Event #73: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em MAIN EVENT - World Championship Day 1a | 2019 World Series of Poker

07-04-2019 01:21 UTC-7

Bryan Campanello Bags Lead as Day 1a of the 2019 WSOP Main Event Comes to a Close

BrandonTemple

Level 5 : 300/600, 600 ante

Day 1a is in the books for the 2019 World Series of Poker $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event at the Rio All-Suites Hotel & Casino. A total of 1,335 entrants hit the felt for the premier poker tournament of the year, with 962 making it through the first day. There was no shortage of action with two more starting flights yet to come.

After five two-hour levels, bracelet winner Bryan Campanello managed to bag up an impressive 417,500 in chips to sit amongst the chip leaders at the end of the day. Campanello zoomed up the counts in Level 4 of the day, rivering a full house against a player's Broadway straight. The 2013 $2,500 Razz gold bracelet winner was able to keep rolling his way to one of the top stacks in the room by the end of the day.

A pair of former WSOP Main Event champions also made it through, as Qui Nguyen, the 2016 WSOP Main Event champ steadily chipped up through the day en route to bagging up 180,500. 2003 Main Event champ Chris Moneymaker managed to get through, bagging up 95,000.

Other players that navigated their way through Day 1 and progressed to Day 2ab include Patrick Serda (216,700), Jared Bleznick (189,100), Jeff Lisandro (180,100), Alex Foxen (173,200), Faraz Jaka (174,100), Martin Kabrhel (164,500), Jack Sinclair (153,800), Kelly Minkin (137,100), Billy Baxter (131,500), Brian Hastings (124,200), Elio Fox (73,400), Erik Seidel (57,400), and Stephen Chidwick (45,000).

Not everyone found themselves with chips at the end of the night, as plenty of notable names were unable to make it through. One high profile elimination occurred in Level 3, when Liv Boeree found herself busted at the hands of her boyfriend Igor Kurganov. Boeree had a classic response to her undoing at the hands of Kurganov, but the latter was able to utilize those chips to make it through the day with 129,100.

Others who fell on Day 1a include Shane Warne, David Williams, Kevin "Phwap" Boudreau, Frank Kassela, Bryan Piccioli, Daniel Alaei, Jerry Wong, Daniel Idema, Chris Moorman, Brian Altman, Steven van Zadelhoff, Brandon Adams and Lexy Gavin.

Randall Emmett once again made his presence felt all over today, first by having flamenco dancers deliver ice cream to everyone playing in today's flight. A short time later, Emmett made his way to the featured table, where he made himself heard immediately. He ended the night on a positive note before bagging 62,300 in chips, 2,300 more than he started the day with.

Day 1b will kick off tomorrow at noon local time, with players slated to play five two-hour levels again. Be sure to stay tuned right here to PokerNews to catch all the bust outs, big pots, and action as we kick off our second of three starting flights of the 2019 WSOP $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event!

Tags: Alex Foxen Billy Baxter Brandon Adams Brian Altman Brian Hastings Bryan Campanello Bryan Piccioli Chris Moneymaker Chris Moorman Daniel Alaei Daniel Idema David Williams Elio Fox Erik Seidel Faraz Jaka Frank Kassela Igor Kurganov Jack Sinclair Jared Bleznick Jerry Wong Kelly Minkin Lexy Gavin Liv Boeree Martin Kabrhel Patrick Serda Qui Nguyen Randall Emmett Shane Warne Stephen Chidwick

07-03-2019 23:54 UTC-7

Minkin Takes One Out

Mickey Doft

Level 5 : 300/600, 600 ante

With about 10,000 in the pot and the board reading , Kelly Minkin bet 5,000 from middle position and her opponent on the button called.

The river was the , Minkin bet effectively 9,500-ish and her opponent called all in with .

Minkin, though, tabled for queens and eights to eliminate her opponent.

