The World Series of Poker (WSOP) Paradise series is underway, and poker players attending should be aware of a rule change that will impact the use of electronic devices at the table.
Jonathan Tamayo won the WSOP Main Event for $10 million this past summer in Las Vegas. Controversy surrounded the victory after poker fans noticed his rail, which included poker pros Joe McKeehen and Dominik Nitsche, had a laptop open with apparent real-time assistance (RTA) software visible.
Tamayo would occasionally converse with his rail during the final table, and that led some to question if he had an unfair advantage. But no one has presented any evidence to prove he broke any rules or won the tournament because of an edge gained from his rail. Still, the WSOP did not have a rule in place to prevent potential controversies such as this from arising. They do now, however.
There are a few other additional new rules for the series, including banning electronic devices at the table altogether when a tournament is down to three tables. Players are also not permitted to place their cell phones or any electronic devices on the table or table rail during play.
The Triton Million began with 74 players, including 37 VIP invitees selected by Triton and 37 professional players invited by their VIP counterparts. The field has now been narrowed down to the final 14 players, who will return to Atlantis Paradise Island for their chance to win a gold bracelet at the World Series of Poker Paradise (WSOPP).
There were 22 reentries, bringing the total number of entries to 96, which created a prize pool of $48,000,000. Seventeen players made the money, with a minimum cash of $755,000, and the top prize soaring to $12,070,000. Leading the pack on the final day is Day 1 and 2 chip leader, Michael Moncek.
Triton Million Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
Place
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Michael Moncek
United States
12,500,000
63
2
Daniel Dvoress
Canada
12,350,000
62
3
Alejandro Lococo
Argentina
10,775,000
54
4
Adrian Mateos
Spain
9,825,000
49
5
Stephen Chidwick
United Kingdom
8,650,000
43
6
Sosia Jiang
New Zealand
7,925,000
40
7
Sinan Unlu
Turkey
7,200,000
36
8
Ben Heath
United Kingdom
5,450,000
27
9
Elias Talvitie
Finland
4,925,000
25
10
Alex Foxen
United States
4,600,000
23
Heading into the final day, the remaining field consists of eight poker pros, six invitees, and just one original pairing: Esti Wang, the short stack coming into Day 3, and high-stakes crusher Adrian Mateos. While not a pairing, Chip Leader Coaching pros Alex Foxen and Chance Kornuth find themselves in the mix on Day 3.
Also making it to the final day is David Einhorn, who had the poker world scratching its head after busting on the very first hand of the tournament. He six-bet all in with ace-king, only to be snapped off by pocket aces. As this was a one reentry tournament, Einhorn took advantage of the opportunity to reenter shortly after and successfully navigated his way into the money and onto the final day.
Four women were invited by Triton to participate in this tournament, with Sosia Jiang being the last woman standing heading into the final day. Jiang sits sixth in chips, after holding the chip lead for a period of time on Day 2.
Sosia Jiang
The remaining players will return for the final day at 12 p.m. local time, where a winner will be crowned. Play will resume in Level 21 with blinds at 125,000/250,000 and a 250,000 big blind ante. There will be a break after every two levels of play, with a dinner break to be determined. The final 14 players have all locked up more than a minimum cash, guaranteeing themselves at least $792,000.
Remaining Prize Pool and Payouts
Place
Player
County
Prize
1
$12,070,000
2
$8,160,000
3
$5,304,000
4
$4,390,000
5
$3,542,000
6
$2,795,000
7
$2,140,000
8
$1,605,000
9
$1,200,000
10-11
$985,000
12-13
$865,000
14
$792,000
15
Phillip Nagy
Costa Rica
$792,000
16
Punnat Punsri
Thailand
$755,000
17
Mikita Badziakouski
Belarus
$755,000
Be sure to follow PokerNews for live updates and coverage throughout the final day of this historic event, all the way until a champion is crowned.
