Eric Wasserson Leads Three WSOP POYs Into Day 3 of $25,000 Dealers Choice Championship
Stud Games: 20,000 Ante, 30,000 Bring-In, 100,000 Completion, 100,000-200,000 Limits
No-Limit & Pot-Limit: 50,000/75,000 Ante, 25,000-50,000 Blinds
What was scheduled to be the final day of Event #5: $25,000 Dealers Choice Championship at World Series of Poker Paradise wrapped up in the early morning hours with four players remaining with three former WSOP Player of the Years looking for their seventh and fourth bracelets.
2021 POY Josh Arieh and 2022 POY Daniel Zack will have to overcome the chip lead of Eric Wasserson as the Pennsylvanian looks for his first bracelet, as will 2015 POY Mike Gorodinsky, who will be looking to spin up a short stack that he was desperate to rid himself of late in Day 2.
$25,000 Dealers Choice Championship Payouts
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (In USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $353,340 | ||
| 2 | $262,090 | ||
| 3 | $194,430 | ||
| 4 | $144,230 | ||
| 5 | John Racener | United States | $107,000 |
| 6 | Benny Glaser | United Kingdom | $79,370 |
| 7 | Nacho Barbero | Argentina | $60,040 |
Hellmuth & Negreanu; Royal Flush for Nacho
There were 16 players who advanced to Day 2, but they were joined by a handful of new entries including reigning WSOP POY Scott Seiver and 17-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth, who took a seat next to fellow Poker Hall of Famer Daniel Negreanu.
The table pairing caught the attention of seemingly everyone with a camera in Paradise and climaxed with Hellmuth taking a trademark bite out of a tableside sandwich. For more footage of the bite, stay tuned for Negreanu's next vlog.
Both legendary players fell in similar fashion as they had aces cracked while playing Omaha. Negreanu got it all in against Seiver in a PLO hand where both players held aces, but Seiver runner-runner paired his danglers to put a nasty beat on Kid Poker.
In a later Omaha Hi-Lo orbit, Hellmuth's aces ran into a set and he couldn't improve on a combo draw to be eliminated ahead of the money. Others who fell ahead of the money included Mike Watson, Jared Bleznick, Michael "Texas Mike" Moncek, and Arieh's Team Lucky teammate Shaun Deeb.
Four-time bracelet and 17-time Circuit ring winner Ari Engel fell on the money bubble ahead of the eliminations of five-time bracelet winner Benny Glaser and Nacho Barbero, who despite complaining about how he was running poorly managed to flop a Royal Flush for the first time in his long poker career.
Action slowed down during five-handed play but the players made the most of it by cracking jokes, playing props and discussing one another's tanking strategies. Arieh called it "by far the most fun I've had at a (WSOP) final table."
Shortly after Racener fell in fifth, the four remaining players bagged for the evening. They will return for Day 3 on Dec. 11 at 2 p.m. local time and will play to a winner, who will earn $353,340 and the gold bracelet.
Stay tuned as PokerNews will be back on-site tomorrow to see out the remainder of the $25,000 Dealers Choice Championship.