2014 World Series of Poker Day 12: Todd Bui Claims First Bracelet; Hellmuth Falls Short
Day 12 of the 2014 World Series of Poker was a busy one as six events were spread across the three tournament rooms of the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino. Two events were scheduled to come to a close, but only one champion was crowned as Event #15 played down to two players before play was postponed late in the night.
The big story going into the day was Phil Hellmuth's attempt to win his 14th bracelet, but it wasn't meant to be for the "Poker Brat." Hellmuth fizzled out just shy of the final table, meaning he'll have to wait at least three more days for another chance at history.
Here's a complete look at all of the action from Day 12:
Event #15: $3,000 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em
Day 3 of Event #15 began with 15 players in contention for the $508,640 first-place prize and a World Series of Poker gold bracelet. It ended with two players, Davidi Kitai and Gordon Vayo, almost even in chips and having to return for an unscheduled Day 4.
Alen Bilic was the first casualty of the day and he was followed to the cashier’s desk first by Artem Metalidi, Pratyush Buddiga, Gabriel Andarade, Ryan Olisar, Vladimir Geshkenbein, Bill Burford, and Hellmuth.
Hellmuth’s exit in eighth place, at the hands of Vayo, meant the unofficial table was reached and play headed over to the “mothership” in the center of the Amazon Room. From there, Zach Korik, John Andress, Mark Darner and Tony Ruberto were sent packing in subsequent order, setting up what would be a lengthy heads-up duel.
Going into the match, Kitai held a chip advantage of 5.84 million to 1.45 million over Vayo, but over the course of 40 hands Vayo managed to claw his way back into contention and actually held a narrow lead of 3.75 million to 3.545 million when play ended for the night.
When Level 30 ended at almost 2:10 a.m. on Sunday morning, the players were given the option to play one more level or pause the tournament and return to their seats once they had managed to get some sleep. They agreed to do the latter and headed into the warm Las Vegas night knowing that they have locked up at least $314,535 for their efforts and that one of them will win $508,640 and a WSOP gold bracelet before Sunday is over.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ??? | $508,640 |
| 2 | ??? | $314,535 |
| 3 | Tony Ruberto | $200,476 |
| 4 | Mark Darner | $132,169 |
| 5 | John Andress | $89,734 |
| 6 | Zachary Korik | $62,690 |
Event #16: $1,500 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball
When the final table started in Event #16: $1,500 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball, Todd Bui was sitting as the second shortest stack with only had five big bets. Less than six hours later he overcame that deficit and emerged victorious over eventual runner-up Captain Tom Franklin to win his first bracelet. In addition to the hardware, Bui also collected $124,510.
"In this format I wasn't too worried," Bui said after his win. "You have to produce a hand. I wasn't trying to move up spots. I came in trying to win and had one goal. I achieved it."
Bui is originally from Sacramento, Calif. and came up learning to play poker with J.C. Tran. "He's my best friend in poker," said Bui. "We started playing low limits together and then I moved down to Los Angeles because of the poker scene there. I started with limit hold'em but branched off into other games." Bui explained that he doesn't play tournaments often. In fact he said "this is my first tournament win of any kind."
"I said before I came here this year that I was going bracelet hunting," Bui said. "The very next event I played after saying that was this one."
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Todd Bui | $124,510 |
| 2 | Tom Franklin | $76,943 |
| 3 | David Bell | $49,944 |
| 4 | Vladimir Shchemelev | $33,388 |
| 5 | Aaron Steury | $22,935 |
| 6 | David Gee | $16,170 |
PokerNews fans can grab some RunGoodGear on a discount during the World Series of Poker. Simply use the promo code ”pokernews” for your next order and receive 10 percent off. That's right, all you have to do is type ”pokernews” into the promo code box and 10 percent of your order goes right back into your bankroll.
Event #17: $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold'em Championship
Day 2 of the Seniors Championship resumed Saturday with 486 players returning from a starting field of a record 4,425. At the end of the day only 32 remained in contention for the massive $627,462 top prize.
Kevin Detienne ended the day as chip leader and was close to breaking the million mark, finishing with a whopping 988,000. Michael Wilson returns Sunday in second place with 714,000 and Mitchell Lehman is third with 700,000.
