Day 1 Concludes, Cash Bubble Still Intact
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.