The 2019 World Series of Poker continued on Tuesday with plenty of action from the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, including the crowning of two gold bracelets winners, Alex Epstein and Daniel Park, and the Big 50 advancing to Day 3.

Epstein Stands Tallest in $10,000 Short Deck, Wins $296,277

The first-ever short deck no-limit hold’em tournament at the WSOP wrapped up on Tuesday, with just one player from the field of 114 entries left standing in Event #8: $10,000 Short Deck No-Limit Hold’em. That player was Alex Epstein, who earned his first gold bracelet and $296,227 in prize money.

“I really wanted to enjoy the experience,” Epstein said of the final table. “I thought that the other good players [at the final table] had the shorter stacks, so I had a very good chance, if things broke my way.”

Throughout the tournament, it was apparent Epstein knew what he was doing, whereas others in the field were admittedly unexperienced with short deck hold’em. Epstein showcased his prowess through his play, but listening to him one could also get the sense he felt very comfortable with short deck hold’em. Whether or not the table talk was real or fake was left for Epstein’s opponents to figure out, but it was certainly a part of his strategy and he admitted as much.

“When they see me and the way that I table talk and set myself up, they think they have a post-flop edge in a game that they definitely don’t, given the way the current high-level players are evaluating the game and thinking about post-flop equities and equity denial,” Epstein said. “I try very hard to table talk and fake-talk strategy. I think my image is a good one. Not any more, unfortunately.”

At the final table, Epstein busted Chance Kornuth in fourth place and then scored a double elimination to win the tournament. On the final hand, Anson Tsang moved all in, then Thai Ha went all in, and then Epstein made the call. Tsang had the , Ha had the , and Epstein had the . The board ran out and Epstein scooped everything.

Final Table Payouts

1st: Alex Epstein – $296,227
2nd: Thai Ha – $183,081
3rd: Anson Tsang – $130,482
4th: Chance Kornuth – $93,593
5th: Rene van Krevelen – $67,566
6th: Yong Wang – $49,095
7th: Andrew Robl – $35,907

Park Speeds To $1,000 Super Turbo Bounty Victory

Tuesday was also the day that saw Event #12: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em Super Turbo Bounty start and finish. It was a long day on the felt, with play lasting until 4 a.m. PT, but winner Daniel Park didn’t mind one bit, as he walked away in triumph with his first gold bracelet and $226,243.

“I can’t believe it right now,” Park said. “It’s so unreal.”

Armed with winning WSOP experience and a padded bankroll, Park is extremely excited to now have a chance to compete in the WSOP Main Event.

“I wasn’t thinking about playing the Main Event, but this is going to force me to play it,” Park said. “I’ve always wanted to play the Main Event. I always used to watch it on TV, I thought it was like a TV, I never thought I would actually be able to play it.”

Park’s final opponent from the field of 2,452 entries was Erik Cajelais. On the hand, Park had to fade Cajelais’ flopped flush draw with middle pair, but he did so and secured the gold.

Final Table Payouts

1st: Daniel Park – $296,227
2nd: Erik Cajelais – $183,081
3rd: Jennifer Dennis – $130,482
4th: Emil Tiller – $93,593
5th: Marcelo Giordana Mendes – $67,566
6th: John Yelaney – $49,095
7th: Travis Sargent – $35,907
8th: Lian Liu: $24,271
9th: Ferit Bulutoglu – $18,731

Outside of the final table, notable finishes were had by James Obst (15th for $11,483), Dan O’Brien (50th for $4,014), and Dan Zack (62nd for $3,354), who had just won a gold bracelet the day before.

Big 50 Moves To Day 3 with 1,597 Players Left

The record-break WSOP Big 50, the tournament that shattered attendance records with a field of 28,371, is down to the final 1,597 players and moving to Day 3. On Wednesday, all of the advancing players from the four starting flights will combine for the first time as they continue the quest towards a champion.

On Tuesday, it was Day 2d playing out, with Zachary Ackley bagging the most chips with 2.925 million. Day 2d started with 2,110 players left and there were 551 at the end of play.

Top 10 Chip Counts for Day 2d

1. Zachary Ackley – 2,925,000
2. Dennis Brinn – 2,745,000
3. Richard Trigg – 2,690,000
4. Gabriel Edling – 2,680,000
5. Wilburn Hutcheson – 2,620,000
6. Albert Bragg – 2,500,000
7. David Frenkel – 2,450,000
8. Adam Walton – 2,450,000
9. Glenn Matthews – 2,400,000
10. Anthony Reategui – 2,355,000

Others to bag big stacks from Day 2d were Jeff Banghart (2.235 million), Alex Lynskey (2 million), and Eric ‘Barstool Nate’ Nathan (1.945 million).

Overall, Jerald Williamson is the chip leader with 4.105 million after coming out of Day 2b. Saya Ono, who is known for her cash game play in Southern California and had the lead out of Day 2c, is second overall with 3.81 million. Then, it’s Benjamin Dobson rounding out the top three with 3.56 million. Ackley’s Day 2d-leading stack has him ninth overall entering Day 3.

On Day 2a, it was Mikhail Volkov leading at the end with 3.475 million. That puts him fourth overall entering Day 3.

