2016 WSOP Day 12: Bracelet No. 2 for Volpe, Charania Leads Millionaire Maker, and More
There was less "noise" at the Rio All-Suite Las Vegas Hotel and Casino on Sunday with the 2016 World Series of Poker continuing, but that's doesn't mean action wasn't exciting. The production team for the live stream had the day off and there was only one final table running, so things seemed a bit subdued, but in reality it was quietly very entertaining.
Five tournaments were in action, including the final table of Event #15: $1,500 Six-Max 8-Game. That event saw Paul Volpe earn his second WSOP gold bracelet and shoot up to third in the WSOP Player of the Year ranking.
In other portions of the Amazon Room, Event #14: $1,500 Millionaire Maker No-Limit Hold'em played its way into the money and much deeper, Event #16: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Draw saw Jason Mercier finish with the chip lead, and more.
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Charania Leads Millionaire Maker with 124 Left
Those remaining in Event #14: $1,500 Millionaire Maker No-Limit Hold'em now have a one-in-62 shot of becoming a millionaire from his event. The WSOP guaranteed $1 million to both first and second places, and with 124 players left in the field, it's Mohsin Charania leading the pack.
Charania bagged up 1.664 million and is a little more than 300,000 clear of Frank Rusnak in second place. Russians came into Sunday's Day 2 second overall in chips with 200,500, and he was able to maintain that positioning by putting 1.348 million in the bag.
Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mohsin Charania | 1,664,000 |
| 2 | Frank Rusnak | 1,348,000 |
| 3 | Jorge Eghi | 1,289,000 |
| 4 | Kyle Arora | 996,000 |
| 5 | Mikhail Semin | 973,000 |
| 6 | Dylan Kehoe | 937,000 |
| 7 | Danny Elmore | 936,000 |
| 8 | Benny Chen | 926,000 |
| 9 | Louis Salter | 915,000 |
| 10 | Dale Beaudoin | 900,000 |
Charania picked up a chunk of chips in Level 18 with the blinds at 3,000/6,000/500, according to reports on WSOP.com. On a flop of Q♥10♣2♥, Charania held the A♥9♥ for a flush draw and had an opponent all in with the 4♥3♥ for a lower flush draw. The 10♥ on the turn sealed the deal for Charania before the 9♣ on the river completed the board.
You'll notice that Benny Chen finished out Day 2 eighth in chips with 926,000. In 2013, Chen won the inaugural Millionaire Maker event for $1.2 million, beating a field of 6,343 entries.
Just outside of the top 10 finished Sofia Lovgren. The 888poker ambassador closed strong on Day 2, bagging up 707,000 in chips and putting herself in real contention for a big splash.
Lovgren's fellow 888poker team member, Jessica Dawley, who represents 888poker in New Jersey, started the day with only 18,000, but she managed to earn a cash with a 1,070th-place finish for $2,250.
Other notables to advance to Day 3 were Upeshka De Silva (693,000), Garrett Greer (611,000), Adam Levy (538,000), Max Silver (496,000), and Loni Harwood (417,000).
Action will resume on Monday at 11 a.m. PT.
Volpe Wins 8-Game Event for Second Bracelet
Paul Volpe entered the final day in Event #15: $1,500 Six-Max 8-Game with the chip lead and rode that lead to victory for his second gold bracelet and $149,943. He defeated Jason Stockfish in heads-up play, with Ron Ware finishing in third.
Final Table Payouts
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul Volpe | $149,943 |
| 2 | Jason Stockfish | $92,638 |
| 3 | Ron Ware | $60,882 |
| 4 | Ben Ludlow | $40,911 |
| 5 | Anthony Lazar | $28,123 |
| 6 | Gavin Smith | $19,787 |
On the final hand of the tournament, Volpe and Stockfish played pot-limit Omaha and got the money in on the turn of a board that read 8♠6♠3♣A♥. Volpe had the A♣K♠Q♦4♠, and Stockfish had the A♠J♥10♠3♦. Stockfish was ahead with two pair, aces and threes, but the 6♦ on the river gave the pot to Volpe with a better two pair.
Volpe defeated a field of 491 entries to move to $4.9 million in live tournament cashes. The win also vaulted him into third place in the WSOP Player of the Year ranking, and we expect to see his name in the top portion of this list all summer long.
