button in SafariUri Reichenstein Bags a Top 10 Stack on Day 1a of the Monster Stack
One of the most eagerly anticipated events on the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) schedule kicked off on June 3. We are, of course, talking about Event #18: $1,500 Monster Stack.
Day 1a of the Monster Stack drew in a 1,514-strong crowd, but only 538 of those starters made it through to Day 2. One man who progressed to Day 2a with relative ease was Israel's Uri Reichenstein.
Reichenstein bagged up 404,500 chips at the close of play, good for eighth place in the chip counts. That large stack means Reichenstein, who has more than $5 million in live tournament earnings, returns to the battle with 162 big blinds at his disposal.
While Reichenstein's stack is impressive, seven other players have surpassed his total. Zhijian Zhang finished Day 1a with the welcomed problem of having to fit 607,000 chips into the overnight bag. David McMillan (555,000) and David Kowal (467,500) rounded off the top three.
Event #18: $1,500 Monster Stack Day 1a Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zhijian Zhang | United States | 607,000 | 243 |
| 2 | David McMillan | United States | 555,000 | 222 |
| 3 | David Kowal | United States | 467,500 | 187 |
| 4 | Francis Rusnak | United States | 462,500 | 185 |
| 5 | Adrian Collado | Spain | 458,500 | 183 |
| 6 | Pierre-Jean Roche | France | 431,000 | 172 |
| 7 | Caio Falopa Ozawa | Brazil | 412,500 | 165 |
| 8 | Uri Reichenstein | Israel | 404,500 | 162 |
| 9 | Cale Treacy | Australia | 398,000 | 159 |
| 10 | James Rowe | United Kingdom | 393,000 | 157 |
This event's incredible structure attracted dozens of top-tier players to the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. Martin Kabrhel (296,500) was one of them as was John Wasnock (285,500), David Benyamine (282,000), and Tony Gregg (265,500).
Loni Harwood (247,000), Patrick Leonard (239,000), Michael Noori (185,500), Qui Nguyen (176,500), Barry Shulman (126,000), and John Juanda (119,000) were among the others who progressed from the opening Monster Stack flight.
Everyone who survived Day 1a immediately returns to the action at 11:00 a.m. local time on June 4 for Day 2a. Late registration remains open until the end of Level 11, which should be around 12:15 p.m. local time.