Dennis Phillips, the third place finisher in the WSOP Main Event in 2008, rocked a short stack for most of the day but later on he clawed his way back into contention and ended the day in seventh place with 613,000. WSOP bracelet winner Dan Heimiller will also return on Day 3 with a top 10 stack.
Play resumes at 11 a.m. on Sunday, so be sure to follow our live updates until the conclusion.
Event #18: $10,000 Seven-Card Razz Championship
After an intense second day of play in Event #18, former $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. champion David Bach led the way with 12 players remaining. Daniel Negreanu, fresh off a runner-up finish in the $10,000 No Limit 2-7 Single Draw, is in contention again as he will go into the final day third in chips. Brandon Shack-Harris, winner of the $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha at the start of the Series, sits second in chips and he could be on his way to becoming the first two-time champ this summer.
Play slowed down as the money bubble neared on Saturday and several big stacks lost their chips in rapid fashion. Brandon Cantu, Eli Elezra, and David Singer all had healthy stacks halfway through the day, but none of them made the money.
Jesse Martin landed directly on the bubble despite Nick Schulman and Shack-Harris sitting on just a few bets. The latter went on an impressive heater in the final hour, finishing Day 2 second in chips behind Bach.
Japanese poker phenom Naoya Kihara — the only Japanese WSOP gold bracelet winner — and online legend Brian Hastings look to win their second bracelet on Sunday, while Dan O'Brien, George Danzer, and Yuval Bronshtein are eyeing their first.
Play resumes Sunday at 2 p.m. and the plan is to play down to a winner. Follow along with live updates at PokerNews.com.
Event #19: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em
Day 1 of Event #19: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em kicked off Saturday afternoon and, by the time registration closed during dinner break eight and a half hours later, 2,086 players had passed through registration to join the field.
A total of 233 players made it through 11 levels. As players bagged and tagged their stacks for Day 2, it was Justin Filtz finished the day with the chip lead with 135,800. Others taking big stacks into Day 2 include Jameson Painter, Andy Spears and Jaime Kaplan.
The prize pool has been set at $2,816,100, and everyone has their eye on the top prize of $514,027. Only 216 players will get paid in this event, which means the bubble won't be far off when the action resumes at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Event #20: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout
After playing into the early hours of Sunday morning, Day 1 of Event #20: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout finally came to a close. A total of 389 players came out for this event and by the end of the night only 40 had survived to Day 2. Each of these players was the last one standing at their starting table and will come back to do it all over again on Sunday.
Each returning player is guaranteed a payday of at least $7,805. The final 40 will return to play 10 four-handed tables. That means that just three competitors stand in each player's way of making the official 10-handed final table on Day 3.
Several notable players defeat their respective tables and advanced onto the second round. Among those still in contention for the $254,891 and the gold WSOP bracelet are Sorel Mizzi, Taylor Paur, Dimitar Danchev, Christophe de Meulder, Faraz Jaka, Alexander Venovski, Eric Wasserson, Jake Cody, John Dolan, Phil Galfond, Humberto Brenes and Erik Seidel.
The action will resume at 2 p.m. on Sunday in the Amazon room where the remaining players will attempt to win their four-handed table to clinch a seat at Monday's final table.
On Tap
Three bracelets are scheduled to be awarded on Sunday: The $3,000 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em, the Seniors Championship and the $10,000 Seven-Card Razz Championship. Meanwhile, players in Event #19 and Event #20 will attempt to play down to a final table. Two new tournaments will get underway: Event #21: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em and Event #22: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship.
Here’s the full schedule for Sunday (all times PDT):
- 11:00 a.m. — Event #17: $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold’em Championship (Day 3 of 3)
- 12:00 p.m. — Event #21: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em (Day 1 of 3)
- 1:00 p.m. — Event #19: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em (Day 2 of 3)
- 1:00 p.m. — Event #15: $3,000 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em (Day 4 of 4)
- 2:00 p.m. — Event #18: $10,000 Seven-Card Razz Championship (Day 3 of 3)
- 2:00 p.m. — Event #20: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout (Day 1 of 3)
- 4:00 p.m. — Event #22: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship (Day 1 of 3)
Video of the Day
Sam Trickett said he was playing a high-volume schedule at the 2014 World Series of Poker. So where has he been this week? Sarah Gran found out in the latest Summer of Sam update.
Get all the latest PokerNews updates on your social media outlets. Follow us on Twitter and find us on both Facebook and Google+!
