Rheem Leads 19 Players into Final Day of Event #49: $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 6-Handed
Nineteen players return for the final day of Event #49: $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 6-Handed, all of whom are aiming for the $362,185 top prize and a bracelet. While some of the elite players have a long way to climb from the bottom of the counts, Chino Rheem has no such troubles. The 37-year-old from California is leading the remaining contenders, coming back to a leading stack of 952,000 or 79 big blinds.
Starting at 2 p.m. today with the blinds at 6,000/12,000, Rheem will be in the limelight in the Brasilia Room. He's already known for being part of the original November Nine in 2008 (finishing seventh in the Main Event for $1,772,650) and for his three World Poker Tour titles. However, even with $8.7 million-plus in career winnings there is one thing missing from Rheem's packed career résumé — a WSOP bracelet.
Louis Calvo is Rheem's nearest rival, entering the final day with 914,000. European players Daniel Reijmer (776,000) and Mark Reilly (675,000) follow in the counts while Costa Rica's Alberto Fonseca (611,000) rounds out the top five.
While Rheem is yet to emerge victorious in a WSOP tournament, Jeff Madsen has plenty of experience with four bracelets under his belt. Madsen, who won the 2006 WSOP Player of the Year, will need to spin up one of the shortest stacks (207,000) in order to win himself a fifth title.
However, pot-limit Omaha has always been Madsen's forte. One of the strongest players in this game, Madsen has already won a $3,000 PLO tournament here at the World Series back in 2013. Lying in 17th place among the 19 remaining hopefuls, Madsen still has 17 big blinds with which to maneuver and his chances might be better than it looks at first sight.
Another well known face is trailing Madsen as former European Poker Tour champion Roberto Romanello bagged 152,000 yesterday, the second-shortest stack. Romanello has seven top 10 finishes in the bracelet events, but his showcase is still missing the WSOP jewel.
Tune to PokerNews at 2 p.m. PDT to find out who among this talented field emerges to becomes the $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Event champion.
Day 3 Seat Draw:
| Room | Table | Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brasilia | 700 | 2 | William Kakon | United States | 302,000 | 25 |
| Brasilia | 700 | 3 | Michael Trujillo | United States | 30,000 | 3 |
| Brasilia | 700 | 4 | Rudolph Sawa | United States | 584,000 | 49 |
| Brasilia | 700 | 5 | Mark Reilly | Ireland | 675,000 | 56 |
| Brasilia | 701 | 1 | Roberto Romanello | United Kingdom | 152,000 | 13 |
| Brasilia | 701 | 2 | Gionni Demers | United States | 531,000 | 44 |
| Brasilia | 701 | 3 | Eric Hicks | United States | 563,000 | 47 |
| Brasilia | 701 | 5 | Alberto Fonseca | Costa Rica | 611,000 | 51 |
| Brasilia | 701 | 6 | Chino Rheem | United States | 952,000 | 79 |
| Brasilia | 702 | 1 | James St Hilaire | United States | 559,000 | 47 |
| Brasilia | 702 | 3 | Kenneth Wong | Canada | 331,000 | 28 |
| Brasilia | 702 | 4 | Gerhard Schleicher | Germany | 574,000 | 48 |
| Brasilia | 702 | 5 | Brad Ruben | United States | 327,000 | 27 |
| Brasilia | 702 | 6 | Orlando Romero | United States | 354,000 | 30 |
| Brasilia | 703 | 1 | Aleksei Altshuller | Russia | 593,000 | 49 |
| Brasilia | 703 | 3 | Jeff Madsen | United States | 207,000 | 17 |
| Brasilia | 703 | 4 | Luis Calvo | United States | 914,000 | 76 |
| Brasilia | 703 | 5 | Daniel Reijmer | Netherlands | 776,000 | 65 |
| Brasilia | 703 | 6 | Roussos Koliakoudakis | Greece | 553,000 | 46 |