WSOP Day 37: Galen Hall Looks for 888 Title, Big Names Return in Main Event
As Day 2a and 2b in the Main Event kick off on Thursday, two other events will also play out with Galen Hall in good position looking for his first bracelet. Hall leads the final three players remaining in the $888 Crazy Eights and is hoping to close out the event for the coveted gold ornamental.
The first event running concurrently with the Main Event also begins, with Event #66: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em getting underway.
Returning to the Main Event field Thursday, are big names like John Hesp, Alex Foxen, Michael Mizrachi, Johnny Chan, Joe Hachem, Scotty Nguyen, Joe McKeehen, and Erik Seidel.
Event #62: $888 Crazy Eights No-Limit Hold'em 8-Handed - $888,888 Guaranteed 1st Place
| Players remaining | 3/8,598 |
| Prize guaranteed | $355,888 |
After a one-day delay to give the players the option to play the final starting flight in the Main Event, an extra fourth day will be played out on Thursday with only three players returning.
Galen Hall returns as chip leader with 30,100,000 after also leading after Day 2. Originally from San Francisco, Hall has $4.2 million in live tournament winnings and he's looking for his first bracelet. Hall played in the third starting flight of the Main Event on Wednesday but didn't survive the day"
Busted the Main. Took some unfortunate beats to go from 100 to ~30 and then just played stupid trying by convince m… https://t.co/DUhT3p8p0m
— Galen Hall (@galenhall)
Looking to overtake Hall are Niels Herregodts (24,750,000) and Eduards Kudrjavcevs (16,400,000). Herregodts hails from the Ukraine and has a bit over $12,000 in live tournament winnings. Kudrjavcevs is from Latvia and has live tournament winnings of $582,000. Both will be looking for the biggest scores of their career by far. The winner will take home a hefty first-place prize of $888,8888.
The PokerNews team will have all your 888 action covered until someone takes home the bracelet. Click here to follow along.
Final Table Results So Far
| Position | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $888,888 | ||
| 2 | $476,888 | ||
| 3 | $355,888 | ||
| 4 | Andrey Zaichenko | Russia | $266,888 |
| 5 | Alexander Kuzmin | Russia | $201,888 |
| 6 | Jeremiah Miesen | United States | $153,888 |
| 7 | Martin Stausholm | Denmark | $117,888 |
| 8 | Philip Tom | United States | $90,888 |
Event #65: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em MAIN EVENT - World Championship
| Players remaining | 5,940/7,874 |
The final starting flight in the Main Event produced the second biggest field in event history with 4,571 runners. Combined with those from Day 1a (925) and Day 1b (2,378), the total entries climbed to 7,874, making it the second-biggest Main Event behind only the turnout of 8,773 in 2006. That total is also almost a 10 percent increase over the 7,221 in 2017.
The turnout creates a prize pool of $74,015,600 with this year's champion earning a first-place prize of $8.8 million. 3,480 players made it through to Day 2c from this flight. Samuel Touil bagged the unofficial chip lead after five two-hour levels of play, turning his 50,000 starting stack into 352,800.
In the first two flights, 659 players return for to the Rio on Thursday from Flight 2a and 1,794 from Flight 2b. Both will play out separately beginning at 11 a.m. Advancing players from 1c will return for Day 2c on Friday at 11 a.m. All those remaining will then return for Day 3 on Saturday.
The player sin action on Day 2ab today will play five two-hour levels again, starting with 300/600 (100 ante). Check back to PokerNews then for continuous coverage of the Main Event and to follow all the live updates.
Event #66: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em
Maybe the Main Event didn’t quite go your way. If you’re one of those who took a bad beat or just couldn't get anything going, don’t pack it in just yet. This year there are 12 more events being played out concurrently with the WSOP, offering more opportunities for a big score.
This event kicks off at 3 p.m. Players begin with 7,500 starting chips. Levels last 60 minutes and late registration is available for eight levels. Chris Klodnicki, from Camden, N.J., took home the bracelet last year, along with $428,423. The event attracted 1,956 players for a prize pool of $2.6 million.
The Main Event may be the main attraction, but PokerNews will still have all your live updates.
Sean Chaffin is a freelance writer in Crandall, Texas. His work appears in numerous websites and publications. Follow him on Twitter @PokerTraditions. He is also the host of the True Gambling Stories podcast, available on iTunes, Google Play, TuneIn Radio, Spotify, Stitcher, PokerNews.com, HoldemRadio.com, and TrueGamblingStories.com.
