Day 1a of the WPT World Championship is Done and Dusted
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The poker world's collective focus has undoubtedly shifted to the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, where the WPT World Championship kicked off on Monday.
The season-ending event boasted a $15,400 buy-in - representing a reduction in cost for the WPT's premier tournament from its historic standard of $25,500 - but a $5 million guarantee more than made up for the lower entry fee. A total of 105 players took their shot here today - including the usual assortment of elite pros, along with professional football player Miles Austin - with many more expected to show up tomorrow for the second starting flight. There will need to be 239 more entries recorded for the guarantee to be met, but with satellites running around the clock in the Borgata Poker Room, chances are high the number will be eclipsed before the late registration ends. This reentry tournament also allows casualties from today a second chance to build and bag a stack, so many players who went bust during Day 1a will be back tomorrow looking to rebound.
The chip leader after eight full levels of deep-stacked poker was Paul Volpe, who managed to bag up a stack of 215,300 when it was all said and done. Volpe surged to the top of the leaderboard late in the evening, coming back from dinner break to bust Micah Raskin in a set-over-set-style cooler.
Just 62 runners survived the day, with the room's biggest stacks belonging to Jerry Wong (198,000), Brandon Steven (195,500), Scott Seiver (192,500), Tony Gregg (190,600), She Lok Wong (177,200), Jordan Seigel (163,500), Shannon Shorr (151,600) and Brock Parker (140,000). Phil Hellmuth made his customary late arrival just after the dinner break, managing to run his 50,000 starting stack up to 82,900 in just two levels of play. Austin hung tough throughout much of the day, patiently grinding a short stack while trying to remain incognito, but when he doubled through the chip-leading Volpe on the last deal of the night, he caught the deep ball he needed to potentially begin a deep run against this stacked championship field.
There were many notable names and elite pros who fell short of the finish line, including Robert "Uncle Krunk" Panitch, Lily Kiletto, Noah Schwartz, and Chris Moorman.
Day 1b kicks off tomorrow at 11 a.m. local time, so check in then to follow all of the action live from the floor of the Borgata's Signature Room, as the WPT World Championship rolls on.
in the hole, and with a Byron Kaverman open to 2,200 already made, the defending World Series of Poker Main Event champion three-bet jammed for 19,000 from the hijack.
.
, but the turn bit him when the 
fell to the table. The river card came 
to complete the board and with that Riess headed for the exits.
, Micah Raskin was all in and at risk for a little over 100,000 holding 
for bottom set. Unfortunately for him, he was dominated by Paul Volpe's 
.
fell onto the felt.
- and Raskin sat in his chair silently for a bit before finally exiting the tournament area. He shook some of his opponent's hands and wished them luck as he exited.
. Gregg had a legitimate hand with 
and river of 
were safe for Gregg, however, and Moorman was eliminated from this first day of play.
flop, with Justin Young the lone caller.
turn Israelashvili slowed down by checking to Young, who obliged with a 7,500 wager. Israelashvili quickly flicked out a pair of the baby blue T5000 chips to signify a call, and the river came down 
to four-flush the board.
first, only to offer knock the table in acknowledgment when Young tabled 
. Racener check-called a 3,000 bet from Kristos and the dealer put out the 
on the turn.
and Racener checked a third time and Cristos bet again... all in... which was enough to bust Racener if he lost the hand. After the aforementioned tank, Cristos would show 
for the nuts, a Broadway straight, and Racener quietly pushed his cards into the center of the table and left the room.
and the pot contained right around 47,000 at the time. Waxman held about 100,000 behind and could afford to make the call, but the experienced pro took his time to assess the situation from all angles. He shot Wong a couple of looks while tanking, before slowly cutting out a calling stack and moving it into the middle.
