Tsugunari Toma Bags a Massive Stack on Day 1 of the $1,500 PLO8
After a solid fifteen levels of play, Day 1 of Event #62: Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better is completed. There were 725 total entries for this event with 113 players headed to Day 2.
Leading the field into Day 2 is Japan's top live poker tournament earner Tsugunari Toma (1,076,000 chips) who bagged an astonishing million-plus chip stack. To put this into perspective, Toma bagged nearly triple that of his nearest competition in Steve Chanthabouasy, who bagged a healthy stack of 393,000.
From the middle to the end of the day, Toma was on cruise control. He found himself on the better end of almost every spot and used his tournament experience to bag up an impressive stack.
Event #62 Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts
| RANK | PLAYER | Country | CHIP COUNT | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tsugunari Toma | Japan | 1,076,000 | 179 |
| 2 | Steve Chanthabouasy | United States | 393,000 | 66 |
| 3 | Paul Holder | United States | 380,000 | 63 |
| 4 | Maury Barrett | United States | 373,000 | 62 |
| 5 | Michael Trivett | United States | 342,000 | 57 |
| 6 | Raymond Henson | United States | 339,000 | 57 |
| 7 | Sean Remz | United States | 333,000 | 56 |
| 8 | Nathan Gamble | United States | 328,000 | 55 |
| 9 | Andrew Yeh | United States | 318,000 | 53 |
| 10 | Dustin Dirksen | United States | 314,000 | 52 |
Others who bagged up healthy stacks at the end of the night include Mike Matusow (228,000 chips), Paul Holder (380,000 chips), and Nathan Gamble (328,000). Gamble added to his stack near the end of the night, which resulted in David Williams hitting the rail before the closing bell.
The players will return Tuesday at 2 p.m. local (PST) time and play 10 levels of 60 minutes each, with a 15-minute break after every two levels, and a 60-minute dinner break at the end of Level 21 (~8:30 p.m. local (PST) time).
Stay tuned to PokerNews for continued updates of this event, or join us live here at The Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino where cards will be back in the air on Tuesday at 2 p.m. local (PST) time.
turn to lock up the low for Gamble while improving his high hand to a straight.
sealed the deal for Gamble who scooped with a six-high straight alongside a wheel for the nut-low, and Williams was eliminated from the tournament.
and the three remaining players held: 
for trip aces held by his first opponent, and the second all-in opponent's cards were mucked before they could be viewed. 