Day 6 of the World Series of Poker main event has been completed, with just 27 players remaining from the 68 who started the day.
Many followers were rooting for the only female still left in contention, Kelly Minkin, an attorney from Phoenix Arizona who has already earned an extra $8,500 from prop bets that she would be the last woman standing.
However she fell in the last level of Day 6 after an impressive showing. She has cashed four times this series, and has tourney career earnings of over a half-million dollars, including a big $262,912 win in the WPT Lucky Hearts competition.
Her 29th place finish was worth $211,821.
It’s been 20 years since a woman, Barbara Enwright who finished fifth, made a main event final table, although Gael Baumann and Elizabeth Hille just missed out by two places in 2012 (see previous reports).
Another player who has reportedly been taking side bets – and has benefitted by six-figure sums – is the controversial pro Brian Hastings, who has won two bracelets this series and was performing exceptionally well in the main event.
He experienced a monumental cooler and busted in 49th place for $137,300 after getting all-in preflop with pocket kings against pocket aces held by John Hinds with 5.5 million chips in the pot. The win boosted Hinds’ stack to over 11 million.
Other notable names to fall on Day 6 included Mark Kroon, who claimed a consolatory $164,086; November Niner last year Matt Jarvis, Andrew Moreno, Toby Lewis, Upeshka De Silva, Max Greenwood and Justin Bonomo – the latter was an early casualty but took home $96,445 for a 64th place finish.
Andrew Moreno was the last casualty of the day, exiting at 28th for $211,821.
Amar Anand, a convincing chip leader in this event at one stage, went out at 55th for $113,764, but another prominent leader over the past week, Belgian pro Pierre Neuville, is still solvent with a stack of 7.6 million.
Popular and high profile pro Daniel Negreanu is still in the running, finished ninth in Day 6 and holding a stack of 8.49 million. Despite a glittering and long career which has seen him achieve almost every accolade, it’s the closest he has come to a main event final table since 2001, when he managed an 11th place.
Max Steinberg also remains in contention.
The top five chip counts going into Day 7, when the final November Nine table will be decided, are:
Thomas Kearney (14.4 million)
Matt Guan (14.23 million)
Erasmus Morfe (12 million)
Joe McKeehen (12 million)
Mario Sequeira (11.8 million)
The 27 survivors who bagged their chips at the end of Day 6 hail from 7 different nations, underlining the global nature of the Worlds Series of Poker and the game itself.