Cards are in the air here in the Pavilion Room. The tables are far from full as players are still filtering in, but we'll have a list of those in action for you shortly.
In less than an hour, one of the most exciting and action-packed tournaments of the 2013 World Series of Poker will begin—Event #22 $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha. Players will begin with a 1,500 stack with two rebuy lammers worth 1,500 each. Players can cash them in at any time between hands up through the fourth level. At that point, the lammers will be automatically cashed. Who will cash theirs in straight away and who will use them strategically? Only time will tell.
Last year this very event attracted 970 runners that created a prize pool of $1,309,500. After three long days of play, it was the Dutchman Vincent Van Der Fluit that walked away with the gold bracelet (his first) and the $265,211 first-place prize. It was an impressive victory, especially when you consider the players he had to overcome at the final table like Calvin Anderson (8th - $24,186), Alex Dovzhenko (5th - $55,025), Tristan Wade (3rd - $102,690) and Charles Tonne (2nd - $164,132).
Likewise, other past winners of this event include Elie Payan, who won $292,825 by topping a field of 1,071 in 2011; former Main Event finalist Tex Barch, who took down the title and $256,919 top prize by winning 2010’s 885-player strong field; and of course Jason Mercier, who won the first of his two bracelets in this very event back in 2009 when he topped 809 players to win $237,462.
Pot-limit Omaha, otherwise known as PLO, is certainly a game of high variance, but as evidenced by the list of past winners, it’s also one where skill can help propel you to the top. Cards will be in the air at 12:00 PST, so stay tuned from all the PLO action and eliminations from the floor of the Pavilion here at the Rio All-Suite Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada!
