World Series of Poker: Day 24 and the weekend

Here’s what to expect this weekend at the World Series of Poker.

Friday’s schedule:

10 a.m. — $1,500 “Monster Stack” No-limit Hold ’em (5-day event)

Noon — $1,500 Pot-limit Omaha (Final table); $1,500 “Summer Solstice” No-limit Hold ’em (Final table); $10,000 Six-handed No-limit Hold ’em Championship (Day 2)

2 p.m. — $3,000 Six-handed Limit Hold ’em (Final table); $2,500 Limit Mixed Triple Draw Lowball (Day 2)

3 p.m. — $3,000 Shootout No-limit Hold ’em (3-day event)

Saturday’s schedule:

10 a.m. — $1,500 “Monster Stack” No-limit Hold ’em (Day 1B)

Noon — $10,000 Six-handed No-limit Hold ’em Championship (Final table)

2 p.m. — $2,500 Limit Mixed Triple Draw Lowball (Final table); $3,000 Shootout No-limit Hold ’em (Day 2)

3 p.m. — $10,000 Seven-card Stud Hi-Low/8 or Better Championship (3-day event)

Sunday’s schedule:

11 a.m. — $1,000 No-limit Hold ’em (3-day event); $1,500 “Monster Stack” No-limit Hold ’em (Day 2)

2 p.m. — $3,000 Shootout No-limit Hold ’em (Final table); $10,000 Seven-card Stud Hi-Low/8 or Better Championship (Day 2)

3 p.m. — $1,500 Mixed No-Limit Hold ’em/Pot-Limit Omaha (3-day event)

Players to watch:

* Reigning WSOP Main Event champion Joe McKeehen is one of eight players remaining in the $3,000 buy-in Six-handed Limit Hold ’em event. The resident of North Wales, Pennsylvania, is second in chips behind Matt Matros of Brooklyn, New York. Also alive is Russian sports commentator Mikhail Semin, who made his fourth final table of this year’s WSOP.

* Tommy Le of Tustin, California, owns the chip lead with 16 players left in the $1,500 buy-in Pot-limit Omaha event.

* Koray Aldemir of Vienna holds a slight chip advantage over Spain’s Adrian Mateos during heads-up play in the $1,500 “Summer Solstice” No-limit Hold ’em event. Action was halted after 1 a.m. Friday, and the Europeans will return to play for the $409,171 first prize.

Thursday’s highlights:

* Las Vegas resident Hani Awad, 65, won the $2,500 buy-in Mixed Omaha/Seven-card Stud Hi-Low event ($213,186) for his first career bracelet. The Israeli-born Awad, who owns a local taxi cab company, finished second in this event last year and dedicated the victory to his 93-year-old mother living in Nazareth, Israel.

“I promised her I was going to win it for her,” Awad said. “It was my dream to win this, and it means the world.”

* Michael Gathy, a professional poker player from Brussels, won the $5,000 buy-in Six-handed No-limit Hold ’em event ($448,463). It is his third career bracelet, tying Davidi Kitai for the most by a Belgian player.

Quotable:

“We don’t have that many Belgian poker players, but the ones we have are great.” — Gathy