Day 2 Completes with Seidel, Becker and Velador Near the Top of the Chip Counts
Day 2 of Event #25: Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship has wrapped from Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, and after seven 90-minute levels of play, the field of 128 (102 returning players, plus 26 late registrants) was whittled down to just 21 contenders.
The event saw a record field of 212 entries, which created a prize pool of $1,971,600. A cool $492,795 is up top for the eventual winner as well as the WSOP gold bracelet.
The big story on Day 2 was that the bubble had burst with the top 32 players making the money. Michael Chow was the unfortunate player to leave empty-handed after his exit ensured that the remaining players would be guaranteed a payday of at least $16,386.
End of Day 2 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds | Big Bets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jay Kerbel | United States | 1,065,000 | 53 | 27 |
| 2 | Jose Luis Velador | Mexico | 1,040,000 | 52 | 26 |
| 3 | Erik Seidel | United States | 1,010,000 | 51 | 25 |
| 4 | Johannes Becker | Germany | 1,010,000 | 51 | 25 |
| 5 | James Chen (US) | United States | 925,000 | 46 | 23 |
| 6 | Kyle Cartwright | United States | 880,000 | 44 | 22 |
| 7 | Robert Yass | United States | 650,000 | 33 | 16 |
| 8 | Ben Lamb | United States | 630,000 | 32 | 16 |
| 9 | John Hennigan | United States | 630,000 | 32 | 16 |
| 10 | Aaron Kupin | United States | 595,000 | 30 | 15 |
Jay Kerbel ended the day with the chip lead as one of only four players above the million chip mark, while Jose Luis Velador and Erik Seidel round out the top three stacks.
The likes of Damjan Radanov, Christopher Stephan and poker legend Sam Farha are on the other end of the spectrum and will begin Day 3 in need of a few double ups.
Late registration was open until the start of play today, and 26 players opted to hop into the mix. Brian Rast, Koray Aldemir and Poker Hall of Famers Phil Hellmuth and Todd Brunson were just some of the players who took advantage of the generous late registration time.
However, Hellmuth, Brunson, Rast, and Aldemir would only make cameo appearances, while Aaron Kupin, another Day 2 entrant, managed to grind his way into the money, eventually finishing the day tenth in chips.
After the bubble burst, Dan Shak, Nacho Barbero, and Corey Hochman found themselves on the wrong end of lady luck and had to settle for a little more than a min-cash. Kyle Ray was the last player to bust on Day 2 after he was unable to fade Bryce Yockey's straight flush and nut low.
The remaining players will return on June 12 at 1:00 p.m. local time to continue their quests for the coveted gold bracelet. Play will pick up at Level 18 with blinds at 10,000/20,000 and level 20,000/40,000. Stay tuned to PokerNews for live updates on all the action.