Joao Simao Wins $686,242 and His Second Bracelet in $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em/Pot-Limit Omaha

Event No. 53:$5,000 Mixed No-Limit Hold’em/Pot-Limit Omaha took place at Bally’s and Paris Las Vegas. It had 788 entrants who formed a $3,634,650 prize pool. Joao Simao, a Brazilian poker player beat Marius Gierse and won another World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet and $686,242.

The poker pro stated after the tournament that he had several difficult spots at the table as some players had more skills in Hold’em than him. Yet, others were better than him in Omaha.

He had earlier said before the event that a Brazilian storm would come and he believed that poker’s popularity in Brazil would drastically increase after his latest victory. Simao was the chip leader when the final day’s action began. He eliminated nine opponents at the final table to claim the first-place prize.

The Final Table’s Results

1. Joao Simao from Brazil-$686,242
2. Marius Gierse from Germany-$424,122
3. Ryan Riess from the U.S.-$302,980
4. Dante Goya from Brazil-$219,472
5. Aden Salazar from the U.S.-$161,239
6. Joshua McSwiney from Australia-$120,165
7, Fred Goldberg from the U.S.-$90,864
8, Cody Rich from the U.S.-$69,727

Action on the Final Day

Many talented players like Stefan Schillhabel, Ben Diebold, Mustapha Kanit, David Williams, and Brian Rast fell early on the final day. Schillhabel finished 68th, Diebold 48th, Kanit 28th, Rast 22nd and Williams 18th.

Randall Brooks was the bubble boy as his flush draw and two pair ran into Dante Goya’s set in the Pot-Limit Omaha round. But the flush draw missed and Brooks left the event in tenth place with $42,953.

Joni Jouhkimainen, who finished fifth in last year’s event had a brief final table visit in the No-Limit Hold’em round as Simao’s pocket tens beat his pocket eights. The runout didn’t improve and Jouhkimainen took home $54,313 after finishing ninth.

Cody Rich was a middle stack when the final table’s action began and he got in a Pot-Limit Omaha cooler after his flush draw and straight ran into Simao’s overpair and better straight draw. The board didn’t help Rich after running out thus sending him packing in eighth place with $69,727.

Fred Goldberg lost a huge chunk of his stack in one big blind as he thought he had called in all his chips but left some. Still, he lost more chips in a Pot-Limit Omaha round after Gierse’s suited aces beat his suited kings. The player didn’t get help and finished in seventh place with $90,864.

The next elimination occurred in the No-Limit Hold’em round after Simao made a button raise that Gierse called in a small blind. But, Joshua McSwiney went all-in in the big blind, and Simao folded out as Gierse used two sevens to call.

McSwiney’s king-queen suited turned a flush draw on the flop. Unfortunately, it didn’t help him thus causing his elimination in sixth place earning him $120,165.

Gierse got a huge Pot-Limit Omaha flip from Aden Salazar. The latter had only five big blinds left in the No-Limit Hold’em round. He went all in with nine-ten suited against Simao’s jack-ten suited. The flop favored Salazar while Simao got a pair of jacks from the river hence busting Salazar in fifth place with $161,231.

Goya followed Salazar in fourth place and earned $219,472 after going all-in with ace-ten offsuit over Simao’s raise and pocket sevens. The latter turned the set and eliminated the former.

Simao’s Brazilian Rail

Ryan Riess, the 2013 WSOP Main Event winner, had the least chips when action at the final table continued. Even so, his run ended in Pot-Limit Omaha when he placed his remaining stack against Gierse. The latter drew the flush as the former got a better straight from the turn thus leaving the table in third place with $302,980.

Gierse had a 2:1 chip lead against Simao when the heads-up battle began and it grew to 8:1. Simao raised a big blind as Gierse called in the Pot-Limit Omaha’s final hand. The river and turn didn’t help Gierse and he finished as a runner-up winning $424,122.

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