Event #66: Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship (8-Handed)

Day 1 has drawn to a close after 10 levels in Event #66: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship. By the time the clock struck 2 a.m. local time, a total of 194 entries were recorded with only 101 of them returning for Day 2.

Brian Hastings finished the day with the largest stack of 447,000 chips as he looks to grab hold of his fifth World Series of Poker gold bracelet. Hastings entered the field halfway through the day but wasted little time in building a stack. Once he did so, he found himself involved in a massive three-way pot where he rivered the nut-high hand along with the nut-low hand. A pot-sized river bet got paid off by Yueqi Zhu who once held the early lead and Hastings vaulted to the top of the leaderboard.

Hastings' previous WSOP wins came in 2012, two of them in 2015, and 2018 but he has yet to claim a victory in the game of Omaha. Hastings came so close in this very same event the last time it was held in 2019, finishing second to Nick Schulman. This all-around poker pro has accumulated nearly $4 million in career live tournament earnings and will be hoping to build on that number by the end of the week.

Event #66 Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts

Some other big stacks moving on to Day 2 include Tommy Chen (377,500), PLO specialist Esther Taylor (240,0000), Chip Jett (308,500), and Felipe Ramos (282,500). This championship field attracted many big names and bracelet winners including the defending champion Schulman. It wasn't a profitable day for Schulman who only managed to put 29,500 chips in his bag but he will be returning tomorrow.

It wasn't meant to be for everyone as nearly half the field was sent to the rial on the opening day. It was a short-lived time on the felt for the likes of Daniel Negreanu, Mike Matusow, David Williams, and Dario Sammartino who will not be returning for Day 2.

Late registration for this event will remain open until the start of play on Day 2 with each new entry getting a starting stack of 60,000 chips. The action will resume at 2 p.m. local time with the blinds on level 11 at 1,000/2,500 and a 2,500 big blind ante. Another 10 levels will be on the schedule for tomorrow with a winner being crowned on Day 4.

The PokerNews live reporting team will be here to bring you all of the updates throughout the tournament so keep it locked here.

The action was on John Racener after the       runout, who bet 17,500. Shaun Deeb slid in a raise to 45,000 and Racener took some time before moving all-in. Deeb folded instantly, awarding the pot to Racener.

John Racener	162,000	92,500
Shaun Deeb	87,000	-61,000

Yuri Dzivielevski raised it up on the button and was called by Chip Jett and Ken Aldridge in the blinds. The flop came the     and Jett led out with a bet of 10,000. Aldridge stuck in his last 12,500 chips and Dzivielevski did the same with his stack of around 35,000. Jett quickly called and all three hands were tabled.

Ken Aldridge:     
Yuri Dzivielevski:     
Chip Jett:     

Dzivielevski flopped two pair but the   on the turn gave Jett a flush with the nut-low. The   on the river changed nothing and Jett knocked both Aldridge and Dzivielevski out of the tournament.

Chip Jett	323,000	0
Ken Aldridge	0	0
Yuri Dzivielevski	0	-52,500

A completed board of the       was spread across the table and Brian Hastings had a pot-sized bet of 107,500 sitting in front of him. With a third player already all-in on the turn, Yueqi Zhu was in the tank and eventually made the call.

All three hands must be shown and Hastings had no problem revealing his      for the nut-nut. Zhu turned over the      while the third player held the     .

Brian Hastings	316,000	229,000
Esther Taylor	269,000	169,000
Chip Jett	255,000	-5,000
John Esposito	250,000	140,000
Daniel Colpoys	250,000	250,000
Anatolii Zyrin	232,000	75,000
Anthony Zinno	220,000	139,000
Ryan Laplante	215,500	-9,500
Jesse Klein	188,000	-57,000
Ari Engel	160,000	100,000
Shaun Deeb	158,500	70,500
Justin Liberto	145,500	18,500
Ashly Butler	144,000	144,000

Yuri Dzivielevski raised it up from the hijack and was called by Ken Aldridge on the button and Joshua Faris in the big blind. The flop came the     and the action checked around to the   on the turn.

Faris led out with a be of 8,000 which Dzivielevski called and Aldridge folded. The   completed the board and Faris checked this time. Dzivielevski stuck in a bet of 22,000 which made Faris squirm in his chair. After a minute passed, Faris called and Dzivielevski showed the      for a missed flush draw. Faris tabled the      for a straight to win the pot.

Joshua Faris	108,500	17,500
Yuri Dzivielevski	52,500	-41,500

Dylan Wilkerson raised to 2,500 in the hijack and was called by Tsugunari Toma and Joshua Faris in the blinds. The flop came     and the action checked around to the   on the turn.

Toma jammed all in for 6,300 and Faris called. Wilkerson came over the top and pushed all in for 29,600. Faris asked for a count and went into the tank for a couple of minutes before finally making the call.

Tsugunari Toma:     
Dylan Wilkerson:     
Joshua Faris:     

Wilkerson turned a straight with the nut-low to hold a commanding lead. The   on the river managed to brick out and Wilkerson held on to scoop the entire pot, eliminating Toma.

Joshua Faris	91,000	-12,000
Dylan Wilkerson	74,500	14,500
Tsugunari Toma	0	-36,000

Esther Taylor limped in from under the gun which invited three other players to see a flop of    . The blinds checked and Taylor tossed in a bet of 2,500 which only the button called.

The turn brought the   and both players checked to the   on the river. Taylor threw in a bet of 8,000 and her opponent contemplated for a minute but decided to fold. Taylor showed     for the nut-high and the nut-low as she dragged in the pot.

Esther Taylor

100,000

12,000