Martin Jacobson Leads WSOP $111,111 High Roller with 26 Left; Esfandiari in the Hunt
Day 2 of Event #47: $111,111 One Drop High Rollers No-Limit Hold'em at the 2013 World Series of Poker came to a close early Friday morning, and it did so just two spots away from the money. Twenty-six players will return for Day 3 with the money bubble looming, and two will walk away short of a minimum payout worth $173,723.
Leading the pack heading into Day 3 is Swede Martin Jacobson (pictured left), who bagged 3,255,000 after quietly creeping up the leaderboard late Thursday night. Close on Jacobson's heels is Connor Drinan with 3,250,000, and two other players will enter Day 3 with over three million chips: Day 1 chip leader Brandon Steven (3,140,00) and Matt Glantz (3,005,000). Drinan surged at the end of the night when he was moved to the feature table, immediately four-betting and then taking a key pot off of Haralabos Voulgaris. Interestingly, Jacobson and Drinan will be seated at the same table when Day 3 commences.
TOP 10 CHIP COUNTS AFTER DAY 2
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Martin Jacobson | 3,255,000 |
| 2 | Connor Drinan | 3,250,000 |
| 3 | Brandon Steven | 3,140,000 |
| 4 | Matt Glantz | 3,005,000 |
| 5 | Antonio Esfandiari | 2,970,000 |
| 6 | Martin Finger | 2,910,000 |
| 7 | Bill Perkins | 2,750,000 |
| 8 | Chris Klodnicki | 2,570,000 |
| 9 | Olivier Busquet | 2,275,000 |
| 10 | Nick Schulman | 1,940,000 |
Last year's Big One for One Drop champion Antonio Esfandiari is still in the hunt and in good shape to make a run at back-to-back One Drop titles. Esfandiari enters Day 3 with 2,970,000 in chips, and he was booming with confidence when Day 2 came to a close, jokingly telling the PokerNews Live Reporting team that an other victory was already in the bag.
Esfandiari ranks slightly ahead of his good friend and millionaire businessman Bill Perkins. Perkins provided much of the entertainment for spectators on Thursday with his loud celebrations and amusing banter with opponents. In one of the biggest pots of the day, Perkins and German pro Tobias Reinkemeier saw a flop of Q?6?2? flop and Perkins checked to Reinkemeier, who fired a bet of 175,000. Perkins check-raised to 475,000, and Reinkemeier called to see the dealer roll over the 8? on the turn. Perkins asked Reinkemeier how much he had left, and the German broke down his uneven stacks to show Perkins that he had a total of 987,000. Perkins bet 700,000, and after a moment of thought, Reinkemeier moved all in. Perkins quickly announced a call.
Perkins: Q?Q?
Reinkemeier: A?A?
Perkins had cracked Reinkemeier's aces on the flop, and he was one card away from winning one of the biggest pots of the tournament.
"Oh my god! Oh my god! Sweat it! Sweat it!" yelled Perkins, awaiting the river card.
The dealer burned one last time and placed the 3? on the river. Perkins sprang from his chair, screaming at the top of his lungs, "Leroy Jenkins! Perky Lives!" He got a big hug from Esfandiari, and then charged over to his rail for some congratulatory high-fives. Meanwhile, Reinkemeier scratched his head as he stared at the board before quietly exited the tournament.
Other notables still in contention for the $4.8 million top prize and the gold bracelet are 2013 WSOP bracelet winner Martin Finger (2,910,000), Phil Laak (1,760,000), Anthony Gregg (1,750,000), Shaun Deeb (1,215,000), Yevgeniy Timoshenko (1,205,000), Jason Koon (1,195,000), Daniel Alaei (1,140), Dan Shak (1,020), and Jeremy Ausmus (995,000), and Mike Sexton (740,000).
While those players prospered, other top pros were unable to survive the day. Eugene Katchalov, Owais Ahmed, Dan Kelly, Jason Mo, Gus Hansen, Jason Senti, Jason Somerville, Joe Kuether, Jason Mercier, Kyle Julius, and Daniel Negreanu all fell short of the $173,723 minimum cash.
Despite fielding several objections from the players, the action was halted two players away from the money on Day 2. At the end of the 10th and final level of the day, the tournament staff called Jack Effel, the Vice President of the World Series of Poker, who ruled that the players would bag-and-tag rather than burst the bubble.
That's where we'll pick up our coverage on Friday at 1 p.m., so be sure to keep your browsers locked to PokerNews.com for continuing coverage of the $111,111 One Drop High Rollers No-Limit Hold'em event inside the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
