A star-packed day of high-roller action has wrapped up in Day 1a of Event #3: $25,000 GGMillion$ High Roller Championship at the 2023 World Series of Poker Paradise in The Bahamas with none other than GGPoker ambassador Jason Koon bagging a commanding chip lead.
Koon, who sits fourth on poker's all-time money list with over $52.6 million in earnings, is after his second bracelet as he leads the final 24 players from the first flight, including Koon's fellow Game of Gold contestants Daniel Negreanu and Fedor Holz, as well as nine-time bracelet winner Erik Seidel.
End Of Day 1a Top 10 Chip Counts
| PLAYER | COUNTRY | CHIP COUNT | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jason Koon | United States | 6,000,000 |
| 2 | Fedor Holz | Germany | 4,730,000 |
| 3 | Artur Martirosian | Russia | 4,670,000 |
| 4 | [Removed:548] | Austria | 3,150,000 |
| 5 | Laurynas Levinskas | Lithuania | 2,640,000 |
| 6 | Alex Livingston | United States | 2,270,000 |
| 7 | Seth Davies | United States | 2,010,000 |
| 8 | Daniel Negreanu | Canada | 1,955,000 |
| 9 | Jason Mercier | United States | 1,550,000 |
| 10 | Kazuhiko Yotsushika | Japan | 1,470,000 |
High Stakes Action & An Excited Mystery Bounty Contestant
After a slight delay to the 2 p.m. start, dozens of players made their way into the high-stakes tournament area of the Atlantis Conference Center as the field quickly grew to more than a hundred players.
There was no shortage of elite pros in the Day 1 field, including Kristen Foxen, Joao Vieira, Sam and Lucas Greenwood, Sam Soverel, 2022 Main Event champion Espen Jorstad and reigning champion Daniel Weinman, who is fresh off a runner-up finish in the WSOPC Cherokee Main Event for $215,576 in his first tournament since his $12.1 million victory this summer.
San Antonio Spurs legend Tony Parker delivered the "shuffle up and deal" announcement before hopping into the high-roller action. Unfortunately for the four-time NBA champion, he was eliminated in the first level of play.
As high-level decisions were made at the high-roller tables, screams of joy were heard elsewhere as New York's Jeremy Dan pulled the $500,000 bounty in Event #1: $1,500 Mystery Millions before darting around the tournament room in excitement.
Play slowed down as the field got smaller with only 24 places advancing to Day 2. Another Game of Gold star, Josh Arieh, and Austria's Thomas Muehloecker were among those to soft bubble before 2013 Main Event champ Ryan Riess was eliminated in 25th place to miss out on a bag and a payday.
There's still one more starting flight to go in the $25,000 buy-in event that boasts a guaranteed prize pool of $10 million. Day 1b will follow the same structure as the first starting flight as action gets underway on Wednesday at 2 p.m. local time with blinds of 500/1,000/1,000.
Stay tuned as the PokerNews live reporting team is on-site here at Atlantis Resort and will be back tomorrow for continued coverage of the $25,000 GGMillion$ High Roller Championship.
