The board showed 9?2?Q?3?. Michael Estes bet 375,000 from early position with roughly 500,000 behind. From the button, Jared Bleznick raised enough to put Estes all-in. Estes snap-called and the cards were revealed.
Michael Estes: K?K?
Jared Bleznick: 9?9?
Bleznick's flopped set had Estes drawing extremely thin. There was no miracle two-outer on the river as it came the 5?, meaning Estes was out and Bleznick had become one of the biggest stacks in the room.
Andrew Kelsall raised to 80,000 from the button and Martin Stausholm called from the big blind.
Stausholm check-called a bet of 80,000 from Kelsall on the 10?5?3? flop.
Both players checked when the K? appeared on the turn to see the 8? hit the river. Stausholm took the betting lead and fired out a bet of 80,000. This was met by a raise to 280,000 by Kelsall. Stausholm snap-folded and Kelsall flipped over just the 4?.
Mario Colavita raised from the button to 50,000 and this cascaded into a major action pot where Jason Mitchell three-bet all in for 260,000 and two-time bracelet winner Barry Shulman four-bet all in for 390,000.
Colavita was put to a decision and he struggled with it, but made the fold and stated that he had ace-ten, which was the same hand as Mitchell.
Jason Mitchell: A?10?
Barry Shulman: A?Q?
The board ran out with 7?5?2?A?6? and Shulman's kicker played for the win with the pair of aces.
There were a total of 3,215 entries over two starting flights, creating a prize pool of $3,205,335. Only 362 players reached the minimum payout of $3,000 while they compete for the grand prize of $525,500 and WSOP gold bracelet.
Day 2 of?Event #98: $1,500 The Closer No-Limit Hold'em?at the?2024 World Series of Poker?at the?Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas gets underway at 11 a.m.?
Over two flights, a prize pool of $3,205,335 was generated from the 3,215 entries, with just 361 advancing to Day 2 today. Players will play 30-minute blind levels throughout until a winner has been crowned.
Leading the pack is Martin Stausholm from Denmark, who amassed an impressive 2,035,000 chips on Day 1b, making him the only player to surpass the two million chip mark. A deep run in this event could push Stausholm's live tournament earnings beyond $3,000,000. Despite this, he has only reached one WSOP final table, finishing seventh in the Crazy Eights event back in 2018.
Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
Place
Player
Country
Chips
Big Blinds
1
Martin Stausholm
Denmark
2,035,000
102
2
Daniel Rezaei
Austria
1,830,000
92
3
Gal Naim
Israel
1,610,000
81
4
Timur Khamidullin
Russia
1,550,000
78
5
Jared Bleznick
United States
1,540,000
77
6
Mario Colavita
Italy
1,525,000
76
7
Aaron Mermelstein
United States
1,500,000
75
8
Robert Nemeskerikiss
United States
1,435,000
72
9
Kazuhiko Yotsushika
Japan
1,335,000
67
10
John Racener
United States
1,295,000
65
Coming in second in chips is Daniel Rezaei of Austria, who bagged the Day 1a chip lead with 1,830,000 chips. Rezaei came close to winning a gold bracelet in 2022 during the online version of this event, finishing as the runner-up. Now, coming in second in chips, he has positioned himself perfectly to go one step further and claim a coveted WSOP bracelet today.
Jared Bleznick won his first bracelet just a few days ago in Event #92: $50,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em. He defeated a star-studded field of absolute crushers to become the champion and will be oozing with confidence. He managed to bag the fifth biggest stack for today with 1,540,000 chips.
Jared Bleznick
Rounding out the top ten is two-time bracelet winner John Racener with 1,295,000 chips. Racener has enjoyed a very successful summer at the 2024 WSOP, securing a bracelet in Event #19: $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship (8-Handed) and making three additional final tables, the most recent being Event #91: $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. (8-Handed), where he finished second. Although he hasn't had a deep run in a No-Limit Hold'em event this summer, it's worth noting that he was the runner-up in the 2010 Main Event, earning over $5,500,000. Racener is definitely a player to watch as this event progresses.
Further down the chip counts, but still definitely in contention to become this event's champion, are players such as Joey Couden (1,270,000), Joey Weissman (1,065,000), Andrew Kelsall (915,000), Daniel Smiljkovic (805,000), David Coleman (750,000), Yuval Bronshtein (720,000), and six-time bracelet winner Brian Hastings (630,000).
Brian Hastings
Cards will be in the air at 11 a.m. local time in the Horseshoe Ballroom, and play will continue until a winner is crowned. The action starts at Level 21, with blinds at 10,000/20,000 and a 20,000 big blind ante. There will be a 15-minute break after every four levels and a dinner break scheduled before the final table.
Stay tuned right here as PokerNews provides live updates throughout the day until a champion is crowned.
