Mizrachi on brink of WSOP Main Event title with 4 players remaining

Michael Mizrachi nearly ran away with the World Series of Poker Main Event on Tuesday before action was halted.

He has to return to Horseshoe Las Vegas on Wednesday for the official coronation.

Mizrachi steamrolled the final table of the $10,000 buy-in No-limit Hold’em World Championship and holds a massive chip lead with four players remaining.

The Main Event resumes Wednesday at Horseshoe Las Vegas, and it would take a monumental collapse or bad run of cards to deny Mizrachi the $10 million first prize. The professional poker player has 445.5 million chips, which is more than 75 percent of the chips in play.

John Wasnock of North Bend, Washington, is second with 94.5 million chips. Braxton Dunaway of Midland, Texas, is third at 25.5 million and Belgium’s Kenny Hallaert is fourth (19 million). All the remaining players are guaranteed $3 million.

“I’m feeling great, but I’ll be feeling much better when I have 100 percent (of the chips),” Mizrachi told PokerNews.

A victory in the Main Event would cap a historic summer for Mizrachi, nicknamed “The Grinder.”

He won his seventh career WSOP bracelet, which are awarded for tournament victories, last month in the prestigious $50,000 Poker Players Championship. It was Mizrachi’s fourth PPC win, which is a record.

Mizrachi, 44, has already topped his fifth-place finish from the 2010 Main Event and is a shoo-in to be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame next year after this deep run.

Mizrachi had less than three big blinds on Day 8 of the tournament before running up his stack. He was propelled into the chip lead Tuesday thanks to a huge pot against Wasnock with seven players remaining.

Wasnock three-bet with pocket kings and Mizrachi, who raised his thumb like a hitchhiker to signify a raise, four-bet to 30 million chips with ace-king. After Dunaway folded, Wasnock put Mizrachi all-in for his tournament life, and he quickly called for the biggest pot of the Main Event thus far.

The flop of jack-nine-seven kept Mizrachi at risk, and the queen on the turn wasn’t much help, either. When the ace landed on the river, the crowd exploded and Mizrachi high-fived his rail. The card was one of three remaining live outs for Mizrachi.

From there, Mizrachi continued to apply pressure to the rest of the table almost every time he was in a hand.

“It was a great feeling. That changed everything,” Mizrachi said. “That ace saved my tournament and everything. Made a lot more money with that ace, for sure. That was definitely the biggest card of my career.”

Chip counts

1. Michael Mizrachi (United States) 445.5 million chips

2. John Wasnock (United States) 94.5 million chips

3. Braxton Dunaway (United States) 25.5 million chips

4. Kenny Hallaert (Belgium) 19 million chips

Results

5. Luka Bojovic (Serbia) $2.4 million

6. Adam Hendrix (United States) $1.9 million

7. Leo Margets (Spain) $1.5 million

8. Jarod Minghini (United States) $1.25 million

9. Daehyung Lee (South Korea) $1 million

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on X.