Shaun Deeb Leads Final Day of Dealer's Choice Championship as 5 Remain
Welcome back to the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino and the 2019 World Series of Poker (WSOP) for Day 4 of the Event #35: $10,000 Dealer's Choice Championship.
A total of 122 players created a prize pool of $1,146,800 to be the biggest Dealer's Choice Championship in its short five-year history. Last year saw Adam Friedman top the 111-player field to capture his second WSOP bracelet along with the $293,275 first-place prize. With just five players remaining, Friedman is still in contention to join a list that includes Johnny Moss, Doyle Brunson, Stu Ungar, Johnny Chan, Thang Luu, and Phil Hellmuth of winning back-to-back WSOP bracelets.
Friedman currently sits in second place overall with 1,898,000 in chips, and the man he is chasing is the reigning WSOP Player of the Year and four-time WSOP bracelet winner Shaun Deeb who finished with 2,601,000 in chips. Deeb continued to amass chips throughout Day 3, and if a decision wasn't made to end the day early, he was the favorite to collect his fifth WSOP bracelet if everything continued accordingly.
The decision to end Day 3 early was met with backlash from some, and joy from others. The WSOP staff ruled that because players were told earlier that play would end at six, instead of continuing to play the scheduled seven levels, play would end for the day unless there was a unanimous vote. Friedman and Michael McKenna voted to end for the day, while Deeb, Matt Glantz, and David Moskowitz opposed.
With the day concluded, Glantz sits in third overall with 1,401,000 in chips and is hoping that his 12th final table brings about his first WSOP bracelet. McKenna sits in fourth with 1,038,000, while Moskowitz will be hoping to spin up his 382,000 in chips as the final five players are each guaranteed $72,653 but have eyes locked firmly on the $312,417 first-place prize and the coveted WSOP bracelet.
| Seat | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds | Big Bets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Moskowitz | United States | 382,000 | 19 | 5 |
| 2 | Shaun Deeb | United States | 2,601,000 | 130 | 32.5 |
| 3 | Matt Glantz | United States | 1,401,000 | 70 | 17.5 |
| 4 | Michael McKenna | United States | 1,038,000 | 52 | 13 |
| 5 | Adam Friedman | United States | 1,898,000 | 95 | 24 |
Note: The limits when play resumes on Day 4 will be 40,000-80,000, and no-limit and pot-limit blinds will be 10,000-20,000.
Play resumes at 12 p.m. (PDT) with the PokerNews Live Reporting Team providing continuous live updates as the Event #35 play down to the eventual winner. Stay tuned to PokerNews.com for continued Event #35 coverage, along with all the 2019 World Series of Poker updates.