Brian Rast Leads Final 34 Players in Event #73: $25,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha
The Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas hosted Day 2 of Event #73: $25,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha (8-Handed) today, and it saw plenty of high-stakes four-card action being played out on the felt.
A total of 151 players made it through Day 1, and they were joined by 111 more who late registered during the first two levels of play, which brought the total number of entries to 476. That total eclipses the 449 that entered the event last year where Hong Kong's Ka Kwan Lau emerged victorious for $2,294,756.
As Day 2 reached its conclusion, only 34 players remained in contention, with none other than Brian Rast topping the counts after he amassed 4,785,000 chips, most of which came when he eliminated Elie Nakache during Level 19.
End of Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brian Rast | United States | 4,785,000 | 96 |
| 2 | Maxi Lehmanski | Germany | 4,500,000 | 90 |
| 3 | Billy Tarango | United States | 4,400,000 | 88 |
| 4 | Eelis Parssinen | Finland | 3,795,000 | 76 |
| 5 | David Eldridge | United States | 3,700,000 | 74 |
| 6 | Michael Moncek | United States | 3,670,000 | 73 |
| 7 | Tyler Stafman | United States | 3,635,000 | 73 |
| 8 | Joni Jouhkimainen | Finland | 3,255,000 | 65 |
| 9 | Erick Lindgren | United States | 3,235,000 | 65 |
| 10 | Matthew Kolibas | United States | 3,080,000 | 62 |
Germany's Maxi Lehmanski sits in second with a stack of 4,500,000. He started gaining momentum in Level 20 when he doubled up against Arie Ori Miller in a set-over-set situation. In the closing level, Lehmanski also picked off the bluff of Cong Pham which boosted his stack towards the top end of the counts.
Billy Tarango rounds out the top three stacks with 4,400,000 and was responsible for the elimination of eleven-time bracelet winner Phil Ivey.
With 72 spots being paid, play tightened as the day went on with a min-cash of $50,211 up for grabs for those who could survive the bubble. The last player that didn't manage to achieve such a feat was Gabriel Andrade who got unlucky to bubble at the hands of Tom Dwan.
Finland's Eelis Parssinen was involved in countless pots today and took an early chip lead after scooping a huge pot against Day 1 chip leader Conrad De Armas. More chips soon found their way into Parssinen's stack after his pocket aces held up in a pot against Krasimir Yankov, which sent the Bulgarian player to the rail.
Some notables to make it into the money but fall short of Day 3 were the aforementioned Ivey (38th - $60,672), Stephen Chidwick (41st - $52,722), Nakache (48th - $50,211), Nick Schulman (52nd - $50,211), Benny Glaser (57th - $50,211), Fernando Habegger (69th - $50,211), and Gus Hansen (71st - $50,211).
A few of the notables that made it through to Day 3 were Michael Moncek (3,670,000), Erick Lindgren (3,235,000), Kahle Burns (2,480,000), Dwan (2,240,000), Christian Harder (2,180,000), Joao Vieira (1,515,000), Sean Winter (700,000), and Viktor Blom (580,000).
Those returning tomorrow are all guaranteed a payout of at least $60,672, but they will all have their eyes firmly locked on the top prize of $2,246,728.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize (USD) | Place | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2,246,728 | 8 | $215,563 |
| 2 | $1,497,824 | 9 | $166,224 |
| 3 | $1,038,097 | 10-11 | $130,629 |
| 4 | $731,819 | 12-15 | $104,659 |
| 5 | $524,911 | 16-23 | $85,519 |
| 6 | $383,191 | 24-31 | $71,297 |
| 7 | $284,794 | 32-34 | $60,672 |
Play begins on Monday, July 1st, at 1 p.m. in the Horseshoe Event Center with the plan of playing down to the final five players. The blinds will start at Level 21, 25,000/50,000/50,000, with an average stack of 2,100,000 chips.
Be sure to tune into PokerNews for all the latest action from the felt at the 2024 World Series of Poker for expert coverage of all remaining bracelet events.