Arash Ghaneian has taken the lead over Richard Sklar for the first time today. He's been the beneficiary of a majority of pots so far but there's still plenty of play in Sklar's stack.
Plenty of antes have been swapped back and forth over the last ten minutes, with very few hands reaching fourth street.
Richard Sklar and Arash Ghaneian did reach showdown once in that time, but the pot was chopped. Sklar had trip sixes for the high, while Ghaneian had a six-five for a low.
Soon after, the duo played a hand where Ghaneian added some chips to his stack.
Richard Sklar: XxXx/9♥8♠A♠ - folded fifth street
Arash Ghaneian: XxXx/A♣7♥7♣
Sklar brought in and called when Ghaneian completed with his ace upcard. Sklar called a bet on fourth street but folded his hand after Ghaneian bet his pair of sevens on fifth street.
The 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event was officially underway at a few minutes after noon PT on Wednesday. And for two players, the dream to become world champion ended a few minutes later.
Over 1,300 players were registered at the start of Day 1a, a group that included some big name players such as Michael Mizrachi and Freddy Deeb. Defending champion Daniel Weinman got the party started by announcing "shuffle up and deal" following an introduction from Jack Effel. And then the fireworks began one day before the Fourth of July.
Arash Ghaneian: XxXx/5♦4♥3♣
Richard Sklar: XxXx/3♦6♠J♦ - folded fifth street
After several raise and takes that have gone in the direction of Richard Sklar, Arash Ghaneian completed and Sklar called before checking on fourth street. Ghaneian bet and Sklar called. Sklar then checked on fifth street and opted to fold when faced with another bet.
A dramatic day at the 2024 World Series of Poker has an added twist, as the poker rooms will be buzzing at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. While thousands get set to take their shot on Day 1a of the WSOP Main Event, two players will return for an added Day 4 to decide the title in Event #74: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship.
Both Arash Ghaneian and Richard Sklar have locked up least $250,984, with additional prize money and the exclusive WSOP gold bracelet to play for. Sklar will carry the chip lead after bagging 5,530,000 on what was scheduled to be the final day of the tournament.
Ghaneian collected 4,495,000 chips, sitting in second while also looking to earn a second career bracelet. The two players will each return with more than 20 big bets, so it remains anyone's title to claim.
Day 4 Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Bets
1
Richard Sklar
United States
5,530,000
28
2
Arash Ghaneian
United States
4,495,000
22
Richard Sklar
Sklar is know as a notorious golf bettor, and the 71-year-old also boasts four WSOP final tables on his poker resume. No matter the result, this will be his best WSOP finsh after taking third place in the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E Championship back in 2014.
Ghaneian won his WSOP bracelet in 2015 after taking down the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. event. Wednesday's champion will have outlasted 167 players to earn the top prize of $376,476.
Final Table Payouts
Place
Player
Country
Prize
1
2
3
Thomas Taylor
Canada
$173,533
4
Todd Brunson
United States
$122,663
5
Eric Wasserson
United States
$88,686
6
Dario Alioto
Italy
$65,620
7
Andrey Zhigalov
Russia
$49,715
8
Michael Rocco
United States
$38,589
The two contenders will take their seats on the feature table at 1 p.m. local time, ready to determine a winner. Action resumes on Level 25 with limits of 100,000/200,000.
As always, the PokerNews live reporting team will be at the table to provide full coverage of the battle. So be sure to stay tuned as Sklar and Ghaneian chase WSOP glory in Las Vegas.
