PokerNews live coverage of this event will begin on Day 3 (June 18). Until then, we will be keeping readers informed with updates on chip counts and core event statistics, including entries and prize pool. Scroll down to see more.
Event #46: $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold’em Championship
Day 1a Completed
Day 1a of Event #46: $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold'em Championship attracted 3,539 players to the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, but only 795 of those who started the day with high hopes progressed to Day 2a.
According to the WSOP LIVE app, John Catena (795,000) is the Day 1a chip leader, although PokerNews believes several of the overnight chip counts have an extra zero on them due to their size.
Seasoned grinders Michel Abecassis (462,500) and bracelet winner John Esposito (395,000) finished with a top 10 stack, again, according to the WSOP LIVE app.
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Catena | Italy | 795,000 | 398 |
| 2 | Nan Min | United States | 645,000 | 323 |
| 3 | Steven Westberg | United States | 615,000 | 308 |
| 4 | Michel Abecassis | France | 462,500 | 231 |
| 5 | Peter Johnson | United States | 434,000 | 217 |
| 6 | John Esposito | United States | 395,000 | 198 |
| 7 | Albert Sanchez | United States | 376,000 | 188 |
| 8 | Manfred Wolf | Germany | 372,000 | 186 |
| 9 | Barry Seidman | United States | 360,000 | 180 |
| 10 | Michel Leibgorin | France | 337,500 | 169 |
Plenty of bracelet winners were among the Day 1a survivors. They included three-time champion Xixiang Luo (194,000), Farzad Bonyadi (136,000), Mike Leah (100,500), Men "The Master" Nguyen (70,500), David "ODB" Baker (51,000), and the legendary Billy Baxter (41,500).
The 2004 WSOP Main Event champion, Greg Raymer (34,500), also navigated to Day 2a, albeit with one of the shorter stacks.
Day 2a is scheduled to shuffle up and deal at 11:00 a.m. local time on June 16. Players return on Level 11, meaning blinds ate 1,000/2,000 with a 2,000 big blind ante. A second flight, Day 1b, starts an hour earlier at 10:00 a.m. local time.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for continued coverage from the 2026 WSOP.
Here are the chip counts of the 795 players who progressed from Day 1a, according to the WSOP LIVE app.
PokerNews believes some of the higher chip counts may be inaccurate. We will update them accordingly once the WSOP LIVE app reflects the verified counts.
Day 1a of Event #46: $1,000 Seniors Championship has wrapped up. There were a total of 3,539 entries on Day 1a, making for a prize pool of $3,114,320 collected so far.
The WSOP LIVE app shows 795 players made it through. John Catena stands as the current chip leader with 795,000, according to the app.
Standby for the full chip counts and recap on Pokernews.
Phil Hellmuth tries to keep it positive on social media. But a bad beat elimination from a recent 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) event caused the "Poker Brat" to rant.
The 17-time bracelet winner posted a three-minute video shortly after busting on Day 2 from Event #33: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship. In that clip, he expressed frustration two weeks into a long WSOP.
The poker community asked, and the WSOP listened.
In a major shake-up to the Poker Hall of Fame, the induction process is shifting away from its traditional "winner-takes-all" format. A brand-new voting system has been introduced, paving the way for up to six of the eight nominees to be inducted in a single year.
Nominations are now open for the 2026 Poker Hall of Fame. Once the public determines the top eight nominees, the final decision will rest with the 33 living Hall of Fame members.
Have you heard about MyStack by PokerNews? It is a free-to-use tool built into the PokerNews website that puts you in control of your chip counts on our live reporting pages. MyStack directly connects you to PokerNews' live reporting pages, making you an even bigger part of the action in the events you play.
MyStack is a free poker tool and PokerNews activates MyStack for every event it is live reporting from, regardless of that tournament's buy-in. Once you have created a free PokerNews account, you can use MyStack to update your chip counts in real time; hopefully, your stack will continue increasing throughout the event!
According to the WSOP LIVE app.
There are 100 bracelet-awarding events on the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) schedule, but every poker player dreams of becoming the champion of just one of those tournaments: the $10,000 WSOP Main Event. Unfortunately for some, the $10,000 buy-in puts the 2026 WSOP Main Event out of reach, which is where satellites come into their own.
In 2003, the aptly-named Chris Moneymaker, then an accountant from Atlanta, Georgia, won a $10,000 WSOP Main Event seat via an $86 buy-in satellite online at PokerStars. Moneymaker outlasted 838 opponents, including defeating seasoned pro Sammy Farha heads-up, to win the WSOP Main Event and kickstart the phenomenon that would be called the Moneymaker Effect.
Fast forward to today, and hundreds, if not thousands, of players will head to the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas hoping to win their way into the 2026 WSOP Main Event for a fraction of the $10,000 asking price. The 2026 WSOP Main Event satellites run from July 1-7 and come in buy-ins of $150, $260, $585, $1,100, and $2,200.
According to the WSOP LIVE app.
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