Joey Couden Builds Commanding Lead; Nick Kost, Shaun Deeb Near the Top on Day 2 of $1,500 Mixed Omaha Hi-Lo
Joey Couden took out a Hollywood star and became the star on Day 2 of Event #45: $1,500 Mixed Omaha Hi-Lo at the 2003 World Series of Poker at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.
Couden knocked out actor James Woods with set over set on his way to bagging up a chip-leading stack of 2,885,000. The World Series of Poker bracelet winner, who won his lone title in a $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo event in 2018, is in pole position over the remaining 33 players when play resumes on June 21 at 1 p.m. local time.
Nick Kost, already with a runner-up finish in an Omaha Hi-Lo event this series, is in second place after winning what he called the “pot of the tournament.” Kost took out Sam Farha and doubled up off Mark Erickson to win a massive pot and take the tournament chip lead early on Day 2. He then knocked out Leonid Yanovski by hitting a ten on the river on his way to ending the night with 2,010,000.
Day 2 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joey Couden | United States | 2,885,000 |
| 2 | Nick Kost | United States | 2,010,000 |
| 3 | Carlos Guerrero | United States | 1,606,000 |
| 4 | Shaun Deeb | United States | 1,490,000 |
| 5 | Chris DeMaci | United States | 1,455,000 |
| 6 | Alex Livingston | Canada | 1,340,000 |
| 7 | Allan Le | United States | 1,290,000 |
| 8 | William Kerkaert | United States | 1,030,000 |
| 9 | Zhen Cai | United States | 1,025,000 |
| 10 | Raj Vohra | United States | 1,020,000 |
Right behind them on the leaderboard is Shaun Deeb, who will be on a quest for his seventh WSOP bracelet and second this year when he returns to the tables with 1,490,000. Alex Livingston (1,340,000), Allan Le (1,290,000), and Zhen Cai (1,025,000) also finished in the million-chip club, while Martin Zamani (625,000) and Leif Force (320,000) are further down the leaderboard and will look to make a big move on the final day.
Day 2 began with 316 players out of a starting field of 1,091. Only 164 would make the money, and along the way, Dan Zack, Jeff Lisandro, and Barny Boatman joined Farha in falling short of the money.
Once the bubble burst, Day 1 chip leader Scott Clements (161st), Mike Matusow (130th), Allen Kessler (102nd), Woods (65th), Ben Lamb (60th), and Men Nguyen (55th) made the walk to the payout desk.
The action picks up on Day 3 in Level 26 at 1pm local time, with Pot-Limit blinds of 10,000-20,000 and limits of 40,000-80,000. Every player remaining is already guaranteed $7,279 and is eying the $253,651 top prize and coveted WSOP gold bracelet. The plan is to reduce the 33 surviving players down to a final table and, ultimately, a champion.
PokerNews will also be back on Day 3, providing updates as the remaining field gets whittled down until just one is left standing.