Monday, June 20, 2016 1:58 AM Local Time
Benny Glaser is now the newest member of poker’s double-gold bracelet club.
The poker pro from Southampton, UK won the $1,500 buy-in Omaha High-Low Split tournament, which was played over three days and nights and just concluded at the Rio in Las Vegas.
Glaser collected $244,103 in prize money, making this one of the biggest wins of his career. His previous WSOP victory took place last year in the $1,500 buy-in Deuce-to-Seven Draw Lowball event. He’s now cashed five times at the series, which includes three final table appearances, and two wins.
“I think the Deuce-to-Seven field and final table was tougher than this was to be honest,” Glaser said afterward, in spite of the competition he faced in this tournament. “This is the game I put the most hands in, online. So, perhaps I just am more used to this game since I play it all the time.”
Glaser won his latest victory by dominating much of the final table which included four gold bracelet winners – including Glaser, Max Pescatori, Brandon Shack-Harris, and Phillip Hui. When the final nine were set, Been Glaser and Benjamin Gold appeared to be in command of the felt, as they were the two players with the biggest chip stacks. Fittingly, they ended up finishing first and second.
This tourney attracted 934 entrants which created a prize pool totaling $1,260,900. The top 157 finishers collected prize money. Attendance for yet another WSOP event was up over last year, as the same event drew 918 entries.
Aside from the winner, here’s a brief report of the other top finishers who made the final table:
Second Place: Benjamin Gold, an attorney from Long Beach, CA finished as the runner up. He collected a nice settlement totaling $150,828. Gold now has eight series cashes. This was his best WSOP performance, to date.
Third Place: Motohiro Kondo, from Tokyo, Japan hoped to become only the second Japanese WSOP champion in history, but fell just two places short. He collected $106,070 in his first time to cash in a series event.
Fourth Place: Phillip Hui, from San Antonio, TX came in fourth. He won his gold bracelet in 2014 in a $3K buy-in Eight-or-Better tourney. Hui, who also holds four WSOP gold rings and traveled for years on the tournament trail, now has six series cashes. He picked up $75,627 for this deep run. Interestingly, Hui beat sixth-place finish Zach Milchman heads up when he won his bracelet.
Fifth Place: Brandon Shack-Harris, from Chicago, IL busted out in the middle of the pack, coming in fifth place. He previously won his gold bracelet in 2014 in the $1K Pot-Limit Omaha event. This time, he received $54,680 in his first cash of this year’s series. Shack-Harris also came in second in the $50K buy-in Poker Players Championship in 2014, won by John “World” Hennigan.
Sixth Place: Zachary Milchman, from Delray Beach, FL, has a WSOP gold ring and a second-place finish at the series. This time, he took sixth place in what was his fifth time to cash at the WSOP. His payout came to $40,098.
Seventh Place: Ilya Krupin, from Novosibirsk, Russia cashed for the first time this year, which paid $29,830. Krupin came in second-place in the $1,500 buy-in Dealers Choice tourney last year.
Eighth Place: Max Pescatori, a four-time gold bracelet winner and Italy’s most prominent poker pro, suffered a disastrous final table after coming in with some chips and busted out early. The Milan-born and Las Vegas-based poker pro collected $22,517 in his 56th time to cash at the WSOP. Pescatori’s gold bracelet victories have come two at a time – with duel wins in 2006 and 2015.
Ninth Place: Scott Packer, from Santa Ana, CA cashed for only the second time at the series and for the first time since 2010 with this final table appearance. Packer pocketed $17,250 for a fine effort in this tournament.
This was the 26th official event on this year’s schedule. This leaves 43 gold bracelet events still to go in 2016.
Sunday, June 19, 2016 2:34 AM Local Time
Benny Glaser wins a bracelet and $244,103.00
Immediately before the last hand of the night, Benny Glaser has a big chip lead and he rubs his hands together and says, "Just one hand, just one hand."
Glaser calls from the button. Benjamin Gold raises it to 240,000 with about 100,000 behind. Glaser calls and Gold goes all-in blind.
The flop comes .
Gold announces that he has a ten and Glaser responds that he has a flush draw.
