Event #76: $10,000 WSOP Main Event World Championship
Day 1a Completed
2023 World Series of Poker
Event #76: $10,000 WSOP Main Event World Championship
Day: 1a
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1a
2023 World Series of Poker
Buy-in
$10,000
Prize Pool
$93,399,900
Entries
10,043
Level
41
Blinds
1,250,000 / 2,500,000
Ante
2,500,000
Entries
1,039
Players Left
721
Dayan Leads, Polk Close Behind After Day 1a of $10,000 WSOP Main Event No-Limit Hold'em World Championship
Level 5
: Blinds 300/600, 600 ante
The most anticipated poker tournament of the summer is upon us as Day 1a of Event #76: $10,000 WSOP Main Event No-Limit Hold'em World Championship at the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) kicked off today and drew more than a thousand players through five two-hour levels of action.
Leading the way is Israel's Yehuda Dayan with a monstrous stack of 389,900, as he looks to add to his mere $10,504 in reported live earnings. He is followed by other big stacks including bracelet winner Shota Nakanishi (360,100) and poker personality and recent Heads-Up Championship runner-up Doug Polk (282,000).
Four Main Event champions played Day 1a and all four managed to bag: Joe Cada (2009), Martin Jacobson (2014), Damian Salas (2020) and Jamie Gold (2006), who WSOP Vice President Jack Effel joked was the only person who doesn't want the Main Event attendance record broken this year.
Some of the notables who will return for Day 2abc on July 7th include Poker Hall of Famers John Hennigan and Billy Baxter, four-time bracelet winner Dominik Nitsche, six-time bracelet winner Shaun Deeb, poker coach Faraz Jaka, poker author Jim McManus, and high rollers David Peters, Sean Winter, and Jake Schindler.
End of Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yehuda Dayan | Israel | 389,900 | 487 |
| 2 | Shota Nakanishi | Japan | 360,100 | 450 |
| 3 | Hai-Chi Ho | China | 297,400 | 372 |
| 4 | Doug Polk | United States | 281,900 | 352 |
| 5 | Neville Costa | Brazil | 275,000 | 344 |
| 6 | Samuel Gagnon | Canada | 271,000 | 339 |
| 7 | Todd Collins | United States | 250,400 | 313 |
| 8 | Rick Mechammil | United States | 247,600 | 310 |
| 9 | Christine Do | Canada | 237,300 | 297 |
| 10 | Anirban Das | Italy | 236,900 | 296 |
Gold Kicks Off a Day Full of Bad Beats & Heartbreak
There was high energy going into the first day of an event that is expected to break the attendance record of 8,773 set in 2006 when Gold won the Main Event for $12 million. It was fitting then that Gold kicked things off with a shuffle up and deal announcement where he wished this year's Main Event players good luck "except when you're the last person at the final table against me, then I do not wish you so well."
It didn't take long for dreams to be crushed in poker's most prestigious event. Israel's Idan The One started his first Main Event off nicely by taking down a decent pot preflop with a four-bet. But things turned quickly in another four-bet pot where The One held kings only to run into the aces of Ruben Correia.
Shortly after losing half his stack, the two tangled once again as The One five-bet shoved for his tournament life as Correia called. The One's nightmare had come true as his pocket kings were again dominated by the same opponent's aces to send the Main Event hopeful out in just the second level of play. The One was in visible agony and spent an hour against the wall with his head in his hands as he processed the devastating beat and realized he will not be the one to win the 2023 Main Event.
That wasn't the only cooler of the day. In one of the final hands before dinner break, Steven Piper managed to make aces full of kings holding pocket aces, losing only to pocket kings for quads. That's exactly what Gary Horn had as he sent the Piper singing.
There were also success stories on Day 1a, including from none other than Gold, who managed to chip up nicely throughout the day as he battled in the Silver section of Horseshoe. Poker coach Faraz Jaka, meanwhile, got well above starting stack after picking up aces to eliminate Tyler Matzen.
In the same section, Polk built up a stack at a table that included young poker star Landon Tice, who wasn't as fortunate and busted not long after a boat over boat collision against Michael Wilklow that may have resembled the literal car crash Polk was in today.
Other players who didn't survive the day include 2021 Poker Players Championship runner-up Ryan Leng, Casino Employees Event runner-up James Urbanic, Utah all-time money leader Jared Griener, sports card specialist Jared Bleznick and 2010 Main Event third-place finisher Joseph Cheong.
On the lighter side of things, Player of the Year contender Shaun Deeb, known by his peers as a king of slow rolls, got a bit of karma when he was accidentally slow rolled by Juha Helppi. The Finnish bracelet winner hadn't realized he had the best hand after calling a river bet from Deeb, who warned the table that "you know I'm still going to slow roll any of you any chance I get."
