WSOP Day 15: Daniel Alaei Books Fifth Bracelet; Ben Zamani Seeks Redemption
Day 15 of the 2015 World Series of Poker saw Daniel Alaei win his fifth WSOP bracelet and two more events get close to crowning champions. The latest $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em event played down to 22 and two more events kicked off, including a $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. tournament and the $5,000 Eight-Handed No-Limit Hold'em.
Daniel Alaei Wins His Fifth Bracelet in the $10,000 Omaha Hi-Low
Cash-game grinder and WSOP killer Daniel Alaei won his fifth WSOP bracelet Wednesday, taking down the 2015 WSOP's Event #21: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Low Championship. Alaei bested a sparse field of 157 to take down the title, bracelet, and $391,097.
Wednesday's play began with 18 left and everyone in the money. As big names like Eli Elezra and Erik Seidel hit the rail, the final table of nine was set with two-time WSOP bracelet winner Scott Clements in the lead and Alaei closely in tow.
2012 November Niner Jeremy Ausmus was the first player out, with WPT Season XIII Player of the Year Anthony Zinno busting in sixth. Clements made it all the way to fourth before going out, and after Jeffrey Vaughn knotted his second Omaha hi-low cash this year, he busted third.
Alaei took on Kyle Miaso in heads-up play.
Miaso started heads-up with the lead and had 80 percent of the chips at one point, but Alaei mounted a comeback to move in front, and despite a strong fight from Miaso, won his second Omaha hi-low championship and fifth WSOP bracelet.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daniel Alaei | Los Angeles, CA | $391,097 |
| 2 | Kyle Miaso | Scottsdale, AZ | $241,691 |
| 3 | Jeffrey Vaughn | Encino, CA | $175,088 |
| 4 | Scott Clements | Mount Vernon, WA | $129,235 |
| 5 | Ken Aldridge | Pleasant Garden, NC | $97,122 |
| 6 | Anthony Zinno | Boston, MA | $74,262 |
| 7 | Mike Wattel | Chandler, AZ | $57,748 |
| 8 | Tobias Hausen | Ockfen, Germany | $45,661 |
| 9 | Jeremy Ausmus | Las Vegas, NV | $36,688 |
Zamani Seeks Redemption in the $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em
An extra day has been added in Event #20: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em. Play began with 35 players remaining Wednesday and Garrett Beckman in the lead. Two-time WSOP bracelet winner Andy Frankenberger busted 14th and before long a final table of 10 was set with Event #14: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout runner-up Benjamin Zamani on top of the counts.
Beckman held on before busting sixth and the five remaining players bagged up just after 2 a.m. local time with plans to return Thursday at 1 p.m. to play down to a winner. 2010 EPT Berlin champ Kevin MacPhee is also in the hunt for his first WSOP bracelet.
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Benjamin Zamani | 4,535,000 |
| 2 | Natasha Barbour | 3,770,000 |
| 3 | Paul Ephremsen | 2,695,000 |
| 4 | Kevin MacPhee | 1,720,000 |
| 5 | Wenlong Jin | 1,115,000 |
Down To Three In Lowball
Event #23: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Single Draw played down to just three players remaining on its second day. Just 40 players returned to play Day 2 from a field of 219 with Christian Pham holding the lead. An unofficial final table was reached after three-time WSOP bracelet winner Robert Mizrachi busted ninth.
Notables including 1996 World Series of Poker Main Event champion Huck Seed and WSOP bracelet winner Mike Leah fell short of the final three as Pham held on to the overnight lead for the second straight day. Play will resume at 2 p.m. Thursday to play down to a winner.
| Place | Player | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Christian Pham | 695,000 |
| 2 | Daniel Ospina | 680,000 |
| 3 | Matthew Smith | 271,000 |
Twenty-Two Left in Event #22
Just 22 players remain in the hunt for Event #22: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em title after two days of play. Things got off to a slow start Wednesday with 208 players remaining and the 198-player money bubble looming. The bubble took some 90 minutes to pop, but once it did, it was a mad rush to the cage.
By the time the event's 21st level was through Canadian Jay Dragland grabbed the overnight lead on close to one million in chips, but the final 22 is littered with notables. These include 2009 WSOP $1,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold'em World Championship winner Lisa Hamilton, WSOP bracelet winner Paul Darden, multiple PokerStars Latin-American Poker Tour title holder Nacho Barbero and nine-time WSOP final table participant Stephen Chidwick.
Play will resume at 1 p.m. local time with plans to play down to a winner or through 10 more levels.
Dan Smith Leads $5,000 NL
Event #25: $5,000 Eight-Handed No-Limit Hold'em drew a field of 484 players, creating a $2,317,000 prize pool that will pay 56 spots. A min-cash is worth $8,642 while the winner will take home a WSOP bracelet and $567,724.
Dan Smith, who counts a sixth-place finish in this event in 2014 among his 19 total WSOP cashes, grabbed the overnight lead on Day 1 of this four-day event. However, the leaderboard is filled with heros including 2015 WSOP bracelet winners Shaun Deeb, Barry Hutter, and Cord Garcia.
Play will resume Thursday at 2 p.m. local time to push through 10 more levels.
$1,500 H.O.R.S.E. Kicks Off
Event #24: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. drew 772 players to the Rio on Wednesday, creating a $1,042,200 prize pool that will pay 80 spots. A min-cash is worth $2,678 while the winner will earn $239,750 and a WSOP bracelet.
Christopher Boedeker took the overnight lead heading into Thursday's Day 2 with big names like David Williams, Maria Ho, Mike Matusow, Cyndy Violette, David Bach, Ylon Schwartz, and Calvin Anderson all bagging sizable stacks.
Play will resume at 1 p.m. Wednesday with 299 players remaining and plans to play 10 more levels.
Thursday will also see the start of two new events, Event #26: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha at 12 p.m. and Event #27: $10,000 Seven-Card Stud Championship starting at 4 p.m.
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