A player in early position moved all in for 695,000. Rafael Gonzalez called from the button, and the cards were turned over.
Early Position: A♦Q♦
Rafael Gonzalez: A♠Q♠
Gonzalez saw his chances drop when the flop came 5♦5♠6♦, but picked up his own flush draw when the 7♠ hit the turn. With all players at the table intensely watching, the K♠ hit the river to seal his opponent's fate.
After a small stack moved all in preflop, big stack Rafael Gonzalez moved all-in behind him for around 1,500,000. Patrick White then announced he was all in for 1,300,000, and the race was on for a huge pot.
Opponent: 6♦6♠
Patrick White: A♠Q♠
Rafael Gonzalez: K♥K♦
Gonzalez was in a prime position to become the massive chip leader with a double knockout, but as fate would have it, an ace appeared on the flop of 7♦A♥9♦ to give White the lead.
"Unbelievable!" Gonzalez shouted and pounded the table in disgust as the board completed with 9♣2♣ to secure White's victory in the largest pot of the day.
This rocketed his stack to over 3,000,000 while Gonzalez was left with less than 200,000, and the other player was eliminated.
Day 1a of Event #18: $300 Gladiators of Poker at the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) attracted 3,940 runners, putting the tournament on course to become one of the largest events seen at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.
After 22 levels of play, only 129 players remained. Patrick White bagged the chip lead with 3,405,000. White was involved in a massive hand as the end of the day neared that saw him propelled towards the chip counts' summit.
End of Day 1a Top 10 Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Patrick White
United States
3,405,000
68
2
Olav Prinzvonsachsen
United States
3,085,000
62
3
Dawn Dixon
United States
3,045,000
61
4
Daniel Negreanu
Canada
2,250,000
45
5
Juan Cisneros
United States
2,250,000
45
6
Waikiat Lee
United Kingdom
2,225,000
45
7
Bohdan Slyvinskyi
United States
2,090,000
42
8
David Tran
United States
2,040,000
41
9
Benjamin Klier
United States
1,760,000
35
10
Julio Nava
United States
1,700,000
34
Also making it through on Day 1a was Daniel Negreanu (2,250,000). The six-time WSOP bracelet winner is fourth in chips after the first of four flights. Negreanu continually added chips to his stack throughout the day, and is now armed with plenty of ammunition to mount a serious charge for the title.
Daniel Negreanu
Others that bagged and tagged chips at the close of play included Olav Prinzvonsachsen (3,085,000), Dawn Dixon (3,045,000), Waikiat Lee (2,225,000), and Michael Souza (1,000,000),
Unfortunately, not everyone was as fortunate as the players mentioned above. Among those to bust on Day 1a were Daniel Zack, Robert Kuhn, and Jon Pardy. They will undoubtedly be back for one of the other Day 1 flights and their shot at the $3,000,000 guaranteed prize pool.
Day 1b of the Gladiators of Poker kicks off at 10 a.m. on June 8, while Day 1c takes place at the same time on June 9. Finally, Day 1d starts on June 10. The surviving players from all Day 1 flights will then return for Day 2 action on June 11.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for live updates straight from the tournament floor of Event #18: $300 Gladiators of Poker.
