2016 WSOP Day 40: Ladies and One Drop Champs Crowned as the Main Event Continues
Day 40 of the 2016 World Series of Poker saw the second of three starting flights for the 2016 WSOP Main Event go off at the Rio All Suites Hotel & Casino.
The biggest buy-in event of the year finished up, as a champion was crowned in the $111,111 High Roller for One Drop, and a poker dealer from Detroit won the 2016 WSOP Ladies Championship.
All summer long, PokerNews.com will be bringing you daily coverage of the 2016 WSOP, brought to you by our sponsors, 888poker.
Day 1b of the 2016 Main Event Draws 1,733
The 2016 World Series of Poker Main Event continued on Sunday at the Rio All Suite Hotel & Casino with the second of three starting flights.
Past Main Event final table participants including Neil Blumenfield, Federico Butteroni, Pierre Neuville, Tom Cannuli, Phil Collins, and Jay Farber were introduced to the crowd in attendance at the start of play and Farber made the call to "Shuffle up and deal."
The flight drew 1,733 players, 17 more than Day 1b of the 2015 WSOP Main Event and continuing on the slight uptick in Main Event entries that started with 20 more entries year-over-year on Day 1a Saturday.
A total of 1,302 players survived the day with Andrey Zaichenko, a veteran Russian player at the WSOP who won his first bracelet in the 2016 WSOP Event #34: $1500 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball earlier this summer, grabbing the Day 1b chip lead with 292,700.
Other big stack survivors include Kenny Hallaert (269,400), Kevin Powell (219,800), Luo Chang (203,800), World Poker Tour title holder Eric Afriat (200,500), and veteran pro Keith Lehr (197,900) .
2016 Main Event Day 1b Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrey Zaichenko | 292,700 |
| 2 | Kenny Hallaert | 269,400 |
| 3 | Kevin Powell | 219,800 |
| 4 | Chang Luo | 203,800 |
| 5 | Eric Afriat | 200,500 |
| 6 | Thi Nguyen | 200,000 |
| 7 | Keith Lehr | 197,900 |
| 8 | Ronnie Pease | 197,000 |
| 9 | Zu Zhou | 191,200 |
| 10 | Kyle Knecht | 189,700 |
Other notable players surviving the day included WSOP Main Event Champions Johnny Chan, Greg Raymer, Chris Ferguson, and Tom McEvoy. Plus, Justin Bonomo, Melanie Weisner, Matt Jarvis, Vanessa Selbst, Jesse Sylvia, Antonio Esfandiari, Anthony Zinno, Gavin Griffin, and Maria Ho advanced as well.
The list of players who had their Main Event hopes crushed on Day 1b included Rep Porter, Jeremy Ausmus, Brian Hastings, Talal Shakerchi, TJ Cloutier, Mohsin Charania, Jean-Robert Bellande, Joe Serock, John Gale, John Morgan, John Hennigan, Robert Varkonyi, Andy Bloch, Ben Yu, and Allen Kessler.
Day 1b survivors will return for Day 2b July 12, 2016 at 11 a.m. local time. The 2016 Main Event continues with Day 1c Monday.
Fedor Holz Wins the High Roller for One Drop
Fedor Holz had accomplished basically everything there was to accomplish in tournament poker, having piled up millions in online and live winnings. But, one thing missing was a World Series of Poker bracelet, which he checked off the list by winning the $111,111 High Roller for One Drop.
The young German claimed $4,981,775 for topping the 183-player field, the biggest cash in a career that's already seen a number of seven-figure scores.
“Normally, I'm good with words, but this time, I don't really know what to say,” he said. “I just feel so overwhelmed. I just feel in heaven right now.”
Holz eliminated Joe McKeehen, Brian Green, and Jack Salter in successive hands to surge into the chip lead and only briefly lost that lead to Dan Smith heads up before turning things around for the win. In the process, he denied Smith his own first bracelet.
Read more about Holz's win here.
Official Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fedor Holz | Germany | $4,981,775 |
| 2 | Dan Smith | Las Vegas, NV | $3,078,974 |
| 3 | Koray Aldemir | Vienna, Austria | $2,154,265 |
| 4 | Jack Salter | London, U.K. | $1,536,666 |
| 5 | Brian Green | Decatur, TX | $1,117,923 |
| 6 | Joe McKeehen | North Wales, PA | $829,792 |
| 7 | Nick Petrangelo | Feeding Hills, MA | $628,679 |
| 8 | Niall Farrell | Glasgow, U.K. | $486,383 |
Kennedy Crowned 2016 WSOP Ladies Champion
Courtney Kennedy a 37-year-old Detroit, Michigan poker dealer won the 2016 World Series of Poker Ladies Championship on Sunday.
“I’ve had cards in my hand since I was two years old,” Kennedy said. “I’m a home game player and I deal at Motor City Casino in Detroit. This game has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.”
The final table included WSOP Circuit ring winners Amanda Musumeci, Wendy Freedman and Amanda Baker, alongside 2016 WSOP Colossus II ninth-place finisher Michelle Deng and Team PokerStars Pro Yaxi Zhu. Kennedy beat Baker heads-up after taking what would prove to be an insurmountable lead with five players remaining in Sunday's final table.
Three handed, Kennedy had a 3:1 chip lead over Deng and Baker combined, and never fell out of chip lead position on the way to the win.
More from Kennedy on her big win can be found right here.
2016 Ladies Championship Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Courtney Kennedy | $149,108 |
| 2 | Amanda Baker | $92,121 |
| 3 | Michelle Deng | $64,401 |
| 4 | Natalia Breviglieri | $45,683 |
| 5 | Amanda Musumeci | $32,889 |
| 6 | Shelly Johnson-Ochoa | $24,037 |
| 7 | Wendy Freedman | $17,837 |
| 8 | Nicole Schwartz | $13,443 |
| 9 | Yaxi Zhu | $10,292 |
What's On Tap?
The 2016 WSOP Main Event continues Monday with the third of three starting flights beginning at 11 a.m. It is widely expected to be the largest of the three flights. Plus, the 2016 WSOP Event #66: $1000 WSOP.com ONLINE No-Limit Hold'em final six will play down to a champion live at the Rio beginning at 11 a.m.
As the 2016 WSOP rolls on, be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews for continued coverage, brought to you by our sponsors, 888poker.
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