Welcome to Day 1 of Event #71: $50,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller
One of the most-highly anticipated High Roller showdowns of the 2023 World Series of Poker is slated to kick off at 2 p.m. local time at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. Event #71: $50,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller is certain to attract some of the biggest names in the world of poker and four-card aficionados will enter the fray in the third edition of this tournament.
The event will be played in the purple section at Paris right next to the King's Lounge and a bumper field is expected for the high-stakes contest. During the 2023 WSOP thus far, both the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship (731 entries) and $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller (449 entries) set new records and foreshadow a strong turnout for the most expensive PLO tournament on the summer schedule in Las Vegas as well.
Back in 2021, the $50,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller took place for the first time and Jeremy Ausmus came out on top after three-handed play with Daniel Negreanu and Phil Hellmuth. Ausmus has already had a decent summer to date with several deep runs in WSOP events and notched up his sixth gold bracelet in Online Event #8: $3,200 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller. Ausmus also finished 8th in the $25,000 PLO High Roller for $209,392 and is among those expected to join the field today.
Defending champion is the UK's Robert Cowen, another well-known poker pro that regularly pops up deep in tournaments with four cards. One year ago, Cowen earned his second WSOP gold bracelet after overcoming a tough final table line-up that included the likes of Scott Seiver, Jason Mercier, Ben Lamb, and Dash Dudley to name but a few.
WSOP $50,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller So Far
| Year | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | Top Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 106 | $5,074,750 | Robert Cowen | $1,393,816 |
| 2021 | 85 | $4,069,375 | Jeremy Ausmus | $1,188,918 |
Considering the new record fields in the other PLO tournaments and High Roller contests alike, it would be no surprise to see another record set in the third edition of this event.
Cards will be in the air at 2 p.m. local time and Day 1 features a total of 12 levels with a duration of 40 minutes each. There will be a 15-minute break every three levels and each of the participants receives 300,000 in chips. A total of two reentries are allowed for each player during the registration period, which remains open until the start of Day 2 on Saturday at 1 p.m. local time.
The tournament will be played with a 30-second shot clock from start to finish and the penultimate day is scheduled to whittle down the field to the final five hopefuls. It seems likely that the conclusion will then be streamed on the PokerGO platform and the PokerNews live reporting team will be on the floor until a winner has been crowned.