2021 WSOP Day 1: Series Underway With Star-Studded $25k H.O.R.S.E.
The 2021 World Series of Poker finally began yesterday, with three events getting underway, and it was a good start for Florida poker pro Chad Eveslage who bagged the chip lead in Event #2: $25,000 H.O.R.S.E.
Eveslage is coming off the back of a series of cashes over the last month, and looking to improve on his best WSOP performance - a deep run in the 2014 Main Event for $103,025.
Away from the H.O.R.S.E. the first two winners of the 2021 WSOP will be crowned later today, with both the Casino Employees and COVID-19 Relief Charity Event playing down to a winner.
Meanwhile, two more events begin today, with cards in the air in both The Reunion (10am PT) and the $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better (3pm PT).
2021 WSOP Live Reporting Hub
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Event #1: $500 Casino Employees
For the first time in 26 months, the poker world came together at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino for the start of the 2021 World Series of Poker.
The $500 Casino Employees Event took its traditional role as the opening event of the WSOP, with 419 entries generating a prize pool of $175,980. After 17 40-minute levels on Day 1, around 50 players survived to Day 2 with their dream of capturing the coveted gold bracelet still alive.
Leading the way is Leo Abbe, a Sportsbook Promotions Associate with DraftKings. Abbe took two big pots off former chip leader Juan Carlos Latuff towards the end of the night to finish with 537,000.
Other big stacks include Shawn Weintraub (474,000), Roberto Reyna (461,000), Andrew Bart (422,000), and Akash Desai (415,000). PokerNews' Jesse Fullen (pictured) survived the day with 223,000.
Not everyone was fortunate enough to make it through to Day 2. Chad Holloway, the 2013 champion of this event, busted on Day 1, as did 2019 Main Event fourth-place finisher Garry Gates and WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart. PokerNews team members Connor Richards, Matt Hansen, and Dannah Kamp also hit the rail.
The remaining players will return at 12 p.m. PST tomorrow in the Amazon Room. The schedule calls for them to play down to a champion. Be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews for what will surely be a packed day of action.
Be sure to catch all the updates from Event #1: $500 Casino Employees from our Live Reporting Hub
Read More: Big Names Expected in WSOP 2021 High Roller Tournaments
Event #2: $25,000 H.O.R.S.E.
The 2021 World Series of Poker kicked off with a bang by scheduling a $25K H.O.R.S.E. directly on the opening night. Day 1 of Event #2: $25,000 H.O.R.S.E. consisted of ten intense 60-minute levels of play, and at the end of the night, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida poker pro Chad Eveslage sits atop the chip leaderboard with 860,000 in chips.
Eveslage remained quite active throughout the day, capitalizing in key spots and on key hands on his way to the top of the leaderboard.
Today's event attracted 73 total entries, with 47 players headed to Day 2. John Monnette (589,500), Jean Gaspard (569,000), Jesse Klein (490,500), and Mike Matusow (421,500) all bagged up solid chip stacks.
Needless to say, plenty of the world's very best are left in contention as well, with Daniel Negreanu. Phil Hellmuth, Shaun Deeb, Benny Glaser, and Adam Owen being just a handful of the big names that advanced to Day 2.
Join us on PokerNews on Friday at 2 p.m. PST as the hunt for the coveted WSOP Gold Bracelet will continue. Registration for this event will remain open until the first card is dealt on Day 2, and the prize pool and payouts will be announced shortly after registration has closed.
Top 10 Chip Counts
Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Chad Eveslage | United States | 860,000 |
2 | John Monnette | United States | 589,500 |
3 | Jean Gaspard | United States | 569,000 |
4 | Jesse Klein | United States | 490,500 |
5 | Mike Matusow | United States | 420,500 |
6 | Adam Friedman | United States | 420,500 |
7 | Chris Vitch | United States | 371,500 |
8 | Shaun Deeb | United States | 321,000 |
9 | Hal Rotholz | United States | 314,000 |
10 | Randy Ohel | United States | 295,000 |
Late registration in this event is open until the start of Day 2, with players allowed one re-entry. The tournament resumes at 2pm (PT) and plays ten more 60-minute levels.
Don't know how to play H.O.R.S.E? Head to the PokerNews Rules section for all the information, including strategy, advice, hand rankings and more!
WSOP 2021: What's New this Year at the Rio?
