Mustafa Leads Final Seven; Loeser and Cada Still in Contention
Over the past two days the 2013 World Series of Poker Event #4 $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em /Six Handed tournament has saw 1,069 players reduced to the final seven. The man best positioned to capture this bracelet is Mike Mustafa, who holds 1.28 million in chips. With that said, some stiff competition stands in his way including Keven Stammen, Manig Loeser and 2009 WSOP Main Event champ Joe Cada.
Today 117 players settled into the Amazon Room for ten and a half levels of play. Nine of those players would leave empty handed as only 108 were slated to get paid. Among those who failed to secure a payday were John Nidhiry, Nasir Veerani, Aaron Kaiser, David Tuthill and the lovely Jamie Kerstetter, who was recently featured in PokerNews’ popular Online Chat series.
The money bubble occurred early in the day and it didn’t last long—just one hand in fact. There were actually three all ins on the very first hand of hand-for-hand play, but only one of them resulted in an elimination.
It happened when a short-stacked Michael McDonald of Jonesboro, Arkansas (not to be confused with Mike "Timex" McDonald) moved all in for 8,900 from the cutoff and Fabien Marguerite called from the small blind.
McDonald: 
Marguerite: 
McDonald was ahead, and according to the PokerNews Odds Calculator, he had a 55.62% chance of surviving the hand while Marguerite had a 43.94% chance. The 
was kind to McDonald and upped his chances to 76.67%, but the 
turn was cruel as could be as it paired Marguerite and made him an overwhelming 93.18% favorite. McDonald needed an ace on the river to stay alive, but it wasn't in the cards as the 
blanked. With that, McDonald left empty handed while everyone else secured a minimum payday of $2,871.
Among those who failed to survive the day but boosted their bankroll were October Nines Rob Salaburu (100th - $2,871) and Russell Thomas (96th - $2,871); the ever-boisterous Humberto Brenes (70th - $3,391); WSOP APAC bracelet winner Bryan Piccioli (63rd - $3,680); 2012 WSOP bracelet winner Craig McCorkell (59th - $3,997); Wisconsin businessman Larry Ormson (44th - $4,892); 2010 WSOP Main Event champ Jonathan Duhamel (44th - $4,892); and reigning World Poker Tour Player of the Year Matt Salsberg (21st - $9,640).
Salsberg’s elimination came in Level 17 (2,000/4,000/500) when Salsberg stuck his remaining 55,000 in with the 
and John Beauprez snap-called with the 
. The board ran out 
and that did it for Salsberg, who we expect to play numerous events this summer.
The eliminations continued over the next three levels and included Ville Sissonen (18th - $12,122), Grant Hinkle (16th - $12,122), Aleksandr Gnatenko (14th - $12,122), Day 1 chip leader Greg Hobson (11th - $15,643), Rex Clinkscales (10th - $20,709), Fabien Marguerite (9th - $20,709) and Ami Alibay (8th - $28,155).
| Seat | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eric Blair | 685,000 |
| 2 | John Beauprez | 796,000 |
| 3 | Joe Cada | 671,000 |
| 4 | Mike Mustafa | 1,280,000 |
| 5 | Zohar Spivack | 393,000 |
| 6 | Keven Stammen | 201,000 |
| 7 | Manig Loeser | 931,000 |
The remaining seven players will return at 3 p.m. PST to play down to a winner. Join us then as we bring you all the action and eliminations from the fourth bracelet event of the 2013 World Series of Poker!