Michael Mizrachi Off to Strong Start in Record Field for $1,500 Eight Game
The previous four editions of $1,500 Eight Game Mix all fell short of a 500-player mark but the 2019 edition brought a new record with 612 registrations to the tournament. Day 1 saw 225 players bag up advancing stacks and they will return to the felt on Monday, June 10, at 2 p.m. local time.
There is a $177,294 first-place prize on the horizon but there is still a long road towards the bracelet ahead of the remaining players. Their first objective will be to sneak inside the top 92 places to secure at least a minimum cash.
If there is a player who is usually going straight for the top prize, it has to be four-time bracelet winner Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi. Renowned for his aggressive style and unprecedented success in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship (he has won the Chip Reese Trophy three times), Mizrachi is usually seen either near the top of the counts or out of the tournament altogether. The former applied for today as Mizrachi finished the day with 74,500, nearly three times the average stack.
"I don't know how to bluff anymore," Mizrachi said to Ivo Donev during the day. However, Mizrachi proved that he still has some moves up his sleeve. He will surely eye WSOP bracelet number five to take the lead in family rankings. He's currently tied with his brother Rob who himself just missed the chance to earn his fifth, finishing third in the Omaha 8 Championship today.
Along with The Grinder, there are dozens of accomplished players coming back for Day 2. Russian player Aleksandr Gofman (95,800) impressed on a table where he sat between Phil Hellmuth and Brian Yoon. Hellmuth also navigated through, thanks to his second bullet. He'll return to 13,200 chips.
Matt Glantz, John Cernuto, Andrey Zaichenko, and Carol Fuchs have all reported promising chip stacks and so did former champion of this event Ron Ware (45,100). Ware's successor to the throne, defending champ Philip Long also advanced. Long is right around the virtual average line with 26,000.
The above-mentioned names represent just a fraction of the talented field that will be back in action tomorrow, so come back to PokerNews at 2 p.m. PDT for more updates from the popular mixed-game tournament.