Nearly two weeks into the 2012 World Series of Poker WSOP tournaments are coming in a flurry, with bracelets being handed out, final tables being set, and tournaments getting underway. So without wasting any more time, here is a look at what was going on at the WSOP on Thursday.

“Stinger” stings

Online poker stud Brian “Stinger” Hastings picked up his first World Series of poker bracelet on Thursday, winning the $10k Heads-Up NLHE tournament. Hastings has been transitioning to live poker since Black Friday cutoff his meal-ticket, and has finally broken through with a big win.

The final day of the event saw just four players left, and after defeating Tommy Chen, Hastings went on to defeat Jason Mo in the finals. Here is a look at the payouts for the final four players in the $10k Heads-Up event:

1. Brian Hastings – $371,498

2. Jason Mo – $229,722

3. Brock Parker – $130,606

4. Tommy Chen – $130,606

Ivey and Hellmuth make Day 3 in Stud 8 tournament

Phil Ivey and Phil Hellmuth are both still in contention entering the final day of the $5k Seven-Card-Stud 8 or better event. Both players are positioned well for a final table run, currently sitting in 6th and 7th place on the leader-board with 19 players remaining. Recent bracelet winner John Monnette is currently in 2nd place, with Todd Brunson, Allen Bari, and Eli Elezra nursing short-stacks.

Here is a look at the Top 10 chip counts heading into Day 3 of the event:

1. Adam Friedman – 323,500

2. John Monnette – 314,500

3. Brian Twete – 284,500

4. Sven Arntzen – 273,500

5. Nikolai Yakovenko – 256,500

6. Phil Ivey – 234,000

7. Phil Hellmuth – 233,000

8. Bryn Kenney – 162,000

9. Jesse Martin – 150,000

10. Alexander Krapivinsky – 146,000

One Drop list growing

On Thursday the WSOP released an updated list of One Drop entries; a list that is now up to 42 confirmed entrants. Later in the day Ben Lamb Tweeted he was also playing in the event, which leaves just five open spots left –Phil Hellmuth, John Juanda, Justin Bonomo and even Jean-Robert Bellande are also rumored to possibly be playing.

You can check out the complete list as it now stands HERE.

Negreanu “Ok’s” Annie Duke’s participation

In an interview with PokerListings.com Daniel Negreanu made it clear that he doesn’t think Annie Duke should be banned from the WSOP. Negreanu offered two reasons (one sort of tongue in cheek) as to why Annie Duke should be allowed to play, saying:

“She sucks so that’s good for the game but I don’t have any problem with Annie Duke playing the WSOP,” Negreanu told PokerListings.com in Las Vegas. Negreanu went on to say, “The WSOP is a private entity so they have the right to ban anyone for whatever reason they want… But personally I would never ban anyone from the WSOP unless they were cheating,”

You can read Negreanu’s entire interview with PokerListings HERE

Tags: Adam Friedman, Black Friday, Card Stud, Contention, Eli Elezra, Final Four, Hastings, Jesse Martin, Leader Board, Meal Ticket, Monnette, Nikolai, phil hellmuth, Phil Ivey, Poker Stud, Stinger, Todd Brunson, World Series of Poker, World Series Of Poker Wsop, Yakovenko

This entry was posted on Friday, June 8th, 2012 at 9:15 am and is filed under Poker News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.