Joe Cada Bagged for Day 2 and Steven Stanton Chip Leader in Event #85: $600 Ultra Stack
Two action-packed starting flights have wrapped up at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, as Day 1a and Day 1b of Event #85: $600 Ultra Stack concluded in thrilling fashion. The fields will merge today, Tuesday, July 8, at 1:00 p.m., when 595 survivors return to battle for a share of the eye-popping $3,556,728 prize pool and the brilliant gold bracelet. The official payout structure is still pending confirmation from the WSOP.
This year’s turnout shattered expectations, with 7,057 total entries across the two starting days, comfortably surpassing last year’s count of 6,628.
Steven Stanton will return as the chip leader going into Day 2, holding a commanding stack of 3,185,000. Hot on his heels is Justin Bassett with 2,785,000, while Roei Simantov rounds out the top three with a healthy 2,340,000 in chips.
Several WSOP bracelet winners remain in contention, including Main Event champions Joe Cada (530,000), Hossein Ensan (320,000), and Jamie Gold (155,000), each looking to add another title to their résumés.
Numerous 25K Fantasy Draft picks are still in the hunt, such as Owais Ahmed (850,000), David “ODB” Baker (400,000), Alex Livingston (385,000), and Quan Zhou, who will need a miracle comeback with just 30,000 chips, and of course Cada, who is mentioned above.
Baker’s fantasy picks (ODB) are faring well, with Jacob Baumgartner (775,000), Maria Konnikova (665,000), Sandy Sanchez (640,000), Ian Steinman (610,000), and Spencer Champlin (495,000), all advancing to Day 2 with solid stacks.
GGPoker poker author and coach Michael Acevedo (1,160,000) is also in strong position heading into the next stage of play.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steven Stanton | United States | 3,185,000 | 80 |
| 2 | Justin Bassett | United States | 2,785,000 | 70 |
| 3 | Roei Simantov | Israel | 2,340,000 | 59 |
| 4 | Phillip Pope | United States | 2,210,000 | 55 |
| 5 | Venkatara Ganne | United States | 2,190,000 | 55 |
| 6 | Daniel Vandyke | United States | 2,010,000 | 50 |
| 7 | Tom Hall | United Kingdom | 1,985,000 | 50 |
| 8 | Luis Vazquez | Puerto Rico | 1,925,000 | 48 |
| 9 | Robert Laird | United States | 1,870,000 | 47 |
| 10 | William Zaiss | United States | 1,800,000 | 45 |
Day 2 will begin today at 1:00 p.m. local time and will consist of 17 levels or down to five players, whichever comes first. Each level will be 40 minutes long, with a 15-minute break occurring after every three levels. A 60-minute dinner break will be given after level 31 at approximately 7:30 p.m. Blinds will start in level 23 at 20,000/40,000/40,000.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for all the updates on Event #85: $600 Ultra Stack No-Limit Hold’em and all other events at the 2025 WSOP at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas!