2015 WSOP Day 5: Mizrachi Captures Gold, a Colossal Controversy, and Turbo Final Table
The fifth day of the 2015 World Series of Poker was chock full of great stories, including a winner in Event #3 $1,500 Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better, official (and controversial) numbers from The Colossus, and the start of two new events, including the first $10,000 buy-in championship of the summer.
Robert Mizrachi Captures Event #3 to Win Third Gold Bracelet; Ties Brother Michael
After coming back for an unscheduled fourth day to finish off heads-up play, Robert Mizrachi defeated Jacob Dahl to win Event #3: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo for $255,022. Mizrachi's win over a field of 918 players gave him his third bracelet, tying him with his younger brother Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi. It also marked the second bracelet for the 36-year-old Mizrachi in as many years.
Mizrachi began the day, which marked his 11th final table appearance, at a 2-1 chip disadvantage, but over the course of 68 hands, Mizrachi battled back. In what would ultimately be the final hand of the tournament, Dahl got the last of his chips all in preflop and was at risk against Mizrachi.
Dahl: Q♥8♥6♣3♠
Mizrachi: A♠6♥5♥5♦
The board ran out 10♣7♣2♣10♦3♦, and Mizrachi scooped the pot with two pair and the better low.
"I've been sick for the last five or six days," Mizrachi said after the win. "I got really tired late last night, and I was probably a big favorite to lose. Today, I came in fresh. Playing for a lot of money and a bracelet, you've got to be totally focused."
Dahl, a 28-year-old musician, collected $155,333 for his runner-up finish. Meanwhile, Mizrachi, who won last year's inaugural "Dealer's Choice" tournament for his second bracelet, brought his total live tournament winning up over $5.3 million.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robert Mizrachi | Miami, FL | $251,022 |
| 2 | Jacob Dahl | Portland, OR | $155,333 |
| 3 | Don Zewin | Las Vegas, NV | $97,185 |
| 4 | Ryan Himes | Surprise, AZ | $70,540 |
| 5 | Dominick Cuzzi | New Rochelle, NY | $52,075 |
| 6 | James Juvancic | Westchester, IL | $39,037 |
| 7 | Nguyen Tran | Costa Mesa, CA | $29,693 |
| 8 | Bruce Levitt | Beverly Hills, CA | $22,889 |
| 9 | Thomas Taylor | Victoria, BC, Canada | $17,883 |
Final Numbers Revealed, Money Bubble Bursts & Controversies in Colossus
Event #5 THE COLOSSUS $565 No-Limit Hold'em, which featured a $5 million guaranteed prize pool, officially attracted 22,374 entrants to set a new record for largest live poker tournament.
The tournament, which created a prize pool of $11,187,000 (the largest in any live poker event under $5,000 buy-in), crushed the previous record of 8,773 players set in the 2006 WSOP Main Event. However, the official numbers caused a controversy when it was revealed that 2,241 players would be paid with the winner receiving $638,880.
It was the second number – the top prize – that caused a stir as many players believed it to be way too low at just 5.7% of the prize pool. However, WSOP officials defended the payout, pointing out that it represented a 1,130 times return on investment and was the largest prize for a $500 buy-in event in poker's history.
Controversy aside, the bubble actually burst five spots off the money when nine players were eliminated on the same hand during hand-for-hand play. That meant all nine of them split $4,384, which was the combined amount of the four payable spots.
Among the hundreds to receive paydays were Will "The Thrill" Failla (2,217th - $1,096), Greg Raymer (2,161st - $1,096), Vanessa Rousso (1,558th - $1,957), Bernard Lee (1,449th - $2,125), and Chris Tryba (1,198th).
Speaking of payouts, there was an issue toward the end of the night where more than a thousand players, many of who had looming flights, were unable to cash out due to a system crash with the payout computers. While most players were content to come back the next day, others were not. After several hours, the payout situation resolved itself and money was dispersed.
At the start of the day 3,447 players hit the felt, but by the end of the night approximately 500 remained. Among the players to bag big were WSOP Circuit stud Valentin Vornicu, who is over a million, as well as Larry Elliott (730,000), Shahen Martirosian (715,000), and Adam Lamphere (650,000), just to name a few.
Players will return at 2 p.m. local time on Monday for Day 3 action.
Harrison Beach Leads Event #6: $1,000 Hyper No-Limit Hold'em Final Table
Event #6: $1,000 Hyper No-Limit Hold'em kicked off at 11 a.m. Sunday and attracted 1,436 players. Eleven hours later, the final table of nine was set. That's because the tournament feature an accelerated format that increased blinds every 20 minutes. As a result, nearly 90 percent of the field eliminated after just six hours.
Among those to fall in the money were reigning PCA champ Kevin Schulz (91st – $2,416), three-time bracelet winner Dominik Nitsche (76th - $2,985), Canada's Sorel Mizzi (40th - $5,324), Hollywood actor James Woods (37th - $5,324), and 2012 Main Event champ Greg Merson (35th - $6,319).
Here's a look at the final table standings according to WSOP.com:
| Place | Player | Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harrison Beach | 2,280,000 |
| 2 | Ryan Julius | 930,000 |
| 3 | Robert Suer | 765,000 |
| 4 | Matt Woodward | 710,000 |
| 5 | Marc Macdonnell | 655,000 |
| 6 | Kenneth Johnson | 650,000 |
| 7 | John Reading | 610,000 |
| 8 | Aleksandr Gofman | 435,000 |
| 9 | Wayne Boyd | 175,000 |
Action came to a halt for the night with 1:56 remaining in Level 27 (20,000/40,000/5,000)The final nine players will return at 1:00 p.m. local time to play down to a champion, who will take home $252,068 and a gold bracelet.
Negreanu Falls in His First Event; Hartman Leads Event #7 $10K 2-7 TD
The other new event to kick off on Sunday was Event #7: $10,000 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball Championship. The tournament attracted 109 players, which created a prize pool of $1,024,600. That will be distributed to the top 12 players with the eventual winner taking home a $322,756 first-place prize.
The man best positioned to make a run at it is Craig Hartman, who finished the 51 Day 1 survivors as the chip leader with 147,300. Others who bagged and tagged were Rep Porter (141,800), Max Casal (138,700), Layne Flack (116,200), and Phil Galfond (112,000). Likewise, Robert Mizrachi bagged 79,400, putting him in contention for yet another bracelet.
Of course not everyone was so lucky. Among those to fall were former champ Eli Elezra; online superstars Ola "Odd_Oddsen" Amundsgard and Alexander "PostflopAction" Kostritsyn; and Daniel Negreanu, who was playing his first event of the 2015 WSOP.
Players will return at 2:00 p.m. local time on Monday to play down to the final table, or at least that's the plan.
Two new events will kick off on Monday, June 1 in Event #8 $1,500 Pot-Limit Hold'em at Noon and Event #9 $1,500 Seven Card Razz at 4 p.m.
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