WSOP Main Event Day 4: Kelly Minkin Climbing

Kelly Minkin

We all know the WSOP $10,000 Main Event can be brutal. Yesterday two European poker pros, Netherlands Fatima Moreira de Melo and France’s Nesrine Kourdourli, began the 4th day of play with big stacks. Moreira de Melo had 453,500 to start the day and Kourdourli, who was chip leader among the remaining women, took 649,000 to the tables. When the day was done, none of the two pros had survived.

In what became Fatima Moreira de Melo’s last hand of the night, she shoved with

and was called by Chad Power, who had in the hole. As the board ran out Moreira de Melo was eliminated in 286th place for $34,157:

Nesrine Kourdouli made it a bit further as she fell in 244th place ($34,157):

Irina Batorevich from Russia, who was involved in a controversial hand yesterday where she slow rolled aces, wasn’t able to make it to Day 5 either, and she was sent home in 301st place with $29,329. Also Yueqi Wang (528th), Jennifer Powers (549th), Louise Francoeur (558), Angie Gelinas (578th), and Cathy Schenone (644th) were eliminated on Day 4.

DOWN TO A HANDFUL
While a lot of great female players fell, others thrived and climbed the leaderboard. No one did better than Kelly Minkin, who entered the day with 437,500 and tripled her stack to finish the day with 1,289,000, enough for 37th place out of the remaining 237 players. The part-time poker player and attorney from Arizona also won the last longer bet that was set up by Cate Hall and involved some of the best female players in the world, among them Kitty Kuo, Loni Harwood, Melanie Weisner, and Xuan Liu – just to name a few.

Minkin, who’s had an amazing year so far, finishing 3rd in WPT Lucky Heart, 38th in the Millionaire Maker and winning an event at LA Poker Classic, is a force to be reckoned with as we play down to the final nine in the next three days. To Bluff Magazine Kelly said: “Most people that play poker are naturally competitive and aren’t ever completely satisfied. I’m happy with my results and performances and of course I want to be back here in November.

Susie Zhao is no stranger to going deep in the Main Event. In 2012, the year Greg Merson won, the high stakes pro from Los Angeles made it all the way to 90th place for $74k, and she will be looking to go even deeper this year. Zhao will return for Day 5 with 846,000 in chips. Sara Hall from Parma, Ohio, also made it among the final 237 players with 725,000 in chips.

Fashion designer and poker player Diana Svensk from Stockholm, Sweden, started the day with 355,000 and bagged 580,000 at the end of the night. Svensk has more than $100k in tournament earnings, and just one month ago she won the Swazi Millions Main Event for nearly $36k in Swaziland. Svensk will start Day 5 with 580,000 in chips.

Lily Newhouse has already locked up the biggest cash of her career. According to the Hendon Mob Newhouse has $27,848 in live earnings at this point. But with $7,6800,021 up top for the winner besides the gold bracelet there’s so much more at stake for the remaining five ladies.

PokerWomenNews wish Kelly Minkin, Susie Zhao, Sara Hall, Diana Svensk and Lily Newhouse the very best of luck on Day 5.

Photo: Kelly Minkin, LA Poker Classic

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