Kertland Bags Lead, Shorr and Kelsall Still In Contention In Event #3: $2,500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold’em
After 17 levels of play, a total of 113 bagged for the night, out of the 752 initial entrants, to return for Day 2 of Event #3: $2,500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold’em at Bally’s and Paris in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Leading the way is Jesse Kertland who bagged 941,000. Kertland maintained a strong stack throughout the day, but acquired a large portion of his chips on the final hand of the night, where he got his pocket queens in against Christopher Gu’s pocket tens. The bubble burst with Gu’s elimination and Kertland bagged the overall chip lead of the tournament.
Players also bagging big for Day 2 included Shannon Shorr with 670,000 and Andrew “A.J.” Kelsall with 603,000. Kelsall will be looking to take home his second bracelet, while Shorr will be looking to take home his first, each looking to add to their own illustrious resumes.
Event #3: $2,500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em Top 10 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jesse Kertland | United States | 941,000 |
| 2 | Michael Moncek | United States | 873,000 |
| 3 | Casey Hatmaker | United States | 849,000 |
| 4 | Jan Bednar | Czech Republic | 829,000 |
| 5 | Shannon Shorr | United States | 670,000 |
| 6 | Andrew Kelsall | United States | 604,000 |
| 7 | Wojciech Barzantny | Austria | 568,000 |
| 8 | Chris Hunichen | United States | 543,000 |
| 9 | David Benyamine | France | 520,000 |
| 10 | Dylan Linde | United States | 495,000 |
Others that found their way to the bags included bracelet winners David Benyamine (520,000), Dylan Linde (495,000), Adrian Mateos (423,000), Scott Seiver (340,000), as well as 2009 Main Event Champion Joe Cada (80,000) and soap opera star Farah Galfond (169,000)
Players that were unable to cash in this event included WSOP bracelet winners Michael Gathy, Ryan Laplante, Ryan Riess, Ryan Depaulo, Kristen Foxen, and 10-time bracelet winner Phil Ivey. They will have to look elsewhere to add more gold bracelets to their collections.
Because of the time left at the remainder of the level, players will return on Thursday, June 2nd at 12:00 p.m. with blinds of 4,000/8,000 with an 8,000 big blind ante for only ten minutes. Once the following level is reached, the levels will be upped to 60-minute levels rather than the 40-minute levels of Day 1. Fifteen-minute breaks will occur every two levels with a 60-minute dinner break following Level 23, with play ending after at the tournament's discretion.
The remaining players are all guaranteed $4,027 with all eyes on a first-place prize of $320,059. Stay tuned to PokerNews for all of the updates at the World Series Of Poker at Bally’s and Paris in Las Vegas, Nevada!