Michael Mizrachi Headlines Final Table of Event #27: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better
After five-and-a-half levels of play during Day 3 of Event #27: Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better, Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi managed to bag the chip lead for the second straight day heading into tomorrow's final table of six. Mizrachi will be looking to add a fifth WSOP bracelet to his mantle, which would give him the family lead over his brother Robert, who also holds four WSOP bracelets of his own. After bagging the chip lead, Mizrachi said he was happy with the way things ended, especially with the big hand against Elias Hourani that helped propel him to the chip lead in the waning moments of the day.
"The key to this game," said Mizrachi, "Is when you're looking to scoop you need to hold these big hands. I had aces and it held; I made two pair and he made queens and tens so that was a big hand for me."
Mizrachi will be looking to close things out in a hurry tomorrow, saying, "I was hoping we'd play really late tonight so that we'd have a shorter day tomorrow, just so we can enjoy the day tomorrow. And go play another tournament, that's the real reason why. But hopefully it ends quick tomorrow, we still have a little bit of play left."
Right on the heels of Mizrachi are Michael Sopko (1,184,000) and Robert Gray (1,028,000). The aforementioned Hourani (425,000) and Jose Paz-Gutierrez (300,000) will have some work to do to take home the bracelet.
The real story towards the end of Day 3 was the doubling heroics of tomorrow's short stack Jan Stein (204,000), who doubled up no less than four times to make it through to Day 4. The key? Play tight.
"You have to play tight and just wait for a premium hand," Stein said. "When you're short-handed you then get the money in and hope the cards break your way."
"I feel great; it's exciting." Stein, who had his first recorded WSOP cash 19 years ago, said about making the final table. "I haven't made a final table in all the events I've played in all the years I've played so it'll be fun to get up there. I've got to get lucky, because I'm the lowest chip stack now, but you never know what's going to happen. It's limit and you can work your way up."
Fast Start To The Day
The short stacks fell quickly by the wayside at the start of the day, as eight of the remaining twenty-two players busted in the first hour-long level of the day. Eric Rodawig had to retire his bear suit early as the first to go, and was followed out the door in quick succession by Matthew Kelly, Tamon Nakamura, Bryan Pimlott, and Patricia Yannuzzi.
Robert Isakson and James Davis fell victim to a double knockout at the hands of Jose Paz-Gutierrez, and just before the level ended, Jon Turner couldn't catch up to Martin Sawtell and his full house to end his deep run in 15th place for $4,747.
Alejandro Torres was next to go, and then this year's $1,500 NL 2-7 Lowball Draw champ Yuval Bronshtein got crippled when he paid off Jan Stein and his flush, and he ended up in 13th when he lost his last ante one hand later. Jason Daly, Anna Wroblowski, and Cory Chaput would be the last to fall before the final table was set.
Final Table Action
First to go at the final table was Joseph Santagata, who was whittled down to a few big bets in a hand with Stein, before getting his remaining chips in on sixth street against Elias Hourani. Hourani's open two pair was ahead of Santagata's pair of aces, and Santagata would fail to improve on seventh street, and was left with ninth-place and $9,211.
Matthew Schultz got it in against Michael Mizrachi on fifth street with a pair of eights, and improved to two pair on sixth, while Mizrachi had just a pair of deuces. Mizrachi asked Schultz, "You want it fast or slow?" before peeling his river card, and Schultz replied, "Fast." Mizrachi obliged and promptly ripped over a third deuce, and Schultz failed to improve. He ended his run in eighth-place, good for $11,986.
For a good chunk of seven-handed play, it looked as if Jan Stein would be the bubble boy of the televised final table, with his stack creeping all the way down to just half a big bet at one point. He fought back, and Martin Sawtell began to slip down the counts. On the final hand of Day 3, Sawtell was dealt aces in the hole, and got the remainder of his chips in on fifth street, against Robert Gray, who held just a pair of deuces and three pieces to a low at the time. Gray would go runner-runner to make a full house, however, and Sawtell had to settle for seventh-place and $15,921.
Final Table Seat Draw and Chip Counts
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Bets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jan Stein | United States | 204,000 | 3 |
| 2 | Elias Hourani | United States | 425,000 | 7 |
| 3 | Michael Mizrachi | United States | 1,355,000 | 23 |
| 4 | Jose Paz-Gutierrez | Bolivia | 300,000 | 5 |
| 5 | Michael Sopko | United States | 1,184,000 | 20 |
| 6 | Robert Gray | United States | 1,028,000 | 17 |
Tomorrow's final table will be televised live on CBS All Access with the stream kicking off at 1 p.m. local time. The action will get underway here in the Amazon Room at the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino at Noon local time. Be sure to stay tuned right here to the blog and follow all the action with us as Mizrachi chases WSOP bracelet number five!