Play has concluded at the end of Day 1b of Event #18: $300 Gladiators of Poker at the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP). The flight attracted 4,571 players to the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.
The 4,571 entries added $1,124,466 to the prize pool, and took the total attendance to over 8,500 with two Day 1s remaining. The bubble burst at 687 players during Level 16, and play continued for another six levels. When the curtain came down on Day 1b, only 151 participants bagged up chips.
After 22 levels of action Justin Arnwine emerged as the chip leader after bagging 3,080,000 chips. Arwine has 13 WSOP cashes, including one from this event, and more than $730,000 in live cashes, a figure that is set to soar if he puts together a deep run in this large-field tournament.
End of Day 1b Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Justin Arnwine | United States | 3,080,000 | 62 |
| 2 | Matthew Krieger | United States | 2,760,000 | 55 |
| 3 | Bernard Muhire | United States | 2,485,000 | 50 |
| 4 | Handrianto Minderman | United States | 2,265,000 | 45 |
| 5 | Dylon Chafin | United States | 2,245,000 | 45 |
| 6 | David Dunlap | United States | 2,230,000 | 45 |
| 7 | Lee Johnson | United States | 2,145,000 | 43 |
| 8 | Mateusz Moolhuizen | Netherlands | 2,070,000 | 41 |
| 9 | Weston Pring | Canada | 2,060,000 | 41 |
| 10 | Henry Theiling | United States | 2,030,000 | 41 |
Others that bagged and tagged impressive chip stacks at the close of play included Matthew Krieger (2,760,000) Bernard Muhire (2,485,000), Handrianto Minderman (2,265,000), and Dylon Chafin (2,245,000.)
Further down the chip counts, but still finding themselves in the mix going into Day 2, include Mateusz Moolhuizen (2,070,000), David Levi (965,000), Daniel Buzgon (855,000), and bracelet winner Adrian Moreno (330,000),
On the flip side, the tournament saw its fair share of high-profile casualties throughout the day. Some of these included Allen Cunningham, Kathy Liebert, Lexy Gavin-Mather, Ashley Frank, and Perry Friedman.
Day 1c of the Gladiators of Poker kicks off at 10:00 a.m. on June 9, and Day 1d starts at the same time on June 10. The surviving players from all Day 1 flights 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.