There are still three starting flights that need to play out before Day 2 of the Main Event. Day 1b will kick off at noon local time on July 4th and will follow the same structure as Day 1a with five two-hour levels and a 75-minute dinner break after Level 3.
Stay tuned as the PokerNews live reporting team is out in full force and will be back tomorrow for more coverage of what will likely be a historic WSOP Main Event.
Seat Draw for Day 2abc
Level 5
: Blinds 300/600, 600 ante
Play Done For The Day
Level 5
: Blinds 300/600, 600 ante
Players are now bagging and tagging for the day.
Stay tuned for a recap of Day 1a of Event #76: $10,000 WSOP Main Event World Championship.
Official End of Day 1a Chip Counts (full)
Level 5
: Blinds 300/600, 600 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
389,900 | -38,100 |
|
360,100 | 24,100 |
|
297,400 | 297,400 |
|
281,900 | 4,900 |
|
275,000 | 275,000 |
|
271,000 | 271,000 |
|
|
250,400 | 250,400 |
|
|
247,600 | 247,600 |
|
|
237,300 | 42,300 |
|
236,900 | 18,500 |
|
225,500 | 75,500 |
|
|
225,100 | 225,100 |
|
|
225,000 | 225,000 |
|
|
221,800 | 221,800 |
|
214,300 | 56,300 |
|
213,100 | -16,900 |
|
212,800 | 10,800 |
|
210,400 | 210,400 |
|
210,000 | 210,000 |
|
209,400 | 209,400 |
|
208,500 | 3,500 |
|
|
206,700 | 206,700 |
|
205,300 | 43,300 |
|
|
204,700 | -83,300 |
|
|
201,200 | -800 |
Bellande's Flush Gets Paid
Level 5
: Blinds 300/600, 600 ante
Jean-Robert Bellande raised 1,500 in middle position, and he was called in three spots, including the button and Todd Ivens in the big blind.
The dealer fanned a flop of A♣7♦3♦, and Ivens checked to Bellande as he pushed 3,000 across the line. Only the button made the call.
When the 9♥ hit the turn, Bellande continued with aggression, putting 8,000 in the middle, and his opponent tossed in a call.
When the 9♦ completed the board on the river, Bellande fired 35,000, putting his opponent deep in the tank. Bellande casually took a sip of his drink and said, "Think about it."
After a little over two minutes, his opponent made the call, and Bellande instantly whipped his A♦8♦ face up, making a flush, and his opponent mucked his hand.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
150,000 | -6,200 |
|
141,000 | 78,000 |
Dayan Cements His Place on Top
Level 5
: Blinds 300/600, 600 ante
There was a raise to 1,400 in the hijack, and the button just called. Yehuda Dayan three-bet to 7,000 in the small blind and only the hijack called. The flop came A♠Q♦8♦ and Dayan led out with a bet of 7,000, which his opponent called.
The turn was the 5♠, and Dayan checked this time. His opponent made a bet of 9,000 and Dayan instantly ripped all in, putting his opponent to the test for his remaining stack of 68,000 chips. He thought for a couple of minutes but decided to fold his A♣K♦ face up.
"Good fold," Dayan confirmed. "Really, good fold. Ten more minutes, we go to sleep."
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
428,000 | 19,000 |
Three More Hands
Level 5
: Blinds 300/600, 600 ante
The tournament director has just announced that each table will be dealt three more hands before bagging and tagging for the evening.
Gold Gets Bluffed, Maybe
Level 5
: Blinds 300/600, 600 ante
There was a 17,000 pot brewing between Jamie Gold and Delmiro Toledo on a board of 5♦2♠7♦2♥. Toledo check-called an extra 5,000 on the turn before the 6♦ river was dealt.
Toledo now led for 8,000 and Gold lamented: "Really, you call me down for a diamond?"
Gold then folded with the words "If it's a bluff, it's a nice bluff", whereupon Toledo instantly showed the 4♦ for an ambiguous card.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
157,500 | 7,300 |
|
77,500 | 77,500 |
King Enough For Levi
Level 5
: Blinds 300/600, 600 ante
David Levi raised to 2,200 from the hijack and was called by the player in the cutoff.
Levi check-called an 1,800 bet from his opponent on the 5♣7♦5♥ flop and then both players checked down on the 7♣ turn and 2♠ river.
Levi turned over K♠Q♠ for just two pair with a king kicker and his opponent mucked, awarding the pot to Levi.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
90,000 | 10,000 |