On the turn, the board was reading 7♦6♣3♦10♦ and John Holley checked. Dylan Wilkerson bet pot and Holly raised to get the rest of Wilkerson's stack in.
Dylan Wilkerson: J♥4♦3♣2♥
John Holley: A♠9♣8♣3♠
Holley had the nut straight on the turn while Wilkerson had an 7-6-4-3-2 low. Holley drilled the 4♠ on the river to improve to a 7-6-4-3-A low to pip Wilkerson and send him out in 17th place.
In the hand just prior, Martin Zamani had tangled with Hassan Kamel and check-called a bet of 150,000 on the A♣8♣6♠2♥ turn. Zamani checked the 2♠ river and Kamel bet the pot for 275,000 to force a fold from Zamani.
Zamani then raised it up to 85,000 from the button in the last hand of the level before he faced a three-bet to 265,000 by Anton Smirnov in the big blind, which he called. Smirnov potted the 7♣5♥3♦ flop and Zamani called all-in for around 550,000 total.
Martin Zamani: K♣K♦6♣3♥
Anton Smirnov: A♠A♦9♣6♥
The Q♠ turn and J♠ river brought no help to Zamani, as he made no low and his pair of kings was no good either. He departed in 18th place for $24,509.
Paul Volpe raised to 60,000 from under the gun and Naoya Kihara called from one seat over. Joao Simao raised to 275,000 in the cutoff and Volpe tank-folded which prompted "ah, we are still friends."
Kihara called, however, and they headed to the 8♦7♥3♦ flop, on which the shove by Kihara for 105,000 was called by Simao.
Noaya Kihara: A♥5♠4♦2♦
Joao Simao: A♠A♦J♠6♣
The J♦ turn ensured the scoop of Kihara, (with the nut low and nut low diamond flush) to make the 9♠ river a formality.
"How do you find the low cards here and here ... diamonds?!" Simao asked more to himself than Kihara.
Paul Volpe raised to 60,000 on the button and Joao Simao potted to 190,000 in the big blind, leaving himself with 220,000 behind. Volpe called to see A♥9♥7♠ roll off the deck.
Simao wasted no time getting the rest of his stack in and Volpe went in the tank. The two players had an animated chat while Volpe was considering it.
"Will you show if I fold?" Volpe inquired.
"Is this for information?" Simao roared.
The pair kept quipping back and forth before Volpe ultimately laid it down. Simao was a good sport and flashed A♠A♣7♣Xx, prompting a cheer from Volpe.
Chris Vitch raised to 70,000 and Martin Zamani three-bet to 255,000. Vitch four-bet shoved all in and Zamani quickly called it off.
Chris Vitch: A♠A♣K♥6♣
Martin Zamani: A♥K♣4♥3♥
The 8♣5♥4♠ flop was much to Zamani's delight, who quipped "favorite, big favorite." The turn brought the 10♣ and the river was the 2♦, completing Zamani's wheel for the scoop.
After two days of play, a field of 277 hopefuls have been whittled down to it's final 19 for a shot at WSOP glory. Event #75: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship, one of the last championship events of the 2023 World Series of Poker, will have cards back in the air at 1 p.m. PDT as the field plays down to it's final five.
Unsurprisingly, plenty of notables are still in the hunt for the first-place prize of $598,613 and the coveted wristband. While each of the 19 remaining players has $24,509 already locked up, their eyes will be firmly fixed on the big one that awaits them on Friday, July 5th.
Start of Day 3 Top Ten Chip Counts
Place
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Stephen Deutsch
United States
2,110,000
84
2
John Holley
United States
2,040,000
82
3
Hassan Kamel
Australia
1,745,000
70
4
Ryan Hoenig
United States
1,550,000
62
5
Maxx Coleman
United States
1,090,000
44
6
Martin Zamani
United States
1,035,000
41
7
Dzmitry Urbanovich
Poland
890,000
36
8
Christopher Vitch
United States
865,000
35
9
Naoya Kihara
Japan
765,000
31
10
Ben Yu
United States
725,000
29
There's plenty of play left on Day 3 before the final five are set. Stephen Deutsch is the one in the driver's seat, sporting 84 big blinds with his stack of 2,110,000. John Holley (2,040,000) and Hassan Kamel (1,745,000) round out the top three.
No fewer than nine bracelet winners will take a seat on Day 3 as well, including such luminaries as Maxx Coleman (1,090,000), Chris Vitch (865,000), Ben Yu (740,000), Paul Volpe (530,000), and short stack Patrick Leonard (170,000).
As mentioned, cards will be back in the air at 1 p.m. in the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. Levels will be 60 minutes throughout and resume in Level 21 with blinds at 10,000-25,000 and a 25,000 big blind ante. Breaks will be every two levels, with a 60-minute dinner break after Level 26 (~7:30 p.m. local time). Play will hard stop when only five remain.
Ben Yu
Make sure to follow along with PokerNews live updates throughout the day as we get closer to crowning a new PLO-8 champion.
