2019 WSOP Day 36: Main Event Begins

Written by Jennifer Newell

Last updated on July 4th, 2019

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It was the day of the summer that thousands of poker players anticipated all year – the first day of the WSOP Main Event. The first of three starting days got underway with 2018 Main Event champion John Cynn giving the “shuffle up and deal” command.

On Wednesday, July 3, this is an overview of all tournaments that played out at the 50^th Annual World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.

Event 64:  $888 Crazy Eights NLHE – Final

Total entries:  10,185

Prize pool:  $7,720,210

Players paid:  1,223

Final table payouts:

1^st place:  Rick Alvarado (USA) – $888,888

2^nd place:  Mark Radoja (Canada) – $548,888

3^rd place:  Thomas Drivas (USA) – $409,888

4^th place:  Vivian Saliba (Brazil) – $308,888

5^th place:  Aleksandras Rusinovas (Lithuania) – $233,888

6^th place:  Patrick Clarke (Ireland) – $177,888

7^th place:  Vlad Darie (Hungary) – $136,888

8^th place:  Mario Hofler (USA) – $105,888

Event 69:  $1K NLHE Mini Main Event – Final

Total entries:  5,521

Prize pool:  $4,968,900

Players paid:  829

Final table payouts:

1^st place:  Jeremy Saderne (France) – $628,654

2^nd place:  Lulu Taylor (USA) – $388,284

3^rd place:  Andrews Korn (Argentina) – $287,219

4^th place:  Yi Ma (Hong Kong) – $214,047

5^th place:  Koji Takagi (Japan) – $160,715

6^th place:  Stefan Widmer (Switzerland) – $121,586

7th place:  Philip Gildea (Ireland) – $92,686

8^th place:  Ben Alloggio (USA) – $71,199

9^th place:  James Stewart (USA) – $55,118

Event 70:  $5K NLHE Six-Handed – Day 3 of 4

Total entries:  814

Prize pool:  $3,785,100

Players paid:  123

Minimum payout:  $7,393

Winner payout:  $757,078

Day 3 players remaining:  6

Final table chip counts:

Joao Vieira (Portugal) – 7,635,000 chips

Jamie O’Connor (UK) – 5,190,000 chips

Olivier Busquet (USA) – 4,050,000 chips

Joe Cada (USA) – 3,105,000 chips

Pierre Calamusa (France) – 2,700,000 chips

Barry Hutter (USA) – 1,265,000 chips

Day 3 starting time:  12noon

Event 71:  $500 NLHE Salute to Warriors – Day 2 of 3

Total entries:  1,723

Prize pool:   $723,660

Players paid:  259

Minimum payout:  $699

Winner payout:  $121,161

Day 2 players remaining:  8

Final table chip counts:

Taylor Carroll (USA) – 13 million chips

Susan Faber (USA) – 8.4 million chips

Dean Yoon (USA) – 6 million chips

Chris Canan (USA) – 5.6. million chips

Kulwant Singh (USA) – 3.3 million chips

Uriah Grossglauser (USA) – 2.2 million chips

Jose Annaloro (Venezuela) – 1.9 million chips

Jordan Knackstedt (Canada) – 1.7 million chips

Final table payouts thus far:

9^th place:  Taehyung Kim (Korea) – $9,486

Day 3 starting time:  Friday at 12noon

Event 72:  $10K LHE Championship – Day 2 of 3

Total entries:  118

Prize pool:  $1,109,200

Players paid:  18

Minimum payout:  $15,128

Winner payout:  $306,622

Day 2 players remaining:  15

Chip leader:  Mike Lancaster (USA) – 1,201,000 chips

Day 3 starting time:  2pm

Event 73:  $10K NLHE Main Event – Day 1A

Total entries:  TBD

Prize pool:  TBD

Players paid:  TBD

Minimum payout:  TBD

Winner payout:  TBD

Day 1A players remaining:  960

Day 1A chip leader:  Bryan Campanello (USA) – 417,500 chips

Day 1B starting time:  12noon

Day 1C starting time:  Friday at 12noon

Day 2A/B starting time:  Saturday at 11am

Event 74:  $3,200 Online NLHE High Roller – Final

Total entries:  593

Prize pool:  $1,802,720

Players paid:  72

Minimum payout:  $6,310

Final table payouts:

1^st place:  George “DrOctagon” Adams – $411,560.97

2^nd place:  Nabil “TheBrownbear” Mohamed Abdien Cardoso – $253,642.70

3^rd place:  Vladimir “Stuey_Haxton” Alexandrov – $173,241.39

4^th place:  Calvin “Projector52” Anderson – $120,421.69

5^th place:  Michael “VinnyV” Vanier – $85,448.92

6^th place:  Norbert “Balkan500” Szecsi – $61,653.02

7^th place:  Lior “Morningowl” Orel – $45,428.54

8^th place:  Harsukhpaul “MjMafia” Sangha – $34,071.40

Congratulations to George "DrOctagon" Adams who wins his first WSOP bracelet and over $400,000 in the $3,200 Online High Roller Bracelet Event. He won a huge hand (pictured) five-handed to take a massive lead and essentially eliminate two players.https://t.co/AaVabWy4Nv pic.twitter.com/GWnu1cq2DU

— WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) July 4, 2019

Notable Information

The $888 Crazy Eights NLHE tournament wrapped yesterday with an exciting final table and Rick Alvarado in the winner’s circle. After seven entries to the tournament, he made it work and walked away with his first WSOP bracelet and $888,888 in cash. “I’m stoked,” he said. “It’s quite unbelievable. I’m thrilled. This is my biggest cash.”

Alvarado was able to do it with his mom on the rail, alongside some friends. He originally told her not to make the flight from California when he was a shorter stack, but when he doubled up at the final table, she booked a flight and made it just in time for the final hands. “I couldn’t be happier,” he said of his mom’s presence. “Everything just worked out today.”

Meanwhile, the $1K Mini Main Event was playing out with a culturally-diverse final table. And ultimately, out of 5,521 players, Frenchman Jeremy Saderne triumphed to win more than $628K.

“All of my friends were here,” he said. “It was incredible. I have never seen that before. It was better than in the Marseille stadium, and I am very thankful. I just want to say thank you to all of my friends; they gave me a lot of power and energy. They were incredible.”

Congrats to Jeremy Saderne, winner of the Mini Main Event for $628,654!https://t.co/CiF7lTETyu pic.twitter.com/beEMAgsqKy

— WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) July 3, 2019