The cards are turned over. Gold has and Glaser has . Glaser and his gallery are calling for a diamond.
The turn is the and no help for Glaser.
The river is the and Glaser's friends respond with disappointment to a lack of diamond on the river, but Glaser says "Wait, a queen's good."
And it is. Benny Glaser is the champion of Event #26, adding a second bracelet to his win last year in the 2-7 Triple Draw event.
Benjamin Gold finishes in second place and earns $150,828.
Benjamin Gold in 2nd Place ($150,828)
Sunday, June 19, 2016 2:15 AM Local Time
| Level: | 31 | | Limits: | 120,000/240,000 | |
Sunday, June 19, 2016 2:12 AM Local Time
Benny Glaser raises his button to 200,000. Benjamin Gold calls.
The flop comes . Gold checks. Glaser bets 100,000. Gold check-raises to 200,000. Glaser calls.
The turn is the . Both players check.
The river is the . Ben Gold bets out 200,000. Benny Glaser raises to 400,000 and Gold folds.
Benny Glaser - 6,500,000 (32 BB)
Benjamin Gold - 335,000 (1 BB)
Sunday, June 19, 2016 2:10 AM Local Time
Benny Glaser raises from the button and Benjamin Gold calls.
On the flop of , Gold checks, Glaser bets, Gold raises, and Glaser calls. The turn is . Gold bets, and Glaser calls. The river is . Gold bets again, and Glaser calls.
Gold shows for a full house to scoop the pot, but he's still far behind Glaser.
Benjamin Gold - 1,600,000 (8 BB)
Benny Glaser - 5,405,000 (27 BB)
Sunday, June 19, 2016 1:59 AM Local Time
Benny Glaser - 5,400,000 (27 BB)
Benjamin Gold - 1,335,000 (6 BB)
Benny Glaser and Benjamin Gold are now heads-up on the Omaha Split-8 final table. Glaser has more than a four to one advantage.
Anything can happen, however, as 2016 champion Robert Mizrachi faced a similar chip disparity heads-up in this event last year and managed to come back and win the bracelet.
Sunday, June 19, 2016 1:49 AM Local Time
Motohiro Kondo Eliminated in 3rd Place ($106,070)
Benjamin Gold folds the button. Benny Glaser raises to 200,000 from the small blind. Motohiro Kondo reraises to 300,000 and Glaser makes the last raise. Kondo calls for less than 400,000.
Benny Glaser shows . Kondo holds .
The flop is . Kondo has some outs against Glaser's pocket kings, though the turn and the river is a don't bring them.
Benny Glaser - 5,700,000 (28 BB)
Motohiro Kondo - Eliminated
Sunday, June 19, 2016 1:45 AM Local Time
The players have asked for a ten-minute break.
Sunday, June 19, 2016 1:27 AM Local Time
In the small blind, Motohiro Kondo is all in for his last 290,000. Benjamin Gold reraises from the big blind. Glaser folds.
Gold:
Kondo: .
The flop comes out .
The turn is then a good card for Kondo with the .
The river brings the and Kondo doubles up to 580,000.
Motohiro Kondo - 580,000 (3 BB)
Benjamin Gold - 1,100,000 (5 BB)
Sunday, June 19, 2016 1:23 AM Local Time
Phillip Hui out in fourth place at the O-8
Phillip Hui and Benny Glaser are heads-up to a flop of . Most of Hui's chips went in before the flop, but he has two 25,000 chips left before the cards come out and jokingly warns Glaser "There are some flops I can fold."
Hui doesn't though, and the rest of the chips go in on the flop.
Glaser shows against Hui's .
The turn and river are the and the , sending Hui to the rail and increasing Glaser's chip lead.
Benny Glaser - 5,200,000 (26 BB)
Phillip Hui - Eliminated
Sunday, June 19, 2016 1:16 AM Local Time
Brandon Shack-Harris Eliminated
Brandon Shack-Harris started the day as the chip leader, and made it to the final table despite some setbacks, but his quest for this particular bracelet has come to an end.
He raises preflop, chipleader Benny Glaser reraises, and a series of bets has Shack-Harris all in before the betting cap.
He shows to Glaser's .
