This month is dedicated to poker activities for everyone who is currently in Las Vegas and since the World Series of Poker is already in full swing, some of the most renown names in the international industry are already present. One of the latest events to witness its final table was Event #60: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship which granted Phil Galfond his third WSOP gold bracelet and a total of $567,788.
Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino is the place to be at the moment for anyone willing to become one of the new millionaires in possession of one of the coveted WSOP gold bracelets. This is not a hard task to accomplish, as anyone with enough poker skills could enter one of the poker tournaments available at the WSOP and give their luck a run. The 60th event brings players one step closer to the last tournament of WSOP for this summer and it comes as no surprise to anyone that it is an important one.
This is a multiple-day event which managed to attract a player pool of some 237 people ready to put their skills to the test. As a result of their interest, the overall prize pool managed to reach some $2,227,800 which made the tournament even more attractive for the participants. Only the top 36 spots on the official leader board were in for the money, providing them all with generous payouts.
At the end of the first day, the chip leader was Nathan Gamble who had a total of 312,800 in chips and reserved his secure spot on Day 2. Other well-known players registered for participation were Ari Engel who had a total of 153,400, Daniel Negreanu with 92,900, and Phil Hellmuth who had some 25,400 to his name at the end of the day. They were determined to go far in the tournament and progressed ahead to the second day of action.
60th Event Brings Generous Payouts to Its Players
From the 218 people who registered for participation, only 125 made it to the second day. This was also the day which saw the elimination of many of the big names on the felt and Phil Galfond succeeded in standing out in the crowd. He generated some 308,000 and was one of the 24 players who survived until the end of Day 2.
The chip leader at the end of Day 1, Gamble also progressed ahead towards the third day of poker action with a total of 640,000 in chips. However, this time there was another chip leader at the end of the day and that was Michael McKenna who had a total of 1,048,000. Once the event reached its final day there were already a very reduced number of players remaining which is why poker action picked up the pace.
For the most part, the chip leader remained at his position and continued towards the top spots and the last minutes of the day. In the meantime, Phil Galfond was convincingly amassing a larger chip stack which ensured that he has one of the leading positions. The Final Table saw eight players who succeeded in outplaying most of the participants of this tournament. Chris “Genius28” Lee was among them and he is better known for his online poker presence.
He made it all the way to the 5th position on the official leader board and this granted him some $120,263 for his deep run in the 60th event of WSOP. The third position at the end of the event was reserved for Ali Abduljabbar who claimed a total of $240,497, as he could not defeat the eventual winner.
As for the heads-up duel, it was reserved for Michael McKenna who could not defeat Galfond in the last heated battle at the poker table. He had to settle for the consolation prize of $350,922 increasing his overall live poker winnings. For the winner Galfond, this is a third bracelet and 19th cash prize of the WSOP. His first bracelet was won in the 2015th edition of WSOP when he became the champion at Event #29: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship.
