Day 1a of the new Event #75: $1,500 The Closer No-Limit Hold'em (30-minute levels) - $1 Million Guarantee ended. After 18 levels of play, only 54 of the starting 502 remain in contention for the title.
Bertrand ‘Elky’ Grospellier leads the way with around 40 starting stacks in this turbo format with 583,000, and he is joined by Nelson Resendiz (401,000), Marius Kupzmanas (392,000) and Leif Force (298,000), the 2012 champion of event #3 3,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em / Pot-Limit Omaha amongst others who bagged above average stacks.
With total live earnings of $3,785,320 in WSOP events and a bracelet earned in the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship in 2011, Grospellier will be a serious competitor in the hunt for a second gold bracelet.
One competitor in the field who has already accomplished this feat is Kristen Bicknell, though the two-time bracelet winner will be returning as one of the shorter stacks with 26,000 in chips.
With 76 players making the money, the bubble burst shortly after the last break of the day. Some of the players to narrowly miss out on a $2,243 min-cash included the 2017 WSOP Player of the Year Chris Ferguson and two-time bracelet winner Ryan Hughes.
Players who cashed for the minimum included Matt Stout, Kelly Minkin, Ari Engel, Ian Steinman and Mike Leah. The Canadian player was multi-tabling between this event and Event #76: $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. and came back right at the bubble with a short stack of 11,000 chips left. Leah managed to survive to the bubble with half a small blind to catch his eleventh cash of the series.
Some of the players who took their chance in this event but without success were Kenny Hallaert, Jared Hamby, Connor Drinan, Christian Harder, Jesse Sylvia, Jimmy Guerrero, Phil Laak, Maria Lampropulos, three-time bracelet winner Phil Galfond, Ryan Laplante, Sorel Mizzi and many more.
Two more starting flights are scheduled for this event, with Day 2 starting Sunday, July 15, at 12pm. The remaining players will play down to a winner with a 15-minute break every four levels and a dinner break prior to the final table.
Keep it right here on PokerNews for live updates from the field.
Tags:
Bertrand GrospellierChris FergusonChristian HarderJared HambyJimmy GuerreroKenny HallaertMaria LampropulosMike LeahRyan HughesSorel Mizzi
and went check-check. 
, Leif bet 5,000 after his opponent checked and Force thought about it for a minute before calling.
. After another check from his opponent, Force announced all in. The big blind player chose to call with a stack around 50,000 with 
but mucked his hand when he saw 
in Force's hand for a better pair. 
, Stout had to win the flip against 
for his opponent, but the board brought him no help with 
