The Money Stage Has Been Reached! Day 4 of the 2019 WSOP Main Event Kicks Off at Noon
It's money time in the 2019 World Series of Poker Main Event! After three full days of grinding at the tables, players are finally getting paid for their efforts. Last night, an arduous bubble phase came to an end when Ryan Pochedly ultimately became the last player to leave the Main Event empty-handed. As a consolation prize, Vice President of the World Series of Poker Jack Effel handed him a free entry to the 2020 Main Event. With Pochedly's bustout, the remaining 1,286 out of a field of 8,569 players have all secured themselves a payday of $15,000 and will be looking for more when cards go back in the air at noon.
Leading the way is Norwegian player and high roller Preben Stokkan, who crafted a classic chip-and-a-chair story for himself by turning one single T-5,000 chip, left after a huge bluff went wrong, into the overnight chip lead of 2,184,000, making him the only player to cross the two million mark. Hot on Stokkan's heels is Andrew Brokos (leading picture), who once again will be wielding one of the biggest stacks in the room at the start of the day (1,906,000). Bracelet winner Galen Hall sits in fourth place with 1,658,000 in chips, while Chris "BigHuni" Hunichen is in sixth with 1,618,000.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Preben Stokkan | Norway | 2,184,000 |
| 2 | Andrew Brokos | United States | 1,906,000 |
| 3 | Ryan Dodge | United States | 1,800,000 |
| 4 | Galen Hall | United States | 1,658,000 |
| 5 | Cassio Pisapia | Brazil | 1,640,000 |
| 6 | Chris Hunichen | United States | 1,618,000 |
| 7 | Pavlo Veksler | Ukraine | 1,594,000 |
| 8 | Duytue Duong | United States | 1,576,000 |
| 9 | Jacob Daniels | United States | 1,560,000 |
| 10 | John Patgorski | United States | 1,524,000 |
Plenty of notables will be adding another score to their already mouth-watering poker resumés, and Artur Koren (1,280,000), Jean-Robert Bellande (1,126,000), Joseph Cheong (1,068,000), Jack Salter (1,015,000), Matt Stout (1,011,000), Sasha "PokerSasha" Liu (996,000), Max Silver (978,000), and Adam Owen (950,000) are among those sporting the healthiest stacks when cards go back in the air.
On the flip side, those that squeaked into the money like Mike McDonald (66,000), Richard Dubini (46,000), Johnnie "JohnnyVibes" Moreno (40,000), Max Steinberg (33,000), and Molly Mossey (20,000) are forced into action right away, either to spin up their stacks or take the walk to the payout desk.
While defending champion John Cynn got eliminated late last night on Day 3, a trio of former World Champions are still in the hunt to accomplish the unimaginable again. Chris Moneymaker (681,000), Qui Nguyen (669,000), and Johnny Chan (498,000) will all return with healthy, above-average chip stacks for Day 4 and are among those to watch for.
Day 4 Schedule
The cards will be back at noon with 6:26 minutes remaining in Level 15 at blinds of 3,000/6,000 with a big blind ante of 6,000. After that, five levels of 120-minutes each are on tap, with a 20-minute break after each level. An 85-minute dinner break is scheduled around 7.30 p.m. or 30 minutes into Level 19. Live streaming on ESPN will be from 4-8 p.m.
| Level | Duration | Small Blind | Big Blind | Ante |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 6 minutes | 3,000 | 6,000 | 6,000 |
| 16 | 120 minutes | 4,000 | 8,000 | 8,000 |
| 20-minute break | ||||
| 17 | 120 minutes | 5,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 |
| 20-minute break | ||||
| 18 | 120 minutes | 6,000 | 12,000 | 12,000 |
| 20-minute break | ||||
| 19 | 30 minutes | 8,000 | 16,000 | 16,000 |
| 85-minute dinner break | ||||
| 19 | 90 minutes | 8,000 | 16,000 | 16,000 |
| 20-minute break | ||||
| 20 | 120 minutes | 10,000 | 20,000 | 20,000 |
The 2019 WSOP Main Event in Numbers
| Day | Players Starting | Players Late Regging | Players Total for Day | Players Total Cumulative | Players Surviving |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1a | 1,334 | - | 1,334 | 1,334 | 962 |
| 1b | 1,914 | - | 1,914 | 3,248 | 1,421 |
| 1c | 4,877 | - | 4,877 | 8,125 | 3,664 |
| 2ab | 2,383 | 100 | 2,483 | 8,225 | 1,087 |
| 2c | 3,664 | 344 | 4,008 | 8,569 | 1,793 |
| 3 | 2,880 | - | 2,880 | 8,569 | 1,286 |
Payouts
The 1,286 remaining players have all guaranteed themselves at least $15,000 for their efforts. Here's what's being paid out today and in the upcoming days. The new world champion, crowned on Tuesday, July 16, will walk away $10 million richer.
| Place | Payout | Place | Payout | Place | Payout | Place | Payout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000,000 | 10-11 | $800,000 | 64-72 | $117,710 | 415-477 | $30,780 |
| 2 | $6,000,000 | 12-13 | $600,000 | 73-81 | $98,120 | 478-540 | $27,390 |
| 3 | $4,000,000 | 14-15 | $500,000 | 82-90 | $82,365 | 541-603 | $24,560 |
| 4 | $3,000,000 | 16-18 | $400,000 | 91-99 | $69,636 | 604-666 | $22,190 |
| 5 | $2,200,000 | 19-27 | $324,650 | 100-162 | $59,295 | 667-765 | $20,200 |
| 6 | $1,850,000 | 28-36 | $261,430 | 163-225 | $50,855 | 766-864 | $18,535 |
| 7 | $1,525,000 | 37-45 | $211,945 | 226-288 | $43,935 | 865-963 | $17,135 |
| 8 | $1,250,000 | 46-54 | $173,015 | 289-351 | $38,240 | 964-1062 | $15,970 |
| 9 | $1,000,000 | 55-63 | $142,215 | 352-414 | $34,845 | 1063-1286 | $15,000 |
The PokerNews live reporting team will be back on the floor to cover the biggest poker tournament in the world, so stick glued to your screen as we bring you all the updates from the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.