De Armas Leads Stacked Field in Day 1 of $25k High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha
Day 1 of Event #73: $25,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha has come to an end inside the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas with Conrad De Armas leading the way after bagging up 1,250,00. Just behind him is Eric Garma, who ended the day as the only other player with over a million in chips with 1,247,000.
De Armas has two recorded cashes in the WSOP from back in 2021, while Garma only has one from a tag-team event back in 2019. Despite modest results, both players are currently best-positioned to make a deep run in the event. A min-cash for either would be their largest live-tournament score to date.
The High Roller event has been historically popular and this year is proving no different. So far, the tournament has attracted 365 entrants with more expected as late registration will remain open for a couple levels into Day 2. Last year's 449 entrants generated a prize pool in excess of $10 million and this year looks to be on pace with that number.
Event #73: $25,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha Championship Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Conrad De Armas | United States | 1,250,000 | 250 |
| 2 | Eric Garma | United States | 1,247,000 | 249 |
| 3 | Connor Drinan | United States | 970,000 | 194 |
| 4 | Fernando Habegger | Switzerland | 933,000 | 187 |
| 5 | Cong Pham | United States | 879,000 | 176 |
| 6 | Ethan Cahn | United States | 878,000 | 176 |
| 7 | Caleb Furth | United States | 875,000 | 175 |
| 8 | David Eldridge | United States | 831,000 | 166 |
| 9 | Tomer Daniel | United States | 778,000 | 156 |
| 10 | Aaron Katz | United States | 751,000 | 150 |
Day 1 Action
Day 1 got underway with 69 players and it didn't take long for chips to start flying. Daniel Hachem busted within the first few hands of play after getting all in against Filip Lovric with a wrap and failing to improve.
Defending champion Ka Kwan Lau got off to a promising start after busting Joni Jouhkimainen with a full house; however, Lau was unable to maintain his momentum and ending up busting in the last level of the day after getting all in preflop with kings against Matt Shepsky's aces and failing to improve.
The always affable Ren Lin was active throughout the day and even made a little money on the side as he ran up a stack early. Lin pulled off some moves but despite a good start, he ended up busting one bullet late in the evening. Lin reentered during the last level to end with 154,000.
Other notables who secured a bag into Day 2 include Jared Bleznick, (313,000), Nick Schulman (349,000), Phil Ivey (412,000), Viktor Blom (480,000), Chino Rheem (734,000), Juha Helppi (559,000), Fernando Habegger (933,000), Connor Drinan (970,000), and Daniel Negreanu — who entered fresh off his seventh bracelet win in the $50,000 Poker Player's Championship and was able to grow his stack to 529,000 by the night's end.
Among the players who busted out at least one time were Patrik Jaros, Isaac Haxton, Seth Davies, Eelis Parssinen, Jordan Glazer, Dylan Weisman, Anthony Zinno, and Benny Glaser to name a few. However, all eliminated players were allowed up to two reentries and many of them chose to reenter immediately.
Day 2 is set to begin on Sunday, June 30 at 1 p.m. local time. Play will resume on Level 11, which features 3,000/5,000 blinds with a 5,000 big blind ante. Levels will continue to last 60 minutes each and players will be sent on 15-minute breaks every two levels. An extended 60-minute break will commence after Level 16 (approximately 7:30 p.m.) Late registration for the event will remain open until the start of Level 13.
Be sure to stick with PokerNews as we continue to bring you all the PLO action leading to money bubble and beyond in this prestigious event!