They say nobody remembers who came second and maybe that’s why Shiina Okamoto is making a second consecutive deep run at the Ladies Championship title, having come so close last year.
The Japanese architect/poker fanatic trails only Jamie Kerstetter after day 3, the final half dozen set to return today to decide the destination of the gold bracelet and $171,732 first prize.
Event #71: the $1,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold’em Championship
Playing down from 36 to the final 5 saw several well-known names fall by the wayside, including poker/chess combo maestro Jennifer Shahade, who fell to Kerstetter.
Jen Shahade: J♥ J♠
Jamie Kerstetter: A♦ Q♥
Flop: Q♦ 3♣ 8♣
Shahade’s last remaining chips went in on the flop, but Kerstetter had an easy call.
Turn: 3♠
River: 9♠
That meant 29th and $4,958 for Shahade, while Monika Zukowitz (22nd for $5,939), Nadya Magnus (19th for $5,939), and Nancy Nguyen (14th for $7,225) all fell short of the final table.
Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
| 1 | Jamie Kerstetter | USA | 9,330,000 |
| 2 | Shiina Okamoto | Japan | 8,640,000 |
| 3 | Linda Durden | USA | 3,110,500 |
| 4 | Mor Kamber | Israel | 1,755,000 |
| 5 | Cecile Ticherfatine | France | 1,100,000 |
| 6 | Ceci Liao | USA | 970,000 |
The biggest news of the day was Scott Seiver and his third gold bracelet of the month, winning Event #72: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship (7-Handed). That gives him seven WSOP golds overall and a share of 7th spot in the all-time list alongside Daniel Negreanu, John Hennigan, Men Nguyen and Billy Baxter.
Event #70: $400 Colossus No-Limit Hold’em
The total entry reached 19,337 by the time late reg closed on day 1c of the $400 Colossus, creating a monster prize pool of $2,834,370. By the end of day’s play, only 2358 remain, still led by day 1b leader Lisa Tan, yesterday’s best showing by Vincent Lee placing him in overall 4th spot.
Among the other survivors are German soccer star Max Kruse, Czech highstakes pro Martin Kabrhel, and the controversial seven-times WSOP champion Men “The Master” Nguyen.
Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
| 1 | Lisa Tang | USA | 1,680,000 |
| 2 | Dohang Na | Korea | 1,659,000 |
| 3 | Dustin Denzik | USA | 1,608,000 |
| 4 | Vincent Lee | USA | 1,470,000 |
| 5 | Kfir Nahum | Israel | 1,395,000 |
| 6 | William Wilkinson | USA | 1,390,000 |
| 7 | Austin Alcala | USA | 1,287,000 |
| 8 | Drew Dingman | USA | 1,283,000 |
| 9 | Oliver Said | Malta | 1,263,000 |
| 10 | William Smith | USA | 1,209,000 |
Event #73: $25,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha
Last year’s numbers were easily exceeded with a late charge yesterday, 476 entries total bringing the prizepool to $11,186,000 and Brian Rast leading the way.
Bubble time was first and foremost in the minds of the elite highrollers and those wealthy enough to take a punt and it was fan favourite Tom Dwan who brought us down to 72 paid spots…
Gabriel Andrade: A♣ A♠ K♥ Q♠
Tom Dwan: A♦ J♥ 10♠ 2♣
Flop: 9♥ 9♠ J♦
Andrade, all-in and at risk after the flop, watched his tournament hopes go up in flames when the turn card appeared…
Turn: J♠
River: 6♣
…and the river brick sent him spinning out.
Dwan, Erick Lindgren and Viktor Blom are still in the mix for day 3, but Phil Ivey (38th for $60,672), Stephen Chidwick (41st for $52,722) and Gus Hansen (71st for $50,211) all fell short.
There are 34 players left in and three $million+ payouts gracing the podium prizes, with top spot worth $2,246,728.
Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
| 1 | Brian Rast | USA | 4,785,000 |
| 2 | Maxi Lehmanski | Germany | 4,500,000 |
| 3 | Billy Tarango | USA | 4,400,000 |
| 4 | Eelis Parssinen | Finland | 3,795,000 |
| 5 | David Eldridge | USA | 3,700,000 |
| 6 | Michael Moncek | USA | 3,670,000 |
| 7 | Tyler Stafman | USA | 3,635,000 |
| 8 | Joni Jouhkimainen | Finland | 3,255,000 |
| 9 | Erick Lindgren | USA | 3,235,000 |
| 10 | Matthew Kolibas | USA | 3,080,000 |
Event #74: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship
Event 74 saw exactly that number progress to day 2, with two men who could start an argument in an empty cardroom – Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler and Mike “The Mouth” Matusow – among them. Kessler for one is hoping to “save his summer” with a deep run.
Productive 2 levels.
This many chips in the @WSOP $10K stud 8 championship with 2 levels left before bagging. @pokerstakecom pic.twitter.com/JkmuzsbNAj
— Allen Kessler (@AllenKessler) July 1, 2024
Newly-crowned Poker Players Champion Daniel Negreanu, along with Shaun Deeb and Jennifer Harman, all fell, but may be back today to fire a second bullet before late registration ends.
Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
| 1 | Ali Eslami | USA | 395,000 |
| 2 | Andrey Zhigalov | Russia | 276,500 |
| 3 | Allen Kessler | USA | 273,000 |
| 4 | Brandon Shack-Harris | USA | 244,500 |
| 5 | Hisashi Yamanouchi | Japan | 236,000 |
| 6 | Nacho Barbero | Argentina | 215,500 |
| 7 | Brad Ruben | USA | 205,500 |
| 8 | Maximilian Schindler | USA | 203,500 |
| 9 | Xixiang Luo | China | 203,500 |
| 10 | Rob Hollink | Netherlands | 190,000 |
Three more events get underway today at the Horseshoe and Paris casinos, with Event #75: $1,000 Tag Team No-Limit Hold’em, Event #76: $10,000 Mystery Bounty No-Limit Hold’em (8-Handed) and Event #77: $2,500 Mixed Big Bet all joining the fun and games.
We’ll be back again tomorrow with all the best of the action, so be sure to tune in for your WSOP updates!
- Get the best rakeback deals
- See the best poker promotions
- View the latest poker news
- Get the best No Deposit Poker Bonuses
- Benefit from the biggest poker bonus
- Calculate your rakeback with the rakeback calculator
Terms and conditions apply. New customer offer and 18+ only. Should you require help regarding your betting pattern, please visit www.begambleaware.org.
