Ray Henson Leads Final Eleven in Event #7: $1,500 Dealers Choice 6-Handed; Four Bracelet Winners in the Mix
The second mixed game contest of the 2021 World Series of Poker is one step closer to crowning a winner. Out of a field of 307 entries in Event #7: $1,500 Dealers Choice 6-Handed, only 11 contenders remain in the mix for poker's most sought-after prize at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
Ray Henson was second in chips after Day 1 and retained his prime position after bagging up 1,365,000, edging past Ian O'Hara (1,310,000) and Christopher Lindner (1,260,000). Among the finalists, a quartet already knows what it feels like to pose for the winner shots and that includes Andrew Kelsall, Nathan Gamble, Naoya Kihara, and Adam Friedman.
Seat Draw for Day 3 in Event #7: $1,500 Dealers Choice 6-Handed
| Table | Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feature 1 | 1 | Craig Chait | United States | 235,000 |
| Feature 1 | 2 | Christopher Lindner | United States | 1,260,000 |
| Feature 1 | 3 | Naoya Kihara | Japan | 400,000 |
| Feature 1 | 4 | Ray Henson | United States | 1,365,000 |
| Feature 1 | 5 | Jeremy Heartberg | United States | 405,000 |
| Seven Card Stud | 2 Hands | |||
| Feature 2 | 1 | Adam Kipnis | United States | 175,000 |
| Feature 2 | 2 | Ian O'Hara | United States | 1,310,000 |
| Feature 2 | 3 | Andrew Kelsall | United States | 835,000 |
| Feature 2 | 4 | Nathan Gamble | United States | 480,000 |
| Feature 2 | 5 | Jaswinder Lally | Canada | 880,000 |
| Feature 2 | 6 | Adam Friedman | United States | 330,000 |
| Button Seat 1 | No-Limit Hold'em | 5 Hands |
The top 47 finishers earned a portion of the $409,845 prize pool and Day 2 saw 90 players return to their seats in the Amazon Orange section. Big names such as Daniel Negreanu, Ted Forrest, Adam Owen, Benny Glaser, Brian Rast, and Dylan Linde were all eliminated prior to the money bubble. The last player to leave without anything to show for their efforts was David Matsumoto, who came up short in a Badeucey hand against Carlos Andino.
Notables in the money prior to the final three tables included Event #2: $25,000 H.O.R.S.E. finalist Chad Eveslage, Ryan Hughes, Nicholas Seiken, Mike Wattel, Norman Chad, Eli Elezra, and Kosei Ichinose. Chad was eliminated by Friedman, who had previously prayed to the poker gods to bust the WSOP commentator and even offered to finish in 16th place if it were to come true.
The bid of Phil Hellmuth to have a shot at the record-extending 16th bracelet ended in 18th place and it was his second deep run in as many events. Kevin Gerhart and Allen Le were among the late casualties and Gina Hecht was eliminated in the final hand of the night.
Day 3 is scheduled to resume at 3 p.m. local time on Tuesday, October 5, on the two outer feature tables in the Amazon Room. The PokerNews live reporting team will be back then to provide all the key hands until a winner has been determined.