Day 1 of Event #54 ($1,000 No-Limit Hold'em) Has Come to a Close!
![[user253757]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
After 11 full levels of exciting No-Limit action, an enormous field of 2,883 runners has been whittled down to just 239, with yet another tournament reaching the payout phase during the first day of play. Along the way, a number of notables and professional players came and went, while a few unique names surged to the top of the chip counts.
The day saw several professionals try to navigate the minefield known as Day 1 of these low buy-in events, with Olivier Busquet, Athanasios Polychronopoulos, Victor Ramdin, Tony Dunst, Matt Stout, Randy Lew, and Bryan Micon just a few of the pros to go busto before the money bubble burst.
Barry Hutter emerged as the overwhelming chip leader by the time bags were tagged, after amassing a stack of 251,000 to end the night. He will be joined by the regally named Marcus Aurelius (150,800), and Warwick Mirzikinian (111,700), while last year's Main Event runner-up Jesse James Sylvia (83,000) is threatening with a late charge at the end of the night.
The action will resume tomorrow at 1 p.m. local time, with the remaining 239 players returning to the Amazon Room to continue the chase for a gold bracelet. Check back with PokerNews at 1 p.m. local time to follow all of the action live from the floor of the Rio, as the field plays ten levels in hopes of reaching the final table.