Hellmuth Through to Day 2 of Event #39: $1,500 No Limit Hold'Em Shootout; 100 Players Remain
After thirteen levels, Event #39: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em SHOOTOUT, which saw 908 entrants take their seats at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino, has concluded. Each player needed to win their table in order to advance to the next round and be in with a chance of winning their share of the $1,225,800 prize pool. No doubt all eyes will be on the $236,498 first prize.
There were 100 tables, stretching across two rooms, at the start but by the end of play this had been reduced to just 10. Phil Hellmuth was one of the first to make it through, coming out on top on a table that included Heidi May and Maurice Hawkins. The 14-time bracelet winner will come back for Day 2 to continue his campaign to win his 15th WSOP title. Hellmuth got it in with two pair heads-up and he stayed the favorite all the way to the river.
Other big names that will be back are reigning WSOP Main Event Champion Scott Blumstein, last year's runner-up in this event, Thomas Boivin, Steven Wolansky, Rep Porter, 888poker ambassador and 2014 Main Event Champion Martin Jacobson, Matthew Waxman, Georgios Sotiropoulos, Arkadiy Tsinis, Justin Liberto, and William Kakon.
Some of those who didn't make it through included WSOP Champions Ryan Riess, Qui Nguyen, Joe Cada, Erik Seidel, Joe McKeehen, Brian Yoon, Mark Radoja, Michael Gagliano, Barny Boatman, Humberto Brenes, Annette Obrestad, Niall Farrell, Taylor Paur, 888poker ambassador Chris Moorman, John Racener, Brian Hastings, David Peters, Calvin Anderson, Frank Kassela, Jennifer Tilly and Jeff Madsen.
Day 2 will resume tomorrow, Wednesday, June 20, at noon local time, where those 10 tables will become one, with the winner of each going through to play the final table on Day 3. The players will come back to play the first level of Round 2 which features a small blind of 300, big blind of 600 and a running ante of 100. A 15-minute break is scheduled after every two levels with a 60-minute dinner break after Level 9.
PokerNews will be there from the "Shuffle up and Deal" until the last chips have been bagged for the final day. So make sure to follow all the live updates.