Player	Chips	Progress
Kelly Minkin	164,000	14,000

Tags: Kelly Minkin

07-03-2019 21:48 UTC-7

Emmett Wants a Fish ... a Big Fish ... Like Himself

tRaMSt0p

Level 4 : 300/500, 500 ante

"Randall is back! Yum, yum, yum!" announced Randall Emmett after the opponent he had just eliminated had vacated the secondary feature table.

"God, I love this game," Emmett continued.

Emmett held , and he called his opponent's roughly 10,000-chip all in.

Emmett's opponent was in the lead with his , but when the dealer spread the board, Emmett struck the river and eliminated his opponent.

Jumping up from his chair in seat eight, Emmett jolted to the now vacant seat one and rubbed it while he pleaded, "Poker Gods, bring me a fish. A big fish ... like myself!"

Player	Chips	Progress
Randall Emmett	53,500	14,300

Tags: Randall Emmett

07-03-2019 21:03 UTC-7

Emmett: "They Need Me on TV. They Want Me On TV."

tRaMSt0p

Level 4 : 300/500, 500 ante

"I'm not going anywhere cause I'm the best in the world!" blasted Randall Emmett as he jumped from his seat and danced around the outer feature table.

Emmett was all in preflop holding against an opponent's .

The board ran out and Emmett struck a straight on the river to double through.

"They need me on TV. They want me on TV." Emmett continued.

"I gotta reload the table now," Emmett stated as he pulled out what appeared to be a $100 bill and placed it under the dealer's all-in button in what only can be assumed to be as preparation for his next all in.

Player	Chips	Progress
Randall Emmett	32,500	-7,800

Tags: Randall Emmett

07-03-2019 20:58 UTC-7

Qui Winning

Jeff McMillan

Level 4 : 300/500, 500 ante

Qui Nguyen has chipped up nicely on Day 1a and he was seen collecting the remaining chips of an opponent who stood up and shook his hand as his chips found their new home in the 2016 champs stack.

Player	Chips	Progress
Qui Nguyen	110,000	48,000

Tags: Qui Nguyen

07-03-2019 20:29 UTC-7

Ahler Hopes to Parlay Charity Win Into WSOP Glory

Chad Holloway

Level 4 : 300/500, 500 ante

Josh Ahler's road to the 2019 WSOP Main Event isn't a traditional one. He didn't buy in, nor did he sell action. Instead, the Social Media Manager for 247Sports won a charity tournament that gave him a $10,000 prize to enter the Main Event.

It happened last October in the “Music City Shootout” charity event held in Nashville, Tennessee. That tournament attracted the likes of Chris Moorman and Katie Lindsay, among others.

The event raised money for Mother To Mother, a nonprofit that provides vital health, safety, and wellness items for infants and children in need.

In the end, Ahler took down the top prize and now nearly nine months later he finds himself competing on poker's biggest stage.

In a recent hand, Ahler limped from the hijack and inspired the player in the small blind to do the same. The player in the big then exercised his option with a raise to 2,500, which only Ahler called. When the flop came down , the big blind checked and folded to a bet of 2,000 from Ahler.

It wasn't the biggest pot but it kept Ahler going in the right direction as he's currently sitting on a six-figure stack.

Player	Chips	Progress
Josh Ahler	105,000	105,000

Tags: Josh Ahler

07-03-2019 20:23 UTC-7

Mazza Stuck in Reverse

Chad Holloway

Level 4 : 300/500, 500 ante

With 4,100 in the pot and a flop of , the player in the small blind checked and so did the big blind. Mark Mazza was in the hijack and bet 2,500, which prompted the player the small blind to call.

The big blind got out of the way and then both players checked the turn.

After the was run out on the river, the small blind bet 3,500 and Mazza thought long and hard before making the call. The small blind rolled over the and it was good as Mazza sent his hand to the muck.

Player	Chips	Progress
Mark Mazza	20,000

Tags: Mark Mazza

07-03-2019 20:07 UTC-7

The Spin King Eliminated by Lolis

tRaMSt0p

Level 3 : 200/400, 400 ante

Michael Jordan, John Elway, Shane Warne. All regarded as one of the best sportsmen of their generation depending on which country you're from.

