Who Will Walk Away with $686,242 and the Gold WSOP Bracelet Tonight?
An eventful Day 1 saw the field in Event #55: $5,000 Mixed No-Limit Hold'em/Pot-Limit Omaha dwindle from 788 entries to just 72 contenders. They all have already locked up a profitable campaign worth a minimum of $10,013, but all have their eyes on the $686,242 sitting at the top along with the prestigious bracelet.
The two most popular poker disciplines brought many notable players to the Paris and Bally's Las Vegas, and it is Joao Simao who will be back in action with a sizeable lead, with 1,705,000 in chips and his sights set on his second bracelet.
Second in the chip counts is Frank Lagodich (1,530,000) who recently had a deep run Event #21: $1,500 MONSTER STACK No-Limit Hold'em for 25th place and will look to reach the second WSOP final table of his career. Closing out the top three is Vasil Medarov (1,495,000) who reached two final tables in Pot Limit Omaha WSOP events last year.
Other notable players to keep an eye on include Joni Jouhkimainen (1,015,000), Craig Mason( 875,000), Bryce Yockey (820,000, Michael Rocco (770,000), and three-time WSOP champion David Pham (695,000), who have all bagged an above average stack.
Players like Justin Saliba (200,000), Ben Diebold (220,000), Brandon Cantu (315,000), Dylan Weisman (330,000), and Leif Force (330,000) will have some work to do as they were left with a below average stack at the end of last night.
The pack of 72 players will come back at 2 p.m. to continue showcasing their NLH and PLO prowess. Blinds will be 10,000/25,000 with a 25,000 big blind ante when the cards get back in the air and the levels will be increased to 40 minutes, with a 15-minute break after every three.
The aim is that play will continue until a winner is crowned, so follow the PokerNews live updates to find out who will make it all the way to the end!
and Jouhkimainen checked to Simao who bet 335,000. Jouhkimainen thought for a bit before deciding to raise to 850,000 which sent Simao into the tank. 
with more than 300,000 in the pot when Joao Simao bet 185,000 from the small blind seat. Joni Jouhkimainen, on the button, opted to raise it to 780,000. After some thinking, Simao called. 
completed the board and Simao thought about his move for a minute before announcing a bet of 1,200,000, putting Jouhkimainen into a decision. 
, and Simao grabbed the big pot and flashed 
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, giving a straight on the river to Sahakian to bust Hachem in 23rd palce of this tournament.
and Simao continued for 600,000 which Rast responded to by moving all in for 1,100,000 and Simao called. 
and Rast was not able to hit his flush to improve and Simao's straight was good enough to take down the pot, and send Rast out of the tournament.
hit the turn, giving the nut flush to McSwiney and the 
and Rocco sent his last chip in the middle, which was called by McSwiney:
and the 
