Vieira Leads Final 15 at End of Day 2 in $25,000 H.O.R.S.E. High Roller
An action-packed Day 2 of Event #80: $25,000 H.O.R.S.E. High Roller has concluded at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas with 15 players advancing one step closer to the $711,313 first-place prize and a coveted gold bracelet at the 2023 World Series of Poker.
At the top of the leaderboard is Joao Vieira, who bagged 2,595,000 to enter Day 3 as the chip leader. Vieira, who registered at the start of Day 2, built his stack throughout the day. Both of his bracelets have come in No-Limit Hold'em, and the Portuguese pro looks to add a mixed game bracelet as his third.
Not far behind is Josh Arieh, who bagged 2,040,000 and enters Day 3 in third place, looking to add to his $10,000 Limit Hold'em bracelet won earlier this summer.
Also advancing to Day 3 is social media favorite Allen Kessler, who bagged 455,000. Kessler was all in on the bubble with only his ante, but survived that and several other all ins to continue his quest for a maiden bracelet.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joao Vieira | Portugal | 2,595,000 |
| 1 | Yingui Li | China | 2,595,000 |
| 3 | Josh Arieh | United States | 2,040,000 |
| 4 | John Hennigan | United States | 1,588,000 |
| 5 | Hal Rotholz | United States | 1,525,000 |
| 6 | Matt Grapenthien | United States | 1,390,000 |
| 7 | Dan Heimiller | United States | 1,360,000 |
| 8 | Mike Matusow | United States | 705,000 |
| 9 | Brian Hastings | United States | 600,000 |
| 10 | Johannes Becker | Germany | 570,000 |
It was a long day of mixed-game action, as 14 last-minute registrants joined the 56 survivors from Day 1 with hopes of advancing. Eliminations came at a rapid pace early in the day, with the likes of Phil Ivey, Koray Aldemir, Kevin Gerhart and Phil Hellmuth falling short of making the money.
Hand-for-hand play began with 19 players remaining, with 17 getting paid. The bubble was a long one, taking over three hours in real-time and spanning three levels before Vieira eliminated Scott Bohlman in Razz one spot short of the money. At that point, all remaining players had secured $41,869, and play opened up for the remaining 20 minutes of play.
Day 3 is scheduled to kick off on July 12 at 2:00 p.m. local time. Action will resume with Level 21, with blinds of 30,000-60,000 and limits of 60,000-120,000 in flop games and stud games having a 15,000 ante, 20,000 bring-in, 60,000 completion, and limits at 60,000-120,000.
Keep it right here as PokerNews will cover the action all the way down to when a champion is crowned.