Cosmin Joldis Holds Big Lead as Five Remain in Mini Main Event
After almost 12 hours of play on Day 2 in Event #66: $1,000 Mini Main Event No-Limit Hold'em with a returning field of 478 all chasing WSOP glory, only five remained in the hunt for the illustrious gold bracelet.
Romanian player Cosmin Joldis has a commanding lead at the final table, starting at 2 p.m. today in Bally's Event Center. Each player has already guaranteed themselves a payout of at least $158,488, with the first-place prize of $593,985 paired with the coveted WSOP gold bracelet awaiting the eventual winner.
Event #66: $1,000 Mini Main Event Final Table Chip Counts
| Seat | Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
| 1 | Kei Nitta | 49,200,000 | 16 |
| 2 | Phillip Lee | 28,400,000 | 10 |
| 3 | Cosmin Joldis | 180,000,000 | 60 |
| 4 | Young Sik Eum | 33,500,000 | 11 |
| 5 | Kartik Ved | 58,500,000 | 20 |
A few notables who busted earlier on Day 2 included five-time bracelet winner Allen Cunningham, two-time bracelet winner Steven Wolansky, and Women in Poker Hall of Famer Kathy Liebert. Five-time bracelet winner Shaun Deeb also made a deep run but was knocked out in 18th place ($23,148) when Theodore Lee's pocket nines beat his ace-three offsuit.
Play will resume today at Level 42 with blinds of 1,500,000/3,000,000 with a big blind ante of 3,000,000. There will be a 15-minute break every four levels until a winner is crowned.
Stay tuned for more coverage of this event and the 2022 World Series of Poker from the PokerNews Live Reporting Team.