Shaun Colquhoun Bags Big in Day 1 of Event #1: Casino Employees Event
A total of 832 poker players flocked to the opening event of the 2022 World Series of Poker in its new home at Bally’s and Paris Las Vegas and 82 players will return on Wednesday at 12 p.m. for the Day 2 finale. The series kicked off with Event #1: Casino Employees Event No-Limit Hold’em and nearly doubled the turnout from last year.
The field generated a prize pool of $349,440 and first place will take home $65,168.
Event #1: $500 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold'em Top 10 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shaun Colquhoun | United States | 885,000 |
| 2 | Arturo Jimenez | United States | 848,000 |
| 3 | Kenny Hallaert | Belgium | 695,000 |
| 4 | Jonaghan Liu | United States | 660,000 |
| 5 | Brandon West | United States | 656,000 |
| 6 | Kelli Phillips | United States | 613,000 |
| 7 | Kirby Brewer | United States | 588,000 |
| 8 | John Divecha | United States | 567,000 |
| 9 | Michael Murray | United States | 533,000 |
| 10 | Minkyun Kim | South Korea | 533,000 |
After 17 levels of play, it was Shaun Colquhoun (885,000) from Las Vegas as the apparent chip leader, followed closely behind by Arturo Jimenez (848,000). Both players traded the big stack throughout much of the night and will have a sizable advantage heading into Day 2.
Kenny Hallaert (695,000) also bagged a big stack with a late night rush, and he will return on Wednesday looking to add to his more than $4,500,000 million in tournament earnings. The defending champion Jimmy Barnett (206,000) still remains as well. A few of the other big stacks entering Day 2 are Michael Murry (533,000), Kelli Phillips (613,000), and Kirby Brewer (588,000).
The Paris Ballroom was packed to start the day, some of the names to fall before the money included WSOP bracelet winner Chad Holloway, Lisa Vanderpump, Yori Epskamp, and David Tuchman.
Players will return at 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday for the Day 2 finale in Level 17 with blinds at 4,000/8,000 with an 8,000 ante. Action will continue on Day 2 until a winner is declared.
Follow all the action here as the PokerNews Live Reporting team covers Day 2, as well as our summer-long coverage of The 2022 WSOP at Bally’s and Paris Las Vegas.