Overall Top 10 Chip Counts

1. Jerald Williamson – 4,105,000
2. Saya Ono – 3,810,000
3. Benjamin Dobson – 3,560,000
4. Mikhail Vilkov – 3,475,000
5. Joshua Thibodaux – 3,215,000
6. Daniel Hughes – 3,200,000
7. Azad Arazm – 3,030,000
8. Amer Torbey – 3,025,000
9. Zachary Ackley – 2,925,000
10. Nelson Rose – 2,915,000

Day 3 takes place Wednesday starting at 11 a.m. PT. The field is scheduled to play 12 50-minute levels.

Jain Leads $600 Deepstack Final Table

Another low buy-in, big field event was in action on Tuesday, with Event #9: $600 No-Limit Hold’em Deepstack reaching its final table at about the same time Park was winning his bracelet. The big field of 6,150 entries was left with just nine, and it was Paul Jain leading the pack with 41.7 million in chips.

The final nine players will return for an added day of play on Wednesday, after this event was originally scheduled as a two-day tournament, and cards will be in the air at 3 p.m. PT. They’re each guaranteed $35,183, with a first-place prize of $398,281 up top.

Final Table Chip Counts

1. Paul Jain – 41,700,000
2. Jeremy Pekarek – 21,800,000
3. David Elet – 21,300,000
4. Noomis Jones – 21,100,000
5. Juan Magana – 19,500,000
6. Tan Nguyen – 18,400,000
7. Benjamin Underwood – 17,600,000
T8. Dan Kuntzman – 11,600,000
T8. John Skrovan – 11,600,000

Jain has prior experience winning at the WSOP, although not in a gold bracelet event. Last summer, he won a $250 Daily Deepstacks tournament for $33,782 after topping a field of 964 entries.

Noomis Jones, who is third in chips entering the final table, made a WSOP final table back in 2013 when he took fourth in the $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo tournament for $71,924.

Gold bracelet winner James Mackey finished in 10th place and took home $27,463.

Glaser Eyeing Fourth Bracelet in Dealer’s Choice

The field of 470 entries in Event #10: $1,500 Dealer’s Choice has been whittled down to 21, and it’s three-time gold bracelet winner Benny Glaser out in front with 489,500.

Top 10 Chip Counts

1. Benny Glaser – 489,500
2. Rob Campbell – 454,500
3. Michael Chow – 443,000
4. Frankie O’Dell – 342,000
5. Wes Self – 324,000
6. ‘Miami’ John Cernuto – 300,000
7. Tim McDermott – 289,500
8. Scott Clements – 270,500
9. Jim Collopy – 203,500
10. Naoya Kihara – 202,000

The group will return on Wednesday at 2 p.m. PT to play to a winner. Up top is the gold bracelet and $144,957 in prize money, and each of the final 21 players have locked up $4,754.

Strelitz, Ho, Shorr Make Day 3 of $5,000 NL

A turnout of 400 entries produced a $1.86 million prize pool in Event #11: $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em. Following Tuesday’s Day 2, just 27 remain. Leading the way was Finland’s Pauli Ayras with 1 million in chips.

It’s the first WSOP cash for Ayras, although he does have more than $530,000 in career live tournament earnings. His best score came in 2018 when he took second in the EPT Barcelona €25,000 High Roller for €256,000 ($298,027). Ayras won the 2019 Patrik Antonius Poker Challenge Tallinn €25,000 High Roller in April for €163,300 ($183,460).

Top 10 Chip Counts

1. Pauli Ayras – 1,000,000
2. Ognjen Sekularac – 909,000
3. Daniel Strelitz – 694,000
4. Pete Chen – 691,000
5. Maria Mcalpin – 648,000
6. Maria Ho – 632,000
T7. Krasimir Yankov – 597,000
T7. Giuseppe Pantaleo – 597,000
9. Daniel Buzgon – 594,000
10. Shannon Shorr – 553,000

Outside of the top 10 are notables Ali Imsirovic (334,000), Anthony Zinno (249,000), Jeremy Ausmus (208,000), Randall Emmett (164,000), and Niall Farrell (162,000).

The final 27 are guaranteed $11,969 each, with a first-place prize of $442,385 up for the taking. They’ll return to action on Wednesday at 2 p.m. PT.

$1,500 NL 2-7 Is a Record Breaker

The Big 50 isn’t the only record-breaking tournament to take place at the 2019 WSOP. Event #13: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball drew 296 entries and became the largest of its kind in WSOP history. The prize pool came in at $399,600, with the winner set to walk away with $96,278 and the gold bracelet.

At the end of Day 1, 63 players remained and it was Steven Tabb on top of the counts with 185,400. Frank Kassela was in second place with 136,000, then Shaun Deeb was third with 119,500.

Top 10 Chip Counts

1. Steven Tabb – 185,400
2. Frank Kassela – 136,000
3. Shaun Deeb – 119,500
4. Michael Gathy – 116,000
5. Jon Turner – 113,600
6. James Chen – 109,100
7. Jerry Wong – 103,100
8. Yosuke Iwata – 96,000
9. Harold Kizzire – 87,700
10. Galen Hall – 85,800

Elsewhere on the leaderboard, Daniel Negreanu (59,000), Jen Harman (41,800), David ‘ODB’ Baker (38,200), and Ryan Riess (33,900) can be found. Action is scheduled to resume at 2 p.m. PT on Wednesday.