Jason Mercier Finishes Runner-Up in WSOP PLO Championship for $572,889

wackyJaxon · June 29, 2015

Jason treysfull21 Mercier(pictured) just fell short of winning his second World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet this year and his fourth overall after finishing in second place in the $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha Championship for $572,989.

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Mercier appeared to be on his way to a win entering heads-up play against Denmark’s Alexander Peterson with a 6,635,000 to 4,975,000 chip lead. However, things changed quickly after one hand of play when Mercier moved all in with Qc-4c-3s-6h against Peterson’s 4h-2d-5c-6h on a 3c-Ac-2h flop.

Peterson called with the nut straight and Mercier was unable to catch one of eight clubs remaining to complete his flush to win the tournament. Just a few minutes later, Peterson sealed the deal, collecting the top prize of $927,655 along with his first WSOP bracelet.

While Peterson was thrilled with the win, he did complain about the high taxes he would have to pay in Denmark. “Where I live (in Denmark), we have to pay a lot of taxes – something like 55 percent,” Petersen told WSOP staff. “So, after I pay taxes on this money, it means I really came in second.”

Here is a look at the final table payouts in the WSOP Pot Limit Omaha Championship:

1. Alexander Petersen – $927,655
2. Jason Mercier – $572,989
3. Dan KingDan Smith – $369,564
4. Simon Trumper – $267,778
5. Mohsin Virani – $196,877
6. Sven Reichardt – $146,857
7. Davidi legrouzin Kitai – $111,134
8. Shaun shaundeeb Deeb – $85,306

In other news, the$111,111 High Roller for One Drop kicked off on Sunday with 135 entrants, creating a huge $14,249,925 prize pool. There are now 46 remaining players with the first day officially in the books, including last year’s $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop winner, Daniel Colman (pictured), who currently sits on the top of the field with 1,955,000 in chips.

Sorel Imper1um Mizzi is also in great position to collect the close to $4 million top prize. He is currently sitting in second place with 1,935,000 chips.

Other PocketFivers near the top of the field include Andrew luckychewy Lichtenberger(3rd place – 1,770,000 chips), Andrew good2cu Robl(5th place – 1,585,000 chips), Darren darrenelias Elias(9th place – 1,180,000 chips), Ben bttech86 Tollerene(12th place – 1,080,000 chips), David Doc Sands Sands(13th place – 1,030,000), and John $JMONEY$ Racener.

Colman received criticism after winning $15.3 million in the Big One for One Drop last year and refusing to give interviews to the poker media. He subsequently provided his rationale in a thread on TwoPlusTwo: “First off, I don’t owe poker a single thing. I’ve been fortunate enough to benefit financially from this game, but I have played it long enough to see the ugly side of this world. It is not a game where the pros are always happy and living a fulfilling life.”

He also referred to poker a “very dark game,” and said that advertising gambling on television was playing off “people’s impulses” and “targeting their weaknesses in order for them to make irrational decisions.”

It will be curious to see whether he feels the same if he goes on to win the event.

Here is a look at the chip stacks of the top 15 remaining with blinds to start Day 2 set at 15,000/30,000:

1. Daniel Colman – 1,955,000
2. Sorel Imper1um Mizzi – 1,935,000
3. Andrew luckychewy Lichtenberger – 1,770,000
4. Sergey Lebedev – 1,590,000
5. Andrew good2cu Robl – 1,585,000
6. Christoph Vogelsang – 1,435,000
7. Phil Hellmuth – 1,395,000
8. Tobias Reinkemeier – 1,285,000
9. Darren darrenelias Elias – 1,180,000
10. James Calderaro – 1,165,000
11. Nick Petrangelo – 1,120,000
12. Ben bttech86 Tollerene – 1,080,000
13. David Doc Sands Sands – 1,030,000
14. Clifton Robbins – 1,025,000
15. John $JMONEY$ Racener – 1,025,000