In this Series
- 1 WSOP Day 1: It’s Showtime – with Casino Employees Championship and $10K Super Turbo
- 2 WSOP Day 2: Jodie Sanders Leads Casino Employees Event; Shootout & Omaha Hi/Lo on Tap
- 3 WSOP Day 3: Hellmuth, McKeehen, Cada Advance to Final 50 in Shootout
- 4 WSOP Day 4: Joe's Ready for Shootout Final Table, $100K Day 2 Awaits
- 5 WSOP Day 5: Petrangelo & Fox Lead $100K, Martini & Hoang Chasing Gold
- 6 WSOP Day 6: Vitch leads Triple Draw, Hellmuth Makes Day 2 in Omaha-8
- 7 WSOP Day 7: Elezra Leads $10K Omaha Hi-Lo, Hennigan Ahead in Dealer’s Choice
- 8 WSOP Day 8: Eli Elezra Seeks Fourth Bracelet Today in $10K Omaha Hi-Lo
- 9 WSOP Day 9: Racener, Deeb at Final Tables, Hellmuth Advances in H.O.R.S.E.
- 10 WSOP Day 10: Bonomo Looking for $10K Heads-Up Title, Negreanu Advances
- 11 WSOP Day 11: Bonomo Among Leaders in $5K NLHE, Zinno Leads Dealer's Choice
- 12 WSOP Day 12: Duhamel Looks for 4th Bracelet, Negreanu Advances to Day 2
- 13 WSOP Day 13: Negreanu, Matusow, Racener in Final 16 of 8-Game Mix
- 14 WSOP Day 14: Doyle Brunson Returns Looking for Bracelet #11
- 15 WSOP Day 15: Joe McKeehen Runs Deep in MILLIONAIRE MAKER
- 16 WSOP Day 16: Martin Jacobson, Scotty Nguyen Playing Deep in MARATHON
- 17 WSOP Day 17: Jason Mercier, Martin Jacobson Looking to Add Bracelets
- 18 WSOP Day 18: Glaser, Matusow, Negreanu, Bonomo Advance in PPC
- 19 WSOP Day 19: Michael Mizrachi, Phil Ivey Lead Poker Players Championship
- 20 WSOP Day 20: Mizrachi Leads Final 12 in $50K PPC, Ivey Still in Hunt
- 21 WSOP Day 21: Michael Mizrachi Aims for Third $50K PPC Title, 6 Remain
- 22 WSOP Day 22: Phil Hellmuth Advances in $1,500 NLHE Shootout
- 23 WSOP Day 23: Daniel Negreanu Returns Third in Chips in $25K PLO HR
- 24 WSOP Day 24: Yu Leads Biggest Omaha Tournament of Year, Negreanu Falls
- 25 WSOP Day 25: Scotty Nguyen Leads the $25K PLO
- 26 WSOP Day 26: Ferguson Looks for No. 7; Lamb, Mizrachi Advance in $10K PLO
- 27 WSOP Day 27: Hellmuth Advances in Razz, Big Names in Monster Stack
- 28 WSOP Day 28: Brandon Shack-Harris Leads Final 6 in $10K PLO
- 29 WSOP Day 29: Elezra, Hellmuth, Negreanu Return in $1,500 PLO Hi-Lo
- 30 WSOP Day 30: Gamble, Matusow, Negreanu in $1,500 PLO Hi-Lo Final 20
- 31 WSOP Day 31: John Hennigan Among Chip Leaders in $10,000 Razz Championship
- 32 WSOP Day 32: Anderson and Kassela Return to Battle for RAZZ Bracelet
- 33 WSOP Day 33: Jean-Robert Bellande Leads Final 6 in $5K NLHE 6-Handed
- 34 WSOP Day 34: Main Event Kicks Off, Mizrachi Leads PLO Giant
- 35 WSOP Day 35: Scotty Nguyen, Joe Hachem, Ray Romano Advance in Main Event
- 36 WSOP Day 36: Fireworks Expected on Day 1c of the Main Event
- 37 WSOP Day 37: Galen Hall Looks for 888 Title, Big Names Return in Main Event
- 38 WSOP Day 38: Huge Day 2c in the Main, John Pannucci Leads $1,500 NLH
- 39 WSOP Day 39: Tan Leads $1,500 NLHE; Hellmuth, Ivey Back for Main Day 3
- 40 WSOP Day 40: Hallaert Bags Big in Little One, Ivey Makes Day 4 of ME
- 41 WSOP Day 41: Minkin Making Another Main Event Run, Solomon Leads PLO
- 42 WSOP Day 42: Dyer Leads Main With Cada Still In, Bohlman Goes for Double
- 43 WSOP Day 43: Big Names Left in $5K NLHE, Cada Advances in Main Event
- 44 WSOP Day 44: Three More Bracelets Awarded As Main Event Finale Begins
- 45 WSOP Day 45: Volpe Seeks Bracelet, Dyer Leads Final 6 and Cada in Main
- 46 WSOP Day 46: Main Event Reaches Finale, Eibinger Leads $50K High Roller
- 47 WSOP Day 47: Big One for One Drop Begins, Kessler, ElkY Big Stacks in Closer
