2023 WSOP Day 2: First Bracelet of the Series Awarded; Hallay Leads High Roller

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Jun 01, 2023 5 min read

The 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas has wasted no time in upping the ante, with five events running across the vast tournament floors on the second day of the series.

Day 2 of the 2023 WSOP saw the first gold bracelet awarded in the $500 Casino Employees event, the $25,000 High Roller 6-Handed field reduced to nine, and three new events shuffle up and deal: the $1,000 Mystery Millions, the star-studded Tournament of Champions, and the $1,500 Dealer's Choice 6-Handed.

Peter Thai Wins Event #1: $500 Casino Employees Event

Peter Thai will forever be known as the player that captured the first bracelet of the 2023 WSOP. Thai came out on top of a 1,015-strong field in Event #1: $500 Casino Employees, a fantastic result worth $75,535.

PokerNews' Chad Holloway (60th - $1,342), and Jesse Fullen (33rd - $2,029) reached Day 2 but fell short of a final table appearance.

You can read all about Thai's fantastic victory in PokerNews' dedicated recap of the Casino Employees event.

Hallay Leads the Final Nine in the $25,000 High Roller 6-Handed Event

Only nine players remain in the hunt for the $1,215,864 top prize in Event #2: $25,000 High Roller 6-Handed, and it is Frenchman Axel Hallay who leads them back into battle on June 1.

Hallay was seemingly dead and buried at one stage as he found himself down to a meagre stack of 40,000. However, some good fortune and aggressive play later, Hallay bagged up 7,980,000 chips, almost double the number of his nearest rival!

Four of the final nine have already experienced the joy of capturing some poker hardware. Joey Weissman (4,150,000) is the best placed to win another bracelet. He is joined in the hunt for multiple bracelets by Chance Kornuth (2,605,000), the controversial Jake Schindler (1,205,000), and the 2017 Poker Players Championship winner Elior Sion (1,202,500)

Event #2: $25,000 High Roller 6-Handed Day 2 Chip Counts

Day 3 commences at 4:00 p.m. on June 1; the late start time is due to the action being streamed by PokerGO. PokerNews will provide you with text updates throughout until the champion is decided.

Follow the $25,000 High Roller 6-Handed here

$1,000 Mystery Millions Proves Popular; Day 1a Sees 2,023 Entrants

Mystery Bounty tournaments are hugely popular in the live and online poker worlds. The exciting format lures players and thrill seekers to the tables in droves. Event #3: Mystery Millions was no different, with 2,023 players turning out in force for Day 1a of the event.

The Mystery Millions field was whittled to a more manageable 102 over the course of 22 levels. Those surviving players progress to Day 2 on June 4, which is when the mystery bounties come into play.

Leading the way on Day 1a is Francis Anderson, who turned their 40,000 starting stack into a flight-leading 2,750,000 by the close of play.

Other healthy stacks include those in the possession of Bohdan Slyvinskyi (2,310,000), David Gonia (2,245,000), Dan Colpoys (2,000,000), Matthias Hansen (1,950,000), Justin Wright (1,925,000), Jimmy D'ambrosio (1,260,000), and Maria Konnikova (1,055,000)

Event #3: $1,000 Mystery Millions Day 1a Top 10 Chip Counts

Day 1b commences at 10:00 a.m. on June 1, and should see a similar-sized field descend on the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. Of course, PokerNews will bring you live and exclusive coverage from the moment Day 1b shuffles up and deals until the curtain comes down.

Don't miss any of the Mystery Millions action

Lon McEachern Bags Big in the Star-Studded Tournament of Champions

Event #4: Tournament of Champions is a $1 million freeroll that is invitation only. Only winners of WSOP Circuit rings and bracelets were eligible to enter.

Some 726 champions entered the fray, but only 224 of those emerged from their battle unscathed. Of those surviving players, nobody bagged up more chips than Boshuang Yao, whose initial 30,000 starting stack is now worth a cool 445,000

As you would expect from a Tournament of Champions, there are some stellar names among the overnight chip counts. Look out for the likes of legendary WSOP commentator Lon McEachern (133,000), Julien Perouse (268,500), Pete Chen (151,500), and Jeff Madsen (94,500),

End of Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts

Day 2 starts at 12:00 p.m. local time on June 1, with the plan to complete another ten hour-long levels. By the time Day 2 concludes, we should have a much clearer picture of who the Tournament of Champions' champion will be.

Find the Tournament of Champions updates here

Mixed Game Specialists Assemble for the $1,500 Dealer's Choice 6-Handed

Mixed games are where its at if you want to catch a glimpse of your favorite poker pro because these top-tier grinders are attracted to mixed games like moths to flames. Event #5: $1,500 Dealer's Choice 6-Handed was no different, with 456 stars taking to the felt, and locking horns over a wide variety of poker variants.

Larry Tull fared the best on Day 1, and he takes 217,000 chips through to Day 2 on June 1. Joining Tull on Day 2 are such luminaries as Phil Hui (175,000), Marco Johnson (168,000), Frank Kassela (151,000), Yuri Dzivielevski (150,500), Brandon Shack-Harris (143,000), and six-time WSOP bracelet winner Jeff Lisandro (104,000).

The one and only Phil Hellmuth also progressed, doing so with 98,500 chips. As did Hall of Famer Barry Greenstein (88,000), John Monnette (84,000), and Daniel Negreanu (39,000).

End of Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts

Don't miss any of the Day 2 action by heading to our live reporting pages from 12:00 p.m. local time on June 1. Ten levels are planned unless the tournament somehow concludes before then.

Click here for all the mixed game action you can handle

What to Expect on Day 3 of the 2023 WSOP

June 1 is the third day of the 2023 WSOP, and it is another action-packed day of poker action.

The first seven-figure score will be awarded when Event #2: $25,000 High Roller 6-Handed crowns its worthy champion, while Event #3 Mystery Millions Day 1b begins.

Event #4: Tournament of Champions returns for its Day 2, while three more events kick off their respective Day 1s. That trio are the first online event of the series, the $333 No-Limit Hold'em Triple Treys Summer Tip-Off, Event #6: $5,000 Mixed No-Limit Hold'em/Pot-Limit Omaha, and Event #7: $1,500 Limit Hold'em.

As always, fire up PokerNews in your favorite browser or via the PokerNews App, and follow all of the action from the 2023 WSOP from wherever you are in the world.

Matthew Pitt hails from Leeds, West Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom, and has worked in the poker industry since 2008, and worked for PokerNews since 2010. In September 2010, he became the editor of PokerNews. Matthew stepped away from live reporting duties in 2015, and now concentrates on his role of Senior Editor for the PokerNews.

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• Tags WSOP23 Barry Greenstein Daniel Negreanu Maria Konnikova Lon McEachern Phil Hellmuth Yuri Dzivielevski World Series of Poker WSOP
• Related Tournaments World Series of Poker
• Related Players Daniel NegreanuBarry GreensteinPhil HellmuthMaria KonnikovaYuri DzivielevskiLon McEachern