2016 World Series of Poker Daily Recap: Chris Moneymaker and Other Champs Exit Main Event, Poker Players Chasing Pokémon

July 14th, 2016 | by Kaycee James

After five-and-a-half levels of play on Day 2C of the 2016 World Series of Poker Main Event, 1,416 players survived the night. But no player bagged and tagged more than Gustavo Lopes with his 630,700 chipstacks, though that still trails the 836,600 of Day 2 AB chip leader Valentin Vornicu.

Chris Moneymaker out of Main Event WSOP 2016

No luck for former Main Event champ Chris Moneymaker this year: he busted in Day 2C of the Main Event on Wednesday. (Image: oneouter.com)

Rounding out the top five Day 2C chip counts are Raffaele Castro (587,000), Rafael Moraes (571,900), Albert Daher (570,000), and Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi (545,500).

Other top pros, including defending champ Joe McKeehen (183,900), Germany’s Ole Schemion (438,400), World Poker Tour analyst and recent bracelet winner Tony Dunst (388,500), 2013 winner Ryan Reiss (349,000), and 14-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth (82,300) all survived as well.

Moneymaker, Ivey, Negreanu Among the Fallen

Among the hundreds of players to fall on Day 2C were Team PokerStars Pros Daniel Negreanu, Andre Akkari, and Barry Greenstein. Additionally, World Poker Tour champs Aaron Mermelstein and Marvin Rettenmaier busted, and William Hung of American Idol fame went out. Phil Ivey, whose only event this summer was the Main Event, is now out of contention as well, as is 2003 WSOP champ Chris Moneymaker.

Moneymaker was eliminated just before the dinner break, when he moved all in for 17,200 from early position and was called. Moneymaker was in trouble with the K ♥J ♦ against his opponent’s A ♦K ♠. The A ♠Q ♦5 ♥ flop gave Moneymaker a gutshot to Broadway, but he missed when the 3 ♥ and A ♣ bricked on the turn and river respectively. No special “effects” from the most famous WSOP Main Event champ this year, folks.

Second Flight of Little One in the Books

The second starting flight of Event #69, the $1,000 Little One for One Drop, drew 2,180 players, but only 224 of them remained by the end of the night. Leading the way with 169,000 is Jerry Dababneh, while bracelet winner Randy Ohel (91,000), SHRPO champ Blair Hinkle (51,000), 2000 WSOP champ Chris Ferguson (40,800), and current 2016 WSOP POY leader Jason Mercier (30,5000) all bagged up chips.

Those players will return at 2pm PT on Friday, alongside the surviving players from Days 1A and 1C, the latter of which will kick off at 3 pm PT on Thursday.

Bellsprout, Eevee, and Magikarp Spotted at the Rio

No, those aren’t the names of poker professionals, but rather common characters you can capture in Pokémon Go, the hottest game in the world right now. Interestingly, the WSOP Main Event has not been immune.

In the halls, on the breaks, and even during poker play, players can be found on their mobile devices, playing the location-based AR (augmented reality) game. Justin Bonomo, David Williams, Gavin Griffin, Brian Vickers, and Chris Lindh are some of the players who’ve been spotted chasing Pokémon at the WSOP.

With the money bubble approaching in the Main Event, we’re guessing players will be less concerned with trying to catch Blastoise and more with capturing the $8 million prize on tap to the winner of this year’s Main Event.

What’s In Store for Day 44

The Main Event will see all remaining players return for Day Three action at noon PT for another five-and-a-half levels of play. In addition, the third and final flight on Event #69, $1,000 Little One for One Drop, will see cards in the air at 3 pm PT.