2024 WSOP Day 29: PokerNews Deepstack Championship Smashes 2023's Attendance!

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Jun 26, 2024 8 min read

Day 29 of the 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP) was another day where nobody got their hands on a gold bracelet at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, yet it was a day that will long live in the memory; especially if you have any connection or affiliation with PokerNews.

June 26 saw the first-ever $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship shuffle up and deal, marking the first time a poker media outlet has been trusted with putting its names to a WSOP bracelet-awarding event. Day 1 went better than anyone could have hoped, with 5,126 players turning out on force, obliterating last year's attendance of 4,303.

This and more feature in our recap of the WSOP 2024's Day 29 action.

Neugebauer Among the Leaders in the Millionaire Maker

Almost 11,000 players entered Event #54: $1,500 Millionaire Maker over its three starting days, but only 45 of them are still in the hunt for the massive $1,250,125 top prize and the gold bracelet that is awarded to the victory.

Martin Mathis and Max Neugebauer are tied for the lead with 13,025,000 chips, and will fancy their chances of being crowned the Millionaire Maker's champion. While Mathis is still searching for his first bracelet, Neugebauer captured the one given to the champion of the€10,600 WSOP Europe Main Event in 2023. That win also came with €1,500,000 ($1,601,434).

Mathis and Neugebauer may have their noses in front as this event approaches a thrilling finale, but they must keep their wits about them due to the star-studded field hanging from their coattails.

Australia's Sean Ragozzini (12,650,000) knows his way around a poker table. As do Jason Wheeler (5,000,000), and recent addition to the three-time WSOP champion club Sean Troha (4,375,000).

The 45 surviving players will return to their seats at 11:00 a.m. local time on June 26, having locked in $30,300 for their efforts this far. The plan is to whittle the field to only five players, at which point the least any of them can take home is $376,470.

Event #54: $1,500 Millionaire Maker Top 10 Chip Counts

Brewer Leads the Final 12 in the $50,000 PPC

Event #58: The $50,000 Poker Players Championship completed its third day, leaving only 12 players in contention for one of the most prestigious bracelets on the schedule and, of course, the welcomed $1,178,703 top prize.

Chris Brewer (5,345,000) is the man going into the penultimate day of this high-stakes event as the chip leader, and by some distance. Second-placed David Benyamine (3,100,000) has over two millions fewer chips than Brewer at the restart.

This event never fails to disappoint those wishing to catch a glimpse of their poker heroes in action. In addition to Brewer and Benyamine, the likes of 11-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Ivey, mixed game star Bryce Yockey, and Joao Vieira progressed from a challenging Day 3.

Also still hunting for this event's bracelet and adulation of their peers are such global superstars as Jeremy Ausmus, Dylan Smith, James Obst (who topped the counts on Day 1 and Day 2), Germany's Johannes Becker, Daniel Negreanu, three-time winner of this tournament Michael Mizrachi, and Brazilian sensation Renan Bruschi.

Those 12 Goliaths head back to their seats from the slightly later than advertised time of 2:00 p.m. local time on June 26 to play down to a final five. PokerGO is streaming this event, so PokerNews' coverage will be in line with any delay PokerGO imposes.

Event #58: $50,000 Poker Players Championship Final Day Chip Counts

Minaya Bags Big and Song Progresses in the Super Seniors

Event #59: $1,000 Super Seniors saw its 3,362-strong crowd reduced to 975 on Day 1, and further chopped to a more manageable 119 on Day 2. Seasoned grinder Manny Minaya was one of the players who weathered the storm the best, finishing with 1,250,000 chips, enough for fifth-place at the restart.

Minaya has racked up almost $2.3 million in live poker tournament cashes, with over $820,000 of that impressive sum stemming from WSOP events, including the popular WSOP Circuit. Thirteen of his 45 WSOP-related cashes have finished with Minaya on the final table, yet a circuit ring or WSOP bracelet still eludes him. Is this the event where Minaya finally strikes gold?

Only Gregory Peterson (1,990,000), James Jackson (1,425,000), Farzad Raji (1,365,000), and Guy Cicconi (1,275,000) return to the action with more chips than Minaya.

Further down the counts, around the middle of the pack, is Kevin Song (656,000). Song is a permanent feature at the WSOP, and has enjoyed some stellar results, most notably his bracelet win in a $2,000 Limit Hold'em event in 1997.

Tong Li (410,000), Larry Wright (325,000), the legendary Barry Greenstein (230,000), and Vince Burgio (190,000) are the other bracelet winners still in the hunt in this event.

Day 3 shuffles up and deals at 11:00 a.m. local time on June 26, with the returning players aiming to navigate their way through to the final five. Those players will enjoy a well-earned 15-minute break every couple of levels and an extended 60-minute dinner break after Level 16 (around 5:30 p.m. local time).

Event #59: $1,000 Super Seniors Top 10 Chip Counts

Levy Claims the Day 2 Chip Lead in the $3,000 NLHE

Tzur Levy is hopeful of following in the footsteps of Timur Margolin, his fellow Israeli, and become a WSOP champion at the 2024 WSOP. Levy is the chip leader after the second day's play in Event #60: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em, where only 104 opponents stand between him and some poker gold.

Although Levy's lead is around 43 big blinds when play resumes, he is not going to have a straight path to the bracelet. Top-tier grinders such as Yiannis Liperis (1,445,000), Nicholas Seward (1,395,000), Daniel Hachem (1,315,000), and Simon Higgins (1,285,000) each return in the top ten.

