Day 1 of Event #84: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em at Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas, saw a massive 1,873 entries, smashing last year’s field of 1,424. This year’s prize pool reached $1,648,240, with first place set to take home $232,498.
Many notables came and went early. This year marked the first time the event allowed one reentry, as last year was a freezeout. The only returner from last year’s final table was Suhail Khan, who finished fourth in 2024 for his biggest career cash, and has already secured several cashes this series. However, he didn’t quite make the money this time and was eliminated halfway through today’s play.
Although Shaun Deeb didn’t get off to a strong start — busting his first bullet after running into pocket kings — he made the most of his second entry. Deeb gradually built his stack, and a pivotal hand late in the day saw him swap stacks with the chip leader to claim the top spot in the counts. He held on to the lead and will head into Day 2 with nearly double the stack of Liao Yinghsiang, who sits second in chips.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shaun Deeb | United States | 923,000 | 154 |
| 2 | Liao Yinghsiang | China | 530,000 | 88 |
| 3 | Jeffery Pugh | United States | 510,000 | 85 |
| 4 | Andrew Vanhoe | United States | 486,000 | 81 |
| 5 | Santiago Plante | Canada | 477,000 | 80 |
| 6 | Konstantin Generalov | Russian Federation | 476,000 | 79 |
| 7 | Muhammad Rahim | United States | 450,000 | 75 |
| 8 | Bosco Li | United Kingdom | 422,000 | 70 |
| 9 | Ramon Munoz | Spain | 417,000 | 70 |
| 10 | John Lewis | United States | 404,000 | 67 |
Several previous WSOP bracelet winners joined the field as well. Among those who bagged chips for Day 2 were Harry Lodge (193,000) — who won his second bracelet in an online event last week — Jinlong Hu(182,000), Max Kruse (161,000), and Alen Bakovic (140,000). However, others weren’t so lucky. Guo Liang Wei was the unfortunate bubble boy, eliminated on the final hand of the night by Congya Zhang, who ended with quad kings.
Martin Kabrhel also jumped into the event. After busting in two consecutive all-ins, he reentered, still confident after telling players he’d see them “at the final table.” However, his second run was not better, and he was eliminated again shortly after.
Since Day 1 play halted when the money bubble burst, the remaining 281 players are all in the money and guaranteed at least $2,006. They will return at 2 p.m. on Saturday, July 5, and resume play in Level 16 with 3,000/6,000 blinds with a 6,000 big blind ante. Levels remain 30 minutes long and there will be 15-minute breaks every four levels. Play will continue until a winner is crowned.
Stick with Pokernews to follow the action right down to a winner.