The sport of cricket isn't popular in the United States, but nearly everywhere else in the world, cricket has a religion-like status. From the 1990's to late 2000's, Warne was at the top of the game wielding an arsenal of trick deliveries that baffled batsman on cricket pitches all around the world.

As Warne's cricketing career slowed down, his poker career began to pick up. Warne has been a mainstay at both his local casino in Melbourne, Australia, and the WSOP each year.

Always trekking out to play the Main Event, his appearance in the field today was a short lived one as he was just eliminated by David Lolis.

Lolis detailed that he opened with a raise holding and both a player in late position, and Warne called to see a flop.

Lolis continued with a bet of 3,100 and the player in the middle raised to 11,000. Warne called, and Lolis responded by moving all in having both players covered. The raiser folded, but Warne called all in holding .

The turn and river bricked out with the and , and Warne was eliminated here on Day 1a, while Lolis soared up the leaderboard to contend with the chip leaders.

Player	Chips	Progress
David Lolis	201,600	201,600
Shane Warne	Busted

Tags: David Lolis Shane Warne

07-03-2019 20:03 UTC-7

Boeree Busted By Her Boyfriend

Chad Holloway

Level 3 : 200/400, 400 ante

Igor Kurganov may be sleeping on the couch tonight after he just eliminated his girlfriend Liv Boeree from Day 1a of the 2019 World Series of Poker Main Event.

The poker couple, who won the 2017 WSOP $10,000 Tag Team event for a pair of gold bracelets, was seated at opposite ends of the same table when Brian Altman raised to 1,000 from middle position. Boeree was short and three-bet all in for 2,400 from the cutoff. When action reached Kurganov in the big blind, he opted for a raise to 5,000 even, which drove Altman from the hand.

Kurganov:
Boeree:

"Come on," Boeree said with a smile after the flop gave her a flush draw.

"Let me do it," Kurganov replied. "I'll never get the chance ever again."

Neither the turn nor river helped Boeree and she walked around the table to give her beloved a hug before departing the Main Event.

Player	Chips	Progress
Igor Kurganov	30,000	4,000
Liv Boeree	Busted

07-03-2019 18:40 UTC-7

The Ice-Cream Man Randall Emmett

tRaMSt0p

Level 3 : 200/400, 400 ante

Randall Emmett isn't one to run away from the spotlight. Whether it be in Hollywood or on the poker tables.

The Hollywood producer is known for movies such as End of Watch and Lone Survivor, and he's currently hyping up what may be the next box office smash with The Irishman starring the likes of Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, and Harvey Keitel.

On the poker felt, Emmett is out there having fun and enjoying the game. Earlier at the WSOP, Emmett finished in tenth-place in the Event #11: $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em for $ 21,812 to see his lifetime tournament earnings creep towards $300,000.

Today Emmett can be found under the bright lights of the secondary feature table in the Amazon Room, and is continually trying to entertain his table.

"I'm professional!" bellowed Emmett as he limped the cutoff for 400.

The player on the button sat there emotionless and composed.

"I am a robot," joked Emmett in a robotic voice as he moved his arms back-and-forth in still gestures.

"GTO bot," Emmett added as the cutoff and the blinds saw a flop.

Emmett saw his cards hit the muck after a bet and raise, and when the button folded, Emmett added, "I am ruining the robot!"

In 2018, Emmett made a grand entrance into the Main Event that included a marching band and flamingo dancers. Emmett's flamingo dancers then handed out ice-cream to the players in the field.

For 2019, Emmett decided against the marching band and the grand entrance, but the flamingo dancers and ice-cream returned. Just recently, a bevy of flamingo dancers handed out ice-cream all across the Amazon Room as Vice President of the WSOP Jack Effel announced to the players that the ice-cream was courtesy of Emmett.

Player	Chips	Progress
Randall Emmett	45,900	10,900

Tags: Randall Emmett