Four-time bracelet winner Kristen Foxen (1,245,000), Stoyan Madanzhiev (980,000), Anthony Zinno (760,000), Andre Akkari (555,000), Benjamin Spragg (370,000), and Hossein Ensan (290,000) also return in various states of deepness.

Our industry-leading coverage resumes at 12:00 p.m. local time on June 26, continuing until only five players have chips requiring bagging and tagging.

Event #60: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em Top 10 Chip Counts

Only 21 Players Remain in the $2,500 Omaha/Stud Hi-Lo

Another ten levels were completed in Event #61: $2,500 Omaha/Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better, which were enough to reduced the field down only 21 players, including chip leader David Williams (1,890,000). The 2004 WSOP Main Event runner-up, whose sole bracelet came in a Seven Card Stud event, leads a whole host of stellar names back to the tables for this event's final day.

Dario Sammartino only trails Williams by a hair's breadth (1,870,000). You may recall Sammartino also finished in second place in the Main Event, doing so in 2019.

An all-star cast returns on June 26, including Joey Couden (1,695,000), Jon Kyte (1,550,000), Matt Vengrin (1,335,000), and four-time bracelet winner Jeff Madsen (715,000).

The cards are back in the air from 1:00 p.m. local time on June 26, with the plan to play down to a winner. However, experience tells us that these limit split-pot events have a habit of running over, so be prepared for that eventuality.

Event #61: $2,500 Omaha/Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Top 10 Chip Counts

Kabrhel Second in Chips After Day 1 of the PokerNews Deepstack

Controversial star Martin Kabrhel of the Czech Republic narrowly missed out on being the first-ever chip leader in Event #62: $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship, although he cannot be too displeased at turning his 30,000 starting stack into a bag-filling 1,049,000 over the course of 17 40-minute levels. Kabrhel is only out-chipped by Hideki Sahashi (1,174,000) of Japan, meaning all but one of the 767 Day 1 survivors are currently in his wake.

Kabrhel was not the only familiar face to progress to Day 2. Darryll Fish (770,000), Kathy Liebert (445,000), Jake Schwartz (407,000), Jamie Kerstetter (269,000), Jerry Wong (133,000), and Ben Yu (108,000) were among those who bagged and tagged at the close of play.

Also making it through to Day 2 were eight players who won free seats by excelling during the PokerNews Deepstack Challenge in the run-up to this ground-breaking event. Michael Beattie (644,000), Artur Stepanyan (213,000), Hsing-Hsuing Tai (330,000), Raymond Chiu (326,000), Kenny Hsiung (226,000), Michael Lin (115,000), Georgios Skarparis (115,000), and William Plitz (85,000) all stand a chance of turning their free ticket into a gold bracelet, a $283,701 payday, and a 24-karat gold winner's coin!

Event #62: $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship Top 10 Chip Counts

Day 1 of the $1,500 NL 2-7 Ends After Prolonged Bubble

Day 1 of Event #63: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball ended later than scheduled, but at least it finished! The field was not far away from bursting the bubble when play was scheduled to conclude, so the WSOP staff decided to continue playing until the bubble popped. Forty minutes later, Ryan Riess fell by the wayside, and Day 1 ended with all 68 surviving players locking in a min-cash.

Once all the bags were accounted for, it was Owais Ahmed (633,000) who was announced as the tournament's chip leader, his stack containing 26 big blinds more than three-time WSOP winner David "ODB" Baker (480,000). Shahryar Eslami (458,000) completes the podium places.

Lower down the chip counts, but not out of contention by any stretch of the imagination, are players like Jen Harman (364,000), Patrick Moulder (360,000), Dario Alioto (335,000), Bin Weng (300,000), Patrick Leonard (195,000), and Chance Kornuth (184,000).

This army of lowball specialists returns to the action from 1:00 p.m. local time on June 26 to play another ten 60-minute levels.

Event #63: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Top 10 Chip Counts

What to Expect on Day 30 of the 2024 WSOP

Only one tournament is scheduled to award its bracelet on Day 30 of the 2024 WSOP. Event #61: $2,500 Omaha/Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better should see all but one of its 21 returning players sent to the cashier's desk before the curtain comes down on the day's action.

The other six, yes, six in-play events will make strides towards their respective final tables and the crowning of their champions. Event #54: $1,500 Millionaire Maker's field should be cut to only five runners, as will Event #58: $50,000 Poker Players Championship.

Event #59: $1,000 Super Seniors No-Limit Hold'em is expected to play down to a final five, as is Event #60: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em.

Both Event #62: $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship and Event #63: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball will continue with their respective Day 2s.

With the fields of the in-play events ever shrinking, another three events shuffle up and deal for the first time.

Event #64: $600 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack, not to be confused with the PokerNews Deepstack Championship, kicks off at 10:00 a.m. local time. Last year's event drew in 6,085 runners, so expect another massive crowd.

A brand-new tournament begins at 12:00 p.m. local time, Event #65: $5,000 Seniors High Roller No-Limit Hold'em. The 50+ generation have been calling out for a high roller event, and the WSOP answered their prayers.

Rounding off a busy day is Event #66: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship from 2:00 p.m. local time. Lou Garza outlasted 730 opponents last year, banking $1,309,232 but then winning the best-ever prize, a yes from his girlfriend after Garza proposed to her in the aftermath of his victory.

Matthew Pitt hails from Leeds, West Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom, and has worked in the poker industry since 2008, and worked for PokerNews since 2010. In September 2010, he became the editor of PokerNews. Matthew stepped away from live reporting duties in 2015, and now concentrates on his role of Senior Editor for the PokerNews.

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