Over 10,000 Entrants Thus Far in the WSOP Colossus

wackyJaxon · May 30, 2015

The third day of the 2015 World Series of Poker (WSOP) was full of excitement as two of the first four Day 1 flights kicked off for the Colossus. While we don’t have the exact count at this time, thousands of poker players gathered at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino to play in this monumental event.

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The Colossus boasts a $5 million guaranteed prize pool with $565 buy-in, the lowest for a WSOP event in 35 years. If our estimates are correct, the guarantee may have already been eclipsed in the first two starting flights alone, with the WSOP website estimating that 5,300 registered for Day 1A, and about the same for Day 1B.

In other words, according to estimates by WSOP officials, over 10,000 people or over $5 million in entries have already been entered, with many more still to come.

The Day 1A chip leader is reported to be Oregon’s Ty Durakas, who bagged 179,100 chips, and so far will go into the second day with the second highest chip stack. In total, 804 players navigated through Day 1A to move onto the next day.

Other notable players to make it past Day 1A include longtime PocketFivers Shannon ShannonShorrShorr bagging 32,400 chips, Bryan theczar19Piccoli bagging 27,400 chips, Grayson the_dean22Nichols bagging 82,800 chips, Joseph dude904McKeehen bagging 75,800 chips, Daniel dazedaceDizenzo bagging 16,200 chips, and Paul PaulDewaldDewald bagging 19,900 chips.

An estimated 720 players survived Day 1B, including the overall chip leader and PocketFiver Ian Imbust0O’Hara bagging a huge stack of 184,000 chips. Other players to move on to Day 2 include Chris moorman1Moorman and Zo pokerproplaya08Karim.

With many players waiting on long lines and some not getting a seat in the first two flights, it is fair to estimate that the remaining two flights will equal, if not exceed, the number of players that entered on Friday. The Colossus resumes at 10am PT for Flight C, with the fourth and final opening flight scheduled to begin at 7pm PT.

In other news, there was an exciting conclusion to WSOP Event #2, $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em. New Jersey’s Mike miw210Wang finished in first place in this event, collecting his first WSOP bracelet and the top prize of $466,120. Longtime PocketFiver Bryn BrynKenneyKenney (pictured above) was the runner-up in this tournament, winning a hefty consolation prize of $287,870.

The final hand of heads-up play was a bit of a cooler for Kenney. It began with began with Wang raising to 150,000 chips on the button with Jh-2h, which Kenney called with 9h-6h. The flop of Kh-Qh-8c gave both players a flush draw. Kenney checked the flop, which led to Wang continuation-betting 150,000. Kenney, known for his aggressive style of play, check-raised the flop to 415,000, which Wang called.

Kenney opened the action on the turn with a bet of 765,000 when the 9d hit, which Wang called.

The river is where things got a bit exciting when the Th appeared, giving each player a made flush. Kenney bet 1,645,000 chips, which after tanking for almost a minute, Wang shoved all-in to put pressure on his opponent. Kenney appeared uncomfortable about this and may have contemplated folding. He eventually threw his sunglasses on the table and called, and the rest is history.

Here is a look at the final table payouts for WSOP Event #2:

1. Michael Wang – $466,120
2. BrynBrynKenney Kenney – $287,870
3. Artur Koren – $208,177
4. Greg gregy20723Merson – $152,126
5. Jason jdpc27Wheeler– $112,339
6. Amir Lehavot – $83,838
7. Joe ender555Ebanks – $63,210
8. Long Nguyen – $48,137
9. Byron Kaverman – $37,030