WSOP BRACELET WINNER JOHN READING LEADS FINAL 8 AT POTAWATOMI MAIN

Milwaukee, Wis. February 12, 2018 - World Series of Poker Main Event at Potawatomi Casino is down to the final 8 players, and World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner John Reading (pictured) leads the pack, having ended the day with 2,685,000. Barry Schmiess is coming in second with 1,835,000. Rounding out the top three is Andy Philachack with 1,550,000.

At the beginning of the day, a total of 99 players returned to play Day 2, to take their shot at one of the top 63 in-the-money spots. The bubble burst just before the start of the first break. Two players were lost in the final hand before break, leaving all of the returning 63 players in the money and guaranteed at least $2,963.

Not everyone was fortune enough to make one of the in-the-money spots. Some of the notables that finished just shy of the money included: Jeremy Dresch, Denise Pratt, Michael Ross, Ravi Raghavan, Aaron Massey, and Everett Carlton.

A few of the notable players eliminated in the money included Nick Pupillo (59th - $2,963), Nadya Magnus (56th - $2,963), Jonatahan Hanner (52nd - $3,216), Shaun Burnett (50th - $3,216), Valentin Vornicu (43rd - $3,533), TK Miles (42nd - $3,533), Mark Fink (34th - $3,932), and John Richards (26th - $5,798). For a full list of all players’ earnings in this Main Event, please see the Results tab above.

Jason Trazek was eliminated in 19th place ($7,991), setting the stage for the final 18 players.  Michael Crawford led the final two tables, and was the only player over the 2-million chip mark. The next closest stack belonged to Barry Schmiess (1,210,000), who had a million chips less than Crawford.

Perhaps the story of the day belongs to Maurice Hawkins. Hawkins played a hand against Jose Montes when there were still 18 players remaining, in which he stated he, “saved himself,” by only calling Montes down, and folding the river to what Hawkins believed was a full house for his opponent.  After that hand, Hawkins lost a huge hand to Keven Stammen, leaving him short with less than ten big blinds.  He then doubled up multiple times over, and eventually made his way to the unofficial final table of ten, which was reached in the last level of the night.

In the last level of the night, Andreas Wagner was eliminated in 11th place ($14,206),  setting the stage for the unofficial final table of ten. John Reading came into the final table as the chip leader (2,377,000), followed by Andy Philachack in 2nd place (1,700,000).

Steven Pike was eliminated in 10th place ($14,206). Pike shoved his last eight big blinds in with ten-nine suited, and was called by John Reading holding ace-queen. Pike was unable to improve, and took home $14,206 for his 10th place finish.

Stephen Nussrallah was eliminated in 9th place ($17,649) the very last hand of the night when he shoved queen-jack suited into the pocket of aces of Keith Heine. So eight players bagged up their chips, and will return to play Day 3 tomorrow.

The final day of the Potawatomi WSOP Circuit Main Event will kick off at 12 noon CST Monday February 12, 2017, and you can follow all of the action here at WSOP.com. The final nine players are guaranteed to take home at least $17,649 for their efforts, but each one has their sights set on the $190,265 first-prize payout, the coveted gold ring, and a seat into the 2018 WSOP Global Casino Championship.

Day 3 Chip Counts:

John Reading – 2,685,000
Barry Schmiess – 1,835,000
Andy Philachack – 1,500,000
Keven Stammen – 1,465,000
Keith Heine – 1,450,000
Jose Montes – 1,140,000
Michael Crawford – 975,000
Maurice Hawkins – 925,000