UPDATE: Glaser, Negreanu, Baker Running Deep in Day 4 at WPT World Championship
The action continued on Saturday at the World Poker Tour’s World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas with Benny Glaser emerging as chip leader with 128 players remaining.
The ultimate winner scores a $4.1 million payday with the top six finishers also all earning more than $1 million. Glaser, of the United Kingdom, was pleased to return to the action among those vying for that top spot.
“Today went very well!” he noted on Twitter. “Chip leading going into Day 4! Tomorrow is going to be absolutely huge. Let’s get it!”
Play resumed with 11 members of the WPT Champions Club still in the field.
David Baker, Daniel Negreanu among those also surging
The World Championship plays to the final table on Sunday with the remaining six players battling it out in front of the television cameras. The WPT Prime Championship also heads to the TV studio on Monday with the final six playing to a winner as well. For more on that tournament, click here.
Glaser (pictured in lead image, courtesy WPT) ended the day with 7.6 million chips but saw that cut in half about halfway through Day 4. Champions Club member Soheb Porbandarwala surged in the afternoon to 8.3 million.
Former champion David “ODB” Baker also found a big stack, climbing past the 5-million chip mark. His day included eliminating WPT television anchor Lynn Gilmartin in the afternoon.
A different approach to the poker “shot clock” earned some praise from the poker pro and sports handicapper. Negreanu echoed his thoughts.
Another brilliant innovation by the @WynnPoker 4-15 second preflop extensions and no clock post flop. Most the egregious tanking is pre
— David Baker (@audavidb) December 16, 2022
After having played with the @WPT action clock for a couple days now, I think it’s actually helpful preflop and solves a key preflop tanking issue.
Takes a little getting used to, and could do without the buzzer, but it works.
— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) December 17, 2022
Pat Lyons also had a nice stack going into the afternoon. Other champions still in the mix later in the day included New Jersey’s Asher Conniff, Scott Margereson, and James Carroll.
Another player making a run is two-time WPT champion Daniel Negreanu. After nursing a short stack much of the day, Negreanu surged late on Friday to end Day 3 with 2.4 million.
“I feel like I’m supposed to win this one, so I think I’m going to do that,” he told USPoker on Friday.
With soe chips, Negreanu seems poised for a deep run. By the second break in the action on Saturday, he’d grown that stack to 4.6 million. He chalked up the comeback to “just patience.”
Ladies Championship, Mystery Bounty find major turnouts
Beyond the Main Event, the $200 Ladies Championship continued into Day 2 on Saturday with 72 players returning. The first day saw Louise Francoeur, of Montreal, Canada, finish as chip leader.
A regular at the poker table, Francoeur has more than $805,000 in live tournament winnings in a poker career dating back to 2006. Her top score came in the 2015 World Series of Poker Main Event, where she finished 149th for $49,108.
The tournament came with a $200,000 guarantee, but almost tripled that with 578 entries and a $560,660 prize pool. The returning field had been almost cut in half halfway through Day 2.
Some players still alive included Kathy Liebert, Katie Lindsay, Amanda Botfeld, Jamie Kerstetter, and JJ Liu.
The $1,600 Mystery Bounty event also continued on Saturday with the second starting flight. The tournament features a $2 million guarantee and had reached more than 900 entries by mid-afternoon.
A look at some other winners
In other events, a few other interesting names also found the winner’s circle. Alan “Chainsaw” Kessler buzzed his way to a title in the $1,100 Limit Omaha Hi/Lo Championship for $52,104.
Can someone Photoshop the red mark on my forehead so I can use this as my profile picture?
Paging @LenaEvans88 pic.twitter.com/fNmYRjFrKQ
— Allen Kessler (@AllenKessler) December 15, 2022
For Kessler, the win came with a bit of unique backstory after winning a $1,000 Omaha Hi/Lo event at the Wynn in 2008.
“The guy who came in second offered me $2,000 for the trophy to display in his car dealership, and I obliged,” he noted on Twitter. “I’ve regretted that decision ever since, and vowed to win another one. Today I finally got it.”
Esther Taylor also secured a trophy and a $100,000 payday in the $3,000 Eight-Game Mix. Canada’s Calen McNeil grabbed a win in the $600 Limit Hi/Lo for $21,305.
New Jersey grinder Eric Hayes scored a win in the $600 Pot Limit Omaha – Five Card for $30,423.