johannes Becker (1,764,000) occupying third place when play resumes on June 25.
Of the 29 players to surviving Day 2’s antics, 20 have at least one bracelet to their name, with 18 selected for the $25K Fantasy Draft. Daniel Negreanu falls into both counts. His latest quest to win his first bracelet since 2013 resumes on Day 2 of this event with 1,341,000 chips, enough for seventh place at the restart.
Michael Mizrachi (1,329,000) is in the mix as he looks to win this event for the fourth time. Other luminaries such as Phil Ivey (815,000), Philip Hui (700,000), Stephen Chidwick (604,000), and Gus Hansen (395,000) are also still in contention but have a little more work to do than the leaders when play resumes.
Day 2 kicks off at 1:00 p.m. local time on June 25. Another six 100-minute levels are planned, with all the action streamed on the PokerGO platform.
Event #58: $50,000 Poker Players Championship Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Obst | Australia | 1,961,000 |
| 2 | Jeremy Ausmus | United States | 1,839,000 |
| 3 | Johannes Becker | Germany | 1,764,000 |
| 4 | Jared Bleznick | United States | 1,546,000 |
| 5 | David Benyamine | United States | 1,531,000 |
| 6 | Joao Vieira | Portugal | 1,428,000 |
| 7 | Daniel Negreanu | Canada | 1,341,000 |
| 8 | Michael Mizrachi | United States | 1,329,000 |
| 9 | Bryce Yockey | United States | 1,255,000 |
| 10 | Hal Rotholz | United States | 1,055,000 |
Margolin Flying High After Day 3 of the Millionaire Maker
Almost 11,000 players bought into Event #54: $1,500 Millionaire Maker No-Limit Hold’em across its three starting flights, but only 315 have made it through to Day 4. Two of those surviving players will become millionaires, with the champion taking home $1,250,125.
Canada’s Sebastien Sigouin appeared from almost nowhere to top the chip counts with 2,615,000 chips. Sigouin, Connor Rash (2,550,000) and Jeremy Surinach (2,550,000) are the only returning players with at least 100 big blinds in their arsenal.
Fifth place at the restart belongs to Israel’s Timur Margolin (2,320,000), who is fresh off becoming a three-time bracelet winner earlier this week. It would take a brave person to bet against Margolin still being among the leaders once Day 4 is done and dusted.
Others to look out for in our Day 3 coverage include Chris Moorman (1,695,000), Ankit Ahuja (1,510,000), Jason Wheeler (950,000), Max Neugebauer (865,000), and the 2014 WSOP Main Event champion Martin Jacobson (355,000), although Jacobson finds himself at the wrong end of the standings.
The 315 returning players sit down at 11:00 a.m. local time on June 25 to play another ten 60-minute levels under the watchful eyes of the PokerNews live reporting team.
Event #54: $1,500 Millionaire Maker No-Limit Hold’em Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sebastien Sigouin | Canada | 2,615,000 | 105 |
| 2 | Connor Rash | United States | 2,550,000 | 102 |
| 3 | Jeremy Surinach | France | 2,550,000 | 102 |
| 4 | Jason Sagle | Canada | 2,385,000 | 95 |
| 5 | Timur Margolin | Israel | 2,320,000 | 93 |
| 6 | Vitalijs Zavorotnijs | Latvia | 2,305,000 | 92 |
| 7 | Gabriel Schroeder | Brazil | 2,295,000 | 92 |
| 8 | Jason Hickey | United States | 2,240,000 | 90 |
| 9 | Sasha Guerin | United States | 2,170,000 | 87 |
| 10 | Rudy Cervantes | United States | 2,160,000 | 86 |
Fitoussi Bags Big On Day 1 of the Super Seniors
A bumper crowd of 3,362 entrants took part on Day 1 of Event #59: $1,000 Super Seniors but that number was reduced to 975 over the course of ten levels. While David Goodkin (349,500) claimed the overnight chip counts, he won’t have matters his own way on Day 2 because the field is stacked with top veterans.
Frenchman Bruno Fitoussi (236,000) crammed enough chips into his overnight bag to claim seventh place on the leaderboard. Fitoussi has had several near misses at the WSOP, including a runner-up finish in the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship as it was known in 2007. Is this the event the popular Frenchman will become a WSOP champion.
Also safely through to the business end of this event are Kevin Song (125,000), Robert Williamson (125,000), Barry Shulman (122,000), and the one and only Sammy Farha (119,000). Farha cashed in the Seniors event earlier this week and is looking to add this event’s bracelet to the three he has at home.
Day 2 shuffles up and deals at 11:00 a.m. local time on June 25, continuing for ten hour-long levels.
