The March to the Money and Final Table Begins on Day 4
Three days ago the 2014 World Series of Poker kicked off the Event #46: $50,000 Poker Players' Championship, a tournament that attracted 102 players and created a prize pool of $4,896,000. Here on Day 4, just 22 players will return to action with 14 of them slated to make the money. That means eight players will leave empty-handed while the others earn a minimum payday of $99,388.
Seven players will go on to make the final table, an accomplishment that will earn them a minimum of $165,435. Of course everyone is fixated on making a run at the top prize of $1,517,767. Not only will the winner take home a WSOP gold bracelet and a seven-figure score, they'll have their name inscribed on the David "Chip" Reese Memorial Trophy, named in honor of the inaugural winner who passed away in 2007. "The iconic trophy was first added for the event's champion in 2008, with the winner keeping the top part of the trophy for the year, while his name is engraved on the bottom half, etched forever in history," the WSOP explains.
The man best positioned to do it is Abe Mosseri, who holds the chip lead heading into Day 4 with 1.727 million in chips. Sitting in second place with 1.185 million is none other than Brandon Shack-Harris, who is looking to add to his already stellar summer where he won his first bracelet Event #3: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha. Shack-Harris also came runner-up in Event #18: $10,000 Seven-Card Razz Championship and scored a third-place finish in Event #43: $1,500 Limit Hold'em. Additionally, with a deep run here Shack-Harris could take over the top spot in the 2014 WSOP Player of the Year race.
Other players who finished over one million in chips include Matt Glantz (1,083,000), Robert Mizrachi (1,020,000), and Frank Kassela (1,004,000). Among the others coming back today are Scott Seiver (886,000), 2010 WSOP Main Event champion Jonathan Duhamel (747,000), Jesse Martin (726,000), Todd Brunson (585,000), John Hennigan (263,000), and David Oppenheim (216,000).
Right in the middle of the counts and in the spotlight is Melissa Burr whose stack of 622,000 puts her in 12th position and just below the average heading into today. Burr has already made two final tables this summer, finishing eighth in the Event #10: $10,000 Limit Omaha Hi-Low Championship and fifth in Event #30: $1,500 Seven-Card Stud Hi-Low. Burr also just missed a third final table last week with a ninth-place showing in Event #41: $1,500 Dealer’s Choice Six-Handed.
Not only is “burrrrrberry” hoping to make another WSOP final table, but she’s also aiming to become the first woman in the nine-year history of the $50K event to make the money. If she does, she will win a $500 side bet at 15-1 against Robert Mizrachi, who bet she wouldn't make the money. Burr was only one of two women to enter the PPC this year along with Vanessa Selbst who went out on Day 1.
Action is set to kick off at 2 p.m. local time, which is about an hour from now. As always, PokerNews will be on hand to provide all of the latest coverage from the tournament floor, so stay tuned.