button in SafariMartin Zamani Nicely Poised in the $1,500 NLHE Freezeout
Day 1 of Event #65: $1,500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em drew in a 2,617-strong crowd to the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. However, the quest for World Series of Poker (WSOP) gold ended for all but 410 of them.
Two-time bracelet winner, Martin Zamani (341,000), had a solid day at the table, turning his one bullet into a stack large enough for a place just outside the top 10. Zamani has already accumulated six cashes this summer to go with the four at the recent WSOP Europe festival. Two of this summer's cashes were fourth-place finishes in the $10,000 PLO8 Championship and $10,000 NLHE Super Turbo Bounty.
Frenchman Mario Boos (728,000) is, according to the WSOP LIVE app, the man to catch at the start of Day 2. Shawn Puri (675,000) and Leonardo Camera Alves (566,000) are the other two players who round off the podium places.
Event #65: $1,500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mario Boos | France | 728,000 | 121 |
| 2 | Shawn Puri | United States | 675,000 | 113 |
| 3 | Leonardo Camera Alves | Brazil | 566,000 | 94 |
| 4 | Roman Nuraev | Czech Republic | 551,000 | 92 |
| 5 | Tsubasa Itani | Japan | 536,000 | 89 |
| 6 | Julien Montois | France | 514,000 | 86 |
| 7 | Arash Sarraf | United States | 503,000 | 84 |
| 8 | Dennis Stevermer | United States | 480,000 | 80 |
| 9 | Quirin Heinz | Germany | 465,000 | 78 |
| 10 | Marcelo Mereles | Paraguay | 431,000 | 72 |
There is a nice selection of bracelet winners, $25K Fantasy Draft picks, and even a Main Event champion through to the second day. Martin Jacobson (127,000) is the man who ticks that last box.
Thomas Cazayous (361,000), Jason Wheeler (289,000), Frederic Normand (284,000), Jared Jaffe (277,000), and Eric Baldwin (268,000) all return in the top 25% of the chip counts.
Michael Gathy (203,000), Andrew Kelsall (159,000), Aram Zobian (158,000), Brian Hastings (128,000), David Coleman (112,000), Ben Yu (67,000), and Phillip Hui (33,000) are just some of the other stellar names who advanced from this flight.
Day 2 starts at 1:00 p.m. local time on June 24, and the plan is to complete another 10 levels. Blinds will be 3,000/6,000 with a 6,000 big blind ante when play resumes under the watchful eyes of the PokerNews live reporting team.