2016 World Series of Poker Daily Update: Down to Nine in Colossus II, Another Bracelet for Robert Mizrachi

June 7th, 2016 | by Jason Reynolds

The 2016 World Series of Poker (WSOP) is now six days in. Three bracelets have been handed out so far, with two more ready to be awarded by end of play today.

Mike “The Mouth” Matusow (red hat) competes in the $1,500 Dealers Choice event at the 2016 World Series of Poker on Monday. (Image: PokerSites.com exclusive)

One of those bracelets will be for the Colossus II. An incredible 21,613 players joined this party, but only nine of them are still standing. Tuesday’s play will determine the $1 million winner.

You probably haven’t heard of any of the players left in the field. That’s because none of them have won a WSOP gold bracelet and the final table has combined for just 13 lifetime WSOP cashes prior to this event.

Someone’s fortunes and legacy are about to change all that though, so stay tuned.

The chip leader is Jiri Hogan, who hails from the Czech Republic. Interestingly, the only other time he’s yet made the money in a WSOP event was in the 2015 inaugural Colossus. He made $8,155 for his 12^th place finish.

This massive tournament will all be decided by later today at the Rio in Las Vegas. Play resumes at 2:00 pm Pacific Time and is expected to run late in the day, if not into Wednesday morning.

Another Bracelet for Another Mizrachi Brother

It’s almost an embarrassment of riches when it comes to the talented Mizrachi brothers, and now, oops, Robert has done it again with a fourth WSOP bracelet. That puts him ahead of his slightly better-known brother Michael for the most World Series gold in the family: Michael has three bracelets to his name to date. But with much of the Series left, this sibling race is hardly over for the season.

Robert won $242,662 in Event #3, the $10,000 Seven Card Stud, defeating Matt Grapenthien heads-up. Mizrachi’s victory also put him in a tie with 10 other players for the most WSOP gold bracelets won this decade (three). Others on that list include Phil Hellmuth, Phil Ivey, and George Danzer, who finished 3^rd in the $10,000 Stud event.

The great Ted Forrest finished 4^th, Steve Weis 5^th, and David Benyamine 6^th. The tournament was stacked with poker legends and talented Seven Card Stud pros. But none of them could best Robert Mizrachi.

More Monday and Tuesday Action

There were five bracelet events running at the Rio on June 6. Kyle Julius of Illinois also won a bracelet on Monday. He did so in Event #4, the $1,000 Top Up Turbo. It was his first career bracelet, but an impressive 22^nd career WSOP cash. The $142,972 Julius won put him over the $1 million in lifetime WSOP earnings mark.

Event #5, the $1,500 Dealers Choice, has reached the final table after starting with 389 players on Sunday. There is a lot of talent among the final nine in this tournament, including Paul Volpe.

Many of the game’s biggest stars and most popular players entered this event, including Mike “The Mouth” Matusow, Greg Raymer, Jason Mercier, Mike Sexton, and Todd Brunson.

Finally, two other tournaments also kicked off on Monday: Event #6, the $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em and Event #7, the $1,500 2-7 Draw Lowball (No-Limit).

There will be two bracelets handed out later today, and two new events getting started: the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E tournament, which kicks off at 11 am in Las Vegas, and later on, the $10K Heads Up No-Limit Hold’em Championship, beginning at 3 pm PT.