Jamie Gold and Commerce Casino Poker Pro Team Crushing the WSOP Main Event
The four Day 1 flights of the 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event have concluded, and now it’s time for the $10,000 buy-in tournament to move on to Day 2.
Among the thousands of players still standing is a group of qualifiers from Commerce Casino in Los Angeles, the largest poker room in the world. Jamie Gold, the 2006 world champion, headlined a team of 20 LA pros (plus himself) that all entered the Main Event Day 1a flight (except Gold, who was sick).
Nearly Everyone Made it to Day 2
Of the 20 Day 1a players from the Commerce pro team, an incredible 16 players advanced to Day 2. And then after Gold’s illness cleared enough for the poker champion to compete, he made it 17 of 21 by bagging 110,000 chips, nearly doubling the 60,000-chip starting stack.
All 17 members of the group from the legendary SoCal card room will be back in action Sunday at noon PT for the Day 2abc session. You can follow along their progress throughout the Main Event right here at PokerNews.
When speaking with Gold, who was out of action for nearly a week as he wasn’t feeling well, it’s clear he’s ecstatic to see the Commerce team crushing it early in the Main Event, a tournament he won for $12 million 18 years ago.
"We have all bonded over the last 2 months and it's so heartwarming to see everyone rooting for each other and supporting each other. The camaraderie is really special, you can't fake that it's an energy and a wonderful feeling as poker is such a singular sometimes lonely endeavor we made it a team sport in a way. Of course we are all still playing for our own success but now there's a way to share that. It's not all about the money which for me it never was." - Jamie Gold.
Commerce is Gold’s home card room, and the place where he began his journey as a tournament player all the way back in the early 1990’s. Now as an ambassador for the poker room, he’s done work to promote Commerce, not only in Los Angeles, but also this week in Las Vegas and beyond.
The Commerce team had a successful Day 1, including Gold’s performance. But no one in the group beat out Loc “Luke” Nguyen, who bagged 200,900 chips, which puts him well above the average stack. Of course, as Gold learned in 2006, this tournament is a long grind that doesn’t end until July 17, and nothing is won on Day 1. But no doubt the team is off to a strong start.
To qualify as one of the 20 finalists for the Commerce pro team, each player had to accumulate at least 100 points, just by playing at the poker room. There were 551 players who qualified in April. Those qualifying players then got an entry to an Invitational Tournament on May 5 where the group was narrowed down to the top 20 pro team members.
Commerce then gave away another Main Event seat online for anyone in the world, free to qualify.
Last month, Gold hosted a Commerce VIP package contest where one player won a seat in the Main Event along with poker coaching from the former champ. He has a group of players he’s been coaching in preparation for poker’s most prestigious annual tournament.
In May, Gold and fellow world champion Phil Hellmuth took on a table full of Commerce Casino players for a special livestream at the LA poker room.
Follow the Commerce Team in the WSOP Main Event
