Event 56: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em
Day 1 Completed
2012 World Series of Poker
Event 56: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em
Day: 1
Level 11
: 500/1,000, 100 ante
It was a fast-paced day of poker in this the last of the $1,500 buy-in no-limit hold'em events of this year's WSOP. Another whopping field turned out for this one, with 2,798 players together creating a huge $3,777,300 prize pool.
Eliminations came at a rapid pace throughout the day, but when bagging time commenced, it had yet to be decided who exactly among the entrants would be dividing that prize pool. A total of 305 players made it through 11 one-hour levels today, and just 297 spots pay, meaning the bubble bursting will be happening in short order when play resumes tomorrow.
Among the hundreds who didn't make it through Day 1, the three currently chasing the record for most WSOP cashes in a single year all fell short of the goal in Event 56. Neither Konstantin Puchkov (currently tied for the record with 10 cashes), Terrence Chan (9 cashes), or Joe Tehan (9 cashes) survived the day.
Meanwhile others prospered, with Donald Vogel, Danny Johnson, Carlos Lopez Neira, Michael Graydon, and Scott Freeman ending the night atop the counts. Also sporting top tier stacks are Blake Cahail, Shankar Pillai, Will Failla, Sam Holden, and Ashton Griffin.
Daniel Negreanu ended the day with above average chips, having come to play Event 56 following his bustout earlier in the day from Event 55: $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop.
And also in the mix tomorrow will be Adam Levy, Chance Kornuth, Cherish Andrews, David "ODB" Baker, Eric Mizrachi, Maria Ho, Jennifer Leigh, Peter Eastgate, Jeff Madsen, J.C. Tran, and Jennifer Tilly.
Join us again tomorrow at 1 PM Vegas time for Day 2 of Event 56 to see who cashes for the minimum, who survives to secure more serious paydays, and who makes the deep run toward the final table and next WSOP gold bracelet.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
145,200
-8,800
|
-8,800 |
|
131,000
-14,000
|
-14,000 |
|
128,400 | |
|
128,000 | |
|
120,700 | |
|
119,200 | |
|
113,700
-7,300
|
-7,300 |
|
|
113,100 | |
|
111,200 | |
|
109,700
-300
|
-300 |
|
107,700 | |
|
107,200 | |
|
104,000 | |
|
98,500 | |
|
97,700 | |
|
95,200 | |
|
94,300 | |
|
||
|
91,600 | |
|
89,100 | |
|
||
|
87,200 | |
|
|
86,000 | |
|
84,800 | |
|
83,300 | |
|
|
83,100 | |
|
81,500 | |
"Is he the chip leader?"
So asked Will Failla, jerking a thumb toward Danny Johnson sitting beside him. Johnson had a smile on his face, probably caused by a combination of Failla's funny stories and the big stacks of chips sitting in front of him.
Johnson's 145,000 was one of the biggest stacks we saw in the Gold section, although Donald Vogel appeared to have nudged ahead of him during a final pass of his table. 2011 November Niner Sam Holden also was sitting behind a healthy stack of about 105,000 as the last hands of the night were playing out.
And Joe Urgo was smiling with about 92,000, too, as Level 11 came to a close. There are others in the room with stacks approaching or exceeding 100,000, but anyone in that vicinity has reason to smile after bagging up and leaving tonight.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
154,000 | |
|
|
145,000 | |
|
105,000
78,000
|
78,000 |
|
|
92,000 |
We just saw a hand that produced a decent-sized pot, but a whole lot of excitement.
It started as a three-way hand, but just two players remained by the end, one of them being the relatively short-stacked George Harraka.
All in with 
against an opponent's 
, the board rolled out 
, giving Harraka a royal flush and the main pot. He survives with just 13 eliminations left until the money.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
42,000 |
Cherish Andrews opened for 2,100 from under the gun, and the player to her right reraised to 6,100. It folded back around, and Andrews called the reraise.
Both players checked down the 
flop, 
turn, and 
river. Andrews turned over 
for queens and jacks, and her opponent flashed 
before mucking.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
48,000
7,000
|
7,000 |
"There's no one notable here."
So said a player spotting your humble reporter, scouting the tables here near evening's end in the effort to locate some of the larger stacks around. At just 35 spots away from the cash, most of those left with chips are ultimately going to be notable, insofar as they'll become part of the WSOP record books for having cashed in the event.
A tour through the Silver section revealed a few players who have edged over the 100,000-chip mark, a milestone that appears at the moment to put players among the leaders at present.
Terris Preston is currently sitting with right at 100,000, while Blake Cahill looks to have about 110,000. And Mark Maletic is hovering at 120,000.
"They're gonna write about you, man," said Maletic's neighbor as we noted his stack. Good read.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
121,000 | |
|
|
110,000 | |
|
102,000 |
Rahul Byrraju has seen his stack slide a bit here during the last hours of play while others in the field are starting to rise up around him. Just now we came upon a hand in which there was about 25,000 in the middle, Byrraju's opponent had pushed all in for 20,000 following a 
flop, and Byrraju was in the tank.
"You have ten-jack?" he asked of his opponent. "You have a set?" Byrraju clearly seemed to want to call, but ultimately talked himself out of it.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
71,000
-27,000
|
-27,000 |
Level 11
: 500/1,000, 100 ante
As we begin the last level of the night, there are 369 players still with chips. That's a little over 70 eliminations away from the cash — close enough for players to start thinking about it, but far enough away that the short stacks are going to have to act rather than try to wait it out.
It appears Konstantin Puchkov's efforts to secure a World Series of Poker record 11th cash this summer have been thwarted, as far as Event 56 is concerned. He'd battled with a short stack for much of the evening, but a recent check of his seat reveals his battle appears to have come to an end.
Speaking of those also chasing Nikolai Evdakov's record of 10 WSOP cashes that Puchkov has tied, Joe Tehan and Terrence Chan (both with nine cashes currently) were eliminated earlier today as well, although as Chan tweeted earlier, more attempts await:
tchanpoker Terrence Chan Wow. Out #wsop56. Definitely used up all the run-bad today, shouldn't be any left for the 10k 6max tomorrow.
July 02 2012
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted | |
|
|
||
|
Busted | |
|
|
||
|
Busted | |