Event #3: $1,000 Covid-19 Relief Charity Event
Event #3: $1000 Covid Relief No-Limit Hold'em Charity drew 266 players, paying the top 38 places. With one hundred dollars from every buy-in benefitting frontline health workers, $25,000 was raised in total on top of the $231,400 prize pool.
After 9 hours of play, Jesse Lonis ended the day as the chip leader with 2,285,000 chips. Jeremy Ausmus sits in second with 1,395,000, while Asher Conniff (755,000), Steve Gross (485,000), and Mitchell Halverson (385,000) round out the final five.
2021 WSOP Event #3 Final Five Players
Seat | Player | Chip Count |
---|---|---|
1 | Jesse Lonis | 2,285,000 |
2 | Asher Conniff | 755,000 |
3 | Mitchell Halverson | 385,000 |
4 | Steve Gross | 485,000 |
5 | Jeremy Ausmus | 1,345,000 |
The tournament drew big names such as Ryan Reiss, Matt Stout, and Jeff Platt, but all of them left the tournamnet area empty-handed.
The final table was reached in rapid fashion as the rate of eliminations came in at a breakneck pace, taking the field down from three tables to the final table in little more than an hour. Ian Steinman (18th Place) and Pete Chen (17th Place) were two of the notables to hit the rail during this stretch of play.
A double elimination that took out Kevin Wang and John Yocca in one fell swoop to set the final table, a hand which gave Lonis a huge boon to his stack to enter the final table with.
Eugene Tourevski next went out in eighth place, Craig Mason fell in seventh place and one time big stack Litan Betito was the final victim of the night, succumbing in sixth place to end the proceedings with five remaining.
The final five return on Friday at 4 p.m. PST to play down to the winner. Make sure to tune back in to PokerNews as the first bracelet winner of the series will be crowned.
The Reunion Headlines WSOP Day 2
One of the most hotly anticipated tournaments of this year's WSOP gets underway later today with the first of three flights in The Reunion. Massive $5,000,000 guarantee.
The first two bracelet winners will be crowned today in the Casino Employees and Covid-19 Relief Charity Events.
Time (PT) | Event |
---|---|
10:00 | Event #4: $500 The Reunion Flight A |
12:00 | Event #1: $500 Casino Employees Day 2 |
14:00 | Event #2: $25,000 H.O.R.S.E. Day 2 |
15:00 | Event #5: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better |
16:00 | Event #3: $1,000 Covid-19 Relief Charity Event Day 2 |
In this Series
- 1 2021 WSOP Day 1: Series Underway With Star-Studded $25k H.O.R.S.E.
- 2 2021 WSOP Day 2: Hellmuth In The Hunt For 16th Bracelet
- 3 2021 WSOP Day 3: Drinan On Course For His Second Bracelet
- 4 2021 WSOP Day 4: Cornell In Pole Position For First Bracelet
- 5 2021 WSOP Day 5: Negreanu, Matusow, Seidel, and Hellmuth Advance in the $10K LO8 Championship
- 6 2021 WSOP Day 6: Phil Hellmuth Chasing 16th Bracelet Deep in the $10K LO8 Championship
- 7 2021 WSOP Day 7: Hellmuth Four Players Away From Bracelet #16
- 8 2021 WSOP Day 8: Deeb Looking For Bracelet #5
- 9 2021 WSOP Day 9: FiveThirtyEight's Nate Silver Headlines $10K Limit Final Table; Racener Leads
- 10 2021 WSOP Day 10: Brian Yoon Hunting for Fourth Bracelet
- 11 2021 WSOP Day 11: Hellmuth In The Hunt Again; Reaches Another Final Table
- 12 2021 WSOP Day 12: Negreanu Hunting for Seventh Bracelet
- 13 2021 WSOP Day 13: Five Left in Milly Maker; Marle Cordeiro Among Last 17 in Ladies Event
- 14 2021 WSOP Day 14: Vanessa Kade Racks Up Fifth Cash of the Series
- 15 2021 WSOP Day 15: Zinno On Course For Fourth Bracelet
- 16 2021 WSOP Day 16: Kornuth Reaches Back-to-Back $10K Short Deck Finals
- 17 2021 WSOP Day 17: Phil Hellmuth Hunting for 16th Bracelet with 10 Remaining in $1,500 NL 2-7 Lowball
- 18 2021 WSOP Day 18: Elezra in the Mix For His Fifth Bracelet
- 19 2021 WSOP Day 19: David “Bakes” Baker Hunting for Third Bracelet at $1,500 Triple Draw Final Table
- 20 2021 WSOP Day 20: Friedman After a Three-Peat as Negreanu and Hellmuth Advance to Final 10 in $10K Dealer's Choice
- 21 2021 WSOP Day 21: Addamo Flying High In Yet Another High Roller
- 22 2021 WSOP Day 22: Arieh Positions Himself For Bracelet #3
- 23 2021 WSOP Day 23: Gerhart, Johnson, and Shack-Harris Seeking Third Bracelets with Five Remaining in $10K H.O.R.S.E.