The board runs out , and Glaser wins with a pair of tens and an ace kicker.
Benny Glaser - 4,150,000 (20 BB)
Brandon Shack-Harris - Eliminated in 5th Place ($54,680)
Sunday, June 19, 2016 1:02 AM Local Time
Zachary Milchman Eliminated
Brandon Shack-Harris calls on the button for 80,000. Benny Glaser raises from the small blind to 160,000 and Milchman is all in for less from the big blind.
The flop comes . Glaser bets out for 80,000 and Shack-Harris folds.
Glaser turns over . Milchman has .
The turn is the and the river is the .
That makes a boat for the chip leader Glaser, and an elimination for Milchman.
Benny Glaser - 3,700,000 (46 bb)
Zachary Milchman - Eliminated in 6th Place ($40,098)
Sunday, June 19, 2016 12:59 AM Local Time
| Level: | 30 | | Limits: | 100,000/200,000 | |
Sunday, June 19, 2016 12:48 AM Local Time
From the hijack, Benjamin Gold makes it 160,000. Shack-Harris calls in the cutoff and the blinds fold.
The flop comes . Gold checks. Shack-Harris bets 80,000. Gold check-raises to 160,000. Shack-Harris calls.
The turn brings the . Gold bets 160,000 and Shack-Harris calls.
The river is the . Both players check. Gold calls out "Aces up" and shows . Shack-Harris utters a subtle "wow" and mucks his hand after double checking it. Afterwards, Shack-Harris verbally implies that he had two pair on the turn.
Benjamin Gold - 2,300,000 (14 BB)
Brandon Shack-Harris - 140,000 (1 BB)
Sunday, June 19, 2016 12:43 AM Local Time
Benny Glaser with Over 3 Million Chips
From under the gun, Zachary Milchman kicks it up to 160,000. Benny Glaser, the big blind, is his only caller.
The flop hits with . Glaser checks. Milchman bets. Glaser calls.
The turn is the . Glaser bets out 160,000. Milchman calls.
The river is the . Glaser bets out 160,000 and Milchman calls.
Glaser shows for the flush.
Benny Glaser - 3,200,000 (20 BB)
Zachary Milchman - 100,000 (< 1 BB)
Sunday, June 19, 2016 12:39 AM Local Time
Zachary Milchman raises, and Brandon Shack-Harris re-raises. Michman makes the fourth bet, and Shack-Harris goes all in.
Shack-Harris:
Milchman:
The board runs . Shack-Harris has a set of aces, Milchman's low is counterfeit, and Shack-Harris scoops the pot.
Brandon Shack-Harris - 720,000 (4 BB)
Zachary Milchman - 530,000 (3 BB)
Sunday, June 19, 2016 12:20 AM Local Time
Ilya Krupin Eliminated
Benjamin Gold raises under the gun and Ilya Krupin reraises behind him. Gold calls.
The flop is . Gold checks, Krupin bets, not leaving much behind. Gold raises, and Krupin is all in.
Krupin:
Gold:
The turn is a and the river is the . Gold has trip tens, there is no low, and Krupin is out.
Benjamin Gold - 1,100,000 (6 BB)
Ilya Krupin - Eliminated in 7th Place ($29,830)
Saturday, June 18, 2016 11:59 PM Local Time
| Level: | 29 | | Limits: | 80,000/160,000 | |
Saturday, June 18, 2016 11:47 PM Local Time
Last 15-minute break of the evening. Two more levels and, barring a winner, the field will return Sunday for an unscheduled fourth day of play.
Saturday, June 18, 2016 11:46 PM Local Time
Ilya Krupin raises to 120,000 in late position. In the big blind, Zachary Milchman calls. It's just the two of them to the flop.
The flop comes . Milchman checks. Krupin bets 60,000. Milchman calls.
The turn is the . Milchman checks, Krupin bets 120,000. Milchman check-raises all in for a total of 375,000 and he's at risk when Krupin calls.
Milchman tables the for the flush, and Krupin lets out a sigh as he shows . The river is a blank and Milchman is good.
Zachary Milchman - 775,000 (31 bb)
Ilya Krupin - 575,000 (23 bb)