Dan Heimiller Leads Final 14, Ivey and Negreanu Still Alive
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It was an exciting day of poker here in the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino as 106 players returned with the hopes of moving through the money bubble and beyond. At the end of the day, just 14 players bagged up with none other than Event #17: $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold'em Championship champion Dan Heimiller leading the field. Heimiller will bring a stack of 226,000 into Day 3.
While Heimiller holds the lead, others are hot on his heels heading into the third and final day. WSOP bracelet winner Aaron Steury is looking for his second piece of gold and is in a solid position to earn it, bagging up just one chip less than Heimiller with 225,000. Rounding out the top three is nine-time WSOP gold bracelet winner Phil Ivey with 220,500. This is Ivey's third cash of the series and he is poised to earn a seat at his first final table of the summer. A final table appearance would put Ivey in contention to win his 10th bracelet, which would tie him with the likes of Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan.
Outside of the top three, the field remains stacked with notable names returning for the third day. Stephen Chidwick bagged up in the middle of the pack and will return with 174,000 in chips. Right behind Chidwick is six-time bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu who bagged 132,500. This marks Negreanu's eighth cash of the summer and he'll be looking for his second final table appearance. Also returning for Day 3 is Amnon Filippi (117,500) and Alex Rocha (70,000).
While those players managed to survive the second day of play, others were not as fortunate. Start-of-day chip leader Eric Crain, for example, was eliminated before the field reached the money. Others to find elimination without pay included Maria Ho, Joe Hachem, Konstantin Puchkov, Ali Eslami, Justin Bonomo, and Brett Jungblut.
The top 49 players made the money and were guaranteed a payday of at least $3,063. Some of the notable players to fall in the money include Max Pescatori (47th), Gabriel Nassif (46th), John Cernuto (42nd), Greg Raymer (40th), Bill Chen (34th), Brandon Cantu (29th), Martin Staszko (26th), and David "ODB" Baker (20th).
Play resumes at 2 p.m. in the Amazon room where the field will be whittle down until a champion is crowned. As always, PokerNews will be on hand to provide all of the latest from the tournament felt.