- 24 2021 WSOP Day 24: JC Tran Flying High in the $10K PLO
- 25 2021 WSOP Day 25: Elezra and Matusow Hunting for Fifth Bracelets in the $10K PLO Championship
- 26 2021 WSOP Day 26: Soverel Leads the Charge in the NL 2-7 Single Draw Championship
- 27 2021 WSOP Day 27: Glaser Leads Final 8 $10K NL 2-7 Championship as Negreanu Alive Hunting for Seventh Bracelet
- 28 2021 WSOP Day 28: Stars Turn Out For $25K PLO High Roller; Deeb Flying High
- 29 2021 WSOP Day 29: Lamb Registers Late In $25K PLO and Bags Lead
- 30 2021 WSOP Day 30: Ka Kwan Lau On Course For $25K PLO Bracelet
- 31 2021 WSOP Day 31: Kolev Leads the $10K 6-Handed NLHE Championship
- 32 WSOP 2021 Day 32: Yockey Bags $50k Poker Players Championship Day 1 Chip Lead
- 33 2021 WSOP Day 33: Volpe and Cates Lead Final 35 of the $50K Poker Players Championship
- 34 2021 WSOP Day 34: Ryan Leng Leads Final 10 in the $50K PPC
- 35 2021 WSOP Day 35: Eli Elezra Leads Final 5 in the $50K Poker Players Championship
- 36 2021 WSOP Day 36: Main Event Underway, Brunson Up to Old Tricks
- 37 2021 WSOP Day 37: Three Bracelet-Winners Crowned as Main Event Continues
- 38 2021 WSOP Day 38: Aleksandr Shevlyakov Bags Overall Chip Lead on Day 1c of the Main Event
- 39 2021 WSOP Day 39: Main Event Breaks Through 4,500 Entrants; Ajayi Tops Counts
- 40 2021 WSOP Day 40: Joe Hachem Back in Form on Day 1e of the Main Event
- 41 2021 WSOP Day 41: Rameez Shahid Leads Main Event as Phil Hellmuth Makes Grand Entrance
- 42 2021 WSOP Day 42: Main Event Whittled to 2,362 Players
- 43 2021 WSOP Day 43: Jessica Cai Leads After Main Event Bubble Bursts
- 44 2021 WSOP Day 44: Ramon Colillas Bags Day 4 Chip Lead in WSOP Main Event
- 45 2021 WSOP Day 45: Aldemir Claims Main Event Chip Lead After Day 5
- 46 2021 WSOP Day 46: Park Leads the Final 36 in the Main Event
- 47 2021 WSOP Day 47: Yuval Bronshtein Leads Final Four in $10K Stud Hi-Lo Championship in Hunt for Third Bracelet
- 48 2021 WSOP Day 48: Lisandro Leads Hellmuth After $10,000 Razz Championship Day 1
- 49 2021 WSOP Day 49: Hellmuth Hunting for Bracelet #17 as Dzivielevski Leads Final 14 in $10K Razz Championship
- 50 2021 WSOP Day 50: Benny Glaser Hunting for 4th Bracelet with Heads-Up Lead in $10K Razz Championship
- 51 2021 WSOP Day 51: Glaser, Schemion, Cowen and Wheeler Pick Up Bracelets; Mateos Chip Leads in $250K SHR
- 52 2021 WSOP Day 52: Jason Koon Leads $50K High Roller
- 53 2021 WSOP Day 53: Holz In Front In The $100K High Roller
- 54 2021 WSOP Day 54: Michael Addamo Leads Final Five in $100K High Roller