Shaun Deeb Hunting Seventh Bracelet on Final Day of $25,000 High Roller; Schulman Eyeing Number Five
Certain household names in poker immediately come to mind when one thinks of the World Series of Poker and Shaun Deeb is certainly one of them. The six-time bracelet winner is always among the contenders for WSOP Player of the Year and today he can make good progress in the 2024 standings. He returns at noon local time to the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas for the final day of Event #26: $25,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em (8-Handed).
Deeb will enter Day 3 as fourth in chips of the 19 returning players, his stack of 3,510,000 equaling nearly 44 big blinds. With a record-breaking turnout of 318 entries in the $25,000 High Roller, the $1,667,842 lion's share of the $7,473,000 prize pool would result in Deeb's biggest-ever score were he to come out victorious.
Also still in contention is Nick Schulman, who will bring 2,815,000 chips to the table, good for eighth place on the leaderboard. None of Schulman's four bracelets were won in hold'em events. Still, he is not to be underestimated in the two-card game, as he has had several deep runs in high roller events, including a third-place finish in the $100,000 WSOP High Roller in 2019 for a seven-figure score.
Both of them have an uphill battle in front of them, however, as they will need to chase down chipleader Yingui Li if they want another piece of WSOP gold to add to their already impressive prize cabinets. Li's stack of 5,600,000 chips is the only one over five million and he will be hoping to maintain that lead on the way to his first bracelet, after having two close calls in 2023 with second- and third-place finishes.
Other notable names in the top ten chip counts include Day 1 chip leader Samuel Laskowitz (2,885,000) and sports cards enthusiast Jared Bleznick (2,425,000), while Spain's Roberto Perez (3,185,000) and Bulgaria's Krasimir Yankov (2,545,000) add some more international representation.
Start of Day 3 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yingui Li | China | 5,600,000 | 70 |
| 2 | David Stamm | United States | 4,955,000 | 62 |
| 3 | Andrew Ostapchenko | United States | 4,215,000 | 53 |
| 4 | Shaun Deeb | United States | 3,510,000 | 44 |
| 5 | Roberto Perez | Spain | 3,185,000 | 40 |
| 6 | Chongxian Yang | China | 2,885,000 | 36 |
| 7 | Samuel Laskowitz | United States | 2,885,000 | 36 |
| 8 | Nick Schulman | United States | 2,815,000 | 35 |
| 9 | Krasimir Yankov | Bulgaria | 2,545,000 | 32 |
| 10 | Jared Bleznick | United States | 2,425,000 | 30 |
Further down, well-known hold'em crushers Dario Sammartino (1,750,000), Ben Heath (1,490,000), Kevin Rabichow (1,425,000), and Dan Smith (1,050,000) can be found. Meanwhile, Philip Sternheimer (840,000) and Joey Weissman (680,000) are the only players who will bring less than a million chips to the table and will have to spin up their short stacks to have a shot at winning the coveted bracelet.
All 19 players have secured themselves $62,737 for their efforts, but with the top two spots paying over one million dollars, that amount will hardly be satisfying for those unlucky enough to bust out early on Day 3.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $1,667,842 |
| 2 | $1,111,897 |
| 3 | $760,083 |
| 4 | $529,833 |
| 5 | $376,762 |
| 6 | $273,414 |
| 7 | $202,574 |
| 8 | $153,302 |
| 9 | $118,552 |
| 10-11 | $93,730 |
| 12-15 | $75,801 |
| 16-19 | $62,737 |
The action will resume at Level 19, blinds 40,000/80,000 with a big blind ante of 80,000 chips. All levels will be 60 minutes in duration, with a break after every two of them. Details regarding a dinner break have yet to be determined, but the tournament is set to play down to a winner, meaning a long day is in store for the field.
Stay tuned to find out who will win a High Roller bracelet as PokerNews will provide all of the updates live from the tournament floor in Las Vegas.