World Series of Poker’s ‘Colossus’ tournament sets record with 22,374 entrants
The numbers are in, and the World Series of Poker’s “Colossus” smashed the record for the largest live tournament in history.
WSOP officials said Sunday the $565 buy-in “Colossus” No-limit Texas Hold ’em tournament drew 22,374 entrants at the Rio Convention Center, easily surpassing the 2006 Main Event, which held the old mark with 8,773 entrants.
“When you see a crowd that could fill many sports venues, there’s not much else you can say,” WSOP executive director Ty Stewart said in a statement. “We want to thank everyone who traveled from near and far to be part of this historic event, particularly the first timers. Just like the sign says, ‘We Hope You Come Back Soon.’ We love to bring poker enthusiasts together and help build positive momentum for the game.”
The winner of the “Colossus” will earn $638,880, and the total prize pool of $11,187,000 is more than double the $5 million guaranteed by tournament officials. The minimum prize is $1,096 for 2,241st place.
WSOP officials said there were 25,571 paid entries for the “Colossus” event, but the official number came down due to no-shows, voids and players who survived after buying into multiple starting flights.
The “Colossus” opened Friday morning with the first of four starting flights, and officials added late starting waves throughout the first two days to accommodate all the players. Action continues Monday with Day 3 of the event, and all the remaining players are in the money.
The final table is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. Tuesday at the Rio.
MIZRACHI TIES BROTHER WITH THIRD BRACELET
Las Vegas resident Robert Mizrachi won the $1,500 buy-in Omaha High-Low 8 or Better tournament Sunday, equaling his younger brother Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi with his third career bracelet.
Mizrachi defeated Jacob Dahl of Portland, Ore., after 68 hands in heads-up play as the tournament took an extra day to complete. Mizrachi, originally from Miami, was at a nearly 3-to-1 chip disadvantage when play was halted early Sunday morning but rallied when action resumed Sunday afternoon.
“You can’t play your best poker when you don’t have proper rest,” Mizrachi told WSOP.com. “I’ve had this cold and really needed the break from last night. The rest really helped me to come back fresh.”
The 36-year-old Mizrachi earned $251,022 and his second bracelet in as many years. Mizrachi won the $1,500 Six-Handed Dealer’s Choice event in 2014 and now has $2,332,970 in WSOP career earnings.
Dahl, a musician and semiprofessional poker player, collected $155,333.
The tournament drew 918 entrants for a prize pool of $1,239,300.
PETRANGELO WINS $3,000 SHOOTOUT; ACTOR JAMES WOODS SEVENTH
Nick Petrangelo prevailed in the $3,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold ’em Shootout on Saturday to boost his 2015 tournament earnings past the $1 million mark.
Petrangelo, a 28-year-old professional poker player from Feeding Hills, Mass., defeated Jason Les heads up to earn $201,812 and his first career WSOP bracelet.
Academy Award-nominated actor James Woods finished seventh.
A “Shootout” requires players to outlast opponents in a series of single-table sessions. Only the winners of each table session advance in the tournament.
“Winning early on here at the series is great,” Petrangelo told WSOP.com. “It creates less pressure. I’ve been here other years when I ran bad early, and it’s hard to play catch up. So, I was really glad to get this out of the way. Hopefully I can have a great series and see it continue.”
Petrangelo had a 2-to-1 chip advantage at one point of the heads-up duel when his pocket kings were cracked and Les took over the chip lead. Petrangelo fought back and owned an 8-to-1 chip advantage before finally closing out his opponent.
Les, a 29-year-old from Costa Mesa, Calif., won $124,696 in his best career WSOP finish. Les recently gained acclaim as one of a group of professional poker players to compete against the artificial intelligence computer program “Claudico.”
The tournament had 308 entrants for an $840,840 prize pool.
