When arriving at the table the board showed 9♠6♠4♦Q♠ with roughly 20,000 in the middle. A player in early position had checked to Artur Martirosian, who fired out a bet of 18,000. Martirosian's opponent called and they headed to the river.
The 8♦ fell on the river and the early position checked. Martirosian took a few moments before checking back. The early position player took down the pot with Q♦Q♥ for a set of queens.
Tournament officials had just made an announcement congratulating players on making it to Day 2, but that proved to be a jinx for one player at Robin Jofre's table.
He moved all in for his last 13,000 from under the gun and Jofre called in middle position to put him at risk.
All-In Player: K♣9♦
Robin Jofre: Q♦Q♥
The at-risk player was looking for help to stay alive, but the board ran out A♥9♣2♠2♦4♦ and they improved no further than their flopped pair of nines as Jofre sent him to the rail on the last hand of the night.
Play on Day 1b of the 2024 World Series of Poker Main Event at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas has drawn to a close after five two-hour long levels. From the time 2004 Main Event champion Greg Raymer did the honors by announcing the ceremonial "Shuffle Up and Deal!" to the last hand of the day shortly after midnight, roughly 830 hopefuls ponied up a cool $10,000 to begin a journey they all hope will end with victory and a place in the annals of poker history.
By the end of the night, 616 had kept that dream alive with a bag of chips and a seat to return to on Day 2abc. Of those who entered the fray, Poker Hall of Famer and 1988 Main Event runner-up Erik Seidel put himself in a strong position heading into the second day by accumulating 183,600 in chips. Seidel benefited from a late surge that saw him crack his opponent's aces with a flopped set of kings to score a knockout and a large pot.
Erik Seidel
"This was a very good Day 1 for me. To triple up is great," said Seidel as he bagged his chips, adding that it is "very easy to go bust, so it's nice to be alive and have some chips." Although he admitted making one mistake, Seidel noted that his "tables were very good" and that he was still "fairly happy" with his level of play.
Seidel is already one of the all-time greats, and perhaps his indisputable level of success has allowed him to approach the tournament with some levity. "You buy a lottery ticket, you hope to beat some ridiculous odds. I don't take this tournament too seriously. If you get on a nice run, great!"
Although fellow Hall of Famer Phil Ivey won his eleventh bracelet a couple of weeks ago to move clear of Seidel on the all-time leaderboard, that fact seems to be of little concern to "Seiborg."
"I just love to play. I'm not really that focused on bracelets. They're nice when they come, but it's not my prime motivation. I'm just trying to do well."
George Dolofan was likely the entrant most pleased with their work today after he spun his starting stack up to a mammoth 314,000. Matthew Sabia was another player with a bag stack at the end of the night, having amassed 297,400. Neither of those two have cracked seven figures in live earnings, but a deep run in this event could very well change that.
End of Day 1b Top Ten Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
George Dolofan
United States
314,000
393
2
Matthew Sabia
United States
297,400
372
3
Patrick Hagenlocher
United States
270,300
338
4
Vladas Tamasauskas
Lithuania
268,300
335
5
Aaron Werner
United States
246,900
309
6
Junfeng Wang
Australia
223,300
279
7
Frode Alfredsen
Norway
221,200
277
8
Nicolaas Thielman
United States
217,300
272
9
Florian Ribouchon
France
215,400
269
10
Daniel Neilson
Australia
214,900
269
Other players who managed to navigate their way through the day to end with an above-average stack include Patrick Hagenlocher (270,300), Vladas Tamasauskas (268,300) and Aaron Werner (246,900). Werner took down a large pot during the last level with a raise on the river to propel his stack over the 200,000 mark.
As one would expect, many notables were present in the field. Some found a bag, including high stakes crusher Artur Martirosian (166,300), 2019 Main Event champion Hossein Ensan (166,000) and four-time bracelet winner Ben Yu (125,600). British online phenom Patrick Leonard also survived, but will have his work cut out for him on Day 2 as he returns with just 18,800.
Josh Arieh
Others were less fortunate, falling at the first hurdle to see their hopes dashed far earlier than they would have liked. The 2021 WSOP Player of the Year, Josh Arieh, was one such individual after he dwindled down to bust before the dinner break. The aforementioned Raymer, who knocked out Arieh in third place en route to his main event victory twenty years ago, lasted a little longer, but all in vain as he ran his jacks into aces late in the day to hit the rail.
What neither of these players suffered, however, is the fate that befell Tony Guglietti, namely busting on the very first hand of play. Guglietti ran his straight into the nut flush of John Gutierrez to send him packing mere minutes after taking his seat. While one could reasonably debate the level of misfortune involved compared to the merits of his play, what is certain is that Guglietti will have been left with a bitter taste in his mouth as he joined two others from Day 1a in a club no one wants to be a member of.
Anyone fortunate enough to have survived the day will return Sunday, July 7, at noon local time, when they will be joined by the survivors of days 1a and 1c to play another five levels. Late registration remains open for two more levels on Day 2, so while initial numbers are down from 2023, there is still hope of getting close to or even surpassing that record-breaking field.
Coverage of the 2024 Main Event continues tomorrow at 12 p.m. PDT with the PokerNews live reporting team on hand to catch the action from Day 1c. Stay tuned for all the excitement, as the poker event of the year has only just begun!