Click here to read more about Volpe's second gold bracelet win.
Mercier Leads Finals Nine in $10,000 NL 2-7
Jason Mercier has a lot on the line this summer, with numerous bracelet bets, including a big win at 180-1 on $10,000 to win three pieces of WSOP hardware. He's only recording his second cash of the 2016 WSOP, but Mercier is doing so in a big way with the chip lead over the final nine in Event #16: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Draw.
Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jason Mercier | 1,023,000 |
| 2 | Mike Watson | 853,000 |
| 3 | Stephen Chidwick | 770,000 |
| 4 | Benny Glaser | 706,000 |
| 5 | David Grey | 534,000 |
| 6 | Alex Luneau | 442,000 |
| 7 | Jesse Martin | 248,000 |
| 8 | Hertzel Zalewski | 238,000 |
| 9 | Lamar Wilkinson | 194,000 |
The top 15 places in this event paid, and it was Mike Wattel busting in 16th on the bubble. He went out when his 10x8x6x3x2x couldn't beat the 8x7x4x3x2x of Benny Glaser.
After Wattel's bust out, it was Jared Bleznick (15th), Daniel Negreanu (14th), Mike Matusow (13th), Brian Hastings (12th), Billy O'Neil (11th), and Anthony Zinno (10th) falling before the day came to an end.
Action will resume at 2 p.m. PT with all players guaranteed $19,953. The winner will take home $273,335.
$1,000 No-Limit Hold'em Kicks Off
Event #17: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em kicked off on Sunday and attracted a field of 2,242 players. When Day 1 was all said and done, 239 remained with Stacey Nutini in front holding 174,300 in chips.
Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stacey Nutini | 174,300 |
| 2 | Franklin Yao | 151,800 |
| 3 | Koray Aldemir | 140,000 |
| 4 | Donald Hood | 133,000 |
| 5 | Matthew Schreiber | 129,300 |
| 6 | Stefan Clemens | 125,000 |
| 7 | Daniel Weinman | 122,000 |
| 8 | Fabrice Halleux | 121,800 |
| 9 | Pedro Oliveira | 120,300 |
| 10 | William Firebaugh | 119,000 |
Nutini was a big stack for most of the day, and she helped herself to Shaun Deeb's chips in the final level of the night. Deeb was short and moved his last 1,500 in with the Q♠5♠. Nutini had the Q♦J♠ and won with the board running out J♣J♥3♦5♣Q♥ to give her a full house.
A total of 337 places were paid, and it was Rob Winsler busting in 338th as the last empty-handed player to bust. He busted with the 6♠5♠ to pocket aces.
Day 2 will commence at 12 p.m. PT, with hopes of reaching a final table. The winner is set to receive $316,920.
Trigeorgis Leads in $3,000 H.O.R.S.E.
George Trigeorgis grabbed the lead in Event #18: $3000 H.O.R.S.E. He finished on 160,200 for almost 60,000 more than Nicholas Kiley in second place.
Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Trigeorgis | 160,200 |
| 2 | Nicholas Kiley | 103,500 |
| 3 | Brett Reichert | 103,200 |
| 4 | Jared Talarico | 99,400 |
| 5 | Andrey Zhigalov | 98,800 |
| 6 | John Crisp | 96,000 |
| 7 | Thao Thiem | 94,300 |
| 8 | Par Hilderbrand | 89,400 |
| 9 | Chino Rheem | 89,000 |
| 10 | Mike Leah | 85,000 |
The event attracted 400 entries, which was an uptick on last year's 376, once again showing how well the mixed-game tournaments are doing at the 2016 WSOP.
Daniel Idema, last year's winner for $261,774, bagged up 38,500 in chips. This year's winner will receive $259,730, and the top 60 places are set to pay out. After Day 1, 144 players remained with action set to begin at 2 p.m. PT on Monday for Day 2.
What's On Tap?
Monday will be a big day at the 2016 WSOP. Six events will be running, and Mercier will be looking to score his fourth gold bracelet in the $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Draw that has a stacked final nine.
At 11 a.m., Event #19: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha will kick off, and then Event #20: $10,000 Razz begins in the afternoon at 3 p.m.
Stay tuned to PokerNews.com for more coverage the 2016 WSOP, brought to you by our sponsors, 888poker.
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