Several Main Event Champions Find Bags on Day 1d of the Main Event, Ivey Falls Just Short
The final starting flight of the 2022 World Series of Poker $10,000 No-Limit Hold 'em World Championship has officially finished play.
Day 1d had the poker world teeming with excitement, and it absolutely did not disappoint. Thousands of players filled seats across the new home for the series at Bally's and Paris Las Vegas. Some 4,481 players sat down today to begin their quest at long-lasting poker glory. Only 3,294 were able to continue that journey by finding a bag for Day 2.
The record number of entrants in the Main Event was set in 2006 when Jamie Gold took all the chips from the other 8,872 players in the field. With late registration open through two levels of each Day 2 on July 7th and 8th, that number could still be bested by Friday.
Vince Vaughn started today’s festivities in a dramatic fashion. With rousing music and fanfare, he entered the Bally's Event Center in an armored Caesar costume; Vaughn unveiled the magnificently decorated 2022 Main Event bracelet before announcing, "Shuffle up and deal!" to get the day started.
Event #70: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event Day 1d Top 10 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hao Chen | China | 580,100 | 725 |
| 2 | Randal Heeb | United States | 339,000 | 424 |
| 3 | Mathieu His | France | 316,000 | 395 |
| 4 | Joseph Bold | United Kingdom | 299,400 | 374 |
| 5 | Bjorn Stoweno | Germany | 289,000 | 361 |
| 6 | Jared Hyman | United States | 285,000 | 356 |
| 7 | Daniel Hachem | Australia | 283,700 | 355 |
| 8 | Matthew Wiegman | United States | 283,300 | 354 |
| 9 | Sergio Coutinho | Portugal | 277,000 | 346 |
| 10 | David Finkel | United States | 273,500 | 342 |
*Chen's stack will be verified once he opens his chip bag on Day 2
Multiple Main Event Champions fired in today’s flight and found bags in their quest to accomplish the rare feat of becoming a multiple-title winner. Koray Aldemir (71,800), Chris Moneymaker (108,000), Greg Merson (103,700), Joe Hachem (21,600), and Johnny Chan (218,800) all navigated the populous Day 1 field and came out on the other side with chips. Chan flopped a full house late in the day to bust an opponent and chip up big.
Chan was delighted with how his Day 1 went. Speaking to PokerNews, Chan said, "It was a wonderful day. That's the best first day in the main event for the last at least 15 years, I have more chips than I ever have in the main event. This the first year, I got over 200,000, I'm very happy. The table was very nice. I got to play with nine different players that I never played poker with before."
Moneymaker ended the day in good spirits. "I'm happy, you know, just getting through Day 1 with a decent stack is what you want," he shared. When asked about players reacting when they see him to this day, he said, "It's kind of crazy; I still get those reactions. It's always nice to have fans and have people rooting for you."
Phil Ivey couldn't get anything going late and unfortunately busted when he three-bet shoved against an opponent's open and his king-ten couldn't improve against his opponent's ace-queen.
Many notable names were able to find a bag heading into Day 2. Eli Elezra (127,500), Alan Keating, Mikita Badziakouski, Ben Spragg (78,000), Robert Mizrachi (176,600), Ashley Frank (21,500), Michael Reisman (82,800) and Jeff Sluzinski (42,300) all had their names on bags at the end of play.
Players who met their tournament end on Day 1d include Fedor Holz, Brad Owen, Landon Tice, Allen Kessler, and Brandon Adams.
Players who bagged today will return on Friday, July 8th at 11 a.m, to play their Day 2 separate from the other three starting flights. Stay tuned here at PokerNews as we move from starting flight action into deeper days of the most prestigious poker tournament in the world.