Day 2c of Event #3: The Big 50 $500 No Limit Hold��em is over. A total of 404 players from a starting field of 7,183 now pause until 11 p.m. on Wednesday, June 5, when Day 3 will intermingle them with survivors of the other three Big 50 flights. This record-breaking event has attracted over 25,000 entries, all hoping to turn $500 into a bracelet and million dollar first prize.
Day 1a entries: 6,095
Day 1a unique players: 5,159
Day 1a prize pool: $2,986,660
Day 1b entries: 5,972
Day 1b unique players: 3,784
Day 1b prize pool: $2,843,780
Day 1c entries: 7,183
Day 1c unique players: 3,861
Day 1c prize pool: $3,375,570
Thanks to a triple bust-out, hand-for-hand play on the money bubble did not last long. All three of those eliminated on the bubble suffered the same fate: getting it in good and falling victim to bad runouts. The most brutal involved a two-outer while holding the best starting hand in poker; the other two bubbling players, Shmuel Mama and Dmitry Levin, suffered similar fates.
Everyone from 1,078th onwards received at least $750 for their efforts, with the cash prizes rising throughout the day. The last player eliminated on 1c received $1,220.
Leading this flight��s survivors is Saya Ono with 3,810,000 chips. Ono was all-in for her tournament life on the pure bubble today (albeit with the second nut straight), but from that dangerous point, she accumulated chips throughout and now lies behind only Day 2b��s leader Jerald Williamson (4,105,000) overall, with Day 2d left to play. Second in chips lies British player Ben Dobson, who bagged up 3,560,000.
After winning a huge three-way pot early in the day, Nelson Rose steadily chipped up to 2,915,000. A disciplined fold pre-flop with queens late in the day (vs aces and kings) was correct but would have resulted in a suck-out and 6 million chip stack had he called.
Also returning on day 3 will be Asher Conniff (1,650,000), David Inselberg (785,000), Ari Engel (725,000), Eric Baldwin (480,000) and Matt Stout (480,000), while Cat Valdes (2,430,000), Anna Wroblewski (1,200,000) and Daphne Turner (500,000), among others, continue to represent the strong female contingent at this year��s WSOP.
Day 2d will round off the fourth flight, and the tournament from then on will combine. Coverage begins right here on PokerNews at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, June 4.