WSOP What to Watch For: Dan Smith, Griffin Benger Chase Matthew Haugen in the Main Event
After a busy Day 4 which included one of the wildest money bubbles we��ve seen, only 291 players will return for Day 5 of the 2014 World Series of Poker Main Event on Saturday. Here's a look at some of the leading storylines:
Follow the Leader
Matthew Haugen enters Day 5 in the pole position with 2,808,000 in chips. The Chicago native is no stranger to big buy-in events; he finished fourth in the $3,300 World Poker Tour Borgata Winter Poker Open in 2013 for $222,336, which accounts for around half of his career live tournament earnings.
Haugen will have two-time WSOP bracelet winner John Monnette directly to his left when play resumes on Saturday, but fortunately for Haugen, Monnette will return with only 163,000 in chips. The only other seven-figure stack at Haugen��s starting table will be Yorane Kerignard (1.1 million), who will be on Haugen��s right.
Here��s a look at the players who will be chasing Haugen when the first hands of Day 5 are dealt:
2014 Main Event End of Day 4 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Position | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matthew Haugen | 2,808,000 |
| 2 | Zach Jiganti | 2,364,000 |
| 3 | Griffin Benger | 2,329,000 |
| 4 | Michael Finstein | 2,316,000 |
| 5 | Bruno Politano | 2,280,000 |
| 6 | Dan Smith | 2,229,000 |
| 7 | Andoni Larrabe | 2,195,000 |
| 8 | Kyle Keranen | 2,157,000 |
| 9 | Brian Hastings | 2,079,000 |
| 10 | Vladimir Bozinovic | 2,035,000 |
Repping Ivey
Phil Ivey is no longer in the Main Event, having busted on Day 4, but two members of Team Ivey are in excellent shape to follow Ivey��s footsteps in reaching the November Nine. Dan Smith and Griffin Benger both enter Day in the top 10 of the leaderboard. The two pros already have numerous big wins under their belt and well as millions in tournament earnings, both live and online.
Smith surged early on Day 4 when he won a massive pot against Stephen Graner to take the chip lead. Smith continued his domination and increased his lead as the day wore on. He spoke with PokerNews�� Caitlyn Howe about the controversial hand against Graner.
Benger also climbed the leaderboard on Day 4 after winning a massive pot against Alex Tran before the dinner break. According to PokerNews Live Reporting blogger Rich Ryan, Benger continued to terrorize his table for the rest of the night en route to finishing the day third in chips with 2,329,000.
Other big names entering Day 5 include Leif Force (1.987 million), Martin Jacobson (1.594 million), Simon Charette (1.525 million), Andrey Zaichenko (1.484 million), Matt Waxman (1.453 million), Ankush Mandavia (1.093 million), Jared Bleznick (986,000), Rep Porter (931,000), Mukul Pahuja (827,000), Bryan Devonshire (667,000), Maria Ho (544,000), Jeff Madsen (419,000), and David Einhorn (284,000).
Another Robin Hood
Barry Greenstein is nicknamed the ��Robin Hood of Poker�� for his generous charitable donations over the years. David Einhorn is made from the same mold.
The billion hedge fund manager has cashed in another Main Event, and once again is donating all of his winnings to charity. Einhorn has two cashes at the WSOP for more than $5 million combined, all of which went to various charitable foundations. This year Einhorn is playing for Robin Hood NYC, an organization which attempts to alleviate problems caused by poverty in New York.
Check out Einhorn's interview with Sarah Grant for more info on his story:
Play picks back up today at noon PDT inside the Amazon Room at the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino. Be sure to follow the Main Event live updates for start-to-finish coverage of all the Day 5 action.
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