Event #59: $1,000 Super Seniors No-Limit Hold’em Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Goodkin | United States | 349,500 | 175 |
| 2 | Paul Runge | United States | 275,000 | 138 |
| 3 | Robert Nolen | United States | 264,000 | 132 |
| 4 | Nicholas Bennett | United States | 258,000 | 129 |
| 5 | Ron Fetsch | United States | 243,000 | 122 |
| 6 | Bruno Fitoussi | France | 236,000 | 118 |
| 7 | Edward Harris | United States | 234,000 | 117 |
| 8 | Thomas Mcdonald | United States | 234,000 | 117 |
| 9 | Mark Ebner | United States | 233,500 | 117 |
| 10 | Kevin O’Donnell | United States | 231,000 | 116 |
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British Bracelet Winners Finish in Top 10 As McKeehen Shines
Day 1 of Event #60: $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em drew in 1,441 entrants, a number that should increase by the time late registration slams shut on Day 2. Some 539 players bagged at the close of play, including British bracelet-winning duo Darius Samual (290,000) and Carl Shaw (283,000). Although Samual and Shaw had a good day at the tables, Yangfeng Wang topped the counts with a 369,000 stack.
A host of stellar names bought in on Day 1 and made it through the session unscathed. Joey Weissman (276,000), Roman Hrabec (248,500), Julien Sitbon (224,000), and Jessica Teusl (221,000) being a handful of the Day 1 survivors.
Joe McKeehen (203,000), the 2015 WSOP Main Event champion, has won two bracelets since his victory in the Big Dance, and has done his chances of glory in this event no harm at all. However, Kristen Foxen (200,000), Nick Pupillo (189,000), Adam Friedman (176,000), Benjamin Spragg (163,000), and Brad Ruben (148,500) are just a few of the players hoping to prevent McKeehen from completing a post Main Event win hat-trick.
Find out how many big names progress from this event when the cards are back in the air from 12:00 p.m. local time on June 25.
Event #60: $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yanfeng Wang | United States | 369,000 | 185 |
| 2 | Jose Ferreira | Brazil | 369,000 | 185 |
| 3 | Daniel Gagne | Canada | 363,000 | 182 |
| 4 | Yan Li | China | 347,500 | 174 |
| 5 | Stephen Kehoe | Ireland | 333,000 | 167 |
| 6 | Homan Mohammadi | Germany | 324,500 | 162 |
| 7 | Ramaswamy Pyloore | United States | 306,500 | 153 |
| 8 | Brian Barker | United States | 298,000 | 149 |
| 9 | Darius Samual | United Kingdom | 290,000 | 145 |
| 10 | Carl Shaw | United Kingdom | 283,000 | 142 |
Eveslage Pipped to the Post in the $2,500 Omaha/Stud 8 Mix
Three-time bracelet winner Chad Eveslage was pipped to post at the end of Day 1 of Event #62: $2,500 Omaha/Sud Hi-Lo 8 or Better. Eveslage looked to have captured the chip lead with his 259,000 stack but the official WSOP chip counts show Joseph Shammas (266,000) bested him by a solitary 5,000 denomination chip.
Eveslage won’t be too despondent because finishing second in chips from the 189 surviving players puts him in a prime spot to add to his collection of WSOP hardware. So, too, do the 258,500 chips in the stack of Robert Mizrachi, who returns in third. Mizrachi recently became part of the five bracelet club; nobody would put it past him capturing number six in a couple of days’ time.
Hoping to spoil Shammas, Eveslage, and Mizrachi’s party are the liks of David Williams (185,500), Benny Glaser (164,000), Ari Engel (138,000), Jerry Wong (128,000), Carol Fuchs (112,500), Joe Hachem (107,500), Yuri Dzivielevski (76,000), and Allen Kessler (73,500).
The mixed game grinders return to the action from 1:00 p.m. local time on June 25 to play ten more 60-minute levels.
Event #62: $2,500 Omaha/Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joseph Shammas | United States | 266,000 |
| 2 | Chad Eveslage | United States | 259,000 |
| 3 | Robert Mizrachi | United States | 258,500 |
| 4 | Venkata Tayi | United States | 250,500 |
| 5 | Ziya Rahim | United States | 246,000 |
| 6 | Kevin Chance | United States | 227,500 |
| 7 | Takehiko Nakajima | Japan | 217,000 |
| 8 | Gary Benson | Australia | 213,000 |
| 9 | Jose Ferro | Colombia | 212,500 |
| 10 | Terrence Hastoo | United States | 205,500 |
What to Expect on Day 29 of the 2024 WSOP?
On the 29th day of the 2024 WSOP, nobody will again win a bracelet, but a bunch of events will nudge closer to awarding theirs.
Event #54: $1,500 Millionaire Maker plays out its Day 3, while the star-studded Event #58: $50,000 Poker Players Championship also sees its third day take place.
The 915 returning players in Event #59: $1,000 Super Seniors No-Limit Hold’em will be massively reduced over the course of ten hours, with Event #60: $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em and Event #61: $2,500 Omaha/Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better playing out their Day 2s.
Day 29 will be a momentous occasion for everyone involved with PokerNews because Event #62: $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship shuffles up and deals at 10:00 a.m. It marks the first time in WSOP history that a poker media outlet has been given the honor of having its own bracelet-awarding event, and PokerNews is delighted and honored to be the first.
Event #63: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw also kicks off on June 25, which should be another tournament crammed top to bottom with legendary players.